HOW MANY CHILDREN? (A clear 60 on a proficiency exam)

      Overpopulation has become an issue of great concern and controversy all over the world. The increase in the number of people has lead to many problems such as unemployment, low quality of public services and high levels of pollution. Limiting the number of children per family is considered by some to be a way of stabilizing population growth.The number of children a family can have should be limited by law.

     First of all, the number of children a family can have should be limited to avoid overpopulation. Increasing the number of people means increasing the use of power supplies. In other words, people have many needs such as food, safety, transport  and they use many resources to meet their needs. This leads to a reduction of sources of  energy . Access to sources of energy is a veryimportant  issue that can be linked to inter country warfare. Moreover, overpopulation can cause environmental pollution such as air and water pollution. More factories are opened to meet the people’s needs. These factories create air and water pollution with their wastes.

       Another issue is about parents’interest. As thenumber of children in the family increases, the care and attention devoted to each child decreases. This means parents can devote more  time to fewer children. Children receive their first and fundamental education from their parents, so the interest of the parents in their children is very important. Some kids grow up in the streets. It is a good thing that children play with their peers in the streets but if parents do not pay attention to their children, they can get close to kids who have bad habits.

       It has been said that children are economic power for their family. For example, for a farming family, children are the workers who will work in the field. For some families also, children are a source of income because they work to support their family financially. However,this argument is not actually logical.As thenumber of children increases, the per capita income decreases. It is easier to meet the needs of fewer children. As the number of children in the family increases, this becomes more difficult. Furthermore, as the number of children increases, the sharing of inheritance becomes more difficult. This sharing can even cause  conflict between siblings.

       In conclusion, laws should restrict the number of children a family can have. Although this seems to be undemocratic,  it is important for the society’s future. The important thing is not  to raise a lot of children but to raise moral and educated children.

MELEK KARAKUZU

THE CAUSES OF POVERTY

Everyone wishes to maintain a certain standard of living and enjoy a certain quality of life in society. At the very least, they wish to be able to afford their basic requirements and pay the bills. In order to do so, they seek gainful employment which they often find but sometimes do not. The lack of regular or an adequate income results in poverty which impacts the individual in question and his immediate social circle and family. There are various reasons for poverty of this kind some of which are linked to the political and economic landscape and some to the individual himself.

The current situation of a country can have a direct impact on the financial situation of an individual. Political uncertainty and/or civil war for example can destroy livelihoods and the customary way of life of citizens leaving them destitute and in need of aid and handouts from charitable organizations. An obvious example is modern day Syria where the civil war has destroyed communities, homes, livelihoods and a whole way of life. Another is Rakhine state which, due to the actions of Myanmar authorities, is being erased and from which the locals have been fleeing to neighboring Bangladesh. Macroeconomic problems in the country can also have a devastating effect on individuals. High inflatio , like in the case of modern day Venezuela or Zimbabwe, can make the salary or wages earned by people completely worthless very quickly. The rapid drop in the value of currency in both these countries has created mass poverty on an enormous scale. In cases such as these, there is very little individuals can do except, perhaps, up sticks and migrate.

Demographics can also be linked to poverty. In most developed countries, there is a smaller dependent population with respect to the working population who are generating an income and contributing to the economy. The dependent population, the children and the elderly, can thus be cared for by the resulting welfare state. Services like education, healthcare, home help and even government housing can be provided for free reducing overall poverty. Not so in developing and especially underdeveloped countries. In places such as these, there is a large young population; in other words, there is a huge dependent population competing for basic services and jobs. That they cannot all be helped in countries such as these which are also wrestling with economic problems and perhaps political uncertainty also goes without saying. The inevitable result is poverty and this is the fate of many youth in third world countries for example. In short, if one is unfortunate enough to be born in countries such as these, one is likely to have to struggle with poverty.

An individual may be faced with poverty for reasons unconnected to those listed above as well. In this age of rapidly developing technology and automation, certain hitherto viable professions are disappearing to be replaced by new ones. Labour intensive work and monotonous routine work is now being done by robots and computers leaving the people who used to do this kind of work without the ability to make a living. There is no call, in other words, for unskilled workers any longer. The sorts of people who are in demand are those with skills that are applicable to the 21^st century. Those who do not possess these skills, those who find it difficult or impossible to retrain and those who are perhaps too old to learn new skills may, therefore, be faced with poverty as there is no longer any call for what they have to offer. The key here is not to be left behind.

