Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Sexual Practices of the Mangaia essays

Sexual Practices of the Mangaia essays Mangaia is an island in the South Pacific where sexual practices are much different than in the United States. In Mangaia girls are raised and encouraged and sleep with multiple partners. The usual expectation is for a girl to have 3 or 4 boyfriends from the time she is 13 until she is 20. Every woman is taught at a young age how to achieve an orgasm. Males on the other hand are taught at a young age how to bring a female to an orgasm through oral sex. At 13 when a boy has had his training and been told how to do things he is then given a sexual partner that is an older and experienced woman. This woman teaches the boy various sexual positions and techniques slow down the arrival of his orgasm until the woman is able to reach her orgasm first. This practice is very foreign to me. It does not really disgust me or anything like that but I could not imagine having someone sit down and explain how to do many of these things. When I was 13 I probably would have thought that it would be pretty cool to be given a girl and told to have sex with her. I think problems would arise however in deciding who the father of a child was if a girl with multiple partners had a baby. In the United States, most people would view this as unhealthy or unethical. Many people would claim this to be morally wrong. Pre-marital sex is seen by lots of people here as a disturbing practice. Encouraging your daughter to have sex and being proud of her for having multiple partners would be very uncommon in the US. Most Americans would see this practice as being gross or irresponsible on the parts of adults in the Mangaia society. ...

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Caribbean English - Definition and Examples

Caribbean English s Caribbean English is a  general term for the many varieties of the English language used in the Caribbean archipelago and on the Caribbean coast of Central America (including Nicaragua, Panama, and Guyana). Also known as  Western Atlantic English. In the simplest terms, says Shondel Nero, Caribbean English is  a contact language emanating mainly from the encounter of British colonial masters with the enslaved and later indentured labor force brought to the Caribbean to work on the sugar plantations (Classroom Encounters With Creole English in  Englishes in Multilingual Contexts, 2014). Examples and Observations The term Caribbean English is problematic because in a narrow sense it can refer to a dialect of English alone, but in a broader sense it covers English and the many English-based creoles . . . spoken in this region. Traditionally, Caribbean creoles have been (incorrectly) classified as dialects of English, but more and more varieties are being recognized as unique languages. . . . And although English is the official language of the area that is sometimes called the Commonwealth Caribbean, only a small number of the people in each country speak what we might consider regionally accented standard English as a native language. In many Caribbean countries, however, some standard version of (mostly) British English is the official language and taught in schools. One syntactic feature shared by many West Atlantic Englishes is the use of would and could where British or American English uses will and can: I could swim for I can swim; I would do it tomorrow for I will do it tomorrow. Another is the formation of yes/no questions with no inversion of auxiliary and subject: You are coming? instead of Are you coming? (Kristin Denham and Anne Lobeck, Linguistics for Everyone: An Introduction. Wadsworth, 2009) Loanwords From Guyana and Belize Whereas Canadian English and Australian English, benefiting from the single land-mass of their respective homelands, can each claim general homogeneity, Caribbean English is a collection of sub-varieties of English distributed . . . over a large number of non-contiguous territories of which two, Guyana and Belize, are widely distant parts of the South and Central American mainland. . . . Through Guyana came hundreds of nouns, necessary labels of an active ecology, from the languages of its aboriginal indigenes of the nine identified ethnic groups . . .. This is a vocabulary that amounts to hundreds of everyday words known to Guyanese but not to other Caribbeans. In the same way through Belize come words from the three Mayan languagesKekchi, Mopan, Yucatecan; and from the Miskito Indian language; and from Garifuna, the Afro-Island-Carib language of Vincentian ancestry. (Richard Allsopp, Dictionary of Caribbean English Usage. University of the West Indies Press, 2003) Caribbean English Creole Analysis has shown that the grammar and phonological rules of Caribbean English Creole can be described as systematically as those of any other language, including English. Furthermore, Caribbean English Creole is as distinct from English as French and Spanish are from Latin. Whether it is a language or a dialect, Caribbean English Creole coexists with standard English in the Caribbean and in the English-speaking countries where Caribbean immigrants and their children and grandchildren live. Often stigmatized because it is associated with slavery, poverty, lack of schooling, and lower socioeconomic status, Creole may be viewed, even by those who speak it, as inferior to standard English, which is the official language of power and education. Most speakers of Caribbean English Creole can switch between Creole and standard English, as well as intermediate forms between the two. At the same time, however, they may retain some distinctive features of Creole grammar. They may mark past-tense and plural forms inconsistently, for example, saying things like, She give me some book to read. (Elizabeth Coelho, Adding English: A Guide to Teaching in Multilingual Classrooms. Pippin, 2004)

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Internet Privacy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Internet Privacy - Essay Example Electronic network in privacy is part of a person’s property. The persons in question are subscribed in transactions cognizable to the law to obtain internet access within their scope. Using such property without their permission is intrusive impliedly adds up to trespass. This is because it could expose that person’s (legal or real) information to the public. Use of the next person’s bandwidth of internet access could lead to legal actions. This is because the person pays for the network access. The violation stretches to network providing firms as which bear the financial loss in the equation. Invasion of one’s internet access is proof of the invading party’s capability to sabotage their security. Whether knowingly or unknowingly, such acts are illegal and could be presented for action by law enforcement. The FBI for example takes into account cyber activity tracked to specific persons through intelligence. Workplace or home network access is limited to the people subscribed to them and those allowed by such groups. This allocation process by network firms allows for security by creating circles of privacy. Accessing information from firm’s data as well adds up to

