Reading Responses Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 6

Reading Responses - Essay Example He spent his life by shining the boots of the wealthy businesspersons and at evenings if he would have money to spare then he would spend is time watching the cheap plays at the Old Bowery theatre. At night, he would spend his time sleeping wrapped in newspapers and if he would still have money after watching the theater then he would spend his night at Newsboy Lodging House spending 6 cents and he would buy himself a hearty meal at the cafà ©. The novel is based on how ragged dick has a sudden windfall and he obtains a lot of money. The novel teaches the readers a lot of virtue through the life of Ragged dick. It teaches the importance of education, the importance of being generous, honest and to not inculcate any filthy habit of smoking or drinking. The two questions instilled in my mind were What were the differences between Dick’s and Frank’s perception? And What are the different themes that are enumerated in the novel Ragged Dick? The entire novel is based on the dichotomy present between Frank and Dick’s character. While Frank is actually a genteel boy from the countryside who is completely captured and entrapped with the superficial appearances of the people and the different places. Frank is initially disgusted and he looks down upon the appearance of Dick. Frank is just fascinated with the beauty around him and he cannot see the reality inside it. Dick becomes the mouthpiece of Alger who teaches Didactics to the readers of the novel. The different themes that has been discussed in the novel is that Dick’s search for identity. The search for identity begins with the transition and growth of dick from childhood to adulthood. Another theme that has been dealt in the novel is the theme of success. The theme that enacts the importance of being wealthy and it also marks the fulfillment of the American Dream. It also highlights the importance of the social

Principles and Articles of the US Constitution Essay Example for Free

Principles and Articles of the US Constitution Essay When one speaks of checks and balances in government you must understand what is really being asked. It is simply a system set up of the three branches of government that can either amend or veto an act of another branch as to prevent any one branch from having too much power over the other. Is this system effective? Over time, the Constitution has been interpreted and amended to adapt to changing circumstances, and the powers exercised by the federal government have changed with it. For instance because the federal government can influence the states it has the right to withhold federal funds from the states that do not want to go along with their plans whatever they maybe. Because the government can only exercise those powers specifically granted by Constitution, it is important to protection the rights and powers of the people. This includes the freedom of speech, press, and religion; the right to be free from unlawful searches and to a trail by jury, all of which are the first 10 amendments. Numerous real life conflicts have put this system to test over the past couple of centuries, but have stood fairly strong for over 200 years. From the resignation of Nixon over the Watergate scandal to Clinton’s impeachment over the affair with Ms. Lewinsky (Checks and Balances within the U. S Government) it proofs that this system can guard the U. S from any tyranny from administration corruption, scandals and cover-ups. So yes this system proves to be effective to me and that all the government branches remain important and no reform is deemed necessary at this time. How does a bill become a law? Getting a bill passed as a law takes time and effort on part of the U. S. House of Representatives. I’ll give a brief summary of the steps from bill to law. First and foremost a bill is just an idea either from the representatives or the people at which time if agreed upon it then becomes a bill. Next, other representatives have to support the bill, if so then it is placed in a box next to the clerks’ desk, assigned a number and then read to the house. The speaker of the house then sends it to the committee for review, research and revisions before sending it back to the house floor. Sometimes additional information is required and then the bill is sent to sub-committees before being an approved. Once approved the bill is then ready for debate by the House of Representatives where they will agree or disagree on the bill. Changes are then made and now the bill is ready for voting. It takes majority of the Representatives to say or select yes on the matter at which time it is then delivered to the U.  S. Senate by the clerk of the house. Just like the U. S. House of Representatives the U. S Senate goes through some of the similar steps. The Senate committee discusses the bill and then report to the Senate floor for yet again another vote. If the vote is â€Å"yea† then off to the President it goes. The President has the option to sign and pass the bill, veto the bill or do thing at which time the house makes the decision based on what is happening in the house. If by chance the bill has passed in both the U. S. House of Representatives and the U. S.  Senate and is approved by the President then the bill becomes a law and will then be enforced by the government. I believe that because the three branches were put in place for the people it has worked to some extent. The people get a chance to vote and elect who they want to run the country in which they must live. We get the option of having a trail that is to be fair and without prejudice. Sometimes though you have to ask yourself when making decisions are all the decisions about the people or are they thinking about themselves and personal agendas. I would have to say sometimes it is both. When the vote is about raising taxes who does this hurts the poor man not the wealthy. When they want to vote on cutting jobs in higher offices then they try and fix the budget. How unfair is that. Decisions should always be made to suit the country as a whole and not when it deems necessary. Some things that I did learn was that when it came to voting that it was something called electoral votes and is made by an electoral college who actually cast the votes for which the candidates really become president. a person running for president can lose the overall popular votes, but still become President because of the votes casted by the electoral college† (Kimberling, 1992). Now my take on this is that in actuality as a people we are not really electing a president that we pick because of this rule from the Electoral College, so why have us vote? The U. S. Constitution had been around for over 200 years and has managed to with stand the test of time with minimum problems so I believe that we should just allow this document to run its course and see it through the end of time.

Abortion: Women Need a Choice :: Argumentative

Our Nation was built on the ideas of freedom and independence. With that concept, I believe that our government needs to trust that women have the capability to choose what is best for their future. Our society should respect women’s independence and grant them the freedom to decide what is right. This issue is important to me because history has shown that restricting abortions, not only undermines women, but can also be very dangerous.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I believe that the government should not be able to control what a woman does with her body. By granting women the right to choose, this does not permit her to kill, but to decide what is best for all persons involved. There are many situations that show that abortion may be the best for the parents and the unborn child. Situations such as rape or incest prove that it is not the woman’s fault and not fair to the mother or the unborn child to pay for it. There are other situations such as if the mother carries a disease the can be passed on, or if the parents are unfit to raise a family at the time. Any case however, should be between the people involved and not the government.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the past, there have been many cases when abortions were restricted, and women went ahead to find other ways to get it done. They were forced to have it done in unsafe alleys by complete strangers. By legalizing abortions, it has made conditions much safer for women. I think mentally, it has strengthened women in many ways; they can now confront their problems and have options to choose from, and not have to hide their mistakes.

Biological Determinism :: essays research papers

Biological Determinism 1. According to the author of the article "All in the Genes?", there is no intrinsic causality between genetics and intelligence. The author analyses different aspects of biological determinism, and supplies many examples, which illustrate aspects of this problem that are being discussed since the time when these ideas became popular. He does not agree with biological determinist that the intellectual performance of a person depends on genes inherited from his parents. There are a lot of different theories about intellectual capabilities. All these theories reflect different points of views, depending on the period of time the authors of these theories lived. The author argues for the theory that in the nineteenth century , artificial barriers in social hierarchy prevented people from achieving higher intellectual performance. In the end of XX century, in most places these barriers were removed by the democratic processes, and nothing artificial can stand between the natural sorting process and social status of the people. These changes can not be considered as historical because the age of democracy is just two hundred years , and the time when inequality between classes and between people was a natural situation is almost as long as the history of the world . The author insists that there is no connection between environmental differences and genetics. In support of his idea the author state that any Canadian student can perform better in mathematics than some ancient professors of mathematics. The author comes to the conclusion that changes in a cultural environment are the main factor that determines level of intellectual performance, not inherited combination of parent's genes . He argues that genetic differences that appear in one environment may easily disappear in another. A theory that twins were raised in different social conditions will have the same level of intellectual performance because identical genetics constitution was used by the ideologist of biological determinism. The author rejects this theory because from his point of view, all these cases cannot be considered as always reliable on a close look, in most cases, twins were raised by the members of the same family or in other words, not in a diametrical opposite level of society. The author believes that there is no convincing measure of the role of genes in influencing human behavioural variation. During the argumentation of questions of biological determinism, the author supports his idea with numerous examples. He gives examples of supporters of bio determinism and outlines that these examples are not reliable. One of the fallacies of biological determinism is the result of IQ testing. According to some scientist only 20% of performance depend on environment and other 80%

