What does the old spelling bee medal symbolize in To Kill a Mockingbird?

The spelling bee medal is one of the items that Scout and Jem find in the knothole of the tree, which the reader assumes were left by Boo Radley. Collectively, these objects are Boo's way of interacting with the children, though his motives are unclear. One possible explanation is that he wants to contribute to their childhood fantasy by growing the mystery.

Each item that Boo leaves, with the exception of the pennies, is of no monetary value, but to a child they could be priceless. Things like twine, pennies, and a broken watch are what we might consider garbage, but to Scout and Jem they fuel the excitement and fantasy world that occupies their free time. The soap dolls and spelling bee medal, on the other hand, are much more personal items and their presence in the knothole gives the occurrences more complexity. The hand-carved soap dolls, one could assume, are a symbol of affection or appreciation, as they are carved to look like Scout and Jem. The medal, has more to do with Boo than the children.

Throughout much of the book, the children view Boo (who they've never actually seen) as a kind of mythical monster. He is a source of fear and excitement that is fueled by town gossip and urban legend. In light of that, leaving the medal in the knothole is Boo's way of communicating to Jem and Scout that he was once a normal child, just like them.

In which phase of mitosis do chromosomes become visible?

Mitosis is the process of cell division, in which a parent cell divides to produce two daughter cells. It is a form of asexual reproduction. Mitosis is not a single-step process and actually consists of 5 different phases. These include, prophase, prometaphase, metaphase, anaphase and telophase. Interphase is not considered a part of mitosis process and during this phase, the cell prepares for division through mitosis. During the prophase, discrete chromosomes become visible due to the condensing of chromatins (long strands of DNA material bound with different proteins). These discrete chromosomes can be viewed very clearly by using a microscope. In the next step of mitosis, the prometaphase, the nuclear membrane dissolves and the microtubules attach themselves to the chromosomes for eventual separation.

Hope this helps.   

Should America be a stronger world power today?

The United States is a strong world power today. The United States is often the country that takes the lead in dealing with world events that need attention. The United States is one of the leading nations fighting terrorism. We have killed several leaders of terrorist organizations. We have thwarted planned actions of terrorists and of terror groups. Our counter-terrorism activities are extensive and strong.

We have been asked to provide humanitarian relief to countries that have experienced natural disasters. We have provided relief for countries that have experienced tsunamis, earthquakes, and floods. Many people look to the United States when disasters strike.

The influence of the United States is felt around the world. We support the only democracy in the Middle East, which is the country of Israel. We have also worked to try to resolve conflicts in that region. We have sent troops on peacekeeping missions in Europe in the 1900s. We provide economic aid to countries in need. We are in the process of normalizing relations with Iran and with Cuba. We also have developed trade agreements with other countries on our continent.

The reach of the United States expands around the world. We are already a strong world power. There is no need to increase what is an already active role in world affairs.

Why was the French and Indian war important?

I would say that one of the reasons why the French and Indian War is important is because it established the basis for the American Revolution.

The colonists greatly assisted the British during the French and Indian War. This support came in the form of military and economic commitment to the British cause.  With the successful conclusion to the war, the colonists expected gratitude from the British.

There was a great deal of surprise when the British reaction was quite the opposite.  Once the French and Indian War ended, the British were in need of financial replenishment. They needed to find a source of income that could help pay for the war against the French and Native Americans.  The British began to tax the colonists much more in order to pay for the war.  British control over the colonists rose as a result of the French and Indian War.

This caused greater anger within the colonies. They perceived the British increase in taxation as ingratitude for the support the colonists offered.  It increased resentment and mistrust of the British.  As a whole, the colonists had difficulty accepting the British impositions on daily life.  The French and Indian War established the uneasiness that would eventually lead to the American Revolution. 

What is human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG)?

Gestational trophoblastic disease:
Gestational
trophoblastic disease (GTD) includes several types of tumors,
including hydatidiform mole and choriocarcinoma. These tumors develop because of
an anomaly in pregnancy when placental (trophoblastic) cells grow out of control.
Hydatidiform moles can progress to choriocarcinomas, which are generally
aggressive and, if left untreated, tend to metastasize widely. hCG is elevated in almost all
patients with trophoblastic tumors and is a useful diagnostic marker for
monitoring treatment. Gestational trophoblastic disease can be diagnosed and
followed by measuring hCG hormone levels in the blood and urine. Ultrasound,
computed tomography (CT), positron emission tomography (PET), or magnetic
resonance imaging (MRI) scans can also be used to look for tumors. However, when
scans show no evidence of tumor presence, hCG levels are often relied on to
determine whether the disease may be present.

hCG as a diagnostic marker: hCG is used as a diagnostic indicator of
tumor formation in gestational trophoblastic disease because of an association
between elevated hCG levels and trophoblastic tumors as well as nonseminomatous
testicular tumors. Trophoblast-derived tumors often secrete only the free beta-hCG
subunit. Diagnostic assays that are specific for the free beta-HCG subunit are
most useful for monitoring tumor development and progression. A negative result is
generally less than 5 milli international units/milliliter (mIU/ml) of beta-hCG in
the blood. Gestational trophoblastic disease is treatable, and hCG levels can be
used to monitor the success of treatment, in that as the tumor decreases, so does
the level of hCG. In some cases, elevated hCG levels may be due to factors other
than gestational trophoblastic disease. Certain hormones and proteins in the blood
may interfere with the blood test results; therefore, hCG tests should be
performed on both the blood and the urine in the diagnosis of gestational
trophoblastic disease.

Bibliography

Clement, Philip B., and Robert H. Young.
Atlas of Gynecologic Surgical Pathology. Oxford:
Saunders, 2013. Print.

Di Saia, Philip J., and William T.
Creasman, eds. Clinical Gynecologic Oncology. 8th ed.
Philadelphia: Elsevier, 2012. Print.

Niederhuber, John E., et al.
Abeloff's Clinical Oncology. 5th ed. Philadelphia:
Saunders, 2013. Print.

Seckl, Michael J, Neil J. Sebire, and Ross S.
Berkowitz. "Gestational Trophoblastic Disease." Lancet
376.9742 (2010): 717–29. Print.

Sosolow, Robert A., and Teri Longacre,
eds. Uterine Pathology. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2012.
Print.

Please give a character description of Mr. Brown.

Mr. Brown is the first white, European missionary to arrive in Umuofia. What I like about Mr. Brown is that he is a wonderful representation of what Christianity is about and how Christians should act. He is kind, patient, and hardworking. He is an excellent listener to the people he is trying to convert as well. As a result, he does not try to brow-beat the people around him with ideas of how superior he and his religion are. Mr. Brown is also respectful of the current and existing traditions that the native people have. It is because of all of these positive attributes that Mr. Brown is able to win over large numbers of converts. To further highlight his positive attributes, a reader should look to the character of Mr. Smith, who is a Christian in name only. While Mr. Brown is a loving and patient man, Mr. Smith is vengeful and manipulative.

What is industrial and organizational psychology?

Introduction

Industrial and organizational psychology (often shortened to I/O psychology) is a somewhat deceptive title for the field. Even when industrial psychology alone was used to label it, practitioners were involved with issues and activities far beyond solving industrial problems—for example, designing procedures for selecting salespeople, advertising methods, and reducing accidents on public transportation. “Organizational” suggests the application of knowledge to organizations, but the intended meaning is closer to “the study of forces that influence how people and their activities at work are organized.”

In colleges and universities, I/O psychology is a long-recognized discipline. Graduate programs leading to the MA and, more commonly, PhD degrees in this field are most typically offered within psychology departments, sometimes in collaboration with departments of business; occasionally they are offered by business departments alone. In most cases, students working toward graduate degrees in I/O psychology first study a wide range of psychological topics, then study, in even greater detail, those that make up the I/O specialty. The study of research methods, statistical tools for evaluating findings, motivation, personality, and so on forms a base from which psychological testing, interviewing, job analysis, and performance evaluation are studied in depth.

Evolution of Study

Psychologists were certainly not the first to study work settings and suggest changes or even the first to apply the scientific method to the enterprise. For example, Frederick Winslow Taylor
and Frank Gilbreth
were industrial engineers who considered workers not too different from cogs in the machines also involved in industry. Their time and motion studies sought to discover how workers could most efficiently carry out their parts of the enterprise. Although their conclusions are often now cited as examples of inhumane manipulation of workers for companies’ benefits, Taylor and Gilbreth envisioned that both workers and employers were to gain from increases in efficiency. Not surprisingly, most of what industrial engineering studied was appropriated by industrial psychology and remains part of I/O psychology—usually under the designations of job design and human factors engineering in the United States, or the designation ergonomics elsewhere.

Early psychologists had an advantage over the others studying and offering advice about work. They were popularly identified as people experts, and for the many problems thought to be based on human characteristics or limitations, their expertise was acknowledged even while it was very modest. The advantage of being expected to make valuable contributions was put to good use, and within the first two decades of the twentieth century, industrial psychology became a recognized discipline with the ability to deliver most of what was expected of it.

