Sailing to Byzantium Essays

Sailing to Byzantium Essays Sailing to Byzantium Paper Sailing to Byzantium Paper Poetry means many things to people all over the world. Poetry is an outlet or artistic and creative way of telling a story or expressing your emotions. It is something that does not require a lot of skill, but imagination and feeling. â€Å"Sailing to Byzantium† written by William Butler Yeats is a poem that speaks of the craving for something one cannot have and the immortality of people, art and intellect, and greatness. â€Å"Sailing to Byzantium† is a poem based on the theme longing for something one cannot have. In this case the old man in the poem is yearning to be young and live on forever even when his time is up. To escape death and old age the man sails to Byzantium. Byzantium is the opposite of the old man. â€Å"The young in one another’s arms, birds in the trees† and â€Å"The salmon falls, the mackerel crowded seas† are lines from the poem that illustrate the youth and vibrance of Byzantium, the youth and viberance the old man desires. Throughout the poem there are lines that hint about the immortality of people and life. One can continue to live on forever spiritually or by being remembered for having a great achievement or a great impact. In the second stanza Yeats writes, â€Å"An aged man is but a paltry thing. Upon this realisation, he decides to travel to the holy city of Byzantium. Byzantium (which was renamed Constantinople, then Istanbul) was a city in the Eastern Roman Empire. The journey to Byzantium is not a literal one, but a metaphorical one which represents the acceptance of mortality, artistic splendour and a way of immortalising oneself through art. Art is an artificial creation, and is something which can stand the test of time and will remain beautiful from the moment it is first created. The use of symbolism and themes are very prevalent in conveying this message of mortality, which leads me to my guiding questions: How does Yeats use language to distinguish the difference between mortality and immortality for the reader? and How does Yeats use symbolism to convey the theme of immortality versus the transience of life? The first stanza presents an image of life to the reader; the birds in the trees, the fish filled waters, the young people who are preoccupied with their lives and loves. But in amongst the description of life Yeats refers to them as those dying generations. This is a reminder that life is inevitably followed by death, and that we are all moving closer to our deaths, or dying. It is a reminder that everything that lives is doomed. Whatever is begotten, born and dies /Caught in that sensual music all neglect /Monuments of unaging intellect. This is a crude summary of the aspects of life that everyone shares (conception, birth and death) and how all living things get caught up with the sensual music, and neglect the monuments of unaging intellect. The final line has a double meaning. The monuments of unaging intellect represents the elderly and how their minds and intelligence do not age with their bodies, but it also represents the artworks and paintings which Yeats destination, Byzantium, is so famous for. The people in paintings, sculptures and other forms of art are undying, and remain the same as they were the day they were first created for eternity. Yeats is condemning the natural as all things natural are doomed to die, and praising the artificial things as they can stand the test of times. This is paradoxical however, because without the natural, the artificial wouldnt exist. In the second stanza, Yeats likens and aged man to a scarecrow: An aged man is but a paltry thing,/A tattered coat upon a stick. This is a symbol of the elderly. Scarecrows are devices which were created to do just as their name describes to scare crows, but in the poem they represent a device which is to scare the youth. Many people fear death, and as the elderly remind the youth of their own mortality, in looking at the aged, they have a sense of fear as they are seeing what they will become. However, this is followed by unless/Soul clap its hands and sing, louder sing/for every tatter in its mortal dress. By using a personification of soul, Yeats reminds the reader that the soul is what separates each life from the next, and that for every problem it comes by, it becomes stronger. In saying this, Yeats is focusing on the fact that it is possible to avoid becoming an empty, lifeless shell, like the scarecrow, by concentrating on the soul, and therefore overcoming the constrictions of the human body. Since the journey to metaphorical one, Yeats is saying that the only way that the journey to Byzantium is possible is to learn to escape from the constraints of the body. Byzantium represents a desired destination, and in Yeats case, it is a symbol of permanence and intransience through art. During a trip to Ravenna, Yeats saw a painting which portrayed martyrs being burnt because of their faith. In the third stanza, in the line O sages standing in Gods holy fire/As in the gold mosaic of a wall, Yeats has incorporated his interpretation of this painting into the poem. He sees the martyrs as sages and the flames as the Holy Spirit. This is represents the transition between life as a mortal and life as an immortal, as at the time of their deaths the sages gained an immortal existence through being incorporated into art. The mosaic is described as gold, as this colour represents an untarnished and everlasting beauty. Come from the holy fire, perne in a gyre,/And be the singing-masters of my soul. Here, Yeats is referring to a spinning wheel, and the quick movement of thread through a bobbin and spool. This image of each