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Stakeholders Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Stakeholders - Assignment Example The success of the company has been made possible through the active participation of the stakeholders. The academic paper analyzes ten significant stakeholders of the company. The significance of the stakeholders is as explained below. 2. The guests are the main business stakeholders. The company invests a lot of resources for product marketing, so as to attract the attention of the global customer base. High customer numbers translates to high sales revenue. 3. The owner is another significant stakeholder. The owner is the chairman of the board of directors. He provides overall direction to the company, and formulates strategies that will ensure achievement of mission and vision. 6. The resort adheres to conditions set by the regulating officials. The federal and state agencies in the hotel and tourism sector are responsible for setting regulations, which all industry players must adhere to. 7. The hotel industry trade unions are stakeholder. All employees have the rights of joining a trade union of their choice. The trade unions enhance their welfare by jointly improving working conditions with the management. 8. The state department is responsible for providing the infrastructure and regulation necessary for the hotel, tourism and hospitality industry. Security infrastructure is provided by the department, in addition to transport and communication infrastructure. The stakeholder analysis illustrates that the employees are the most important stakeholders for the business. This is illustrated through the relatively high rating of 17%. The employees are significant because they are responsible for providing services to the customers effectively and efficiently. The employees are also responsible for customer retention, through providing services that meets and exceeds the expectations of the customers. Other important stakeholders at 17% are guests and the owner. The casino and the

Sunday, November 17, 2019

IHG future plans Essay Example for Free

IHG future plans Essay IHG’ aggressive growth plan is in full swing. They announced future plans for the largest new-build Crowne Plaza in the U. S. with 300 deluxe guest rooms and suites. Located two miles from Baltimore Washington Airport, the property will be part of a $350 million resort complex, attached to a 90,000 sq. ft state of the art conference center featuring a 50,000 sq. ft. grand ballroom. The hotel is expected to open early 2009. As a part of The Grand Isle Resort, the crowne Plaza will be connected to a 14,000sq. ft. indoor aquatic center featuring the east coast’s most exciting slides and attractions. With 3. 5 million sq. ft. of office space, the resort will be an oasis for the business traveler, conference attendee and family like. The hotel believes its convenient airport location will satisfy both business and leisure travelers. The Crowne Plaza at Grand Isle Resort is owned by ASHA Companies and managed by American Resort Management, LLC, under a license agreement with a company in the IHG. The IHG’ brand has experienced very positive growth over the last two years and in 2006, opened a total of ten hotels in seven countries. The brand will continue its global expansion throughout 2007 including new openings planned in China (Chengdu, Qingdao, Shenzhen, and Jiuzhaigou), the opening of the InterContinental Dubai Festival City, and the launch of the ANA InterContinental Tokyo. The InterContinental Moscow is scheduled to open in 2010. In addition, IHG announced plans for Honduras’ first Holiday Inn Express. The 104 – room Holiday Inn Express in San Pedro Sula will be owned by Desarollos Monumentales under a license agreement with a company in the IHG and is scheduled to open September 2008. Conclusion: The growth of the InterContinental Hotels Group, IHG, into one of the world’s largest hotel groups in the world and the leader in hotel room count is based primarily on its emphasis on its own unique brand distinction and customer loyalty. The strong operating system that it maintains in some of the largest markets has also been significant to the global expansion of the InterContinental Hotels Group. The advertising and marketing entity as well as the global call centers, local language websites, sales, and its Priority Club Rewards (PCR) program that comprise the operating system of the IHG group is unrivaled. Furthermore, the unique quality of these systems work together with the objective of driving brand demand, which has been one of the key strengths of this Hotel Group. From its humble beginnings at the Holiday Inns International in 1988 to its global expansion plans into Asia with the help of its joint venture projects in Japan, the IHG group is set to become even larger. The manner by which the group is able to maintain several different brands such as Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, InterContinental Hotels and Resorts, and Crowne Plaza Hotels and Resorts keeps it ahead of the competition because they are able to cater to a wider class of customers. There are more expansion plans for the future of this highly successful hotel group as they have recently announced the plans for the largest new-build Crowne Plaza in the U. S. as well as new openings planned in China for the year 2007. The challenge that remains for this group lies in being able to expand at a sustainable pace and retain the competitive edge that has kept it at the top of the hotel industry through the various innovations and excellent service that it provides.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

