INTRODUCTION Essays (681 words) - Jack London,

INTRODUCTION Jack London (1876-1916) was easily the most successful and best-known writer in America in the first decade of the 20th century. He is best known for his books, The Call of the Wild, White Fang, and The Sea-Wolf, and a few short stories, such as To Build a Fire and The White Silence. He was a productive writer whose fiction traveled through three lands and their cultures such as the Yukon, California, and the South Pacific. His most famous writings included war, boxing stories, and the life of the Molokai lepers. "He was among the most influential people of his day, who understood how to use the media to market his self-created image of a once poor boy to now famous writer"(biography of Jack London). He left over fifty books of novels, stories, journalism, and essays. BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION London was born in San Francisco to an unmarried mother, Flora Wellman. His father may have been William Chaney, a journalist, and lawyer. Because Flora was ill, for eight months Jack was raised by an ex-slave, Virginia Prentiss. Late in 1876, Flora married John London, a partially disabled Civil War veteran, who adopted Jack. The family moved around the Bay area for a while before settling in Oakland, where Jack completed grade school. When he was young, London worked at different hard jobs. He searched for oysters on San Francisco Bay, served on a fish patrol, sailed the Pacific on a sealing ship, hoboed around the country, and returned to attend high school at age 19. During that time, he became familiar with socialism. He ran unsuccessfully several times for Mayor of Oakland. London's great love became agriculture, and he often said he wrote to support his Beauty Ranch in Glen Ellen. He brought techniques observed in Japan, like terracing and manure spreading and used them on his farm. Troubled by physical problems, during his thirties, London developed kidney disease. He died on November 22, 1916. Following his death, for a number of reasons a myth developed in which he was made up to be an alcoholic womanizer who committed suicide. But it was proved wrong. But its rumor has resulted in neglect of his books and his popularity. His writings became translated in several dozen languages, and he remains more widely read by other countries around the world, than in America LITERARY INFORMATION Because he read so much, he chose to become a writer as an escape from the terrible life as a factory worker. He studied many famous writings and began to submit stories, jokes, and poems but most came without success. His experiences when he was a boy, later formed books for boys' adventure stories like The Cruise of the Dazzler (1902) and Tales of the Fish Patrol (1905). A committed socialist, he insisted against editorial pressures to write political essays and insert social criticism in his fiction. Spending the winter of 1897 in the Yukon, he began publishing in the Overland Monthly in 1899. Many were books were written during this period of his life he told stories in The Son of the Wolf (1900), Children of the Frost (1902), Smoke Bellew (1912). Although The Call of the Wild (1903) brought him lots of fame , many of his short stories also became famous, like The People of the Abyss (1903), and the same for his discussion of alcoholism in John Barleycorn (1913). London's concern for the outcasts of society were notably written in The People of the Abyss (1903), a harrowing portrayal of English slum life and The Road (1907). His struggle to become a writer is recorded in his autobiographical novel, Martin Eden (1909). London's long voyage (1907-09) across the Pacific in a small boat also created more books about the cultures he saw. He helped break the fear that people had about leprosy. After their marriage he followed with a book he co-wrote with Anna Strunsky, The Kempton-Wace Letters, which said that mates should be selected for good breeding, not love. (Bess agreed.) London's fiction and political writings express a strong commitment to his belief individualism and socialism. Bibliography BIBLIOGRAPHY "Biography of Jack London" The Jack London collection (DL SUNSITE) "Jack London Search Results" BIOGRAPHY.COM. "London, Jack" Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. CD-ROM. 1996 ed.

A Biography of Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander

A Biography of Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander As a leading civil rights, political, and legal advocate for African-Americans and women, Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander is considered to be a fighter for social justice. When Alexander was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1947, she was described as: â€Å"[...] [A]n active worker for civil rights, she has been a steady and forceful advocate on the national, state, and municipal scene, reminding people everywhere that freedoms are won not only by idealism but by persistence and will over a long time[†¦]† Some of her greatest achievements where: 1921: First African-American woman to receive a Ph.D. in the United States.1921: First African-American to receive a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania.1927: First African-American woman to enroll and earn a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania.1943: First woman to hold a national office in the National Bar Association. Alexanders Family Legacy Alexander came from a family with a rich legacy. Her maternal grandfather, Benjamin Tucker Tanner was appointed the bishop of the African Method Episcopal Church. Her aunt, Halle Tanner Dillon Johnson was the first African-American woman to receive a license to practice medicine in Alabama. And her uncle was internationally acclaimed artist Henry Ossawa Tanner. Her father, Aaron Albert Mossell, was the first African-American to graduate from  the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1888. Her uncle, Nathan Francis Mossell, was the first African-American physician to graduate from the University of Pennsylvania Medical School and co-founded the Frederick Douglass Hospital in 1895. Early Life and Education Born in Philadelphia in 1898, as Sarah Tanner Mossell, she would be called Sadie throughout her life. Throughout her childhood, Alexander would live between Philadelphia and Washington D.C. with her mother and older siblings. In 1915, she graduated from the M Street School and attended the University of Pennsylvania School of Education. Alexander graduated with a bachelors degree in 1918 and the following year, Alexander received her masters degree in economics. Awarded the Francis Sergeant Pepper fellowship, Alexander went on to become the first African- American woman to receive a Ph.D. in the United States. Of this experience, Alexander said â€Å"I can well remember marching down Broad Street from Mercantile Hall to the Academy of Music where there were photographers from all over the world taking my picture.† After receiving her Ph.D. in economics from University of Pennsylvanias Wharton School of Business, Alexander accepted a position with the North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company where she worked for two years before returning to Philadelphia to marry Raymond Alexander in 1923. The First Female African-American Lawyer Soon after marrying Raymond Alexander, she enrolled in the University of Pennsylvanias Law School where she became a very active student, working as a contributing writer and associate editor on the University of Pennsylvania Law Review. In 1927, Alexander graduated from the University of Pennsylvania School of Law and later became the first African-American woman to pass and be admitted to the Pennsylvania State Bar. For thirty-two years, Alexander worked with her husband, specializing in family and estate law. In addition to practicing law, Alexander was served as Assistant City Solicitor for the City of Philadelphia from 1928 to 1930 and again from 1934 to 1938. Trumans Committee of Human Rights The Alexanders were active participants in the Civil Rights Movement and practiced civil rights law as well. While her husband served on the city council, Alexander was appointed to President Harry Trumans Committee of Human Rights in 1947. In this position, Alexander helped to develop the concept of a national civil rights policy when she co-authored the report, To Secure These Rights. In the report, Alexander argues that Americans- regardless of gender or race- should be granted the opportunity to improve themselves and in doing so, strengthen the United States. Later, Alexander served on the Commission on Human Relations of the City of Philadelphia from 1952 to 1958. In 1959, when her husband was appointed as a judge to the Court of Common Pleas in Philadelphia, Alexander continued to practice law until her retirement in 1982. She later died  in 1989 in Philadelphia.