strand of thread being merged into one constant piece symbolises how human life spawns other lives another and how each life links up with another creating a continuous flow of life. Yeats is asking the sages in the mosaic to free him from his body, which he describes as a dying animal, and guide him to Byzantium so that he too can join the artifice of eternity. The sages in the mosaic have seen many generations of people, without ageing themselves. The fourth and final stanza commences with Yeats pronouncing that once he has escaped him human form, he will never again take the form from anything natural, as from his description in the first stanza, these things are all prone to decay and death. He then proceeds to say that he would wish to take the form of a golden bird like the ones the Grecian goldsmiths used to make. He wishes to make the final transition from the transience of human life, and immortalise himself through an ancient form of art. The final line of the poem Of what is past, or passing, or to come is a reflection of the line Whatever is begotten, born and dies found in the first stanza. Yeats categorises time into past, present and future, which is a suggestion that even after escaping his human body, his mind would still be limited to what he can perceive as a human being. The idea of eternity is a concept almost impossible for a human mind to grasp, so we classify time into past, present and future. In answer to my first guiding question, there is a notable difference in the language Yeats uses depending on whether he the idea of mortality or immortality is being conveyed. For example, in the first stanza when the old country is being described, the words are limited to one or two syllables, and the language is rough and has a staccato style rhythm: The salmon-falls, the mackerel-crowded seas,/Fish, flesh, or fowl, commend all summer long. The quick, often monosyllabic words help to enforce the idea that these things will eventually die, and the f and sh sounds are repeated, creating an alliteration which gives a sharper sound to the line. Yeats uses long, more flowing words in line 7, Caught in that sensual music all neglect, as if to admit that he, too, become preoccupied with this aspect of human life. In the final line of the first stanza, the reader is first introduced to the idea of an everlasting existence: Monuments of unageing intellect. This line rolls over the tongue, and is a contrast from line 5 which describes things that will die. It also displays a use of alliteration, as the letter n is echoed throughout the line. More examples language being used to emphasize the difference between transience and an endless existence can be found in the other stanzas: A tattered coat upon a stick and Monuments of its own magnificence: Consume my heart away; sick with desire/And fastened to a dying animal against Into the artifice of eternity. The lines which are referring to immortality have a much more soothing tone, whereas the lines which are referring to mortality are more staccato-like and harsher sounding. In answer to my second guiding question, Yeats use of symbolism is essential in his portrayal of immortality in opposition to mortality. The symbolism begins in the poems title, Sailing to Byzantium. Sailing symbolises a metaphorical journey, and Byzantium symbolises a desired destination, in this case, the desire to become immortal through art. In the first stanza, the images of the young lovers, fish and birds symbolise mortality and eventual death. By highlighting this component of the world he lives in, it makes it easier for the reader to understand his need for permanence. In the second stanza, the scarecrow signifies the elderly. The image of a solitary scarecrow in a field is seen often through literature and film, and in this case the scarecrow represents the neglected generation. The scarecrow is described as paltry (which means contemptible), and this symbolises how the younger generations have contempt for the older generations because they are a reminder of their own mortality. The scarecrow also represents everything that Yeats wishes to leave behind in departing his mortal existence. Finally, the image of the golden bird symbolises the flight Yeats has taken from his previous body, and the permanence he has found through art. The colour gold his also used several times throughout the poem, and this indicates everlasting beauty. Yeats uses images representing young life through to old life to demonstrate the transience of human life, but uses the constant image of the golden mosaics and the golden bird to show how art has a never-ending beauty. In conclusion, I think the main idea W. B. Yeats was trying to convey in writing this poem was that the artificial is superior to the natural, and that while all things natural are doomed to die, the artificial can exist forever. The way Yeats uses imagery helps to convey the idea that the artificial is an everlasting creation, and whereas the natural, while is beautiful at one time, eventually withers and dies. The fact that the author believes the artificial is superior to the natural becomes apparent in difference in language Yeats uses, depending on which of them he is talking about. The abrupt phrases and monosyllabic words Yeats uses to talk about the natural connote that the lives of these things, like the words, are quickly over. However, the more descriptive and flowing language used to describe things which are man-made, such as art, tells the reader that these things are longer lasting and more beautiful. I think that the way in which Yeats tells the poem complements the message he is conveying and causes the reader to contemplate their own existence.

