Abstract
This paper explains that sucking on the thumb or other fingers is considered a very normal and accepted behavior in infants in Western culture until about age five; but, in some non-Western cultures, such as the African or Native American cultures, this habit may be less common or even missing. The author points out that a major concern about thumb sucking is health risks, including ingesting poison accidentally, infected fingernails, calluses, crooked finger, unlimited access of viruses and bacteria to the mouth, and dental problems. This paper stresses that perhaps the most appropriate way to approach thumb sucking is to provide a comfortable, nurturing, stimulating, and healthy environment for infants from the very beginning to prevent the child seeking finger-sucking as comfort.

From the Paper
"Additionally, the mouth is used by infants especially as one of the primary tools of exploration and discovery, as the child becomes accustomed to his or her environment and learns about the surrounding world. Other children may acquire the habit of thumb sucking from observing other children, during the toddler stages especially, and may be influenced to begin sucking from other children in daycare or on the playground and mimicking this behavior, or by observing an older sibling or relative that sucks on his or her thumb. Thumb sucking is considered to be normal until the age of four or five, depending on the developmental stage of the child, and if the habit is stopped by this age there are generally no physical or mental health problems caused by it."

Tags:treatment, health, dental, comfort, habit

Abstract
This paper discusses Alan Cohen's 2002 motivational work entitled, "Why Your Life Sucks and What You Can Do about It." The paper discusses the style and relevance of the book and critiques its content and the way that it was written. The paper concludes that the book is an excellent reminder of what each person is capable of, what they can aspire to, what they can hope for and what they deserve.

From the Paper
"Why Your Life Sucks and What You Can Do About It could prove valuable for someone who is truly dissatisfied with their lives or for someone who has the general malaise of the discontented. Cohen combines practical, sage advice with credible supportive stories to make this book an easy read, but it should not be a fast read. There's plenty to absorb. Some readers will need to put quotes on post-its and have them near by to reference. For others, it may be a more natural infusion and can be memorable enough without physical reminders of they may consider the "gems" of Why Your Life Sucks and What You Can Do About It."

Tags:capability, aspirations, guide, benefit

Abstract
The paper discusses that ,for most students on campus, drug use can be a recreational, experimental adventure, occasionally "done" at social gatherings. It argues that those who dabble in drugs are jeopardizing much more than the legal ramifications of getting caught. For the unfortunate few, it can be the beginning of a terrifying world of addiction. Experimenting with drugs, in truth, is like playing Russian roulette. Both are deadly games with eventual casualties. The paper uses persuasive argument to show that the disease of addiction is progressive - that one begins by smoking a little "weed" or popping a few pills and eventually the drug will handle the user.

From the Paper
"In recent news releases, cigarette smoking among college students is over 20 percent. Also, excessive drinking at Penn States main campus this past summer deployed riot police, curfews and criminal charges. Alcohol and tobacco, which are both addictive, are unfortunately socially acceptable and legal. In the city of Philadelphia, an unscrupulous physician is arrested for writing out pain prescriptions for addicts on a regular basis. Amish youths were likewise busted for selling cocaine in Lancaster County. Is no place sacred? Is no one immune?"

Tags:Cravings, crack, cocaine, illegal, withdrawal

Abstract
This paper sets out to discuss Ernest Hemingway's novels and short stories conceptualizing his ideas of heroes facing life's harshness with dignity and grace which culminate in the Hemingway Code. The essay traces his works as well as various feminist scholars, but focuses on Hemingway's famous piece 'A Farewell to Arms' which the paper analyzes, especially in reference to the heroine Catherine Barkley.

From the Paper
Catherine does more than simply face unpleasant facts; she takes appropriate action as well. Her demeanor is calm and matter-of-fact, whether the activity in question involves giving Frederic an enema before surgery, dealing with an unplanned pregnancy, or helping Frederic escape to Switzerland to avoid imprisonment and execution. And, as she steadily handles one crisis after another, she continues to reassure her lover. "You mustn't mind, darling," she says about the baby, "I'll try and not make trouble for you" (138). Later, as they escape to Switzerland, she says fondly, "You're such a silly boy. But I'll look after you" (251).

Tags:rovit, brenner, tyler, frederic, henry, tyler, abruzzi, rinaldi

Abstract
This research paper discusses the possibility of capitalizing on the wasted power of human locomotion by harvesting energy from it. The scientific principle behind energy harvesting devices is explained; with the use of piezoelectric materials, which can be crystals, ceramics, and polymers, an electrical potential is generated when mechanical force is applied. The author goes on to introduce some of these energy harvesting devices such as knee braces and wearable backpacks before discussing the pros and cons of each device. The paper concludes that although small human locomotion-powered generators are not yet ready for the mainstream with furthering advances in materials, design, and electronics we may all someday be generating power as we walk. This paper includes figures.

