What are some reasons as to why a jury member would find James King guilty and Steve Harmon not guilty in the book Monster?

James King was the leading conspirator and served the primary role in the robbery and death of Aguinaldo Nesbitt. Lorelle Henry testifies that she witnessed James King get into an argument with Nesbitt before she left the store. Despite finding no fingerprints on the cash register or gun, Richard "Bobo" Evans informs the jury that he and James King went to eat chicken and split the money following the robbery. Osvaldo Cruz also admits to being intimidated by James and Bobo, which is why he chose to go along with the robbery. James King played a significant role in the crime and deserved to be found guilty of robbing and murdering Nesbitt.

Steve Harmon was an alleged accomplice in the crime. Bobo mentions that James King told him that Steve was supposed to serve as a lookout which is considered hearsay. Osvaldo Cruz also says that Steve was an active participant, but his testimony is not given serious consideration because he accepted a plea bargain. Lorelle Henry does not mention seeing Steve Harmon in the store, which is odd considering that Steve would have been in the store at that time. Steve also tells the jury that he was out looking for places to film during the robbery, and his teacher, Mr. Sawicki, testifies to Steve's upright character. In the eyes of a jury member, several criminals, two of which are accepting plea bargains, testify that Steve was an accomplice, while the only credible witness in the entire case says that she didn't see him. Steve would be found not guilty because of the lack of evidence and unreliable testimonies of Bobo and Cruz. 

Discuss movements that were inspired by the Civil Rights Movement and list one success for each group.

African-Americans contributed in a very big way during World War II. These contributions were demonstrated at home and on the battlefield. After the war, African-Americans properly felt it was time for them to achieve equality with white Americans. During the 1950's, the modern Civil Rights Movement was born and it had a number of successes (integration of the military and Brown vs. Board of Education as examples.) This success inspired other activists to demand change for their agendas. Two examples of movements inspired by the success of civil rights leaders are women's rights and environmental protection.

Feminism, or Women's Liberation as it was known in the 1960's, was inspired by the successes of the civil rights leaders. While equal pay and other feminist rights were fought for, reproductive rights was a major focus. Women gained a major success in this fight with the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion (Roe vs. Wade, 1973.)

Also inspired by civil rights activism was the Environmental Rights Movement. Motivated by the important work of Rachel Carson and her book Silent Spring, a conservation movement occurred during the 1960's. Congress was the catalyst for a number of changes in environmental policy during the 1960's. These acts included the Clear Air Act, Wilderness Act, and Endangered Species Act.

How do I write a 1-2 page book review based on the book The Giver and in the book review describe the books strengths and weaknesses?

A book review presents more than just your opinion of the book. Good book reviews do not give away too much of the plot, but provide specific examples. The review should analyze setting, characterization, style, and author’s message. You can provide an analysis of the book in which you share your opinion of its merits, but generally the book review is designed to give a person information that will help the person decide whether or not to read the book.

No book review of The Giver would be complete without mentioning that it is a dystopian novel. A dystopia is a perfect world that has gone horribly wrong. You will want to describe the setting so that people understand why the setting of the book is a dystopia. For example, the community embraces the concept of Sameness and is very restrictive. All aspects of a person’s life are controlled by the community. The community stores its collective memory in the Receiver of Memory, but no one in the community has any sense of or knowledge of history past a generation.

This setting might be interpreted as a weakness for some people who are tired of dystopian fiction. However, the book is also science fiction. The community has climate control and has eliminated color. The fact that it is never very specific about how these things are done could also be a weakness.

A good book review describes the audience the book is most appropriate for. This book has complex and sometimes mature themes, but it is not too specific. Therefore, it is solidly in the young adult genre. It is best for children ages 12 and up. Adults will also enjoy the book because they will see that it has a lot of symbolism. You might also want to mention that this book was actually one of the first dystopian novels designed for young adults.

Book reviews often quote a book. This gives the reader a sense of the way language is used. A good place to quote this book might be the description of release.

For a contributing citizen to be released from the community was a final decision, a terrible punishment, an overwhelming statement of failure. (Ch. 1)

It is best not to give away the ending, but you might want to mention that the book has a very unusual ending. The reader will be in suspense right up until the last page. This might frustrate some readers, but it generally creates interest and makes a person want to keep reading. Thus, this ending is a strength.

How did President Harry S. Truman influence the Cold War?

While some historians have suggested that the decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan was motivated by Truman's desire to check the Soviets, this is a somewhat controversial notion.  For this answer we will stick to more concrete facts.  Truman came to believe that it was in the best interests of the United States to stop the spread of communism and the influence of the Soviet Union. At the Potsdam Conference in the summer of 1945, differences in how postwar Europe surfaced between Truman and Stalin.  This is particularly true of the question of the Polish border and the shape that postwar Germany would take. After the war, Truman adopted a policy of containment that would dominate American foreign policy for the better part of four decades.  The policy stated that the United States had an interest in stopping the spread of communism to new areas.  The Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan were also American financial commitments to aid economically distressed countries in an effort to stop the spread of communism.  Harry Truman put the containment policy into action when he committed troops to South Korea in response to communist aggression on that peninsula.  

What are bones and the skeleton?

Structure and Functions

Bones are active throughout life: the 206 bones of the skeleton establish the size and proportions of the body and interact with all other organ systems. Disorders of the skeleton can have profound effects on the other organ systems and serious health consequences for the organism.

Bone, or osseous tissue, contains specialized cells and a solid, stony matrix. The unique hardened quality of the matrix results from layers of calcium salt crystals such as calcium phosphate, which is responsible for about two-thirds of a bone’s weight, and calcium carbonate. The living cells found in bone account for less than 2 percent of the total bone mass.

Despite the great strength of the calcium salts, their inflexible nature means that they can fracture when exposed to sufficiently great bending or twisting forces, or to sharp impacts. Because the calcium crystals exist as minute plates positioned on a framework of collagen protein fibers, the resulting composite structure does lend a certain degree of flexibility to the bone matrix.

Based on the internal organization of its matrix, bone is classified as either compact (dense) bone or cancellous (spongy) bone. Compact bone is internally more solid, while cancellous bone is made from bony filaments (trabeculae) whose branching interconnections form a three-dimensional network. The cavities of the cancellous bone network are filled usually by bone marrow, the primary location for blood cell formation in adults.

Both types of bone contain bone cells (osteocytes) living in small chambers called lacunae, found periodically between the plates of the matrix. Microscopic channels (canaliculi) connect neighboring lacunae and permit the exchange of nutrients and wastes between osteocytes and accessible blood vessels. Osteocytes provide the collagen fibers and the conditions for proper maintenance of the mineral crystals of the matrix.

A typical skeletal bone has a central marrow cavity that is bordered by cancellous bone. This is enclosed by compact bone, and the outer surface is covered by periosteum. Periosteum consists of a fibrous outer layer and a cellular inner layer. The periosteum plays an important part in the growth and repair of bone, and it is the attachment site for muscles. Collagen protein fibers from the periosteum interconnect with the collagen fibers of the bone.

The marrow cavity inside the bone is lined by endosteum. Endosteum is an incomplete layer covering the trabeculae of cancellous bone and contains a variety of different types of cells. The endosteum also plays important roles during bone growth and repair.

The bone matrix is not an unchanging, permanent structure. During a person's life, the bone matrix is being constantly dissolved while new matrix is synthesized and deposited. Approximately 18 percent of the protein and mineral constituents of bone are replaced each year. Such bone remodeling can result in altered bone shape or internal rearrangement of the trabeculae. It may also result in a change in the total amount of minerals stored in the skeleton. These processes of bone demineralization (osteolysis) and new bone production (osteogenesis) are precisely regulated in the healthy individual.

The type of bone cell responsible for dissolving the mineralized matrix is called an osteoclast. The cells that produce the materials that later become the bony matrix are called osteoblasts. The activities of these cells are influenced by several hormones as well as by the physical stress forces to which a bone may be exposed, such as when a particular muscle becomes stronger as the result of weight training and pulls more strongly on the bones to which it is attached. Increased stress forces on a bone result in that bone becoming thicker and stronger, thereby allowing the bone to withstand the stresses better and reducing the risks of bone fracture. When bones are not subjected to ordinary stresses, such as in persons confined to bed or in astronauts living in microgravity conditions during space flight, there is a corresponding loss of bone mass, with the unstressed bones becoming thinner and more brittle. After several weeks in an unstressed state, a bone can lose nearly a third of its mass. Following the resumption of normal loading stresses, the bone can regain its mass just as quickly.

The skeleton has five major functions: support for the body; protection of the soft tissues and organs; leverage to change the direction and size of the muscular forces; blood cell production, which occurs within the red marrow residing in the marrow cavities of many bones; and storage of both minerals (to maintain the body’s important reserves of calcium and phosphate) and fats (in yellow marrow to serve as an important energy reserve for the body).

