Analyzes two articles, one dealing with developing a systematic tooth-brushing program for retarded youth and the other on proper eating habits among this population.
Abstract This paper analyzes and discusses two articles: "Training Mentally Retarded Adolescents to Brush Their Teeth" by R.D. Horner and I. Keilitz (1975) and "Training and Maintaining a Retarded Child's Proper Eating" F. O'Brien, C. Bugle, and N.H. Azrin (1972). The paper shows that the purpose of the first research was to provide systematic development and evaluation of a tooth-brushing program for retarded individuals, while the second explored whether motivational techniques are necessary to insure the maintenance of proper eating for the mentally retarded. For each of the articles, the paper provides details on the purpose of the study, procedures used in the study, results of the study and evaluation of the article.
From the Paper "Study findings showed that when the motivational-maintenance procedure was applied, the subject ate properly and when it was discontinued, the old eating behavior was resumed. When maintenance was again applied, proper eating occurred and was again discontinued when the maintenance procedure ended. During the last seven meals of training, proper eating was demonstrated on nearly every trial, and when baseline conditions were returned, improper eating was immediately resumed. Results also demonstrated that manual guidance was very effective in training the subject to eat properly."
This paper discusses that President Bush's forest thinning and restoration plan needs to be supported because it will result in safer communities, an increase in jobs, and healthier forests.
Abstract This paper explains that 83 percent of all firefighters identified "fuels reduction" (fuels being dried brush and dead trees) as the single most important factor for improving safety from wildfires. The author points out that the plan proposes the utilization of dead underbrush as a new source of energy. The paper stresses that environmentalist groups opposed to President Bush's plan are "tree-huggers" that are trying to protect the very trees they use each day for various things.
From the Paper ""With our current drought situation, insect infestations, and disease in our forest, we have accumulated years of natural fuels that can produce environmentally destructive fires". This statement from the article "The 2003 Fire Season" is a warning that if we do not remove these dead trees and brush that the effects can be damaging in other ways. Some environmentalists suggest that the long term effects of this type of program have not been completely researched. Many of them also suggest that this program is an opportunity to allow logging companies onto federal land for the sole purpose of attaining free lumber as a byproduct of the project for profit. They have also claimed that it will not reduce the risk of fires. It is hard to rationalize that removing the very things that a fire feeds on such as, dead trees and brush, will not reduce the risk of fire."
Abstract This paper is written mostly from a subjective viewpoint regarding racism in the United States. The author describes his/her brush with racism, and talks a bit about some of the history of and groups behind organized racist activity. Conclusions are drawn about some of this activity by the author.
From the Paper "Racism has been a problem for hundreds of years. Has it gotten any better from what it used to be? A little, but it still plays a major problem in our society. I come from a small town, which is mostly white, so it's hard to still believe that the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) is still up and going strong. My eyes were blinded by this stereotype I held. They are not just affecting people in the south, they have moved all over the states. Will it ever end, who's to say? My question I had before investigating this topic is: Does the KKK still have an affect on us this day in age? And if so, how far have they spread away from the South?"
Abstract This paper analyzes the Ancient Greek play of" Lysistrata" and compares it to modern artistic productions. The claim is that this play addressed very contemporary issues. A summary of the play is provided, the characters are analyzed and a historical description of Ancient Greek artistic trends are described.
From the paper:
"Lysistrata is both the name of a woman and the name of one of the most famous comedies of ancient Greece. The name of Lysistrata has become a watchword for feminists and pacifists alike, for reasons a brief synopsis of the play will shortly disclose. Yet this paper will contend that rather than being an pre-modern, non-musical version of the popular musical "Hair" for ancient Athens, where common societal sexual and military mores are brushed away, "Lysistrata bears" far more resemblance to a kind of classical version of ?I Love Lucy.? In the play ?Lysistrata,? clever yet silly women try to twist their husbands around their little fingers to achieve their ends, to great comic effect, perhaps, but not in any fashion that permanently undoes the social mores of the time in a real and lasting fashion."
Abstract This paper is an examination of the artwork of ancient Egypt. It looks at the paintings of ancient Egypt and explores the different messages that they hold within. Some of the themes found in these paintings include god, life after death and the actual process of dying. In many cases, the paintings are a personal history of the individual that is now preserved for future generations. The author shows how animals played an important role in their life and how many animals hold special meaning for these ancient Egyptians. The author goes into great detail about the materials used in these paintings, including the type of paints, brushes, colors, canvases and surfaces used by the Egyptians to paint these magnificent pieces of art.
From the Paper "The artwork of ancient Egypt remains a never-ending source of fascination for many living in the modern world. Painting is perhaps the most intriguing and perceptive medium of expression used by the Egyptian artisans. The subject matter, materials used, techniques, and style reflected in the paintings mirror the time period in which they are painted. The paintings produced in Egyptian antiquity are insightful windows into the culture, beliefs, and ideals of the dynamic ancient civilization."