Ironically, wars materially aided the early development of industrial and organizational psychology. World War I provided psychologists unprecedented opportunities to try intelligence testing on a very large scale and to develop and implement a very large personnel program. Robert Yerkes directed the intelligence testing of more than one million men between 1917 and 1919, and Walter Dill Scott and Walter Van Dyke Bingham interviewed and classified more than three million men before the war ended.

Testing, interviewing, and classification were also part of industrial psychologists’ efforts during World War II, and many other lines of research and application were also pursued. For example, human factors engineering, which emphasized machine design tailored to the people who would use the device, was greatly advanced by the necessity that people be able to control aircraft and other sophisticated weapons.

Following each war, some of the psychologists who had successfully worked together chose to continue to do so. Major consulting firms grew out of their associations and remain a source of employment for many I/O psychologists.

Methods of Research

Industrial and organizational psychology borrowed much from many other areas of psychology during its growth and has retained the strong research orientation common to them, along with many of the research methods each has developed and many of the findings that each has generated. Bringing psychological methods to work settings where experts from many other disciplines are studying some of the same problems results in conflicts, but it also produces a richness of information beyond the scope of any one of the disciplines.

In most cases, the most feasible approach to data collection for I/O psychologists is field research, an approach in which evidence is gathered in a “natural” setting, such as the workplace; by contrast, laboratory research involves an artificial, contrived setting. Systematic observation of ongoing work can often give a psychologist needed information without greatly disturbing the workers involved. Generally, they will be told that data are being gathered, but when the known presence of an observer likely would change what is being studied, unobtrusive methods might be used. Information from hidden cameras, or observations from researchers pretending to be workers and actually engaging in whatever must be done, can be used when justified.

Again, studying within the actual work setting, I/O psychologists may sometimes take advantage of natural experiments, situations in which a change not deliberately introduced may be studied for its effect on some important outcome. If, for example, very extreme, unseasonable temperatures resulted in uncontrollably high, or low, temperatures in an office setting, a psychologist could assess the effects on employee discomfort, absenteeism, or productivity.

Still, studying within the actual work setting, an I/O psychologist may arrange a quasi-experiment, a situation in which the researcher changes some factor to assess its effect while having only partial control over other factors that might influence that change. For example, the psychologist might study the effects of different work schedules by assigning one schedule to one department of a company, a second schedule to a second department, and a third schedule to a third department. The departments, the people, and the differences in the work itself would prevent the strategy from being a true experiment, but it still could produce some useful data.

An experiment, as psychology and other sciences define it, is difficult to arrange within work settings, but it may be worth the effort to evaluate information gathered by other methods. In the simplest form of experiment, the researcher randomly assigns the people studied into two groups and, while holding constant all other factors that might influence the experiment’s outcome, presents some condition (known as an independent variable) to one group of subjects (the experimental group) and withholds it from another (the control group). Finally, the researcher measures the outcome (the dependent variable) for both groups.

Carrying out a true experiment almost always requires taking the people involved away from their typical activities into a setting obviously designed for study (usually called the laboratory, even though it may bear little resemblance to a laboratory of, say, a chemist). The need to establish a new, artificial setting and the need to pull workers away from their work to gather information are both troublesome, as is the risk that what is learned in the laboratory setting may not hold true back in the natural work setting.

Correlational methods, borrowed from psychometrics, complement the observational and experimental techniques just described. Correlation is a mathematical technique for comparing the similarity of two sets of data (literally, to determine their co-relation). An important example of the I/O psychologist’s seeking information on relationships is found in the process of hiring-test validation, answering the question of the extent to which test scores and eventual work performance are correlated. To establish validity, a researcher must demonstrate a substantial relationship between scores and performance, evidence that the test is measuring what is intended.

Applications in the Workplace

Industrial and organizational psychology, as the term implies, focuses on two broad areas; Linda Jewell and Marc Siegall, in their Contemporary Industrial/Organizational Psychology (3d ed., 1998), demonstrate this by their arrangement of topics. Industrial topics include testing; job analysis and evaluation; recruitment, selection, and placement of applicants; employee training and socialization; evaluation of employee job performance; job design; working conditions; health and safety; and motivation. Organizational topics include a company’s social system and communication, groups within organizations, leadership, and organizational change and development. Topics of overlap of the two areas include absenteeism, turnover, job commitment, job satisfaction, employee development, and quality of work life.

Testing in I/O psychology most often is done to assess people’s aptitudes or abilities as a basis for making selection, placement, or promotion decisions about them. It may also be used for other purposes—for example, to judge the quality of training programs. The tests used range from ones of general aptitude (IQ, or intelligence quotient, tests) through tests of specific aptitudes, interests, and personality, although use of IQ and personality tests remains controversial. Aptitude for success in academically related activity (as might be related to one’s IQ) is often of only modest importance in work settings, but the folk wisdom “the best person is the most intelligent person” can lead to giving IQ tests routinely to applicants. Personality is a troublesome concept within psychology. Tests of it can be useful to clinicians working with mental health issues but are rarely useful as bases for employment-related decisions. When outcomes from personality testing are specific enough to be useful—for example, when they reveal serious personality problems—the same information is usually obtainable from reviews of work history or from interviews.

Along with other procedures related to making decisions about people in work settings, testing is often targeted as being unfair to some groups—for example, African Americans or women. If the use of a particular test results in decision making that even suggests unfair discrimination, companies must have available solid evidence that this is not the case if they choose to continue using the test.

Job analysis determines what tasks must be carried out in a job. It serves as the major basis for deciding what skills successful job applicants must have or what training to provide unskilled applicants. The evaluation of job performances of individual employees must be based on what they should be doing, revealed by job analysis. Dismissal, retention, promotion, and wage increases may all be related to job analysis information. It is also a basis for job evaluation, the determining of what is appropriate pay for the job, although evaluation often must also be based on the availability of applicants, average wages in a geographic area, and other factors.

Recruiting, selecting, and placing refer to sequential steps in filling positions. Although some companies can let prospective employees come to them, many prefer actively to seek applicants. Recruiting may involve little more than announcing that a position is open or as much as sending trained representatives to find promising people and encourage them to apply for work. At least two considerations make vigorous recruiting attractive. First, it is often possible for companies to reduce training costs greatly by finding already-proficient applicants. Second, when minority-group employees are needed to achieve fair balance in an organization, recruiting can often focus on, for example, African Americans or women.

Although training
may be unnecessary if a company is able to hire already-skilled people, training is generally advantageous after hiring and periodically over a worker’s tenure. Promotion may be based on success in training, or training may follow promotion based on other considerations. Although“training” suggests the development or enhancement of job skills, it often also includes socialization, the bringing of new employees into the “family” of the company and the teaching of values, goals, and expectations that extend beyond carrying out a specific work assignment. Job design, working conditions, health and safety, and motivation are usually given separate chapters in texts, but often in work settings they must be considered as a set. For example, if a job, as designed, forces or even encourages workers to put their health or safety at risk, their working conditions are unsatisfactory, and when they recognize the nature of the situation, their motivation is likely to be impaired.

Legal and Ethical Requirements

When industrial psychologists of the early twentieth century recommended hiring or promotion, designed training, or carried out any other of their responsibilities, they had only to satisfy their employers’ demands. Since the late 1960s, I/O psychologists have also had to satisfy legal and ethical requirements pertaining to a host of problem areas such as racism, sexism, age discrimination, and discrimination against the handicapped. More than good intentions are necessary here. The psychologists must work to balance the societal demands for fairness in work settings (the basing of decisions about workers’ hiring, salary, promotion, and so on entirely on work-relevant considerations and not on race, sex, age, or other personal characteristics) and the practical interests of employers, sometimes having to endure criticism for even the most ingenious of solutions.

For example, if an employer finds the company must increase its number of Latino workers, vigorous recruiting is an excellent first step, yet it may prove expensive enough to aggravate the employer. If recruiting is not successful because would-be applicants doubt the employer’s sincerity, both they and the employer will be unhappy. If recruiting is successful in generating interest, but many interested individuals are unqualified, providing them special training could be a reasonable solution. Applicants might feel it degrading, however, to be required to undergo more training than others before them, or the employer might balk at the extra cost involved.

The first industrial psychologists needed little more than solid training in their discipline to achieve success. Their successors need, beyond training in a discipline that has enlarged enormously, the talents of diplomats.

Bibliography

Anderson, Neil, Deniz S. Ones, and Handan Kepir Sinangil, eds. Handbook of Industrial, Work, and Organization Psychology. 2 vols. Thousand Oaks: Sage, 2002. Print.

Cartwright, Susan. Managing Health at Work: Practical Lessons from Organizational Research. Oxford: Blackwell, 2009. Print.

Hilgard, Ernest Ropiequet. Psychology in America: A Historical Survey. San Diego: Harcourt, 1987. Print.