Circulatory System Essay

His first point criticised Paley’s analogy of the watch. The first part of the analogy claimed that if you found a rock while walking through a heath, you would not think anything of it. However, if you had seen a watch you would examine it and find that it had moving parts that demonstrate that the watch has a purpose, the parts work together for a purpose and they are ordered to make the watch function because if they weren’t, the watch won’t perform its function. He concluded the first part of his analogy by saying that the watch had a maker who must have existed at some time and place. The second part of the analogy claimed that if we suppose the watch had another imaginary function, and this function was the producing of other watches, then our admiration for the watchmaker would be increased. He concluded this part of his argument by saying that anyone who finds such a watch would conclude that the design of the watch implies ‘the presence of intelligence and mind’. Paley said that just like the watch being designed necessitates a designer as an explanation of its existence, all of nature requires a much greater designer. The complexity of nature is far greater than any machine human beings can make and therefore a grand designer is needed, this designer is God. Hume criticised this point by saying that the analogy is limited. For example, you could conclude from a study of the human blood circulatory system that animals had the same system. This would be a weak and mistaken analogy however to compare a human’s and an animal’s circulato ry system to the way sap circulates in a plant. Hume maintained his criticism of Paley’s analogy of the watch by an analogy of his own. This analogy said that we can conclude that a house had a builder and an architect but we cannot, however, deduce a builder or architect of the universe in the same way because there is no similarity between the two. He mentioned that if the house is faulty, what does this suggest about the designer? And so, if God did design the world, is he directly responsible for the evil within it? Paley, however, rejected this point because the issue was whether the universe exhibited signs of design. He was not concerned with questions relating to issues of quality concerning the design. Paley’s response was criticised to be unsatisfactory. Hume argued that there are other possible explanations than God for apparent design in the universe. Hume claimed that one of these possible explanations might be that as well as the possibility that there is a grand designer of the universe, it is equally possible that ‘matter may contain the spring of order originally within itself, as well as mind does’ and that unless there is perfect similarity between the object of comparison and what is being compared, you cannot draw a conclusion with any certainty. Another possible explanation for apparent design in the universe might be that any effects that we observe in nature may be caused by a variety of causes. This view supports the discovery of natural selection and the DNA and its role of shaping the growth of all living organisms. Hume claimed that there might not be just one single designer for the world. For example, we may look at a great ship and think about the great design of it, but the ship may be the result of years, even generations of trial and error. The ship may be the product of many hands and not just one great designer. From this, Hume concludes that there is no evidence to suggest the ‘unity of the deity’. Hume suggested three more theories as explanations for the design of the universe; aptness of analogy, the epicurean thesis and the argument from effect to cause. The aptness of analogy said that a watch is not a suitable analogy for the world. For example, just because a cabbage is fitted together/designed perfectly, does not mean that it has a maker/designer. By using a machine as an analogy, you would have already determined the outcome you want; you want there to be a designer and you’re already assuming that something natural, i.e. the cabbage, has a designer. The epicurean thesis was explained using an example. This example spoke about particles and said that if they were freely moving around over infinite time, by chance, one of the combinations they make would just happen to represent a stable order and this stable order is what we now live in. This example represented the view that the universe might have happened by chance. The argument from effect to cause claimed that we cannot go from an effect to a greater cause than that needed to produce the cause. We cannot say whether he made the watch alone or had some little helpers. This would mean that we do not and cannot know whether he is still active or even still alive, we can only say if the universe does/doesn’t have a designer and can’t list its traits by saying that he is benevolent, omnipotent, omniscient and infinite as many would portray him. Overall, Hume criticises the teleological argument in a number of ways. He very explicitly criticises Paley’s views on the teleological argument, using them to explain why he believes that the argument is deeply flawed.

Easy on the adjectives - Emphasis

Easy on the adjectives Easy on the adjectives New research suggests that if you want your writing to be shared online then overusing adjectives is not wise, advisable, judicious, big or clever. [Mental note: should probably edit this.] The findings come from social media scientist Dan Zarrella, who aims in his book Zarrellas Hierarchy of Contagiousness to demystify social media marketing for the masses. After examining how often online content was shared, he came to one definite conclusion: the less complex the language, the more likely it was to be passed on. And, after studying which types of words were the most mobile, he found the biggest no-nos were adjectives and adverbs. This is actually a good tip for just about any writing. Its easy to imagine that cramming in adjectives will give your writing colour or help create more vivid images in your readers mind. But more often than not they do just the opposite, and merely add clutter that slows your reader down. Fledgling fiction writers are taught to adopt the lotus position and chant the mantra show, dont tell over and over until their posture is perfect and they never want to overdo the adjectives and adverbs again. But this advice evidently isnt only for creative writing. Its much better to choose verbs (the most-shared word type) and nouns that work hard, rather than using adjectives or adverbs as crutches for your writing to hobble along on. The finished piece will be tighter and more expressive for it. For example, instead of ran quickly, how about sprinted? Or bounded? See how either could replace the phrase, but each gives a very different and more distinct mental image? Sometimes adjectives are simply redundant. Forward planning, for example. Is anyone out there still planning what to do yesterday? Have a look at these (genuine) examples and spot the pointless words: Teen dies after fatal stabbing Gunned down by armed rebels A visual treat for the eyes Ill-chosen adjectives can also lead to unintentional silliness (which can be delightful for everyone but the writer): Stiff opposition expected to casket-less funeral plan Statistics show that teen pregnancy drops off significantly after age 25 This isnt to say that all adjectives should be banned on pain of death. Mark Twain put it nicely, if youll forgive the adverb: When you catch an adjective, kill it. No, I dont mean utterly, but kill most of them then the rest will be valuable. They weaken when they are close together. They give strength when they are wide apart. Perhaps its worth thinking of them like magnets: repellent together, useful kept apart, and not recommended anywhere near computers.

Critial Investigation of the etiology of juvenile idiopathic arthritis The WritePass Journal

