Abstract This paper discusses various religion's traditional rites of passage for girls to womanhood. The paper explores the significance of Quinceanera in relation to the three other rite of passage ceremonies practiced: Confirmation, BatMitzvah and Female Castration. These ceremonies are outlined and are explained as all being a part of the modern world and all marking the change in a young girl's life to that of a woman.
From the Paper "Virtually all cultures throughout human history have maintained a tradition of rites of passage by which life is divided into sections / stages. Traditionally, there are three primary stages that are celebrated in an individual's life in most of these cultures: birth, puberty, and death. Cultures, nations, religions, and regions all maintain norms of rites of passage that though follow the same biological patterns, are somewhat different in their intent. Women's rites of passage are of significant importance throughout much of the world and are at their most significant when celebrating the rite of passage from girlhood to womanhood."
Abstract This paper identifies the key principles of echo-location in various species of bats. The author defines echo-location and presents research, which supports the echo-location process. The paper relates that echolocation is a successful behavioral adaptation of bat species.
From the Paper "Animals utilize a wide variety of behavioral tactics in order to achieve their desired objectives. Animals that seek food, shelter, to reproduce, or to seek refuge from their predators are required to behave in specific ways and to use the resources that are available to them. There are a number of behavioral modifications that animals may exercise as a means of adapting to their surroundings, and bats are no exception to this rule. Bats are unique creatures for a variety of reasons, and their environment enables them to adjust their behavior accordingly. One such bat behavior that is of further interest is echolocation, which is addressed in the following detailed analysis. Echo-location is a means by which bats use their senses to identify with their surroundings, to communicate, to find food, and to protect themselves from a variety of predators."
Abstract This paper traces the evolution of the baseball bat. It looks at the different types of bats made, the material from which they are constructed, the effectiveness of the bats, generally noted advantages and disadvantages of the different bat types ,and safety issues regarding bat types. The paper ends with a brief summary of the features that the different bats have in common.
From the Paper "Baseball bats today come in many different varieties, from the standard $20 wooden bat to a state-of-the-art, $300 aluminum model (Sports-werd.com, 2002). Each type of bat has its own advantages and disadvantages, and each has a unique feel and sound. On both the college level and professional levels of baseball, the types of bats allowed vary in material. Yet, while the baseball bats may differ, there are still many similarities that make both aluminum and wooden bats comparable in the world of baseball."
Abstract The paper discusses how wind turbines are possibly attracting and killing bats and other wildlife. The paper relates that bats are a "keystone" species responsible for plant dispersion and pest control and serious environmental problems will result if bats die out. Since wind energy is of vital importance, the paper maintains that more research needs to be done to discover ways to avoid bat death on wind farms.
From the Paper "Energy is a "hot button" issue in politics and in the news. Finding new ways to produce energy domestically, and free of additional pollution sources like coal, is important to people and governments around the world. Wind power offers cleaner energy production than coal and many other methods, and is less controversial than nuclear power (Williams, 20). Wind power has already proven a successful source of alternative power in the European Union. As a result, new wind farms have been built in a number of United States locations, including New York state, California, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia (Whittelsey 39). The new wind farms have been lauded as an answer to the call for cleaner energy. However, the one downside cited by environmental impact studies is that migrating bats and birds are regularly killed by the wind farm turbines(Whittelsey, 39). These animal deaths seem to happen at wind farms in all areas of the country."
Abstract This paper deals with the two different kinds of sonar techniques employed by bats throughout the world. The author further discusses bats that don?t use echolocation at all. The author then examines the conflicting studies that have been done on this biological phenomenon and explains how the process works.
