What are two ways that Atticus is a hero?

Though not the protagonist or narrator of To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch is a central character in the lives of both his children and the citizens of Maycomb, Alabama.

The first way Atticus is a hero is his role as a single father during the Great Depression. As his wife passed away when Scout was still an infant, Atticus takes on the responsibility of raising his children. Though Atticus has Calpurnia to cook meals and clean house, Atticus is an active parent despite his busy schedule as a lawyer. He is never too busy to listen to his children, and makes it a point to instill in them the same morality and belief in fairness that drives his work in the courtroom.

Atticus also shows heroic qualities in his job as a lawyer. By taking on the Tom Robinson case, Atticus puts himself between Tom, an African American accused of raping a white woman, and a town where a large number of residents would have Tom lynched. Though Atticus loses the case, and Tom Robinson is killed shortly after by the police, he is still heroic because he did the right thing when the odds were stacked against him.

What does Jack's raiding party steal in Lord of the Flies?

At the beginning of Chapter 10, Jack tells his tribe of savages that the beast has the ability to transform itself into any figure. Jack is manipulating his followers and using their fear to further increase his control over them. One of the savages then raises his hand and asks Jack what they will use for lighting the fire. Jack tells them that they will take the fire from the others. He decides that Maurice and Roger will accompany him on a raid of Ralph's camp at the other end of the island to take Piggy's broken glasses. Jack's tribe will use the reflection from Piggy's broken glasses to start their own fire at Castle Rock. During the raid, Piggy, Ralph, and Samneric believe that the beast has finally come to eat them and end up unknowingly fighting Jack, Maurice, and Roger. After the raid is over, their shelter is destroyed, Piggy's glasses are stolen by Jack and his savages, and some of the boys are roughed up. Ralph looks around and comments that he thought they had come for the conch. The conch is a symbol of civility which Jack is not interested in having at Castle Rock. Jack simply wanted Piggy's glasses so that his tribe could preform rituals and roast pig meat.

What is a visual system?

Introduction

The visual system is one of the primary means by which humans are aware of and monitor their environment. The visual system provides information on the form, color, size, movement, and distance of any object in sight range. Its importance is seen in the fact that sight loss (blindness) is much more debilitating than any other sensory deprivation.

The anatomy of the eye is quite complex. Each eye sits in a protective, bony skull cavity, an eye socket. The human eye is roughly spherical and about one inch in diameter. Six muscles, attached at one end to the eyeball and at the other end to the eye socket, control the directional movements of each eye.

The semiliquid eyeball interior is surrounded by three tissue layers. Outermost is the tough and protective sclera, made up of fibrous tissue. The sclera, or “white of the eye,” has at its front a circular cornea. This sclera segment is modified to allow light rays to enter the eye and to aid in the focusing of light reflected from objects seen. At the front of each eye, paired eyelids protect the sclera’s outer surface, removing dirt and lubricating with tears by blinking. The eyelids also close reflexively for protection when an object comes close to an eye.

The middle and inner tissue layers of the eye are the choroid and the retina. The choroid holds all the blood vessels that feed the eye and a muscular ciliary body that alters the shape of the eye lens to help to focus light. The retina lines most of the eyeball interior, except at its front. Retinal tissue converts light energy to nerve impulses carried to the brain. Choroidal blood vessels extend throughout the retina, except at its front. There, a hole, the pupil, allows light entry into the eye. A circular iris around the pupil gives each eye its color.

The retina translates light energy into nerve impulses, using rod cells, cone cells, bipolar cells, and ganglion cells. Rods and cones are light-sensitive, yielding nerve impulses when they are struck by light. Bipolar cells transfer the acquired information to the brain via ganglion cell fibers in the optic nerve at the rear of the eye. The rods, sensitive to tiny amounts of light, enable dim light vision. Cones enable the perception of color and detail. Rods and cones hold the pigment rhodopsin (RO, or visual purple). When it interacts with light, RO decomposes to a protein (opsin) and a form of vitamin A called retinol1. More RO must be made before a rod’s next operation. Unless the diet provides vitamin A (as retinol1) in amounts enabling this, an afflicted person has night blindness (nyctalopia). Nyctalopics cannot see well in dim light.

