Birches Essays - Birches, Robert Frost, Frost,

Birches Birches Pauletta Brooks Introduction to Literature Chris Cox 11-22-99 I believe so much of poetry enlists the senses, beginning with the sense of sound. Whether it's the rhythmic flow of the poem or the mere need to recite the words for a clearer understanding. The sense of sight can't help but participate while one reads a poem. It's like asking an artist to paint how he feels. Imagery is a key part of poetry creating a visual understanding. In the end poetry give a voice to the unsayable in our lives and indeed to life itself. After reading ?Birches? by Robert Frost, my senses were reeling. The poem reads beautifully and is soothing to the ear. The imagery also paints a scene I have witnessed many winter days, growing up in the mountains. Robert Frost, while knowing the realistic cause behind the bent birch trees, prefers to add an imaginative interpretation behind the bending of the birches. He also uses the entire poem to say something profound about life. I feel it is indeed a message that, yes life may get hard, and we may lose our way, but there is still innocence and beauty in our world. We just need to remember. In the first section of the poem, Frost explains the appearance of the birches scientifically. He implies that natural phenomenon makes the branches of the birches bend and sway. Frost suggests that repeated ice storms are the real culprit to the bending branches. He however, takes the ordinary and mundane and makes it extraordinary, even comparing the breaking away of the ice from the trees to the ?dome of heaven? shattering. Frost also lends sound to his description of the branches as ?they click upon themselves As the breeze rises.? Frost explains the branches are bent by the ice, but do not break. Frost again adds beautiful imagery comparing the bent branches ?trailing their leaves on the ground? to ?girls on hands and knees throwing their hair before them to dry in the sun.? Frost, like an artist, paints a picture so beautiful of the birch trees that I can't imagine anyone reading this poem would not have a desire to see a birch in the icy winter for themselves. Frost then suggests that he had rather imagine a little boy causing the bending of the branches by swinging and playing on them. He begins to tell a story within the poem. It is a story of a little boy living in a rural territory, possibly a farm, going out to do his chores, like fetching the cows, but gets side tracked by both the beauty of the woods and his wanting to play. Because the little boy is in a secluded environment he is forced to entertain himself. He has become accustomed to playing on his father's trees, one by one he would conquer them all. He has been a frequent swinger of the birches and has taken the stiffness out of them and caused the branches to bend. Frost goes on to say ?He learned all there was to learn about not launching out too soon And so not carrying the tree away.? The little boy knows exactly how far to bend the branches without breaking them. Frost uses the image of filling a cup to the brim ?and even above the brim? to illustrate to the reader just h ow close the boy is to breaking the branches. We all have filled our cups to the top and then had the challenge of carrying the cup without spilling the contents. Frost again has used a simple comparison to make his point. I, like Frost, prefer the explanation of the bent birches being caused by a little boy swinging on them. Little boys and trees seem to go hand in hand. I find it interesting that in the beginning Frost sees the birches in the winter, covered with ice. Then in the next section, when he envisions a young boy playing on them, the image of summer comes to mind. I see this as saying, the times that we bend, are not defined by the seasons. Good times and those bending (hard times) transcend throughout the times of our lives. He goes on