That Confusion

5 Cases of Which/That Confusion 5 Cases of â€Å"Which†/â€Å"That† Confusion 5 Cases of â€Å"Which†/â€Å"That† Confusion By Mark Nichol Perhaps you are confused by grammatical discussions of restrictive and nonrestrictive or essential or nonessential clauses. (I know I can never keep those terms straight.) Never mind the nomenclature; when you’re editing your own writing, or someone else’s, simply read the phrase that follows a which (or who) or a that and determine whether the phrase that follows is parenthetical (it can be removed with no change of meaning to the sentence) or it is integral to the sentence. Here are five sample sentences followed by explanation of the problem and a revision. 1. â€Å"The inventor of the Etch A Sketch toy that generations of children drew on, shook up, and started over, has died in France, the toy’s maker said.† The use of that to serve as a grammatical bridge between the name of the product and the phrase describing how it was used implies that more than one type of product called the Etch A Sketch exists; the one that children used as described is, according to this sentence construction, one of two or more types. When that is replaced with which, and which is preceded by a comma, the sentence structure makes clear that the existence of other Etch A Sketch products is not implied: â€Å"The inventor of the Etch A Sketch toy, which generations of children have drawn on and shaken up before starting over, has died in France, the toy’s maker said.† (Note, too, that I have altered the wording explaining how the toy is used and have changed the tense to indicate that the product is extant.) 2. â€Å"It was a time when tensions were growing between the black and Jewish communities that had previously been aligned in efforts to affect social change.† The point of this sentence is not what had occurred between certain communities of black and Jewish people, but what the entire black and Jewish communities had experienced. The restrictive force of that must be replaced by the parenthetical purpose of a comma followed by which: â€Å"It was a time when tensions were growing between the black and Jewish communities, which had previously been aligned in efforts to affect social change.† 3. â€Å"Police are probing allegations of incidents involving the renowned astrophysicist who is paralyzed.† The phrase â€Å"the renowned astrophysicist who is paralyzed† distractingly refers to the concept of astrophysicists who are not paralyzed. However, â€Å"who is paralyzed† is merely additional information appended to the factual statement, and should be attached with a comma followed by who (the equivalent of which): â€Å"Police are probing allegations of incidents involving the renowned astrophysicist, who is paralyzed.† 4. â€Å"The company’s incident-response team can quickly and reliably identify events, which threaten an organization’s security posture.† Here and in the example below, the problem in the previous sentence is reversed: This statement implies that all events are threatening. Replacing the comma and which with that corrects that impression by restricting the meaning to refer specifically to threatening events: â€Å"The company’s incident-response team can quickly and reliably identify events that threaten an organization’s security posture.† 5. â€Å"The court ruled this week that a law passed last summer, which gave five top government-office holders immunity from prosecution, was illegal and must be revoked.† This sentence construction suggests that the summer, rather than the law, granted immunity. Removal of the bracketing commas and replacement of which with that integrates the central point into the framing sentence: â€Å"The court ruled this week that a law passed last summer that gave five top government-office holders immunity from prosecution is illegal and must be revoked.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:75 Synonyms for â€Å"Angry†Used To vs. Use Toâ€Å"Least,† â€Å"Less,† â€Å"More,† and â€Å"Most†