Abstract The Nacerima society is American society as if viewed from the outside. It is a parody of the American lifestyle likened to a tribe with culture and rituals. This paper examines the Nacerima society and culture by reviewing the article ?Body Rituals Among the Nacirema,? by Horace Miner. It describes a culture based on rituals that attempt to prevent a journey towards debility and disease and analyses its norms, institutions and material goods with illustrated examples i.e. teeth brushing as a norm, the hospital as an institution and medicines as a material good.
From the Paper "Brushing of the teeth is presented as one of the norms of the culture. This is closely linked to the emphasis on health. As the author says, "The Nacirema have an almost pathological horror of and fascination with the mouth, the condition of which is believed to have a supernatural influence on all social relationships" (Miner). The author takes this to the extreme explaining that, "Were it not for the rituals of the mouth, they believe that their teeth would fall out, their gums bleed, their jaws shrink, their friends desert them, and their lovers reject them" (Miner). The most interesting thing about this presentation of teeth brushing is that it is true - the state of one's teeth is something that impacts on how someone is viewed and has social significance attached to it."
Abstract The paper describes periodontal disease as an infection of the gums and tissues that stems from gingivitis and leads to the degradation of gingival tissues and alveolar bone, resulting in tooth loss and potentially carcinogenic lesions. The paper shows that many people suffer from this disease due to genetic reasons and from bad habits that catalyze this inflammation. It shows how bad habits such as malnutrition, smoking, alcoholism, and brushing habits can all attribute to the formation of this disease.
From the Paper "At this point, the bad habits discussed this far have been minute because most people are not going to consciously think about how many vitamins, carbohydrates, or proteins they are consuming; and at the same time most people have already developed their brushing habits and are reluctant to change. The one bad habit that has its negative consequences that people are aware of is smoking. Smoking is bad for overall health, but its affect on oral health has been of significant interest to researchers within the last few years."
From the Paper "One of the recurring issues to face human beings is the problem of a good death. Through the centuries that has been variously defined and redefined to deal with a number of social, psychological, and spiritual issues. In recent times, Elisabeth Kubler Ross has set forth the parameters of a good death, noting that people generally pass through several stages, finally reaching a stage of acceptance.
However, not all people are content to allow the process of their dying to play out naturally, or to be prolonged indefinitely by an increasingly sophisticated medical establishment. Some people, because of pain, terminal illness, despair, or other causes wish to gain control of their dying and ..."
Abstract This paper discusses many forms of driver inattention on the road today. The paper states that Americans, and other drivers around the world, treat their cars like an extension of their homes: Eating, drinking, watching movies, talking on the phone, putting on make-up and even brushing their teeth in their cars, while driving. The author feels that the causes of these behaviors are our busy lifestyle, where we try to cram too much into each day.
From the Paper "Road rage is a relatively new problem to the country's drivers, and it has affected everyone who ever sits down behind the wheel. A study by the American Automobile Association's Foundation for Traffic Safety found a 51 percent increase between 1990 and 1996 in incidents of motorists behaving in an overtly hostile manner. They found that road rage has grown over 7 percent in the 90s'. "At least 1,500 men, women, and children are seriously injured or killed each year in the United States as a result of senseless traffic disputes and altercations."
Tags: driver, inattention, homes, busy, lifestyle, traffic, disputes, ban
Abstract Compares the two artists. Their contribution to the new art of 19th Century Impressionism. Contrasts the different styles of Renoir's LUNCHEON OF THE BOATING PARTY and Seurat's A SUNDAY AFTERNOON ON THE ISLAND OF LA GRANDE JATTE. Setting and subject matter of both paintings. Artistic approaches. Use of color and brush stroke.
From the Paper "Renoir and Seurat: A Comparison
Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841 - 1919) and Georges Seurat (1859 - 1891) were contemporaries whose contributions to the "new art" of the late 19th century were of enormous significance. This brief report will compare a single painting by each artist. Renoir's Luncheon of the Boating Party (1991) and Seurat's A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte (1884- 1886) were painted at roughly the same time, but the two paintings represent very different styles.
Renoir's Luncheon of the Boating Party is set in an open air restaurant on the Island of Chatou; it depicts friends of the painter amusing themselves. According to Michael Wood (p. 248), Renoir was fond of images of the happy side of human life and preferred to paint carefree, joyous subjects. He was also ..."
Abstract This paper deals with the power of images vs. the power of words. It analyzes two paintings, ?The Scream,? by Edvard Munch and Goya's "Saturn Devouring His Son", as examples of the power of images. The paper also includes copies of the paintings.