The human skeleton contains 206 bones. These are distributed between two subdivisions of the skeleton: the axial skeleton and the appendicular skeleton. The axial skeleton contains 80 bones distributed among the skull (29 bones), the chest (25 bones), and the spinal (vertebral) column (26 bones). The remaining 126 bones are found in the appendicular skeleton’s components: 4 bones in the shoulder (pectoral) girdles, 60 bones in the arms (including the 54 bones located in both of the hands and wrists), 2 bones in the hip (pelvic) girdle, and 60 bones in the legs (including the 52 bones found in the ankles and feet).

Skeletal bones are classified according to their shape. Long bones occur in the upper arm, the forearm, the thigh, the lower leg, the palm, the fingers, the sole of the foot, and the toes. Short bones are cuboid in shape and are found in the wrist and the ankle. Flat bones form the top of the skull, the shoulder blade, the breastbone, and the ribs. Sesamoid bones are typically small, round, and flat. They are found near some joints, such as the kneecap on the front of the knee joint. Irregular bones have shapes that are difficult to describe because of their complexity. Examples of irregular bones are found in the spinal column and the skull.

Learning to name the bones solely by their appearance is made somewhat easier by the fact that each one has a definitive form and distinctive surface features. The places where blood vessels and nerves enter into a bone, or lie along its surface, are commonly discernible as indentations, grooves, or holes. The locations where muscles are connected to bones by tendons, or where a bone is tethered to another bone by ligaments, are often clearly visible as elevations, projections, or ridges of bony matrix, or as roughened areas on the surface of the bone. Finally, the areas of the bone that are involved in forming joints (articulations) with other bones have characteristic shapes that impart particular properties to the joint. Various specialized terms are used to name these features.

Articulations are found wherever one bone meets another. The amount of motion permitted between the bones forming an articulation ranges from none (for example, between the skull bones) to considerable (as at the shoulder joint). The anatomy of the joint determines its functional capability, and the parts of the bones that form the joint have distinctive structural features.

Disorders and Diseases

Among the disorders of the skeleton, a number of them occur during the growth and development of the bones. The problems usually result in abnormal (most often decreased) stature or abnormal shape of the bones. The aberrations may alter the entire skeleton or be restricted to a portion of it. The basis of the pathology is to be found in a disruption of the normal, orderly sequence of events that take place during the growth and remodeling of the bones.

Osteopetrosis belongs to this class of disturbance. It is an inherited condition in which abnormal remodeling results in increased bone density. This seems to result from a reduced level of activity by the cells responsible for dissolving the bone matrix—the osteoclasts. In healthy, normal individuals, there is a precisely regulated relationship between osteoclast and osteoblast activity. Depending on the current needs of the body, or merely those of a single bone, the rate of bone matrix formation by osteoblasts may be greater than, equal to, or less than the rate of bone resorption by osteoclasts.

Osteoclasts are derived from cells that are made in the bone marrow. For this reason, bone marrow transplantation
has been tried as a treatment for osteopetrosis; however, this approach is risky and not always successful. There has also been improvement in the condition of some osteopetrosis patients following treatment with a hormone related to vitamin D. This particular hormone can increase bone resorption and thereby may prevent the increase in bone density that characterizes this condition.

Another member of this category of disturbance is congenital hypothyroidism.
The basic problem in this condition is underactivity of the thyroid gland during the development of the fetus, resulting in a decrease in the production of thyroid hormones in the fetus. This condition can be caused by an insufficient supply of the element iodine in the pregnant mother, or it may result from inherited errors in the production of the thyroid hormones.

Among the organ systems seriously affected by this condition is the skeleton. The bones do not develop correctly; consequently, the bones are shorter and thicker than normal, with corresponding changes in the appearance of the child. Early diagnosis of the condition and timely treatment with drug forms of the thyroid hormones can halt the disease. Otherwise, the adult skeleton has stubby arms and legs, a somewhat flattened face, and disproportionately large chest and head.

A disorder of the pituitary gland can result in skeletal development abnormalities that are opposite to those observed in congenital hypothyroidism: namely, excessive growth in the length of bones. This condition is called giantism (or gigantism) and results from the overproduction of growth hormone by the pituitary gland before normal adult stature has been achieved. The most common cause of this situation is a tumor in the pituitary gland. Cases are known of people attaining heights of more than eight feet tall. Unfortunately, because of complications involving other organ systems as a result of the excessive production of growth hormone, the persons suffering from this disorder usually die before the age of thirty.

Surgical removal of the pituitary tumor is often attempted. If the tumor is successfully removed, then the overproduction of growth hormone will be stopped. In other cases, radiation treatments are used to destroy the tumor. It is also possible to combine both of these treatment techniques. Drug therapy is also possible. Because of the high doses necessary and the accompanying side effects of high drug dosages, however, the reduction of growth hormone levels through drug treatment is usually applied only in conjunction with one or both of the other therapies.

There are also disorders that afflict adult bone. Most of the remodeling disorders involve a loss of bone mass. The group of disorders known as osteoporosis (porous bone) is a rather common example; according to the International Osteoporosis Foundation, by 2013, osteoporosis affected more than 200 million people worldwide. The reduction in bone mass is sufficient to result in increased fragility and ease of breakage. There is also slower healing of bone fractures. In advanced cases, bones have been known to break when the person sneezes or simply rolls over in bed.

Loss of bone mass is a normal feature of aging, becoming quite marked after the age of seventy-five, particularly in the hip and leg bones. Because of the normal decrease in bone mass with aging, there is not a clear distinction to be made between normal, age-related skeletal changes and the clinical condition of osteoporosis. The occurrence of excessive fragility at a relatively early age is an indication that osteoporosis is developing. Normally, between the ages of thirty and forty, the activity of the osteoblast cells (those that form bone matrix) begins to decrease while the osteoclast cells (those that dissolve the matrix) maintain their previous level of activity. This results in the loss of about 8 percent of the total bone mass each decade for women and about 3 percent for men. Because of unequal loss in the different regions of the skeleton, the outcome is a gradual reduction in height, the loss of teeth, and the development of fragile limbs.

Osteoporotic bones are indistinguishable from normal bones with respect to their bone composition. The problem is simply too little of the strength-imparting matrix, with both compact and spongy bone being affected.

There are multiple causes of osteoporosis. Some cases have no known cause (idiopathic osteoporosis), some are inherited, and others are brought about as a result of hormonal (endocrine) disorders, vitamin or mineral deficiency, or effects of the long-term use of certain drugs.

The fact that women are more often affected than men, and that the process is most conspicuous in women beyond the age of the menopause, has implicated the female sex hormones (and, specifically, their decreased production) in the initiation of the osteoporotic process. One form of therapy is the administration of certain female sex hormones (specifically estrogens) to postmenopausal women (who have decreased production of estrogens). This treatment slows their loss of bone mass. While hormone therapy has been the mainstay of osteoporosis treatment for many years, controversy regarding the risks of hormone therapy has caused many women to stop using this treatment altogether. In 2002, two major studies found that the risks associated with hormone therapy outweigh the benefits. Following these studies, doctors began to look closer at the roles that high-impact exercise and the use of calcium and vitamin D play in decreasing bone density loss.

Other treatments of osteoporosis include administering the hormone calcitonin and increasing the dietary intake of the mineral calcium. The hormone calcitonin, produced by the thyroid gland, is sometimes used to treat osteoporosis because it stimulates the production of bone matrix by increasing the activity of the osteoblasts. At the same time, calcitonin inhibits the breakdown of bone by decreasing the activity of osteoclasts. Although this treatment theoretically should produce the desired result of preventing the accelerated loss of bone mass characteristic of osteoporosis, actual clinical results are not always positive.

For those cases of osteoporosis that are the result of endocrine gland disturbances, the appropriate treatment depends on the specific glandular disorder that is present. In some instances, hormone therapy can produce improvement in the patient’s condition.

Regular exercise is a means both of preventing the onset of osteoporosis and of slowing its progression. Because muscular activity is critical for the maintenance of bone mass, extended periods of inactivity or immobilization can actually induce osteoporosis. For women, it is known that the amount and regularity of their exercise during the teenage years is strongly associated with their chances of developing osteoporosis thirty and more years later. The exercise need only be of moderate intensity in order to decrease significantly the risk of developing osteoporosis. Indeed, exercise that is at a level of intensity so high that it interferes with the normal female menstrual cycle (stopping the occurrence of menstruation completely or causing irregular cycle lengths) can actually increase the risk of developing osteoporosis later in life.

Perspective and Prospects

One of bone's primary functions is the protection of softer, more vulnerable tissues and organs. The physical properties of bone—it is as strong as cast iron but only weighs as much as an equally large piece of pine wood—make it ideally suited for this job. This combination of strength and lightness derives from the bony matrix of mineral crystals and the architecture of the bone, which unites compact and spongy bone.

