Abortion Is A Controversial Topic - 1861 Words

Abortion is a highly controversial topic. The definition of an abortion is â€Å"the deliberate termination of a pregnancy†. Pro-lifers believe that life is precious, and should not be allowed to be ripped away because of another person’s mistake. Pro-choicer’s believe that it should ultimately be women’s decisions, seeing as they are the ones most directly involved. Both have arguments and counterarguments, neither being able to find a common ground. As society is developing, more people are beginning to lighten their views on life. They are starting to look at small details, such as what society will thing, instead of looking at the big picture. Nevertheless, the amount of women choosing to get an abortion is slowly inclining. Be that as it†¦show more content†¦Less common, but still apparent symptoms include: â€Å"cramping of the uterus or pelvis, warmth, chills, headaches, fatigue, loss of fertility, hemorrhages, and in rare cases, death.â € (TDOH). Abortion and Cancer records indicate that â€Å"the rates of cervical, ovarian, breast and liver cancer are greatly increased by abortion† (ACCA). In her article Abortion Risks, Melinda Reist states â€Å"women with a history of one abortion face a 2.3 times higher risk of having cervical cancer†. In addition to the damages of cervices â€Å"women who receive abortions often have difficulty conceiving or carrying future children to term† (ACCA). According to studies by the Elliot Institute â€Å"30% to 50% of women report experiencing sexual dysfunctions† as well. Most women receiving abortions do not consider the worst risk, death. The statistics from the Texas Department of Health display â€Å"there is one death per every 530,000 abortions at 8 weeks or less, one death per 17,000 abortions in 16-20 weeks, and one death per 6,000 for 21 weeks and over†. There are obvious elements of an abortion that can compromise a women’s p hysical well-being. The physical effects can be tremendous, especially when accompanied by emotional effects also. There are many emotional difficulties that can stem from receiving an abortion. The Rhode Island Right to Life Organization explains â€Å"many women who have abortions are extremely uneasy about

Chagnon Debate Essay - 1049 Words

Chagnon Debate In Patrick Tierney’s article â€Å"The Fierce Anthropologist,† he discussed the faults that are, or may be, present in Napoleon Chagnon’s anthropological research of the Yanamamo, or â€Å"The Fierce People,† as Chagnon has referred to them in his best-selling book on the people. Due to Chagnon’s unparalleled body of work in terms of quantity and, as many argue, quality, Marvin Harris draws heavily on his research to support his point, which is that the origin of war is ecological and reproductive pressure. One should question Harris’s theories (and all theories), especially in the light of the aforementioned article, but I do not believe his arguments are, or should be, adversely affected by the information presented in this†¦show more content†¦Factions solidify and tensions mount.† (Pg. 77). According to Harris, this almost always precedes Yanamamamo warfare. If Tierney’s accounts concerning warfare and the derivatives of warfare are correct, this makes Harris’s arguments incredible. On the other hand, Tierney’s viewpoint is arguable. As Irven Delfore, a professor of biological anthropology at Harvard, points out in, â€Å"The Fierce Anthropologist,† â€Å"Chag was both first and thorough†¦thorough in the sense that Chag has visited at least 75 Yanamami villages on both sides of the Venezuelan and Brazilian borders†¦Chag gathered very detailed and documented data on the villages – so much so that another investigator could study the same population and come to a different conclusion.†(Pg. 55). This seems to be exactly what Harris has done. In fact, Harris begins the chapter â€Å"Proteins and the Fierce People† by pointing out a different in opinion stating that â€Å"Chagnon – who knows them best – has denied that the high level of homicide within and between villages is caused by reproductive and ecological pressures.† (Pg. 67). Harris goes on to use others, as well as Chagnon’s own eviden ce to disprove his claim. Harris shows how fighting over women is correlated to reproductive pressure, and there is a shortage of meat in the area in which the Yanamamo reside – this is quite obviously a type of ecological pressure. Harris’s use of evidence outside of Chagnon’s own indicates that he has doneShow MoreRelatedLeslie Sponsels Approach to Investigation of the Amazon Basin1632 Words   |  6 Pageslike Napoleon Chagnon, Marvin Harris, or Lizot (in discussing the Yanomamo) seem like they are ignoring the obvious fact which Sponsel focuses on: adaptation. The search for a stable theory of anthropology is difficult when so much of human behavior is adaptation in response to instability or constant change in the surrounding environment. Sponsels approach is therefore less theoretical and more factual and scientific. Although Amazon Ecology and Adaptation discusses and cites Chagnon, Lizot, andRead MoreWhat People Would Be Like Without Western Influences Pulled Nepolean Chagnon1150 Words   |  5 PagesThe curiosity of what people would be like without western influences pulled Nepolean Chagnon in, leading him to the Yanomamo, a tribe in the Amazon who has only recently come in contact with some western culture because of church ministries. The ministries showed up only a few years before Chagnon, meaning that the majority of the Yanomamo have had very little influence from them. Chagnon’s goal was to record all aspects of the Yanomamo’s life, everything from their individual interactions to theRead MoreLooking At Cultural Relativism, By John Ross Essay2815 Words   |  12 Pageswe take a look at Napoleon Chagnon’s experience among the Yanoman tribe of Brazil, you see different examples of cul tural relativism. Take from instance when the people were looking over Chagnon. The men would blow their noses into their hand then proceed in looking over the stranger in their village. When Chagnon asked how to say â€Å"You hands are dirty†, the indians surprised him with a smile then proceeded to spit in their hand, their spit was mixed with tobacco. The simple fact that they were wiping