LAnse aux Meadows - Evidence for Vikings in Canada

L'Anse aux Meadows - Evidence for Vikings in Canada LAnse aux Meadows is the name of an archaeological site that represents a failed Viking colony of Norse adventurers from Iceland, in Newfoundland, Canada and occupied for somewhere between three and ten years. It is the first identified European colony in the new world, predating Christopher Columbus by nearly 500 years. Key Takeaways: L'Anse aux Meadows   LAnse aux Meadows is an archaeological site in Newfoundland, Canada, where the first evidence was discovered of Vikings (Norse) in North America.The colony only lasted three to 10 years before it failed.  There are at least a half-dozen other brief occupations in the Baffin Island region that appear to also be Norse sites of the same age, 1000 CE.  The ancestors of the First People of Canada had been living in the region since at least 6,000 years ago and were using Newfoundland island for summer homes at the time the Vikings landed.   Climate and Pre-Norse Occupations The site is located in Newfoundland on the edge of the Strait of Belle Isle, across which lies the southern Labrador coast and the lower North Shore of Quebec. The climate is largely arctic, a forest-tundra, and it is regularly locked in by ice over the long winters. Summers are foggy, short, and cool. The region was first occupied about 6,000 years ago, by Maritime Archaic people who practiced a broad subsistence strategy, hunting both land and sea animals. and plants. Between 3,500 and 2,000 years ago, people primarily dependent on hunting marine mammals lived in the Belle Isle straits region, and about 2,000 years ago, the region was shared by both terrestrial hunting Recent Indian and Paleoeskimo populations. When the Norse arrived, the Paleoeskimos had left: but the Recent Indian people were still using the land. These Straits residents probably visited the region for brief periods of time during the summers, hunting birds (cormorant, guillemot, eider and black ducks), and living in tents heated with stone hearths. The Historic Tale of lAnse aux Meadows Around the turn of the 19th century, Canadian historian W.A. Munn pored over medieval Icelandic manuscripts, reports by the 10th century CE Vikings. Two of them, the Greenlander Saga and Eriks Saga reported on the explorations of Thorvald Arvaldson, Erik the Red (more properly Eirik), and Leif Erikson, three generations of a rather cranky family of Norse mariners. According to the manuscripts, Thorvald fled a murder charge in Norway and eventually settled in Iceland; his son Erik fled Iceland under a similar charge and settled Greenland; and Eiriks son Leif (the Lucky) took the family westward still, and circa AD 998 he colonized a land he called Vinland, Old Norse for land of grapes. Leifs colony remained at Vinland for between three and ten years, before they were chased away by constant attacks from the residents, ancestors of the First People of Canada called Skraelings by the Norse; and Recent Indians by archaeologists. Munn believed that the most likely site for the colony was on the island of Newfoundland, arguing that Vinland did not refer to grapes, but rather to grass or grazing land, since grapes dont grow in Newfoundland. Rediscovering the Site In the early 1960s, archaeologists Helge Ingstad and his wife Anne Stine Ingstad undertook a close survey of the coastlines of Newfoundland and Labrador. Helge Ingstad, a Norse investigator, had spent the majority of his career studying Northern and Arctic civilizations  and was following up on research into the Viking explorations of the 10th and 11th centuries. In 1961, the survey paid off, and the Ingstads discovered an indisputably Viking settlement near Epave Bay and named the site LAnse aux Meadows, or Jellyfish Cove, a reference to the stinging jellyfish found in the bay. Eleventh-century Norse artifacts recovered from lAnse aux Meadows numbered in the hundreds  and included a soapstone spindle whorl and a bronze-ringed pin process, as well as other iron, bronze, stone, and bone items. Radiocarbon dates placed the occupation at the site between ~990-1030 AD. Living at LAnse aux Meadows LAnse aux Meadows was not a typical Viking village. The site consisted of three building complexes and a bloomery, but no barns or stables that would be associated with farming. Two of the three complexes consisted solely of a large hall or longhouse and a small hut; the third added a small house. It appears that elites resided in one end of the large hall, ordinary sailors slept in sleeping areas within the halls and servants, or, more likely, slaves resided in the huts. The buildings were constructed in the Icelandic style, with heavy sod roofs supported by interior posts. The bloomery was a simple iron smelting furnace within a small subterranean hut  and a pit charcoal kiln. In the large buildings were sleeping areas, a carpentry workshop, a sitting room, a kitchen, and storage. LAnse aux Meadows housed between 80 to 100 individuals, probably up to three ship crews; all of the buildings were occupied at the same time. Based on the reconstructions accomplished by Parks Canada at the site, a total of 86 trees were felled for posts, roofs, and furnishings; and 1,500 cubic feet of sod was required for the roofs. LAnse aux Meadows Today Since the discovery of lAnse aux Meadows, archaeological research has found additional evidence of Norse settlement in the area, a handful of sites on Baffin Island and in Labrador. Artifacts pointing to Norse occupations includes yarn, bar-shaped whetstones, wooden tally sticks, and a broken stone crucible which contained traces of copper and tin for bronze working. Only one building has been found, a rectangular foundation of boulders and turf, and a stone-lined drainage basin. LAnse aux Meadows is now owned by Parks Canada, who carried on excavations at the site during the mid-1970s. The site was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1978; and  Parks Canada has reconstructed some of the sod buildings and maintains the site as a living history museum, complete with costumed interpreters. Sources and Further Reading A great source of information about LAnse aux Meadows is the  official Parks Canada site, in French and English.Foster, Aidan. Hierophanies in the Vinland Sagas: Images of a New World. Culture and Cosmos 16.1 and 2 (2012): 131–38. Print.Ingstad, Anne Stine. The Viking Discovery of America: The Excavation of a Norse Settlement in LAnse Aux Meadows, Newfoundland, 1961–1968. Oslo: Norwegian University Press, 1977.Kristensen, Todd J., and Jenneth E. Curtis. Late Holocene Hunter-Gatherers at L’anse Aux Meadows and the Dynamics of Bird and Mammal Hunting in Newfoundland. Arctic Anthropology 49.1 (2012): 68–87. Print.Renouf, M.A.P., Michael A. Teal, and Trevor Bell. In the Woods: The Cow Head Complex Occupation of the Gould Site, Port Au Choix. The Cultural Landscapes of Port Au Choix: Precontact Hunter-Gatherers of Northwestern Newfoundland. Ed. Renouf, M.A.P. Boston, MA: Springer US, 2011. 251–69. Print.Sutherland, Patricia D., Peter H. Thompson, and P atricia A. Hunt. Evidence of Early Metalworking in Arctic Canada. Geoarchaeology 30.1 (2015): 74–78. Print. Wallace, Birgitta. Lanse Aux Meadows, Leif Erikssons Home in Vinland. Journal of the North Atlantic 2.sp2 (2009): 114–25. Print.

Philosophical Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Philosophical Ethics - Essay Example Illegal immigration is a divisive topic and it can be termed as a substantive disagreement. This is because it can be studies using facts and arguments can be made based on the research findings. In the case of illegal immigration, the numbers are clear on the negative impacts that illegal immigration has on the population. On the other hand, the research is clear on the negative of illegal immigration on the immigrants (Ferrell and John 29). In other words, the illegal immigrants suffer when the US government and citizens ignore them. The issue on whether illegal immigration is right or wrong is a subjective truth owing to the fact that there is no universal truth on the issue. This is owing to the fact there is no principle that terms the issue as being right or wrong. There are various reasons why one side supports illegal immigration while the other side rejects it. First, there were over 11 million immigrants in America and this issue has continued to divide the opinions of the US citizens to date (Ferrell and John 31). Supporters of this issue claim that immigration results to increased diversity in the American population which can have numerous benefits. Americans can learn new things from the immigrants. Secondly, the high number of immigrants results to an increase in the labor force. This means that the industrial sector can easily access workers and which results to improved performance in the economy. In an addition to an increase in workers, immigrants provide cheaper labor since they are always to work for less. Immigrants take up the jobs that the US citizens look down upon. Some of these jobs include gardening, plumbing and babysitting. All these jobs play a pivotal in the economy and lead to efficiency in the country’s opera tions. Supporters of immigration note that immigrants are motivated and share positive values that are in line