In conclusion, poverty may be a consequence of the times and circumstances one is living in or of a lack of training and education. The latter can be dealt with through individual effort and determination. The former is harder for the individual to deal with in the short term. The demographics of the country can only be bettered by means of government policy. The same goes for political stability and economic reform. Both need to be tackled on a nationwide basis with the correct government policies. Poverty can, therefore, become a life sentence in some cases, something global charities need to keep in mind.  

TATOOS AND PIERCING IN THE WORKPLACE

People have always worn clothes of one sort or another for protection from the weather, to fit in with the customs and way of life of the society in which they lived and to look good. The type of apparel has always varied across the world in accordance with climatic conditions and what was available in the region. Another common practice to complete the look people desired to achieve for one reason or another was to make use of adornment of various sorts. This often consisted of precious metals such as gold or silver which was beaten into intricate shapes and designs and embellished with precious stones. Jewelry of this sort came in the form of rings, tiaras, necklaces, bracelets and body piercing. The final form of body adornment was the practice of applying paint to the body in the form of makeup and tattoos. These practices have been around for a long time and are part of our culture so to suddenly turn round and declare that piercing and tattoos are in appropriate in the work place is completely illogical.

The use of makeup and body decoration of all sorts, including tattoos, has important cultural dimensions. In many parts of Africa for instance, the application of tattoos is an important part of the ceremony celebrating becoming an adult. The young person shows of both his tattoos and the body scaring he receives with pride. In a democratic country, it makes no kind of sense to argue that tattoos are acceptable for some and not for others. After all, in the global world, the human resources department of any big firm could be faced with applications from all over the world. Telling a qualified person who could be of great benefit to a company to have his tattoos removed and reapply would land the company in court. It follows that what is acceptable for some should be acceptable to all. A company cannot fight long established customs just because it hasn’t seen them very often. Fashion is a global business and is no longer restricted to small areas of the world.

The same is true is for body piercing which, contrary to what some may think, wasn’t discovered by hippies; it was around long before teenagers starting piercing their tongues, belly buttons and noses. The best known form of body piercing is ear rings and even our prehistoric ancestors wore them. There is no country in the world where ear rings are never seen. Telling people applying for a job that they can pierce their ears but not their noses would infuriate applicants from India or the Middle East where nose piercing, “hızma”, has been around for eons. Checking belly buttons and asking people to stick their tongues out during interviews would land the company on the front pages of the tabloids and all over the internet in seconds. The resulting negative publicity and court cases concerning unfair treatment are just not worth the hassle whatever the private views of the H.R. department are. All that has happened in the modern world is that the practice has spread to other parts of the world, something fashion tends to do.

The way an individual decides to present himself to the world is also a matter of choice. People are free in their choice of clothes, the colors and designs they decide to sport and the accessories they decide to complete their outfits with. Some wear jeans, some prefer dresses, others wear suits. Some prefer light makeup; some prefer a lot more and yet others prefer none. Some buy cosmetics, some wear henna and others have tattoos. Some wear valuable jewelry; some wear dress jewelry. Some wear ear rings; others pierce their noses or their belly buttons. Some wear bracelets on their wrists; others wear then round their ankles. People cannot be up in arms about some forms of body adornment and not others; it is irrational to say the least.

There are fields where some body piercing or any kind of jewelry may be inappropriate for various reasons. One such field is medicine: doctors and nurses are obliged to put the safety of patients above all else. You cannot have a surgeon excusing herself because her ring got tangled in the patient’s entrails for example. Hygiene needs to be maintained at hospitals hence the white coats, scrubs, the lack of jewelry and the disinfectant hand-washes. The same goes for the army where the apparel sported needs to be practical in terms of the job that needs to be done, defending the country and fighting the enemy. However, although jewelry may be impractical in both these professions, tattoos create no practical problems in terms of security and hygiene and are, therefore, logically perfectly acceptable.

The world of fashion includes both what we wear and how we accessorize. What aspects of fashion one decides to follow is a matter of individual choice. This choice is determined both by individual preferences and practical considerations. Workplaces would do better to shift their focus to applicants’ skills and talents and what they can do for the company. They should avoid being sidetracked by irrelevant details such as body piercing and tattoos.

THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF GOLD MINING

Gold is one of the most precious elements in the world; it has been used for centuries as a status symbol of status and a medium of exchange.  As a result,  gold mining has an important place in world trade. Gold mining companies generate a huge amount of revenue and make huge profits. Generally, people who use gold in their life do not care how it is produced but the extraction of gold is a difficult process. Although many countries consider it an advantage, gold mining has many negative impacts on both humans and the environment.

The first negative effect of gold mining  concerns the generation of toxic waste. Companies generate at least 180 million tons of toxic waste  every year. Unfortunately, the toxic waste includes cyanide and various heavy metals such as mercury. These kinds of detrimental substances are dumped into rivers, seas and oceans so this situation leads to water pollution.Because of this reason, many living creatures die. This situation not only affects oceans’ ecosystem negatively but also  people’s health. When the chemicals enter the body, they directly affect people’s central nervous system and may lead to  death. Furthermore, bad mining practices can release greenhouse gasses. For example, methane is 20 times more powerful than carbon dioxide and it leads to black lung disease among miners and those who live nearby.

The second negative effect of gold mining is that gold mines change the lives of indigenous people who live around gold mines, and this dramatic change affects them negatively.  In many parts of the world, indigenous people still exist and they live according to their traditions. However, companies need very large areas to create gold mines so, they try to send indigenous people to different places. When indigenous people do not want to go to another place, companies who work with governments cause  people to die because governments practically kill their  own citizens. Countries where gold mines exist are often very poor and the governments can be easily bribed by gold mining corporations. Thus, the governments become directly involved in the displacement of their own citizens. Furthermore, establishing golden mines  leads to deep divisions in communities over who benefits from the mine and who does not so this situation often leads to civil unrest and social upheavals

To sum up, there are some negative impacts of gold mining. Authorities must find solutions to minimize the damage caused by gold mines. Especially the damage it gives to the environment is very harmful for the future.

OF COURSE MEN AND WOMEN CAN BE FRIENDS

Throughout history, men and women have lived together in society, initially struggling for survival, and later forming families and communities in which they cooperated and interacted. Rubbing shoulders in workplaces, in the home, on the streets and thoroughfares meant they had to learn to get along coordinate their behavior, cooperate in daily activities, share hobbies and interests and learn from each other. Such continual interaction requires a degree of friendship and understanding, which is after all natural. Claiming that men and women cannot be friends is completely illogical.

In the modern world, the traditional roles of men and women have undergone a transformation. In the past, women were expected to get a more limited education as they were destined to get married, keep house and care for their children. Their domain was the home and in that sense, it was more limited than men’s. The latter were expected to provide for their family and thus worked outside the home. They had far more experience of life and were often far better educated. This being the case, it could be claimed that men and women had less in common. Yet even marriage cannot be imagined without friendship and companionship as many spouses the world over will attest.

In the modern world, this is no longer the case. Women have entered the workforce and the business world. All professions are now open to everyone regardless of gender. The same is true in terms of educational opportunities: women can go to college and do graduate work. They become doctors, scientists, lawyers and economists. They enter politics and rule nations. They fight shoulder to shoulder with men in national armies. In short, their interests and concerns are much the same as men’s and as such, have plenty to share with them. The notion that women are not capable of grasping the complexities of anything outside the home and as such have nothing to share with men is an archaic notion with no merit. The world has changed, roles in society have changed bringing everyone closer together and providing for richer personal experiences regardless of gender.

Procreation is a natural instinct in all mammals including human beings. People, like all animals, wish their progeny to survive after them and continue to thrive. This does not mean, however, that this is all people think about. Claiming that men and women cannot be friends because there may be intimacy issues is degrading to men and women, and grossly unfair considering all the true friendships that exist between men and women. Human beings are highly complex beings and do not have one track minds. Women are not chattel and are not seen as such in all but the most backward areas of the world. In most modern democracies in The West, gender is no longer an issue; men and women interact on an equal footing in all walks of life thus enjoying richer and more fulfilling relationships with each other.

We are no longer living in the Stone Age; the world has moved on. The times have changed and traditional belief systems have been overthrown. Universal suffrage and widespread access to education have brought about enormous changes in the way members of society interact with each other. Men and women had been missing out; now they are not, and the world is a better place because of it.