Critial Investigation of the etiology of juvenile idiopathic arthritis Introduction Critial Investigation of the etiology of juvenile idiopathic arthritis IntroductionReferencesRelated Introduction Juvenile idiopathic arthritis is an umbrella term which includes all forms of arthritis that begin before the age of sixteen, of over six week’s duration, and of unknown cause. (Petty el al 2004)   With various contributing environmental and genetic factors, arthritis is an autoimmune disease. Ongoing research, into the etiology of juvenile idiopathic arthritis, has identified the most common risk factor as infection in combination with genetic susceptibility.   An autoimmune reaction occurs as a result of an infection or trauma, this causes synovial hypertrophy and chronic joint inflammation in genetically susceptible individuals.   (Rabinovich 2010). Juvenile idiopathic arthritis is a genetically complicated characteristic in which many genes are important as indications at the onset of the disease. Both the IL2RA/CD25 and the VTCN1 genes have recently been identified as juvenile idiopathic arthritis susceptibility loci (Hinks et al 2009) .Pathogenesis has many other contributing factors such as stress and maternal smoking. (Prince et al 2010) The International League of Associations for Rheumatology (2004) classification of Juvenile idiopathic arthritis, JIA, includes seven subtypes: Systemic onset JIA, oligoarticular, polyarticular RF-positive and RF-negative, Enthesitis-related arthritis, Juvenile ankylosing spondylitis, and ‘‘other.’’ The most common type of JIA is Oligoarticular.     60% of children, mainly girls under 5, with JIA have this type. During the first 6 months Oligoarticular affects between one and four joints.   The knees, ankles and wrists are the most affected. After 6 months it can spread to more than four joints and is known as ‘Extended oligoarthritis’ affecting 2 in 5 children. Affected children are moody and difficult as a result of their symptoms, which include joint stiffness in the morning and joint pain.   Walking may be delayed in very young children. 1 in 5 children also have inflammation of the eye, Uveitis.   Children who carry antinuclear antibodies in their blood are most at risk of uveitis. (Arthristis Research UK, 2010) Polyarticular arthritis, which again is more common in girls, affects 20% of children with JIA.   (Arthristis Research UK, 2010) Polyarthritis mainly affects the joints of the hands and feet, which become painful, swollen and stiff. This type can often affect more than one joint, usually over 4, at a time. The child can often become unwell and pain may be accompanied by a fever. About 10% of children will have the rheumatoid factor (RF), meaning that their blood contains an antibody similar to that often found in adult rheumatoid arthritis. Most RF-positive children are girls, typically aged 10 or over. RF-positive children can have a more severe form of the disease which, without early intervention, can result in long-term joint damage. It is unlikely that RF-positive children will be free from Polyarthritis with symptoms continuing into adult life. Permanent remission is more often seen in children who are RF-negative.   (David and Lloyd 1999, pg 207) About 10% of cases of arthritis in children are systemic. This type of arthritis affects girls and boys equally but is more often seen in under fives. (Arthritis Research UK, 2010). This severe and potentially fatal form of JIA includes children who have arthritis associated with marked systemic features. Systemic   arthritis can be identified by a fever   which persists daily for at least two weeks either at the onset or prior to the arthritis. One or more of the subsequent systemic features must also occur,   these are a rash, generalised lymphadenopathy, liver or spleen enlargement and   serositis (inflammation of the serous tissue, which lines the major organs including the heart and lungs.)   Every child is different. Some children will fully recover after one bout of systemic arthritis. Others could have symptoms that come and go for several years and a number of children go on to develop polyarthritis but have no further fever attacks.   (Arthritis Research UK, 201 0) Psoriatic arthritis affects less than 10% and is most commonly found in girls aged 8 to 9 years. Psoriasis, a skin condition causing   a widespread flaky skin rash is prevalent.   Ã‚  The rarer form, Enthesitis-related arthritis usually affects boys aged eight and over. The main symptoms are arthritis in several joints at once, often located at the sacroiliac joint. Enthesitis-related arthritis has a genetic risk factor with children carrying, the HLA-B27 gene. This gene is an indicator common with some adult forms of arthritis. However affected children don’t always go on to suffer in adult hood. (Arthritis Research UK 2010) Although Munro et al (2009)   reported that there are no specific tests for the diagnosis of JIA. Diagnosis is made on both clinical findings and investigations. A literature review, by Munro et al (2009), reports that past research recommends documenting the range of motion in all joints, the extent of joint swelling, the presence of bony overgrowth and whether affected joints are affected by muscle atrophy and weakness. Significant trauma, fever, in particular if it is persistent for 10 days or without clear cause or coupled with a rash also need to be evident..   Rheumatoid factor and antinuclear antigen screening tests should be conducted although children with an infection or current pathology may have positive findings, and the tests should not be used as a definite diagnosis of JIA. Inflammation, identified with a raised white cell or platelet count,  Ã‚   may also be identified   by during a full blood screening. T-lymphocytes play an essential role in the pathophysiology of JIA. They release pro-inflammatory cytokines and favour a type-1 helper T-lymphocyte response. An abnormal interaction between type 1 and type 2 T-helper cells has been hypothesized. Research into T-cell receptor expression; confirm recruitment of T-lymphocytes specific for synovial antigens. Evidence of a disorder in the humoral immune system is identified by the increased presence of autoantibodies, increased serum immunoglobulins, existence of circulating immune complexes   or complement activation. Chronic inflammation of the synovium is characterized by B-lymphocyte infiltration and expansion. Macrophages and T-cell invasion are linked with the release of cytokines, which induce synoviocyte proliferation. (Rabinovich 2010) JIA, if badly managed, can have a number of consequences   such as growth failure, leg length discrepancy, contractures, scoliosis, blindness (secondary to untreated chronic anterior uveitis), Macrophage activation syndrome, disability and many more. Psychosocial problems are also evident. JIA sufferers are predominantly affected by pain.   When   treating   children in pain, doctors and parents must first understand the physiology of pain and why children have different reactions. The International Association for the Study of Pain (2007) defines pain as â€Å"An unpleasant sensory and emotional experience which we primarily associate with tissue damage or describe in terms of such damage, or both.† This definition recognises that pain is a perception and not a sensation as many believe.   Pain can be categorised into nociceptive, or neuropathic. Sustained activation of the nociceptive system caused by   tissue injury   results in pain described as nociceptive . While neuroplastic changes are evidently involved, nociceptive pain is alleged to arise as a result of the normal activation of the sensory system by noxious stimuli, a process that utilises transduction, transmission, modulation and perception. Direct injury or dysfunction of the peripheral or central nervous system results in   Neuropathic pain. The injury could be to either neural or non-neural tissues. (American Medical Association, 2010) There has been several pain mechanism theories proposed over the last 50 years.   The specificity theory, described in 1664 by Rene Descartes, proposes that pain impulses travelled along a dedicated pathway from receptors in the periphery to a specialised pain centre in the brain, resulting in a mechanical behavioural response. Descartes described each nerve as having a specific function, with free nerve endings being called pain receptors. (Thomas 1998, pg 6) It suggests that the greater the damage or injury then the more sever the pain. (Brannon and Feist , 2000) This theory can be supported to the extent that there are some specialised nerves in the human body however others can have numerous functions or detect several types of stimuli. On the other hand this theory does not explain the variable nature of pain. Furthermore no pain centre has ever been identified; current research suggest multiple areas of the brain detect and respond to the   pain stimuli. (David and Waterfie ld 1999) In 1962, Weddel (cited by Thomas 1998) states that there is no separate system for perceiving pain, rather that pain is due to intense peripheral stimulation of non-specific receptors. This in turn produces a pattern of nerve impulses, which is interpreted centrally as pain. The pattern theory proposed that strong and mild stimuli produced different patterns of impulses. (Thomas 1998, pg 6) This theory ignores the specialism of some receptors and does not account for conditions in which a gentle touch can trigger episodes of neuralgia (David and Waterfeild 1999) The best explanation to date is the pain gate theory, proposed by Mezack and Wall in 1965. (David and Lloyd 1999, pg28)   The theory suggests that stimulation of nerve endings evokes nervous impulses that are transmitted by three systems located in the spinal cord. The substania gelatinosa in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord, the dorsal column fibres and the central transmission cells act to stimulate or inhibit nocioceptive impulses. The transmission of impulses from the afferent fibres to the spinal cord transmission cells is modulated by the spinal gating mechanism in the dorsal horn. The gating mechanism is influenced by the amount of activity in the larger-diameter fibres. Larger diameter fibres are thought to be inhibiter, thus closing the pain gate, the opposite occurs when smaller fibres are stimulated: pain is transmitted and the gate opens.(Melzack and Wall, 1996) In addition descending control from various structures in the brain can also inhibit the relay and close th e gate. On reaching the brain,   the impulses are further modified and integrated with other sensory input. On arrival at   the brain   the impulses are felt as pain. It is important to understand that those afferent fibres do not have a fixed response but are subject to modification even before they reach the pain gate and after they reach the brain. (David and Lloyd 1999, pg 28) The pain gate theory was the first to appreciate that pain can be affected by  Ã‚   psychological factors.   A person may be able to control pain be altering their state of mind. For example if a person is able to distract themselves from the pain then less impulses are sent to the brain therefore not enough stimuli are present to open the gate. (Salvano and Willems 1996, pg 15) In summary experiences of pain are influenced by many physical and psychological factors such as beliefs, prior experience, motivation, emotional aspects, anxiety and depression can increase pain by affecting the central control system in the brain. The specificity theory and the pattern theory suggests that pain occurs only due to damage to body tissue while the gate control theory claims that pain may be experienced without any physical injury and individuals interpret pain differently even though the extent of injury is the same. The gate control   theory also suggests that pain can be controlled by the mind. The author’s understanding is that Juvenile idiopathic arthritis produces nociceptive pain, through recurrent inflammation of the joints. Inflammation releases chemicals such as histamine and bradykanin, which are detected by nociceptors which then activate noxious impulses to the dorsal horn. Once enough impulses are generated to â€Å"open the gate† neural areas responsible for perception and response activate. The perception and level of response is influenced by the state of mind. Pain impacts on the lives of children, with arthritis, by limiting activities, disrupting school attendance, and contributing to psychosocial distress (Kimura and Walco 2006). A study by Schanberg et al (2003)   investigated levels of pain in 41 children with arthritis by the daily completion of pain diaries. They found that 70% of the children had significant amounts of pain, on 60% of the days, with 38% having pain daily. Children often describe the pain associated with JIA as â€Å"aching,† â€Å"sharp,† â€Å"burning,† and â€Å"uncomfortable† (Antony and Schanberg 2003). Research also suggests that children with JIA have a lower pain threshold than their healthy counterparts. (Hogeweg et al 1995) This could be due to the children’s brains, were pain is processed, changing due to long exposure to noxious impulses. The perception of pain in children with JIA could also be influence by the cognitive capabilities and age. Beales et al (1987, cite d in Antony and Schanberg 2003) suggest that cognitive development impacts pain perception due to the association and understanding of the child’s condition. For example all the children , despite their age, described the pain as â€Å"aching† but younger children did not associate it with anything unpleasant , older children, however,are more likely to relate their joint   feeling   to their arthritis-related disability. Therefore with cognitive maturation, children become capable of connecting internal sensations with internal pathology and the potentially serious consequences. Hence, older children with arthritis may become more distressed by the sensation, resulting in increased reported pain intensities as the childs age increases. (Antony and Schanberg 2003). There is a mounting body of research indicating to the importance of psychosocial variables in the pain incidence of children