Watersheds Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Watersheds - Research Paper Example Mississippi river has watershed called Mississippi watershed which flows in the United States of America. The river emerges from the western part of Minnesota and flows southwards at 4,070 km/hr towards the delta of the Mississippi river. It has a number of tributaries that drains to approximately 31 states within the United States of America between the Appalachian Mountains and the rocky extending to the southern Canada region .The River Mississippi-according to the order of rivers-is positioned as the fourth longest and tenth largest river in the world (Carluer and De Marsily 87). Watersheds have since played a key role (Naiman 78) in various scientific studies on the impacts of anthropogenic and natural phenomenon on the quantity and quality of water. The effects of silviculture and agriculture have always been outlined basing on watersheds. Data to evaluate the effectiveness of various ecological regions on the basis of Watersheds have been used by researches in places such as C oweta .A number of people mind less to the safety and source of their drinking water implying little concern is put on domestic water channeled to their homes on the basis of treatment. In addition, prior awareness should be availed to people on treatment process the water they consume undergoes. Since water is life, clean water is paramount to every individual and issues concerning the degree to which water meant for consumption is cleaned should never be looked at with little respect. This view serves to limit the extent to which non-clean or un-treated water affects the livelihood/health of the parties concerned though many people have taken cleanliness of water/non-cleanliness of water at the expense of their health concerns for granted. This essay in particular will give an analysis of Mississippi watershed within Mississippi River with a goal of enlightening the society on the scientific process of water treatment and water resource forms within their reach. Carluer and De Mar sily (95) refer to a watershed as that specific area of land that drains into river, stream, lake or other types of water bodies. Watersheds can either be large or small. For instance a small stream located in neighborhood may consist of a watershed. The Mississippi watershed of the Mississippi river covers approximately 31 states which represent about two thirds of the North America (Naiman 78). Figure 1: Mississippi watershed in Mississippi river (Schertzer, 124) In this case take an example of a small stream located at the top of the mountains. The watershed of this specified stream will be constituted by few underground springs and precipitation runoffs resulting from the lands that are up above the stream. As a result the stream continually flows down the hill and drains far and wide to bigger water bodies which include larger rivers, lakes and streams before finally discharging into the oceans and seas which significantly posses watersheds that are larger. It is important Howe ver, to point out that all watersheds be it large or small have complex processes arising from the presence of chemical compounds that in a way or the other may impact on the quality of water being drawn and used by the human fraternity for various reasons and usages. Sivapalan (2266) argues that the human population does not only use water for their domestic needs i.e. cleaning, cooking and drinking but also for cleaning and draining their waste systems. To attain proper sanctity of water and good levels of hygiene, treatment plants, dams and pipes have to be put in place to safeguard the water before and after it is directed to the homes of people in the society and also to factor

Criminal identification procedures Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Criminal identification procedures - Essay Example Just as many other things have during the course of the last decade, the technological advancement in the pursuit of legal justice has been astonishing. Never before in history have investigators had tools at their disposal to solve a case and as such, giving the victim(s) some much needed closure for healing and getting the sense of justice which is entitled to them. With all of this advancement, each innovation in its own right played an instrumental role in crime solving. In that case, two of the specific advancements in technology to observe are DNA Analysis and the use of Intra-agency databases for DNA. DNA plays such a crucial role in legal matters with the fact that it is a genetic picture of a person. DNA is defined as, "Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms and some viruses. The main role of DNA molecules is the long-term storage of information. DNA is often compared to a set of blueprints, since it contains the instructions needed to construct other components of cells, such as proteins and RNA molecules. The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in regulating the use of this genetic information," ("DNA" p.1). As for how exactly forensic experts can use DNA in their investigations, the online Encyclopedia Wikipedia answers this further down in their discussion on the subject of DNA and the multiple roles in which it can play a part. "Forensic scientists can use DNA in blood, semen, skin, saliva or hair at a crime scene to identify a perpetrator. This process is called genetic fingerprinting, or more accurately, DNA profiling. In DNA profiling, the lengths of variable sections of repetitive DNA, such as short tandem repeats and minisatellites, are compared between people. This method is usually an extremely reliable technique for identifying a criminal.[104] However, identification can be complicated if the scene is contaminated with DNA from several people.[105] DNA profiling was developed in 1984 by British geneticist Sir Alec Jeffreys,[106] and first used in forensic science to convict Colin Pitchfork in the 1988 Enderby murders case.[107] People convicted of certain types of crimes may be required to provide a sample of DNA for a database. This has helped investigators solve old cases where only a DNA sample was obtained from the scene. DNA profiling can also be used to identify victims of mass casualty incid ents, [108" ("DNA" p.1). An advantage for the use of DNA Analysis and by extension having Intra-agency databases for DNA is that DNA itself acts as a blueprint for the criminal who chose to commit the crime in the first place and with tools for analysis and a database to maintain the information achieved through the study of the DNA, investigators will be able to maintain a cohesive list of DNA evidence from criminal cases which may otherwise have been far more difficult to have solved had it not been for the technology in the first place. Within recent years, many people have been freed from jail after spending numerous years behind bars for crimes that, had the technology been there at the time of trial; they would not have been convicted in the first plac

