The switching roles of moms and dads Research Proposal

The switching roles of moms and dads - Research Proposal Example Ebony (1999) makes this clear: ‘a generation of new millennium parents – mostly middle-class professionals – is blurring the traditional lines and writing new rules for child-rearing’. In summary, due to fundamental changes in the past half century, the economic and social roles of mothers and fathers have become interchangeable and flexible. Over the past half century or so, women have taken on a much more prominent role in the labor market, which has presumably meant a more equitable sharing of caregiving tasks between mothers and fathers, in those households where both parents are in residence. Amato (1994) was correct in proposing that ‘the massive movement of married women into the paid labor force disrupted the traditional division of labor within the nuclear family’ (p.1031). Indeed, he found that 67% of married mothers with children under 18 were in paid work, so that ‘mothers now share the breadwinning role with their husbands’ (Amato, 1994, p.1031). With the ready availability of effective contraceptives since the 1960s, women have been able to take full control of their reproductive lives, with many choosing to delay childbirth and starting a family until they feel that they have established a secure and successful career in their chosen sector. Additionally, the availability of widespread and affordable childcare allows many mothers to return to the workplace, sometimes soon after the birth of a child. The changing economic role of mothers is fully borne out in the figures. From 1948-2001, the percentage of working age women either in employment or looking for paid work rose from under 33% to over 60% (APA, 2010). In many families, the mother is at least as powerful an economic actor as the father, and often more so. For many, traditionally-prescribed gender roles and responsibilities have been dissolved, with decisions on the divisions of roles now

Animal Behavior Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Animal Behavior - Essay Example mental attack.† The tentative conclusion and the statement that the authors’ ideas are likely to change with time, does not actually make the suggestion convincing. The authors, however, present a wide spectrum of thoughts on the issue and describe several experiments that relate to the concept. The manner in which the arguments are presented need to be considered and their objectivity assessed, to make the overall argument worth consideration. The authors seem to have made several sweeping assumptions in order to narrow down the scope of the discussion. Thus they have been able to offer the reader a wide spectrum of ideas to ponder upon. An example would be the statement that most neuroscientists do not attempt to study consciousness either because it is a philosophical problem or because such study is premature. Discarding the philosophical aspects of the issue, the article goes on to argue that such study is not premature. No valid reasons are given for discarding the philosophical aspects, even as there is no dispute about the need to study the issue scientifically in the present time. I don’t think the issue can be approached purely from a scientific perspective without considering the philosophical aspects. The article dwells on several features and forms of consciousness and introduces the concept of â€Å"neuronal correlates of consciousness† or NCC. The force of the argument is substantially reduced by asserting that the assumptions are â€Å"tentative† and that â€Å"personal decisions† were taken to set aside several topics without further discussion. Further it goes on to state that a precise definition of consciousness was premature and that it was â€Å"not profitable† to make certain arguments. Such statements in a scientific, or at the very least an objective discussion, dilute its validity. However, visual consciousness, its uses, nature, characteristics and biological explanations etc, discussed in the works by others in the field are used,