Thursday, November 14, 2019

Beauty & The Matrix :: Movie Film Compare Contrast Essays

Beauty & The Matrix Do you remember the story of Sleeping Beauty? A beautiful girl who had a curse put upon her at her Christening. She was to die by the prick of a spinning needle on her 16th Birthday. Her fairy aunts hid her from the curse and she was raised not knowing her real fate. Then of course she fell under the curse and could only be awakened by her true love. Who could forget this enchanting story? Beauty, by Sheri S. Tepper is just like that Sleeping Beauty story but with a twist around every corner. The movie The Matrix is an action pact adventure of a young man named Neo who was taken from his normal life style; and transformed to fit another one. In many different ways does Beauty coincide with the movie The Matrix. A few of them are that they have very similar worlds, according to clothes, food, and daily activities. Morpheus from The Matrix is just like Elladine from the novel Beauty. In the book Beauty the main characters name is also Beauty and in the movie The Matrix the main character is Neo. In the novel Beauty, Beauty is in search of her fairy mother, Elladine, that she hasnt seen since she was a baby. Elladine is Beautys key to unlock the secrets of the fairyland to Beauty. Beauty doesnt know anything about being a fairy except that she is part fairy and some unexplainable strange things have been happening inside her. Elladine, Beautys mother, is the only one who can show Beauty everything there is to know about the fairy life. Elladine will show her the magic to seeing how beautiful the fairyland is and how special Beauty is to be part of this magical land. In the movie The Matrix, a man named Morpheus is the one who found Neo and guides him through his new life. Morpheus believes in Neo enough to take him out of his normal world and introduce him to the Matrix. Morpheus believes that Neo with the right training and mental building will make the right decisions and in the end turn out to be the one. Morpheus guides Neo through the Matrix and teaches him all the things he needs to know about the Matrix. Just like Elladine teaches Beauty about the fairyland. Morpheus and Elladine are very similar characters in these ways; they act in the same part, a teacher and mentor to a younger person.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Response to “Internationalized Civil War” Essay