The physical and chemical properties of the mineral crystals also result in the permanency of bone following death. Often the only trace of a dead body is the skeleton. Because of the resistance of bone to the processes of decomposition that befall the other tissues of the body following death, investigators are often able to determine the sex of the person whose skeleton has been found even though all other tissues have long since disappeared. This is possible because of the characteristic differences between male and female adult skeletons. Racial differences in the detailed structure of the skull and pelvis, age-related changes in the skeleton, signs of healed bone fractures, and the prominence of ridges where muscles attach (giving clues about the degree of muscular development) are also valuable sources of information when attempting to identify skeletal remains.

The sexual differences in the human skeleton are most obvious in the adult pelvis. These are genetically determined differences that are structural adaptations for childbearing. For example, the pelvis is smoother and wider in the female than in the male. Other differences include a lighter and smoother female skull, a more sloping male forehead, a larger and heavier male jawbone, and generally heavier male bones that also typically possess more prominent markings.

Among the common age-related changes found in skeletons are a general reduction in the mineral content and less prominent bone markings, both of which become more obvious after about age fifty. Various bones in the skull fuse together at characteristic ages ranging from one to thirty years of age. Other bones throughout the body can also be examined to achieve more accurate estimates of the age of a skeleton at the time of death.

Another consequence of the permanent nature of bone is that it provides a record of the changes in the skeletal anatomy of humans that have occurred during the hundreds of thousands of years of human evolution. Expert examination of skeletal remains can actually reveal an amazing wealth of information concerning the health and even the lifestyle of the deceased.

Bibliography

Ballard, Carol. Bones. Chicago: Heinemann Library, 2002.

Currey, John D. Bones: Structures and Mechanics. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2002.

International Osteoporosis Foundation. "Facts and Statistics." International Osteoporosis Foundation, 2013.

Joyce, Christopher, and Eric Stover. Witnesses from the Grave: The Stories Bones Tell. Boston: Little, Brown, 1991.

KidsHealth. "Bones, Muscles, and Joints." Nemours Foundation, 2013.

Marieb, Elaine N., and Katja Hoehn. Human Anatomy and Physiology. 9th ed. San Francisco: Pearson/Benjamin Cummings, 2010.

NIH Osteoporosis and Related Bone Diseases National Resource Center. "Bone Health for Life." National Institutes of Health, November 2011.

OrthoInfo. "Bone Health Basics." American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, May 2012.

Seeley, Rod R., Trent D. Stephens, and Philip Tate. Anatomy and Physiology. 7th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2006..

Van De Graaff, Kent M., and Stuart Ira Fox. Concepts of Human Anatomy and Physiology. 5th ed. Dubuque: Iowa: Wm. C. Brown, 2000.

What are two reasons that explain how Macbeth is in control of his own life?

Macbeth is in control of his own life because even though he received prophecies, he is the one who chose to act on them.

Macbeth is definitely influenced by others. The witches made prophecies that he would be Thane of Cawdor and king. He could have ignored them, as Banquo did. Instead he chose to tell his wife about them. She then encouraged him to pursue the opportunity, even if it meant killing the king.

When Macbeth found out that Malcolm was named the king’s heir, he was upset. He made a comment in an aside, which reinforces the fact that Macbeth wants to be king no matter what. It demonstrates his anger at being passed over, and his ambitions.

[Aside] The Prince of Cumberland! that is a step On which I must fall down, or else o'erleap, For in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires … (Act 1, Scene 4)

Macbeth chose to act on what the witches told him. He did have a hard time making up his mind. His wife was more strongly in favor of the idea. Yet, Macbeth listened to her and chose to follow her lead. When he suggested that it might not work, she told him he just needed to be strong enough.

MACBETH If we should fail?

LADY MACBETH We fail! But screw your courage to the sticking-place, And we'll not fail. (Act 1, Scene 7)

Lady Macbeth was persuasive, but it was Macbeth who eventually made the choice. More importantly, once he was king he stopped listening to anyone. He was the one who chose to kill Banquo and Macduff's family. Once king, he was desperate to remain king.

For the second set of prophecies, Macbeth was convinced that they were unrealistic and contradictory. How could a forest come for him? How could he be not harmed by man born of woman, but still beware Macduff? How could Banquo’s sons be king, if he killed him? He did not kill Fleance, Banquo’s son. Malcolm brought the forest to Macbeth’s door. Macduff turned out to not technically be born of woman. Yet it was Macbeth’s reliance on prophecy that muddled everything and made his reign unsuccessful.

What does Mr Ewell say about Tom Robinson's death in To Kill a Mockingbird?

Bob Ewell says that Tom Robinson’s death is the first of many he would like to see. 

Bob Ewell hates Tom Robinson for ruining his reputation.  Even though he ruined Tom Robinson’s life by accusing him of raping his daughter Mayella, Ewell feels that he is the injured party.  Atticus made a fool of him at the trial, proving that no rape occurred and that Ewell was abusing his daughter.  Ewell wanted revenge on Robinson and Atticus. 

Bob Ewell spit in Atticus’s face and threatened him.  Atticus did not respond to this.  He did not feel that Ewell was a threat.  He thought he was all talk.  Miss Stephanie Crawford repeated Bob Ewell’s reaction to Tom Robinson’s death to Scout and Jem. 

Mr. Ewell said it made one down and about two more to go. Jem told me not to be afraid, Mr. Ewell was more hot gas than anything. Jem also told me that if I breathed a word to Atticus, if in any way I let Atticus know I knew, Jem would personally never speak to me again. (Ch. 25) 

Jem clearly does not want Atticus to worry.  Yet Jem and Scout are concerned that Bob Ewell may actually be dangerous.

Tom Robinson committed “suicide by cop” by trying to escape from prison.  He tried to climb over the fence, and was shot by the prison guards.  Atticus was devastated, because he had tried to convince Robinson that even though he was convicted in Maycomb he had a chance on appeal.  Robinson was not interested in taking his chances with the legal system again. 

“If he loses his appeal,” I asked one evening, “what’ll happen to him?”
“He’ll go to the chair,” said Atticus, “unless the Governor commutes his sentence.
Not time to worry yet, Scout. We’ve got a good chance.” (Ch. 23)

Bob Ewell clearly feels that he wants revenge on more people, but who is he talking about?  Judging by his next move, it seems that the “two more” were Scout and Jem Finch. Apparently Ewell did not feel that he could take on Atticus, so he went after his children.  Atticus was right—Bob Ewell was a coward.  Fortunately for them, Boo Radley rescued them and killed Ewell.

How did Florence Nightingale become famous?

Florence Nightingale, who lived from 1820 to 1910, was a statistician and the founder of modern nursing practice. Many people know of her as, "The Lady With the Lamp," as she would carry a lamp while making nighttime rounds to tend to wounded soldiers. Several works of art depicting such a scene have been created, popularizing her image to this day. During the Crimean War, Nightingale worked in Turkey as a manager of British nurses. Nightingale had arrived to find the medical care for soldiers in a terrible state. She totally restructured the medical care being offered there, establishing very high standards of bodily and mental care. Her reforms and precise record-keeping helped lower the mortality rates dramatically, and it is for this that she was upheld as a hero of Victorian society. 

After her work in Turkey, Florence founded the first secular school of nursing in London. Nurses trained here learned to follow Nightingale's rigorous and organized methods. She also published several books on nursing, but in her later life was quite poor due to an illness she contracted during the Crimean War.

What is the book Maus by Art Spiegelman about? Who is the hero in the book?

Maus is about Vladek Spiegelman's life and survival of the Holocaust. Since the story is mostly about Vladek, he is the protagonist. The story is told in the format of a graphic novel, which is written and illustrated by Vladek's son, Artie. It chronicles Vladek's journey from bachelorhood to marrying into a wealthy Jewish family, and then through the horrors of World War II and concentration camps. Vladek and his wife Anja have a son named Richieu who doesn't make it through the war because the woman they send him to for protection eventually poisons him in order to avoid going to a concentration camp.

Artie writes himself into the tale and shows how difficult it was for him growing up with Holocaust survivors for parents. The traumatic effects of the way Jews were treated during World War II never leave his parents, even after they arrive in the United States. Unfortunately, Artie's mother commits suicide in 1968 because she was never able to fully recover from her experiences and adapt to life after the Holocaust. Even worse, Vladek destroys his wife's diaries after her death, so Artie does not have his mother's perspective to draw from when writing the book.

The most unique quality of Maus is that Spiegelman draws Jews as mice, Nazis as cats, Poles as pigs, and Americans as dogs. The animal images symbolize the different roles all of these nations take during the war. For the most part the images of Jews drawn as mice help to drive home the message about how they were treated and how they felt in relation to their Nazi enemies. Not only did anti-Jewish propaganda depicting Jews as rats surface before the war, but these people were treated like rats. Jews had to survive by hiding, running, and rummaging for scraps due to the Nazi anti-Jewish agenda, just like mice or rats.

What are environmental diseases?

