Backgrounders

The MercatorNet Backgrounders are crisp and incisive commentaries written by experts on a range of hot-button issues in the news.

These will eventually include moral relativism, libertarianism, democracy, cloning, IVF, family life and TV and the internet, international debt relief, responsible parenthood, politicians and conscience, end-of-life issues, tolerance and fatherhood.

Educators will find the resource centre an invaluable resource for all kinds of students.

Same-sex attraction in adolescents

Dale O’Leary, Richard P. Fitzgibbons and Peter Kleponis | 10 November 2008

Encouraging adolescents with same-sex attractions to identify as gay has no scientific or ethical justification.

Character-based sex education

Thomas Lickona | 07 December 2007

Because we need good character to guide our sexual lives, sexuality education must be character education.

Utilitarianism

Stephen Buckle | 06 January 2007

Probably the most persuasive ethical theory in contemporary ethical debates in the media and in politics is utilitarianism. Here philosopher Stephen Buckle, of the Australian Catholic University, analyses its main features.

The Da Vinci Code

John Flader | 20 May 2006

The best-selling novel of all time, now a major motion picture, has numerous inaccuracies and distortions which are outlined in this backgrounder by Father John Flader.

Women’s fashion

Carolyn Moynihan | 30 November 2005

The way we dress – and in particular the way women dress – is a sign of who we are and how we wish to act in the world. It is vital that we get this language right, says Carolyn Moynihan.

Single-sex schooling

Andrew Mullins | 03 August 2005

Comparing the benefits of single-sex education and coeducation.

Parenting for character

Andrew Mullins | 09 June 2005

Good parents do more than give their children affection and provide for their needs. They must plan how they will shape their children’s character, says Andrew Mullins.

Cyber-safety

William West | 15 May 2005

The internet is transforming the way people learn about the world. With nearly everything they want to know somewhere on the web, it can be a fascinating place. But it is also dangerous, both for your computer and for you and your children. In this backgrounder, William West outlines some technical strategies for ensuring that your forays into cyberspace will be safe.

Morning-after pill

Anne Williams | 12 May 2005

Many governments believe that the best way to stem rising numbers of unwanted pregnancies, especially amongst teenagers, is to make emergency contraception, or the morning-after pill, freely available. Ethically and medically, this is very misguided, argues Dr Anne Williams, a British family doctor.

Stem cell research

Amin Abboud | 12 May 2005

Regenerative medicine is an exciting new field with enormous potential for repairing damaged organs and body parts with human stem cells. But if their source is human embryos, there is a serious ethical difficulty. The destruction of human beings for the sake of their stem cells is ethically unacceptable. The author of this backgrounder is Dr Amin Abboud, a medical doctor and bioethicist who teaches at the University of New South Wales in Sydney.

Same-sex unions

Dwight Duncan | 12 May 2005

The Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and Canada have granted formal legal recognition to same-sex unions which are equated to marriage. This MercatorNet backgrounder discusses the moral and practical difficulties of allowing gay couples to marry. The author, Dwight Duncan, is a professor of constitutional law at Southern New England School of Law.

Population

Dermot Grenham | 12 May 2005

Many people still feel that a burgeoning population is responsible for a wide range of political and social problems. Dermot Grenham summarises the controversies over shortages of natural resources and degradation of the environment and argues that these problems can be solved. The real issue confronting the world is ageing and declining populations.

Euthanasia

Brian Pollard | 12 May 2005

In our ageing societies, many people fear that they will end their days in pain and ask whether death at the hands of a doctor might be an answer. But Dr Brian Pollard says that euthanasia is a dangerous and inhumane solution.