Karen Rasler’s essay â€Å"Internationalized Civil War: A Dynamic Analysis of the Syrian Intervention in Lebanon† is a highly scientific exploration of what exactly happened when the Syrian military stepped in amidst the internal conflict between the Lebanese Front and the Palestinian Resistance Movement (many other groups were involved at different points, but for simplicity’s sake I will just use these groups as a right vs. left catch-all for the bulk of the conflict). Rasler begins by addressing the idea that, as much rhetoric as has been given to external intervention in the case of internal conflict, much of the studies done and articles published have failed to address the larger issue of not only what the immediate effects of external intervention are, but also what are the long-term reverberating effects on the country that has either sought external aid or had it forced upon them. Rasler cites several questions regarding the effects of external intervention, including whether or not the external aid escalates violence and ultimately prolongs the conflict. What Rasler sets out to do in her essay is create a longitudinal examination of the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1977). Rasler contends that this particular example, being so well-covered in the media and, at the point in time which Rasler wrote the piece, having had enough time pass to study its residual effects, is a solid example to begin with, even if it is not representative of all cases of external involvement in civil wars. She is seeking the extent to which the Syrian military occupation in Lebanon either decreased or increased internal conflict, as well as the long-term ramifications intervention had for Lebanese politics. Rasler begins with four basic hypotheses which she sets to measure against the Lebanese Civil War. These hypotheses are as follows: (1) External military intervention will increase the level and duration of domestic conflict; (2) Military intervention will occur during periods in which the level of internal conflict escalates beyond previously established levels; (3) Military intervention will occur during periods of extreme polarization between domestic political groups; and (4) Military intervention will occur during periods in which cooperation between domestic political groups and the intervening external nation-state are escalating beyond previous levels. After stating her hypothesis, Rasler then begins to collect â€Å"empirical evidence† complete with line graphs stating what her â€Å"findings† were. From here the essay becomes a muddled mess of pseudo-scientific jargon that the reader has no choice other than to believe it because the values and empirical methods used are inadequately introduced or explained and therefore difficult to refute. The problem is, even at the end of the essay, it is unclear whether or not Rasler has succeeded in proving or completing undermining her own hypothesis. Certainly she has revealed some interesting findings, but largely it seems to be not exactly what she thought she was going to unveil. There are several problems with the way this essay presents Rasler’s â€Å"findings† and with the source material in general. First of all, I will address more of what I have previously mentioned: the equations Rasler uses to find her â€Å"empirical evidence† measure such things as social polarization, domestic cooperation, impact of military intervention, and totals of domestic conflict, just to name a few. But never at any point in time does Rasler dedicate any extensive analysis in her essay to an explanation of where exactly these initial figures and statistics (which then got plugged into strange, little-explained equations) came from. It seems as if she pulls these numbers out of thin air, which automatically discredits any of her â€Å"research† because there is no standard for where these numbers came from, how they were initially reported and gathered, what they are measuring to determine things like â€Å"conflicts,† etc. For example, Rasler spends a great deal of time discussing how conflicts were on the decline before Syrian military occupation, and then the amount of conflicts spiked up again immediately following the occupation, only to decrease again to levels lower than before. My question is: how is the idea of â€Å"conflict† being qualified? Is â€Å"conflict† the number of reported incidents of violence in the area? Does it deal with casualties? How exactly is the quantifiable â€Å"amount† of â€Å"conflict† being measured, exactly? But this is never discussed, which means these numbers could just as easily be fabricated and completely arbitrary for all the weight they carry with them. Not only that, but the pages and pages of jargon that follow an otherwise engaging introduction to the study and the greater questions at hand make it impenetrable for the common non-career-scientist reader. It is off-putting and kind of come across almost as if Rasler is saying, â€Å"If it sounds smart enough, no one will question it. † Another problem I see with this, and Rasler herself even addresses it, is that this one solitary conflict cannot possibly account for or be representative of all other conflicts similar to it in which external intervention is sought to ease internal conflict. And even though Rasler does indeed point this out, I feel it is necessary to reiterate because of the framework of the essay. Rasler speaks in terms of generalizations about external military occupations and what their long-term effects are on the country and government, speaking of the importance of a longitudinal study to really dig deeper into those issues. And I agree, wholeheartedly, especially after the way she presented all of it. Which is exactly why this study needed to go so much further than just delving into the details of this one isolated conflict in order to really carry with it any weight or credibility. As far as I’m concerned, this â€Å"study† is really only the beginning of what needs to be a large-scale study to really effectively address the questions being raised. Another issue I took with this particular case study is the idea that 6 years’ time, especially when the conflict is still continuing (in southern Lebanon where Syrian forces cannot invade without threat of Israeli invasion), might not be enough time for an appropriate longitudinal study to be conducted. To really study the long-term reverberating effects on the people and the government, my guess would be that more time would have to pass first. Overall, I believe Rasler’s essay made some interesting points and observations, and was written in an engaging way (when not swallowed up by scientific jargon). However, I think there are some severe errors in her empirical methods that render much of her â€Å"findings† meaningless, and in order for this to be an effective study on the issue of external intervention in civil war conflicts, it needs to be much more all-encompassing and at least provide a series of examples to cross-reference.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Chivalry among men in the novel The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas

The element of chivalry overshadows everything else in Alexandre Dumas's historical romance, The Three Musketeers. The work was set against the background of King Louis VIII's France. It was a time of intrigue, treachery and machinations in high places, an atmosphere in which you could hardly distinguish friend from foe. It was at this juncture that D'Artagnan, the principal character arrives in Paris.When he sets out to seek his fortune in the famed city, as any young man did in those times and still does to some extent, he was armed with only the three things that were given to him by his aging father:They were, a horse as aging as his progenitor, fifteen crowns and a letter of introduction to Monsieur de Treville, captain of the musketeers, the personal guards of the French king. And there follows a story so packed with events that it leaves the readers spellbound.To many, the idea of chivalry seem frivolous, naà ¯ve and very much in vain. It is like taking romanticism to an illo gical conclusion. You have only got to read Don Quixote to remind yourself of this fact. But one comes to the conclusion that there is a flip side to it after all, after reading the swashbuckling heroics of the protagonist and his bosom pals.Although some of their exploits seem somewhat comic and incredulous, the way they were committed endears them to our hearts with the sheer buoyancy, exuberance and spontaneity of those acts. It takes one right back to childhood, when one indulged in the fantasies peculiar to the period, thereby filling us with nostalgia and even dà ©jà   vu.Here, the protagonist also â€Å"Seeks great stature of character by holding to the virtues and duties of a knight, realizing that though the ideals cannot be reached, the quality of striving towards them ennobles the spirit, growing the character from dust towards the heavens.Nobility also has the tendency to influence others, offering a compelling example of what can be done in the service of rightness.à ¢â‚¬  (Price, Brian R. 1997).So the aforementioned negative qualities of chivalry do not in any way detract from the story in the least as we find the protagonist move forward in his onward momentum, in the most chivalrous manner, â€Å"packed with events and exciting dramatic encounters.† (Dumas, Alexandre).For this, indeed, is a story packed with events with the spirit of chivalry leading it ever forward. And watching D’Artagnan move from adventure to mayhem, one is filled with an overwhelming sense of admiration for the perpetrator of all those hair-raising episodes.And before long one is convinced of the fact that the idea of chivalry is not so frivolous and foolish after all, as seemed at first. Although at times it sounds childishly romantic, it has its high points of idealism, even if it is romantic in nature and so not everybody’s cup of tea.For D’Artagnan does follow the kind of chivalry in its original connotations. At every step, he is ‘ guided by the ideals of chivalry, a moral code that has its origins in medieval knighthood.’ (Dumas, Alexandre).And we sit glued to our seats as if are watching an action packed movie. He exhibits almost all the qualities considered necessary by a typical chivalrous person. First and foremost he is guided by the quality of prowess.In every action ‘he seeks excellence in all endeavors he goes through, martial or otherwise. Like a true knight he does not use his strength for personal glory but uses to serve the cause of justice.' (Price, Brian R. 1997).He is also fiercely loyal to the cause and the people whom he seeks to serve. In the novel, he is loyal to his friends, his country and his amour Madame Bonacieux. And like a true knight he fights the forces of evil with all his strength. Thus he battles the villain Cardinal Richelieu and his guards. Yet he has the time to answer the calls of love from the beautiful and enigmatic Madame Bonacieux.His cronies were Athos, Por thos and Aramis. They were with him in all his adventures and escapades throughout the narrative. Strangely enough, they became friends by fighting duels with D’Artagnan on the one hand and the others one after another, on the other.These encounters came to an end when they were confronted by the arch villain Cardinal Richelieu’s guards who, at that juncture and then onwards, became their common enemy. And their common exploits under the leadership of D’Artagnan also became tinted with the codes of chivalry then prevalent throughout the length and breadth of Europe.Another chivalric code of conduct is to fight for justice ‘unencumbered by bias or personal interest.’ ((Price, Brian R. 1997). Accordingly, the four friends wielded the sword in cause of justice while at the same time practicing the fine qualities of mercy and humanity. They fought against the evil Cardinal whose machinations had filled the French court with intrigue, treachery and viole nce.The chivalric code of defense, demands that D’Artagnan and company also should defend their liege lord, in this case the king of France. But here there is a deviation and object the D’Artagnan’s fealty falls on the queen instead of the king by a quirk of circumstance. ‘The Musketeers join forces to protect the honor of the Queen, to help her conceal her affair with Buckingham, and to help her to arrange meetings with him.This may seem like a relatively trivial matter to most modern readers when compared to the urgencies of the political situation of the time, but according to the code of chivalry and honor that the Musketeers believe in, fostering true love is of the highest importance.’In this work the hero achieves his goals through pride honor and determination. A true gallant always defends his honor whatever be the cost of doing so. For this he is ready to die if necessary.

