Articles by Carolyn Moynihan

1) Netiquette Rules - OK?
Has it ever happened to you? Your friend or colleague sent you an amusing email. You quickly composed a clever riposte. You clicked "send". And then you had second thoughts: Oh dear, I forgot that X is a little vulnerable in that area; she might take it up the wrong way; I wish I hadn't sent that message. It is so easy to forget your manners when you are not dealing with people in the flesh, or even on... » read more

2) Who's Afraid of Commitment?
One of the most popular films of last year was the French-made March of the Penguins, a documentary that reveals the extraordinary lengths to which the Emperor Penguin goes in order to raise a chick. Sentimentality aside, there is a rather sober lesson to take home. If the penguins teach us anything about love, it is that love demands commitment, and that is something the human species finds it... » read more

3) The Truth About Contrarian Couples
Last week United States health officials released the results of a survey of what some would call "reproductive behaviour", conducted in 2002. The National Survey of Family Growth revealed a striking decline in contraceptive use over the last decade, the New York Times reported. Among sexually active women who said they were not trying to get pregnant, the percentage not using contraception in 2001... » read more

4) Who Cares? The Crisis Facing An Ageing Society
The identification of this syndrome from among various symptoms of senile dementia, and its increasing incidence due to the ageing of the population, has made it a symbol of the (terrifying) burdens of old age. The report therefore focuses on this illness as it reflects in detail on the looming crisis of caregiving and the ethical challenges it poses. Crisis of caregiving Until now, family... » read more

5) What's Up With British Youth?
You have to admire the British, as represented by their current government and its intellectual constituency. They never stop trying to improve their society. What other country wants to keep schools open 10 hours a day and put every single child on a national database? Whether driven by a Marxist hangover or by ethics derived from Christianity, the commitment to a better Britain is tireless and... » read more

6) Meeting Your Match
Several years ago during an all-female seminar I was startled to hear a young woman at my lunch table announce: "I'm looking for a husband. So, when you go back home, keep me in mind." Surprise and amusement - it was my first experience of such a direct approach - soon gave way to the thought, "Why not?" Miss X was in her thirties and didn't have any time to waste in finding Mr Right. Attractive,... » read more

7) Three (hundred million) Cheers For America
There were two bombs in the news this week: North Korea's underground nuclear weapon test, and the population explosion - as some see it - that brought the number of people in the United States to the 300 million mark, and past it. It is hard to guess which caused more gloom in the office of Population Connection (formerly Zero Population Growth), which churned out a press release bemoaning the effects of... » read more