Whats an Excellent SAT Score

What's an Excellent SAT Score SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips The SAT score is one of the most important parts of your college applicationsbecause it’s one of the only things that’s standardized. When all student applicants are taking the same exam, admissions officers can use it as a barometer to compare students that come from different backgrounds, educations, strengths, weaknesses, and intellectual abilities. If all students take the same exam, and all admissions officers look at those exam scores in the same way, then it should be easy to figure out what an excellent SAT score is, right? Not necessarily. Like most things, an excellent SAT score is all relative. In this post, I’ll talk about different types of â€Å"excellent† scores in relation to the entire US, your general peer group, your prospective colleges, and (maybe most importantly) yourself. A Note Before We Get Started: Percentiles When we discuss exam scores when compared to other groups - groups as big as the US student population or as small as your high school English class - we use percentiles. Percentiles are different from percentages. A percent scoretells you what portion of the exam you got correct, whereas a percentile score tells you how you did on the exam compared to everyone else who took it.For example, a percent score of 80% on an exam means that you got 80% of the questions correct. An 80th percentile score would mean that you scored better than 80% of the students who took thesame test. Percentile scores are more meaningful than percentages when we talk about SAT scores, because what’s important is how you score when compared to other students.To give another example, let's say you take a very difficult exam in a large lecture course and only score a 50%. You might be disappointed because you'd assume you scored poorly. If you learned that everyone else in the class scored lower than 50% on their exam, you'd know that you scored in the 99th percentile - that changes your perception of your performance, right? Same thing goes for SAT scores. Excellent SAT Scores for the General US Population Talk about a big comparison group. If you’re new to the SAT and are unsure what SAT scores actually mean, comparing your scores to those of the general population isthe best place to start. The SAT score range isn’t necessarily intuitive, like an exam scored out of 100 points. Seeing how you â€Å"rank† relative to all students is the best way to start understanding your own performance. As you probably know, the SAT is scored out of a total of 1600 points.The average composite SAT score is about 1000 points - around the 50th percentile. An "excellent" score relative to the general population will ultimately depend on your own definition of excellence. For the sake of this post, we'll say that an excellent score sits at about the 75th percentile. This means that if you score at or above the 75th percentile, your score is higher than at least 3/4 of all test-takers. So how do these (and other) percentiles translate into SAT scores? 25th percentile about 840 composite score 50th percentile about 1000 composite score 75th percentile about 1200composite score You can get more detailed information on SAT scores and percentiles here. Given this information, where do you think you would set your "excellence" cutoff? Excellent SAT Scores for Your Peer Group What matters when you apply to colleges isn’t necessarily how your performance compares to that of the rest of the high school students in the nation. What matters is how you compare to kids who are similar to you - similar in terms of background, geographical area, high school type, grades, extracurriculars. You’ll have to stand out against your peers, not necessarily against a student who lives across the country from you with different interests, passions, and activities. In order to determine what SAT scores are considered "excellent" amongyour peers, you need to have a good general idea of what your peers' scores are. SAT scores can be a sensitive topic, so here are some tips for getting information on this: 1. Get average SAT scores for your high school.Some schools have a report available where you can see aggregated SAT scores from past students. If you're not sure about how to access this information, check in with a guidance counselor. They may have their own thoughts about what they consider excellent SAT scores for your school. 2. Get average SAT scores from your classmates. If you want to narrow down your comparative peer group even more, you could consider the average scores of other students in your classes. SAT scores from peers in honors classes should give you an even better idea of excellent peer scores. If you feel comfortable asking around, make an effort to do that - just make sure not to pressure anyone into sharing scores. Excellent SAT Scores for College So now that you have a good idea of how you compare to your peers, you can start figuring out your best target schools based on SAT scores. Now, SAT scores are important for getting you into college, but people don’t tend to care about them once you get in. Your SAT scores don’t have to be at the top of the range (e.g. at the 75th percentile) for the schools you’re interested in attending - that would mean 75% of attending students were accepted with lower scores. Ultimately, they just have to be good enough to get your application considered. (Exception:if you anticipate that your application will be weak in other areas, higher SAT scores than other applicants will help your admissions case.) The best way to figure out what SAT score is likely to get you into a particular school is to look up the school's "middle 50" SAT scores. The middle 50 is the range of student scores between the 25th percentile and the 75th percentile - so if you ranked all the students in a college's class by SAT scores, this would be the score range for the 50% of students standing right in the middle. You can find detailed instructions on figuring out a school's optimal SAT score range. If your SAT is in the top 25% of scores for schools that you're considering (and your application is otherwise strong),you may want to consider applying to more competitive schools. By more competitive, I mean schools with higher average SAT scores and lower admissions rates.There are many benefits to attending a better-ranked school: it's likely to be more intellectually challengingand to have a stronger student body due to a more selective admissions process. A more prestigious school also sends a better "signal" to graduate programs and future employers, potentially leading to better income and career outcomes. If you'd like more information about optimal application strategies, check out our guides on reach and safety schools. Excellent SAT Scores for Yourself Time for some realistic self-evaluation. So you've considered what "excellent" SAT scores are relative to the country, your peers, and your target schools. Although these are all helpful comparison groups, there's one very important factor we have yet to take into consideration: your own abilities, strengths, and weaknesses. Excellent scores by more objective standards may come easier to some students than others. Setting unrealistic goals for yourself based on these standards will be frustrating and unhelpful; setting "easy" goals for yourself based on these standards will mean that you sell yourself short. In order to come out of this process with both strong scores and your sanity intact, it's important to consider your own abilities when determining what SAT scores are "excellent." So how do you figure out what an excellent SAT score means for you? 1. Get a baseline score. Study for 10 hours in order to gain basic familiarity with the test and its content before taking a practice test. This will give you a baseline score to work from. Students can often improve 160+ points from baseline with additional test preparation. 2. Reach your own score maximum. Students usually reach a max limit after 40-80 hours of effective, focused studying. Getting that much prep in will mean you are dedicating yourself to excellence by your own standards. How Do You Prepare to Earn Excellent SAT Scores? You might have a roughrange in mind for those excellent scores you're hoping to earn. If not, you'll hopefully get a good baseline score to work from based on the guidelines above. Once you're ready to start working up towards that range, follow the guidelines here for an effective SAT preparation plan: 1. Set a timeline. If you're going to prepare for the SAT, you'll need a reasonable study plan based on how much time you have before the exam. Get instructions on how to do this here. 2. Set a goal score.You won't have anything to work towards if you don't set a challenging, but realistic, goal score for yourself. Start by looking up the "middle 50" SAT score ranges for target schools. You can get up-to-date information on these scores by Googling"[school name] PrepScholar admissions requirements." 3. Stick to a study plan. You can work from a study planspecifically for sophomores, juniors, or seniors, or you can come up withyour own. Try scheduling study sessions in your calendar ahead of time, or letting your parents in on your plan so they can hold you accountable. The better you stick to your plan, the more effective your studying will be. What's Next? Motivated to start bringing up those SAT scores? Here areguides to setting your timeline, SAT reading, SAT writing, and SAT math. If you are running out of time to improve your scores, not to worry - we have last-minute strategy guides as well! Disappointed with your scores? Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points?We've written a guide about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

You can make a topic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

You can make a topic - Essay Example The need to maximize profit through specialization thus boosting country’s economy is the main cause of monoculture in many countries. It is evident that modernized agriculture has brought immense negative contributions in the ecological system and further extended the influence on peoples’ lives, culture, political and social status. Use of fertilizers and pesticides which is contributed by monoculture has greatly depleted and polluted soil, water and every other useful resource used in farming thus causing serious consequences on the environment. Modification of herbicides and crop engineering has not however brought the expected change it was intended to in some herbicides and even in increasing the yield of some crops but instead brought serious harm to the environment. It is obvious that mechanized farming is not beneficial since it does more harm than good but efforts to indulge in agro ecology are also greatly suppressed in many ways including the government. The need to make money and the intensive advertisements by huge agrochemical corporations is really hindering farmers from adopting the best style of farming that is environmental friendly. Farming can be done in a way that animals and crops grown mutually benefit each other without inclusion of chemicals and fertilizers which are harmful to the environment such as planting cover crops, crop rotation and use of farm yard manure. The size of land does also not support crop rotation and generally the whole issue of agro ecology. I strongly concur with the author of this article that capital-technology intensive agricultural practices such as use of fertilizers, pesticides and insecticides which has contributed to monoculture has posed danger in our ecosystem. I strongly support agro ecology since it is the only way environmental degradation can be minimized and our