Jewell, Linda N., and Marc Siegall. Contemporary Industrial/Organizational Psychology. 3d ed. Belmont: Wadsworth, 1998. Print.

Muchinsky, Paul M. Psychology Applied to Work: An Introduction to Industrial and Organizational Psychology. 10th ed. Summerfield: Hypergraphic, 2012. Print.

Rogelberg, Steven, ed. Blackwell Handbook of Research Methods in Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Malden: Blackwell, 2004. Print.

Rosenzweig, Mark R., and Lyman W. Porter, eds. Annual Review of Psychology. Stanford: Annual Reviews. Print.

Silzer, Rob, and Rich Cober. "Shaping the future of Industrial-Organizational Psychology Practice." TIP: The Industrial-Organizational Psychologist 49.1 (2011): 81–88. Print.

Spector, Paul E. Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Research and Practice. Hoboken: Wiley, 2008. Print.

Steelman, Lisa, et al. "Making History: The Evolution of The Industrial-Organizational Psychologist." TIP: The Industrial-Organizational Psychologist 50.4 (2013): 15–28. Print.

What is Golding's theme in Lord of the Flies?

The predominant theme of William Golding's Lord of the Flies is that man innately operates on predatory instincts and being civilized is but a veneer.

There is a Russian proverb that states, Man is a wolf to man. Certainly, this proverb holds true in Lord of the Flies. For, throughout the narrative of Golding's work, the prevailing conflict exists between the basic instinct to be "a wolf" (the beast in man) or the conditioning to be civilized.
In this narrative, well-disciplined British schoolboys are stranded on an island because the plane they have been in has been shot down by enemy fire. However, once the trappings of society begin to wear off as the boys shed their clothes, their hair grows longer, they no longer assemble and allow the one holding the conch to speak, they paint their faces, and they dance a ritualistic war dance, the "beast" (the wolf) in them emerges and gains strength in them with each savage act.

More and more, the boys regress to beastly behavior as they live a wild and barbaric life in the jungle. In fact, the savagery in them dominates to the point that the intuitive Simon, who recognizes the evil in man, is killed. Later, after Piggy is brutally murdered by the sadistic Roger, Ralph must flee for his life from Jack. Finally, Roger sharpens his spear and Jack sets fire to most of the island in his rage (Ch. 11).

When Ralph is finally rescued, he 

...wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man's heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy. (Ch. 12)

By the end of the novel, the veneer of civilization has been completely eliminated since Jack and Roger have regressed to mere beasts who have tried to kill Ralph, once the figure of authority. Without the enforcement of civilized laws and rules, man becomes but a "wolf to man."

What is the force between Saturn and the Sun?

The force of gravity is between Saturn and the Sun. According to Newton's law of universal gravitation, any two bodies exert a gravitational force on each other. This force is proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. Mathematically,

F = Gm1m2/d^2

where G is the universal gravitational constant, m1 and m2 are the masses of the objects and d is the distance between them.

In the case of the Sun and Saturn, their masses are 1.989 x 10^30 kg and 5.683 x 10^26 kg, respectively. The average distance between Saturn and the Sun is 1.433 x 10^9 km. The value of G (gravitational constant) is 6.674 x 10^-11 N m^2 / kg^2.

Substituting all the values in the equation, we get:

F = 3.674 x 10^28 N

Thus, the gravitational force between the Sun and planet Saturn is 3.674 x 10^28 N.

Hope this helps.

How is the game of chess a metaphor for the game being played between Waverly and her mother in "Rules of the Game"?

As chess is a game of strategy, so is the contest of wills between Waverly and her mother. Mrs. Jong utilizes her own rules to repress her daughter's stubborn temperament, while Waverly resorts to passive-aggressive rebellion to mitigate the suffocating effects of her mother's expectations.

At the beginning of the story, Mrs. Jong tells Waverly that 'strongest wind cannot be seen.' Her belief in this principle underlines all her interactions with her daughter. She always seems to stay one step ahead of the hapless Waverly, effortlessly deflecting all her adolescent protestations. As a traditional mother, Mrs. Jong expects Waverly to obey her without question and to respect her judgment in all matters pertaining to Waverly's future. However, after having tasted the delicious independence modern American culture affords even young adolescents, Waverly is dissatisfied with the status quo.

She plots to protect every inch of her autonomy and agency in light of her mother's machinations to make her into a quintessentially obedient Chinese daughter. Unknown to Waverly, she has actually learned the 'rules of the game' from her own mother. Waverly plots silently and broodingly in her room after the embarrassing confrontation with her mother on market day. Her goal is to defeat her mother's will systematically and stealthily, using the same methods her mother has taught her about vanquishing enemies.

Her black men advanced across the plane, slowly marching to each successive level as a single unit. My white pieces screamed as they scurried and fell off the board one by one. As her men drew closer to my edge, I felt myself growing light. I rose up into the air and flew out the window. Higher and higher, above the alley, over the tops of tiled roofs, where I was gathered up by the wind and pushed up toward the night sky until everything below me disappeared and I was alone. I closed my eyes and pondered my next move.

It is clear that Waverly views the psychological and emotional conflict with her mother as a game; since each party must make carefully planned, succeeding moves to accomplish the defeat of the other, the game of chess is an appropriate metaphor for the contest of wills between Waverly and Mrs. Jong. Neither discloses her motives in the contest, but each secretly plans to subvert the other's will through potentially devastating emotional maneuvers.

Why does Holmes get angry when Merryweather bangs his stick in "The Adventure of the Red-Headed League"?

Holmes warns Mr. Merryweather to be quiet so the bank robbers will not hear them. 

Holmes went through a lot of trouble to catch the bank robbers.  He didn’t want Mr. Merryweather to mess it up by creating a racket and warning them that someone was there waiting for them.  Some people just don’t really know how to be sneaky! 

The whole thing starts when Mr. Wilson comes to hire Holmes because he lost his job with the Red-Headed League and he is upset.  Holmes determines that the League was a front to get Wilson out of his shop for a few hours a day to dig a tunnel to the bank next door. 

Holmes arranges with the police to sit at the other end of the tunnel to wait for the robbers.  He knows that John Clay, who was pretending to be Wilson’s assistant, is actually a very intelligent wanted criminal.  Since they buttoned up the league, the robbery will happen soon. 

They wait with the police and the bank chairman of directors, Mr. Merryweather.  Merryweather is kind of impatient and “personally interested in the matter.”  He bangs his stick on the floor and gets scolded by Holmes. 

"I must really ask you to be a little more quiet," said Holmes severely. "You have already imperiled the whole success of our expedition. Might I beg that you would have the goodness to sit down upon one of those boxes, and not to interfere?"

The plan works, and Mr. Merryweather thanks Holmes profusely.  The bank is not robbed, and a very dangerous criminal is caught.  Mr. Wilson lost his cushy job with the Red-Headed League, but at least he solved the mystery of what happened to it.  I guess the old saying is correct.  If something seems too good to be true, then it really is!

In The Cay, what did Phillip do that he felt wasn't "a manly thing"?

In The Cay by Theodore Taylor, Phillip Enright, a young American boy, and Timothy, "a huge, very old Negro" who admits that he has "but one name-" Timothy, become unlikely friends after they become stranded together on an island, from which there is little hope of rescue.

Phillip is on a voyage with his mother who is anxious to leave Willemstad, Curacao where her husband is working, and which she now feels is too dangerous due to the war having reached the Caribbean. After the ship is torpedoed and Phillip and his mother are lowered into a lifeboat, Phillip only remembers waking up several hours later and having Timothy for company. At first, Phillip does not trust Timothy and it takes him a long time to understand the kind and caring old man, even after Phillip goes blind, presumably a symptom of a knock on the head he received during the panic to leave the ship.

Having found their way to an island, Timothy busies himself making shelter and then goes to fetch food for them both. Phillip is frightened of being left alone, and also of the possibility of something happening to Timothy but he cannot go with him. During the days alone, Phillip's blindness means that his thoughts and fears are exaggerated to the point, that eventually, after a long day alone, he cannot help it and begins to cry. In chapter 8, he says, "I knew it was not a manly thing to do.." 

Compare and contrast Phyllis Wheatley and Benjamin Franklin.

Benjamin Franklin was a internationally-renowned scientist and philosopher (there was really no distinction between the two at the time). He was acknowledged as a leader among the American revolutionary generation. He was present when independence was declared, represented the new nation in France, where he helped negotiate decisive French military aid in the war, and later was present at the Philadelphia Convention that wrote the United States Constitution. The life of Phyllis Wheatley was very different. She was born in West Africa, where she was kidnapped and sold into slavery. Like Franklin, however, she was educated (mostly self-educated) at a young age, and like Franklin, she spent her early years in Boston. Also like Franklin, her talents were discovered by influential patrons at a relatively young age, and quickly became recognized (at least by some--Thomas Jefferson made his contempt for her poetry known) as a genius. Wheatley enjoyed neither of the advantages of race and gender that Franklin did, however, and died in poverty at a young age not long after producing her famous book of poetry.