with JIA, consisting of emotional distress, stress, and mood. Also significant is the child’s perception and coping strategy with their pain. Moreover, a number of studies have described the role of parental and familial factors in child pain, specifically parental psychological health, parental pain history, and the nature of the way in which family members interact with one another. Addressing these issues while managing the condition may help to reduce pain, elevate mood, and improve overall quality of life for children with arthritis. (Antony and Schanberg 2003). A child’s pain needs to be assessed at each appointment, whether by a doctor or physiotherapist. Pain can be assessed both subjectively and objectively. It is important to gain a good description of areas affected, the intensity, type and severity of the pain. A more objective measurement is a Visual analogue scale, completed by the child and a VAS global assessment of disease and function completed by the parents. (Pounty 2007) A multidisciplinary approach, to the management of Juvenile idiopathic arthritis, is considered best practice. Treatment is aimed at controlling inflammation and minimising its effects on the joints. For the best outcome, awareness of complications of both disease and therapy and the psychosocial effects of the illness on both the child and family is essential. (Davidson 2000) Treating the pain can sometimes be the only intervention during a physiotherapy session. Both pharmalogical and non-pharmalogical methods are used to treat pain in JIA.Guidelines for the management of childhood arthritis,   Ã‚  The British Paediatric Rheumatology Group (2001), are available and new research is continuing to improve treatments. Most JIA children are Initial treatments include intra-articular long-acting corticosteroid injections and NSAIDs. NSAIDs control pain and inflammation and are usually given for 4 to 8 weeks before starting treatment with a second-line agent. Naproxen, tolmentin, diclofenac, and ibuprofen are commonly used and are usually well tolerated with little gastrointestinal discomfort. The choice of NSAID may be based on the taste of the medication and the convenience of the dosing regimen. Naproxen is prescribed most frequently. Indomethacin is a potent anti-inflammatory medication commonly used to treat ERA and SOJIA, however side effects include headaches, difficulty in concentrating, and gastrointestinal upset. These can be counter acted with other medications. (Weiss and Ilowite 2005) A literature review (Hashkes and Laxer 2005, Cited by Munro et al 2009) looked at the affects of NSAIDS on JIA. These were inconclusive as the participants receiving all forms and doses of NSAIDs achieved significant improvements in the outcome measures and no individual NSAID was shown to have a clear advantage over others. The immune system can be suppressed and the progress of arthritis   slowed down, as well reducing the inflammation, by the use of   diseases modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) (National Rheumatology Society 2008) Methotrexate is most commonly used for JIA.   Random controlled placebo trials and dose finding trials have shown that DMARDs can be effective in polyarticular and oligoarticular arthritis although not in systemic arthritis. (Prince et al 2010) Both physiotherapy and occupational therapy can reduce the impact of JIA, on the daily lives of children. Physiotherapy has a number of treatments that can be utilised to reduce pain. Physical therapy and exercise programs have been shown to be helpful in reducing pain in children with arthritis and should therefore be encouraged, especially since children with arthritis tend to be less physically active and may have become de-conditioned (Kimuru and Walco 2006). Exercise can have an analgesic effect.   If using the Pain gate theory, movement can help to close the gate by providing a distraction. Exercise is also good for the healing process. Satallite cells, which can only be activated through exercise, are important for muscle growth and repair. They can be stimulared to either replace damaged muscle cells or add muscle cells.   (Poutney 2007, pg 234) A literature review, by Long and Rouster-Stevens (2010), highlighted the importance of exercise in the treatment of JIA. Current studies show that inactivity can lead to deconditioning, disability, decreased bone mass, and reduced quality of life. While progress in pharmacology has improved the lives of patients with JIA, management should also consist of a moderate, regular exercise program or more active lifestyle. The literature suggests physical activity may improve exercise capacity, reduce disability in adulthood, improve quality of life and, in some patients, lessen disease restrictions.   . There is however limited evidence of the effect of strength training in children with JIA. Fisher et al (2001) monitored the effects of resistance exercise, via isokinetic equipment, in 19 children with JIA. Children were given an 8 week, personalised progressive programme.  Ã‚   Participants demonstrated significant improvement in quadriceps and hamstring strength and endurance, contraction speed of the hamstrings, functional status, disability and performance of timed tasks.   Despite the limited evidence, it is recommended that a programme of strength training may be beneficial with JIA. Recommendations for healthy children can be used as a guide.  The American Academy of Paediatrics (2001, cited by Maillard 2010) recommends that to increase strength and fitness, low resistance for 15 repetitions is ideal for children. They suggest twenty to thirty minute sessions, two to three times weekly. There is evidence that there is no benefit to increasing the amount of sessions. (Ma illard 2010) Hydrotherapy is also advocated for JIA. The effects of hydrotherapy are gained with the combined effect of the warmth, the buoyancy and the fun element of the treatment. Hydrotherapy aims to reduce pain and muscle spasms, increase joint range of movement, and increase muscle strength. Epps et al (2005) found that following two months of hydrotherapy combined with land based exercise there was an increased quality of life and reductions in the impact of the disease in 47% of children with active juvenile arthritis. Pain relief from the heat generated from the pool could be replicated using heat pads or a hot bath. Heat relaxes your muscles and stimulates blood circulation. In relation to the pain gate theory thermal receptors may detect a raise in temperature, impulses are generated which help to close the gate in the dorsal horn, reducing the amount of noxious impulse to the perception area therefore providing relief   Conversely cold packs could be used to reduce inflammation and therefore reduce the amount of impulses generated by chemorecepters.   (Arthritis Foundation 2011) Alternative therapies are often used to aid pain relief (Feldman et al 2004). Massage is found to be effective on depression, anxiety, mood, and pain (Walach et al 2003).   Field et al (1997) investigated the use of massage on children with JIA. Parents massaged their child for 15 minutes per day, for 30 days. They found that the self assessed pain scales decreased as well as cortisol levels lowering, reducing their stress and anxiety. It is possible that the touch from massage helps to reduce pain by closing the gate in the dorsal horn. In conclusion, juvenile arthritis is a painful condition that affects a child’s social, educational and physical life. Pain is a major contributor to the lowered quality of life experienced by these children. Relief can be found in many interventions. A multidisciplinary approach is best practice. The evidence suggests that a combined programme of physiotherapy and medication can help to reduce pain and improve function in these children References American Medical Association.(2010) ‘Pathophysiology of Pain and Pain Assessment.’ Chicago [online]. Available at:http://jhuleah.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/dr-moore-reading-1-ama_painmgmt.pdf (Accessed on 10th March 2011) Anthony.K,  Schanberg. L, (2003) ‘Pain in children with arthritis: A review of the current literature’ Arthritis Care Research, 49(2),  pages 272–279[online] available at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com(Accessed on 14th March 2011) Arthritis Foundation (2011) ‘using heat and cold’ [online] Available at: arthritis.org/use-heat-cold.php (Accessed on 14th March 2011) Arthritis Research UK (2010) ‘Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA, arthritis in childhood)’ . Available at: arthritisresearchuk.org(Accessed on 14th March 2011) British Paediatric Rheumatology Group (2001) ‘Guidelines for the Management of Childhood Arthritis’. Rheumatology, 40(11), pp1309-1312, [Online]. Available at: http://rheumatology.oxfordjournals.org (accessed on: 16th March 2011) Brannon, L. Feist, J.(2000), Health Psychology: An Introduction to Behaviour and Health ,4th ed , USA: Brooks/Cole, David.C, Lloyd.J (1999) ‘Rheumatology Physiotherapy’. London: Mosby International limited Davidson.J.(2000) ’Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis: a clinical overview European Journal of Radiology, 33( 2), pp 128-134,[Online]. Available at: www. Sciencedirect.com (Accessed on 12th March 2011) Epps.H,  Ginnelly.L,  Utley.M,  Southwood.T,  Gallivan.S,  Sculpher.M,  Woo P.(2005) ‘Is hydrotherapy cost-effective? A randomised controlled trial of combined hydrotherapy programmes compared with physiotherapy land techniques in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis.’ Health Technol Assess. 9(39), pp1-59, [Online]. Available at: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov (Accessed on 12th March 2011) Feldman.D, Duffy.C, De Civita.M, Malleson.P, Philibert.L, Gibbon.M, Ortiz-Alvarez.O, Dobkin.P (2004) ‘factors associated with the use of complementary and alternative medicine in juvenile idiopathic arthritis’ Arthritis Care Research, 51(4),  pages 527–532,[online]. Available at: (Accessed on 10th March 2011) Fisher NM, Venkatraman JT, ONeil KM, (2001) ‘The effects of resistance exercises on muscle and immune function in juvenile arthritis.’  Arthritis Rheum,  44(9), pp276, [Online]. Available at:www.medscape.com(Accessed on 12th March 2011) Hinks A, Ke X, Barton A, et al.  (2009) ‘Association of the IL2RA/CD25 gene with juvenile idiopathic arthritis’.  Arthritis Rheum, 60(1), pp251-7, [Online]. Available at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com(Accessed on 10th March 2011)   Hogeweg.J, Kuis.W, Oostendorp.A, Helder.R, (1995) ‘General and segmental reduced pain thresholds in juvenile chronic arthritis’ Pain, 62(1), pp11-17, [Online]. Available at: www.sciencedirect.com (accessed on 10th March 2011) Hull.RG, (2001). ‘Management guidelines for arthritis in children.’  Rheumatology, 40, pg1308, [online]. Available at: http://rheumatology.oxfordjournals.org (Accessed on 12th March 2011) International Association for the Study of Pain (2007) ‘IASP Pain Terminology’[Online]. Available at: iasp-pain.org(Accessed on 12th March 2011) International League of Associations for Rheumatology, Petty RE,  Southwood TR,   Manners P,   Baum J,   Glass DN,  Goldenberg J,  He X,  Maldonado-Cocco J,  Orozco-Alcala J,  Prieur AM,  Suarez-Almazor ME,  Woo P. (2004) ‘International League of Associations for Rheumatology classification of juvenile idiopathic arthritis: second revision, Edmonton, 2001.’Rheumatology,31(2), pp390-2, [Online]. Available at: jrheum.org (Accessed on 12th March 2011) Kimura.Y, Walco.G, (2006) ‘Pain in children with rheumatic diseases’ Current Rheumatology Reports , 8(6), pg480-488, [online] Available at: www.springerlink.com. (Accessed on 11th march 2011). Long,.A, Rouster-Stevens.R, Kelly. A (2010) ‘The role of exercise therapy in the management of juvenile idiopathic arthritis’ Current Opinion in Rheumatology , 22( 2), p 213–217, [Online]. Available at: http://journals.lww.com/co-rheumatology (Accessed on 12th March 2011) Maillard.S(2010) ‘Physiotherapy for Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis’ [lecture] Great Ormond Street Hospital, London [online] available at:www.vadlo.com (accessed on: 12th March 2011) Melzack.R, Wall.D (1996) ‘The challenge of pain’ 2nd ed.London: Penguin, Munro.J, Haesler.K, Rada.J, Jasper.A, (2009) ‘Juvenile idiopathic arthritis: a literature review of recent evidence’ NHMRC,[online] available at: racgp.org.au (Accessed on 10th March 2011) National Rheumatology Society (2008) ‘Methotrexate in Rheumatoid Arthritis’ [Online] available at:nras.org.uk (Accessed on 10th March 2011) Petty.R, Cheang.M, Malleson.P, Oen.K, Cabrel..N, Rosenberg.A (2004) ‘Predictors of pain in children with established juvenile rheumatoid’. Arthritis Care Research, 51(2), pp222-227, [Online]. Available at: : http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com (Accessed on 14th March 2011) Poutney.T (2007) ’Physiotherapy for Children’. Philadelphia: Elvieser Prince.F, Otten.M, van Suijlekom-Smit.L, (2010) ‘Diagnosis and management of juvenile idiopathic arthritis.’ BMJ,341,c6434, [Online]. Availbel at: www.bmj.com (accessed on: 16th march 2011) Rabinovich (2010) ‘Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis’ Available at: http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1007276-overview(Accessed on 14th March 2011) Schanberg L, Anthony KK, Gil KM, Maurin EC(2003) ‘Daily pain and symptoms in children with polyarticular arthritis.’ Arthritis Rheum, 48, pp1390–1397, [Online]. Available at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com( Accessed on 14th March 2011) Thomas.V, (1998) ‘Pain : its nature and management  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ London : Baillià ¨re Tindall Walach H, Guthlin C, Konig M. (2003) Efficacy of massage therapy in chronic pain: a pragmatic randomized trial.  J Altern Complement Med.;  Vol 9: pg 837-846. [online] available at: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov (accessed on 16th March 2010) Weiss.JE, Ilowite.(2005) ‘Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis’ Paediatric.clin north america52,pp413-442,[online] available at: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov (Accessed on 10th March 2011)

