MercatorNet
Encyclopedia
MercatorNet is a magazine operating out of Sydney, Australia and has been online since 2004. Its focus is parenting
/family
issues, bioethics
, religion
, philosophy
and entertainment
. In its mission statement, MercatorNet says it aims to be a voice for human dignity.
(1512–1594) - a Renaissance
cartographer whose work shaped the identity of the modern world. Using the latest reports of new discoveries, he created innovative maps which became known throughout Europe
. Mercator was a creative and skillful craftsman - he invented the map projection which bears his name and coined the term "atlas".
, scientism
, commercialism
, utilitarianism
, and materialism
and aims at balance and accuracy. On its website, it says that its arguments are based on universally accepted moral principles, common sense and evidence, and that, "our ambition is to put a sound vision of the human person at the center of politics, education, social policy and culture".
Themes of published articles range from the challenges involved in juggling careers and motherhood to moral relativism and its effects.
Michael Cook, a Sydney
journalist
who has edited the family
magazine
Perspective for a number of years and contributes to American
and Australian magazine
and newspapers as a freelance writer. He also edits an international bioethics
newsletter, BioEdge and writes a monthly bioethics
column, Quandary, for the magazine Australasian Science.
Deputy editor:
Carolyn Moynihan, the founding editor
of Family Edge newsletter and Deputy Editor of MercatorNet. Her interests lie with the family
, women and, ageing.
MercatorNet has contributing editors in the US, Canada
, Uganda
, and Japan
.
Regular contributors to MercatorNet are: Margaret Somerville
, Barbara Kay
, Maggie Gallagher
, Jennifer Roback Morse, Sheila Liaugminas
and Joanna Bogle.
which sponsors projects in the media, is MercatorNet's main backer. Its other project is BioEdge, a bioethics newsletter also edited by Michael Cook. MercatorNet's main financial support is via donations from readers and syndication of its articles.
MercatorNet articles that have been published by major newspapers in Australia
.
Parenting
Parenting is the process of promoting and supporting the physical, emotional, social, and intellectual development of a child from infancy to adulthood...
/family
Family
In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
issues, bioethics
Bioethics
Bioethics is the study of controversial ethics brought about by advances in biology and medicine. Bioethicists are concerned with the ethical questions that arise in the relationships among life sciences, biotechnology, medicine, politics, law, and philosophy....
, religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
, philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
and entertainment
Entertainment
Entertainment consists of any activity which provides a diversion or permits people to amuse themselves in their leisure time. Entertainment is generally passive, such as watching opera or a movie. Active forms of amusement, such as sports, are more often considered to be recreation...
. In its mission statement, MercatorNet says it aims to be a voice for human dignity.
Name
The name MercatorNet was apparently inspired by Gerardus MercatorGerardus Mercator
thumb|right|200px|Gerardus MercatorGerardus Mercator was a cartographer, born in Rupelmonde in the Hapsburg County of Flanders, part of the Holy Roman Empire. He is remembered for the Mercator projection world map, which is named after him...
(1512–1594) - a Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
cartographer whose work shaped the identity of the modern world. Using the latest reports of new discoveries, he created innovative maps which became known throughout Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. Mercator was a creative and skillful craftsman - he invented the map projection which bears his name and coined the term "atlas".
Editorial stance
MercatorNet editorial policy describes the site as "dignitarian". The magazine opposes moral relativismMoral relativism
Moral relativism may be any of several descriptive, meta-ethical, or normative positions. Each of them is concerned with the differences in moral judgments across different people and cultures:...
, scientism
Scientism
Scientism refers to a belief in the universal applicability of the systematic methods and approach of science, especially the view that empirical science constitutes the most authoritative worldview or most valuable part of human learning to the exclusion of other viewpoints...
, commercialism
Commercialism
Commercialism, in its original meaning, is the practices, methods, aims, and spirit of commerce or business. Today, however, it primarily refers to the tendency within open-market capitalism to turn everything into objects, images, and services sold for the purpose of generating profit...
, utilitarianism
Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism is an ethical theory holding that the proper course of action is the one that maximizes the overall "happiness", by whatever means necessary. It is thus a form of consequentialism, meaning that the moral worth of an action is determined only by its resulting outcome, and that one can...