In chapter six of The Great Gatsby the closing scene is a flashback to Daisy and Gatsby's first kiss as young lovers. Do you find this passage...

There's a melancholy quality to this passage, an ache of sadness communicated through Fitzgerald's prose. What we as readers are hearing is Nick's distillation of what Gatsby told him of that first encounter. Nick describes Gatsby's storytelling as filled with "appalling sentimentality," but manages to preserve for us the essence of Gatsby's thoughts.

We learn that, even from the start, Daisy is, in part, a figment of Gatsby's imagination, a way for him to achieve his dream. Gatsby sees the sidewalk he and Daisy walk on as part of his ambitions, a "ladder" to a secret place above the trees--above the rest of mere humankind--where Gatsby could "suck on the pap of life." So from the start, Daisy is not simply herself but is incorporated into Gatsby's longing for a better life, a longing for the impossible. 

The chief sadness comes in Gatsby's realization that once he consummates his desire and kisses Daisy, nothing will ever be as good as it was in the moments before the kiss. He knew after he "kissed this girl"--not Daisy, but "this girl"-- his "mind would never romp again like the mind of God."

This encapsulates some of the sadness of the novel, in which yearning for the dream is better than achieving the dream, as we see too when Gatsby reunites with Daisy for the first time since 1917, and Nick notes that no matter how wonderful Daisy is, no real person could live up to Gatsby's imaginings.

What is carpal tunnel syndrome?

Causes and Symptoms

The carpal tunnel is a narrow passage of ligament and bones that contains the median nerve and tendons. Carpal tunnel syndrome, also known as median nerve palsy, is caused by the transverse carpal ligament compressing the median nerve. This nerve passes through the carpal tunnel alongside nine tendons attached to the muscles that enable the hand to close and the wrist to flex. The tendons have a lubricating lining called the synovium, which normally allows the tendons to glide back and forth smoothly through the tunnel during wrist and hand movements. The median nerve is the softest component within the tunnel and becomes compressed when the tendons are stressed and become swollen. Median nerve compression most often results when the synovium becomes thick and sticky as a result of the wear and tear of aging or repeatedly performing stressful motions with the hands while holding them in the same position for extended periods. The carpal tunnel is smaller in some people than in others, predisposing them to carpal tunnel syndrome. Entrapment of the median nerve is less commonly caused by rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes mellitus, poor thyroid gland or pituitary function, excessive fluid retention during pregnancy or menopause, medications, vitamin B6 or B12 deficiency, or bone protruding in the tunnel from previous dislocations or fractures of the wrist.

Initial symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome include tingling and numbness in the hands, often beginning in the thumb and index and middle fingers, that causes the hand to feel as though it were asleep and shooting pain from the thenar region radiating as far up as the neck. Later symptoms include burning pain from the wrist to the fingers, changes in touch or temperature sensation, clumsiness in the hands, and muscle weakness creating an inability to grasp, pinch, and perform other thumb functions. Swelling of the hands and forearms and changes in sweat gland functioning in the hands may also be noted. Symptoms can be intermittent or constant and often progress to the point of regularly awakening the patient at night. Temporary relief is sometimes available by elevating, massaging, and shaking the hand. Although very treatable if diagnosed early, carpal tunnel syndrome can escalate into persistent pain, which can become so crippling that workplace duties and such simple tasks as holding a cup, writing, and buttoning a shirt are compromised. Carpal tunnel syndrome usually occurs in adults and is more common in women than in men.

A clinical examination for confirmation of median nerve impingement includes wrist examination, an X-ray for previous injury and arthritis, and assessment of swelling and sensitivity to touch or pinpricks. Tapping of the median nerve (Tinel’s test) will cause tingling or shocklike sensations in the fingers. Holding the wrist in a flexed position for several minutes with the heel of the hands touching for several minutes (Phalen’s test) will result in tingling or numbness in the hands. Nerve conduction tests, which measure nerve transmission speed by electrodes placed on the skin, and electromyogram evaluation, which notes muscle function abnormalities, may also assist in a diagnosis. Ultrasound identifies whether motion of the median nerve is impeded.

Treatment and Therapy

Early diagnosis and the taking of appropriate preventive measures, such as ergonomic modifications in the way that upper extremity movements are performed, often reduce the risk of developing advanced carpal tunnel syndrome. The need to compensate for weak muscles with an inappropriate wrist position can be reduced by maintaining a neutral (straight) wrist position instead of a flexed, extended, or twisted wrist position; utilizing the entire hand and all the fingers to grasp and lift objects, instead of gripping solely with the thumb and index finger; minimizing repetitive movements; allowing the upper extremities regular rest periods; using power tools, instead of hand tools; alternating work activities; switching hands; reducing movement speed; and stretching and using strengthening exercises for the hand, wrist, and arm. Keeping the hands warm to maintain good blood circulation and avoiding smoke-filled environments, which reduce peripheral blood flow, are also recommended.

Treatment generally begins with splinting of the wrist and medication, but surgery may be required if symptoms do not subside within six months. Both nocturnal splints and job-specific occupational splints can effectively keep the wrist in a neutral position, thus avoiding the extreme wrist flexion or extension that narrows the carpal tunnel. Wrist supports lying on the desk in front of a computer keyboard are often helpful, but the benefit of strapping on wrist splints while typing is controversial because disuse atrophy may result, potentially creating a muscle imbalance. Aspirin and other oral nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) may reduce swelling and inflammation, relieving some nerve pressure. Corticosteroids and cortisone-like medications injected directly into the carpal tunnel can help confirm diagnosis if the symptoms are relieved. Diuretics and vitamin supplementation may also be beneficial. Vitamin B6 has shown promise in reducing the symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome. Exercises can be performed, under the guidance of a physical or
occupational therapist, to stretch and strengthen the wrists. Acupuncture and chiropractic may benefit some who suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome; however, their effectiveness has not been supported. Pain reduction and improved grip strength have been documented among patients who practice yoga.

If initial symptoms do not subside, pain increases, or the risk of permanent nerve and muscle damage exists, then surgery may be necessary, with subsequent rehabilitation and ergonomic counseling with a physical or occupational therapist. Carpal tunnel release is one of the most common surgical procedures in the United States. It is often recommended for individuals who experience carpal tunnel symptoms for more than six months. This outpatient surgical procedure involves dividing the transverse ligament to open the carpal tunnel to relieve pressure and remove thickened synovial tissue. Endoscopic surgery using a fiber-optic camera allows the surgeon to visualize and cut the carpal ligament. This procedure results in faster recovery and minimizes postoperative discomfort and scarring. Though most patients who have carpal tunnel surgery recover completely, recovery can take months.

Perspective and Prospects

The historic roots of carpal tunnel syndrome can be traced back to the 1860s, when meatpackers complained of pain and loss of hand function, which physicians initially attributed to reduced circulation. Modern occupations that require repetitive motions for extended periods—such as typing on a computer keyboard, construction and assembly-line work, and jackhammer operation—have caused a dramatic rise in cumulative trauma disorders such as carpal tunnel syndrome, while other workplace injuries have leveled off.

Bibliography:

Biundo, Joseph J., and Perry J. Rush. "Carpal Tunnel Syndrome." American College of Rheumatology, Sept. 2012.

"Carpal Tunnel Syndrome." MedlinePlus, Apr. 19, 2013.

Johansson, Philip. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Other Repetitive Strain Injuries. Berkeley Heights, N.J.: Enslow, 1999.

McCabe, Steven J. 101 Questions and Answers About Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: What It Is, How to Prevent It, and Where to Turn for Treatment. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2002.

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). "Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Fact Sheet." National Institutes of Health, May 1, 2013.

Rosenbaum, Richard B., and José L. Ochoa. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Other Disorders of the Median Nerve. 2d ed. Boston: Butterworth-Heinemann, 2002.

Smoots, Elizabeth, and John C. Keel. "Carpal Tunnel Syndrome." Health Library, Oct. 31, 2012.

Zaidat, Osama A., and Alan J. Lerner. The Little Black Book of Neurology. 5th ed. Philadelphia: Mosby/Elsevier, 2008.

What is psychosexual development?

Introduction

Psychosexual development is a major developmental theory, proposed by Sigmund Freud
, which suggests that humans behave as they do because they are constantly seeking pleasure. During different periods, or stages, of life, the types of pleasure a person seeks will change. Each change in body location where the person finds pleasure represents one stage in psychosexual development. There are a total of five stages; four of them are named for the primary body part from which a person derives pleasure during a given time in life.

Psychosexual Stages

The first stage is the oral stage, which begins at birth and ends around one and a half years of age. Pleasure is gained from activities of the mouth, such as sucking at a mother’s nipple to obtain nourishment. The purpose of this behavior is to secure physical survival, as the infant depends on parents for food. The infant is entirely dependent, seeks immediate gratification of needs, and does not consider other people’s needs or wishes or even recognize others as separate human beings. The selfish energy that drives the infant at this age is called libido and is attributed to the child’s id, the pleasure-seeking part of a person.

