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 | 11 November 2008
Encouraging adolescents with same-sex attractions to identify as gay has no scientific or ethical justification.
Character-based sex education
Thomas Lickona | 08 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 | 10 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