Federal Reserve Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Federal Reserve - Essay Example The Board of Governors is appointed by the President who controls the functions of the Federal Reserve System. There are Federal Reserve Banks which operates in major cities of US. The major objectives of the Federal Reserve System are aimed at the welfare of the US economy. The Federal Reserve System in US is responsible for maximizing the employment opportunities in US, stabilizing the prices in US economy and achieving stability in long term interest rates (Wells 58). The monetary policy is designed by the Federal Reserve System of US. The other functions of the central banking system in US include regulation of the banking structure that includes the government and the private players as well as the advisory councils. The central bank also provides financial services to other depository agencies. The overall financial stability of the economy of US is the responsibility of the Federal Reserve System. Before the Federal Reserve System was set up in 1913, there were around 30000 cu rrencies in the economy of US. Many business houses and even the drug dealers could issue currency notes for financial transactions. This created a situation of instability in the economy of US. ... Apart from this, the various currencies in US had different denominations and values. The absence of a standardized currency created difference and problems among the traders. The business, imports and exports all suffered due to the presence of varying numbers of currencies and absences of standardized form of currency in the economy of US. The Federal Reserve System of the US was created to standardize the currency of the economy of US and thereby establish a position of stability in the economy (Grey 98). The Federal Reserve System provides a central banking system to the economy of US where the business and he individuals could deposit their money in the standard currency of US dollar. The depositors could also withdraw their money from the Federal Reserve System at the time of need. These withdrawals took place in the same standardized currency of US dollars. Thus the Federal Reserve System could drive away the intermediate currencies and their varying values and established a s tandardized form of currency to be followed by the customers and traders in order provide an organized monetary system and sufficiency in liquidity. The US economy invariably needs the Federal Reserve System in the economy without whose functions there would be ample distortions in the economy that would hamper the economic growth of US. This could be understood from the roles and responsibilities of the Federal Reserve System and the implication on the US financial and economic system in absence of its role. The Federal Reserve System plays the role of balancing between the centralized role of the government for the welfare of the economy and the private interests of the

Drugs addiction and musicians Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Drugs addiction and musicians - Research Paper Example Drug addiction among musicians of specific genres of music seems to be higher compared to some other genres of music. A recent study by the University of California, Berkeley’s School of Public Health found out that illegal drug use in rap music has increased by six times since 1979. It is the fear of many parents and public health officials that the trajectory in rap music poses serious threat to the society particularly among the youth. Pop and rap music is very appealing to majority of young individuals, most of whom are looking up to rap, jazz and pop artists as their role models (Yang para3). This paper delves into drug addiction and musicians, particularly addressing the reasons as to why drug addiction is so omnipresent in musical circles. Drugs have often been associated with music scenes, and celebrated musicians such as Miles Davis, Jimi Hendrix, and Keith Richards, have been addicted to drugs at one time or another. The close relationship between drug addiction and musicians is well reflected in a short fiction by James Baldwin â€Å"Sonny’s Blue†. In this story, an African American schoolteacher disagrees with his younger brother â€Å"Sonny† about his ambition of becoming a musician. Soon after Sonny is arrested for heroin use and sent to rehab. After a short while, he watches Sonny performing at a Jazz club and he feels deeply connected and enlightened with Sonny’s blues (Baldwin 21). However, what is apparent from the story is that Sonny is suffering from drug addiction and he is a musician. He displays characteristics of a drug addict such as being introspective and quiet person with tendency of withdrawing inside himself. He is also wild and behaves in a manner that is not expected of him. Nonetheless, he has passion for jazz music and he goes ahead to become a successful musician (Baldwin 42). Sonny is in a community of many other musicians who are addicted to drugs. Considering the positive and negative effe cts of drug addiction on musicians, it is critical to examine the various aspects related to these two issues. There is no doubt that drug addiction is very common in musical circles. In fact, there are numerous evidences of famous musicians who have battled alcoholism and drug addiction for better part of their music career and some have even succumbed to drug addiction. Famous politicians such as Bob Marley, Britney Spears, Keith Richards, Jimi Hendrix, Whitney Houston, Amy Winehouse, and Michael Jackson among others battled with drug addiction. So, why are drugs so omnipresent in musical circles? Many musicians use drugs largely because drugs including alcohol are extremely prevalent in the music industry (The Music of Orrin Hatch para3). Every music events, big and small, have people using harder drugs; music industry is considered a â€Å"party industry† and it is somewhat expected apart from entertainment, there should be upbeat emotions during performance. In many case s, drugs are used in the musical circles to enhance entertainment, as well as in enhancing emotions. It is for this reason that drug use has become part of music culture where famous music stars and even fans have made it a mainstay. It now appears awkward to many musicians mainly in pop, rap, and jazz music industry not to use drugs

