Should Sex Education Be Taught in Schools? Sex Education Within the United States: Analyzing Social and Political Factors of Sex Education Within The United States

Sex education has been a prominent topic among society since the 1800s, coinciding with the prevention and relevance of current social issues. As years have passed, sex education has continued to evolve through the prevailing social situations. However, within the 21st century, sex education started to lack improvement and inclusion of social topics and issues that are prevalent in today\u27s society. This thesis analyzes the history behind sex education among the United States, and defines what it is that shapes sex education in today\u27s society. With society ever changing, and social and political concepts becoming a more central topic in today\u27s society, the issue of sex education has become more of an issue. This thesis addresses the development of sex education among schools within the United States, and emphasizes the difference between each district and state perspective on sex education. This thesis looks at sex education in not only a social light, but also a political standpoint. Sex education started as a solution to social circumstances, however, with legislation evolving and many social topics coming into play, there are many other factors that shape sex education. By researching eight different states with different political affiliations, this thesis was able to come to a conclusion as to what characteristics of a state or district shape that community\u27s sex education, but also how exactly a state\u27s political background influences and shapes their perspective on sex education. With sex education everchanging, and becoming more of a significant social issue in today\u27s society, it is important to understand why sex education is the way it is around the country, and how the structure of sex education impacts society and individuals as a whole. The result of the analysis and comparison of eight different states indicates how the political standpoint and authority of each state generalizes what type of stance that specific state has on sex education, and sex education within schools

Fetal Movement Visualization to Empower Pregnant People

Miracles of life do not occur all the time. Every year in the US, 24,000 stillbirths-babies lost after 20+ weeks gestation-devastate families [10]. Healthcare providers recommend parents in the third trimester of pregnancy perform fetal movement counting to monitor their baby\u27s health [12, 16]. As a result, mobile apps rise in popularity to assist mothers in tracking when and how many times their babies kicked. Using the fetal movement counting information collected, apps graph the data for users. However, despite the diversity of apps available, a formal analysis of the usability of those visualizations is missing. This research is especially needed because mothers may rely on that data to make pregnancy-related decisions. Therefore, this study proposes and evaluates three visualizations of fetal movement data: line, bar, and calendar charts. Through usability testing with 19 women, we find that the most effective visualization depends on baby types. A bar or calendar chart that distinguishes the time of the kick count session is helpful if the baby moves differently throughout the day. If the baby moves consistently, a line chart graphing individual kick count sessions on the x-axis is more effective

Revolutionizing Cleft Palate Repair: A Novel Approach to Head Stabilization

Roughly 1 in 1600 infants in the US each year are born with cleft palate, an orofacial defect characterized by a hole in the roof of a child\u27s mouth. Children with a cleft palate may experience difficulty breathing and eating, delayed speech development, hearing loss, and dental complications. Corrective procedures most commonly occur in the first year of life, requiring the child to undergo intensive surgery. Head stabilization during this operation is an afterthought, with no designated device to adjust the angle of the child\u27s neck and provide access to the palate. We developed a device that prioritizes safety, stability, and precision, decreasing the complexity of the surgical setup and ultimately improving pediatric palate repairs

Evolving Difficulty Targeted Bouldering Routes

The challenge of utilizing artificial intelligence to generate indoor rock climbing routes with a specific grade is an interesting and unsolved problem due to its complexity and subjectivity. We use MAP-Elites, an evolutionary, quality-diversity algorithm, in conjunction with GradeNet [8] to produce a set of disjoint MoonBoard climbing routes that sufficiently challenge a climber without exceeding their physical and technical limitations. We evaluate these routes through visual a assessment survey by climbers as well as an in-person study in which climbers attempt to climb the generated routes. While our algorithm generally performs well in producing complete or near-complete archives of diverse climbs at every difficulty level as assessed by GradeNet, they fall short when it comes to in person trials. Additionally, the data from user surveys, while supporting the claims of Duh and Chang [8] about GradeNet\u27s superiority to human grad- ing ability, is inconclusive in determining the success of our algorithm. These results leave open the path for future work to leverage the relative success of quality-diversity while accounting for the shortcomings of route quality and difficulty present in our system\u27s design

