Essays About Issues In Social Sciences

By Roberto Miguel Rodriguez

This is a collection of essays about a variety of issues in the social sciences: child abuse, child pornography, education, computers in schools, Descartes, Erasmus, Metacognition, Skinner, health care in Latin American nations, Public relations in the public sector, Racism and Sociobiology, The challenges of delivering online courses for populations in poverty, the family in Russian literature, the Hmong population in Minnesota, Psi and Zen Budhism, diplomacy's changes in the last century, how do markets work, real competition in the different cases of monopolies, reflections about the Constitution of Liberty, Reflections of the Ambassador of a Small Country, among others.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Oct 10, 2011
• ISBN: 9781105129223

Book preview

Essays About Issues In Social Sciences

Essays About Issues In Social Sciences

Roberto M. Rodriguez

Copyright © 2011 Lulu Press. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by mimeograph or any other means, without permission in writing from the publisher.

IBSN:  978-1-105- 12922-3

Table of Contents

Essays About Issues In Social Sciences

Sexual Abuse: The Case of Child Pornography

An Analysis of Using Apple Computers in the Georgia Department of Education

Hitler's Leadership Style

Metacognition

B. F. Skinner

Latin America and the Caribbean: Do Rich Countries Have the Best Health Care?

Cuba Is Not an Example of Anything Good

Public Relations in the Education Sector

Racism: The Most Detrimental Outcome of Sociobiology

Hmong Immigrant Culture in Minnesota

The Challenges of Delivering On-line Courses for Populations in Poverty Zones in Latin America

An Analysis of the Family as Portrayed in Anna Karenina, Fathers and Sons and The Golovlyov Family

I. The family in Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina,

II. The family in Turgenov’s Fathers and Sons

III. The family in Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin’s The Golovlyov Family.

IV. Concluding Comments: Comparison and Contrasts

Bibliography

The Baby Zoomers' Health Care Needs and Longevity Will Transform America

Victimization of Juveniles: The Case of Child or Underage Pornography

Why I Believe in Some Psi and Not in Others

Zen Budhism: A Sect of Mahayana

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sexual Abuse: The Case of Child Pornography

Introduction

Child pornography is the production of pictures or films of sexual acts with children. It is currently viewed as the most reprehensible part of the porn industry, because it produces such an obvious victim, the child or juvenile model (Dietz, 1983, p. 30). Children, by virtue of their developmental level, cannot give true informed consent to participate in such activities, and the potential for doing psychological damage to them is great. Many states have relatively recent moved to outlaw this type of pornography, making it illegal to photograph or sell such materials. Prior to 1977, only two states had laws specifically prohibiting the use of children in obscene materials and performances. As of 1984, 49 states prohibited the production of child pornography and 36 prohibited its distribution (Burgess, 1998, p. 101). Today, virtually all states have such laws, and it is a federal offense to involve children or underage juveniles in pornography that passes interstate by any means. It is also illegal to import such materials into the United States (Goldstein, 1997, p. 77).

Child pornography is a profitable business. An advertisement in the magazine Screw offered $ 200 for young girl-models and dozens of parents responded. A reporter covering the scene said: Some parents appeared in the movie with their children; others merely allowed their children to have sex. One little girl, age 11, who ran crying from the bedroom after being told to have sex with a man of 40 protested. Mommy, I can’t do it. You have to do it, her mother answered. We need the money".  And, of course, the little girl did (Anson, 1997, p. B-25).

Some major, well-known film could easily be classified as child pornography. Taxi Driver, featured Jodie Foster as a 12-year old prostitute. And Pretty Baby launched the career of Brooke Shields, playing the role of a 12-year old brothel prostitute in New Orleans. Brooke himself was 12 years old when the film was made (Schwartz-Nobel, 1998, p. 67).

The child pornography business is extremely secretive, so statistics must be regarded as approximations. However, it is estimated that of the $ 2.5 million porn industry, about $ 1 billion is from child pornography; each year 1.2 million children are involved in commercial sex, either prostitution or pornography, and often both; most runways can survive only as prostitutes or by posing for pornography (US Congress, 1994, p. 23). Each year there are more than one million runaway children. Covenant House in New York City shelters 5,000 runaway each year. Over 2,000 of them are involved in pornography and prostitution, and of this number, more than 1,000 are under 12 (Hurst, 1997, p. C-15; Ditkoff, 1998, p. 30).

A major study of offenders (the people who produce child pornography) and victims profiled the offender as follows: all of the 60 offenders studied were male. They ranged in age from 20 to 70, with an average age of 43. About 38 percent of them already had established a relationship with the child before the illicit activity began: they were family friends, or relatives, neighbors, teachers or counselors (Burgess, 1998, p. 99).