Empirical Formula of a Hydrate-CE Essay Example for Free

Empirical Formula of a Hydrate-CE Essay Conclusion and Evaluation: Aspect 1 Based on the interpreted data of group A, the empirical formula of aluminum chloride did not stay the same. The expected empirical formula was. In group A the empirical formulas are as followed Group Name Empirical formula Laurie Jordan Rica, Victoria Stephanie Vince Josh Jane Kaityln So, as a group, we all had a different outcome of the empirical formula but the percent composition of water is the same for all. 11.2% for hydrogen and 88. 8% for oxygen as shown in table #7.3. A random error would be the measurement of the hydrate crystal. A scoopula was used to measure 3g. Also another one would be the electronic balance having an uncertainty of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½0.001g. A systematic error would be heating the evaporating dish through a wire mesh instead of a clay triangle. You notice that the theoretical yield and experimental yield values are shown in a pie graph. Both of the pie graphs are the exact same as both percentages are 11.2% and 88.8%. In these pie graphs, neither trends nor patterns apply. Aspect 2 The procedural weaknesses are stated above. For example the measurement of the hydrate crystal wouldve affected the lab. There wasnt an accurate measurement so that couldve affected the weight of the final product or the reaction of the product. Another weakness was that the evaporating dish was being heated through a wire mesh instead of a clay triangle. The wire mesh had a white coating on it, so therefore the evaporating dish was being heated indirectly and the wire mesh would absorb the heat itself. This would affect the heating process of the evaporating dish and the substance inside of it. There were a few assumptions made in this particular lab. They are as followed Assumption Possible effect on the result All of the moisture was removed from the evaporating dish If all the moisture wasnt removed, then an accurate and precise reaction isnt obtained. The aluminum chloride was pure If impure aluminum chloride was used then other products could have formed The only substance reacting with the aluminum chloride was itself as a hydrate form This could have had other reactions which therefore will affect the products formed. All of the aluminum chloride hydrate evaporated Could possibly effect the measurement of the weight 3g of aluminum chloride was added to the evaporating dish Obviously if there were less or more than 3g added, it will affect the outcome result The quality of the data was fair. The precision and accuracy of the aluminum was absent since it was measured by a scoopula and estimation. Although, the same balance was used to weigh all the masses, therefore the accuracy of those measurements were present with the exception of the uncertaintyà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½0.001g. Aspect 3 If this lab were to be redone, I think that everything should stay the same besides 2 factors which are the use of wire mesh and the measurement of the hydrate crystal. If we were to use a clay triangle instead of the wire mesh, the evaporating dish would have been directly heated instead of being indirectly heated. This would remove the systematic error. A better precision and accuracy would be obtained if we actually used a measuring device. For example, a measuring spoon wouldve been more accurate than the scoopula. Using the same balance for all masses would obtain greater control of variables and reduce the random error.

Common Issues in Romanticism Essay example -- Romanticism Essays

The key figures in Romanticism addressed many of the same issues. Such connectivity is marked in William Blake’s poems â€Å"Infant Sorrow† and â€Å"On Another’s Sorrow†, and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Shelley, like Blake, argues for continual development of innocence to experience, and through the character of Victor Frankenstein’s creation, Mary Shelley suggests the equilibrium of innocence and experience offers insight into the human condition. The shift is distinguished by what Blake states in plate 3, stanza 2 of â€Å"The Marriage of Heaven and Hell†: â€Å"Without contraries is no progression† (112). Any event, idea, or emotion that is contrary to the innocent human conscience is a progression to experience. In Frankenstein, the balance and shift of innocence and experience is evidenced by the creature’s observance of the De Lacey’s, the misfortune that befalls him in his wandering, and finally, the progr ession of experience reaches maturation through murder. A careful analysis of the creature’s initial human interaction shows a steady shift from innocence as the creature experiences the world around him. Frankenstein’s creation is simple and child-like in conscience yet aged and abhorred in appearance. Although a paradox, the creature is akin to an adult child: innocent and naà ¯ve, but forced to experience the world. Blake recognizes this concept in his poem â€Å"Infant Sorrow† in which he states, â€Å"Into the dangerous world I leapt: / Helpless, naked, piping loud, / Like a fiend hid in a cloud† (ll. 2-4). One rarely thinks of a newborn baby as a â€Å"fiend†. It seems more believable to observe the grotesque form of the creature as a fiend. However, both the infant and Frankenstein’s creation entered the world with veiled and â€Å"clouded† eyes, unable ... ... for his actions, likewise, humans continue to, at the least, coexist with their fellow man, abiding by laws and regulations. It is hopeful then that in the world today, the balance of innocence and experience is not entirely overturned. Works Cited Blake, William. â€Å"The Marriage of Heaven and Hell†. The Norton Anthology of English Literature: The Romantic Period. Eighth Edition. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2006. (111-120). Blake, William. â€Å"Infant Sorrow†. The Norton Anthology of English Literature: The Romantic Period. Eighth Edition. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2006. (95). Blake, William. â€Å"On Another’s Sorrow†. Classical Poetry: Songs of Innocence. Passions in Poetry Foundation: 11 Nov. 2008. . Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. Second Edition. Boston/New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2000.