A small region in the retina’s center, the fovea centralis, contains cones but no rods, and cone number per unit of retinal area decreases as the front edge of the retina—near the pupil—is approached from the fovea. In contrast, the relative number of rods increases as the number of cones diminishes. Humans see most clearly in daylight, using the fovea almost exclusively. At night, vision is accomplished mostly by using a retina region at the side of each eye.

A blind spot in the visual field occurs when objects cast images on the retina’s optic disk. This disk, the point where the optic nerve leaves the eye, lacks both rods and cones. The optic nerves from the two eyes pass through the optic chiasma. Fibers from the inner half of each retina cross to the opposite side of the brain. Those from the outer half remain on the same side of the brain. This causes the right visual field, which stimulates the left half of each retina to activate the left half of the thalamus and visual cortex. The left visual field affects the right half of the brain, a situation similar to that of the other human sensory systems.

The visual cortex includes the occipital lobe of each cortical hemisphere, and there is a point-for-point correspondence between the retinas and the cortex. This yields a “map,” whose every point represents a point on the retina and visual space seen by each eye. Vision simultaneously depicts object color, shape, location, movement, and orientation in space. Seeking a model to explain the overall brain action in vision, neurophysiologists have identified various cortical cell types, each involved selectively in these features. Retinal maps from each eye merge in a cortical projection area, which allows images from the two eyes to yield stereoscopic vision. Other brain regions also participate in vision; for instance, the cortex appears to be involved in perceiving form and movement.

Lenses and Vision Types

Just behind the cornea, a transparent, elastic lens is attached to a ligament that controls its shape. Lens shape focuses light reflected from an object and forms on the retina the sharpest possible visual image. The eyes regulate the amount of light reaching retinal rods and cones by contracting or expanding the pupil by means of the iris. These involuntary responses are controlled by brain reflex pathways. The lens also divides the eye into two compartments. The small compartment in front of the lens holds watery aqueous humor. The much larger rear compartment between lens and retina is full of jelly-like vitreous humor. This humor maintains the eye’s shape.

Usable visible (380- to 730- nanometer) light enters the eye through the pupil and excites color sensations by interacting with retinal cones. Light reflected from an object passes through the lens to form a focused retinal image, similar to what a camera forms on film. Focusing a visual image also requires regulation of the amount of light passing through the pupil by making the iris larger or smaller. The eye lens produces an inverted retinal image, interpreted in the brain right-side-up. Binocular vision enables accurate depth perception
. Each eye gets a slightly different view of any object, and the two retina images are interpreted by the brain as a three-dimensional view.

Nocturnal animals see in low-light environments with black-and-white (scotopic) vision. Diurnal (day-living) animals have photopic vision, which needs much more light to perceive colors and textures. Humans have both photopic and scotopic vision. Scotopic vision uses the rods as well as photosensitive RO. RO is bleached by bright light, so scotopic animals are almost blind by day. Humans suffer brief blindness on walking indoors on bright days. Then, by dark adaptation, scotopic vision quickly begins to function. Faulty dark adaptation (night blindness) occurs in humans who lack rods or are vitamin A deficient. Afflicted individuals cannot find their way around at night without artificial light. Photopic vision mostly uses the fovea, so it is due to cones, the only foveal visual cells. In the central fovea there are approximately 100,000 cones per square millimeter of retinal surface. Each cone associates with nerve cells that process the incoming visual data, convey them to the brain cortex, and provide detailed information on objects whose images fall in the fovea.