Disadvantages In Regard To Leisure Choices Sociology Essay

Disadvantages In Regard To Leisure Choices Sociology Essay Taking a thorough assessment of the society we live in, it is evident that women are in many ways disadvantaged as regards leisure choice compared to men. Leisure is itself seen as a psychological experience of enjoyment and satisfaction which occurs within the framework of time or activity. Leisure includes things like watching television, participating in sports, meeting friends, engaging in hobbies and going to events (Doughty, 2010). It requires plenty of time and psychological fitness for one have the best of it. Women are the most disadvantaged due to various constraints they encounter in society. Womens access to free time and leisure opportunities are controlled by such factors as their work and domestic situation, their low income level together with age and ethnic group. These constraints may include structural factors such as family obligations, financial resources, weather factors and work time (Shaw 1994). In most societies, it is normally regarded as womens duty to take care of the family as well as looking after children. As far as these constraining factors have assisted in understanding leisure participation among women, further adjustments can be reached through specific examination of their sub-groups. This is because the constraints are different to the various categories of women basing on their ages. For instance, girls between the age of fifteen and below have limited access to leisure activities since they have restricted time to engage in recreational activities (Kiefer, 2004). They face such constraints as lack of knowledge, lack of accessibility to recreational facilities as influenced by their parents, lack of interest in various recreational facilities and lack of partners (Rehman et al., 2003). At this age, girls are still in school and do not have time to engage in those activities as tourism except during holidays where they can move around the world with their families, but for a very short period of time. Everything they do is influenced by their parents and it is usually difficult for them to decide for themselves. These girls may not necessarily be affected by those limitations such as the interpersonal and intrapersonal constraints since they are still young and have nothing to worry about. They engage in sporting activities in school as part of the co-curricular activities of any school which may not be regarded as leisure (Young people at Play, n.d.). Their weak physical situations discourage them from getting actively involved sports events. These girls are not affected by financial constraints since they are young and all their needs are met by their parents. However, their participation may depend on their cultural background, that is, race and ethnicity play an important role in determining a familys influence on childrens leisure. For example, those from the developing countries grow in hardship where there is hardly any money to take them to school. Therefore, they only resort in dropping out of school and engage in child labor to earn living for their parents and thus have no time for leisure or time to involve themselves in any recreational activities (Shaw 1994). In addition, girls from these developing countries such as in Africa and Asia do not have role models who can motivate them to engage in sporting activities such as football, athletics, volleyball etc. At the same time, their families cannot afford to take them around the world as tourists since they do not have enough money to cater for it. Those from Western countries are a bit different because their parents have the financial strength to finance their education and hav e role models in the society who encourage them to involve themselves in sports. Some are even motivated to engage in music activities, for example, in the US where some girls become superstars at very tender ages. All in all, these girls are more dependent on parental consent and support for recreational activities. On the other hand, young single ladies mostly of the age between 15 and 25 years have different experiences on leisure, sports and other recreational activities. At this age they can easily make mature independent decisions and they therefore face peculiar constraints as regards to their leisure involvement. Based on their perception of sporting activities, these women highly suffer from the limitations of low self-esteem and lack the belief that they may be talented or competent in any recreational activities (Goliath, 2002). Most of these women have just finished school and still looking for employment and therefore have high financial problems. This renders them unable to get involved in both leisure and recreational activities without the help of their parents. The constraints may also depend on the cultural background. Women from poverty stricken countries such as the developing countries experience those intrapersonal constraints such as stress, family attitudes and personal ev aluations of the appropriateness of an activity (Goliath, 2002). Since these women may not have acquired the appropriate education as a result of their background, they may end up engaging themselves in activities such as prostitution and other criminal activities. As a result, they have no time for leisure, sports and other recreational activities. Additionally, they do not have the financial ability to visit other countries as tourists. Various interpersonal constraints such as relationships with others and the ability to find partners as well as the influence of family obligations also affect their leisure involvement. As a result of the societal stress, these women do not have the time enjoy recreational activities with their peers. In addition, they lack role models in the society who may encourage them to engage in productive activities and they therefore end up living desperately. Though women are normally strong physically at this age, inadequate education and lack of awareness about the benefits of participating in sports has been the main reason they never involve themselves. As a result, physical education is often not admired among the females in school (Goliath 2002). Young women aged between 15 and 25 years from developed countries also experience intrapersonal and interpersonal constraints as regards their leisure involvement. These Western women have the constraints such as those of structural factors including financial resources and work time constraints. Those who have jobs do not have time for leisure and recreational activities and hardly get time to engage in sports. Those who do not have jobs have financial problems as well as low esteem and they do not have trust in themselves hence they cannot get involved in leisure activities. As far as sport is concerned, many governments have not taken the initiative to persuade women to participate. They have had less concern in terms providing sponsorship, coverage in media, awareness and the provision of opportunities for women in sport as compared to their male counterparts (Goliath, 2002). Some sports disciplines such as football is far widely considered to be for men yet some women have shown to be as equally talented in it. Furthermore, women with children have different limitations concerning their time for leisure. Some of the women in this category have limited time, money as well as limited access to leisure facilities. Most of these women are married and are mostly disadvantaged with regard to time for leisure. Women with children are normally held by household obligations and family commitments such as child care together with economic constraints (Borg Clark, n.d.). Due to male chauvinism in most societies, many women earn very little incomes which and this has proven to be constraining on their lives as well as on their leisure lives. Women who are employed are said to experience a double shift to their household obligations hence have no time for leisure participation as compared to their male counterparts (Martinson, Schwartz Vaughan, 2002). However, leisure, recreational activities, and sport have different implications depending on the cultural background of women. Those from poor backgrounds have limited