Post-traumatic stress disorder Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Post-traumatic stress disorder - Research Paper Example Threats of natural disasters like flood, storm, earthquake, fire etc and manmade disasters like terrorism, prison stay etc can cause PTSD. For example, after the 9/11 World Trade center attack, many of the Americans experienced PTSD because of the threats from Al-Qaida. This paper analyses the cause, symptoms and treatment options of PTSD. â€Å"PTSD starts at different times for different people. Signs of PTSD may start soon after a frightening event and then continue. Other people develop new or more severe signs months or even years later. PTSD can happen to anyone†(Medline Plus, 2011). The real cause of PTSD is still unknown to medical science. However, it is believed that various genetic, environmental and social factors are contributing to PTSD. The entire stress management mechanisms of the body are changed as a result of PTSD. â€Å"It affects the stress hormones and chemicals that carry information between the nerves (neurotransmitters). Having been exposed to trauma in the past may increase the risk of PTSD†(Post-traumatic stress disorder, 2011).Normal people and people with PTSD respond to abnormal behaviors differently. Normal people gradually forget about the abnormal event whereas for the PTSD patients, the memories of the trauma keep on agitate them in their future life.

Nutrasweet in China Essay Example for Free

Nutrasweet in China Essay To come up with a decision to the whether enter the Greater China Market or not we decided to approach the case with a SWOT analysis. Strengths NutraSweet is an artificial sweetener that is one of the most recognized brand names in the United States and in the world. NutraSweet’s earnings per share is $ 6. 36 and with huge capitalization and investments in diverse products. Stacey has the approved budget of $ 500,000 to market NutraSweet in China. NutraSweet has the flexibility on how to position their product in terms of functionality, or either as sugar substitute or health product for diabetics. Weaknesses The research conducted towards the Chinese consumers may not truly reflect the real sentiments of the consumers towards NutraSweet. NutraSweet has not decided on building its own distribution system and may rely on foreign agents for distribution. NutraSweet is more expensive than ordinary white sugar. Opportunities China is a big market and can provide higher profitability to the company. China is the second or eighth largest economy in the world; depending on how it was gauged. There is a perceived consumers’ infatuation with Western brands. Chinese maintain healthful lifestyle so the potential for NutraSweet to launch their product in China is strong. Threats Sugar is a common household purchase as a sweetener and has been part of Chinese households for decades. Culture dictates that there might be difficulty in replacing traditional use of sugar with NutraSweet. The Chinese market is so diverse and it is difficult to come up with a general characteristic to define them. Artificial sweeteners are known by history of skepticism for saccharin and potential health hazards. There is difficulty in attracting and retaining local employees and as such, NutraSweet is having doubts in investing into training their marketing and sales personnel for fear that the employees would not stay long in the company. There are only very few foreign agents that operate in China. Sugar use and consumption levels differed among 3 key markets –Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Beijing. Arthur Andersen survey in China showed that most joint ventures from food and drink were not profitable. Most MNCs in China are unprofitable despite substantial growth. Majority of the Chinese are considered â€Å"flat-bellied† and don’t see the need for a diet regimen. The Chinese culture also dictates that they are not that concerned with their teeth, hence they don’t have that fear of tooth decay. The company should enter the Greater China market as a niche product for consumers with a medical need. The company cannot delay its entry in the China market, especially with factors such as an average of 10% economic growth, a quickly emerging middle class, and a high possibility in consumers’ increase purchasing power. Postponement of entry may mean higher costs in the future and although the company will not immediately profit from the venture, research showed that companies who entered the market 5 to 10 years ago were doing best. The knowledge gained from market entry will allow NutraSweet to sharpen its future strategies. Pros The successful experience in establishing medical awareness in Hong Kong may be applied to the Greater China Market. Entering the Greater China market through the three key cities will provide a better knowledge of the overall Chinese market. A natural market consisting of diabetics and obese customers already exist. Hospital stores and drug dispensaries do not have the bargaining strength that retailers have. Product information campaigns will be facilitated by health professionals who will easily understand and appreciate the product’s benefits. Promotion to medical professionals through associations will not need as much cost as a nationwide mass-market campaign. A $ 2,010,526. 31 in breakeven sales seems very feasible in the Chinese market. Cons The Chinese tend to be slim and had historically not been preoccupied by tooth decay. ? SHORT-TERM The Chinese consumers’ attraction to brand names, especially the number 1 in any category gives NutraSweet an opportunity to establish itself as a first mover in the medical aid products under a new category of sweeteners. The company will launch a product information campaign for medical professionals and will also tap their associations. Associations of diabetics and obese consumers will also be tapped. The company will focus on relationship building with the medical industry. Since poor dental health is a problem in China, the company may also create an awareness drive on the ill effects of sugar on the teeth to lay the foundation of need awareness. The product will be packaged in sachet form with global brand and American image prominent on the sachet to appeal to the consumers’ preference for American brands. The company will capitalize on the convenience of bringing the sachets anywhere with you. The medical industry will be given free samples of the product. The doctors will be taught to promote daily use of the product, with sweetening of milk and coffee or hot drinks as one of the more common purposes. Consumers will be taught to use the product in cooking through the provision of free recipe booklets and cooking demonstration classes. The product will be distributed in the three key cities of Greater China, namely, Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Beijing, where the medical industry is more developed compared with the other cities. The company will create its own distribution structure. The product will use the distribution channels of hospital stores and drug dispensaries. Since the focus is on niche marketing, the product will still be sourced from the U. S. plant. LONG-TERM The long-term goal will be to mass market the product in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and use the learning’s from those markets to penetrate the market Greater China. Establishing distribution networks in the two countries will be easier, given the favorable business environments. In Hong Kong and Taiwan, the product will be repositioned as a healthy family lifestyle food, targeting the affluent, health and weight conscious consumers. Aggressive promotion will be pursued, such as print and media ads, and the employment of product endorsers, and store promotions. Consumer awareness and education will be the focus of the campaigns.