The second stage is the anal stage, named for the child’s preoccupation with feces and urine, as this is generally the time of toilet training. This stage begins at age one and a half and ends around age three. The child now sees herself or himself as separate from other people and begins to assert wishes. The child becomes more demanding and controlling and often refuses parents’ wishes, but the child also learns to delay gratification and put up with frustration. For example, the child will learn to hold in a bowel movement until a time convenient for the caregiver, rather than eliminate it as soon as pressure is felt on the sphincter. Learning to be assertive and autonomous and learning to delay gratification are the two most important advances for the child that occur during this stage of development. They make up an important part of a child’s ego, the part of the psyche that defines who a person is and what a person wants from life.

Between age three and age six, the child passes through the phallic stage
of psychosexual development. The child now knows who she or he is and who her or his parents are, and the child begins to have a sense of rules and regulations. Behavior becomes more moral, and the opinions of others begin to gain importance. The child begins to love others and wants to be loved by them. To ensure that others will continue to love and cherish her or him, the child learns to suppress pleasure derived from the genitalia because of social pressures against behaviors such as masturbation. According to Freud, children at this age fall in love with their parent of the opposite sex and envy their same-sex parent. This pattern is called the Oedipus complex
in boys and the Electra complex in girls. The Oedipus complex results in the fear that the boy may be hated by his father for loving his mother. To prevent being punished (the feared punishment being castration), the boy begins to identify with and behave like his father and slowly learns to distance himself from his mother. Through this process of modeling and imitating the father, the boy learns rules and becomes a moral being. In the Electra complex, the girl feels that, because she has no penis, she has already received the ultimate punishment of castration. To compensate for the resultant feelings of envy of the male’s penis, she decides that pregnancy will be important one day, as this is something not obtainable by the male. The girl’s desire to bear a child begins. As she knows that only women bear children, she begins to identify with and model after her mother and begins to distance herself from her father. The most important change in this stage of development is the child’s acquisition of a superego, an internal sense of what is right and what is wrong that guides behavior and inhibits illegal or immoral acts.

The distancing from the same-sex parent in the phallic stage of development, which occurs around age five or age six, is seen as ushering in the latency stage. At this time, children withdraw from the opposite sex and no longer seek pleasure from their own bodies. Instead, they reorient their behavior toward skill acquisition and learning, as well as peer interaction. This makes them ready for school and play with their peer group. Not until approximately age thirteen will the desire for pleasure reawaken.

At around age thirteen, the adolescent enters the final stage of psychosexual development, the genital stage. At this time, the person has matured enough to be able to love others in an unselfish and altruistic manner and should be willing to put the welfare of others ahead of her or his own. Empathy and caring for humans begins, and the libido, which was selfishly directed in infancy, is now directed toward giving pleasure to others. The desire awakens to be intimately involved with a person of the opposite sex, according to Freud. This desire, however, is aim-inhibited, is complemented by feelings of affection, and does not find expression until the person has matured beyond adolescence. Mature sexuality develops as an activity that is pleasuring for both people involved, is the result of mature love, and serves procreation. Such maturity is the final goal of this stage of development.

Development of Ego and Superego

The two most important outcomes of psychosexual development are the development of the ego and superego and the development of psychopathology (emotional or mental illnesses or problems of sufficient severity to warrant treatment by a psychologist or psychotherapist) if the stages are not successfully mastered. The anal and phallic stages are particularly critical in the development of the ego and superego. During the anal stage, ego development progresses rapidly as the child learns what he or she likes and what distinguishes him or her from other people. In the phallic stage, the development of the superego occurs as a result of the Oedipus and Electra complexes.

Only if the child accepts the rules of society—that is, falls out of love with the opposite-sex parent and identifies with the same-sex parent—is she or he able to feel free of fear of punishment. Thus, the child learns to live by rules and regulations out of fear of punishment. The internalized sense of rules is represented by the child’s superego. The superego serves to counteract the selfish and pleasure-seeking actions of the id, which is present at birth and remains with all human beings throughout the life span. Often, the superego and id will come into conflict because a selfish desire expressed by the id is being opposed by the superego. The ego will then mediate between the two and will attempt to come up with a compromise solution. For example, a college student who has to study for an exam sometimes is overcome by the desire to attend a party instead. This desire is driven by the id. The superego then admonishes the student to stay home and continue to study without any breaks. The ego may finally step in and mediate, and the student may decide to study for two more hours, take a break for pleasure for an hour, and return to study some more.

Development of Psychopathology

The development of psychopathology is closely related to psychosexual development. First, pathology is seen as a possible consequence of fixation—that is, the child’s failure to resolve a given stage and advance beyond it. Second, psychopathology may be caused by regression
—the return to an earlier stage of development because of conflicts or problems. Adults with oral pathology, those who either did not move beyond or regressed to the oral stage, are said to be dependent and afraid to be alone, or else very hostile, evidencing verbal biting sarcasm to prevent getting too close to people. People with anal pathology can be either very retentive (miserly, tense, orderly, and constricted) or expulsive (impulsive, disorganized, free-spending, and venting). Both types of pathology are severe and were considered by Freud to be not treatable through psychoanalysis. Only pathology arising from the phallic stage lends itself well to treatment. It is referred to as neurosis
and implies that the person has significant conflicts between id wishes and superego restrictions that cannot be successfully mediated by the ego.

Neurotic pathology is seen as a result of a boy’s failure to pass through the Oedipus complex or a girl’s failure to pass through the Electra complex. In both cases, the child may fail to withdraw attachment to the same-sex parent or may fail to identify with the same-sex parent. Thus, healthy development is hampered and stopped. The child will live with the conflict of having a superego that is not completely developed and the awareness that the id’s wish to possess the opposite-sex parent is inappropriate. The superego chastises the person yet is unable to stop the ego. Conflict is ever-present in the person, as the wishes of the id cannot be controlled by the incomplete superego but certainly can be recognized by the superego as inappropriate. This pathology sometimes leads the person to regress to earlier stages of development and develop an oral or anal personality. If there is no regression, only fixation at the phallic stage, the person will show traits of neurosis, such as being focused on gaining pleasure for the self in general, being centered on seduction, developing symptoms of hysteria, or developing physical complaints.

Pathology does not arise from the latency or genital stages, as progression to the latency stage implies successful resolution of the Oedipus and Electra complexes: The person has matured psychosexually beyond a point of development at which neurotic pathology develops. This is true because the child is considered to have developed all necessary structures of the self, or psyche, by the end of the phallic phase. The personality structure and characteristics evidenced by the child at that time are deemed lifelong traits and are not prone to significant future change.

Psychosexual development is critical from Freud’s perspective primarily because it is responsible for the development of a healthy self-structure that consists of an id, an ego, and a superego. Further, it is the most important factor in the development of the psychopathology of human beings. Mastery or failure in the realm of psychosexual development has extremely important implications for a person’s functioning and mental health.

Historic Context

The Freudian stages through which psychosexual development progresses must be considered within the historical framework present at the time that Freud conceptualized them, that is, from the perspective of the late 1800s and early 1900s. The spirit of the times was much different from that of today, particularly with regard to how freely people were allowed to express themselves in general and with regard to sexuality in particular. It was a time in which morals and ethics forbade many normal human urges and resulted in people having to deny large parts or aspects of themselves.

This atmosphere of self-denial resulted in many different symptoms, especially among women, who were expected to follow even stricter codes of behavior than men were. For example, sometimes people were observed to have paralysis of a hand that could not be explained by any neurological damage. Freud was one of the first physicians to recognize that this paralysis had psychological rather than physical causes. He hypothesized that the strong moral restrictions placed on the individual were directly contrary to what the person wanted to do (perhaps masturbate, a definite transgression of permissible behavior). He believed that this person had a very strong id without a sufficiently strong superego to control it. The person’s unconscious mind had to devise some other strategy to keep the id controlled—hence the paralysis of the hand. The idea that the individual has an unconscious was a crucial development in psychology and has been maintained to date by many types of psychologists, though not by all. It is directly related to the theory of psychosexual development.

Impact on Psychology

Psychosexual development was proposed by Freud strictly to explain why certain symptoms developed in individuals. His ideas had an extremely strong impact on the future of psychology, as they were complex and explained human behavior in an understandable manner (given the spirit of the times in which they were formulated). Many followers applied Freud’s theories to the treatment of psychopathology, and the profession of psychoanalysis
was born. Psychoanalysts specialized in the treatment of persons with neuroses; they did so through daily sessions that lasted fifty minutes. Treatment often continued for many years. Only through this approach, psychoanalysts believed, could they effect changes in a person’s psychic structure—that is, in the person’s ego and the relationship between the id and superego. The profession of psychoanalysis is still a prominent one, but many changes have been made. Few psychoanalysts today follow a strictly Freudian approach to the development of a person’s psyche; new ways of understanding human development and behavior have been developed. Psychoanalysis and psychosexual development, however, remain important features of psychology’s history. They were important milestones in the discipline of clinical psychology, the branch of psychology concerned with the treatment of mental illness.