The Right Choice Essay -- social issues

The Right Choice The use of animals for medical experimentation has been one of the most controversial issues in our world since the seventeenth century. Edward Augustus Freeman stated, â€Å"The awful wrongs and sufferings forced upon the innocent, faithful animal race form the blackest chapter in the whole world's history.† In the United States, it is estimated that twenty to seventy million animals including cats, dogs, primates, rabbits, rats, and mice suffer and die in the name of research. At least thirty-three animals die in laboratories each second worldwide, in the UK, one every four seconds (Vivisection Information Network Plan 2000, Leaflet 4). Who has the authority to make a choice that the human race is a greater race than that of animals? People say: â€Å"We have rights over animals. They are given to us for use.† You have no rights over them. You have duties towards them (Annie Besant). At no point and time should we ever justify ourselves through the pain and suffering of another being. I have always felt that the way we treat animals is a pretty good indicator of the compassion we are capable of for the human race (Ali McGraw). Throughout years of practicing animal experimentation, researchers have stumbled across findings that have promoted the well being of humans and animals alike. It has helped provide antibiotics and vaccines, insulin for diabetics, treatments for leukemia, local and general anesthetics, and has made possible advances in medical technology such as blood transfusion, kidney dialysis, and the heart lung machine. Distemper, which killed dogs, seals, and dolphins, and is now prevented by a vaccine, was developed using dogs in the 1920s (Cornelius, CE 934-945). Media reports of medical research often give us the impression that progress moves in leaps and bounds, from one ‘breakthrough’ to another. In reality, the original ‘blue skies’ research that underpins each advance may take decades (Research Defense Society). About 40 years of research using monkeys, rats and mice led directly to the introduction of the Salk and Sabin polio vaccines in the 1950s (Sabin, AB 1 589) So we ask ourselves again, how do we weight the costs and benefits between saving lives by eliminating others? Professor Albert Sabin’s 1956 paper in the Journal of the American Medical Association stated â€Å"Approximately 9,000 monkeys, 150 chimpanzees and 133 hum... ...s. The official animal rights online newsletter 1998 Coleman, Vernon M.D. â€Å"Animal experiments kill people s well as animals†. Cornelious, CE. New England Medical Journal 281, 934-945 Einstein, Albert. Action Against Poisoning Page. Freeman, Edward Augustus Rabbit's Favourite Vegetarian,Animal Rights & Freedom Quotes Page < http://members.iinet.net.au/~rabbit/arquotes.htm> Icke, D. â€Å"It doesn’t have to be like this†. McGraw, Ali. Vegetarian Quotes Page Page, Tony. â€Å"Vivisection Unveiled† pg. 6, pg. 101-103 Primatt, Humphry. â€Å"Animal Rights and Souls in the Eighteenth Century† (Bristol: Thoemmes Press, 2000) < http://www.thoemmes.com/18cphil/animal_intro.htm> Research Defense Society. â€Å"Understanding Animal Research in Medicine†. Research Defense Society Page 2000 < http://www.rds-online.org.uk/home.html> Ruesch, Hans. â€Å"After Prolonged Tests† quoted in BAV leaflet. Sabin, AB. Journal of the American Medical Association 1956, Issue 162, Pg. 1589 SmithKline Beecham International Report 1999 Vivisection Information Network Plan 2000, Leaflet 4 Young, John B.A. Vivisection Information Page Sept. 2000 < http://vivisection- absurd.org.uk/menu.html>.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Albert Camus’ “The Stranger” Essay

In Camus’ The Stranger, the author exposes a tension between society and the protagonist’s perspective of society. The reader comes to understand the pointlessness of existence through the protagonist’s lens. Although society defines people by actions, Meursault rejects ideas of categorization and embraces a nihilistic view of life. This judgment passed on individuals is based on an individual’s actions. Meursault realizes that everything that lives must die, therefore no matter what one does in life, one is still doomed to the same fate that everyone else is. Meursault makes all of his decisions based on his notion that his actions are unimportant because no matter how society classifies him, he will still die. It is Meursault’s utter rejection of all things irrational that separate him from his fellow man and make him a â€Å"stranger†. The fact that Meursault doesn’t cry at his own mother’s funeral demonstrates how Meursault is disconnected from the normal human emotions of grief that usually accompany death. Meursault is not even sure when his mother died. â€Å"Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don’t know†(3). He seems to view the rest of humanity as the â€Å"others,† as if he is a mere observer rather than a part of humanity that he was born into. For example, the image of the elderly people gathered around the caretaker â€Å"nodding their heads† at Meursault conjures up the feeling of vultures surveying their prey. Even Meursault himself feels â€Å"that they were there to judge†(10). His behavior only reinforces this division as he finds himself unable to share in the emotional connection and experience of the vigil. For instance, when one of the women starts to cry, his only response to the tender display of love is, â€Å"I wish I didn’t have to listen to her anymore†(10). He does not relate to nor understand the woman’s humanity–as if he were a â€Å"stranger† to the essential elements of what it means to be human. Moreover, when the vigil ends and the elderly friends leave they shake his hand, a gesture to which he mockingly thinks â€Å"†¦as if that night †¦ had somehow brought us closer together† (12). This sarcasm underscores how utterly detached he feels from the rest of the world. After returning from the funeral for his mother, Meursault really demonstrates the meaninglessness of his life. What could possibly be more  boring and meaningless than walking around your apartment for a while? This passage is interesting because it gives the reader a rare glimpse of reflection about his mother. Even here, though, it is ultimately selfish in nature. Now that his mother is gone, he feels that his apartment is too big for him. He still lacks remorse or grief, but he’s realizing how his mother’s death affects him: abstractly and physically. The fact that Meursault thinks the apartment is too big for only him symbolizes his aloneness. Just as the apartment is too big and he lives only in one little part, the world is too big, and he is fundamentally alone. By killing the Arab, Meursault proves that his actions define him, and even if society labels him as a murderer, it does not matter because he is going to die anyway. The murder of the Arab takes place at the climax of the story and it makes the reader wonder why Meursault has no remorse. He is aware of what he is doing and is aware that it is wrong, however he does it anyway. Most people would care if they shot another man, but since he has no cares, he does it with no worries or remorse. â€Å"If the other one moves in, or if he draws his knife, I’ll let him have it† (56). This moment in particular is an example of his detached, passive, and psychotic nature. He offers to kill so nonchalantly that it shows no moral stance whatsoever. He’s so mentally detached that the thought of murder poses no great emotion or even feared remorse. Meursault starts to question why he should care about his life before he dies. He does not question what things would make his life worthwhile, but he questions why he should even question the things that would benefit his life. â€Å"As far as I could see, it didn’t have anything to do with me†(69). This emphasizes the point that Meursault is strongly disjointed from society and his and other peoples’ happiness. All Meursault knows is that it is not worth his time to worry about classifying things as good or bad because he will die regardless of his classification. Meursault is asked about emotions and feelings he doesn’t have or care to have. Meursault is annoyed because this is all a worthless examination into something that will seemingly bring no real conclusion to anything, because life is absurd. Meursault was sure about one thing–death. He was sure he would die, just like everyone else.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"But I was sure about me, about everything, surer than he could ever be, sure of my life and sure of the death I had waiting for me† (120). In his death, Meursault finally becomes part of the mainstream society, along with everyone else. The only guarantee in life is death. Meursault would die regardless of whether he killed the Arab or not. Meursault has reached the understanding that his life is not affected by his actions; it is only affected by his inevitable death. Meursault justifies his actions with his indifference. Whatever he has done in his life could not save him from his death. Meursault’s emotional detachment and disconnect from everyday emotions make him a stranger to humanity.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Night World : Soulmate Chapter 4