The Impact of the Internet on Society Essay -- Technology Cyberspace E

The Impact of the Internet on Society The internet is a big impact on our society today. It has been around for quite some time. In fact, in 1973, the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency initiated a research to develop communication protocols that would allow networked computers to communicate transparently across multiple, linked packet networks. In 1986, the U.S. National Science Foundation initiated the development of the NSFNET which provides a major backbone communication service for the internet. Both public domain and commercial implementations of TCP/IP suites became available in the 1980’s. Then in 1991, the internet grew to include some 5,000 networks in over three dozen countries (A Brief History). Many positive and negative aspects of the internet affect our society. One major impact the internet is used for today is communication for people working. Communication has a positive impact because it helps people to communicate through email to get work accomplished quicker. â€Å"Email has become the preferred medium for communication between public relations ...

Case study of a person with alzheimer’s disease

The word old brings to most people in our society an image of homeless, helpless, forlorn derelicts inhabiting park benches, slum hotels, nursing homes and other institutional ghettos. The elderly and aging population is poised to be the center of attention in the coming years since the Baby Boom generation will be retiring. Consequently, these retired individuals shall be experiencing the different problems that come with the concept of aging and that is their quality of life is disturbed as they are hampered by chronic illnesses or chronic physical pain, depression or simply just the inability to perform several activities of daily living.(Understanding Aging as a Social Process 2005). These particular tasks must be performed well by an individual or else he or she may be classified as disabled. And this disability is the one issue that every aging person in America faces. According to Erik Erikson, each of us passes thru eight psycho-social stages in our life where we are all face d with a crisis. The last two stages in a man’s life, middle adulthood and the aging years will be carefully discussed in this reaction paper, and the life of real-life models will be revealed to verify if Erikson’s theories are right.The elderly face the crisis of â€Å"integrity versus despair. † This paper is based on an actual interview with an 88-year old male who is showing early signs of the Alzheimer’s disease. This paper looks into the plight of the elderly population and presents the different ways they are presently treated and are seen as a kind of abuse of this sector of the population. It also hopes to start a momentum and take a conscious effort for those who are able to act for these individuals and represent them and their varying plights for a better quality of life.The Case of Paul, male, 88 years old with Alzheimer’s Disease Paul, who now is 88 years old, has resentments about his accomplishments. He did not finish any degree an d just marries with 6 sons and daughters who are also unfulfilled like him. He has grand daughters and grand sons who live in the same neighborhood with him. He still has unfulfilled dreams and desires because of stagnation during his younger days. He would always say: â€Å"Life has been hard, that’s why.† By nature, the old man is a jolly and funny person but behind his words, you can feel a trace of sadness and frustration on how life had been hard on him. Instead of dreaming more, he would prefer to look up to younger folks who have been successful so far with their life. He would prefer telling stories about other people, cracking jokes about his friends, unable to talk much about his own accomplishments because inside him, he feels he has not achieved much in life. Alzheimer’s disease is manifesting in Paul now. He fumbles with his hands and is quite mentally incapable of being consistently coherent.Constantly needing assurance, I help him to understand ho w his clothes look good on him and he beams radiantly at the compliment, eyes and face crinkling. He is forgetful now, peering into my face and asking who I am even if I am his niece. He appreciates how I talk to him so kindly. I focus on what he needs in the process, how the he seems to be coping with his life, what sort of help he is seeking, what sort of help he may need, and my ability to participate in the helping process with him, given his needs. During the time I spend with him, I managed quite well in relating with him verbally most of the time.He had lucid moments at times but was quite conversant during other times that kept me on my feet in terms of history and other interesting topics that would often crop up during our conversation. Talking with him involved an interactive process based on certain fundamental principles in counseling and communication. The interactive process with the elderly can be based on a generic model of helping such that of Egan (1975). His mode l for counseling and communications includes three stages wherein the person is expected to begin with self-exploration, move to deeper levels of self-understanding and finally to develop a plan of action.While engaging him in an active verbal conversation, he describes his past life. He forgets the name of his eldest child but that is all right. I help him differentiate conditions of the past from conditions of the present so that a clearer understanding of attitudes and behaviors emerge. I was able to build the trust needed in this kind of session, and at the same time help the client focus on concrete concerns about which he personally must make. Then, I use that trust that has been built to get involved more potently in helping him understand himself.I now respond not just to what he says but also to what he implies. Mental and Emotional Condition The mental and emotional condition of old people is a major issue in designing for the welfare of the elderly. Often, aging is associ ated with increased depression, loneliness and lower self-esteem as old people begin to be unable to do the usual activities they do while they were still young and strong. The need to move out of one’s home also adds to the emotional issues that the senior may be facing.It becomes apparent that facilities and environments created specifically for the elderly should promote mental and emotional well-being, aside from addressing the general health and medical needs of these people. Developmental Theories According to Erik Erikson, each of us passes thru eight psycho-social stages in our life where we are all faced with a crisis. The last two stages in a man’s life, middle adulthood and the aging years will be carefully discussed in this reaction paper, and the life of real-life models will be revealed to verify if Erikson’s theories are right.The aging years of any person are a time when he or she either feels fulfilled and satisfied, or becomes in despair: this is the age of 65 and above. Usually, those who have fulfilled their social roles satisfactorily in middle-adulthood are those who become happy and active until their last days on earth. Those who have failed with their dreams and social roles are the ones who have poor health and illnesses in their old age. During this time, an individual asks himself if he has lived well.If he looks back with regret, it is an indication that his failures overpower his achievements. Meanwhile, Peck (1968) modified Erikson’s last stage, ego integrity, which he elaborated into two broad periods: middle age and old age. Peck subdivided each of these periods again into stages and said that these stages may occur in a different time sequence for different individuals and thus do not imply sequentiality. The theme of transcendence iterated by Peck appears in the thinking of several other life span developmental theorists.For example, Erikson (1950, 268) says of the individual in Stage 8: â€Å"He knows that an individual life is the accidental coincidence of but one life-cycle with but one segment of history. Peck’s ego transcendence versus ego preoccupation puts it as this, ‘The constructive way of living the late years might be defined in this way: To live so generously and unselfishly that the prospect of personal death—the night of the ego, it might be called—looks and feels less important than the secure knowledge that one has built for a broader, longer future than any one ego ever could encompass.