access to leisure activities and are mostly unemployed since job opportunities are rare. Most of their time is spent taking care of children and farming so as to sustain their families. It is usually very hard for them to think about touring other countries or engage in any recreational activities due to financial constraints. They are highly constrained by societal stress and have very low esteem to even think of participating in any sporting activities and they not only have little time for themselves, but they also never feel that they have a right to leisure for themselves (Martinson, Schwartz Vaughan, 2002). Other women fear for violence especially in those leisure settings far from home. At times, they regard taking care of their families as their prime duty since most of their husbands are jobless and never ca re about them. Similarly, women with children from developed countries have little time for leisure and other recreational activities such as sports and tourism. Those who have jobs have are the ones said to have double shift, that is, have little time for leisure because they need to balance the time they spend with their family and that spend in work. These women spend much of their time either in job or at home. Most of them make use of computer-based technology for leisure designed to make them busy such as the internet and believe that time spent or even activities pursued with family are the most important (Kramarae Spender, 2000). In most cases, especially at times when they are free from work, most women wish to recreate around the world together with their families but their children prevent them. This is because children are usually cumbersome to travel with. Generally, women with children are usually unwilling to get involved in sporting activities. They only take part in body fitting exercises such as jogging in the mornings. Most of them think they cannot manage to participate in sports activities such as athletics, football etc. and regard nurturing their children as their key role in the society. They only watch their favorite soccer teams or even basketball teams on televisions during their free moments on weekends. The type of profession a woman is in may also act as a constraint to her leisure life. Nurses for example have the ethic of care in their minds all the time which is connected to the lack of a sense of right to leisure (Martinson, Schwartz Vaughan, 2002). Women who are single parents and do not high paying jobs mostly encounter financial constraints which is normally constraining to life in general and to their leisure lives as well. This is due to the fact that they have to cater for the basic needs of their children. By meeting food, shelter, clothing and educational expenses for the children, the amounts that remain may be too little to cater for recreational activities. Old women have various constraints to leisure participation as well. Their participation in various recreational activities is highly influenced by health related problems, poor performance quality and lack of companions (Leitner Leitner, 2004). In general, older people are said to suffer from health problems more than young people. Particular health problems limit participation in specific leisure activities (Women Sports and Fitness Foundation, n.d.). Older women with sight problems cannot freely engage in activities such as tourism, exercises and other recreational activities that include work. Research has shown that older women like to engage more in inactive recreation such as watching television, listening to radio and reading newspapers rather than participate in active forms of recreation (Leitner Leitner, 2004). This is due to the fear that they may get injuries resulting to their children putting them in nursing homes. Moreover, older women are seen to be economically di sadvantaged and also tend to have more household and family obligations which make them have less free time to take part in leisure activities. Most of them like stay at home and take care of their grandchildren. These actions of care giving reduce their leisure activities due to lack of time, tiredness, and other intrapersonal constraints such as stress (Leitner Leitner, 2004). Older women leisure involvement is also influenced by attitude (Henderson Bialeschki, 1990). These women only participate in those leisure activities which they consider as meaningful to them (Greer, 2006). Some leisure activities that are taken as being for fun but have no purpose are highly ridiculed by the elderly women. Most of these aged women view their old age negatively and have a feeling that they should not be involved in recreational and leisure activities because they think that people their age should not have leisure anymore (Leitner Leitner, 2004). At their old ages, they have lost taste for most of the recreational activities such as swimming and look upon them as for the young and strong people. As regards to sporting activities, aged women are incapable of participating actively and can only watch on televisions since most of them have health related problems. The level to which aged women are disadvantaged with respect to leisure involvement may also depend on their cultural background. Majority of women from developing countries spend most of their time taking care of their grandchildren and never have time to involve themselves in recreational activities (Leitner Leitner, 2004). Most of them remain within their homesteads all day and have never visited a foreign country and even never think of activities like tourism. They do not even think of having leisure as their right and are most of the times stressed as a result of their children dropping out of school, lack of food due to drought etc. Most of the developing countries are faced with the problem of diseases and therefore a big number of the aged women have health complications hence they can hardly participate in any leisure or sports activities (Leitner Leitner, 2004). Older women from developed countries are quite different from their counterparts on how they perceive these recreational activities. As for them, they may like to tour other countries but factors such as health related problems, family commitments, among others hold them back (Leitner Leitner, 2004). This is because they are unable get involved in those recreational events like mountain-climbing, skiing and skating. They have leisure by watching televisions and reading magazines unlike those from developing countries who are mostly too illiterate to read newspapers and have little access or interest in television. Their lack of leisure involvement is mainly affected by attitude. This is shown by the fact that they ignore some recreational activities that do not add value to their lives at those old ages. Most of them like sports events though their weak health may not be in a position to withstand them. Consequently, they follow these events on televisions or go to the venues where sports activities are held accompanied by other family members such as their grandchildren. Though some women are good in sports, they never get the recognition they deserve (Stavropoulou, 2008). Some sports such as rugby and football are regarded as mens and women who shine in them get very little or no attention at all (Goliath, 2002). Governments can increase women participation in sports by encouraging wider media representation and giving rewards to the best personalities in the various sport categories. By doing so, young women will be encouraged to participate in sports regardless of their cultural backgrounds and earn money for themselves which may in turn increase their leisure participation. In conclusion, it is evident that women are the most disadvantaged when it comes to leisure participation as compared to men. It has been seen that their lack of sports involvement is as a result of poor attention by most governments and the notion that most sports disciplines are better suited for men. However, it is clear that their access to recreational facilities is mainly influenced by factors such as time availability, household and family obligations, financial stability and cultural background. Women have also been found to be constrained differently depending on their ages.