Thierry knelt by the window, careful not to make a noise or disturb the dry earth beneath him. It was a skill so familiar to his body that he might have been born with it. Darkness was his native environment; he could melt into a shadow at an instant's notice or move more quietly than a stalking cat. But right now he was looking into the light. He could see her. Just the curve of her shoulder and the spill of her hair, but he knew it was her. Beside him, Lupe was crouched, her thin body human but quivering with animal alertness and tension. She whispered, softer than a breath, â€Å"All right?† Thierry tore his gaze from that shoulder to look at her. Lupe's face was bruised, one eye almost closed, lower lip torn. But she was smiling. She'd stuck around Medicine Rock until Thierry had arrived, tailing the girl called Hannah Snow, making sure no harm came to her. Thierry took Lupe's hand and kissed it. You're an angel, he told her, and made even less sound than she had in speaking because he didn't use his vocal chords at all. His voice was telepathic. And you deserve a long vacation. My limo's at the tourist resort in Clearwater; take it to the airport at Billings. â€Å"But-you're not planning to stay here alone, are you? You need backup, sir. If she comes-â€Å" I can take care of things. I brought something to protect Hannah. Besides she won't do anything until she talks to me. â€Å"But-â€Å" Lupe, go. His tone was gentle, but it was unmistakably not the urging of a friend anymore. It was the order of her liege lord, Thierry of the Night World, who was accustomed to being obeyed. Funny, Thierry thought, how you never realized how accustomed you were to being obeyed until somebody defied you. Now, he turned away from Lupe and looked through the cracks in the boarded-up window again. And promptly forgot that Lupe existed. The girl on the couch had turned. He could see her face. Shock coursed through him. He had known it was her-but he hadn't known that it would look so much like her. Like the way she had looked the first time, the first time she had been born, the first time he had seen her. This was what he thought of as her true face, and though he'd seen various approximations of it through the years, he'd never seen it again. Until now. This was the exact image of the girl he'd fallen in love with. The same long, straight fair hair, like silk in different shades of wheat color, spilling over her shoulders. The same wide gray eyes that seemed full of light. The same steady expression, the same tender mouth, upper lip indenting the lower to give her a look of t unintentional sensuality. The same fine bone structure, the high cheekbones and graceful line of jaw that made her a sculptor's dream. The only thing that was different was the birthmark. The psychic brand. It was the color of watered wine held up to the light, of watermelon ice, of a pink tourmaline, the palest of gemstones. Blushing rose. Like one large petal, slantwise beneath her cheekbone. As if she'd laid a rose against her cheek for a moment and it had left its imprint on her flesh. To Thierry, it was beautiful, because it was part of her. She'd worn it in every lifetime after the first. But at the same time the very sight of it made his throat clamp shut and his fists clench in helpless grief and fury-fury against himself. The mark was his shame, his punishment. And his penance was to watch her wear it in her innocence through the years. He would pour out his blood on the dry Montana dirt right now if it would take the mark away. But nothing in either the Night World or the human world could do that-at least nothing he'd found in uncounted years of searching. Oh, Goddess, he loved her. He hadn't allowed himself to feel it for so long- because the feeling could drive him insane while he was away from her. But now it came over him in a flood that he couldn't have resisted if he'd tried. It made his heart pound and his body tremble. The sight of her lying there, warm and alive, separated from him by only a few flimsy boards and an equally flimsy human male†¦ He wanted her. He wanted to yank off the boards, step through the window, brush aside the red-haired man, and take her in his arms. He wanted to carry her off into the night, holding her close to his heart, to some secret place where nobody could ever find her to hurt her. He didn't. He knew†¦ from experience†¦ that it didn't work. He'd done it once or twice, and he'd paid for it. She had hated him before she died. He would never risk that again. And so now, on this spring night near the turn of the millennium in the state of Montana in the United States of America, all Thierry could do was kneel outside a window and watch the newest incarnation of his only Jove. He didn't realize at first, though, what his only love was actually doing. Lupe had told him that Hannah Snow was seeing a psychologist. But it was only now, listening to what was going on in the room that Thierry slowly realized exactly what Hannah and the psychologist were up to. They were trying to recover her memories. Using hypnosis. Breaking into her subconscious as if it were some bank vault. It was dangerous. Not just because the guy performing the hypnosis didn't seem to know what he was doing. But because Hannah's memory was a time-bomb, full of trauma for her and deadly knowledge for any human. They shouldn't be doing this. Every muscle in Thierry's body was tense. But there was no way he could stop it. He could only listen-and wait. Paul repeated with slow resignation, â€Å"He's not human.† â€Å"No. He's a Lord of the Night World. He's powerful†¦ and evil,† Hannah whispered. â€Å"He's lived for thousands of years.† She added, almost absently, â€Å"I'm the one who's been reincarnated.† â€Å"Oh, terrific. Well, that's a twist.† â€Å"You don't believe me?