, and materialism
Materialism
In philosophy, the theory of materialism holds that the only thing that exists is matter; that all things are composed of material and all phenomena are the result of material interactions. In other words, matter is the only substance...
and aims at balance and accuracy. On its website, it says that its arguments are based on universally accepted moral principles, common sense and evidence, and that, "our ambition is to put a sound vision of the human person at the center of politics, education, social policy and culture".
Themes of published articles range from the challenges involved in juggling careers and motherhood to moral relativism and its effects.
Features
- articles updated weekly
- a free weekly newsletterNewsletterA newsletter is a regularly distributed publication generally about one main topic that is of interest to its subscribers. Newspapers and leaflets are types of newsletters. Additionally, newsletters delivered electronically via email have gained rapid acceptance for the same reasons email in...
- selected YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
videos - MediaWatch of news around the world
- rssRSS-Mathematics:* Root-sum-square, the square root of the sum of the squares of the elements of a data set* Residual sum of squares in statistics-Technology:* RSS , "Really Simple Syndication" or "Rich Site Summary", a family of web feed formats...
feeds - bookBookA book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
reviews - movie reviews
- backgrounders: commentaries on a range of hot-button issues in the news
Contributors
Editor:Michael Cook, a Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
who has edited the family
Family
In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
Perspective for a number of years and contributes to American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Australian magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
and newspapers as a freelance writer. He also edits an international bioethics
Bioethics
Bioethics is the study of controversial ethics brought about by advances in biology and medicine. Bioethicists are concerned with the ethical questions that arise in the relationships among life sciences, biotechnology, medicine, politics, law, and philosophy....
newsletter, BioEdge and writes a monthly bioethics
Bioethics
Bioethics is the study of controversial ethics brought about by advances in biology and medicine. Bioethicists are concerned with the ethical questions that arise in the relationships among life sciences, biotechnology, medicine, politics, law, and philosophy....
column, Quandary, for the magazine Australasian Science.
Deputy editor:
Carolyn Moynihan, the founding editor
Editor in chief
An editor-in-chief is a publication's primary editor, having final responsibility for the operations and policies. Additionally, the editor-in-chief is held accountable for delegating tasks to staff members as well as keeping up with the time it takes them to complete their task...
of Family Edge newsletter and Deputy Editor of MercatorNet. Her interests lie with the family
Family
In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
, women and, ageing.
MercatorNet has contributing editors in the US, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
, and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
Regular contributors to MercatorNet are: Margaret Somerville
Margaret Somerville
Margaret Anne Ganley Somerville, AM, FRSC is a conservative Australian/Canadian ethicist and academic. She is the Samuel Gale Professor of Law, Professor in the Faculty of Medicine and the Founding Director of the Faculty of Law's Centre for Medicine, Ethics and Law at McGill...
, Barbara Kay
Barbara Kay
Barbara Kay is a columnist with the National Post.Kay is a graduate of the University of Toronto where she earned an undergraduate degree in English literature...
, Maggie Gallagher
Maggie Gallagher
Margaret Gallagher Srivastav , better known by her working name Maggie Gallagher, is an American writer, commentator, and opponent of same-sex marriage. She has written a syndicated column for Universal Press Syndicate since 1995, and has published five books...
, Jennifer Roback Morse, Sheila Liaugminas
Sheila Liaugminas
Sheila Liaugminas is a journalist with extensive experience in both secular and religious journalism. Her writing covers a variety of topics, with her particular interest being the Catholic Church, faith, culture, politics and the media....
and Joanna Bogle.
Support and funding
New Media Foundation, an Australian companyCompany
A company is a form of business organization. It is an association or collection of individual real persons and/or other companies, who each provide some form of capital. This group has a common purpose or focus and an aim of gaining profits. This collection, group or association of persons can be...
which sponsors projects in the media, is MercatorNet's main backer. Its other project is BioEdge, a bioethics newsletter also edited by Michael Cook. MercatorNet's main financial support is via donations from readers and syndication of its articles.
External links
MercatorNet articles that have been published by major newspapers in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.