How to Masturbate :: essays research papers

Creative Masturbation Contraptions and Techniques: Cotton Balls Put glitter on the outside too to make it look pretty: Take a roll of toilet paper or paper towels (depending on what's more comfortable for you), put glue on the inside, then stuff it with cotton balls. You'll have yourself a nice sex toy, all you have to do is put your cock in and go for it. ------------------------------------------ Mummified Wanking Even better if you can find a nurse to help with the prep work: Stroke until you get hard then "lightly" (or as tight as you want) wrap an ace bandage around your cock. Round and round you go, until you wrap it all the way around. You now have a perfectly shaped "tube pussy". Once that is complete, gently remove your dick from the bandage, take a condom (or latex glove), anything rubber and smooth. Stick your dick into the hole where your cock was. Pull the edges out around the bandage and get a rubber band.. Put it around the edge to keep the latex item in place. After that, lube up your dick and have a blast! It's tight, just like a real cunt. For best results, put a pillow under and over the bandage; sandwich it while you fuck it. Also, it's a no-mess situation.. Fuck the shit out of it, cum in it. then just throw the condom or latex item away.. The bandage will keep it's form for future use. ------------------------------------------ Balloon magic Nice: Get about four or five balloons. Fill them with warm, not hot, water. Tie the ends so water will not squeeze out. Take a pillow; roll it up like a tube and tie a string around it or even use your belt. Push the warm water balloons into the opening of the pillow tube. Your fleshy warm vagina is almost ready. Take a small plastic kitchen trash can bag. Push it in between the balloons in the pillow. Put some lubricant of your choice inside the plastic bag that is being tightly squeezed by the balloons. Get your dick ready. Put the pillow on bed. Put your dick inside this plastic vagina. You will feel the warmth, slipperiness and tightness you only dreamed of. ------------------------------------------ Baby Bottle Liner You first might want to throw away the box with the picture of the baby on it: They make 'drop-in' baby bottle liners.. get the 8 ounce size.. comes 20 or so to a box.

Time Capsule: The Renaissance and the Age of Baroque Essay

The European Renaissance was a time of cultural transition in Europe from a society rooted in religious focus and compliance to humanism and artistic expression. Although the majority of Europe remained loyal to the Papacy and Catholicism, the Renaissance brought about scholars that encouraged human artistic expression and self-fulfillment. Prior to the Renaissance, devout Catholics led simple lifestyles, with few amenities or luxuries. They believed worldly pleasures were offensive to God. Renaissance Humanists did not believe this to be true. They encouraged the enjoyment of music and other forms of art, well prepared foods, and the pursuit of a more secular lifestyle (Fiero, 2011). The Age of Baroque, meaning irregular shaped pearl, which took place from 1550 to 1750, was an era filled with much scientific and technological exploration and discovery, as well as a reformation of the Catholic Church (Fiero, 2011). The advent of Protestantism brought about a great deal of religious t urmoil throughout Europe, which led to The Catholic Reformation. Throughout history, religion influenced the arts, architecture, and philosophy, but The Age of Baroque brought about more human creativity filled with grandiosity and elaborate design. Time Capsules Cultural Anthropologists have made many extraordinary discoveries throughout history. Many of these discoveries are emblematic of the contents that might comprise time capsules from various periods of recorded human history. Although various forms of art, philosophy, and literature were produced during each era, there are distinct differences between the ordinary and those that represent or capture the essence of each respective period. With regard to the arts, philosophy, and literature, The Renaissance and The Age of Baroque share similarities, but also exemplify the effects of humanism and how The Humanities influenced change from one period to the next. The Renaissance Art and architecture. As Italy was the birthplace of the Renaissance, Italian art seems an appropriate choice for Renaissance art to be placed in a time capsule, but Jan van Eyck’s painting â€Å"The Virgin of Chancellor Rolin† stands out among Renaissance paintings. The columns in the painting reflect classical influence, while the scenery beyond the columns is indicative of  linear perspective painting. It also captures the artist’s reverence for religion without disregarding Chancellor Rolin’s status. Van Eyck also uses detail in the piece to enhance the portrait’s aesthetics. Leonardo Da Vinci’s â€Å"Embryo in the Womb† reflects the joining of artistic expression with scientific depiction, which became increasingly relevant during the Renaissance. Music also changed significantly during the Renaissance. It became more secular and geared toward human enjoyment, rather than religion. A very popular type of vernacular song during t he sixteenth century was the Madrigal, which was a type of song suited for three to six voices. â€Å"Matona mia cara† (â€Å"My lady, my beloved†) was a very popular among Madrigals (www.allmusic.com, 2013). Flemish composer, Ronald de Lassus, composed this song at the age of 18, and went on to compose more than 2000 songs, 200 of which were madrigals. Architecture of the Renaissance was nothing short of remarkable. The architects of the era, with their limited resources and capabilities found ways to produce miraculous structures that are difficult to fathom even by today’s standards. Such a design is the dome atop St. Peter’s Basilica, the design of which was initially contrived by Michelangelo Buonaratti. Although he died before the completion of the Church, he is credited with the design. The discovery of such a design in a time capsule would likely be venerated and studied with amazement. Philosophy. Among Renaissance philosophers Francis Bacon, an English philosopher, is one of the most famous of his time. His works as a philosopher in the field of scientific methodology was instrumental during the transition from The Renaissance to the early modern era (Plato.stanfor d.edu, 2012). To have deprived the world of Bacon’s writings on his â€Å"Theory of Idols and the System of Sciences† (Plato.stanford.edu, 2012) may have left a crucial piece of philosophical fabric from his era, and upon which to continue to build, but it certainly would have been fascinating to compare his writings to similar works upon discovery. Literature. Literature and the distribution of literature made enormous stride and advancements during the Renaissance, due in large part to the invention of the printing press. Many of the great literary works leading up to the Renaissance were very limited in distribution and availability, as they were mostly written by hand and rarely widely distributed or made available to commoners. The printing press made an immediate impact on the  availability of literature. One of the most influential of writers of the Renaissance was Niccolo†² Machiavelli. His work, â€Å"The Prince† advocated the necessity of strong rule and the s elective exemption of morality for the greater good as justification for perceived evils or transgressions. The Age of Baroque Art and architecture. The Age of Baroque was filled with many incredibly talented artists. Among them was an artist by the name Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, not to be confused with Michelangelo Bounarroti, who is famous for painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Caravaggio was one of Italy’s most active and distinguished painters of the early seventeenth century. One of his most notable works was â€Å"The Crucifixion of Saint Peter†. It is a remarkably detailed piece that captures the strength and vulnerability of Saint Peter (Fiero, 2011). Artemisia Gentileschi was a female follower of Caravaggio, and an extremely talented painter. Although, as a woman, she was not permitted to use nude male models, she did not allow her artistic prowess to be suppressed. An example of her work is â€Å"Judith Slaying Holofernes†. It is incredibly graphic and powerful, as it illustrates the beheading of an Assyrian General by a widow (Fiero, 2011). This would be a we lcome addition to a time capsule, and would likely draw many interpretations. The Age of Baroque brought about the birth of opera, which is a style of entertainment, much like many other forms of art, that originated from Italy. It combined music with theatrical performance to fulfill multiple entertainment appetites simultaneously. â€Å"Orfeo†, which was composed by Monteverdi in 1607 was one of the first operas ever composed, and would serve as a fitting representation of music from the Age of Baroque. Architecture was also very prominent and influential during the Age of Baroque. The Palace of Versailles, at the time of its construction, possibly the largest residence in the world, is a marvel of architecture. The detail and magnitude of The Palace of Versailles is nearly unimaginable. This is yet another great work of the Age of Baroque that would likely influence architecture of any age. Literature and philosophy. Baroque philosophy seemed to be inseparable from Baroque literature. As European society continued to advance, and benefit from the printing press, philosophers wrote with more creativity and metaphors, as if to combine the  two arts. Axioms and allegory became a staple of Baroque writing (www.newworldencyclopedia.org, 2013), which seemed to provide perspective for the reader, as well as thought provoking reflection; often with no right or wrong interpretation, but rather an open-ended finish, to be concluded by the audience. Although the works of William Shakespeare are not regarded as great philosophical works, he is arguably the greatest writer, not only of the Age of Baroque, but of all time. He was a creative genius that wrote with a great deal of philosophical meaning. Any of his works would be an priceless addition to any time capsule. Conclusion The Renaissance and The Age of Baroque are extraordinarily influential time periods in the history of not only the west, but the world. The advancement of human intelligence and technology is absolutely astounding. The two periods works of art and creative expression continue to shape the modern world and serve as the standard for The Humanities. To fill a speculative time capsule seems almost impossible, as the options for the selection of creative genius are too numerous to count. References Fiero, G. K. (2011). The Humanistic Tradition (6th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill. Plato.stanford.edu. (2012, December). Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/francis-bacon/ www.allmusic.com. (2013, May). Orlande de Lassus. Retrieved from http://www.allmusic.com/composition/matona-mia-cara-villanelle-for-4-voices-s-x-93-mc0002361487 www.newworldencyclopedia.org. (2013, May). New World Encyclopedia. Retrieved from http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Baroque_period