† Nuances of the Alzheimer’s Disease The Alzheimer’s Disease Fact Sheet of the National Institute on Aging explains in detail the Alzheimer’s Disease. It is under the Alzheimer’s Disease Education and Referral Center and defines first the word as a brain disorder that seriously makes a person unable to carry on with his activities. It then clarifies that the most common form of dementia among the elderly is Alzheime r’s disease (AD). This is a disease that involves particular portions of the brain that controls thought, memory and language.To date, this disease is still incurable and most experts are at a loss as to what causes it. Basically, this site contain valuable information about the disease including contact persons and their telephone numbers and locations so that one can easily consult with those who are equip to handle and give advice. Clarifying further, this disease begins after age 60, increasing with age. Discovered by Dr. Alois Alzheimer, a German doctor who observed that there were changes in the tissues of an old woman who died of an unusual mental illness.Upon closer inspection, it revealed clumps called amyloid plaques and bundles of fibers called a neurofibrillary tangle that is a sure sign of AD. (Alzheimer’s disease Fact Sheet. National Institute on Aging). The NIH Senior Health website provides links to the disease, its causes and risk factors, symptoms and diagnosis, treatments and a site on Frequently Asked Questions. The elderly and aging population in the United States is increasing ever more and such ill-effects of old age occur more often such as injuries, disabilities, emotional pain and worst-case scenario, suicide.Without any participatory work done by the ones who are able-bodied, the elderly of America might not be as safe and as well-taken care of as they should be. Bottom line is that the quality of life of elderly people should not be compromised just because they have already finished their foremost contribution to society through hard labor. With one click, one is led to make more discoveries in the process. (NIH Senior Health). There are newer ways of spotting early symptoms of the disease from McCoy’s (2006) research.When water molecules move throughout the brain when it is damaged, then this processes of cellular damage can cause an increase in the â€Å"apparent diffusion coefficient† which measures t he amount of water in the brain. (McCoy, 2006). Friedland (2004) stated that estimates show that there will be more aging individuals requiring long-term care than people, whether family members or hired caregivers, who will take care of the senior citizens.He added that â€Å"family caregivers need all the help they can get to provide care, including purchasing modifications to the home, purchasing labor-enhancing and labor-saving technologies, and figuring out how best to integrate caregivers into their homes† (Friedland, 2004, 2). The issue of the effectiveness of the healthcare and housing systems for those with Alzheimer’s disease is also important to consider. According to Lawler (2001), the current challenge is in the integration of the housing with the health care strategies for the elderly.She added that â€Å"most of the current inefficiencies in the delivery of aging services occur during the provision of both overcare, providing more housing or health care than required, and undercare, when inadequate service provision compounds problems and increases expense† (p. 1). To address the health needs of the aging population, the American Dietetic Association [ADA] (2000) promoted the provision of â€Å"a broad array of culturally appropriate food and nutrition services, physical activities, and health and supportive care customized to accommodate the variations within this expanding population of older adults† (p.580). The association also asserted that â€Å"medical and supportive services, including culturally sensitive food and nutrition services that are appropriate to levels of independence, diseases, conditions, and functional ability, are key components of the continuum of care (p. 580). Conclusion The right kind of assessment is the cornerstone of treatment and care for those individuals afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease. Because assessment is so critical, clinicians must be certain that the models or princip les that guide the data collection and analysis lead to the richest possible view, of the client as a person.A person with Alzheimer’s disease who comes to treatment with a history of successes and failures, traumas and satisfying experiences; a person with a culture that influences values, beliefs, and norms; a person with psychological archives that have shaped the individual's personality and patterned his or her interactions; a person who lives in an environment that imposes conditions on the quality of life; a person with an enduring drive to bring order to the world, to reduce the anxiety that accompanies psychological unrest, and to experience competence in valued activities.These dimensions of a person's life, singularly and in interaction with each other, constitute the â€Å"baggage† of the client that must be considered in the assessment process. The attempt to deal with a client's difficulties without taking stock of this larger context will probably result in ineffective treatment strategies because the clinician's understanding of the client's problems will be incomplete and the treatment plan will lack relevance.Indeed, the aging years of any person are a time when he or she either feels fulfilled and satisfied, or becomes in despair: this is the age of 65 and above. Usually, those who have fulfilled their social roles satisfactorily in middle-adulthood are those who become happy and active until their last days on earth. Those who have failed with their dreams and social roles are the ones who have poor health and illnesses in their old age. During this time, an individual asks himself if he has lived well. If he looks back with regret, it is an indication that his failures overpower his achievements.Elder care is significant since people over the age of 65 are usually prone to, and may be suffering from diseases, sometimes multiple diseases, and they would need to be accorded assistance somehow, although the assistance is in vary ing degrees. Frailty, diseases and disability are often correlated with old age. REFERENCES Alzheimer’s disease. NIH Senior Health. Retrieved Nov. 7, 2006 at: http://nihseniorhealth. gov/alzheimersdisease/toc. html Erikson, E. (1950). Childhood and society. New York. Norton. Friedland, R. B.Caregivers and long-term care needs in the 21st century: will public policy meet the challenge? Georgetown University Long-Term Care Financing Project. McCoy, K. (2006). New Technique Might Help Diagnose Alzheimer’s Disease. Retrieved Nov. 7, 2006 at: http://www. nlm. nih. gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_39170. html Peck, R. (1968). Psychological developments in the second half of life. In B. L. Neugarten (Ed. ) Middle age and aging. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Understanding Aging as a Social Process. (2005) Retrieved Nov. 7, 2006 at: http://www. roxbury. net/esgch1. pdf