Peripheral vision occurs outside of the fovea, as may be seen by looking directly at one letter on a page. That letter and a few others nearby look very sharp and black because they are seen by foveal vision. The rest of the page, seen by peripheral vision, blurs. The clarity of foveal vision versus peripheral vision is due to the increasing scarcity of cones in retinal areas farther and farther from the fovea. Also, the nerve connections in the retinal periphery result in each optic nerve fiber being activated by hundreds of rods. This shared action is useful in detecting large or dim objects at night. However, it prevents color vision, which requires the brain to differentiate among many signals.

Visual Defects and Their Symptoms

Human eyes can have numerous vision defects. The most common of these defects are small, opaque bodies (floaters) in the eye humors. Usually, floaters are only an inconvenience. Much more serious are lens opacities called cataracts. They develop for several reasons, including advancing age and diabetes. Opacity of the cornea can also cause obscured vision. It can be repaired through the transplantation of a section of clear cornea from another person. Three very dangerous eye diseases that can cause blindness are detached retinas (retina rips), glaucoma (eye pressure buildup due to blocked tear ducts), and macular degeneration (destruction of the retinal areas responsible for sight).

Six serious, but relatively easily treated, vision problems are myopia, hyperopia, presbyopia, astigmatism, diplopia, and strabismus. They are due to incorrect eyeball length, to lens defects, or to external eye muscle weakness. In myopia (nearsightedness) the eyeball is too long. Light from nearby objects will focus well on the retina. Distant rays focus before it, yielding blurry images. Conversely, farsightedness (hyperopia) occurs because the eyeball is too short. As a result, the light from distant objects focuses on the retina, but that from nearby objects focuses behind it and makes them blurry. An eye can also lose the ability to adapt quickly from far vision to near vision. This problem, presbyopia, usually happens after age forty. In an astigmatism, uneven curvature of an eye lens causes retinal images to be made up of short lines, not sharp points. Weakness or paralysis of external eyeball muscles may cause diplopia (double vision) and strabismus (crossed eyes).

Blindness, the most serious vision problem, is much more debilitating than any other sensory deprivation. It occurs in many forms. Some are temporary, mild, and readily treated. Others are severe and untreatable. Color blindness is an incurable lack of some or all color vision. This congenital form of blindness is attributed to genetic defects in the retina or some part of the optic tract. It is mild, causing, at worst, no color perception and a life spent in a black-and-white world. Amblyopia, weak vision without apparent structural eye damage, is another type of acquired blindness, due to toxic drugs, alcoholism, or hysteria. Blindness may also be caused by diseases such as iritis and trachoma.

Blindness varies in extent, from inability to distinguish light from darkness (total blindness) to inability to see well enough to do any job requiring use of the eyes (economic blindness) to vocational and educational blindness: inability to work in a job done before becoming blind, and inability to become educated by methods commonly used in school, respectively. Most severe blindness is permanent and incurable. There are about two blind people per thousand in industrialized nations and two per hundred in underdeveloped countries. The causes of blindness include genetic abnormalities of components of the eye or brain, pressure on the optic nerve from a brain tumor, detachment of the retina from the choroid, damage to the eyes or brain by excess light, or severe head trauma.

Treatment Options for Vision Problems

Visual defects are most often identified by ophthalmologists who prescribe eye treatments such as the use of eyeglasses, contact lenses, or surgery. Detached retinas and glaucoma can both be repaired by surgery, and most night blindness is cured by adding sufficient vitamin A to the diet to allow optimal cone and rod operation. Amblyopia is treated by psychologists or psychiatrists who identify its basis and work with afflicted individuals to reassure them or apply pharmacological treatment of the problem. Some kinds of structurally based blindness may be cured by surgery (such as removing brain tumors). However, in a great many cases the blindness is incurable. When blindness is acquired by sighted people (adventitious blindness), it can be important to receive the help of a mental health professional to gain the ability to live with it successfully. This is most crucial early in the adventitious blindness, when afflicted individuals are least likely to be able to cope with being cut off from a major source of their contact with the world.