  

TEENAGERS AND THEIR PEER GROUP

The teenage period is probably one of the most difficult periods in a person’s life. All manner of physical changes are taking place in the body, hormones are raging and cognitive development is still taking place. The person is neither a child nor an adult, his character is still being formed and he is very susceptible. It is no wonder that gangs, terrorist groups, cults and the like target impressionable teenagers rather than adults. This being the case, most parents worry continuously about their teenage children and the issue is made more problematic by the fact that they no longer have the kind of control over their lives that they had when the teenagers were much younger. The teenagers’ social circle has vastly expanded and so have the sources of influence in his life. His peers take pride of place among the various forces exerting an influence over teenagers’ life and it is the former’s view of life that is adopted not the latter’s.

An important point to realize is that as children get older, their social circle expands to include all the various people they come across in their life and by far the largest group they become a part of is their peers. People are, by nature, social creatures not loners so being accepted by this group is paramount. This being the case, standing out is not an option; fitting in is. The desire to fit in, be trendy and not weird means teenagers follow the latest trends in fashion wearing, for example, baggy jeans, oversized T-shirts, crop-tops, ripped jeans and the like in contrast to their parents who may go in for pants suits, pencil skirts and silk blouses or shirts. They may get into arguments with their parents to get their noses, ears, tongues or belly-buttons pierced or to get tattoos. They may die their hair pink and have weird haircuts.  Parents have no choice but to grin and bear it. If they try to interfere in any way implement changes, they will be fighting a losing battle as world war three will break out.

Change, one must remember, is a fact of life one is incapable of fighting. As Bob Dylan so aptly put it “The times they are a – changing”. He also recommends that parents should realize that their “sons and their daughters are beyond their command” and keep up. This is a bitter pill to swallow but such is the case. Parents will never be the major source of influence in their teenage child’s life anymore as the latter have entered a social group they value much more highly: their peers. Thus parents who enjoy classical music and who carted their child off to piano lessons for years may be horrified to discover that the said “child” now prefers grunge or heavy metal, wants to play the drums and wouldn’t be seen dead with his parents at a Mozart recital. He hangs posters of strange looking people in his room, is very protective of his private space, locks his bedroom door and posts a “do not enter sign”.  Family meals become a drag, and family outings begin to feel like a visit to the dentist.

Carpe diem becomes the motto of the teenager, who wishes to enjoy the moment and do things for a laugh in contrast to his poor parents, who are constantly thinking of the future and planning for it. The rift grows, parents and everything they do is deemed boring and communication is reduced to grunts and monosyllables. Risky behavior and the accompanying adrenalin rush are in, and sensible pastimes are often out. The desire for new experiences may put teenagers at risk, which is a constant worry for parents, but the grip the peer group has on teenagers is relentless. They may experiment with drugs or alcohol, go joy riding or shop lifting. They may do all manner of crazy things for a dare as their parents look on helplessly and try to pick up the pieces. In short, living with a teenager is truly difficult and stressful.

One piece of comfort is that the teenage period is part of growing up and it doesn’t continue forever.  Kids grow up, come to their senses, learn from their experiences and often become useful members of society. An important thing to remember is that despite the undisputed influence of the all mighty peer group, parents still have a crucial role to play in guiding the teenager through the choppy waters of the difficult period he is going through.

  

PARENTAL SUPERVISION AND THE INTERNET

In today’s world,usage of the internet has increased dramatically and children use the internet more than adults,unfortunately.Furthermore,some children are restricted by their parents,while others go online without parental supervision.Therefore,the latter group faces some problems while utilizing this global network.

The foremost problem is inappropriate content.Unfortunately,some parents do not know how the internet is used and  their children are not limited by parents because of parents’ lack of knowledge.While they use the internet, children encounter some harmful  content such as violence and pornography.For example,while children are playing  games online,there are many advertisements to click on and these advertisement may direct them to some websites that are full of videos consisting of war,torture and so on.If children watch these videos,they become prone to violence.On the other hand,when children go online ,they may be confronted  with pornographic content,too.Hence,use of the internet should not be possible without parental supervision.

Another problem is ill-intentioned people.There are some people who want to obtain supporters or are sexual predators.These people use the internet as much as children do because they know that there are so many children who go online without parental supervision and they can deceive them easily.For example,they  fool them by asking  for their parents’ credit card information or they trick them into joining their terrorist groups by offering small things such as clothes,computers even some snacks.

To sum up,use of the internet without parental supervision causes some problems,two of which are inappropriate content and ill-intentioned people.In my opinion,children may be unconcious while using  the internet,so they should go online with parental supervison.