† Paul seemed to suddenly remember that he was talking with a patient-and a hypnotized patient at that. â€Å"No, I-I mean, I don't know what to believe. If it's a fantasy, there's got to be something underneath it, some psychological reason for you to make it all up. And that's what we're looking for. What all this means to you.† He hesitated, then said with new determination, â€Å"Let's take you back to the first time you met this guy. Okay, I want you to relax in the light; you're feeling very good. And now I want you to go back through time, just like turning back the pages of a book. In your mind, go back. †¦Ã¢â‚¬  Hannah's ordinary mind was intruding, waking up, overriding the dreamy part of her that had been answering Paul's questions. â€Å"Wait, I-I don't know if that's a good idea.† â€Å"We can't figure this out until we find out what it all symbolizes; what it means to you.† Hannah still didn't feel convinced, but she had the feeling she wasn't supposed to argue under hypnosis. Maybe it doesn't matter, though, she thought. I'm waking up now; I probably won't be able to go back. â€Å"I want you to see yourself as fifteen years old, see yourself as fifteen. Go back to the time when you were fifteen. And now I want you to see yourself at twelve years old; go in your mind to the time when you are twelve. Now go farther back, see yourself at nine years old, at six years old, at three years old. Now go back and see yourself as a baby, as an infant. Feel very comfortable and see yourself as a tiny baby.† Hannah couldn't help but listen. She did feel comfortable, and her mind did show her pictures as the years seemed to turn back. It was like watching a film of her life running backward, herself getting smaller and smaller, and in the end tiny and bald. â€Å"And now,† the soothing, irresistible voice said, â€Å"I want you to go farther back. Back to the time before you were born. The time before you were born as Hannah Snow. You are floating in the red light, you feel very relaxed, and you are going back, back†¦ to the time when you first met this man you think of as Thierry. Whatever that time might be, go back. Go back to the first time.† Hannah was being drawn down a tunnel. She had no control and she was scared. It wasn't like the rumored near-death tunnel. It was red, with translucent, shining, pulsing walls-something like a womb. And she was being pulled or sucked through it at ever-increasing speed. No, she thought. But she couldn't say anything. It was all happening too fast and she couldn't make a sound. â€Å"Back to the first time,† Paul intoned, and his words set up a sort of echo in Hannah's head, a whispering of many voices. As if a hundred Hannahs had all gotten together and murmured sibilantly, â€Å"The First Time. The First Time.† â€Å"Go back†¦ and you will begin to see pictures. You will see yourself, maybe in a strange place. Go back and see this.† The First Time†¦ No, Hannah thought again. And something very deep inside her whimpered, â€Å"I don't want to see it.† But she was still being pulled through the soft red tunnel, faster and faster. She had a feeling of unimaginable distance being crossed. And then †¦ she had a feeling of some threshold being reached. The First Time. She exploded into darkness, squirted out of the tunnel like a watermelon seed between wet ringers. Silence. Dark. And then-a picture. It opened like a tiny leaf unfolding out of a seed, got bigger until it surrounded her. It was like a scene from a movie, except that it was all around her, she seemed to be floating in the middle of it. â€Å"What do you see?† came Paul's voice softly from very far away. â€Å"I see†¦ me,† Hannah said. â€Å"It's me-it looks just like me. Except that I don't have a birthmark.† She was full of wonder. â€Å"Where are you? What do you see yourself doing?† â€Å"I don't know where I am.† Hannah was too amazed to be frightened now. It was so strange . .. she could see this better than any memory of her real life. The scene was incredibly detailed. At the same time, it was completely unfamiliar to her. â€Å"What I'm doing†¦ I'm holding†¦ something. A rock. And I'm doing something with it to a little tiny†¦ something.† She sighed, defeated, then added, â€Å"I'm wearing animal skins! It's a sort of shirt and pants all made of skins. It's unbelievably†¦ primitive. Paul, there's a cave behind me.† â€Å"Sounds like you're really far back.† Paul's voice sounded in stark contrast to Hannah's wonder and excitement. He was clearly bored. Amused, resigned, but bored. â€Å"And-there's a girl beside me and she looks like Chess. Like my best friend, Chess. She's got the same face, the same eyes. She's wearing skins, too†¦ some kind of skin dress.† â€Å"Yeah, and it has about the detail of most of the past-life regressions in this book,† Paul said wryly. Hannah could tell he was flipping pages. â€Å"You're doing something to something with a rock. You're wearing some kind of skins. The book's full of descriptions like that. People who want to imagine themselves in the olden days, but who don't know the first thing about them,† he muttered to himself. Hannah didn't wait for him to remember that he was talking to a hypnotized patient. â€Å"But you didn't tell me to be the person back then. You just told me to see it.† â€Å"Huh? Oh. Okay, then, be that person.† He said it so casually. Panic spurted through Hannah. â€Å"Wait-I†¦Ã¢â‚¬  But it was happening. She was falling, dissolving, merging into the scene around her. She was becoming the girl in front of the cave. The First Time†¦ Distantly, she heard her own voice whispering, â€Å"I'm holding a flint burin, a tool for drilling. I'm boring holes in the tooth of an arctic fox.† â€Å"Be that person,† Paul was repeating mechanically, still in the bored voice. Then he said, â€Å"What?