Presidential Wives essays

Presidential Wives essays Throughout American history, most chief executives have had a lady by their side. Two Presidents were widowed before their election, three had wives who died in the White House, and several lost their wives after winning office . Only two bachelors have been elected to the Presidency in over 200 years, James Buchanan in 1856 and Grover Cleveland in 1884 (Cleveland married during his first term ). Taking all of these occurrences into account, women have only been absent for thirty-two of the 215 years that this country has been using the presidential system. One cannot write off this number as mere coincidence when the troubles faced by those lone bachelors are taken into account. The public criticism that was directed at both men suggested that Americans expect their Head of State to come with a partner. This, the most striking point of a Presidents private life, has much to do with how well a man can perform the duties of President of the United States. There is no doubt of t he impact that a First Lady can have on the election of and strength of the President. Some of the ladies that embody the qualities of the First Lady are Dolley Madison, Lucy Hayes, Jackie Kennedy, and Hillary Clinton. Born in 1768, Dolley Payne Todd Madison grew up in a Virginian Quaker Community. She married at 21, but soon lost her first husband and a young son to illness. It was when she moved to Washington to aid her mother in the running of a boardinghouse that she was introduced to James Madison. Madison was nearly twenty years her senior and several inches shorter than the beautiful Dolley, but she took a liking to him and referred to him as the great little Madison (Caroli, p13). The two were married in 1794. After the marriage, both Dolley and James seemed to blossom. Now free of Quaker laws, Dolley began to wear colorful, expensive clothing and learned to entertain. James, who was once described as always looking like &qu...

Gun Violence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Gun Violence - Essay Example It is often put that gun violence is brought about by specific factors which to evidently would be untrue basing on findings on the subject (Reese, par. 20-24). Gun violence is attributed to a number of issues. These vary from lifestyle to economic reasons. For instance, social concerns are pinpointed as one of the reasons that yield to the tragedy. Such issues around the society as biases, social classification, just to mention but a few are termed as crucial in dictating gun violence. For instance, ethnic background and history confirm that black Americans are amongst the larger share of the victims involved. The problem is however, this same ethnicity is self targeted; an occurrence that raises question as to whether the issue is inter-ethnic or the contrary. In as much as the historical perceptions may have such a massive influence on the people there is more to the violence than the background can provide (Reese, par 5). The problem also arises with the nature in which the inventories of armories are handled. Evidently, there are approximately 283 million fire arms in the hands of the civilians. However this does not directly guarantee violence. It turns out that of this big number of civilian procession, most of the violence cases accrue from the firearms distributed by individual dealers. Roughly 30,000 firearms are unaccounted for annually from the dealers’ inventories. This makes the control of such distribution difficult especially given the policy guidelines (Reese, par. 4). Another paradigm significant in explaining the gun violence is the family and the society value system. There are several instances in records of homicidal and suicidal cases involving firearms in US. Most of these cases are unaccounted for by the media houses owing to the dynamic debates around them. When for example, a teenage girl indiscriminately shoots at her school mates and

Richard Wright's view about religion (according to the book, Black Essay

Richard Wright's view about religion (according to the book, Black Boy) - Essay Example In an effort to ascertain Wright’s overarching perspective on religion, this essay considers the development of Wright’s views on religion throughout his autobiography. Wright’s first confrontation with religion comes as a direct consequence of his going to live with his grandmother after leaving the orphanage. Up until this point Wright has made no attempt to gain overt sympathy from the reader, and indicates a number of uncouth actions that he participated in as a youth, including frequent cursing. Upon moving in with his grandmother the reader witnesses the confrontation of these two cultural perspectives. It is no surprise then that Wright’s early views of religion are an oppressive and overly restrictive oppressive system. Even as Wright enjoys the rural environment that surrounds his grandmother’s home, he openly rejects the restrictive internal environment. While one of the initial restrictions that Wright objects to occurs in regards to his grandmother’s belief that the only thing that should be read is the Bible, perhaps Wright’s first-outward objection to the religious restrictions is through the symboli c utterance of a curse word while he was taking a bath. Throughout the novel there are a series of such restrictions that function to characterize religion as an oppressive belief system, further articulating Wright’s views on the subject. For instance, Richard is unable to work on Saturdays because his grandmother so strictly follows religious principles; similarly, he is forced to become baptized in chapter 6 – after which Richard tells the others that were baptized that he feels no different after the ceremony. At the age of twelve, before I had had one full year of formal schooling, I had . . . a conviction that the meaning of living came only when one was struggling to wring a meaning out of meaningless suffering. At the age of twelve I had an attitude toward life that was to

Writting paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Writting paper - Essay Example It is also found that the Ms. Werther favors certain surgeons and allots more time to their surgery than other. James Grover is the President of the hospital and needs the conflict to be resolved between the hospital administrator, Edward Hoffman, who argues that firing of the staff comes under his administration and Dr. Young, who asserts that he has authority over issues that compromise good medical practice and good patient care. There is role ambiguity between the role and duties of hospital administrator and chief of surgery. The controversary has risen due to the fact that heads of different departments of the organizations may take their role and duties literally without considering the needs and requirements of other department which may have direct impact on their performance outcome. In this case, the manner in which the staff of one department discharged her duty, adversely affected the performance of person of another department. This is a case of conflict of authority because Mr. Hoffman strongly objects to Dr. Young’s discharging a staff from her job as he believes that as administrator, his is responsible for quality patient care and the appointment and discharge of hospital staff. On the other hand, Dr. Young, who has fired Ms. Wether, believes that as head of surgery, he is entitled to fire a person from the job if he finds that his or her acts adversely affect the quality discharge of surgical duties properly of the medical practitioners or doctors. As a chief of surgery, Dr. Young has more knowledge about the highly technical and sensitive issue of surgical operations and clinical guidelines. He is also responsible for implementing the same in the hospital and therefore, he is empowered to act against any person as he sees appropriate to maintain high standard of medical ethics and services. Since Ms Werther was scheduling operation suite for surgical procedures that was not conducive to perform

Sustainability analysis of urban agriculture in Beijing, China Research Paper

Sustainability analysis of urban agriculture in Beijing, China - Research Paper Example The agricultural sector is the main stage for producing food worldwide. Historically, agricultural production has managed to satisfy the food demands from a rapidly increasing population. However, the scenario at present is totally reversed. There is an apparent decrease of food supply leaving over 1 billion people hungry. Jiang stated that the International Fund for Agriculture Development projected that the food supply will need to increase by 60% to sustain mankind . The dilemma on food production can be tightly connected with the increasing rate of urbanization. The rapid growth of the world economy and exponential increase in the world population may be considered as some of the reasons for the increasing urban areas. Associated with this change is a large shift of human activities towards the urban areas with significant effects on the agricultural sector. In 2008, the rural population has been exceeded by the urban population for the first time. The world’s urban popula tion as projected by the United Nations will continue to grow by more than a billion people between 2010 and 2025, while the rural population which is viewed to be the agricultural producers, will hardly grow at all. The insignificant growth in rural areas can suggest that the proportion of the global population may not suffice the demands of increasing population not producing food (Satterthwaite et. al. 2809). One way to increase the food availability especially on cities is through urban agriculture as an alternative for conventional agricultural food production in rural areas. This method of food production can be done both in urban and peri-urban areas where it is expected to be integrated into the economic and ecological system (RUAF Foundation par. 1). One of the countries that have enormous population in urban areas is China. According to China’s National Bureau of Statistics 2009, the number of urban residents in China had already reached 622 million - a population w ell over twice the size of the entire U.S. but still just 47% of China’s total (Kwan par.1). Around the many very large and fast-growing cities in China, Beijing is one of the cities wherein intensification of agricultural production is taking place at an accelerated pace (Wolf et. al. 142). In this regard, it is reported that the country will push forward urbanization in an active and stable manner, focusing on gradually transferring farmers qualified for urban household permits into cities (â€Å"China expects urbanization rate to be at 51.5% by 2015† par. 2). This opens the opportunity for China to adopt urban agriculture. In fact, Beijing has an increased adoption peri-urban agriculture since 1950’s. The technology proved to sustain some non-staple foods such as milk and vegetables and improved the quality of food available as opposed to quantity in the city (Jianming 40). Despite of the good news that urban agriculture brought to the food supply chain, one must also examine its sustainability. As part of the world’s intensification of agriculture to increase productivity, maximum concern must be placed for the long-term environmental and economic sustainability (Gilis par. 3). It has been defined by Gold (par. 4) of United States Department of Agriculture that sustainability in agriculture involves the long-term integrated system of plant and animal production that will â€Å"satisfy human needs, enhance environmental quality and natural resources based on agricultural economy, efficiently use of nonrenewable resources and on-site resources, sustain economic viability and enhance the quality of life of farmers and society as a whole.† This paper aims to analyze the existing urban agriculture and its contribution to the development of the region. The impact of practicing agriculture in urban areas of Beijing, China will be assessed based on the economic, social and environmental aspects as its sustainability

Cambodian Genocide Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

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Sustainability analysis of urban agriculture in Beijing, China Research Paper