From the Paper "Burton (1982) states that the majority of the Microchiroptera utilize FM based echolocation. In this type of echolocation the pulses of sound, or calls, last no longer than a few thousandths of a second and drop through nearly an octave. The few species that do not use FM echolocation utilize the CF based echolocation. With CF echolocation the calls last up to ten times longer than those of the bats that use the FM method, explains Burton. "
Abstract Quinceanera, Confirmation, BatMitzvah and Female Castration ceremonies are all part of the modern world and all mark the change in a young girl's life to that of a woman. A Quinceanera is the celebration of a girls fifteenth birthday. Once the spiritual ceremony is over the girl moves on to the social part of the Quinceanera. At the age of fifteen the girl is no longer a child. At the age of 12 girls become obligated to observe the commandments. The ceremony marks the time in a girl's life when she is ready for womanhood and marriage. For girls, these rites have traditionally prepared them for marriage and sexual activity (childbearing) within the marriage context.
Abstract The paper discusses the human resource strategies at the British American Tobacco (BAT) company and their human resource performance management. The paper examines the effectiveness of BAT's human resource (HR) performance management system in terms of cost, competence, commitment and congruence. The paper offers recommendations and concludes that the implementation of their HR management system has already showed results, but it could also use adjustments and improvements.
Outline:
BAT's performance management
Human Resource performance management
Results of the implemented system
Recommendations
Conclusions
From the Paper "British American Tobacco is committed to personal growth and development and the international corporation implements a human resource performance management system. The first points on the HR performance management agenda refer to creating a safe and pleasant environment where BAT employees can activate. Activating in a rather dangerous sector, the cigars and cigarette manufacturer strives to offer their personnel a safe and pleasant working environment in which they return gladly."
From the Paper The purpose of this research is to examine the history and development of the Bar Mitzvah, a traditional, yet continuously evolving, ceremony of contemporary Jewish life. Representation, perhaps, of such evolution is found in Hayyim Schauss' definitive 1938 work, "The Jewish Festivals, from their beginnings to our own day," when he spells the term, Bar Mitsvoh. This research will also concern itself with the religious, or philosophic, importance of the ceremony as well as noting some of the differences in observance among Orthodox, Reform and Conservative factions.
By current standards of communicative effectiveness, the term "Bar Mitzvah" might be defined as a password. Most stand-up comics working Miami and/or the Catskills understand that a special rapport can be achieved with a Bar Mitzvah joke."
Abstract An analysis of Bernard Malamud's novel "The Natural". The author examines the themes and characters in the book with focus on the author's use of symbolism and language. The author describes the main character as a baseball player and his bat represents a sword. The relationship the boy has with his bat is compared to the relationship that a knight has with his sword.
From the Paper "Bernard Malamud's novel The Natural is both a relatively simple story -- about a semi-pro baseball player who begs a scout to help him make it in the all-American game of baseball -- and a complex literary exercise in the use of simple, concise symbols to convey in as efficient a way as possible entire universes of meaning. This paper examines one of the most important and pervasive symbols in this 1952 work -- the bat that Roy uses and that serves as a symbolic lance. "
Abstract The paper begins with some introductory remarks about the science of physics and by attempting to clear up some misconceptions regarding the way that pitchers throw balls. It then turns to discuss the storage of baseballs in a giant humidor and the effect of humidity on the motion of baseballs. It explores the materials used to make baseball bats and looks at their velocity. The paper concludes with an explanation of the new computer system introduced for the 2002 baseball season and a look at the involvement of physicists and engineers in evaluating this system.
From the Paper "According to some scientists, pitchers would defy the law of physics if the balls were actually thrown the way they were described. These scientist say a curve ball doesn?t actually curve, just appears to do so. They also say a rising fast ball is mislabeled "since a ball thrown overhand can"t rise (NPR, 1993).? They say players and announcers are incorrect when they say a ball hops, slides or hisses, since it is scientifically impossible, though they will admit a ball can sink a little. Scientists are quick to point out that a waist-high fast ball doesn"t actually rise when it hits your chin, but the hit occurs because the ball doesn"t fall as much as you predict it will. Announcers and players will disagree with these physicists, however, because they accept these concepts on faith and not science (NPR, 1993)."
Abstract This paper examines the Jewish view on death and the afterlife, beginning with a discussion of religion and theology as a whole. It then explores how the different sects of Judaism deal with the concept of death, and how it affects their behavior in life.
