AIDS and the Catholic Church :: HIV Religion Christianity Essays

AIDS and the Catholic Church As the AIDS epidemic in the United States advanced into the 1990s, it became clear that AIDS had a new target population. AIDS was no longer strictly a gay disease but was leaking into the general heterosexual population as well. Moreover, as the decade progressed, new cases of HIV infection were being increasingly identified in poor, minority communities. While the focus of the AIDS epidemic shifted from the high-profile male homosexual population to poor, minority communities, political activism and financial support for the fight against AIDS also began to decline. With the new limitations set by decreased public support and decreased financial resources, policy-makers, humanitarian organizations, and AIDS activists began to analyze how best to extend AIDS-related resources to these new target populations. The US Hispanic community is one such population for which new methods of AIDS programming is being sought. Hispanics comprise a rapidly growing portion of the US minority population but are still over-represented among new cases of HIV infection. According to the CDC, "In 2000, Hispanics represented 13% of the US population (including residents of Puerto Rico), but accounted for 19% of the total number of new US AIDS cases reported that year (8,173 of 42,156 cases)" (CDC 1). In contrast to the gay male communities of San Francisco and New York in the 1980s, Hispanics are lacking the financial resources to combat the spread of AIDS in their communities. As a matter of fact, the Hispanic poverty rate of 20% given by the US Census Bureau is about three times that of caucasians. Thus, it is likely that support for combating the spread of AIDS within the Hispanic population must come from an outside third party. Few institutions are in as ideal a position as the Catholic Church to address the AIDS epidemic in the US Hispanic community. A statistic from The Catholic Almanac says that 80% of US Hispanics are catholic, and hence the Catholic Church has a very influential presence in the Hispanic community. As a community-based institution with international backing, a catholic community church can draw on the resources of its arch-diocese to address community-specific issues. Therefore, an AIDS campaign disseminated through the catholic church would not necessarily rely on the financial support of those communities it benefits most -- namely poor, Hispanic communities. Such a campaign, the National Catholic AIDS Network, was established in 1989 as a resource for all catholic communities dealing with the struggle against AIDS.

Critical thinking and computer logic Essay

The goal of this paper is to identify the strengths and weaknesses that I possess and how they relate to my home life, work environment, and learning team at school. I also will layout a plan of action to address the correction of my weaknesses. Becoming aware of some of my weaknesses will be the first step to lead to self improvement. My ability to multitask is probably one of my best qualities as a worker. Being a member of a support team, the ability to multitask is essential. We are very busy department addressing customers with immediate demands. The ability to prioritize and multitask enables these tasks to be accomplished efficiently and successfully. Home life has many tasks; taking care of the dogs, daily maintenance and fixing up the house. My handling the multiple tasks of home life allows my wife flexibility in her work schedule. When working in a team environment at school or on the job, the ability to multitask can be an incredible skill for the group. This allows me to perform multiple tasks for the team I am on. It also gives the leader of the group the flexibility to delegate more to team members. Focus and dedication are other strengths that I possess. The ability to persevere and maintain the course of an assignment or job is a key to success. Being a long term student, this characteristic has enabled me to keep pushing toward the goal of a bachelor’s degree. There have been many times when I’ve wanted to give because the task seemed too hard but I pushed on. I have learned through experience how to bounce back from adversity. You never know what life is going to bring you and this trait can be invaluable. Being in the technical field, the ability to reeducate oneself and adapt is vital. The focus and dedication needed to stay on top of technology is crucial. These characteristics have also assisted me in balancing my home, work and school life. Being able to prioritize and put my family life first has helped me to persevere. My wife tells me and I tend to agree, that one of my greatest weaknesses is impatience. A lot of this is fueled by the good characteristics of  enthusiasm and hyperactivity, but nonetheless is a weakness. This impatience has led me to quit and start school several times. In my work and school life, impatience affects my ability as a team member. I have a very short fuse and do not often work well members who need extra help. This leads to another weakness; intolerance. I consider myself a compassionate person, but where work is related I am not very accepting of others weaknesses. My inability to remember when I was at that point hinders my ability to tutor or mentor a struggling co-worker or classmate. My impatience and intolerance at home is largely addressed towards myself. It has driven me to begin multiple projects around the house only to force myself into pure frustration when I can not finish them all as quickly as I would have liked due to other work and school obligations . I have similar problems at work and school. I tend to take on too many projects and spread myself too thin. I tend to be a person who is very self-critical and therefore I am very critical of my wife, co-workers and classmates. I sometimes have unreasonable expectations of myself and others. This weakness also makes it difficult to work in a team environment without conflict. Recognizing my strengths and becoming aware of my weaknesses is my first step towards self-improvement. The ability to ask for and receive feedback on these defects of character will be a very big asset in improving my personality as a whole. A lot of the impatience and intolerance I express towards others is usually an outward expression of how I feel towards myself. Through my faith and the practice of patience and tolerance towards others will lead me to my ultimate goal of having a servant’s heart. This ability to be unselfish at home, work, school, or wherever life may take me will enable me to achieve far more things than worldly success. Slowing down the number of projects at home will enable me to become less stressed and more focused on the tasks I need to complete. Using my ability to multitask does not mean I have to burn the candle at both ends. With the help, support, and feedback of those I am around, I will be able to improve myself and therefore improve my surr oundings.

Factors Influencing United States Expansion - 909 Words

Throughout the first half of the 1800s or 19th century there were many factors influencing United States expansion. From the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 to the Gadsden Purchase in 1853 the United States had tripled in size since its original thirteen colonies and only paid forty-five million dollars in doing so. The idea of Manifest Destiny spread quickly throughout the country and soon thousands were moving westward in search of a new way of life. The idea of Manifest Destiny was for the U.S. to occupy the entire continent. The only problem was that the land it was expanding on to didn’t belong to the U.S. One such factor that influenced the expansion of the U.S. was the occupation of nearby territories by foreign countries. The largest territory and first one to be bought by the U.S. was the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. In order for the United States to expand successfully into the west they needed control of the Mississippi River, which at the time was owned by France. 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