Pervasive Developmental Disorders Essay

The pervasive developmental disorders (PDDs) represent a spectrum of difficulties in socialization, communication, and behavior. Autism is the best recognized and most frequently occurring form of a group of the PDDs. Because most of the research in areas related to communication has been done on autism, we will focus here on this particular PDD. However, we should be aware that autism is probably not the most common disorder on this spectrum. Other types of PDDs include Rett’s Disorder, Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, Asperger’s Disorder, and Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified, or PDDNOS (Twachtman-Cullen 1998). This work will also discuss the distinctive features of Asperger’s syndrome, which is believed to be genetically related to autism. Much of what can be said about certain features of autism and PDDNOS applies to other forms of non-autistic PDD. The goal of this research is to provide a framework for understanding cognitive development in children with PDDs. The study will cover criteria for early PDDs diagnosis. The best-known type of PDDs is autistic disorder (variously called autism or infantile autism). The symptoms of autistic disorder typically increase gradually through the child’s second year, reach a peak between 2 and 4 years of age, and then show some improvement. Young children with greater cognitive ability who receive very early intensive intervention may show dramatic improvement at this age, whereas those who are more impaired will make more modest changes. Persons with autistic disorder exhibit major deficits in their ability to relate to others. The child with autistic disorder often appears content to dwell in a separate world, showing little empathic interest in parents or siblings. Unlike the normally developing baby, the child with autistic disorder may not raise his arms to be picked up or may stiffen in protest when his parents try to cuddle him. The children’s lack of social interest may make some of these babies seem like â€Å"easy babies† because they do not seek parental attention, and appear content to remain in their cribs, watching a mobile or staring at their hands. As they get older, such lack of demandingness is recognized for the relative indifference it actually reflects. The child with autistic disorder may not seek others for comfort when she is hurt or upset, finding little consolation in the gentle words and hugs that are so important to other children. Not only do the children not ask for comfort, they typically are quite indifferent to other people’s distress and do not seem to share their joy. A sibling’s tears or a parent’s happiness may elicit no response from the child with autistic disorder. Children with autistic disorder show little interest in the domestic imitation that most children enjoy. For example, unlike the normally developing child, the child with autistic disorder usually does not use his miniature mower to cut the grass like mommy or pretend to shave while he watches daddy. This lack of interest in imitation interferes with one of the primary channels for learning by young children: their ability to model adult behaviors and master them through role play. Social play is one of the primary activities of childhood. A few simple toys can create the backdrop for long hours of companionship. The child with autistic disorder does not know how to join this kind of play, sometimes completely ignoring other children, or perhaps standing on the sidelines, not comprehending how to become part of the group. Not surprisingly, given the range of social deficits they exhibit, children with autistic disorder are very impaired in their ability to make childhood friends. Within the communication domain, impairments are present in a number of linguistic and nonverbal areas, the most fundamental of which are pragmatics and semantics (i. . , the social usage and explicit or implicit meaning of language and gestures). Although linguistic capability varies greatly across the spectrum (from a total absence of speech to highly sophisticated and erudite language), significant impairments in pragmatics and semantics are universal among individuals with PDDs. They communicate primarily to express needs, desires, and preferences, rather than to convey sincere interest in others, or to share exp eriences, excitement, and feelings. Even among those possessing highly sophisticated and complex language, compliments, words of empathy, and expressions of joy in the good fortune of others are very rare. There is little reciprocity, mutuality, or shared purpose in discussions. In addition, speech and gestural forms of communication are poorly integrated, often resulting in awkward and uncomfortable social interactions. Implicit, subtle, and indirect communications are neither used nor perceived. Expressive communication tends to be explicit, direct, and concrete. During discussions, persons with autism often fail to prepare their speaking partners for conversational transitions, new topics, or personal associations. This can result in digressive, circumstantial, and tangential comments and discussions. It would appear as though persons with autism assume that others are implicitly aware of their experiences, viewpoints, attitudes, and thoughts. The fashion in which these deficits are manifest is influenced by age, overall cognitive level, temperament, and the presence of sensory or physical limitations. In toddlers, for example, impaired pragmatics may be manifested by significant limitations in reciprocal eye contact, responsive smiling, joint attention (mutual sharing of interests and excitement), and social imitative play. In addition, socially directed facial expressions, instrumental and emphatic gestures, and modulation of speech prosody (intonation, cadence, and rate) are rarely used to complement speech, communicate feelings and attitudes, or moderate social discourse. Among preschool children, impairments in symbolic functioning (e. g. , language) are accompanied by serious limitations in pretense (e. g. ymbolic, imaginative, creative, and interactive play). Pragmatic impairments among adolescents with Asperger’s syndrome may be manifested by one-sided, pedantic discussions, with no attempt to involve speaking partners by acknowledging and integrating their experiences, ideas, and viewpoints into conversations. Sincere attempts by others to engage in reciprocal conversations may be met with a lack of acknowledgment, annoyance, and disinterest. Comments or questions that are â€Å"snuck in† by the listener may be experienced as rude interruptions, prompting the directive, â€Å"Wait! I’m not done talking yet† (Bernabei, Camaioni & Levi 1998). The result is a monologue or lecture that often includes abrupt changes of topic and the introduction of unexplained personal associations. This lack of conversational reciprocity suggests that persons with AS and high-functioning autism inherently assume that the listener is implicitly aware of their own experiences, viewpoints, and intent. Because the relaying of factual and concrete information is the primary goal of â€Å"social† dialog among those with ASD, the communication of subtle attitudes, viewpoints, and emotions (particularly secondary emotions, such as embarrassment, guilt, and envy) are largely irrelevant and superfluous. Therefore, emphatic gestures, informative facial expressions, and vocal modulation lack essential meaning for them. The result is that persons with autism generally disregard nonverbal cues and fail to incorporate them into their own discussions. Because this component of social communication often conveys essential information regarding feelings, attitudes, and opinions, an inability to identify, interpret, and produce nonverbal cues can have a highly detrimental effect on social interactions and relationships. Given these impairments, it is not surprising that verbal and nonverbal aspects of communication are poorly integrated, and that subtlety and nuance are rarely conveyed. Figurative and inferential language is another area of communication that is impaired in autism, largely due to a combination of deficits in abstract and conceptual thought, social reciprocity, and appreciation of the subtleties of social communication. Persons with ASD are highly literal and concrete in their language and thought processing, typically failing to understand metaphor, irony, sarcasm, and facetiousness. As a result, comments are often misinterpreted and discussions misunderstood. In addition, in an effort to remain true to the facts, comments and questions are often presented in an overly direct, straightforward, and â€Å"brutally honest† manner, lacking appropriate tact and sensitivity (Szatmari, Jones, Fisman, Tuff, Bartolucci, Mahoney 1995). This can cause embarrassment and distress for the listener and confusion for the speaker with AS. Both may become angry and resentful; the listener, because of emotional distress and perceived mistreatment; the speaker, because of the seemingly unjustifiable overreaction and a negative attitude displayed by the listener. From the perspective of the person with AS, the listener responded in a rude and ungrateful manner to comments that were intended to be informative, useful, and corrective. The emotional distress, embarrassment, and attack on self-esteem experienced by the listener are relatively foreign to the individual with autism. Interestingly, principles, rules, and codes of behavior can be interpreted in a highly concrete and rigid manner. This can result in insensitive and hurtful comments and behavior, because exceptions to the rule, adjustments to unexpected social contingencies, and appreciation for the spirit (not simply the letter) of the law are relatively foreign to those with autism. There is little awareness that rigid adherence to unavoidably flawed rules can result in a situation that is antithetical to the underlying intent of the rule itself. One of the dinning features of autism and Asperger’s syndrome is that of rigidity and inflexibility in response to minor change and transition in the environment and daily routines. This insistence on sameness and invariance can be highly impairing, because the