Patriarchy and the System

Patriarchy is a society system that large than oneself, which means not just about a person’s idea or one’s life. It is something larger than that. It tends to be organized around specific kinds of social idea and relationship. And restrictions on the establishment of regular, while the social relations of what is supposed to happen a common understanding of what is allowed and what is the expected behavior of individuals within the system. Race, sex, race, age, class, which was seen as patriarchy is based on the understanding of individualism, which need to increase and modify the action of a major type of personal social characteristics. As stated in Allen G. Johnson’s, Patriarchy, the System, â€Å"To live in a patriarchy culture is to learn what is expected of men and women—to learn the rules that regulate punishment and reward based on how individuals behave and appear. † (p. 74) As we can see, people are generally regulated by a unvisual concept which is patriarchy. This system is subject to personal choice, and only allow each person to choose to participate or in the expected behavior, relationships, and with understanding. These unwritten content has been produced and training with the patriarchal system to shape and guide the acceptance of actions, behaviors and individual experiences. Within the private and public relationship in the structure of patriarchy, patriarchy does use different strategies to maintain gender inequality and these strategies have achieved the status of women's subordination. Household strategy is considered to be the strategy of exclusionary and inequality. As Kirk and Okazawa-Rey wrote in their article â€Å"Making a Home, Making a Living†, â€Å"The father is the provider while the wife/mother spends her days running the home. This family if regularly portrayed in ads for food, cars, cleaning products, or life insurance, which rely on our recognizing—if not identifying with this symbol of togetherness and care. †(p. 303) This is an example of exclusionary strategy in the private area which is based on household production. The most common situation that women will face can be sexual harassment, age discrimination and against women with disabilities. What is more, women have to balance home and work flextime, such as part-time job, home and mommy track. Also they have to take care of children when they have families. It is unfair to not be able to do both, which stand for successful career and house wife, they have to make decision. Being underestimate the value of women and regulated with patriarchy privilege and oppression, people always expect women to take care of families but to work like a man. The household has a different structure to other institutional form. For example, the workplace. According to Joni Seager, â€Å"women are both â€Å"segregated† and â€Å"concentrated† in the workforce. They are employed in different occupations from men, and are over-represented in a limited number of occupations. † (p. 64) Under the construction of patriarchy, there are â€Å"women’s jobs† and â€Å"men’s jobs†, although the definition of these has changed over time, there still lot of limit for women to work. Usually, women just take a small rang of jobs, their jobs are lack of varieties and are used as low-wage service and industrial labors. Public institution can not oppress or exclude women directly from public structure, this situation force women go back to home and do what people expect them to do. Moreover, the system also regulates the students in universities. In the video â€Å"Playing in the closet: Homophobia in Sports†, the basketball team in Pennsylvania State University exerted pressure on their female basketball players of not to be a lesbian. This is another kind of patriarchy privilege and oppression. What happened in this team was that the coach, who is called Rane Portland, told her players that being a lesbian was forbidden in this team and dislodged some players who were considered to be the lesbian from their basketball team. Under the oppression, female players in this team not only failed their academic and basketball career, but also were traumatized in their bodies and soul. They were asked to fellow the standardization of behavior and were misled to a wrong way of gender differences. This is the way in which public institutions and individuals use their power to reveal how related the structures of patriarchy are. Gender inequality is an outcome of Patriarchy. Radical feminists defined as the patriarchal social system in which all social roles for women are in a subordinate position. Community is divided, being ruled. From this perspective, men are the main class, women are the ruling class. As Johnson Points out in his article, â€Å"because of patriarchy is, by definition, a system of inequality organized around gender categories, we can no more avoid being involved in it than we can avoid being female and male. †(p. 76) Patriarchal attitudes come into being in the family through the socialization process. The family, as a social institution, is a producing area for patriarchal practices by socializing the young people to recognize gender differentiated roles, so ideological factors is the roots of patriarchy. Men in society have a dominant temperament. With the development of socialization, this provides a higher social status of men which in turn led them to fill a social role in which they can exercise mastery over women. Patriarchy probably has the biggest part of gender inequality, it is continuance in this century is result from the reluctance of society to adapt to gender equality. People are fighting against the inequality in the system of privilege and oppression. As stated in Allen G. Johnson’s, Patriarchy, the System, â€Å"We need to see new ways to participate by forging alternative paths of least resistance, for the system doesn’t simply â€Å"run us† like hapless puppets. It may be larger than us, it may not be us, but it doesn’t exist except through us. Without us, patriarchy doesn‘t happen. And that’s where we have power to do something about it and about ourselves in it. † People created human society and developed it, at th e same time people establish a system to control peopel’ s activities and build their though. That means people can change the situation they are in and make it better. According to Seager, J. â€Å"The Penguin Atlas of Women in the World, Sports†,. the author listed the examples that â€Å"the French Open equalized payments to women and men tennis singles champions in 2006, the US Open stared offering equal prize money to women and men in 1968† As we can see, people, especially the female athletes, are challenging the rules that have been established to regulate them. While the female athletes acknowledging the existence of limitations and restrictions, each person has come up with their own efforts, in behavior, to change and improve the reality. Follow the crowd to the path was usually acceptable in the past, but now they choose taking the path of least resistance although it is hard. Independent action or behavior, our personal choice is to create an acceptable and positive against the oppression of patriarchy in our society the only way to change.