Bibliography

Freud, Sigmund. Civilization and Its Discontents. New York: Norton, 2005. Print.

Freud, Sigmund. Dora: An Analysis of a Case of Hysteria. New York: Simon, 1997. Print.

Freud, Sigmund. A General Introduction to Psychoanalysis. New York: Garden City, 1952. Print.

Freud, Sigmund. Three Case Histories. New York: Collier, 1963. Print.

Lauretis, Teresa de. Freud’s Drive: Psychoanalysis, Literature, and Film. New York: Palgrave, 2008. Print.

Newman, Barbara, and Philip R. Newman. Development through Life: A Psychosocial Approach. 11th ed. Belmont: Wadsworth, 2012. Print.

Quindeau, Ilka. Seduction and Desire: The Psychoanalytic Theory of Sexuality since Freud. London: Karnac, 2013. Print.

Rychlak, Joseph F. “The Beginnings of Psychoanalysis: Sigmund Freud.” Introduction to Personality and Psychotherapy. 2nd ed. Boston: Houghton, 1981. Print.

How does Oscar Wilde present the characters of Jack and Algernon in The Importance of Being Earnest?

Wilde presents these characters via indirect characterization.  No one directly describes Jack or Algernon; readers (or viewers) must mine their conversations for clues about their characters and motivations.  It is not difficult, given the nature of their first conversation with one another in the play.  For example, Jack insists that, "When one is in town one amuses oneself.  When one is in the country one amuses other people.  It is excessively boring."  Then, a few lines later he declares that all his neighbors are "Perfectly horrid!" and that he never speaks to any of them.  Contradictory statements like these help us to understand that Jack is a somewhat ridiculous character.  He doesn't seem to really mean anything he says because he is just as liable to contradict it in the next breath.  Likewise, he admits (after the debacle with the cigarette case) that his name is actually Jack when Algernon has only ever known him as "Ernest," because he has invented a younger brother by this name so that he has an excuse to come to town and do all the things Jack cannot do (i.e. gamble, drink, and so forth).  Jack feels obligated to maintain a high moral tone because he is the guardian of a young woman named Cecily, but -- via Ernest -- he can get up to all the somewhat less moral behaviors in which he longs to indulge in the city.  Thus, we learn that he is quite dishonest and has a bit of a dark side that he hopes to conceal forever from his family and friends in the country.

We learn about Algernon's character in a similar manner.  We know that there are cucumber sandwiches at the beginning of Act 1, and he will not allow Jack/Ernest to eat them because they have been specially prepared for Algernon's Aunt Augusta.  However, Algernon eats them all himself throughout the course of the scene!  Then, when Aunt August arrives for tea, Algernon seems seriously displeased and surprised that there are no cucumber sandwiches when he has actually eaten them all himself.  We learn, then, that he is likewise ridiculous and dishonest.  He has also invented an friend, named Mr. Bunbury, so that he can escape Aunt August as often as he wishes, saying that he must attend his poor invalid friend.  He and Jack are very similar in these ways.

It is through listening in to their conversations and the utterly ridiculous statements they make about social convention, love, marriage, and the like that reveal to us who they are.

What is the difference between an executive order and a law?

An executive order is a privilege of the executive branch of government, i.e. the President of the United States. The President is permitted to sign an executive order that he or she believes to be lawful based on the US Constitution. The President can bypass Congress with an executive order; however, once signed into law, the order can be challenged in court. For example, in June of 2016, the Supreme Court heard challenges to President Obama's DREAM Act, an executive order he issued regarding immigration. Rather than ruling, the Supreme Court sent the individual challenges (representing 26 states) back to their respective lower courts, where those courts could toss out or uphold the order. 

A law must pass through the legislative branch of government, i.e. Congress. Both the House of Representatives and Senate have a role in making a bill a law. Once a bill has passed through both branches of Congress, the President will sign the bill into law or veto it. Congress can override the President's veto with a two-thirds majority. 

In The Strange Case of Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde by Stevenson, what does Henry say his worst fault is? What is difficult about this fault?

Henry Jekyll describes his worst faults at the end of the story, in the section titled "Henry Jekyll's Full Statement of the Case." The statement begins as something of an autobiography, telling of how Jekyll was born into a life of privilege and opportunity, but that he had an "impatient gaiety of disposition." He describes this as his worst fault.

From these words alone it seems like what he's describing is simply an excessively cheerful personality, which is at odds with the more serious and stoic attitude that he thinks he should be displaying as a man of wealth and intelligence. We could easily imagine Jekyll embarrassing himself with an excess of emotion, or see this as his own self-imposed "rite of passage," believing that his emotions are what's holding him back from the appearance of respectable adulthood. He says that some people wouldn't have even considered his passions to be all that bad, but his aspirations drove him to feel deep shame over them, and to indulge deeply in them when he chose to. It seems, then, that his true meaning by "impatient gaiety" is that he is addicted to pleasure, a hedonist, and struggles to control himself when it comes to doing what he likes because he sees it as a failure of his willpower. 

The great difficulty in this is that it pre-disposed Jekyll to the kind of dual lifestyle that gave rise to the Hyde persona; ultimately Jekyll had so stifled the hedonistic side of himself that it was primed to reveal itself while he was under the influence of his transformative drug.

In "A Bird came down the Walk--" by Emily Dickinson, what does the phrase "rowed him softer home" mean?

This phrase occurs in the poem "A bird came down the walk--" by Emily Dickinson. The phrase is part of a metaphor: "he unrolled his feathers / And rowed him softer home— / Than Oars divide the Ocean." In this part of the poem, the speaker has cautiously approached a bird she has seen come down the walk. After the bird hops up to "the Wall," presumably a low wall in a garden, the speaker offers the bird a crumb. The bird, however, is not tame enough to take the crumb from the speaker, and it "unrolls his feathers." This image makes one think of the slow unfurling of a ribbon or some other fabric that has been rolled up--this is what the bird's spreading its wings reminds the poet of. The next part compares the bird's wings to oars and the sky to the ocean. As the bird's wings beat the air in flight, it is as if the oars of a boat are dipping into the water and pushing off to make the boat advance--but instead, the bird advances through the invisible air.

The word "softer" describes the smooth and effortless feeling that flying conveys. The phrase is actually grammatically incorrect. "Softer" is an adjective, and thus it should be modifying a noun, but in this sentence it modifies the verb, "rowed." To be correct, Dickinson should have written, "and rowed him home more softly than oars divide the ocean." Such a construction would have destroyed the beautiful lilting rhythm of the poem which corresponds well to the seamless flight Dickinson describes. While using the incorrect form of the word could be considered just playing with syntax, in specific terms, it could be synesis, where the correct grammatical expression is sacrificed in order to obtain the meaning that is desired. Dickinson is aiming for a direct comparison between the softness of oars in the water and the softness of wings in the air. Thus by using the word "softer," Dickinson simplifies and clarifies the comparison she is making. The bird's flight is "softer" than a boat's passage through water. 

In The Indian in the Cupboard, what is Boone's nickname?

In Lynne Reid Banks's novel The Indian in the Cupboard, Boone is the cowboy who first gets to know Omri in Chapter 9. All we know about Boone so far is that he cries easily and likes to ignore Omri.

Little Bear has been chasing Boone and shooting arrows at him, one of which pins Boone's fine cowboy hat to the baseboard (a piece of wood attached to the wall right down by the floor). This is very upsetting to Boone.

When Omri intercedes between Little Bear and Boone to stop the violence, here's what we learn about Boone:

"The cowboy seemed embarrassed and hung his head. 'M'name's Boone. But the fellas all call me Boohoo. That's on account of Ah cry so easy. It's m'soft heart. Show me some 'n sad, or scare me just a little, and the tears jest come to mah eyes. Ah cain't help it.'"

What Boone means is that his nickname is "Boohoo" because he cries very often. ("Boohoo" sounds a little like "Boone" and is another way of saying "wah, wah, wah," or imitating the sound of someone crying big, babyish tears.) Of course, it's not a very nice nickname!

And because we learn what Boone's nickname is right as we're meeting the character and getting to know him, his nickname could be a hint about what he needs to work on before the end of the story. Will his experiences help him become tougher, less likely to cry? It gives us something to think about as we keep reading.

What is pediatric neurology?

Science and Profession

Neurologic
illness and injury are principal causes of chronic disability when they occur in children because they result in the development of abnormal motor and mental behaviors and/or in the loss of previously existing capabilities, with a common problem in children being musculoskeletal dysfunction. Pediatric neurology involves the ongoing assessment of an infant’s or child’s neurologic function, which requires the pediatric
neurologist to identify problems; set goals; use appropriate interventions, including physical therapy, teaching, and counseling; and evaluate the outcome of treatment.