Thursday, November 7, 2019

The Rise in Migration to Singapore essays

The Rise in Migration to Singapore essays Singapore has come a long way since independence thirty-six years ago. Today, she has become the focal point of South-East Asia, a cauldron of different races, cultures and religions. Singapore has been colonized by the British ever since Sir Stamford Raffles stepped foot on her shores and she is not unfamiliar with the number of foreigners working here whether for the British empire or simply stopping over with ships to trade. However, these foreigners of Singapores colonial past never belonged here. After World War II broke out and Japan posed a real threat of invading Singapore, thousands of expatriates rushed for the first flight out of this sunny oasis. Similarly, during the turbulent years of Singapores independence, many of her foreign friends opted to leave for home elsewhere together with the British withdrawal of troops based in Singapore in 1968. The tide has turned through the passage of time. Now, Singapore is a desirable destination for foreigners choosing a new home. I believe that the migration of foreigners to Singapore is of benefit to both the economy and society and more should be done to attract them. Firstly, foreigners migrate to Singapore for economic reasons. Singapore is a fast developing economy that is bursting with opportunities. Foreigners have seen how Singapore emerged from the 1998 Asian Economic Crisis relatively unscathed and they are suitably impressed by this remarkable achievement. Multi-National Companies (MNCs) have targeted Singapore as their regional headquarters for operations in South-East Asia. These companies include IBM, Microsoft, Palm, all reputable international companies. These MNCs send their top talents from overseas branches to work in Singapore and be in charge of the regional headquarters and there is no shortage of foreigners in MNCs. Local companies have responded to the competition of foreign companies and sought to lure the best of talents around the world to ...

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Definition and Examples of Baby Talk

Definition and Examples of Baby Talk Baby talk refers to the simple language forms used by young children, or the modified form of speech often used by adults with young children. Also known as motherese or caregiver speech. Early research talked of motherese, notes Jean Aitchison. This left out fathers and friends, so caretaker speech became the fashionable term, later amended to caregiver speech, and in academic publications, to CDS child-directed speech Examples and Observations Eloise Robinson and John Redhead Froome, Jr. As I mounted the porch steps I could hear Miss Altheas voice through the open window. She was apparently, I regret to say, speaking to Mabel, for her words had a soft, cooing sound and were such that, were it not for the sake of veracity, I should be inclined to omit them. Is muvvers ittle cutey takin its ittle beauty nap after its din-din? Did it like its din-din? Good din-din with chicken in it for ittle cutey baby! Thats right, take its ittle beauty nap till its muvver turns down. She wont be longwont be long! Muvvers ittle sleepin beauty, ittle cutey beauty! There was more of the same or a similar, variety to which my decisive ring at the door-bell put a hasty end. –Dead Dog, 1918 Lawrence Balter Linguists who have studied the structure of baby talk words have pointed out that there are some typical sound change rules that relate the baby talk word to its adult equivalent. For instance, reduction of the word to a shorter form is common, as is reduplication of the short form, hence, words such as din din and bye bye. It is not clear, however, how some baby talk words were derived: no simple rule explains how rabbits turned into bunnies.Although there is a traditional baby talk vocabulary, almost any word in English can be turned into a baby talk word by the addition of a diminutive ending, -ie: foot becomes footie, shirt becomes shirtie, and so forth. These diminutive endings convey affectionate as well as size connotations. –Parenthood in America., 2000 Sara Thorne Baby words like doggie or moo-cow do not help a child to learn language more efficiently. The reduplication of sounds in words like baba and dada, on the other hand, does enable babies to communicate because the words are easy to say. –Mastering Advanced English Language, 2008 Charles A. Ferguson [T]he reduplication in baby talk is generally separate and unrelated to the use in the normal language. Reduplication can probably be regarded as a feature of baby talk throughout the world. –Baby Talk in Six Languages, 1996 J. Madeleine Nash When speaking to babies, Stanford University psychologist Anne Fernald has found, mothers and fathers from many cultures change their speech patterns in the same peculiar ways. They put their faces very close to the child, she reports. They use shorter utterances, and they speak in an unusually melodious fashion. –Fertile Minds, 1997 Jean Aitchison Caregiver speech can be odd. Some parents are more concerned with truth than with language. The ill-formed Daddy hat on might meet with approval, Yes, thats right, if daddy was wearing a hat. But the well-formed Daddys got a hat on might meet with disapproval, No, thats wrong, if daddy wasnt wearing a hat. You might expect children to grow up telling the truth, but speaking ungrammatically, as some early researchers pointed out. In fact, the opposite happens. –The Language Web: The Power and Problem of Words, 1997 Debra L. Roter and Judith A. Hall Caporael (1981) focused on the use of displaced baby talk to the institutionalized elderly. Baby talk is a simplified speech pattern with distinctive paralinguistic features of high pitch and exaggerated intonation contour that is usually associated with speech to young children. More than 22% of speech to residents in one nursing home was identified as baby talk. Further, even talk from caregivers to the elderly that was not identified as baby talk was more likely to be judged as directed toward a child than was talk between caregivers. The investigators concluded that this phenomenon is widespread and that baby talk directed toward elderly adults was not a result of fine tuning of speech to individual needs or characteristics of a particular patient, but rather a function of social stereotyping of the elderly. –Doctors Talking With Patients/Patients Talking With Doctors, 2006 Topher Grace (as Eric) You know, mom, there comes an age in a boys life when the baby talk stops working. Yeah, when it does, it just gives a boy the urge to kill. –That 70s Show, 2006