Causes and Symptoms

The modern word “miasma” comes from the Greek miasma or miainein, meaning “pollution” or “to pollute.” Before scientific theories of disease became entrenched in medical practice, miasma was used to connote bad environments in which human exposure led to various diseases. Even today, one of the most devastating human diseases, malaria, draws its name from references to “bad air.” There is clearly a rich historical record of human recognition of the intimate connection between environmental quality and diseases. It is now known that serious human diseases are caused by numerous chemical, physical, and biological agents (risk factors) that occur naturally or as a result of human actions that modify the environment. In fact, the more that is learned about disease etiology, the more the complex interplay between environmental conditions and root causes of diseases within the body are recognized. Furthermore, some people are more sensitive to environmental risk factors because of their age, sex, occupation, culture, or genetic characteristics.

Environmental diseases are those illnesses for which cause and effect can be reasonably associated through epidemiological studies, preferably verified through laboratory experiments. Therefore, the recognition of environmental diseases draws upon two traditional postulates regarding causation in the study of human diseases, one ascribed to Robert Koch
(1843–1910) and the other ascribed to Austin Bradford Hill (1897–1991). The more important set of guidelines for environmental diseases is generally known in epidemiology as Hill’s criteria of causation, based on his landmark 1965 publication entitled “The Environment and Disease: Association or Causation?” Hill warned that cause-effect decisions should not be based on a set of rules. Instead, he supported the view that cost-benefit analysis is essential for policy decisions on controlling environmental quality in order to avoid diseases. It is arguable that Hill’s treatise initiated current trends characterized by the precautionary principle in environmental health
science. Nevertheless, Hill’s nine viewpoints for exploring the relationship between environment and disease are worth emphasizing. They are precedence, correlation, dose-response relationship, consistency, plausibility, alternatives, empiricism, specificity, and coherence.

According to the precedence viewpoint, exposure must always precede the outcome in every case of the environmental disease. One of the most famous examples here is the classic epidemiological study of John Snow (1813–58) on the spread of cholera
and its association with exposure to contaminated water in the densely populated city of London.

According to the correlation viewpoint, a strong association or correlation should exist between the exposure and the incidence of the environmental disease. The clustering of diseases within neighborhoods or among workers at a specific occupation is frequently the beginning of investigations into environmental diseases. Clusters can provide strong evidence of correlations. Bernardino Ramazinni (1633–1714), considered by many to be one of the founders of the discipline of occupational and environmental health sciences, published his treatise De Morbis Artificum in 1700 following critical observations regarding the correlation between environmental exposures of and diseases in workers.

According to the dose-response viewpoint, the relationship between exposure and the severity of environmental disease should be characterized by a dose-response relationship, in which an increase in the intensity and/or duration of exposure produces a more severe disease outcome. “The dose makes the poison” is one of the central tenets of environmental toxicology. This phrase is attributed to Paracelsus (1493–1541). This tenet has proven difficult to interpret for formulating health policy in the case of environmental diseases because the variation in human genetics and physiology means that, in many situations, a single threshold of toxicity cannot be established as safe for every person. Exposure to ionizing radiation
is an example of a situation in which it is difficult to establish dose-response relationships that are useful for setting uniformly applicable preventive health policy.

According to the consistency viewpoint, there should be consistent findings in different populations, across different studies, and at different times regarding the association between exposure and environmental disease. This means that the relationship should be reproducible. For example, exposure of people to mercury across civilizations, occupations, and age groups has been consistently associated with certain health effects that allowed the recognition of the special hazards posed by this toxic metal. Mercury was used in various manufacturing processes for several centuries, and where precautions are not taken to prevent human exposure, disease invariably results.

Consistency should cut across not only generations but also occupations and different doses of exposure. For example, “mad hatter’s” disease was associated with the use of mercury in the production of fur felt, in which mercurous nitrate was used to add texture to smooth fibers such as rabbit fur to facilitate matting (the process is called "carroting" because of the resulting orange color). More recently, the exposure of pregnant women to fish contaminated with methyl mercury from industrial sources in Japan produced developmental diseases in fetuses. The societal repercussions of the so-called Minamata Bay disease are still not completely settled after more than fifty years. Mercury is now widely recognized as a cumulative toxicant with systemic effects and organ damage, with symptoms including trembling, dental problems, blindness, ataxia, depression, and anxiety.

According to the plausibility viewpoint, compelling evidence of “biological plausibility” should exist that a physiological pathway leads from exposure to a specific environmental risk factor to the development of a specific environmental disease. This does not exclude the possibility of multiple causes, some acquired through environmental exposures and others through genetic processes. For example, lead poisoning
has been recognized since the 1950s as a pervasive and devastating environmental disease. The symptoms of lead poisoning vary, from specific organ effects, such as kidney disease, to systemic effects, such as anemia, and to cognitive effects, such as intelligence quotient (IQ) deficiency. How a single environmental toxicant can produce such wide-ranging diseases was a puzzle until the molecular mechanisms underpinning lead poisoning and the pharmacokinetic distribution of lead in the human body was understood. Lead is temporarily stored in the blood, where it binds to a key
enzyme, aminolevulinate dehydratase, which participates in the synthesis of heme. The by-products of that reaction produce anemia and organ effects, including kidney and brain diseases. Long-term storage of lead in the body occurs in bony tissue, where other effects are possible. These biological understandings have helped activists and scientists agitate for environmental policy to reduce lead exposure worldwide.

According to the alternatives viewpoint, alternative explanations for the development of diseases should be considered alongside the plausible environmental causes. These alternative explanations should be ruled out before conclusions are reached about causal relationships between environmental exposures and disease. For example, the typically low doses to which populations are exposed to pesticides and the long time period between exposure and the typical chronic disease outcomes, such as cancers and neurodegenerative disorders, make it difficult to reconstruct the disease pathways and pinpoint causative agents. This is where it is important to consider all alternatives and to eliminate them before compelling arguments can be made about the effects of pesticide toxicity. Sometimes observing wildlife response to environmental risk factors help narrow down alternative explanations, as Rachel Carson taught in her timeless book
Silent Spring
(1962).

According to the empiricism viewpoint, the course of environmental disease should be alterable by appropriate intervention strategies verifiable through experimentation. In other words, the disease can be preventable or curable following manipulation of the environment and/or human physiology. For acute exposures, the emergency response is to eliminate the source of exposure. However, this is not always possible in cases where patients are unconscious or otherwise unable to articulate clearly the source of exposure, as is the case for many children. Nevertheless, standardized procedures exist for responding to environmental exposure beyond eliminating the source. For example, therapy based on chelation (from the Greek chele, meaning “claw”) works for toxic metal
exposure because the mode of action of the therapeutic agent, ethylene diamine tetra-acetic acid (EDTA), is well understood. It is possible to establish empirically the relative effectiveness of EDTA in dealing with various forms of toxic metal exposures. For example, under normal physiological conditions, EDTA binds metals in the following order: iron (ferric ion), mercury, copper, aluminum, nickel, lead, cobalt, zinc, iron (ferrous ion), cadmium, manganese, magnesium, and calcium. Based on this information, it is possible to design therapeutic processes that minimize adverse side effects.

According to the specificity viewpoint, when an environmental disease is associated with only one environmental agent, the relationship between exposure and environmental disease is said to be specific. This strengthens the argument for causality, but this situation is extremely rare. For example, the rarity of mesothelioma, a lung disease that afflicts people who have been exposed to asbestos fibers, made it possible to use epidemiological evidence quickly to support policy in restricting the use of asbestos in commercial products and to protect employees from occupational exposures.

The recognition of new diseases often leads to speculation about causative agents or conditions. Occasionally, new ideas about causation challenge orthodox theories. According to the coherence viewpoint, it is important to conduct a rigorous assessment of coherence with existing information and scientific ideas before such causes are accepted in the case of environmental diseases. For example, the origin of neurodegenerative diseases associated with exposure to prion
protein remains mysterious, and some environmental causes have been proposed, including exposure to toxic metal ions. Another example is the current concern with the introduction of nanoparticles into commercial products, with concomitant environmental dissemination. Although much has been learned from an understanding of the human health effects of respirable particulate matter, researchers should be sufficiently open-minded to the possibility that nanoparticles will behave differently in the environment and in the human body.

Hill’s nine viewpoints were presented in the context of pitfalls associated with overreliance on statistical tests of “significance” as a justification to base health policy on epidemiological observations. Hill’s viewpoints have been debated extensively, and it is worth noting the following caveats presented in the 2004 article “The Missed Lessons of Sir Austin Bradford Hill,” by Carl V. Phillips and Karen J. Goodman: statistical significance should not be mistaken for evidence of substantial association; association does not prove causation; precision should not be mistaken for validity; evidence that a causal relationship exists is not sufficient to suggest that action should be taken; and uncertainty about causation or association is not sufficient to suggest that action should not be taken.

The second set of guidelines regarding causality derives from what is generally known as Koch’s postulates, but it is perhaps only useful for precautionary approaches to proactive assessment of potential health impacts of new agents about to be introduced into the environment. This approach complements the epidemiology-based inferences described by Hill, but further refinement is warranted to deal with complicated issues such as interactions between multiple environmental agents, which could have additive, neutral, or canceling effects. The question of dose is also difficult to subject to simple conclusions because of phenomena such as hormesis, in which small doses may show beneficial effects.