II.                 The users of child pornography

According to Kenneth Lanning, in the book Child Molesters: A Behavioral Analysis, the users of child pornography are pedophiles, who almost always collect child pornography like any other individual may collect stamps or coins. Child pornography is treasured by the pedophile and represents their most cherished sexual fantasies (Lanning, 1999, p. 24)

Many pedophiles compulsively and systematically save the collected material to validate their actions or as momentos and souvenirs. They like to share their pornography to gain strong reinforcement from other like-minded persons. Collections of child pornography includes books, magazines, articles, photographs, negatives, slides, movies, albums, drawings, audiotapes, videotapes and equipment, personal letters, diaries, clothing and sexual aids. Some child abusers even collect pubic hair from their victims (Ruberti, 1996, p. 18).

Sex offenders use child pornography mainly for eight different reasons: (a) to aid in sexual arousal and gratification; (b) to reassure oneself that one’s behavior is shared by thousands of others and, therefore, is not abnormal; (c) to seduce children, lower children’s inhibitions and as part of the grooming process to model sexual behavior; (d) to blackmail the child into keeping silent about the abuse; (e) to preserve a child’s youth in an image at the age of sexual preference; (f) to establish trust and camaraderie with other pedophiles; (g) to get access to other markets and children by exchanging material with other pedophiles and (h) to produce and sell for profit (Lanning, 1999, p. 36).

III.              Effects of child pornography on children

When a child is videotaped or photograph, there is always a victim. The redistribution of those products repeats that victimization over and over even after many years. Children who have been exposed to pornography may be desensitized and socialized into believing that pornographic activity is normal for children. Children who have been used in the production of pornography show a multitude of symptoms: emotional withdrawal, antisocial behavior, mood swings, depression, fear and anxiety. They are at high risk to later become perpetrators themselves. The most destructive feelings those children carry is guilt and shame (Child Pornography, Australian Commission Against Child Pornography, December 2000, p. 1-4).

IV.              Sex rings

One important part of the child pornography and prostitution business is the child ring. This refers to cases in which a group of children are involved with an adult, either engaging in sexual acts with the adult or posing as models for the filming of pornographic materials. In the solo ring, one adult operates alone with a small group of children. In the syndicated ring, there is a well-structured organization of adults formed for recruiting children, producing the pornography, delivering child prostitution, and recruiting customers (Geiser, 1999, p. 53).

A study of 66 children who had been involved in sex ring operations documented the damaging psychological consequences for the children (Hyde, 1996, p. 188). Because the child is forced so prematurely into adult sexual activity, there is difficulty integrating the physical, emotional, and psychological aspects of sexuality. Some children deal with the forced physical activity by separating their emotions from the physical aspects of sex. Some repress the events so that they cannot consciously remember their occurrence. Most learn that sex is to be shrouded in secrecy, and some become programmed to use sex to get attention and bolster their failing sense of self-esteem.

V.                 Sources and types of child pornography

Pornography can generally be broken down into two basic types that can be used to define the action depicted. The first is often referred to as soft core child pornography. Here, the material does not show actual sexual acts. It includes depictions of naked children and underage juveniles involved with other children or adults in sexual acts. However, soft-core pornography only shows simulations or depictions that veil the act by interposing the body or other object between the camera and the action (American Bar Association, 1994, p. 3).

The second type is often referred as hard core child pornography. In this type, the actual act is explicitly depicted. It includes the depiction of penetration and ejaculation.

The types of acts depicted in child and underage juvenile pornography are limited only by the imagination, either in single activity solo or in activity with others. In single activity, children are depicted naked, in various poses accentuating the genitals or simply posed in normal ready-for-action position (O’Brian, 1998, p. 78). It may show them engaged in simple manual masturbation or using foreign objects. In activity with others, children may be depicted in sexual acts with children and/or adults. The activity may be with one or more individuals or with animals. Child pornography, like that of the adult world, may also involve violence wherein children are tortured, beaten, and physically abused for those who are interested in sadomasochistic acts or discipline. It also depicts children tied up, bound, and gagged for the bondage crowd. There are also cases of snuff films, involving the actual mutilation and murder of children (O’Brian, 1998, p. 123).

VI.              Commercial and homemade child pornography

Another distinction in child pornography involves the manner of production. Commercial child pornography includes matter that is professionally produced and printed, generally in large quantities, with paid models and production staff. The main difference between this and other types of pornography is that this matter is produced with the intention of making money. This matter comes in various forms, including magazines, films, videotapes, and single pictures or a set of pictures (National Legal Data Center, undated).