precipitants of these reactions often are of little social significance and do not disturb the smooth functioning of the social world. It is as though persons with autism depend on these inanimate markers of space and time because the social priorities that typically direct schedules and routines have little meaning and significance for them. Asperger’s Syndrome has been associated with cognitive strength since Hans Asperger first described the disorder in the 1940s. When he wrote of children who sounded like â€Å"little professors,† Dr. Asperger (1944/1991) was describing not only their pedantic tone but also their cognitive abilities. The assumption of adequate cognitive skill was reiterated when the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) stated that individuals with Asperger’s Syndrome show â€Å"no clinically significant delay in cognitive development† (Willey 2001). Asperger’s syndrome (AS) was added as a new â€Å"official† diagnosis when DSMIV and ICD-10 were published. In the past, children with AS were sometimes referred to as having schizoid personality, or schizotypal personality, and PDD, NOS. It is now recognized as distinct from autism. AS differs from autism in a number of key ways: first, children with AS may not be detected as early because they may have no delays in language, or only mild delays. In fact, it is usually not until parents notice that their child’s use of language is unusual, or their child’s play is also unusual, that concern sets in. Unlike autism, where the vast majority of children also experience some degree of mental retardation, children (and adults) with AS are rarely mentally retarded although many have low-average intelligence. Children with AS are sometimes described as â€Å"active, but odd† – not avoiding others the way autistic children often do, but relating in a more narrow way, usually centering activity around their own needs and peculiar interests. In fact, having one or more areas of narrow, encompassing interest is highly characteristic of those with AS. Parents often ask whether AS is the same thing as â€Å"high-functioning autism. Research studies have addressed this question, and the answer is â€Å"no† (Fombonne, Simmons, Ford, Meltzer & Goodman 2001). One main difference is that children with AS tend to have fairly comparable verbal and nonverbal levels of intelligence, while higher functioning (that is, less cognitively impaired) autistic children tend to have nonverbal IQs that are markedly higher than their verbal IQs. Another key feature of AS is the presence of intense, preoccupying interests that generally are unusual in nature and highly restricted and narrow in scope and breadth. An impressive store of factual knowledge is accrued on relatively esoteric topics; however, this knowledge is rarely utilized for functional, socially meaningful purposes. Rather, factual knowledge is pursued for its own intrinsic value to the AS individual. In addition, children and adults with AS tend to be physically awkward, uncoordinated, and poor in judging visual-spatial perspective (often failing to maintain comfortable interpersonal space during social interactions). With regard to neuropsychological functioning, verbal abilities are generally much better developed than are nonverbal abilities (e. . , perceptualmotor, visual-spatial). In a majority of cases impairments are present in executive functions, including working memory, organization, and cognitive-set flexibility. Although children with AS are thought to show no general cognitive delay, there is actually a great deal of variability in the specific abilities of individuals. In spite of mass media suggestions that individuals with AS grow up to be scientists or software engineers, we do not yet have data to support this connection. For most children, the PDDs last a lifetime. Although early intervention for many young children with autistic disorder, Aspereger’s disorder, and PDDNOS has produced major developmental changes, the technology has not yet reached the point where the majority of children make the degree of change that allows them to blend imperceptibly into their peer group. As a result, although most children with PDDs benefit in important ways from treatment, many still become adults with PDDs or some significant residuals of PDDs. There are no details of what causes PDDs. There appears to be a genetic contribution to at least some kinds of autistic disorder. For example, Fragile X syndrome is a chromosomal disorder than long has been linked to mental retardation and more recently has been shown to be related to autistic disorder. This disorder gets its name from a narrowing near the end of the long arm of the X chromosome that sometimes makes the tip fragile. Fragile X syndrome shows an X-linked (sex gene-linked) recessive pattern of inheritance. As a result, this disorder typically is transmitted to boys by their mothers. Fragile X syndrome accounts for a small but significant number of boys diagnosed with autistic disorder. General support for the notion that the symptoms of autistic disorder reflect underlying physiological dysfunction comes from research showing that autistic disorder occurs more often than would be predicted by chance among children whose mothers had German measles during pregnancy, that these children experienced a higher than expected rate of problems during pregnancy or birth, and that they are at greater risk for seizures than other children. Findings such as these raise important questions about where in the brain abnormalities may occur and how these neurochemical, biochemical, or neurological factors may be linked specifically to the development of the language, social, affective, and behavioral symptoms that characterize autistic disorder and the other PDDs. The process of accurate diagnosis and classification is an essential endeavor in medicine, because it is key to ensuring validity and reliability, enabling etiological research, and identifying effective methods of treatment. Although ASDs are not medical illnesses in the classical sense, they do result from neurodevelopmental abnormalities that affect social, communicative, and behavioral functioning in fundamental ways. The autism is not a unitary condition with a single etiology, pathogenesis, clinical presentation, and treatment approach; rather, it is a group of related conditions that share many clinical features and underlying social-communicative impairments. The fundamental purpose of arriving at an accurate diagnosis is to promote meaningful research that will eventually lead to effective treatment and an ultimate cure. Accurate diagnosis also enables investigators, clinicians, educators, and parents to communicate clearly, effectively, and efficiently. Ideally, a valid and reliable diagnosis should convey a great deal of information about developmental strengths and weaknesses, short- and long-term prognosis, and treatments that are most likely to be effective. Both basic and applied research endeavors are enhanced by improvements in diagnosis and classification. During recent years, efforts have been made to identify ASD as early in life as possible, in order to begin implementing educational and treatment interventions; providing families with education, support, and community resources; and reducing the stress and anxiety families experience as a result of incorrect or misleading diagnoses. The importance of an early diagnosis is supported by findings of improved linguistic, cognitive, and adaptive functioning as a result of intensive early intervention. Studies have begun to appear in the research literature assessing the reliability and stability of autism diagnoses made during the early preschool years. Experienced clinical investigators have demonstrated that an accurate diagnosis of autism can be made in the second and third years of life. However, accuracy depends on the completion of a comprehensive, interdisciplinary assessment, one that includes the use of standardized diagnostic instruments in conjunction with clinical expertise. Nonetheless, even among experienced clinicians and investigators, false positive and false negative diagnoses are sometimes made. Investigators have begun to examine clinical variables that may be predictive of treatment response and general prognosis. For example, Handleman & Harris (2001) found that preschool children with autism who exhibited low baseline levels of social avoidance experienced significantly more social and linguistic progress than did their high-avoidance counterparts following 6 months of intensive incidental teaching and pivotal response training (provided in an inclusive setting). A complementary strategy for assessing the validity of AS is to examine the pattern of associated symptomatology. In this regard, a recent study investigated emotional and behavioral disturbance (psychopathology) in 4 to 18-year-olds with HFA and AS. The Developmental Behavior Checklist (DBC), an informant-based instrument completed by parents and teachers, was used to assess psychopathology. The DBC contains the following six subscales: disruptive, self-absorbed, communication disturbance, anxiety, antisocial, and autistic relating. Children and adolescents with AS exhibited high levels of psychopathology, particularly disruptive behavior, anxiety, and problems with social relationships. The best documented approach to the treatment of people with PDDs is a form of behavior therapy called applied behavior analysis. Since the mid-1960s, when Ivar Lovaas and his colleagues demonstrated that children with autism responded to carefully planned applied behavior analytic techniques, there has been extensive research on the use of these methods to treat the PDDs, especially for autistic disorder, Asperger’s disorder, and PDDNOS (Durand 1990). Three decades of research have contributed to the development of a substantial array of specific behavioral treatment techniques and of documentation to support the efficacy of these methods in treatment of PDDs. This research also has demonstrated the essential role that parents can play in the treatment of their children by providing consistency of intervention between home and school, or even in some cases as the child’s primary therapist.