The pediatric neurologist looks for certain positive or negative signs of dysfunction in the nervous system. Positive signs of neurologic dysfunction include the presence of sensory deficits; pain; involuntary motor events such as tremor, chorea, or convulsions; the display of bizarre behavior or mental confusion; and muscle weakness and difficulty controlling movement. Negative signs are those that represent loss of function, such as paralysis, imperception of external stimuli, lack of speaking ability, and/or loss of consciousness.

Neurologic disease can manifest in a variety of ways. There are disorders of motility, such as motor paralysis, abnormalities of movement and posture caused by extrapyramidal motor system dysfunction, cerebellum dysfunction, tremor, myoclonus, spasms, tics, and disorders of stance and gait. Pain and other disorders of somatic sensation, headache, and backache may occur, such as general pain and localized pain in the craniofacial area, back, neck, and extremities. There are disorders of the special senses, such as smell, taste, hearing, vision, ocular movement, and pupillary function, as well as dizziness and equilibrium disorders. Epilepsy and disorders of consciousness, such as seizures and related disorders, coma and related disorders, syncope, and sleep abnormalities also fall under the category of neurologic disease. Derangements of intellect, behavior, and language as a result of diffuse and focal cerebral disease—such as delirium and other confusional states, dementia, and Korsakoff syndrome—fall under this category as well, as do lesions in the cerebrum and disorders of speech and language. Anxiety and disorders of energy, mood, emotion, and autonomic and endocrine functions are other signs of neurological disease, such as lassitude and fatigue, nervousness, irritability, anxiety, depression, disorders of the limbic lobes and autonomic nervous system, and hypothalamus and neuroendocrine dysfunction.

Diagnostic and Treatment Techniques

The pediatric neurologist begins with a medical history of the infant or child to determine if the problem is congenital or acquired, chronic or episodic, and static or progressive. The focus of the pediatric neurologist in taking the patient’s history is on genetic disorders, the medical history of family members, and perinatal events, with an emphasis on the mother’s health, nutrition, and medications, as well as tobacco, alcohol, or drug use during pregnancy. Considerable information about a child’s or infant’s behavior or neuromuscular function can be obtained by observation of the child’s alertness and curiosity, trust or apprehension, facial and eye movements, limb function, and body posture and balance during simple motor activities. If possible, the pediatric neurologist will ask the child about instances of weakness, numbness, headaches, pain, tremors, nervousness, irritability, drowsiness, loss of memory, confusion, hallucinations, and loss of consciousness. Headaches, abdominal pain, or reluctance to attend school may be associated with neurologic disturbances, with contributing factors including subtle developmental disabilities, specific learning disabilities, and depression. Disorders of movement include tics, developmental clumsiness, ataxia, chorea, myoclonus, or dystonia.

A complete neurologic examination includes an evaluation of mental status, craniospinal inspection, cranial nerve testing, sensory testing, musculature evaluation, an assessment of coordination, and autonomic function testing. Mental status evaluation involves the assessment of orientation, memory, intellect, judgment, and affect. Craniospinal inspection includes the palpation, percussion, and auscultation of the cranium and spine. Cranial nerve testing assesses the motor and sensory function of the head and neck. Sensory testing measures peripheral sensations, including responses to pinprick, light touch, vibration, and fine movement of the joints. In musculature evaluation, weakness is associated with altered tendon reflexes, indicating lower motor neuron lesions, whereas exaggerated tendon reflexes are associated with an extensor response of the big toe following plantar stimulation (Babinski reflex). In coordination assessment, smooth fine and gross motor movements demand integrated function of the pyramidal and extrapyramidal systems, whereas hyperreflexia, increased muscle stiffness, and problems with muscle coordination reflect spasticity. The evaluation of autonomic function involves bowel and bladder function, emotional state, and symmetry of reflex activity, particularly resting muscle tone and positioning of the head. Additional diagnostic aids include lumbar puncture (spinal tap), complete blood count (CBC), myelography, electroencephalography (EEG), and computed tomography (CT) scanning.

Perspective and Prospects

Pediatric neurologists have been greatly assisted in their recognition of neurologic disease in infants and children by brain-imaging techniques, such as CT scanning and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Event-mediated evoked potentials are also used to assess the conduction and processing of information within specific sensory pathways. These advances have enabled an accurate evaluation of the integrity of the visual, auditory, and somatosensory pathways and the uncovering of single and multiple lesions within the brain stem and cerebrum. Particularly noteworthy are CT scanning and sonographic detection of clinically silent intracranial hemorrhages in premature infants.

Late twentieth- and early twentieth-century success in assisting premature infants has produced a population of patients at risk for developing cerebral palsy, developmental disabilities, epilepsy, and various learning disorders. The higher incidence of neurologic disease in the pediatric age group likely results from the increased ability of medical science to detect nervous system disturbances and from the increased survival rate of premature infants. Neurologic patients are compromised in nearly every aspect of living and have a high incidence of psychiatric problems, and their recovery is often slow and unpredictable. Because medical advances have resulted in an increased survival rate following serious neurological insult, more individuals are in need of long-term rehabilitation. The financial cost associated with this care presents an ongoing challenge to health care systems and to researchers examining effective means to restore function.

Bibliography

"Diseases and Conditions: Brain and Nervous System." KidsHealth. Nemours Foundation, 2013.

"Disorder Index." National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, 2013.

Fenichel, Gerald M. Clinical Pediatric Neurology: A Signs and Symptoms Approach. 6th ed. Philadelphia: Saunders/Elsevier, 2009.

Hay, William W., Jr., et al., eds. Current Diagnosis and Treatment in Pediatrics. 21st ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Medical, 2012.

"Head, Neck, and Nervous System." HealthyChildren.org. American Academy of Pediatrics, 2013.

Kliegman Robert, et al., eds. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 19th ed. Philadelphia: Saunders/Elsevier, 2011.

"Neurologic Diseases." MedlinePlus, 13 Aug. 2013.

Victor, Maurice, et al. Adams and Victor’s Principles of Neurology. 9th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Medical, 2009.

Volpe, Joseph J. Neurology of the Newborn. 5th ed. Philadelphia: Saunders/Elsevier, 2008.

In the poem "A Poison Tree" why did the persona's wrath end when he told his friend about it?

In "The Poison Tree," the point of the poem is that the anger we hold onto grows into something ugly and poisonous that hurts other people. Blake contrasts this to anger we get over. One good way to overcome anger is to talk about it with the person who angered you. If you can trust another person enough to confide in him and her, you can clear up misunderstandings and give the other person the opportunity to tell his side of the story and explain what happened. It also offers the other person the chance to apologize, because often people don't even know they have offended. With this kind of communication, forgiveness and reconciliation can occur. Then you can move on with your life. In contrast, as the poem shows, if you dwell on your wrath without trying to resolve it, it becomes bigger and bigger and more and more poisonous--Blake imagines it as a poisonous apple--and becomes  especially poisonous if you pretend to the person who offended you that nothing is wrong. 

"Continually unsettling and provoking, even when making us laugh." How far do you agree with this statement in the context of Pygmalion by Bernard...

I would agree with this statement, but say the play is probably less unsettling to a modern U.S. audience than an upper-class British audience of a hundred years ago. The play challenges notions of class as genetically inborn by showing a poor East End Cockney flower seller gaining acceptance into the highest echelons of society by learning to speak upper-class English with an upper-class accent. Living as we do in the US in a more equalitarian society, the idea of rising up through our own merits is probably not that unsettling to us. All the same, seeing illustrated through both Eliza and her father the extent to which birth unfairly consigns people to impoverished lives--and to harsh judgement for leading the supposedly immoral lives they do--still disturbs us. So does Henry Higgins' inability to see Eliza as a full human being in her own right and not as an object put on the earth for his convenience. Even at the end, when he grows more sympathetic to her for standing up to him, he still simply assumes she will do his bidding. All of this provokes us into wanting to challenge the assumptions and the arrogance of the English class system. 

What were some reasons why Germany lost World War I?

There were several reasons why Germany lost in World War I. Two reasons were that Germany underestimated how close they were to winning the war, and they underestimated how fast the United States would become a factor in the war. Germany knew that breaking the Sussex Pledge, which said they wouldn’t sink our ships without warning, would bring the United States into World War I on the side of the Allies. Germany believed they could end World War I very quickly. They believed the war would be over before the United States could fully mobilize its military and become a factor in the fighting in the war. They didn’t expect the United States to mobilize as fast as we did. Thus, when the United States entered World War I, we brought rested troops to the Allies as well as needed supplies. The United States was the deciding factor in World War I.

Another reason why Germany lost in World War I was that they had to fight a two-front war. Germany hoped to knock France out of the war quickly, and then they would go and fight Russia. However, Germany couldn’t defeat France. As a result, they had to fight on both the eastern front and the western front. This meant Germany couldn’t fully devote all of their troops to one area at any given time. It is very hard to fight and to win a two-front war.