The adjustments that must be made on occurrence of adventitious blindness are so extensive that the blind person eventually becomes a different individual from the sighted person he or she once was. Usually, the initial response to adventitious blindness is apathy and severe depression. These symptoms are followed by the return of interest in living and coping with the practical problems caused by blindness. The function of a psychologist or a psychiatrist is the careful combination of psychotherapy and pharmacological treatment—varied, individually, in its length and scope—to ready each afflicted individual to function well in a sighted world. After an adventitiously blind individual is capable of coping well with being blind, there are several federal and private agencies aimed at teaching such individuals to operate well and to engage in training so as to allow them to reachieve gainful employment.

Bibliography

Chalkley, Thomas. Your Eyes. 4th ed. Springfield: Thomas, 2000. Print.

De Valois, Karen K., ed. Seeing. 2d ed. San Diego: Academic, 2000. Print.

Hollins, Mark. Understanding Blindness: An Integrative Approach. Hillsdale: Erlbaum, 1989. Print.

Heller, Morton A., and Edouard Gentaz. Psychology of Touch and Blindness. Hoboken: Taylor, 2013. Digital file.

Hubel, David H. Eye, Brain, and Vision. New York: Freeman, 1995. Print.

Livingstone, Margaret, and David H. Hubel. Vision and Art: The Biology of Seeing. Rev. ed. New York: Abrams, 2014.

MedlinePlus. "Vision Impairment and Blindness." MedlinePlus. MedlinePlus, 9 July 2014. Web. 14 July 2014.

Remington, Lee Ann. Clinical Anatomy and Physiology of the Visual System. 3d ed. St. Louis: Elsevier, 2012. Digital file.

Rodieck, Robert W. The First Steps in Seeing. Sunderland: Sinauer, 1998. Print.

Schwartz, Steven H. Visual Perception: A Clinical Orientation. 4th ed. New York: McGraw, 2010. Print.

Tovée, Martin J. An Introduction to the Visual System. 2d ed. New York: Cambridge UP, 2009. Print.

In A Wrinkle in Time, what is Charles Wallace's strategy for entering school next year? Do you think this is wise?

Charles Wallace was slow to learn to talk, not speaking at all until he was almost five years old, and then speaking in complete sentences. He is made fun of (and Meg has to constantly defend him) by the boys in the neighborhood. It is assumed that he is mentally challenged. However, he is unusually bright. When he enters school the following year, he knows that, as much as he is picked on for not talking, he will face serious bullying if the other children discover how mentally gifted he is. So he decides to let them think that he is not smart, holding out as much as possible from revealing the fact that he has a superior intelligence. While this is a reasonable method of self-protection, he will eventually have to reveal his genius level IQ; it will probably be discovered by his teachers. This will most likely cause even more bullying, since the other children will resent his deception and making them seem like fools.

What are cadmium and cadmium compounds?

Related cancers:

Lung cancer, possibly prostate and kidney cancer

Exposure routes: Inhalation and ingestion

Where found: Food (particularly grain cereal products, potatoes, and other vegetables), cigarette smoke, zinc and lead ores, electroplating and -coating, alloys, pigments (paint, glass, ceramics, porcelain, textiles, plastics, paper, and fireworks), stabilizers in plastics, nickel-cadmium batteries, smoke detectors, radiation detectors, and various electronics and laboratory equipment

At risk: Workers who refine and smelt zinc and lead ores, workers in industries using thermal processes (iron production or welding cadmium-coated steel), and tobacco smokers

Etiology and symptoms of associated cancers: Cadmium exposure can be acute or chronic. Acute toxicity through ingestion of cadmium may cause only short-term illness, but acute toxicity through inhalation can lead to severe damage to the lungs and even death. Chronic exposure to cadmium can cause damage to the lungs, kidneys, and sometimes bones. Studies have shown that inhalation of cadmium in the workplace is associated with lung cancer. Laboratory studies using cultured cells have shown that cadmium damages the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) of the cells and affects the cells’ ability to repair DNA damage. These factors are likely to be the mechanism through which cadmium contributes to the formation of cancer in humans.