From the Paper "This piece was painted at the end of Goya's life, thus it's classification as one of his ?Black Paintings.? "In this work, Goya followed Rubens, but went far beyond his source in the expression of bestial rage" (Wilson-Bareau 53). Rubens is Peter Paul Rubens, a very famous and well-known painter from the 15-1600?s, who style was closely studied by Goya. But that term, bestial rage, sums it up very well. ?The theme of Saturn undoubtedly plays an essential role in the conception of the ?black paintings,? as a symbol of melancholy and destruction? (Gassier 318). And that is just what this painting is?pure melancholy, destruction, bestial rage, pain, suffering, and above all else, powerful enough to not need words."
Abstract This paper discusses the context in which the film "Contact's" religious theme surfaces, the pattern of ideas and events that point to the centrality of that theme and the means by which the theme is elaborated over the course of the story. The author believes, even though the film is a science-fiction adventure story, "Contact" can be interpreted as an examination of a human encounter with God as shown in both the resolution of the story line and the attributes of character informing the narrative. This paper explains that the relevance of Paul Tillich's God-concept to "Contact" is the film's use of extraterrestrial life in a modern experience as a proxy for examining the unavoidability of cosmic uncertainty and of the unsettling brush between ordinary experience and the infinite.
From the Paper "It would be a mistake to consider "Contact" merely a movie "about" religion-science conflict, though Ellie's attempts to articulate the meaning that her space-wormhole experience (and the space program's millisecond of lost radio contact) had for her put her on the verge of saying that the experience was spiritual. For her near-suggestion that the cosmos may include the hand of God, she is essentially shushed in favor of more focus on facts on one hand and accountability for the apparent failure of a very costly science project on the other. That episode is consistent with Carter's view that contemporary culture does not honor but rather trivializes religion: "one should not try to oversimplify the human mind by making religious conviction a ground for invalidating law". In "Contact", what turns out to be Ellie's discovery of a spiritual (not solely spiritual, but not merely scientific, either) connection to the cosmos is what invalidates, and her testimony before a scientific community that does not admit religion into its discourse, even though an explanation without a spiritual dimension does not cover its meaning for her."
Abstract When the camera was invented, photographers learned that they no longer needed oil paint and brushes to capture a scene or a person. On film, they could now record the life and times of the period in which they lived, either from a sense of mission or simply to leave an accurate version of their life and times for others. This paper provides an in-depth look at the lives, times and works of several photographers who captured America's history on photographic film. The paper discusses Matthew Brady who documented the realities of the American Civil War, Jacob Riis who condemned the deplorable conditions in New York City at the end of the 19th Century and the unobtrusive Dorothea Lange who photographed the plight of the American people during the Great Depression and went on to become the first woman awarded a Guggenheim fellowship. The paper also discusses the works of Walker Evans who was hired by the Resettlement Administration to photograph the Depression and Lewis Hine who educated the American public on the plight of children working under deplorable conditions.
From the Paper "The most poignant and moving photographs from Lange's trip convey a mood rather than describing circumstances or activities: a man squatting at the edge of the field, a mother and child in the tent opening, a group of men staring at the photographers. The photographs are character studies showing the textures of skin and clothing with an artist's eye and depicting posture, gesture and gaze with an ethnologist's.
When the Depression came to an end with World War II, Lange changed subjects rather than give up her documentary photography. Three months after Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Roosevelt ordered the relocation of Japanese-Americans into armed camps in the West. Soon after, the War Relocation Authority hired Lange to photograph Japanese neighborhoods, processing centers and camp facilities.
However, now Lange's feelings about what the government was doing gave her much discontent. She was not prepared to witness the disturbing racial and civil rights issues raised by Japanese internment. Lange quickly found herself at odds with her employer, the United States government."
Abstract Author John Esposito makes the important point that there is no monolithic quality in resurgent Islam, a fact which is demonstrated well by the doctrinal differences between Sunni and Shia Islam. The West applies an ethnocentric perspective of Islam and portrays the religion and culture through its own values. Moreover, the West exploits the image of terrorists and tries to label the entire Islamic community with the terrorist brush. Notwithstanding this Western ignorance, however, the fact remains that Islamic revivalism is an attempt by Muslims to stop the Westernization of their own societies; it is not a militant or aggressive movement seeking to threaten the Western world.
Abstract This piece is a paper analyzing America's military readiness in the new millennium. The author takes the stance that due to the changing world political climate, rapid advances in technology, outdated perceptions regarding how the military functions, and a lack of appropriate funding, the military is not prepared. The author cites evidence that while "brush fire" wars are the future of modern combat and that rapid technological advancement is extremely promising, the armed forces are stretched too thin and still absorbed in a Cold War mentality inadequate for addressing the new concerns brought about by these two developments. The technology also has problems of its own, problems which will need to be addressed if America is to remain the world's dominant military power.