Homemade child pornography is produced and distributed by either an individual or groups of individuals who produce it at home and distribute it by trading it or selling it among the underground, or keep it for themselves. The major reason for producing this type of matter is for sexual gratification, that of either the individual producer or others who may see it. The type of matter this group produces is generally limited in scope by the sophistication of those within the group (Petruzzellis, 1998, p. 17).

Both types of pornography may be produced in original form by the individuals involved or reproduced from existing material. The extent of commercial child pornography is only a very small part of the overall problem. Very few of the many individuals who make their own child pornography ever send it to a commercial producer. The number of people who use this homemade material for personal use and exchange outnumber the commercial producers (US Congress, 1994, p. 60).

There is another facet to the provision of material to commercial producers. Although the original taker of the pictures intends to use the photos only for his own pleasure or for exchange, he has no such assurances from those to whom he sends them. It is not uncommon for the party who receives the material in exchange or on loan to send it to a commercial pornographer after copying it.

VII.           Technical and simulated child pornography

The federal Child Protection Act of 1984 defines a child as anyone under the age of 18. Therefore, a sexually explicit photograph of a 17-year old girl is technically child pornography. However, such a photograph might be of sexual interest to more than pedophiles.

The production, distribution, and, in some cases, possession of such child pornography is usually investigated under the child pornography statutes. However, consumers of such materials are not necessarily pedophiles.

On the other hand, sexually explicit photographs of 19-year or older males or females are not legally child pornography. But if the person portrayed in such materials is young looking, dressed young or made up to look young (hair in pigtails, shaved vagina, etc.) the material could be of interest to pedophiles. This is simulated child pornography, designed to appeal to the pedophile, but is not legally child pornography because the individuals portrayed are over 18 (Dietz, 1998, p. 30).

VIII.        Methods of distribution

All methods of distribution are illegal, and, therefore, clandestine. There are basically three methods of distribution: hand-to-hand, travel, and mailing. In hand-to-hand distribution, those involved in the transaction know each other. The buyer or trader either knows the seller from past experience or has been referred to him by someone the seller knows. For example, in the few commercial pornography shops that still handle child pornography transactions, the store will not sell to anyone unless it knows the buyer from past experience. In the underground exchange, people doing the trading, buying, and/or selling are just as leery as the commercial operators because of their awareness of police sting operations. For this reason, the majority of transactions are done through the mail. Child pornography is advertised in underground publications or by the commercial producers themselves in poop sheet mailings and the pornography itself. The majority of exchanges occur through an informal network within the underground. The mail order business offers virtual anonymity to both the seller and the buyer.

Because of the illegality of the production of child pornography, it is generally done in secret. Individuals who take pictures of children are involved with telling the children not to say anything, and take great measures to ensure that the pornography is not discovered. Their collections are hidden in various ways to avoid discovery, and they use the type of production equipment that will ensure they are not found out accidentally.

The type of medium used to produce child pornography may vary according to the sophistication of the offender. All manners of visual print media have been found to contain child pornography: photographs, slides, videotapes, motion pictures, magazines, newsprint, drawings, and comic books/cartoons. A child porn operator was found to have over $ 20,000 worth of photography equipment and over 900,000 color slides of child pornography. Investigators found that he had traveled outside the United States to obtain children as photo subjects. Another child photographer was found to have both photography equipment and videotape duplication equipment. Through his business records and customer files, he was found to have done several hundred thousand dollars worth of business in a year’s time and was found to have over 300 master tapes and films containing child porn. Another arrest found a pornographer with films, videotapes, and equipment, and a computer to keep his records straight (Goldstein, 1997, p. 42).

The use of instant developing film and cameras, videotape, and home labs for developing and printing their material is extremely common. In the United States, some people use fast photo services (which use mechanical devices to develop, print, and package the film and prints) to avoid discovery, if they are not sophisticated enough to do it themselves. For example, a man was found to have given 185 35-mm color slides of boys 16 and 17 years old involved in sexual activities to a drugstore photo service for developing. The slides were discovered by computer failure. The man was found to have sold the pictures he had previously printed from the slides to child pornography producers, who in turn published them in magazines. Police also found that he had advertised the photographs in underground publications (Ruberti, 1996, p. 133). It is believed that the United States provides the largest single source of child pornography photos to commercial producers. Western European nations are second, and Asia and the rest of the world are close behind.

With few exceptions, all commercial producers of child and underage juvenile pornography are dependent on the commercial amateur producer for new materials. The commercial operators advertise within their own publications and those in the underground for the amateur to send them material. Depending on the content and age of the child depicted in the material, an individual may make as much as several hundred dollars. Here is a typical ad in a child pornography magazine calling for submission of materials:

"Turn your old