John F. Kennedy: Words Louder Than Actions in Newly-Independent Africa

John F. Kennedy\u27s polarizing relationship with newly independent African leaders in the middle of the 20th century is one of the lesser-told stories of his career. From an early age, Kennedy developed a strong compassion for the underprivileged and oppressed. In tandem, he became staunchly pragmatic regarding political decisions. This thesis argues that Kennedy\u27s pragmatic Cold War agenda usually overruled his genuine moral compassion to assist newly-independent African countries. Each chapter analyzes an aspect of Kennedy\u27s moral approach towards building relationships with African nationalists, only to show that his fiercely pragmatic Cold War policy prevented these relationships from reaching their full potential. Ultimately, Kennedy\u27s words spoke louder than his actions when it came to his courting of newly-independent African nations and their leaders. His Cold War agenda dictated the final say in every decision he made, holding him back from enacting long-term change in a continent possessing tremendous potential. This thesis consists of an introduction, four chapters, and a conclusion. The introduction analyzes how certain experiences during John F. Kennedy\u27s upbringing instilled genuine moral compassion in him, while also considering other early experiences that made him fiercely pragmatic. Chapter 1 contrasts JFK with his predecessor, President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Unlike Kennedy, Eisenhower paid little heed to Africa, giving Kennedy an automatic advantage in building relationships. At times, he made active attempts to avoid meeting with African nationalists. Not used to genuine attention from Western powers, African nationalists greatly appreciated Kennedy\u27s interest in their cause. Chapter 2 discusses Kennedy\u27s methods of courting African nationalists. The relationships he cultivated through personal connections, welcome receptions, and charm eased the deployment of numerous aid programs to African nations. However, Kennedy\u27s progressive approach to African countries and the potential for long-term change was stymied by contradictions from his Cold War agenda. This becomes clear upon analysis of Kennedy\u27s policy towards South Africa and the Portuguese colonies of Angola and Guinea-Bissau. Kennedy supported white minority rule in those countries because of his Cold War agenda - Portugal was a NATO ally in possession of the Azores Air Force Base, and South Africa was a stalwart against communism in a key geographic location. Chapter 3 is an in-depth analysis of the most famous aid program Kennedy deployed to Africa: the Peace Corps. Introduced two months into JFK\u27s presidency, the Peace Corps fulfilled the challenge laid out in Kennedy\u27s Inaugural Address: Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country. However, much like the rest of Kennedy\u27s rhetoric on Africa, there was much positivity and theoretical growth promoted by the Peace Corps, yet few lasting changes achieved. Chapter 4 breaks down the similarities between Kennedy\u27s approach to courting African nationalists and his response to domestic civil rights issues. Kennedy used his success with courting African nationalists to gain support from civil rights leaders, and vice versa. However, Kennedy\u27s lack of response to civil rights crises and hesitancy to meet with civil rights leaders showed that, once again, he fell short of his potential to enact lasting change. Finally, the conclusion ties these four events together and references Robert F. Kennedy\u27s 1966 speech in South Africa. This speech highlights the vision for real change Kennedy wanted to fulfill in Africa if he hadn\u27t given precedence to his Cold War agenda

Effect of interest rates on firms\u27 performance in developing European countries

The central bank uses monetary policy to maintain the balance of the economy in the country. Each country in Europe has a central body that regulates the total supply of money and supports economic expansion. By using expansionary and contractionary monetary policies the central bank in each country targets inflation and keeps unemployment low. The central bank frequently employs the discount rate, open market operations, and reserve requirements as its three primary monetary policy tools. Through monetary policy, the central bank affects the profits, revenue, income, investment, turnover, and long-term and short-term liabilities of businesses. Adjusting interest rates influences the borrowing and expectations of firms. In order to grow, firms need to focus on labor, technology, marketing, investing, capital, and customers. This research focuses on the effect that interest rates have on businesses\u27 performance in European countries, particularly in nations that are members of the European Union but are not in the Eurozone such as Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Sweden as well as East European nations that are neither members of the EU nor the Eurozone such as Albania, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Ukraine. Using 1995-2019 data from the statistical websites of each country and the World Bank, this study finds that interest rates have a negative effect on firms\u27 performance in these European countries

The Dream Thief

In a world where humans are granted with the ability to live lucidly in their dreams, seventeen year old Saturn is incapable. Saturn believed she was unable to dream at all, that was until a scientist, Dr. Robino, revealed she is capable of much more: entering the dreams of others. When she begins to invade the dreams of her architect neighbor Fawn, she starts to question Dr. Robino\u27s morals

The Neoliberal Attack on Education: Burnout for Teachers and Increased Exposure to Student Food Insecurity Amid COVID-19 in Low-Income School Districts