History of Graffiti Essay

The term â€Å"graffiti† is derived from Greek word graphein meaning to write was originally used to characterize the words and names scribbled on the walls of ancient Roman architecture (Kincheloe and Hayes, 98). This singular term graffito however, is derived from the Italian graffiare which means â€Å"little scratching. † Vern Bullough and Bonnie Bullough asserts, it â€Å"may be applied to at least three types of inscriptions: public, private, and personal† (251). Public graffiti include names, initials, cryptic symbols, and the like, which were usually drawn on walls or fences, trees and so on, as markers for gang terrorists, or as symbol of personal pride and courage or simply as reminder of someone’s presence. Private graffiti on the other hand, are inscriptions in more secluded locations such as restroom walls and toilet stalls and were usually of â€Å"intentionally anonymous authorship† while personal graffiti are tattoos and scar that are intended â€Å"to beautify to disfigure, to indicate status, or to adorn the human body† (Bullough and Bullough, 251). There seems to have not enough information as to when graffiti started or who were the first individual or people to have started it. Bullough and Bullough cited that recent archeological efforts on the coast of France revealed cavers submerged beneath â€Å"the encroaching seas for tens of thousands of years, with their walls â€Å"filled with arcane products of Paleolithic graffitists† (252). But as Pereira pointed out, the study of graffiti throughout history â€Å"shows that, from the Neolithic period onwards, nomads left traces of their survival and successful passage by scratching signs on rocks† (16), which means that graffiti or writing on walls or rocks have been the customs and traditions not only of the ancient peoples but of the human beings in general. Historically, graffiti were used under various circumstances. Pereira noted that during the time of Roman persecution of Christians, Christian believers took refuge in the catacombs where they carved symbols into the rock which served as â€Å"cryptic messages for the rest of the community† (Pereira, 16). This was also the case during the sixteenth century wars of religion to which the carved images on the wall along with a message expressing their feelings and opinion of the scenario they are witnessing. Graffiti were also used during the age of enlightenment and the French revolution as means of radical political expression and propaganda. The height of the use of graffiti reached its climax in the 1920s and the 1930s with the publication by the French photographer Brassai of a photo-essay on graffiti (Pereira, 21). The 1940s also saw the importance of graffiti with Nazis who employed it as weapon, â€Å"smearing the walls with their hate-filled propaganda against Jews and other enemies of the Third Reich. Obviously, what could be drawn in the past is a concept that graffiti is a system of communication and expression â€Å"depicted by writings, drawings and scribbling on surfaces† (Price, 28). Today however, graffiti is seen as part of the urban culture or the so-called street culture which is a unique way of self expression through writing on walls. Despite the negative image in view of obscene language used, graffiti is a global phenomenon and its art is now seen as icon of popular culture and its techniques, and styles are generating increased interests worldwide (Gottlieb, 7).