From the Paper
"A third approach for mounting generators on people comes in the form of a wearable backpack. This device would use the constant up-and-down motion of a person walking to drive an electromagnetic generator. A weight inside the backpack is suspended on springs and oscillates with each step. This detail of operation reveals another benefit of a backpack-style generator: as the weight is suspended on springs it doesn't travel completely with the body as a fixed weight would. Instead the weight only travels a portion of the distance of the backpack, meaning that it is not necessary for the wearer to lift it as high as normal with each step."

Tags:technologies, piezoelectricity

Abstract
This paper explains that smart materials are devices, which can sense various stimuli from outer environment such as thermal, electrical and magnetic changes and can respond accordingly; basically, they are materials that sense and respond like living things. The author points out that two families of passive seismic control devices exploiting the peculiar properties of SMA kernel components have been implemented and tested within the MANSIDE project (Memory Alloys for New Seismic Isolation and Energy Dissipation Devices: Special braces for framed structures and isolation devices for buildings and bridges. The paper states that, with these smart materials, engineers are able to build the best and safest structures where possible catastrophic changes in the environment are sensed and precautions are taken directly. 10 figures.

Table of Contents
Introduction
What is a Smart Material?
Types of Smart Materials
Classification Based on Input
Electrical Fields
Thermal Fields
Magnetic Fields
Comparison Based on Output
Strain
Changes in Other Properties
Applications
In Civil Engineering
Uses of Shape Memory Alloys
Smart Concrete
In Other Areas
Conclusion

From the Paper
"The first experimental demonstration of the piezoelectric properties in relation to crystal structure was published in 1880 by Pierre and Jacques Curie. This effect was considered quite important and was referred to as "piezoelectricity" in order to distinguish it from other areas of scientific phenomenological experience such as "pyroelectricity" (electricity generated from crystals by heating). As an aside, piezoelectrics also tend to be pyroelectrics. The Curie brothers did not predict that crystals exhibiting the direct piezoelectric effect (electricity from applied stress) would also exhibit the converse piezoelectric effect (stress in response to applied electric field). This property was mathematically deduced and hypothesized by Lippmann in 1881. The Curies then confirmed the existence of the converse effect, and continued on to obtain quantitative proof of the complete reversibility of mechanical deformations in piezoelectric crystals."

Tags:alloys, concrete, electrorheological, magnetostrictive, strain

Abstract
This essay goes into the chain of events that led to America's involvement in the Vietnam War. It lists three main reasons for the defeat of America and includes numerous graphic examples of the horrible guerrilla conflict. It connects horrifying first-hand accounts with images from movies that give people in the present time a perception of what was going on in Vietnam during the war. In short, this essay includes a chronological pathway through the Vietnam War and refers to both first-hand accounts and history throughout that pathway and, ultimately, answers the question of why America lost the war.

From the Paper
"The Vietnam War can be compared to the Revolutionary War. America comes in as the aggressor, and Vietnam tries to defend itself. The United States, thousands of miles away from the war, find that the conflict will not end easily. Increasingly throughout the war men are lost and others take their place. Most Americans had not even set foot in Vietnam, yet men are going into it and dying. The public opinion died after only a short while. History repeats itself, and it seems that nothing was learned."

Tags:movie, account, foreign, policy

Abstract
This paper discusses how many believe the root cause of the dot-com crash was overvaluation of stock prices relative to the actual underlying value of the companies themselves. It explains that stocks of internet companies traded at Price-Earning ratios of higher then 30, buoyed by a speculative bubble. When reality set in for investors, many realized that the companies that they were so heavily invested in were little more then money sucking black holes with no upside potential in the near or long term future. It explains how this in turn triggered mass sell-offs of not only internet related stocks but soon impacted the market value of many companies associated with computer, network or telecommunications industries. This paper shows, in fact, that overvaluation was more a symptom of the speculative boom and was only one of the multi-faceted factors that contributed to the internet boom turning into the Internet bust.