For environmental diseases, a modified version of Koch’s postulates can be expressed as follows. First, exposure to an environmental agent must be demonstrable in all organisms suffering from the disease but not in healthy organisms (assuming predisposition factors). Second, the identity, concentrations in different environmental and physiological compartments, and transformation pathways of the agent must be known as much as possible. Third, the agent should cause disease when introduced into healthy organisms. Fourth, biomarkers showing modification of the physiological target affected by the environmental agent must be observable in experimentally exposed organisms.

Carson, Rachel. Silent Spring. 50th anniversary ed. London: Penguin Classics, 2012.

"Health Effects of Exposure to Substances and Carcinogens." Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, March 3, 2011.

Hill, Austin Bradford. “The Environment and Disease: Association or Causation?” Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine 58 (1965): 295–300.

McMichael, Tony. Human Frontiers, Environments, and Disease. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003.

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). "Environmental Diseases from A to Z." 2d ed. Research Triangle Park, N.C.: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, June 2007.

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). "Advancing Science, Improving Health: A Plan for Environmental Health Research—2012–2017 Strategic Plan." Research Triangle Park, N.C.: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, 2012.

National Toxicology Program.Report on Carcinogens. 12th ed. Research Triangle Park, N.C.: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, 2011.

Phillips, Carl V., and Karen J. Goodman. “The Missed Lessons of Sir Austin Bradford Hill.” Epidemiologic Perspectives and Innovations 1, no. 3 (October 4, 2004). http://www.epi-perspectives.com/content/1/1/3.

Pruss-Ustun, A., and C. Corvalan, eds. Preventing Disease Through Healthy Environments: Towards an Estimate of the Environmental Burden of Disease. Geneva: World Health Organization, 2006.

Solomon, Gina, Oladele A. Ogunseitan, and Jan Kirsch. Pesticides and Human Health: A Resource for Health Care Professionals. San Francisco: Physicians for Social Responsibility, 2000.

What does "ni***r-lover" mean to residents of Maycomb? Why is it such a powerful insult?

One person who uses "ni***r-lover" a lot is Mrs. Dubose in chapter 11. However Cecil Jacobs, Scout's cousin Francis, and Bob Ewell also use other derivations of the insult to cause psychological and emotional harm towards others of their own race. Apparently, the social status quo for living in Maycomb seems to divide people by racial lines; so, a person who uses the N-word towards another white person intends for it to sting with intense disapproval for having crossed those lines. If a white person uses the N-word towards an African American, it is used to show racial, social and political dominance. There is nothing more offensive to white people in Maycomb than to see anyone crossing those pre-determined racial lines. White people want to maintain their dominance and control over how life is governed in their town (which symbolizes every other town in the South at that time, too). As a result, they throw out different uses of the N-word to intimidate others to step back into line with their way of life. Atticus has a couple of things to say about people using these words. First, when he is talking to his brother Jack about the Tom Robinson case, he says the following:

"You know what's going to happen as well as I do, Jack, and I hope and pray I can get Jem and Scout through it without bitterness, and most of all, without catching Maycomb's usual disease. Why reasonable people go stark raving mad when anything involving a Negro comes up, is something I don't pretend to understand" (88).

Here Atticus basically says that reasonable people go crazy when those racial lines are threatened and he doesn't understand it. When Scout asks him about people calling him a "ni****-lover," like Mrs. Dubose, he tells her the following:

"Scout. . . ni****-lover is just one of those terms that don't mean anything--like snot-nose. . . ignorant, trashy people use it when they think somebody's favoring Negroes over and above themselves. It's slipped into usage with some people like ourselves, when they want a common, ugly term to label somebody. . . baby, it's never an insult to be called what somebody thinks is a bad name. It just shows you how poor that person is, it doesn't hurt you" (108).

With this passage, Atticus is trying to calm his daughter down about people verbally attacking him. The N-word is serious, but he teaches her not to take what other people say so hard because it really reflects who they are inside.

What is the history of epidemics and pandemics?

Definition

Although the definitions of the terms “epidemic” and “pandemic” remain inexact, authorities mostly agree that the difference between the two words is subtle and hinges on the geographical scale of the disease and the number of populations afflicted. Generally, an epidemic is a frequent, severe, and widespread outbreak of a specific disease, whereas a pandemic is a recurring epidemic that affects a very large area of the world.

Epidemics Before the Seventeenth Century

Civilization’s earliest written records periodically include accounts of devastating epidemics of unknown origin, epidemics that killed huge numbers of people and left behind disruption and despair. In 430 BCE, the city of Athens, Greece, was faced with a four-year epidemic known as the plague of Athens that appeared during the Peloponnesian War and reduced the Athenian population by 30 to 35 percent. Greek historian Thucydides, afflicted by a then-unknown disease, described its effects upon people, suggesting that it was not bubonic plague but, more likely, smallpox. Thought to have originated in Africa, smallpox was unknown to Athenians; consequently, Athens was likely a virgin-soil area.

Although by the fifth century BCE in ancient Rome, malaria was endemic to certain low lying areas, reaching epidemic proportions during late summer and fall, no evidence suggests how it affected the population. However, a series of epidemics swept through the Roman Empire, one of the most deadly being the plague of the Antonines, which struck Rome in 166 CE and lasted about fifteen years. The famous Greco-Roman physician Galen, who lived during this time, recorded descriptions of those stricken that imply the disease was smallpox. Estimates of this disaster (from nineteenth and early twentieth century writings) insist that one-half the Roman Empire population died, but later research suggests a loss of 10 percent of the population.

In the eighth century, smallpox epidemics ravaged Japan, and attacks of
leprosy (Hansen’s disease) in Europe between 1000 and about
1350 led to the construction of institutions for isolating lepers. Thought by
medieval Christians to be divine punishment for sin, and by physicians to reflect
an imbalance in the four humours (blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile) that
are believed to inhabit the body, ideas about leprosy were influenced by medieval
attitudes. People of the time believed that epidemics resulted from God’s anger,
especially the deadly epidemic known as French disease, or syphilis,
which was spread through Europe by soldiers. Pustules appeared on infected bodies,
which soon seemed to rot. Response to this disease included the first prepared and
marketed remedy: mercuric ointment.

The encroachment of French disease into virgin-soil areas of Europe also was
similar to the vast sixteenth century American epidemics originating with Spanish
explorers and slaves who unwittingly spread microorganisms among the indigenous
peoples (who had no previous exposure). Spreading from the Caribbean region to
Mexico, in about 1520, smallpox took a huge toll on the Aztecs, on the peoples of
Panama, and on the Incas in South America, therefore reducing the indigenous
resistance to the Spanish conquerors. The later part of the century saw renewed
outbreaks of smallpox, measles, and typhus.

Epidemics: Seventeenth to Twenty-first Centuries

Few methods of disease exposure were more effective than war, particularly the Thirty Years’ War, which involved vast numbers of people in a large area of central Europe. Most battles raged through the Germanic areas, with many areas losing one-half their populations between 1618 and 1648. This century’s battles illustrated the interaction between war and epidemic disease that characterized armies in centuries to come. Wars carried diseases of influenza, typhus, and plague, yet, war’s chaos prevented any response to the diseases.

Also in the seventeenth century, a sequence of disasters, including famines,
floods, and epidemics that may have involved several different diseases (such as
typhus, typhoid
fever, malaria, dysentery, and bubonic and pneumatic
plague), ravaged China between 1635 and 1644. Much conjecture pertains to the
political implications of the losses of populations in certain areas and to
whether the crop failures associated with disasters contributed to dietary
deficiencies in a population more likely to succumb to disease.

In its devastation of huge areas of the world, smallpox attacked Iceland between 1707 and 1709, claiming the lives of one-quarter of the population. In 1721, Boston fell victim to a smallpox epidemic, leading to controversy between religion and science with regard to inoculation. The argument concerning inoculation continued during the eighteenth century smallpox rampage through European cities, with children being the most susceptible to the disease.

A severe late-eighteenth century epidemic of yellow fever
thwarted the efforts of British soldiers trying to take over Saint Domingue (now
Haiti) and ultimately facilitated the island’s bid for independence by its former
slaves. Another yellow fever epidemic farther north afflicted Philadelphia and was
possibly caused by fleeing Haitian refugees. As the capital of the new United
States, Philadelphia’s wresting with a deadly epidemic led to limitless political
speculation. In 1853, yellow fever struck New Orleans, a site of frequent
outbreaks, with its worst epidemic, leading to one-half of the recorded deaths in
that city in 1853.

In 1916, the United States sustained the world’s first major poliomyelitis epidemic, in the environs of New York City, striking mostly young children. Twenty-seven thousand Americans were afflicted by poliomyelitis and six thousand died from the disease. This epidemic initiated hysteria about poliomyelitis, whose numbers rose drastically between 1945 and 1955, and then declined spectacularly. In the 1980s, the number of diagnosed AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) cases in the United States reached more than 160,000, soon declining significantly. Tuberculosis, sometimes connected with AIDS, is one of the most prevalent diseases in the world, as is malaria, whose death toll in the twentieth century varies between one and two million cases, most of these in Africa.