Sustainability analysis of urban agriculture in Beijing, China - Research Paper Example The agricultural sector is the main stage for producing food worldwide. Historically, agricultural production has managed to satisfy the food demands from a rapidly increasing population. However, the scenario at present is totally reversed. There is an apparent decrease of food supply leaving over 1 billion people hungry. Jiang stated that the International Fund for Agriculture Development projected that the food supply will need to increase by 60% to sustain mankind . The dilemma on food production can be tightly connected with the increasing rate of urbanization. The rapid growth of the world economy and exponential increase in the world population may be considered as some of the reasons for the increasing urban areas. Associated with this change is a large shift of human activities towards the urban areas with significant effects on the agricultural sector. In 2008, the rural population has been exceeded by the urban population for the first time. The world’s urban popula tion as projected by the United Nations will continue to grow by more than a billion people between 2010 and 2025, while the rural population which is viewed to be the agricultural producers, will hardly grow at all. The insignificant growth in rural areas can suggest that the proportion of the global population may not suffice the demands of increasing population not producing food (Satterthwaite et. al. 2809). One way to increase the food availability especially on cities is through urban agriculture as an alternative for conventional agricultural food production in rural areas. This method of food production can be done both in urban and peri-urban areas where it is expected to be integrated into the economic and ecological system (RUAF Foundation par. 1). One of the countries that have enormous population in urban areas is China. According to China’s National Bureau of Statistics 2009, the number of urban residents in China had already reached 622 million - a population w ell over twice the size of the entire U.S. but still just 47% of China’s total (Kwan par.1). Around the many very large and fast-growing cities in China, Beijing is one of the cities wherein intensification of agricultural production is taking place at an accelerated pace (Wolf et. al. 142). In this regard, it is reported that the country will push forward urbanization in an active and stable manner, focusing on gradually transferring farmers qualified for urban household permits into cities (â€Å"China expects urbanization rate to be at 51.5% by 2015† par. 2). This opens the opportunity for China to adopt urban agriculture. In fact, Beijing has an increased adoption peri-urban agriculture since 1950’s. The technology proved to sustain some non-staple foods such as milk and vegetables and improved the quality of food available as opposed to quantity in the city (Jianming 40). Despite of the good news that urban agriculture brought to the food supply chain, one must also examine its sustainability. As part of the world’s intensification of agriculture to increase productivity, maximum concern must be placed for the long-term environmental and economic sustainability (Gilis par. 3). It has been defined by Gold (par. 4) of United States Department of Agriculture that sustainability in agriculture involves the long-term integrated system of plant and animal production that will â€Å"satisfy human needs, enhance environmental quality and natural resources based on agricultural economy, efficiently use of nonrenewable resources and on-site resources, sustain economic viability and enhance the quality of life of farmers and society as a whole.† This paper aims to analyze the existing urban agriculture and its contribution to the development of the region. The impact of practicing agriculture in urban areas of Beijing, China will be assessed based on the economic, social and environmental aspects as its sustainability

Violence and Exploitation of Women and Children Essay

Violence and Exploitation of Women and Children - Essay Example Children are no less exposed to violence than women. In fact, many of the girls that are raped and mutilated are also children. According to the estimates recorded by Feminist.com (2008), as many as 17.6 per cent of women in US have undergone forced rape of which, 21.6 per cent were not even 12 years of age at the time of first attempt of rape and another 32.4 per cent were aged between 12 and 17 years. Baum (2005) has noted that likelihood of children and adolescents aged between 12 and 19 years to be exposed to violence as compared to adults were more than twice. Thousands of children are abuse, physically, emotionally or both in US every year. â€Å"A large proportion of children surveyed (38.7 percent) reported more than one direct victimization (a victimization directed toward the child, as opposed to an incident that the child witnessed, heard, or was otherwise exposed to)† (Finkelhor et al., 2009, p. 7). Many women and children are victimized by their own relatives. It is interesting to note that a vast majority of the women are raped by their own ex-husbands, boyfriends or room mates. According to Feminist.com (2008), 64 per cent of the women who are raped in US are related to the rapists. The rapists usually take revenge from the girls for their personal grudge.

The Mongols Essay Example for Free

The Mongols Essay The Mongols swept across Asia and Europe in a bloody rampage. Killing over 6,107,000 people from the years 1220-1258. Treating women like a piece of meat meant to fulfill the pleasure of men. But how Barbaric were the Mongols on a scale of one to ten? Well the Mongols were very barbaric because they were uncivilized, brutal, yet conquered much territory. â€Å"Come out so that we may count on you according to our custom.† And when the people come out to them they seek out artisans among them and kept these. But the others with the exception of those they wish to have as slaves, they kill with the axe†¦This statement proves in many ways that the Mongols were uncivilized. Also soldiers would execute prisoners by shooting them with arrows or by burying them alive upside down in the dirt and tying there arms so they cant dig themselves out. Causing a slow excruciating bereavement of suffocation. Even the Mongol Yasa (laws) and Bilik (rules) were barbaric men were allowed to cheat on women having as many wives as they please but women could only have one husband and if a dad was to die then it was okay to marry all of his wife’s except for his own mother. Could you imagine our society if Mongols were in control? (Doc: 5, 10) â€Å"†¦Severed the heads of the slain from their bodies and heaped them up on piles†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Sounds Brutal doesn’t it? Can you imagine the people who could kill someone cut there heads of then pile them up like some piece of rubbish? Well the Mongols sure were brutal no doubt about it. They were so brutal they killed over 6,107,000 people from the years 1220-1258. In fact, it was commanded that the town of Nishaphur should be laid waste in such a manner that the site could be ploughed upon; and that †¦. Not even cats and dogs should be left alive. Also thief’s, did not exist in the Mongol life because they were so scared of the consequences of robbery that even the poorest sole wouldn’t dare think about steeling. Could you imagine how scary it must have been to be a Mongol or even one of there rivals? (Doc: 4,7) Finally, Under Genghis Khan the Mongols were great conquerors. They subjugated over 4,860,000 square miles. The Mongols had revolutionary war tactics such as, before a fight they would surround the enemy. Having there people (men, women, children, and some times dummy’s) on horses to make the other army think they were fighting a huge crowd causing panic among them as the Mongols came closer and closer attacking their enemy. With this tactic and many others Mongols both brought an onslaught and conquered a large amount of Asia and Europe. No wonder why the Mongols ruled the largest empire known to men for nearly 300 years. (Doc: 1, 6, 3) In conclusion the Mongols on a scale of one to ten were about a seven when it came to how barbaric they really were. Mostly Because of there strategies of war, laws, rules, execution of prisoners, conquest, and finally how brutal all together they were as a group of people. This is true due to the fact the Mongols were crude, atrocious, yet conquered a great deal of terrain.