† â€Å"Mother's going to be furious-I'm supposed to be sorting fruit we stored last winter for the Spring, Gathering. There's not much left and it's mostly rotten. But Ran killed a fox and gave the skull to Ket, and we've spent all morning knocking the teeth out and making them into a necklace for Ket. Ket just has to have something new to wear every festival.† She heard Paul say softly, â€Å"Oh, my God†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Then he swallowed and said, â€Å"Wait-you want to be a paleontologist, right? You know about old things†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"I want to be a what? I'm going to be a shaman, like Old Mother. I should get married, but there's nobody I want. Ket keeps telling me I'll meet somebody at a gathering, but I don't think so.† She shivered. â€Å"Weird-I've got chills all of a sudden. Old Mother says she can't see my destiny. She pretends that's nothing to worry about, but I know she's worried. That's why she wants me to be a shaman, so I can fight back if the spirits have something rotten in mind for me.† Paul said, â€Å"Hannah-uh, let's just make sure we can get you out of this, all right? You know, in case that should become necessary. Now, when I clap my hands you're going to awaken completely refreshed. Okay? Okay?† â€Å"My name's Hana.† It was pronounced slightly differently: Hah-na. â€Å"And I'm already awake. Ket is laughing at me. She's threading the teeth on a sinew string. She says I'm daydreaming. She's right; I wrecked the hole for this tooth.† â€Å"When I clap my hands, you're going to wake up. When I clap my hands, you're going to wake up. You will be Hannah Snow in Montana.† A clap. â€Å"Hannah, how do you feel?† Another clap. â€Å"Hannah? Hannah?† â€Å"It's Hana. Hana of the River People. And I don't know what you're talking about; I can't be somebody else.† She stiffened. â€Å"Wait-something's happening. There's some kind of commotion from the river. Something's going on.† The voice was desperate. â€Å"When I clap my hands-â€Å" â€Å"Shh. Be quiet.† Something was happening and she had to see it, she had to know. She had to stand up. †¦ Hana of the Three Rivers stood up. â€Å"Everybody's all excited by the river' she told Ket. â€Å"Maybe Ran fell in,† Ket said. â€Å"No, that's too much to hope for. Hana, what am I going to do? He wants to mate me, but I just can't picture it. I want somebody interesting, somebody different. . . ,† She held up the half-finished necklace. â€Å"So what do you think?† Hana barely glanced at her. Ket looked wonderful, with her short dark hair, her glowing slanted green eyes, and her mysterious smile. The necklace was attractive; red beads alternated with delicate milky-white teeth. â€Å"Fine, beautiful. You'll break every heart at the gathering. I'm going down to the river.† Ket put down the necklace. â€Å"Well, if you insist- wait for me.† The river was broad and fast-flowing, covered with little white-capped waves because it had just been joined by two tributaries. Hana's people had rived in the limestone caves by the three rivers for longer than anyone could remember. Ket was behind her as Hana made her way through new green cattails to the bend in the river. And then , she saw what the fuss was about. There was a stranger crouching in the reeds. That was exciting enough-strangers didn't come very often. But this stranger was like no man Hana had ever seen. â€Å"It's a demon,† Ket whispered, awed. It was a young man-a boy a few years older than Hana herself. He might have been handsome in other circumstances. His hair was very light blond, lighter than the dry grass of the steppes. His face was well-made; his tall body was lithe. Hana could see almost all of that body because he was only wearing a brief leather loincloth. That didn't bother her; everybody went naked in the summer when it was hot enough. But this wasn't summer; it was spring and the days could still be chilly. No sane person would go traveling without clothes. But that wasn't what shocked Hana, what held her standing there rigid with her heart pounding so hard she couldn't breathe. It was the rest of the boy's appearance. Ket was right-he was clearly a demon. His eyes were wrong. More like the eyes of a lynx or a wolverine than the eyes of a person. They seemed to throw the pale sunlight back at you when you looked into them. But the eyes were nothing compared to the teeth. His canine teeth were long and delicately curved. They came to a sharp and very non-human point. Almost involuntarily, Hana looked down at the fox tooth she still held in her palm. Yes, they were like that, only bigger. The boy was filthy, caked with mud from the river, his blond hair ruffled crazily, his eyes staring wildly from side to side. There was blood on his mouth and chin. â€Å"He's a demon, all right,† one of the men said. Five men were standing around the crouching boy, several of them with spears, others with hastily grabbed rocks. â€Å"What else could have a human body with animal eyes and teeth?† â€Å"A spirit?† Hana said. She didn't realize that she was going to say it until the words were out. But then, with everybody looking at her, she drew herself up tall. â€Å"Whether he's a demon or a spirit, you'd better not hurt him. It's Old Mother who should decide what to do with him. This is a matter for shamans.† â€Å"You're not a shaman yet,† another of the men said. It was Arno, a very broad-shouldered man who was the leader of the hunters. Hana didn't like him. And she wasn't sure why she had spoken up in favor of the stranger. There was something in his eyes, the look of a suffering animal. He seemed so alone, and so frightened-and so much in pain, even though there were no visible wounds on his body. â€Å"She's right, we'd better take him to Old Mother,† one of the hunters said. â€Å"Should we hit him on the head and tie him up, or do you think we can just herd him?† But at that moment, a high thin sound came to Hana over the rushing of the river. It was a woman screaming. â€Å"Help me! Somebody come help me! Ryl's been attacked!†