An epidemic of Ebola, with its first officially recorded case occurring in March 2014, was eventually sourced to an initial case in a small village in Guinea in late 2013. Over the following year, outbreaks of the virus began occurring rapidly in other West African countries, including Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Nigeria, resulting in the largest Ebola epidemic in history. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), by late 2015, the epidemic had led to the deaths of more than eleven thousand people, and the first case had been declared in the United States shortly after a Liberian man had flown to the country to visit family in September 2014. After worldwide panic, the WHO had finally declared Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea free of Ebola by the end of 2015.

Pandemics: Plague and Cholera

The first plague pandemic began spreading from obscure origins in 540 BCE, moving through the Roman Empire into Asia in waves of disease for two hundred years. Although modern estimates of mortality vary widely, descriptions of those afflicted verify that the disease was bubonic plague. Thought to be sent by a vengeful God, the plague prompted changes in populations hitherto discussed only speculatively; however, recent archaeological discoveries have suggested more indirect answers.

The second plague pandemic began with the Black Death that originated in 1346 in southern Russia and spread, following trade routes, to the most densely populated areas in Europe, destroying more than one-third of its population by 1353. As the Black Death began to wane, other random but widespread outbreaks occurred in the next four hundred years, targeting Italian cities in the 1630s, London in 1665, Marseilles in 1721–22, and Moscow in 1771; it remained in northern Africa until 1844. Before the second plague pandemic was extinguished in Asia, another disease site took hold in China that would expand into the third plague pandemic. This third plague pandemic continued in Asia and then into Africa and the United States in the twentieth century. An estimated thirteen million people perished in the third plague pandemic, with most deaths between 1894 and 1912.

All seven cholera pandemics that afflicted vast areas of the world began in Bengal, India, in the Ganges River delta, where cholera had long been endemic. The first pandemic began in Calcutta in 1817 and spread into Thailand, the Philippines, Asia, Japan, the Persian Gulf, Syria, and Persia; by 1823, it had spread to the Russian Empire. The second cholera pandemic spread from Bengal in 1827 into Russia and continued westward to, for the first time, Europe and North America in 1832. Americans were suspicious of the immigrant poor, while many Parisians believed the cholera pandemic was an elitist plot to rid Paris of the poor. In 1839, the third cholera pandemic began in paths that moved from Bengal to other parts of the world, some of which had never seen cholera. The disease reappeared in Europe and North America, spreading widely into areas of the Caribbean and South America, where a shocking number of deaths occurred in Brazil and in Latin America. These deaths initiated inquiries about the connection between cholera and race.

The fourth cholera pandemic, beginning in 1863, traveled around the world and convinced many that cholera moved with “human traffic.” The fifth pandemic, beginning in 1881, extended across the Mediterranean to Italy, France, and Spain, then across the world to Argentina, Japan, and the Philippines. During this pandemic, Robert Koch, a German microbiologist, discovered a germ that is primarily in water (and in some food) and was responsible for cholera; but, as doubts and uncertainties reigned, positive response to his findings was slow in coming. The sixth cholera pandemic (1899) made less progress because of the growing insistence upon clean water supplies; and, the seventh cholera pandemic (1961), attacking Europe, Africa, Latin and Central America, and Mexico, left cholera endemic to some parts of the world.

Pandemics: Influenza and AIDS

In 1781–82, a massive pandemic of influenza spread from Russia into Europe and afflicted an estimated three-fourths of the population of Europe. Despite its high morbidity rate (the number of ill persons), the mortality rate was relatively low, as the disease proved fatal mostly to the elderly. A second influenza pandemic (1889–90), also beginning in Russia, extended worldwide by way of steamship and railroad travel. Morbidity was uncommonly high, calculated to be between one-third and one-half the world’s population. Historian David Patterson has estimated that this pandemic killed between 270,000 and 360,000 people in Europe.

The third influenza pandemic (1918–19) became the most extensive disease event in recorded history, with an estimated death toll of fifty million people. The pandemic traveled in three waves. The first one began in March of 1918 in Fort Riley, Kansas, and, following US troops to battle in World War I, appeared in western Europe in April. It then moved to China, India, Australia, and Southeast Asia. The second wave of the influenza pandemic, experiencing a resurgence in France and crossing the Atlantic, entered Boston in October of 1918 and moved westward to the Pacific Coast. Mortality rates in the United States were estimated at 5.2 per 1,000 persons. Another surge of the second wave progressed from France, to the Mediterranean areas, and to Scandinavia, Great Britain, Germany, eastern Europe, and Russia. The second wave, far more lethal than the first, was especially harsh for young adults between the ages of eighteen and thirty-five years. Also, the populations in Asia, Africa, and India were at greater risk of death, suffering disastrous mortality rates that were twelve times greater than those of Europe and North America. The pandemic’s third wave was milder than the second, raising the number of cases moderately as the disease was in decline.

After becoming known in the United States in 1981, AIDS began to spread worldwide within ten years, and by the end of the century, more than 25 million people had died in the pandemic. The region most affected by AIDS was Africa, with Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Malawi exceeding 500 cases per 100,000 persons. The number of persons in South Africa who are infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) reached 5.3 million by 2004. According to the charity organization AVERT, that number had risen to 6.3 million in 2013. In many African states, life expectancy has fallen below age forty years, as the disease strikes age groups between fifteen and forty-five years, and has increased the death rate of orphaned children. Also, the economic aspects are dire because the targeted age group is the most productive group of the African population.

In April 2009, a worldwide pandemic of H1N1 influenza effectively began with two cases in southern California (with cases possibly having occurred even earlier in Mexico). By June, the new, highly contagious version of the virus had spread to several other countries and the WHO had officially declared the situation a pandemic. By the time that the WHO had announced that the pandemic had ended in August 2010, thousands of people had died—and one of the most concerning statistics became the large percentage of the dead who were under the age of sixty-five, which was a departure from previous influenza strains. The WHO reported 18,500 laboratory-confirmed deaths, but this number was later believed to have been grossly underestimated; additional studies indicated that the true number of deaths may have been as high as 280,000.

Impact

Knowledge of major epidemics and pandemics from the beginning of recorded history provides insight into the beliefs and mind-sets peculiar to times that were unable to combat catastrophic diseases. With the gradual realization that epidemics demand responses from the medical community, world societies began to understand the need for clean water, antibiotics, vaccines, and quarantines. This knowledge also raises serious questions about the future of epidemics and pandemics from the standpoint of population shifts and growth, primarily in dense urban populations in warm climates, and about mass migration and the aging or younger populations who are especially at risk. Other serious considerations include the cost of public health measures, the effect of certain political imperatives, and the possibilities that those without money would be disregarded.

Bibliography

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Shilts, Randy. And The Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic. Rev. ed. New York: St. Martin’s, 2007. Print.

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Trifonov, Vladimir, Hossein Khiabanian, and Raul Rabadan. “Geographic Dependence, Surveillance, and Origins of the 2009 Influenza A (H1N1) Virus.” New England Journal of Medicine 361 (2009): 115–19. Print.

"2014 Ebola Outbreak in West Africa—Case Counts." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dept. of Health and Human Services, 27 Dec. 2015. Web. 29 Dec. 2015.

Tucker, Jonathan B. Scourge. The Once and Future Threat of Smallpox. New York: Atlantic Monthly, 2001. Print

Where does "A Bird came down the Walk—" take place?

The setting of this poem is outdoors, in a place with a sidewalk, a wall, and grass, along with a worm and a beetle, so it might be a park or someone's yard. It's probably early in the day, because there's dew on the grass for the bird to drink.

Because the wild bird is the focal point of the story, and because there's also a human speaker who tries to give a crumb of food to the bird, we know the setting is in a populated area. The fact that the speaker of the poem happened to have some food on hand is pretty good evidence for a setting appropriate to a picnic.

The bird's timid, cautious behaviors lend further evidence for the idea that he belongs to a breed that's accustomed to being around the noise and motion of humans. But the place is clearly one to which the bird has adapted particularly well, because he finds food and water for himself very easily:

"He bit an Angleworm in halves

And ate the fellow, raw,

And then he drank a Dew

From a convenient Grass—"

Considering the setting of a poem is definitely a good idea, since it helps you visualize the poem's images and actions. Figuring out the setting can usually be done by identifying any objects or other clues that pop up in the text. Here, I was able to determine the setting by noticing concrete words like "bird," "Walk," "Angleworm," "Dew," "Grass," "Wall," and "Beetle" within the first few stanzas.

What poem from either Siegfried Sassoon or Wilfred Owen could be used to support an argumentative thesis statement?

Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen are English poets and soldiers who both served during the First World War. Many of their poems deal with various themes about the war, including the repercussions of it. As such, they are often referred to as part of the Great War poets. As Wilfred Owen writes in the preface to The Poems of Wilfred Owen, "My subject is War, and the pity of War. The Poetry is in the pity."