Hypotheses of the Effects of Wolf Predation Essay Example For Students

Hypotheses of the Effects of Wolf Predation Essay John FeldersnatchDecember 1st, 1995Abstract: This paper discusses four hypotheses to explain the effects of wolfpredation on prey populations of large ungulates. The four proposed hypothesesexamined are the predation limiting hypothesis, the predation regulatinghypothesis, the predator pit hypothesis, and the stable limit cycle hypothesis. There is much research literature that discusses how these hypotheses can beused to interpret various data sets obtained from field studies. It wasconcluded that the predation limiting hypothesis fit most study cases, but thatmore research is necessary to account for multiple predator multiple preyrelationships. The effects of predation can have an enormous impact on the ecologicalorganization and structure of communities. The processes of predation affectvirtually every species to some degree or another. Predation can be defined aswhen members of one species eat (and/or kill) those of another species. Thespecific type of predation between wolves and large ungulates involvescarnivores preying on herbivores. Predation can have many possible effects onthe interrelations of populations. To draw any correlations between the effectsof these predator-prey interactions requires studies of a long duration, andstatistical analysis of large data sets representative of the populations as awhole. Predation could limit the prey distribution and decrease abundance. Suchlimitation may be desirable in the case of pest species, or undesirable to someindividuals as with game animals or endangered species. Predation may also actas a major selective force. The effects of predator prey coevolution can explainman y evolutionary adaptations in both predator and prey species. The effects of wolf predation on species of large ungulates have proven to becontroversial and elusive. There have been many different models proposed todescribe the processes operating on populations influenced by wolf predation. Some of the proposed mechanisms include the predation limiting hypothesis, thepredation regulating hypothesis, the predator pit hypothesis, and the stablelimit cycle hypothesis (Boutin 1992). The purpose of this paper is to assess theempirical data on population dynamics and attempt to determine if one of thefour hypotheses is a better model of the effects of wolf predation on ungulatepopulation densities. The predation limiting hypothesis proposes that predation is the primary factorthat limits prey density. In this non- equilibrium model recurrent fluctuationsoccur in the prey population. This implies that the prey population does notreturn to some particular equilibrium after deviation. The predation limitinghypothesis involves a density independent mechanism. The mechanism might applyto one prey one predator systems (Boutin 1992). This hypothesis predicts thatlosses of prey due to predation will be large enough to halt prey populationincrease. Many studies support the hypothesis that predation limits prey density. Bergerudet al. (1983) concluded from their study of the interrelations of wolves andmoose in the Pukaskwa National Park that wolf predation limited, and may havecaused a decline in, the moose population, and that if wolves were eliminated,the moose population would increase until limited by some other regulatoryfactor, such as food availability. However, they go on to point out that thisupper limit will not be sustainable, but will eventually lead to resourcedepletion and population decline. Seip (1992) found that high wolf predation oncaribou in the Quesnel Lake area resulted in a decline in the population, whilelow wolf predation in the Wells Gray Provincial Park resulted in a slowlyincreasing population. Wolf predation at the Quesnel Lake area remained highdespite a fifty percent decline in the caribou population, indicating thatmortality due to predation was not density-dependent within this range ofpopulatio n densities. Dale et al. (1994), in their study of wolves and caribouin Gates National Park and Preserve, showed that wolf predation can be animportant limiting factor at low caribou population densities, and may have ananti-regulatory effect. They also state that wolf predation may affect thedistribution and abundance of caribou populations. Bergerud and Ballard (1988),in their interpretation of the Nelchina caribou herd case history, said thatduring and immediately following a reduction in the wolf population, calfrecruitment increased, which should result in a future caribou populationincrease. Gasaway et al. (1983) also indicated that wolf predation cansufficiently increase the rate of mortality in a prey population to prevent thepopulations increase. Even though there has been much support of thishypothesis, Boutin (1992) suggests that there is little doubt that predation isa limiting factor, but in cases where its magnitude has been measured, it is nogreater than other factors such as hunting.A second hypothesis about the effects of wolf predation is the predationregulating hypothesis, which proposes that predation regulates prey densitiesaround a low-density equilibrium. This hypothesis fits an equilibrium model, andassumes that following deviation, prey populations return to their pre-existingequilibrium levels. This predator regulating hypothesis proposes that predationis a density-dependent mechanism affecting low to intermediate prey densities,and a density-independent mechanism at high prey densities. Violence In Sports Essay SummaryThese points emphasize that multiple-predator and multiple-prey systems areprobably at work in the natural environment, and we must not over generalize aone predator one prey hypothesis in the attempt to interpret the overalltrends of the effects of predation of wolves on large ungulate populations. Literature CitedBergerud, A. T., W. Wyett, and B. Snider. 1983. The role of wolf predation inlimiting a moose population. Journal ofWildlife Management. 47(4): 977-988. Bergerud, A. T., and W. B. Ballard. 1988. Wolf predation on caribou: the Nelchina herd case history, a differentinterpretation. Journal of Wildlife Management. 52(2): 344- 357. Boutin, S.. 1992. Predation and moose population dynamics: a critique. Journal of WildlifeManagement. 56(1): 116-127. Dale, B. W., L. G. Adams, and R. T. Bowyer. 1994. Functional responseof wolves preying on barren-ground caribouin a multiple prey ecosystem. Journal of Animal Ecology. 63: 644- 652. Gasaway, W. C., R. O. Stephenson, J. L. Davis, P. E. K. Shepherd, and O. E. Burris. 1983. Interrelationships ofwolves, prey, and man in interior Alaska. Wildlife Monographs. 84: 1- 50. Messier, F.. 1985. Social organization, spatial distribution, and populationdensity of wolves in relation to moosedensity. Canadian Journal of Zoology. 63: 1068-1077. Messier, F.. 1994. Ungulate population models with predation: a case study with the North Americanmoose. Ecology. 75(2): 478-488. Seip, D.. 1992. Factors limiting woodland cariboupopulations and their interrelationships with wolves and moose insoutheastern British Colombia. Canadian Journal of Zoology. 70: 1494-1503. Thompson, I. D., and R. O. Peterson. 1988. Does wolf predation alone limit themoose population in Pukaskwa Park?:a comment. Journal of Wildlife Management. 52(3): 556-559. Van Ballenberghe,V.. 1985. Wolf predation on caribou: the Nelchina herd case history. Journal ofWildlifeManagement. 49(3): 711-720. Category: Science