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Shortcomings in WHP Management Style Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Shortcomings in WHP Management Style - Essay Example The management is required to follow the guidelines laid down by the Healthcare Commission. Some of the highlights of the commission’s recommendations that are followed here are sound clinical and organisational management, and assessed and managed risks; supporting staff to raise any concerns about the quality of care or services provided to patients; having systems in place to support all staff in their development, including the minority groups; storing, using and dissemination of information about patients; to make sure that healthcare staff are appropriately recruited, trained and qualified; making sure that staff continue to develop their professional skills and to make sure that national guidelines for carrying out research are followed throughout the organisation.   The management is through a committee of ten medical practitioners that is headed by a Chairman who is the manager of the facility and policies are framed according to normal NHS guidelines outlined above. WHP scores a fair result in the services that it offers to its captive population and it appears that it is perceived as an average performer in its services. The pursuit of this report is to find the shortcomings in its management style and to make recommendations to overcome them. Management Styles are of three kinds; Autocratic, Consultative and Democratic. As the names suggest, the first is where the leader independently declares policy and the organization have no choice but to follow it. In a Consultative set up the leader seeks opinions from all departmental heads and then formulates policy. In the Democratic setup opinions from the rank and file have a bearing on the final policy and the leader is more like a guide and mentor.

Thursday, October 31, 2019

Prevalence of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in Post-Acute Assignment

Prevalence of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in Post-Acute Myocardial Infraction - Assignment Example PTSD affects the quality of life that such patient population lead often making them susceptible to other lifestyle diseases (Goldberg & Williams, 1998). In a quantitative research, I seek to determine the suitability of a psychological discharge questionnaire in serving as a diagnostic tool to guide nursing practice and the handling of post-acute myocardial infraction patients. Key among the factors that make quantitative the most appropriate mode of research in this context is the fact that it provides observable evidence that helps formulate a hypothesis (Bamberger, 2000). The variables in a quantitative study are computed without coding them. As such, they provide practical evidence that makes it easy to observe thereby formulate functional hypothesis such as the suitability of the psychological discharge questionnaire. Another equally important factor is that quantitative research does not require a restrictive design plan a feature that allows the researcher to study the variables in their natural setup (Creswell, 2014). As state earlier, the lack of adequate studies in the topical issue makes it difficult to carry out the rese arch. As such, the researcher must let the research flow naturally a possibility that a quantitative design guarantees. The independent variable in the study is the psychological discharge questionnaire while dependent variable is the detection of PTSD. The dependent variable in the research will include the various types of PSTD such as depression and anxiety among others. With a research sample of ninety patients selected randomly, the researcher will issue the psychological discharge questionnaires to forty-five and fail to give out the questionnaire to the remaining forty-five. The study then begins as the nurses use the information provided in the questionnaire to carry out follow up treatment of the patients. Additionally, the researcher observes the behavioral changes of all the samples used in the research thus making appropriate conclusions on the suitability and functionality of using questionnaires as a diagnostic tool.