Perhaps the best known works by both poets are "Dulce et Decorum est," "Anthem for Doomed Youth," and "Insensibility," all by Owen, and "The Poet as Hero," "The Death Bed," "Attack," and "To Any Dead Officer," all by Sassoon. These poems deal with the horrors of trench warfare, satirize patriotism, and denounce the propaganda used to sell the war to the public.

With this in mind, perhaps your paper could then argue how the poems provide a realistic portrayal of the war versus the public perception? How poetry and the arts can be used as commentary on the horrors that governments try to spin? You could also argue that writing poetry can be therapeutic for those suffering trauma, as these writers were said to suffer from "shell-shock" (now known as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)), which greatly influenced their work.

Keep in mind that an "argumentative" essay simply needs to illustrate a key point (your thesis) and defend it with specific and clear support.

What narrative point of view is used in "Speaking of Courage" and what is a narrative point of view?

Narrative point of view refers to how the narrator (or person telling the story) is positioned in relation to the actual story itself. Narrative point of view is interesting to consider in The Things They Carried, as our narrator seems to be Tim O'Brien himself, recounting things that happened to him or his friends and comrades during and after the Vietnam War. Though the stories are sometimes far removed from O'Brien's personal experience (such as when he recounts a story he heard someone tell, which that person heard from a third person), the fact that the narrator claims to be the same person as the author suggests an authenticity and realism and allows the reader to consider O'Brien's life as part of the novel. 

In the story "Speaking of Courage," the narrative point of view is third person limited. The narrator is not a character in this particular story, and so uses third person pronouns (he, him, his) to talk about the story's protagonist, Norman Bowker. As narrator, he knows what Norman is thinking and feeling. This is interesting in this novel, because the narrator is not some outside character, but Bowker's friend (and author of the book) Tim O'Brien. Later in the book, O'Brien even talks about receiving a letter from Bowker asking him to write the story. By acting as narrator and character in his own book, O'Brien blurs the line between reality and fiction, contributing to a major thematic question of the novel: what is truth? 

What was a popular machine that everyone wanted to own but could not buy during World War II?

Automobiles could not be purchased during World War II because the plants in which they were manufactured began to be used for the production equipment such as jeeps, trucks, tanks, airplanes, bombs, torpedoes, ammunition, and steel helmets in accordance with government contracts.

On February 22, 1942, automobile manufacturing was ended, and the Automotive Council for War Production began two months later. Since production from January to February 22 had stockpiled 520,000 vehicles, these vehicles were distributed in what was termed rationed sales. Auto dealers sold them during the war to purchasers who were considered "essential drivers." In fact, during the war all drivers were restricted because there was rationing of gasoline and tires. In addition, the government set a national speed limit of 35 mph.

Then, in the Spring of 1942, the Automotive Council for War Production was formed. This involved the sharing of manpower, and expertise in contracts in defense production. Since only 30,000 new cars remained out the stockpile by April, 1944, the major automobile manufacturers were given the authorization by the War Production Board to begin preliminary work on experimental models of passenger cars by the fall of this year. This was all done with the strict provision that the work would not interfere with production of war products; furthermore, this work was to be done by the technicians and the engineers only because limits were drawn on labor and materials.

Was Hamlet insane?

Was Hamlet crazy or just pretending? This is a question that has puzzled writers, directors, and actors for ages. Did Hamlet go mad with the murder of his father, or was he merely putting on an act of madness to confuse the King and out a murderer? 

Hamlet tells us that he is choosing to act "strange or odd," and that he plans to act "antic." He uses words like "deception" when speaking to his friend Guildenstern, and voices his strategy to "be idle" to Horatio. In the closet scene with his mother, Gertrude, Hamlet even talks openly about what he believes the court is saying about him, that he his has gone mad. But assures his mother that he is "not in madness."

From the outside looking in, the King refers to Hamlet as mad, but only, it seems, because it serves his purpose. Polonious also calls Hamlet mad, but only in passionate defense of his daughter Ophelia.

So far, it appears that Hamlet's madness is a carefully crafted strategy. 

On the other hand, throughout the play, Hamlet does demonstrate such fits of spontaneity that for many seem to support the idea that he either was truly mad, or that he is slowly sinking into madness. For example, he jumps into Ophelia's grave, he has Rosencrantz and Guildenstern killed, he sees his father's ghost in Gertrude's presence, and he kills Polonius and refuses to tell anyone where the body is.

It seems that Hamlet's goal of feigning madness, in the end, goes too far, that his actions are no longer in his control, and that he has become mad. 

Unlike his other plays, for example King Lear, where madness is established to be redeemed in the end, in Hamlet, Shakespeare gives us clues in the text to support either option.

What did Shakespeare originally intend? That we may never know for sure. But surely playing a role that begins with feigning madness and dissolves into actual madness is the more interesting choice for the artist and the audience. 

What is a therapy dog?

Therapy dogs are trained to provide social and emotional comfort and care to people who are sick, injured, or disabled, or who have suffered some kind of trauma or have an emotional disorder. They are considered a category of assistance animal separate from dogs used as guides or for hearing, service, or seizure alert purposes. Any dog breed can become a therapy dog, as long as the animal possesses an easygoing temperament, is not afraid of strangers, and can remain calm in stressful environments. While the first official therapy dog was recorded in the 1940s, the concept did not become widespread until the 1970s.

Therapy dogs are used in a wide variety of environments for a diverse range of people. They can be found in hospitals, nursing homes, disaster areas, schools, and in the homes of the physically or developmentally disabled. While the bond between dogs and humans has been documented for centuries, research into the medical science behind dog therapy is a growing field as more and more beneficial uses for canines are uncovered.

Background

The first dog officially documented as providing a form of therapy was a Yorkshire terrier named Smoky, who was found in the New Guinea jungle in 1944 by an American soldier during World War II and sold to Corporal William Wynne. For two years, Smoky accompanied Wynne through combat in the South Pacific, becoming famous for her exploits. Although the concept of animal therapy was not yet fully established, Smoky was allowed under special orders to visit wounded patients to boost their morale.

In 1976, Elaine Smith founded Therapy Dogs International (TDI), the first organization dedicated exclusively to training, certifying, and registering dogs for use as therapy animals. Smith, a nurse, came up with the idea after she noticed the positive reactions of patients when a chaplain brought his golden retriever with him on hospital visits. TDI began with five handlers and six dogs and by 2012 the organization had over twenty-four thousand registered dog and handler teams.

Following in Smith’s footsteps, former zoo employee Nancy Stanley began a program providing contact with animals to handicapped children and elderly patients in convalescent hospitals in 1982. Stanley founded Tender Loving Zoo (TLZ) the same year as a nonprofit organization to support and promote animal therapy. Because mainstream medicine did not yet promote the use of dogs or other animals for therapeutic purposes, it fell to grassroots projects and enthusiasts to spread the technique.

Since the formation of TDI and TLZ, there has been much advancement in the use of therapy dogs. Following the legacy of Smith and Stanley, the American Kennel Club (AKC) became a leading organization regulating the certification of therapy dogs. Demand for therapy dogs continued to grow through the 1990s and 2000s, and as of 2014 there were over 120 therapy dog training organization in North America.

Overview

Therapy dogs are used in a wide variety of environments to help a diverse range of people find comfort and cope with their problems, and the number of applications continues to grow and develop. Although the amount of scientific research into the therapeutic benefit of dogs is limited, several studies suggest there are real biological effects triggered by dog and human relationships. A 2012 study in Frontiers in Psychology by Andrea Beetz and others recognized that human-animal interactions can lower levels of stress hormones, normalize breathing, and decrease blood pressure. The study further found that petting a dog releases the hormone oxytocin in both the human and the dog, which influences bonding and affection. Though not all of the results of dog therapy claimed by practitioners are rigorously proven, the technique’s demonstrated success with various types of patients has led to its implementation in rehabilitative settings, disaster zones, and in the care of children with autism.

Therapy dogs are used in a variety of medical facilities, including veterans and children’s hospitals, nursing homes, mental health clinics, and rehabilitation centers. Different programs may offer a simple visit by one or more dogs aimed at raising patients’ spirits, or provide formal sessions dedicated to specific therapeutic goals. Dogs may stay with an individual patient for a few minutes or up to an hour or more, depending on the patient’s needs and response to the therapy. Therapy dogs may also provide stress reduction to staff and visiting family members; oftentimes handlers will take dogs into waiting rooms to help families take their minds off their troubles for a moment. Some dogs are even used at hospital entrances to ease the tension of people as they arrive.

Therapy dogs have been used in efforts to relieve stress and speed the healing process for people who have experienced trauma at disaster areas. After the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center in Manhattan, New York City, therapy dog organizations approached the area to comfort those who had lost loved ones, as well as firemen, policemen, military personnel, and others. Therapy dogs have also been put to use during other crisis interventions, including with survivors of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, in 2012 and those affected by natural disasters such as Hurricane Sandy, also in 2012.