The Underground Dance Movement essays

The Underground Dance Movement essays In almost every culture throughout history, there has been dance. Prayer dances, celebratory dances, social dances. In many cases, we can see the cultural progression through the progression of dance. In the United States alone, weve seen the transitions from the European-grown ballet to tap, then to modern dance. What is not so well catalogued, however, is the underground progressive dance movement. Starting in the late sixties, the so-called Underground or counter-culture has built its own species of dance. Our subject today is the three most dominant styles of this new wave, popping, or the Electric Boogie, hip hop/break dancing, also known as old school dance, and the trance/house or new school dance. The television show Soul Train was really one of the keys to the spread of these radical new styles. It was especially instrumental in spreading the Electric Boogaloo, or Boogie. The Electric Boogie developed in the mid-sixties by a family of black men living in Fresno, California, through influences like James Brown and strangely enough, TV shows like Lost In Space. It was a mutant child of sorts, of what is called The Robot dance, Popping, and Miming. The Robot is a dance that our generation has grown up recognizing, the angled body parts, sliding feet, and rigid motions all creating the illusion of a human robot. Popping, however is an unfamiliar term to many of you. Popping can be described as energy passed through the body, popping and snapping elbows, wrists, necks, hips and just about all the body joints along the way. The final ingredient to the mix, however, to control and smooth out the stop-and-go of a popping robot, was the influence of mime. The miming is what gives the Electric Boogie its voice, by making it possible to tell stories and create illusions with the body. This new dance was the forerunner to break dancing, and indeed ma ny of the so-called ...