Thursday, November 7, 2019

Free Essays on Mary Tallmountain

Mary Tallmountain is considered one of the greatest writers amongst the Native American community. Although she really didn’t gain much recognition nationally until the early 1980’s when she won the Pushcart Prize. She is mostly known as a spiritual and cultural writer for instance the poem, â€Å"There Is No Word for Goodbye.† In this poem she shows the conversation between an Athabaskan girl and her aunt. The girl is trying to find out how to say goodbye in Athabaskan. The aunt in the poem seems to be very old and wise. You see this when the girl was looking into her net of wrinkles and her wise eyes. Her wrinkles symbolizes her old age which also symbolizes knowledge. Her â€Å"Wise black pools of her eyes†(Tallmountain 177-178) symbolizes her immeasurable depth of wisdom. She is old, and at this point the niece asks her how to say goodbye in Athabaskan. The aunt says, â€Å"Ah, nothing†¦we just say, Tlaa. That means see you.†(Tallmountain 178) What exactly did the aunt mean? Do the Athabaskans’ not like the word goodbye, or do they imply that they feel no sense of separation when they depart from each other? Maybe they do not miss the person they are distant from. Perhaps they simply have faith that they will eventually be reunited. This is when Tallmountain’s spiritual part of the poem comes into play: We always think you’re coming back, but if you don’t, we’ll see you someplace else. You understand. There is no word for goodbye.(24-28) At this point Tallmountain is giving the impression that the aunt might be in poor health, and could be dieing. When the aunt says, â€Å"We’ll see you someplace else,†(Tallmountain 178) she may possibly be talking about heaven. In addition, when she tells her niece that they never really leave each other, she is giving a suggestion that she will always be there if not physically, then spiritually or in her memories. At this moment t... Free Essays on Mary Tallmountain Free Essays on Mary Tallmountain Mary Tallmountain is considered one of the greatest writers amongst the Native American community. Although she really didn’t gain much recognition nationally until the early 1980’s when she won the Pushcart Prize. She is mostly known as a spiritual and cultural writer for instance the poem, â€Å"There Is No Word for Goodbye.† In this poem she shows the conversation between an Athabaskan girl and her aunt. The girl is trying to find out how to say goodbye in Athabaskan. The aunt in the poem seems to be very old and wise. You see this when the girl was looking into her net of wrinkles and her wise eyes. Her wrinkles symbolizes her old age which also symbolizes knowledge. Her â€Å"Wise black pools of her eyes†(Tallmountain 177-178) symbolizes her immeasurable depth of wisdom. She is old, and at this point the niece asks her how to say goodbye in Athabaskan. The aunt says, â€Å"Ah, nothing†¦we just say, Tlaa. That means see you.†(Tallmountain 178) What exactly did the aunt mean? Do the Athabaskans’ not like the word goodbye, or do they imply that they feel no sense of separation when they depart from each other? Maybe they do not miss the person they are distant from. Perhaps they simply have faith that they will eventually be reunited. This is when Tallmountain’s spiritual part of the poem comes into play: We always think you’re coming back, but if you don’t, we’ll see you someplace else. You understand. There is no word for goodbye.(24-28) At this point Tallmountain is giving the impression that the aunt might be in poor health, and could be dieing. When the aunt says, â€Å"We’ll see you someplace else,†(Tallmountain 178) she may possibly be talking about heaven. In addition, when she tells her niece that they never really leave each other, she is giving a suggestion that she will always be there if not physically, then spiritually or in her memories. At this moment t...