Differences on Reaction Time and Accuracy During Enumeration

Differences on Reaction Time and Accuracy During Enumeration Visual field differences on reaction time and accuracy during enumeration ABSTRACT This experiment tests the difference in performance of reaction time and level of accuracy between visual fields during enumeration. The results show that the left visual field has an advantage over the right visual field for reaction time and level of accuracy. However, the results of the repeated measures t-test found that there was a significant difference between visual fields for reaction time, but no significant difference for accuracy. Results show some support for our hypothesis that there are visual field differences in performances during enumeration. However, this experiment has to be further tested for validity. INTRODUCTION When people are shown an array of items, reaction times have been found to remain relatively constant till three or four items with few errors. However beyond that number, reaction times start to increase rapidly with more errors. This difference is known to be from subitizing and counting. The word subitizing was first introduced by Kaufman, Lord, Reese, and Volkmann (1949). Subitizing is the ability to know the sum of items without counting, with speed and accuracy. However, counting is a slower process, and used for larger array of items. Jackson Coney (2004) study examined 32 psychology undergraduates on enumeration. Their results showed support for differences between visual field on subitizing. There was no effect of gender or from hand used for response of answers. They found that there was a significant effect of visual fields on response times. There was faster reaction times and higher accuracy for the left visual field. They also found there were no significant beneficial effects of visual field on response time beyond 3 items. Participants had lesser errors in the left visual field than the right. Better performance in the left visual field is linked to processing in the right hemisphere. Also, a significant effect between visual field and number of items was found. The left visual field appears to have a better advantage when enumerating 2 to 4 items. They also found a significant effect of number of items, response time increased with number of items displayed. The largest increase in mean response time wa s between 2 and 3 items, and was highly significant. Accuracy also dropped as number of items increased. Nan, Knà ¶sche and Luo (2006) tested 14 right-handed, paid subjects on enumeration with an extra condition of distractors present. Their event related potential (ERP) was also recorded while they performed the experiment. Their results showed that reaction times generally increased with number of targets and distracter items. Further tests showed that there was a significant difference in reaction times between numbers of targets in each condition. Their results do not support the theory of subitizing and counting. In addition, there was no evidence of differences between accuracy rates and number of targets. There was also no evidence of hemispheric dominance in performance in subitizing or counting. This experiment will be examining difference in performance between visual fields, and reaction time on enumeration. This experiment is a modified replication of the Jackson Coney (2004) study, we will only be comparing data from 4 items and only from right handed participants. This experiment will aim to determine if their results of right hemispheric dominance can be replicated. This is useful as it would give a better insight about processes in the brain. My hypothesis is that there will be a difference in performance of reaction times and accuracy between visual fields on the task of enumeration. METHODS Design The independent variable is the visual field of the participant. There are two dependent variables, the response time, and accuracy of reponses. This is a within group design. A repeated t-test was used. Participants All 30 participants were voluntary, and are female psychology undergraduates. Participants were split into left and right handed group, but only the right handed group data were analysed. Apparatus Participants are seated in a cubicle room with adequate light with an Amiga 1200 microcomputer and 1084S monitor. This computer controlled the trial procedure, displaying and timing of stimulus and recorded results. The computer was linked to a monitor outside the cubicle, which displayed error and reaction time scores to the experimenter. Response is indicated by participants pressing 1 of 3 buttons, which correspond to the estimate of 3, 4 or 5 items shown. A chin rest was provided to ensure the participant’s head was 45 cm away and in the middle of the screen. Also, eye movements are tracked using a closed-circuit television system. Procedure Participants are seated in front of the screen and chin rest was adjusted to ensure they are at a relaxed and steady head position. Participants are first shown a blank screen (1000ms), and then a central cross appears for central fixation (1000ms). Stimuli are presented as black dots on a white background (150ms) and the blank screen reappears until they give a response. The whole cycle is repeated again. The number of stimulus ranges from 3-5. They were asked to indicate using fingers to press 1 of 3 buttons. The buttons correspond to 3, 4 or 5 number of items. Half of the participants were told to respond by pressing the button with their left hand and the other half were told to respond using their right hand. This is to control handedness response effects, however the responses from left handed participants are not analysed. Participants were also told to place index finger of their assigned hand above the â€Å"3† button and the other fingers on the other buttons. Before the real experiment started, participants are given 10 practice trial runs, but results are not taken into account and the experimental trial is followed immediately. For each trial, stimuli will have equal chance to be either shown on the left or right of the visual field. The locations of the stimuli are determined by randomly placing them in the slots of a theoretical 44 grid of the screen. Stimuli cannot be placed into neighboring spots in the grid. There are a total of 30 randomized trials. 10 trials will show 3 items, 10 trials will show 4 items and 10 trials will show 5 items. If an error is made, participants will hear the feedback from an auditory tone. Their reaction and accuracy of responses are recorded. Participants are told to estimate the number of stimuli on screen with priority on accuracy of response over speed. Only data from 4 item displays were analysed. RESULTS Mean reaction time for left visual field is 844.57ms (SD= 5.91ms), and 854.95ms (SD=6.27ms) for the right visual field. The average correct percentage for the left visual field is 84% (SD= 18%), and 86 %( SD=11%) for the right visual field. A repeated measures t-test was conducted to compare visual field and reaction times. There was a significant difference found, t (4) =6.29, p A repeated measures t-test was conducted to compare accuracy between visual fields. There was no significant difference found, and thus we have to reject our hypothesis. We cannot accept the research hypothesis. T (4) =0.172, p Graph 1: shows the mean of reaction times in ms between left and right visual fields. Graph 2: shows the mean of errors in percentage between visual fields. DISCUSSION The results from the repeated t-test for reaction times show that there are significant differences in the mean of reaction times between visual fields. The results from the repeated t-test for accuracy levels show that there a no significant differences in the mean average percentage of correct responses between visual fields. These results are supported by Jackson Coney (2004) study to a certain extent, they found that there was significant differences between visual field on reaction times and accuracy. Our study found that there were faster reaction times, higher accuracy for the left visual field. However the t-test found significant differences for reaction times, but not accuracy of responses. The results are in contradiction of what Nan, Knà ¶sche and Luo (2006) found in their study. They found that there was a significant difference in reaction times between numbers of targets in each condition. They also found no evidence of hemispheric dominance in performance during subitizing or counting. However, we did not analyze data between numbers of objects. We can only conclude that our findings show slight support for our hypothesis, as the overall findings do not fully support our hypothesis that there will be a difference between visual field on the task of enumeration. However, there is possibility that having significantly faster reaction time is due to strategies employed by participants unknowingly. Trick and Pylyshyn (1994) suggested that people use methods to help them estimate number of items, such as using patterns. This indicates that the differences in results could not be due to hemispheric dominance, but because of these strategies. In Nan, Knà ¶sche and Luo (2006) study, reaction times for with 6 items display had shorter reaction times compared to the 5 items. Study by Piazza, Mechelli, Butterworth and Price (2002) tested 9 male participants. Participants were shown a total of 32 different stimuli consisting of black dots on a white background. PET scans were also obtained during the experiment. Piazza et al. (2002) PET scans showed that areas linked to object recognition were activated in both canonical and without canonical arrangements. It suggests that pattern recognition was used in all conditions. These studies suggest that ther e was evidence of participants using pattern recognition to count items. As a result, these data could skew our data as the differences in reaction time could be due to other factors such as pattern recognition that aid in enumeration. Enumeration requires the assimilation of information received from visual stimulus has to be integrated first before it can be understood. According to this theory, the process would speed up if the visual stimulus is presented in one visual field. However, Delvenne, Castronovo,Demeyere and Humphreys (2011) propose an alternative hypothesis. They propose that high level tasks perform better when there is bilateral visual field presentation. Their study found that visual enumeration has fewer errors when the items are shown in two visual fields rather than in a single visual field. This bilateral field advantage is seen when more than four items are shown. The authors suggest that this effect is only seen when the task becomes too taxing for our attention. Further tests should also include results with gender being controlled for, and compare results between unilateral processing and bilateral processing of enumeration. Also, this experiment has threats to external validity as there is sampling bias. It cannot be generalised to the population, because only women participant data was taken into account. Also, if we are testing for visual field differences the results would be skewed if we only take results from the right handed participants. Previous studies such as Bourne and Todd (2004) have shown that handedness does affect hemi field bias in processing. As such, we can propose there could also be a processing bias for enumeration. In conclusion, the results have found that there was significant difference between visual fields for reaction times but not for accuracy of responses. The results suggest that there is some support for our hypothesis that there are differences in performance between visual fields during enumeration. However, further study should be done to check for validity of study. REFERENCES Bourne, V.J. Todd, B.K. (2004). When left means right: an explanation of the left cradling bias in terms of right hemisphere specializations, Developmental Science, 7, 19-24. Delvenne, J.-F., Castronovo, J.,Demeyere, N. Humphreys, G.W. (2011). Bilateral Field Advantage in Visual Enumeration. PLoS One, 6, e17743. Retrieved March 24, 2014, from http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0017743. Jackson, N. Coney, J. (2004). Laterality: Asymmetries of Body, Brain and Cognition. Brain and Cognition, 9, 53-66. Kaufman, E.L., Lord, M.W., Reese, T.W. Volkmann, J. (1949). The Discrimination of Visual Number. American Journal of Psychology, 62, 498–525. Nan, Y., Knosche, T. R., Luo, Y.J. (2006). Counting in everyday life: Discrimination and enumeration.  Neuropsychologia, 44, 1103–1113. Piazza, M., Mechelli, A., Butterworth, B. Price, C.J. (2002). Are Subitizing and Counting Implemented as Separate or Functionally Overlapping Processes? NeuroImage, 15, 435–446. Trick, L.M. Pylyshyn, Z.W. (1994). Why are small and large numbers enumerated differently? A limited-capacity preattentive stage in vision. Psychol Rev, 101, 80-102

Modern Music :: essays research papers

In an age of error the most influential thing in a child and or a teenagers life is music. Whether it be Reggae, Hip Hop, Gangster Rap, R&B, Oldies Rock, Latin, or Heavy Metal it still has a way to overpower a persons mind no matter how old they are. Right now pretty much everybody that I talk to when I am on the Internet like Rap. I don’t understand how people could listen to non-stop cursing and fast-paced lyrics. Even though my opinion of the music isn’t so great the singers have to get some credit for being able to recite poetry in such a manner. I prefer the heavier stuff like Slipknot, KoRn, or Kittie because I enjoy talented people who play their own instruments, and personally I like very loud music. Reggae is well known because of one group and that group is Bob Marley and The Wailers. I happen to like them because they pretty much set the standards for a band that are known to people as Sublime. They are sort of a rock "n" roll/reggae band with hit songs like "What I Got" and "Santeria". My friends and I sometimes refer to Bob Marley as the "God" of music. Another popular style of music is the Pop music category. I think it features a bunch of no talent boy groups like N’Sync* and the Backstreet Boys. It is artists like this who are ruining our countries youth. These bands are corrupting the minds of our teen and pre-teen girls, and I don’t believe its right that they are doing this because very rarely do girls like the same music as my friends and I. Finally we get to the music that gets more interesting the heavy metal/rock music. I happen to like this style of music the best because the music means something. I don’t think that it is right for the tabloids to go out every time something happens with shootings at schools and blame it on the rock music. Rap is the music that gives the message of killing and shooting people. I don’t think it is right that they can go blame artists like Marilyn Manson and Ozzy Osbourne for children with weak minds when it comes to music that deals with death. Finally, my last point is that the tabloids judge a musician by the way that they look and from what they heard about them.