Candelo Review essays

Candelo Review essays Because it was possible we had all been lying. Not just he and I. But all of us. To each other and to ourselves (p. 93). Within Candelo, many major events are shrouded by lies and the unwillingness to tell the truth. In fact moral truth is at the heart of this book, which describes Ursula's attempt to set a direction for herself on which right and wrong are clearly distinguished. This is explored through her relationships with her lover, her ex-lover, and with the family that is so much a presence in her life. Ursula is endeavoring to deal with present dilemmas and also with the residue of a past that has never really been resolved. Ultimately it is this unwillingness to tell the truth throughout the novel that affects the inability of many characters to live normal, well-balanced lives. As the novel progresses, Ursulas guilt concerning the events that occurred at Candelo when she was fourteen is revealed, and she must confront not only her own actions, but those of each of the people closest to home: her mother Vi, brother Simon and father Bernard. She is also forced to ask herself what Mitchell really meant to her, and how he influenced all their lives. The consequences of lying for Ursula run quite deep and she has immense difficulty throughout the novel, in defining the important as opposed to the merely momentary issues in her own life. She has reacted against her mother's call for integrity and honesty at all costs, and her father's chronic lying, by making her life a series of half-truths and deception. She justifies this trait within herself by observing similar fabrications in others when she says These are the lies I tell. These are the lies most people tell (p. 35). However she is increasingly troubled by the question of what really constitutes a petty lie and what comprises an important one when she states My mother, Violetta, has always believed that there is a divi...

3 Stories That Prove Nursing is Worth It

3 Stories That Prove Nursing is Worth It Nursing is not a career for the faint of heart. From managing challenging patients to dealing with emergency situations, it’s a field that demands a lot from those who choose it. For many nurses, though, the breakthrough moments that make it all worthwhile show why so many women and men find nursing as their calling. Patients can change your life in unexpected ways.While part of being a healthcare professional is caring for people you may never see again, sometimes the fates align, and you find that there’s a patient to whom you just can’t say goodbye. Nurse Amber Boyd, from New Mexico, found this to be the case when she cared for a newborn baby girl who suffered from severe birth defects. The baby’s parents were out of the picture, and Boyd realized that she could provide the love and care that baby Nicole needed. â€Å"Right around her first birthday, she was making progress, [but] her needs were beyond anything anyone could’ve accommodated at ho me. Her biological parents, their rights were taken away and her twin sister had already gone home with another family. They just weren’t medical professionals and she essentially needed ICU care at home. [The hospital] was looking into medical foster care†¦.I said, ‘Well, that’s something I could do from home†¦But then I said, ‘This is crazy, am I crazy?'†Little things can matter as much as big ones.From NurseTogether.com comes the inspirational story of a nurse whose above-and-beyond took very little time out of the daily routine, but paid many dividends for one patient.â€Å"One of the women living there had night terrors. She was never able to name that which she feared, but woke every few hours screaming in panic. Her confusion and fear touched my heart as I tried to imagine experiencing her quality of life. I immediately discovered that she would calm down and return to sleep if I spent 10-15 minutes talking to her. Soon thereafter, I discovered that if I came to work 20 minutes before my shift started, held her hand, and talked with her she slept peacefully the entire night through. 20 minutes a day, five days a week out of the life of a student nurse was a small price to pay for her peace of mind.†Sometimes nursing life is just plain funny.From NursesAreAngels.com: â€Å"I was performing a complete physical, including the visual acuity test. I placed the patient twenty feet from the chart and began, ‘Cover your right eye with your hand.’ He read the 20/20 line perfectly. ‘Now your left.’ Again, a flawless read. ‘Now both,’ I requested. There was silence He couldn’t even read the large E on the top line. I turned and discovered that he had done exactly what I had asked; he was standing there with both his eyes covered.†If you too have a nursing tale that is funny/inspiring/illuminating/nursetastic, we’d love to hear it!

Personal Statement for scholarship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Personal Statement for scholarship - Essay Example During the period I was in college, I realize how much I wanted to further my education and on completing my associate degree, I enrolled at Ashford University for Bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a Minor in Childhood. As I studied at Ashford University, my craving for more education kept growing and I realized that I wanted more education. Being a wife to a military man for the last 25 years helped me realize the much psychological help need by military families and I felt that I needed more education to be able to provide that help. That is when I decided I needed to enroll in Walden University in the coming year to obtain Master’s in Mental Health Counseling with specialization in Trauma and Crisis Counseling. After completing my master, I plan to obtain a Doctorate degree in Psychology. This will give me great joy since I will have kept my promise to my mother and achieved my dream of offering psychological help to military families. My goal is to become a Military Family Life Consultant (MFLC), a program run by Military One Source and provides counseling to military families particularly in times of distress. Irrespective of my great desire to pursue Master’s degree, it will hard for my husband and me to fund my studies considering that I am still paying for my bachelor degree. That is why I decided to apply and hope to be awarded this Education Debt Reduction scholarship to help me achieve my dream. While I continue seeking for other scholarships, Education Debt Reduction scholarship will be profoundly