Therapy dog programs are increasingly popular in the treatment of children with developmental disorders. In particular, some children with autism and Asperger syndrome have responded very well to therapy dogs, oftentimes forming strong bonds with the dogs and confiding in them in ways they do not with humans. Similarly, children with low self-esteem may be more willing to interact with animals than humans. Based on this theory, therapy dogs have been used in reading programs that help struggling children with low confidence improve their literary skills. By reading aloud to a dog rather than in front of a teacher, parent, or classmates, children can feel unafraid of being judged if they make a mistake.

Bibliography

Adams, Kristina, and Stacy Rice. "A Brief Information Resource on Assistance Animals for the Disabled." Animal Welfare Information Center. Natl. Agricultural Lib., US Dept. of Agriculture, 19 Sept. 2011. Web. 10 Dec. 2014.

"Autism Assistance Dog." 4 Paws for Ability. 4 Paws for Ability, 2014. Web. 7 Dec. 2014.

Beetz, Andrea, et al. "Psychosocial and Psychophysiological Effects of Human-Animal Interactions: The Possible Role of Oxytocin." Frontiers in Psychology 3.234 (2012): n. pag. PubMed Central. Web. 10 Dec. 2014.

Bogle, Lara Suziedelis. "Therapy Dogs Seem to Boost Health of Sick and Lonely." National Geographic. Natl. Geographic Soc., 8 Aug. 2002. Web. 7 Dec. 2014.

Butler, Kris. Therapy Dogs Today: Their Gifts, Our Obligation. Norman: Funpuddle, 2004. Print.

Fiegl, Amanda. "The Healing Power of Dogs." National Geographic. Natl. Geographic Soc., 21 Dec. 2012. Web. 6 Dec. 2014.

Kreider, K. Scott. "Reading to Dogs Improves Lancaster County Children’s Literacy Skills." LancasterOnline. LancasterOnline, 25 Nov. 2014. Web. 7 Dec. 2014.

"Mission Statement and History." TDI-Dog.org. Therapy Dogs International, 2014. Web. 10 Dec. 2014.

Shane, Frank. "Dog Therapy at Ground Zero." Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones, 10 Sept. 2011. Web. 7 Dec. 2014.

Solomon, Olga. "What a Dog Can Do: Children with Autism and Therapy Dogs in Social Interaction." Ethos: Journal of the Society for Psychological Anthropology 38.1 (2010): 143–66. PDF file.

What is depreciation?

Depreciation is quite important in the business context, but before we discuss that, perhaps an example of something that most people are familiar with will help. 

A car is an asset that loses its value over time, such that a car might cost $20,000 when it is new, but the second owner might pay as little as $10,000 for the car after it has been used for a year or two. Car values tend to depreciate quite rapidly, and one aspect of a new car decision is doing research on how fast or slow the depreciation is for a particular model. We might pay a little more for a car that depreciates slowly with the knowledge that we can probably sell it or trade it in for more than other models. 

In a business, what is of the most importance is the assets that we use to make a product or provide a service. These assets depreciate, too. If I buy a fleet of trucks to deliver my product, they are going to lose value over time. The value they lose is the depreciation, and that is considered one of the business's expenses to create and deliver that product.

When we are looking at our profit, how much money we have made after taking off for all the expenses, called the cost of goods sold (COGS), we must pay taxes on the net amount. Since depreciation is an expense, it comes off the profit and allows businesses to pay less in taxes. 

There are a few different ways to handle depreciation, all in accordance with IRS guidelines. Reviewing a particular situation with an accountant is always best, since different ways of handling depreciation have different tax consequences. What is important, though, is to understand the concept and how it can be applied to a specific business to minimize taxation. 

What are your feelings about Shylock at the end of the trial scene in The Merchant of Venice?

After learning that Antonio's merchant ships have been lost at sea, Shylock excitedly anticipates the payment on his contract with Antonio. It appears as if Shylock's wish for the demise of Antonio will be realized.

Shylock makes his formal appeal to the Duke of Venice for fulfillment on the bond he has made with the Christian merchant. When the Duke sees Shylock, he tells him that he fully expects that Shylock, out of humanity and love, will not demand payment of Antonio's flesh, and that he will also forgive some portion of the debt. However, Shylock replies,

I have possessed your grace of what I purpose,
And by our holy Sabbath have I sworn
To have the due and forfeit of my bond.
If you deny it, let the danger light
Upon your charter and your city’s freedom. (4.1.35-39)

Even when Bassanio tries to offer Shylock twice the amount of the loan, the usurer refuses. He justifies his demands, saying that the Christians refuse to release those that they use "in slavish parts/Because you bought them." The angered Duke replies to Shylock by saying that he would dismiss the court were it not for a learned doctor of law's expected arrival.

Soon, Portia, disguised as a lawyer, appears with a letter from Dr. Bellario, stating that "he" is to represent the learned Bellario. Approaching Shylock, Portia offers him triple the amount of the debt, but Shylock insists upon the strict interpretation of the agreement. So, Portia agrees, cleverly noting that the "strict" interpretation allows no spillage of blood.

Also, Portia cleverly informs Shylock that there is another legal hold on Shylock: Since he is an alien in Venice, who seeks the life of a citizen, Shylock has broken Venetian law and his wealth can now be divided between the public treasury and the injured citizen, Antonio. Moreover, Shylock's own life is in jeopardy because of what he has attempted.

Falling upon the mercy of the court, Shylock is forced to convert to Christianity and loses half of his possessions.

Here are some points to consider in forming an opinion about this scene:

While there are different reactions by readers to this scene, even though Shylock has made terrible demands upon Antonio, Antonio did agree to them. But, when the Duke urges him to be merciful and offers him twice the monetary amount, Shylock has the opportunity to save himself the misery which he is finally dealt.

Shylock is blind-sided by the legal punishments dealt him by Portia. Nevertheless, when he makes a logical point about the Venetians' treatment of their "slavish" workers as not much better than his demands upon Antonio, his punishment does appear to be very harsh. Certainly, forcing him to convert to Christianity is extreme, and does not seem to serve any practical purpose. Still, Shylock has had the opportunity to accept three times the debt, so he has only his own greed to blame for his fate. 

In "After Twenty Years," describe what kind of area the policeman was patrolling.

This seems to be a neighborhood of small businesses and small offices. O. Henry offers the following description:

The vicinity was one that kept early hours. Now and then you might see the lights of a cigar store or of an all-night lunch counter; but the majority of the doors belonged to business places that had long since been closed.

O. Henry wanted the neighborhood to be fairly deserted for several reasons. One is that Bob would look more suspicious standing there in the darkened doorway of a hardware store. No doubt the policeman doesn't really consider him a suspicious character, because the policeman is really Jimmy Wells and he knows the other man is his old friend Bob. But Bob feels that he must look suspicious standing there. He knows that policemen are always suspicious of men just standing in one place doing nothing and looking innocent, because they could be lookouts (Bob has been involved in criminal activities for as long as twenty years).

O. Henry wanted the district to be almost totally unpopulated. This makes it easy for the plainclothesman to spot Bob and make the arrest. It also makes it impossible for Bob to escape by getting lost in a crowd of pedestrians. O. Henry also wanted to illustrate how districts changed in New York with the passage of time. New York is always changing. The place where Bob is standing had formerly been a big, busy restaurant called 'Big Joe' Brady's. From the name of the restaurant, we can imagine the clientele, drinking beer, smoking cigars, joking and laughing. The whole neighborhood was probably populated until late hours. The change that has taken place in is evidently intended to symbolize the change that has taken place in Jimmy and Bob. It is a bleak setting for the two old friends to have their proposed reunion, and the reader is not surprised when the reunion turns out as it does.

In the novel Lord of the Flies, what is the significance that Piggy is strongly tied to the world of adults? What message is Golding trying to...

William Golding creates a microcosm of civilization on the abandoned island, and each of the characters in the novel represents various types of individuals found in society. Ralph represents a conscientious leader struggling to maintain control; Jack represents barbarism and is a bloodthirsty leader who rises to power by manipulating his followers; the littluns represent the mindless masses of society; Piggy is an intellectual individual who represents civility and structure.

Piggy plays a significant role in the novel because he openly supports structure, democracy, and morality. Piggy is connected to the "adult world" because he blatantly opposes savagery and is an outspoken proponent of civilization. Golding uses Piggy's character to suggests that less physically gifted and fit members of society rely on laws, regulations, and authority figures to protect them. Without restrictions and rules, Piggy is subjected to the violent capabilities of the more physically fit members of society. Unfortunately, Roger brutally murders Piggy by crushing him with a massive boulder that he rolls down a hill. Piggy's death represents and signifies the final attempt to create a civilized society on the island. Golding also suggests that individuals with "adult" mindsets do not have the ability to persuade others to follow their directives without the physical threat of punishment.

Golding's predominant message throughout the novel is that the inherent evil found within every person will conquer morality and rational thought processes associated with the "adult world," effectively destroying any attempt to create a civil society when given the opportunity.