From the Paper "What is it that Jews will face after death? How do Jewish ideas about the afterlife affect their attitudes toward death itself? This is a relatively more complicated question to answer than how the attitudes held by Christians about the afterlife affect their views toward death because in the case of Judaism there is no small amount of ambiguity.
"Jewish beliefs about death cannot be understood independent of Jewish theology as a whole, and so it may be helpful to begin here with a definition of what we mean by religion as a whole. Religion is both an intensely personal area of life as well as one that is practiced publicly."
Tags: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, mitzvah, theology, afterlife, life, mourning, corpse
Abstract Maturity is the passage from the innocence of childhood to the responsibilities of adulthood. Rituals are ceremonies or acts of transitional stages from childhood to adulthood that help differentiate levels of responsibility and times of life. This paper examines maturity rituals in various cultures, including the Jewish Bar-Mitzvah and the Old Order Amish. The paper also discusses how modern American culture affects these rituals and how it provides some its own.
From the Paper "Where is the dividing line that our culture needs to define true maturity? Without this they have nothing but confusion, loss of identity, and a lack of understanding the responsibilities that are expected of them from our society. For instance; when my twenty-one year old daughter went to an oral surgeon for an initial check-up, they sent the bill to my husband with a written note explaining his responsibility if the insurance company didn"t pay. How can we expect our adult children to know what their responsibilities are and take them seriously when there are no dividing lines""
Abstract This paper introduces the general study of sound, and, specifically, ultrasonic phenomena. Human versus animal perception of sound is discussed. The use of ultrasound as a diagnostic tool in humans is outlined.
From the Paper "One of the greatest tools that man has ever had in the drive to preserve his own body is that of understanding. Particularly, through greater comprehension of the processes and logistics that facilitate our body functions, we can make further gains in aiding them where need exists. Sonic study is indicative of that very fact and, specifically, with the inception of sound exploration into the canon of physics came evidence that sound is more than just what human beings can hear. Rather, we now understand sound as acoustic energy existing in amplitudes of widely varying sizes and intensities. Further, the human ear perceives these amplitudes by translating their frequency. This frequency, a measure of the quantity of sound waves an object (i.e. vocal chords, drum skin, etc.) produces per second, may occur across an infinite range of measurements, expressed in hertz. The human ear, however, has a decidedly finite capacity for sound comprehension that falls somewhere between 20 and 20,000 Hz. Any sound occurring above that frequency is defined as ultrasonic. That is, ultrasonic phenomena are those sounds that exceed "normal" human hearing capabilities, normal being defined as that hearing which falls within the aforementioned frequency comprehension range."
From the Paper "Chapter 1
Introduction
While there are a variety of skill groupings that prove important to the play of baseball, those entailing the batter's hitting the baseball prove most difficult. As a result, the batter's hitting of the baseball is one of the most important skills needed in the game. There are primarily three phases, or skill groupings, that comprise the swing of the baseball batter: the preparatory phase, the force phase, and the follow-through phase (Hay, 1985, p. 205). The preparatory phase of the batter's swing entails the stance, while the stride and the swing consist of the force phase. McKinney and Logan report that the follow-through phase consists of those actions taken by the batter as he or she is recovering from the swing (McKinney & Logan, 1977, p...."
"Dhimmi" is a term applied to someone who lives in a Muslim society without being a Muslim (principally Jews and Christians). This paper compares and contrasts two books on the subject of the dhimmi--The Jews of Islam by Bernard Lewis and The Dhimmi: Jews and Christians under Islam by Bat Ye'or. This comparison and contrast centers on four points: (1) ways in which the authors express their views, (2) the subjects the authors choose to write about, (3) differences in subject matter, and (4) individual point of view.
As both works have a scholarly tone, neither one reveals particular emotions or views regarding the subject matter. Both are objective and factual, letting the ideas, facts, and interpretations speak for themselves. The formats and styles are ..."