The Bad Old Days - The Dead

The Bad Old Days - The Dead From the Hoax: England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a bone-house and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins was found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive. So they thought they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night the graveyard shift) to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be saved by the bell or was considered a dead ringer. The Facts: England was not so old and small that new cemeteries could not be established, but crowded graveyards did exist, due to the Christian tradition of burying the dead in the consecrated grounds of Churchyards. Some towns managed to arrange for cemeteries outside the municipal boundaries, but Church property was not subjected to secular law and the practice continued throughout the Middle Ages. There were no bone houses in England, but there were charnel houses. These were consecrated buildings for the storage of bones, usually uncovered in the course of digging new graves. If these bones had been buried in coffins in the first place a fairly uncommon practice among all but the wealthy the coffins had long since fallen apart. Some charnel houses were set up during the plague when the cemetery was overwhelmed by the number of bodies to be buried, and the corpses in previous graves were removed to make room to bury the freshly dead. It wasnt until the 18th century that the nefarious practice of secretly removing the bones from a grave to make room for new coffins took place. Church sextons would quietly dispose of the bones in nearby pits. The coffins were usually so decayed that if scratch-marks had ever been made inside them they would not be distinguishable in the rotted wood. The gravediggers would often appropriate the hardware (handles, plates, and nails) of decayed coffins to sell for waste metal.1 The matter was resolved in the mid-nineteenth century when London succeeded in passing a law that closed the churchyards and put heavy restrictions on burial within the city limits, and most cities and towns across Great Britain soon followed its lead. At no time during the Middle Ages was there a prevalent fear that people were getting buried alive, and in no known instance did anyone rig up a bell-pull to notify the living. Most medieval people were smart enough to distinguish a living person from a dead one. Throughout history, there has been the occasional case of someone getting buried alive, but by no means was this as frequent as the hoax would have you believe. The common phrases used in the last portion of the hoax have absolutely nothing to do with premature burial, and each has its origin in a different source. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the phrase graveyard shift dates to the early 20th century. It may have its source in the night shift on nautical vessels, which was called graveyard watch for its quiet loneliness. Saved by the bell originates from the sport of boxing, in which a fighter is saved from further punishment or from a ten-count when the bell signifies that the round is over. (But the next round is another story.) A ringer is slang for an imposter. It was used in cheating at horse races, when an unscrupulous trainer would substitute a fast horse, or ringer, for a nag with a bad racing record. This sporting association continues in the modern use of the term ringer for a professional athlete playing in an amateur game. But a human can also be a ringer in the sense of a person who closely resembles someone else, like the professional entertainers who impersonate celebrities such as Dolly Parton and Cher. A dead ringer is simply someone who is extremely close in appearance to another, in the same way as someone who is dead wrong is as wrong as he can possibly be. Once again, if you have an alternative origin for one of these phrases, please feel free to post it on our bulletin board, and be sure to bring your sources! Note 1. cemetery  Encyclopà ¦dia Britannicabritannica.com/eb/article?eu22388[Accessed April 9, 2002].

Raising HCAHPS Scores. Annotated Bibliography Essay

Raising HCAHPS Scores. Annotated Bibliography - Essay Example Bower, K. A. (2009). Managing Care: The Crucial Nursing–Case Management Partnership. Nurse Leader 26-29. This article does not explicitly dwell on the improvement of HCAHPS scores in a hospital. However, the article introduces the concept of case management and its relationship with the cost benefits that an institution accrues once it implements effective and efficient case management in its operations. In this case, the author identifies the goals to effective case management as laying emphasis on clinical outcomes, satisfaction of patients, and compliance goals, which are elements that have a relationship with the importance of raising HCAHPS scores in an organization. Importantly, the author related the importance of effective case management with the financial incentives that an organization accrues. The author indicated that Medicare’s Recovery Audit Contractor program retracted more than $800 million from acute hospitals in three states during a demonstration project, although the program is now in practice in all the states. Hence, this implies that effective case management, which is associated with nursing and quality of care, is an important aspect of ensuring financial incentives in a hospital. On the other hand, improving effective case management improves the quality of care and has an effect on the improvement of HCAHPS scores in a hospital. ... tes to the clinical process, which accounts for 70% of the performance score while the remaining percentage is the patient experience domain, which is the basis for the HCAHPS score. In line with this, Cliff highlights the cost benefits aspect of including these measures in provision of incentives to a hospital that provided quality care. Cliff not only highlights the importance of improving the quality of care by raising HCAHPS scores in a hospital, but also discusses the existence of financial rewards associated with the raising of these scores. Elliot, M. N., Lehrman, W. G., Goldstein, E., Hambarsoomian, K., Beckett, M. K., & Giodano, L. A. (2009). Do Hospitals Rank Differently on HCAHPS for Different Patient Subgroups? Medical Care Research and Review 67(1): 56-73. The authors take a patient-centered approach towards establishing HCAHPS measures while precisely focusing on the aspect of patients’ experiences in a hospital setting. The authors describe the reliability of pa tient-reported measures within the hospital levels, which is through investigating the extent of observable differences within a hospital setting and their representation as true differences in experiences. Using patients’ experiences in nine measures, the researchers used the experiences of 1,203,229 patients discharged from hospitals around the country between 2006 and 2007 with these patients being a blend of patients who visited acute and critical access hospitals. Importantly, the researchers found out that raising HCAHPS scores in the hospital setting is crucial in measuring the distinction of the quality of care in a hospital and this distinction contributes to high reliability in a hospital setting. In effect, these researchers bring out the theory of high reliability in service design

Advantages Of A Collaborative Role Among Organizations Essay

Advantages Of A Collaborative Role Among Organizations - Essay Example Collaboration is beneficial among organizations due to the results it yields for both organizations and their clients. Collaboration refers to the relationship between independent organizations that involves coming together to share in either resources or ideas. It often occurs when organizations believe they can accomplish more when together than when they are independent entities. Once organizations come together and work as one, they pose a threat to their competition. This is because; they work as one towards a common goal and do not have to compete against each other. It also increases the rate and speed of innovation for organizations that collaborate, as they share information and ideas openly. Collaboration, also, brings together organizations with different capabilities in regard to the resources they can access. Therefore, upon forming a cooperative relationship, they tend to advance their abilities and skills. From this, their competitiveness improves and so does their sur vival in the market. This is particularly so for organizations with fewer resources, but have immense potential to be successful once they work together with those who have resources. Collaborative roles among and between organizations are beneficial to all firms involved as they come together to lessen the risk incurred to any of them when working alone. Collaboration creates a safety net for all involved, as they can contribute to bailing each other out. Clients enjoy increased reliability from all organizations involved in the collaboration.