There were several reasons why Germany lost in World War I.

Help me to suggest a simple and specific statement on financial management that focuses on qualitative data.

There is a reason why sound financial statements include both quantitative and qualitative information: the two types of research and analysis are essential for fully understanding the data that is represented on those statements. The student's request--help to understand the importance of qualitative data in financial statements--can only be answered with some discussion of the merits of applying both types of data, as all financial statements include, obviously, quantitative data. Quantitative data is the nuts-and-bolts of a financial statement--the columns reflecting sources of revenue and categories of expenses. In other words, how much money is coming in, and how much is going out the door to pay for tangibles like personnel, material, marketing, and real estate. That's all pretty basic stuff. It is the incorporation into the analysis, however, of qualitative research that instills in the exercise a greater level of meaning. Qualitative data provides context that may not be readily apparent when perusing those mind-numbing columns of numbers. Marketing, for instance, is an expense the value of which often cannot be easily determined, especially absent field surveys that are not always appropriate variables to impose upon customers. Yet, marketing can represent a significant percentage of the expenses a business incurs in the course of its fiscal year. Advertising, along with customer relations, represents an intangible asset; it can be instrumental in instilling in the marketplace a positive perception of the corporation in question. There is a reason politicians running for elective office raise so much money: money, within the context of a political campaign, equals visibility. That visibility, in turn, equals name recognition and a positive perception associated with that name. 

When contemplating a thesis on financial statements that emphasizes the importance of qualitative, as opposed to quantitative, data, the student should focus on areas like marketing and the role of positive perceptions of the company in question. Does the company have a reputation for meeting deadlines and for producing a product that meets or exceeds standards? Has the company been able to survey or otherwise study the marketplace for perceptions of itself among customers and potential new clientele? Costs associated with such activities will be reflected on financial statements, but the results of those activities will not necessarily be readily apparent to those perusing the data. It is the responsibility of those preparing the financial statements, therefore, to ensure that the documents presented to stockholders, corporate officers, and others reflects the full spectrum of data and analysis.

What do you think the title of the poem means?

First, the phrase "Neutral Tones" literally describes the images in the poem: the whiteness of the sun and the grayness of the leaves, both of which appear at the beginning and end of the poem. White and gray are neutral tones. They aren't bold, loud, exciting colors; they're muted, simple, subtle ones.

More to the point, though, "Neutral Tones" is about the speaker being rejected by someone who used to love him, and so the title also works to describe the lack of feeling that this person has for the speaker. In other words, the girl's feelings and expressions are neutral toward the speaker: unloving and totally without intensity. (He describes her smile as bitter and dead and compares it to an ominous bird flying away.)

Interestingly, "Neutral Tones" also works as an ironically inaccurate description of the speaker's feelings in the poem. Although the girl who rejected him feels neutral, the speaker himself clearly feels a deep despair. If you were to assign a color to his feelings, you might pick a dark red or a deep black. "Neutral Tones" stands in ironic contrast, then, with the speaker's intensely felt sense of loss and disappointment.

What is methotrexate? How does it interact with other drugs?

Potassium Citrate

Effect: Possible Harmful Interaction

Potassium citrate and other forms of citrate (such as calcium citrate and
magnesium citrate) may be used to prevent kidney
stones. These agents work by making the urine less acidic. This
effect on the urine may lead to decreased blood levels and therapeutic effects of
methotrexate. It may be advisable to avoid these citrate compounds during
methotrexate therapy except under medical supervision.

St. John’s Wort, Dong Quai

Effect: Possible Harmful Interaction

St. John’s
wort (Hypericum perforatum) is used
primarily to treat mild to moderate depression. The herb dong quai
(Angelica sinensis) is often recommended for menstrual
disorders such as dysmenorrhea, premenstrual syndrome (PMS), and irregular
menstruation. Methotrexate has been reported to cause increased sensitivity to the
sun, amplifying the risk of sunburn or skin rash. Because St. John’s wort and dong
quai may also cause this problem, taking these herbal supplements during
methotrexate therapy might add to this risk. It may be a good idea to use
sunscreen or to wear protective clothing during sun exposure if taking one of
these herbs while using methotrexate.

White Willow

Effect: Possible Harmful Interaction

The herb white
willow (Salix alba), also known as willow
bark, is used to treat pain and fever. White willow contains a substance that is
converted by the body into a salicylate similar to aspirin. Case reports suggest
that salicylates can increase methotrexate blood levels and toxicity. For this
reason, one should avoid combining white willow with methotrexate.

Ipriflavone

Effect: Possible Harmful Interaction

The supplement ipriflavone is used to treat osteoporosis. A three-year
double-blind trial of almost five hundred women, as well as a small study, found
worrisome evidence that ipriflavone can reduce white blood cell count in some
people. For this reason, anyone taking medications that suppress the immune system
should avoid taking ipriflavone.

Citrate

Effect: Possible Harmful Interaction

Potassium citrate, sodium citrate, and potassium-magnesium citrate are sometimes used to prevent kidney stones. These supplements reduce urinary acidity and can therefore lead to decreased blood levels and effectiveness of methotrexate.

Folate

Effect: Supplementation Possibly Helpful

Folate (also known as folic acid) is a B vitamin that plays
an important role in many vital aspects of health, including preventing neural
tube birth defects and possibly reducing the risk of heart disease. Because
inadequate intake of folate is widespread, if one is taking any medication that
depletes or impairs folate even slightly, one may need supplementation.

Methotrexate is called a folate antagonist because it prevents the body from converting folate to its active form. In fact, this inactivation of folate plays a role in methotrexate’s therapeutic effects. This leads to an interesting Catch-22: Methotrexate use can lead to folate deficiency, but taking extra folate could theoretically prevent methotrexate from working properly. However, evidence suggests that people who take methotrexate for rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, or psoriasis can safely use folate supplements. Not only does the methotrexate continue to work properly, but also its usual side effects may decrease.

For example, in a forty-eight-week double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of 434 persons with active rheumatoid arthritis, use of folate helped prevent liver inflammation caused by methotrexate. Other side effects did not improve. A slightly higher dose of methotrexate was needed to reach the same level of benefit as taking methotrexate alone, but researchers felt this was worth it.

In the study just described, folate supplements did not help reduce the incidence of mouth sores and nausea. However, in other studies, folate supplements did reduce these side effects, both in persons receiving methotrexate for rheumatoid arthritis and in those with psoriasis. In addition, two studies of persons with rheumatoid arthritis found that use of folate supplements corrected the methotrexate-induced rise in homocysteine without affecting disease control.

Folate supplements have been found safe only as supportive treatment in the specific conditions noted above. It is not known, for example, whether folate supplements are safe for use by persons taking methotrexate for cancer treatment.

Bibliography

Alexandersen, P., et al. “Ipriflavone in the Treatment of Postmenopausal Osteoporosis.” Journal of the American Medical Association 285 (2001): 1482-1488.

Griffith, S. M., et al. “Do Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis Established on Methotrexate and Folic Acid 5 Mg Daily Need to Continue Folic Acid Supplements Long Term?” Rheumatology 39 (2000): 1102-1109.

Hunt. P. G., et al. “The Effects of Daily Intake of Folic Acid on the Efficacy of Methotrexate Therapy in Children with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis.” Journal of Rheumatology 24 (1997): 2230-2232.

Van Ede, A. E., et al. “Effect of Folic or Folinic Acid Supplementation on the Toxicity and Efficacy of Methotrexate in Rheumatoid Arthritis.” Arthritis and Rheumatology 44 (2001): 1515-1524.

_______. “Homocysteine and Folate Status in Methotrexate-Treated Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis.” Rheumatology 41, no. 6 (2002): 658-665.

Who were the detectives and suspects in William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily"?

Technically, there are no detectives in "A Rose for Emily." The town did meet to discuss certain issues with Emily. They meet to discuss how to deal with the smell coming from her house. Since they conclude that it is too inappropriate to confront a woman about smelling bad, they send four men to sprinkle lime around the house during the night. They also confront her about paying taxes. She continually claims that Colonel Sartoris had remitted them. They argue back but Emily is insistent and they eventually give up. 

When Emily dies, it is attributed to old age, so there is no need for detective nor any suspects. And, when Homer Baron disappears, the matter is not investigated and there are no suspects. However, when they go through Emily's house after she's been buried, they find a man's corpse in one of the rooms. The name of the corpse is not mentioned, but it is widely interpreted that it is the corpse of Homer Baron. The story ends before any detective work can begin. But given Emily's secrecy and the fact that the corpse has been in her home for some time, she would be the primary suspect. Adding some morbid notion to this Gothic ending, the men who discover Homer's corpse conclude that Emily had been sleeping with the body: 

Then we noticed that in the second pillow was the indentation of a head. One of us lifted something from it, and leaning forward, that faint and invisible dust dry and acrid in the nostrils, we saw a long strand of irongray hair.