Friendly Gossip is an Oxymoron :: Friendship Essay

Friendly Gossip is an Oxymoron "Can you keep a secret?" Becky asked me in a hushed tone. We were in my living room. Last I checked, my walls don't have ears. I had no idea why she was speaking so quietly. "Why? What is it?" I was wise to this type of chit-chat. She wanted to tell me a piece of gossip that she wasn't supposed to reveal. Her betrayal was quickly becoming my problem. Before I could respond negatively, she burst out, "Jennifer is pregnant!. She just found out and told me, but asked me not to tell anyone. You won't tell, will you?" She continued, "Just act surprised when she tells you." "Okay," I managed halfheartedly. How unfair. Now I knew something I shouldn't; even worse, I had to "pretend" to be clueless. Becky hadn't even given me a chance to say, "No, I don't want to know." I honestly didn't want to know. I had been in similar situations before and gotten burned. I lost a dear friend because of revealed secrets and gossip. Curiosity doesn't even get the best of me anymore. Now the games begin, I thought. Should I betray Becky or Jennifer? History repeats itself and I knew nothing but distrust would come of this conversation. Unfortunately, there is truly no such thing as "friendly gossip." At that moment, I knew that I couldn't trust Becky. Had she been revealing all the confidences that I shared with her in the past? She had always been a close friend. She was also that friend from whom I always learned the latest scoop on everyone. I started thinking of the countless secrets that I told her over the four years we knew each other. Many of those conversations became public. I hadn't thought she was the person who told. I hadn't considered that someone who claimed to be a dear friend would divulge my feelings. I heard an abundance of gossip from her lips. Not until she sat in my living room whispering about Jennifer had I considered she was a blabbermouth. I had told Becky when I discovered I was pregnant. She was ecstatic. I hadn't told anyone else. A few days later, everyone was congratulating me. I was hurt. I wanted to impart my wonderful news. I was deprived of the experience. Despite my hurt feelings, I didn't want to confront her. I didn't tell her that I suspected that she blabbed.

Native North Americans: Journal Entry of a Subordinate Group

One often wonders where the Native North Americans originated from. Some theories have been discussed about the peopling of the Americas. Early theories involving lost tribes and continents were based purely on speculation instead of actual scientific facts. Discoveries made during many archeological expeditions have helped shape the always changing interpretations by adding more questions and more theories. There have been genetic and linguistic studies which raised more understanding and brought new questions. It is theorized that during the latter part of the Cenozoic era, also known as the age of mammals that the Wisconsin glaciation caused enough of the planet’s water supply to turn into ice. This lowered the oceans and exposed now submerged land. This event created a stretch of land that the large mammals of the Ice Age era, along with the natives of that era, could very well have migrated across the newly formed land bridge, which now connected two continents. This land bridge is known as the Bering Strait, or Beringia. During the time that Beringia existed, the Wisconsin glaciers most likely prohibited migration to any southern or eastern regions. Another theory suggests that the early natives may have inhabited the now Alaskan region because it was ice-free due to low precipitation. Several melts over a period of time created passageways, and evidence from archeological site implies that there was an ice-free corridor for thousands of years. It was during another melt approximately ten thousand years ago, that a second corridor was most likely formed farther east along the borders of Saskatchewan and Canada plains. This points to the possibility that the ancient people could have traveled eastward along the rivers in the Great Plains, and down further south. The Indians known to history as the Sioux are also known as Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota, meaning allies. This is my heritage. I am a member of the largest division of Siouan family, otherwise known as Sioux. The name is from a term given to the largest and well- known of the tribal groups. At one time, my people stretched from the west banks of the Mississippi northward from Arkansas and the Rocky Mountains. The Dakotas also inhabited territory east of the river up to Wisconsin and Missouri. They were here to encounter DeSoto on his journey in 1541, when he reached the Indian villages in what is now eastern Arkansas. Another hundred years passed before any mention of Sioux existing, when in 1658 some Jesuit missionaries heard of the existence of about thirty Dakota villages just north of a Potawatomi mission. This was located at about the head of Green Bay, Wisconsin, in St. Michael. It was during the middle 1600’s when the Sioux, along with the Arapaho and Cheyenne had to migrate further westward towards the Great Plains to what is known as North Dakota, Minnesota, and South Dakota. This migration was mainly due to the O jibwa and Chippewa tribes pushing them out of the Great Lakes region. The Ojibwa and Chippewa had been pushed out of their own land that had been further east, by the European settlers of that time. In 1805 Lewis and Clark passed through the center of this region and made contact with the Sioux tribes. After this took place, several more expeditions brought traders that settled among the tribes, and in the course of some time, permanent settlers arrived. This made the area so small that eventually the people of my tribe were forced to live in Indian Territories or confined to Nebraska, the Dakotas, or Montana. This brought on a series of raids and counter raids that lasted from roughly 1850 through 1890 and were known as the Sioux Wars. In the first years of the twentieth century, the Dakotas also known as Tetons began the process of adapting to their new way of life. They still had strong faith in their own traditions, but realized that the old way was gone forever. Numerous changes with the economy and politics were forced on my people by the government. The people strived to establish a life for themselves that used both new changes, but still remained true to their values and beliefs. During the rest of the twentieth century, all of the reservations for the Dakotas, Lakotas, and Tetons lost more land due to ownership passes and inheritances. Division between rural dwellers and people who live in town have grown bigger. Rural residents tend to retain their use of native language, and be involved in cultural events, when townspeople adapt other aspects of the American culture. Most of the Sioux nation and other groups of American Indians live in South Dakota, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and North Dakota at present time on privatized land created by the government many years ago. Wendy Coghill

As I Walked Out One Evening †W.H.Auden Essay

The poem in study is As I Walked out One Evening by W.H. Auden. His views projected in this poem are suggested to have not varied since the time he composed this piece. Unlike his other poems, this piece was never revised. Here, Auden exposes the two sides of romance through the manipulation of narrative voices, the poet, the lover’s song and the chiming of the clock personified. As I walked out one evening is composed in a traditional ballad form. It’s consists of 15 quatrain stanzas conforming to an â€Å"abcb† rhyme scheme. The masculine end rhyme employed gives more freedom of wording. It is through these settings that exhibits the song-like quality of a ballad and by this lyrical tune, Auden suggests the theme and theories examined in the poem are of childlike logic and knowledge. With reference to the structure of the poem, it comprises of 15 stanzas split into three distinctive voices. The first and last being the narration by the poet himself, framing the Lover’s Song and the menacing voice of the clock. Through the beginning narration by the persona, W.H. Auden sets the essence of nostalgia with a â€Å"walk down Bristol Street†. The mention of Bristol Street creates the tone of reminiscence as it is a venue of Auden’s childhood. The contrast of â€Å"crowds upon the pavement† that use to be â€Å"fields of harvest wheat† showcases the change taken place during time-lapse. Down by the brimming river, the poet hears a lover sing â€Å"love has no ending†. The transition of narrative position from the initial persona to the Love Song takes place through the marking of inverted commas. The rhythm of the poem also changes away from iambic tri-meter when the love song begins. The love song is hyperbolized, injected with imageries and unconventional similes to exaggerate the affections of a naà ¯ve lover. With suggestions of the uncanny ability to love â€Å"till China and Africa meet†, Auden captures their simplistic and unrealistic minds. The silly and lighthearted tone shown through the alliteration of the line â€Å"salmon sing in the street†. In addition to undermining the forces of nature, the lover’s song seem to believe its love to be pure and immune to time, for â€Å"in my arms I hold The  Flower of the Ages, And the first love of the world†. This love is expressed to be ageless, the Flower of the Ages a Biblical reference to the year of maturity in which a woman can marry. In a sense, the song provokes that the incredibility of love is beyond human entity, but of something greater. However, the tone shifts in the 6th stanza, turning to the narration of the clock and time personified. They seem to be rebuking the ideals embodied by the Lover’s Song as they began to â€Å"whirr and chime†, an onomatopoeia that creates the image of violent and unsettling wind. The wind that could break them apart, hit their faces with a chill. The clock conveys the negative perception of naà ¯ve love as it rings out a series of advice to the lovers. The Clock’s advice is like a progression of a 4 session counselling, speaking to us readers as if we are the young lovers. Marked by the phrase â€Å"O†, he begins with a gentle coaxing. â€Å"O let not time deceive you†, the idealism borne by the love song shall break through time’s passing. â€Å"O plunge your hands in the water† as if washing one’s face in the morning. Wake up from the hyperbolized world of love to reality. â€Å"Stare, stare at the basin,† reflect on your past actions and their indications, what you’ve missed. â€Å"O look, look in the mirror† examine your present self. Finally â€Å"O stand, stand at the window†, see your partner through the barrier of glass. Unclouded and unaffected by cruel words of a quarrel, in the peace of one’s own mind, then we shall see that we are all hypocrites in love. The overall tone of the clock is quite dark and Auden uses the technique of contrasting metaphors to develop the negative effects of time in idealism. The â€Å"green valley† and â€Å"appalling snow† signifying the presence of time will eventually break momentary joy. â€Å"The glacier knocks in the cupboard, the desert sighs in the bed†, the consequences of time will invade one’s privacy and comfort, perhaps even home. Until it becomes overwhelming, one should break down, it’ll â€Å"open a lane to the land of the dead† where qualities of life we once known are twisted into a paradoxical world embodied by stanza 12. There is however, a consolation to these negative aspects, that if we â€Å"wake  up† in time, we shall learn to love truly, for life remains a blessing, even when we’re too focused on our distress. Throughout this entire process, the language suggests the lack of presence of the first persona. But this theory is contradicted by the last stanza where the â€Å"poet† narrates. â€Å"It was late, late in the evening†, the repetition a habit picked up from the clock’s speech. The persona was watching the whole time, now knows better, that the overflowing love of the â€Å"brimming river†, actually has a lot more depth. W.H. Auden through the shift of narrative voices explores the different perspective of love. This technique shows us not only one sided opinions but various views. And readers are shown, that perhaps what is right in the minds of one, may vary to the eyes of another. The image of romance is often twisted to extremes by society. As human beings, we have the tendency to form opinions based on our own favours. To an extent, this poem may resemble a satire to society. Humans tend to be hypocrites and very good liars to even our own minds to justify our wrongdoings.