William Butler Yeats Leda And The Swan Essays - Greek Mythology

William Butler Yeats' ?Leda And The Swan? William Butler Yeats' poem ?Leda and the Swan? is a hauntingly beautiful recreation of the Greek myth in which Zeus takes the form of a swan in order to seduce Leda, who, as a result of this brutality becomes the mother of Helen of Troy?the woman who is credited with starting the Trojan War. Yeats' choice of employing the sonnet format (sometimes associated with romantic thoughts) in order to retell this story, along with other poetic techniques, allows the poem to go beyond the familiar story which has been told and retold many times. Within the realm of the storyline, this poem captures the moment during which Zeus, disguised as a swan, overwhelms and attacks a helpless young woman. During the first four lines of the poem, the speaker wastes no time in situating the reader as to what is occurring: A sudden blow: the great wings beating still Above the staggering girl, her thighs caressed By the dark webs, her nape caught in his bill, He holds her helpless breast upon his breast. First of all, swans are not often associated with being birds of violence. One might envision a vulture attacking someone, but swans are thought of as birds of beauty and grace, and symbolize elegance and peacefulness. The action of the swan in the poem actions is the total opposite and one may find it ironic. This could imply the reason that Zeus chose this bird for his disguise: it would be easier to surprise and overwhelm Leda. Starting the poem with this instance of violence as Yeats chooses to, brings the reader immediately in on a moment of supreme horror. Throughout the poem, the compact nature of the lines, all in iambic pentameter, along with their rhyming endings, further escalate the fever pitch of the moment by swiftly moving along the reader. The ringing assonance of end words ?still? and ?bill?, ?caressed? and ?breast? all work to keep the reader riveted as to what is occurring here in the beginning. The next four lines capture the terror that Leda must feel as she is overwhelmed and virtually smothered by this living down comforter. Yet the speaker manages to incorporate a sensual aspect within the violent confines of the description. Amidst the violence of the rape as it is occurring, the speaker manages to convey confusion, and wonder at what it is that is actually overtaking Leda. The speaker wonders ?How can those terrified vague fingers push/The feathered glory from her loosening thighs At this point in the poem, it becomes clear with the descriptive language and imagery that this is much more than a random act of violence. Has it occurred to Leda just who is occupying the body of the swan? Is there more here than a rape scene? Since, as part of the myth it is known that Zeus is the one occupying the form of the swan, and since he is ?king of the gods? this could be interpreted as more of a divine intervention.. This is even more telling because Helen of Troy, the woman who launched 1000 ships because of her beauty?is the result of this ?union.? The following four lines (lines 9, 10, 11 & 12) go one step further. These lines refer to the overtaking of Troy by the Greeks, during which the gods all respectively played their part and personalities by taking their preferred sides. The speaker could be connecting the conception of Helen, whose eventual abduction from her husband, Menelaus, (brother of Agamemnon) began the Trojan War. In typical Shakespearean Sonnet format, the last two lines of the poem form a resolution of sorts. Here, the speaker is questioning what exactly, if anything, that Leda took from this attack. In a way, this leaves Leda with the upper hand. ?Did she put on his knowledge with his power/Before the indifferent beak could let her drop This statement questions what Leda might have gained from the attack. As a woman unable to fend off the overpowering nature of this attack, Leda had no say in the matter of this brutal rape. Yet the speaker seems to be questioning whether or not Leda left this scene a changed woman?perhaps even empowered? Again, one