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

The Khmer Empire Water Management System

The Khmer Empire Water Management System The Angkor civilization, or Khmer Empire, was a complex state in southeast Asia between AD 800 and 1400. It was remarkable, among other things, because of its extensive water management system stretching across over 1200 square kilometers (460 square miles), which connected the natural lake Tonle Sap to large man-made reservoirs (called baray in Khmer) through a series of canals  and permanently altering the local hydrology. The network allowed Angkor to flourish for six centuries despite the difficulties of maintaining a state-level society in the face of successive dry and monsoon regions. Water Challenges and Benefits Sources of permanent water tapped by the Khmer canal system included lakes, rivers, groundwater, and rainwater. The monsoonal climate of southeast Asia divided the years (and still does) into wet (May-October) and dry (November-April) seasons. Rainfall varies in the region between 1180-1850 millimeters (46-73 inches) per year, mostly in the wet season. The impact of water management at Angkor changed natural catchment boundaries and eventually led to erosion and sedimentation of channels requiring considerable upkeep. Tonle Sap is among the most productive freshwater ecosystems in the world, made so by the regular flooding from the Mekong River. Groundwater in Angkor can today be accessed at ground level during the wet season and 5 meters (16 feet) below ground level during the dry  season. However, local groundwater access varies greatly across the region, with bedrock and soil characteristics at times resulting in a water table as much as 11-12 m (36-40 ft) below the ground surface. Water Systems Water systems were used by the Angkor civilization to cope with the vastly changing water quantities included raising their houses on mounds or stilts, building and excavating small ponds at the household level and larger ones (called trapeang) at the village level. Most trapeang were rectangular and generally aligned east/west: they were associated with and perhaps controlled by the temples. Most temples also had their own moats, which were square or rectangular and oriented in the four cardinal directions. At the city level, large reservoirs- called baray- and linear channels, roads, and embankments were used to manage water  and may have formed an intercommunication network as well. Four major baray are in Angkor today: Indratataka (Baray of Lolei), Yasodharatataka (East Baray), West Baray, and Jayatataka (North Baray). They were very shallow, between 1-2 m (3-7 ft) below ground level, and between 30-40 m (100-130 ft) wide. Baray were built by creating earthen embankments of between 1-2 meters above the ground level and fed by channels from natural rivers. The embankments were often used as roads. Archaeologically-based geographic studies of the current and past systems at Angkor suggests that Angkor engineers created a new permanent catchment area, making three catchment areas where there once was just two. The artificial channel eventually eroded downward and became a river, thereby altering the natural hydrology of the region. Sources Buckley BM, Anchukaitis KJ, Penny D, Fletcher R, Cook ER, Sano M, Nam LC, Wichienkeeo A, Minh TT, and Hong TM. 2010. Climate as a contributing factor in the demise of Angkor, Cambodia. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 107(15):6748-6752. Day MB, Hodell DA, Brenner M, Chapman HJ, Curtis JH, Kenney WF, Kolata AL, and Peterson LC. 2012. Paleoenvironmental history of the West Baray, Angkor (Cambodia). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 109(4):1046-1051. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1111282109 Evans D, Pottier C, Fletcher R, Hensley S, Tapley I, Milne A, and Barbetti M. 2007. A new archaeological map of the world’s largest preindustrial settlement complex at Angkor, Cambodia. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 104(36):14277-14282. Kummu M. 2009. Water management in Angkor: Human impacts on hydrology and sediment transportation. Journal of Environmental Management 90(3):1413-1421. Sanderson DCW, Bishop P, Stark M, Alexander S, and Penny D. 2007. Luminescence dating of canal sediments from Angkor Borei, Mekong Delta, Southern Cambodia. ​Quaternary Geochronology 2:322–329.

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Role of assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Role of assessment - Essay Example Medical practitioners use this type of information for purposes of making a decision on the type of diagnosis and treatment to give a patient (Jarvis, 2012). This information is further used for purposes of understanding the nature of ailments a client is vulnerable to, and the control measures to develop (American Nurses Association, 2010). This is for purposes of knowing the best approach to treat the patient, and the best approach to use in protecting the patient from acquiring the ailments that they are vulnerable to. Furthermore, assessments give nurses the capability of prioritizing the clinical care of their patients. Nurses will know which areas he or she should concentrate on, while providing nursing care to their patients (Simmons, 2010). It is a requirement that nurses should acquire skills on how to identify important health care issues that should receive some priority. Use of assessments will achieve such kind of an objective. Partial assessment of a patient plays a role in identifying whether a patient recovers or not (Jarvis, 2012). This is very useful when dealing with patients suffering from cardiac diseases and respiratory infections. Carrying out assessments is therefore an important process in the medical field. They help help in improving the health of patients, and preventing diseases. This is because it guides practitioners on the most efficient disease control

Friday, November 1, 2019

What is correlation analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 7000 words

What is correlation analysis - Essay Example What is correlation analysis? Coefficient of correlation is a measure of the strength of the linear relationship between two variables. In this case both variables must be at least the interval scale of measurement and the coefficient of correlation can range from -1.00 up to 1.00. If the correlation between two variables is 0, there is no association between them. A value of 1.00 indicates perfect positive correlation, and -1.00 perfect negative correlations. A positive sign means there is a direct relationship between the variables, and a negative sign means there is an inverse relationship. In regression analysis estimate one variable based on another variable and regression equation is an equation that expresses the linear relationship between two variables. The variable being estimated is the dependent variable and the variable used to make the estimate is the independent variable. The relationship between the variables must be linear. Both the independent and the dependent variables must interval or ratio scale and the least squares criterion is used to determine the regression equation. According to this assignment it’s required to express an equation in implicit form for two Major League Baseball teams in order to measure would it be profitable to pay $4 million to a free agent who would raise the team’s winning rate. A hypothesis is an assumption about the population parameter to be tested based on sample information. The statistical testing of hypothesis is the most important technique in statistical inference.