6 steps toward a cautious career change

6 steps toward a cautious career change A life where you dread what you do every day isn’t sustainable. If you’re absolutely miserable, it’s clear you need a change- maybe even a total career overhaul. What isn’t clear is how to transfer all the hard work you’ve put into building this one career into the start of a new one. There are ways to make a big change without having to give up all the gains you’ve made so far. Let’s explore some key steps you can take.1. Define your ultimate goals.First and foremost, take a big step back and ask yourself some tough questions. What do you want out of a career, and why aren’t you getting it in your current career? Look at your life from higher up to map out the career and work life you hope to attain. Taking time to assess the situation will help you make the right choices and not rush into anything too fast.2. Pick an ideal moment.A career change is a stressful move, no matter how happy it makes you. Even if you’ve done your homework and can make the transition as smooth as possible, your life will be turned upside-down for a while. Choose a time to explore career change when everything else in your life (your family and friends, your home life, etc.) is stable and can fly on autopilot as you navigate the bumpy seas of your transition. Don’t attempt any massive job changes when you’re about to go through a massive life change, as well!3. Ask people who have found success.Seek advice from people further up the food chain who have made big career leaps. They can give real-life examples of how to handle specific situations. Ideally, you can find a mentor in the field to ask about steps for your particular industry. You’ll want to gain a full understanding of the territory you’re branching into in order to make smart, calculated moves.4. Think big, act small.Once you’re sure you have an ideal scenario of where you want to eventually end up, go  for it. Just break th at massive goal down into smaller benchmarks- goals that you can meet in the shorter term. Then put your blinders on and focus on one task at a time until you start generating the momentum to carry yourself closer to your desired endpoint.5. Test the waters.If you’re not 100% sure of what you want, don’t just leap headfirst into a new career- particularly one that will involve a major lifestyle change. Try to gain some casual experience in the field or position before you commit. The last thing you want to do is end up in a new career and hate it! Try volunteering or taking on some freelance work until you see how well you fit.6. Remain humble throughout the process.You’re making a move into a territory you can’t know as intimately as the one you’ve been in- no matter how well-respected and successful you are currently. You’ll have to start a few notches down and prove yourself. Embrace new challenges with eagerness and gratitude, and youâ⠂¬â„¢ll be fine.

Quick Guide to Command-Line Arguments in Ruby

Quick Guide to Command-Line Arguments in Ruby Many Ruby scripts have no text or graphical interfaces. They simply run, do their job and then exit. To communicate with these scripts in order to change their behavior, command-line arguments must be used. The command line is the standard mode of operation for UNIX commands, and since Ruby is used widely on UNIX and UNIX-like systems (such as Linux and macOS), its pretty standard to encounter this type of program. How to Provide Command-Line Arguments Ruby script arguments are passed to the Ruby program by the shell, the program that  accepts commands (such as bash) on the terminal. On the command-line, any text following the name of the script is considered a command-line argument. Separated by spaces, each word or string will be passed as a separate argument to the Ruby program.   The following example shows the proper syntax to use to launch the test.rb Ruby script from a command-line with the arguments test1 and test2. $ ./test.rb test1 test2 You may encounter a situation in which you need to pass an argument to a Ruby program but theres a space in the command. It seems impossible at first since the shell separates arguments on spaces, but there is a provision for this. Any arguments in double quotes will not be separated. The double quotes are removed by the shell before passing it to the Ruby program. The following example passes a single argument to the test.rb Ruby script, test1 test2: $ ./test.rb test1 test2 How to Use Command-Line Arguments In your Ruby programs, you can access any command-line arguments passed by the shell with the ARGV special variable. ARGV is an Array variable which holds, as strings, each argument passed by the shell. This program iterates over the ARGV array and prints out its contents: #!/usr/bin/env ruby ARGV.each do|a|   Ã‚  puts Argument: #{a} end The following is an excerpt of a bash session launching this script (saved as the file test.rb) with a variety of arguments: $ ./test.rb test1 test2 three four Argument: test1 Argument: test2 Argument: three four

Blog #3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Blog #3 - Essay Example Another important gear is a helmet. The helmet protects a person on site from injuries from overhead loose chippings. Most construction sites are on open air and hence protect the employees from harsh weather conditions. Construction equipment should be used in such a manner that they do not hurt the user and the people around them. Most construction tools are metallic and hence can cause serious injuries if misused (Rowlinson, 2004). The safety codes of construction requires that any equipment should only be utilized if it is the in its best condition. Construction managers should, therefore, ensure that all the tools are in good use so as to avoid any possible injuries. The sector makes use of many types of machinery due to the nature of the job. The machines can cause severe damages is they are not properly used. Machines users of cranes should ensure that the sweep area of the crane is clear before operating it (Rowlinson, 2004). Other machines such as compactors and excavators should be used in an area with minimal traffic to avoid possible

Research Proposal Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Research Proposal - Assignment Example Why the difference in that, because logically as the millers make profit the farmers should also enjoy from the profit. Does it mean that the millers are behind the rise in the poverty level of the farmers or the farmers are the source to there poverty. The millers should always be in support of the farmers, this is because farmers need to be motivated to increase the amount off the cane production and this intern will lead to the millers’ increment in production. If the farmers are demoralized, they my opt for production of other food staffs hence may lead to the collapse of the sugar industries due to lack of raw material for production. The third argument is that the poverty experienced in the sugarcane farmers maybe as a result of the poor cane production skills (Evenson and Pingali, 2009). Due to these, farmers may use huge amount of capital for sugarcane production but having little return during the harvesting, hence need to reduce the cost of cane production. However for this to be achieved, the need for the farmers and millers working together is very important which in most cases is not easy as millers are only determined in maximizing on the profit and not concerned of the wellbeing of the farmers. The Kenyan government should deploy extension officers at various regions in the sugar belt who should have an initiative of giving farmers the skills in sugarcane management and production. This may improve the quality and quantity of the cane being produced in the region hence intern reducing the poverty level of the sugarcane farmers. One argument that is to be analyzed in this research topic is the issue whether the millers should also be concerned with the wellbeing of the sugarcane farmers or just concentrate on profit maximization in the expenses of the farmers. It is always advisable that the millers should treat the farmers with grate importance as this will determine the amount of profit they make.