From the Paper
"The casualty numbers for dot-com mania are staggering. In the year since April 2000, the technology-heavy Nasdaq has lost more than $2 trillion in value. Once high flying companies like Excite.com, have disappeared off of the charts, busted, bankrupt and out of business. During the last 36 months, 93,079 Internet-related jobs have been cut nationwide (Cassidy 2002). At least 4,854 Internet companies have either been acquired or have shut down in the three years since the dot.com investment boom peaked in the first quarter of 2000. Of these 4,854 plus Internet companies, at least 962 of them have been substantial Internet companies who have either shut down or declared bankruptcy. Unemployment figures for the San Francisco bay area, once the engine that drove the Internet economy to dazzling heights, now hovers around 7 percent (U.S. Department of Labor)."

Tags:stock, value, investment, ratio, internet, hi-tech

Abstract
The following paper discusses the exciting course of the history of one of the world's most prominent and influential countries: Japan. It examines Japan's days through simple life in the ancient times (Yayoi, Jomon, and Heian periods) to years of civil unrest during the Feudal times, dominated by constant warfare for the position of ultimate power: shogun. This paper also looks at Japan's culture, her people and her ideology, as time passes into the Meiji restoration. The writer discusses Japan's fierce struggle for global prominence as she tries to expand beyond her tiny island nation onto mainland Asia, only to be sucked into the global conflict of World War II. The writer reflects on the country's vital role in this war, and analyzes her sad defeat and ultimate rebirth out of one of the darkest periods in history. The paper also has a brief summary of Japanese history from the 1970's to the present day.

From the Paper
"The Japanese archipelago was first inhabited more than 100,000 years ago, when it still comprised part of the continental Asian land mass. Archaeological discoveries indicate that the ancient people of this time (The Old Stone Age or Paleolithic Age) survived on a very basic diet provided through daily hunting and gathering. The New Stone, or Neolithic age, dating at 10,000 years BC, is characterized by the manufacture of refined stone implements, the development of advanced hunting techniques using bows and arrows, and the production of earthenware containers for cooking and storing food. This age ushered in the Jomon period (around 8000 to 300 BC) so named after the jomon (cord-marked) style of pottery which originated during this time. Agriculture, primarily rice planting, and metalworking techniques were introduced from mainland Asia around 300 BC, towards the end of the period. The native peoples of Japan now began incorporating farming tools, metal weapons and bronze swords, and mirrors into their daily life and culture. The new machinery helped increase agricultural production, mirrors were used in religious rituals, and the new found weapons helped settle any domestic disputes between rival Japanese tribes."

Tags:asia, asian, china, chinese, japan, war, world, military, inferior, attack, defeat, rise, victory

Abstract
This paper explores horror actor Peter Cushing's ancestral ties with Sir Henry Irving, the great English stage actor and Bram Stoker, the author of Dracula, in the context of the English stage and Irving's tours of America, from 1881 to 1889. It examines Bram Stoker's work in April of 1912, that used a new medium of artistic expression and brought Stoker his posthumous fame--the motion picture industry which catapulted Stoker's Gothic novel to the darkest realms of cinematic exploitation and created a new cultural icon in the form of a blood-sucking, malevolent human monster known as Count Dracula.

From the Paper
"While Ellen Terry and Henry Irving enjoyed some days of quiet and peace in the privacy of their drawing-rooms and staterooms, the rest of the (touring) company, the tons of scenery, the hundreds of costumes, the 1,200 wigs, the small-part actors, the supers and Bram Stoker, were sailing to America in a slow boat called The City of Rome." Although this quote from Madeleine Bingham's 1978 biography Henry Irving and the Victorian Theatre seems at first glance rather superficial, two specific points deserve closer examination--first, Henry Irving, the legendary British thespian, the Sir Laurence Olivier of his time, who dominated the English stage for more than thirty years and was the first actor to be knighted 1, and actress Ellen Terry, his longtime leading lady, must have thought of themselves as blue-blood royalty, due to sailing to America from Liverpool in October of 1883 aboard the luxurious steamship Britannic on their first U.S. tour; and second, as the remainder of the company trudged along on that "slow boat" The City of Rome, Irving's business manager, the Dublin-born Bram Stoker, apparently was not considered as deserving of better quarters during the long voyage across the Atlantic to the theatrical citadel of New York City. However, this may have been in Stoker's favor, for it is quite possible while separated from Irving's manic desire for control that Stoker retreated to his conjoined cabin ( No. 100, a few steps from the promenade bar 2 ) and took pen in hand to scribble in a "dogeared notebook (with) hieroglyphical entries in thick, half-obliterated pencil," 3 more notes concerning his ten years of research into the occultic sciences."

Tags:dracula, henry, irving, peter, sir, stoker, count