Background The United States education system has long been broken. Neoliberal policies disproportionately impact under-resourced and highly segregated school districts, where most students are at or below the poverty line and are also ethnic or racial minorities. These policies are evident when reviewing high stakes standardized tests which prioritize accountability and competition. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers nationally reported higher levels of burnout than working adults in any other profession, and this is disproportionately escalating in low-income and urban districts. As another consequence of the pandemic, teachers in under-resourced schools are exposed to higher levels of student food insecurity, frequently paying out of pocket to provide for their students. The aim of this study is to demonstrate how flaws in the current education system perpetuate systemic inequality and disproportionately affect educators in under-resourced schools. Additionally, this study intends to shed light on the personal experiences of teachers and what they concede to be the greatest barriers in the pedagogical field, and what they wish others would recognize to create change in the educational system. Methods This qualitative study utilizes semi-structured, in-depth interviews. Seven participants were randomly selected online from the Schenectady school district teacher directory and are actively employed in the district. The sample group consisted of one teacher from VanCorlaer Elementary School, three teachers from Oneida Middle School, one teacher from Mont Pleasant Middle School, and two teachers from Schenectady High School. Interviews were conducted in person or via Zoom and were recorded, manually transcribed, and thematically analyzed. Results Eight key themes and various sub themes emerged in relation to the aim of this study. The eight key themes were: COVID related stressors, neoliberalism in schools, burnout, compassion fatigue, and secondary traumatic stress, teacher support resources, teachers\u27 labor conditions and district politics that increase burnout and undermine self-efficacy, teachers\u27 response to student food insecurity, what teachers concede to be the common barriers that are exacerbated by poverty for students in their district, and what they identified as their hopes for the future. Veteran teachers demonstrated signs of compassion fatigue, while younger teachers showed symptoms of secondary traumatic stress. All participants exhibited burnout, and all participants reported student food insecurity related to poverty in their classrooms. All participants stated that accountability policies undermined their self-efficacy and expressed numerous concerns regarding standardized testing. All participants also agreed that the educational system was flawed and adversely affected their district because of socioeconomic factors. Conclusions Empathy needs to be encouraged and supported in the teaching profession rather than seen as a weakness. To decrease levels of compassion fatigue, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress, policymakers must acknowledge that teachers in low-income districts have high exposure to adverse childhood experiences that make it difficult for them to teach efficiently. In relation to neoliberalism, all participants stated that teaching for the test is not working, and that policymakers must address that the education system is not one size fits all. They explained that standardization and policies that prioritize accountability disproportionately and adversely affects both themselves and their students in low-income school districts. Teachers expressed that the field of education needs to be professionalized to encourage others to enter the profession. Teachers additionally stated that if they felt heard, valued, and supported, they would be more satisfied with their job and less likely to leave the profession earlier. Just because everyone went to school does not mean that they are an expert on education. Listening to the concerns of teachers who are on the frontlines in educating the next generation is vital to create effective change. To empower educators, we must allocate resources for low-income schools and accept that the current education system is inequitable

The Impact of Weight and Race on Perceptions of Anorexia Nervosa

Objective: This study examined how weight and race impact stigma, perceived need for treatment, and perceived severity of the condition for individuals with anorexia nervosa. Method: Four hundred eighty-one participants were recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk; 311 were used in analysis. Participants completed two scales (RIBS and CAMI) that measured previous exposure to mental illness. Participants were randomly assigned to one of five conditions in which they read a passage (vignette) about a White or Black woman with anorexia nervosa (underweight), atypical anorexia nervosa (overweight) or major depressive disorder (control condition). Participants completed three post-vignette scales that assessed stigma toward the woman in the vignette, perceived need for treatment and perceived severity of the condition, and fat-phobia beliefs. Results: Two separate linear regressions were run to examine the effect of the demographic characteristics of the participants on the items that measured stigma (stigma assessment) and perceived need for treatment and perceived severity of the disorder (mental health literacy scale). Post-hoc MANOVAs were run with the significant demographic variables as covariates alongside the RIBS, CAMI, and Fat Phobia scales; vignette weight and race were assessed as independent variables and the stigma assessment and mental health literacy scale were assessed as dependent variables. Neither analyses yielded significant results for Vignette Weight, Vignette Race, or for Vignette Weight x Vignette Race. The BMI of participants had a significant effect on the stigma assessment and mental health literacy scales, and education level had a significant effect on the mental health literacy scale. Discussion: Future research should examine how other factors or identities (such as gender and sexual orientation) impact stigma and perceptions of eating disorder severity. Future research should extend the current study by using different study designs and providing participants with visual stimuli. The current study has important implications for the diagnosis and treatment of anorexia nervosa