Lung cancer can affect one lung or both. Lung cancer detection often occurs when the disease has progressed to late stages because symptoms may take years to appear. When symptoms do appear, they often are mistaken for other less serious conditions. Common signs and symptoms of lung cancer are persistent cough (not related to smoking); persistent pain in the chest, shoulder, or back; coughing up mucus or blood; recurrent respiratory infections; shortness of breath; fatigue; unexplained weight loss; and loss of appetite. Many of these symptoms may be attributed initially to other causes before lung cancer is eventually diagnosed. According to the National Toxicology Program's
Report on Carcinogens
, Twelfth Edition (2011), lung cancer is the only cancer that has been confirmed to be associated with cadmium exposure.

Studies from the 1960s and later have had conflicting results regarding a connection between cadmium and prostate cancer. A number of studies have shown increases in the occurrence of prostate cancer in workers exposed to cadmium in nickel-cadmium battery plants and other industrial sites, but conflicting studies have indicated either no increases or increases that were too small to be statistically significant. Cadmium has also been implicated in kidney cancer, with early studies showing a correlation between exposure and increases in kidney cancer. However, further studies have not confirmed this association.

History: Industrial use of cadmium became widespread in the middle of the twentieth century, and the toxic effects due to occupational exposure began to be recognized by the early 1950s. Studies that examined workers who had been exposed to high levels of cadmium were used to examine the toxic effects, and by the 1960s researchers were investigating cadmium’s potential carcinogenicity. Experimental animal studies also were conducted to research the toxicity and carcinogenicity of cadmium. Regarding the role cadmium played in the development of lung cancer, initial studies were inconclusive or conflicting. Confounding factors, such as workers who were also tobacco smokers or were exposed to additional heavy metals, contributed to the confusing results. Because of its toxic effects, many federal, state, and local agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), began to regulate cadmium in a variety of ways, including stipulation of allowable amounts in air and water. In 1992 the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) ruled on permissible exposure limits (PELs) for workers exposed to airborne cadmium in the workplace. By 2000 sufficient studies reported that cadmium contributed to the development of lung cancer for it to be designated as a known human carcinogen by the US Department of Health and Human Services.

Bibliography

Adams, Scott V., Michael N. Passarelli, and Polly A. Newcomb. "Cadmium Exposure and Cancer Mortality in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey." Occupational and Environmental Medicine 69.2 (2012): 153–156. Digital file.

Amer. Cancer Soc. "Known and Probable Human Carcinogens." Cancer.org. ACS, 17 Oct. 2013. Web. 24 Sept. 2014.

Klaassen, Curtis D., ed. Casarett and Doull’s Toxicology: The Basic Science of Poisons. 8th ed. New York: McGraw, 2013. Print.

Silvera, S. A. N., and T. E. Rohan. “Trace Elements and Cancer Risk: A Review of the Epidemiologic Evidence.” Cancer Causes Control 18 (2007): 7–27. Print.

US Dept. of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Natl. Toxicology Program. Report on Carcinogens. 11th ed. Research Triangle Park: USDHHS, PHS, NTP, 2005. Print.

US Dept. of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Natl. Toxicology Program. "Cadmium and Cadmium Compounds." Report on Carcinogens. 12th ed. N.p.: USDHHS, PHS, NTP, 2011. 80–83. Digital file.

Waisberg, M., P. Joseph, B. Hale, and D. Beyersmann. “Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms of Cadmium Carcinogenesis.” Toxicology 192 (2003): 95–117. Print.

Which of the following statements reflects the status of Florida during the Civil War? a. The Confederacy ceded Florida to the Union army midway...

Of the options listed here, I would say that Option C is the best choice.  The Confederacy did generally control the interior of Florida during the Civil War while the Union either maintained control or took control of much of the state’s coast.

Florida was part of the Confederacy during the Civil War.  It was the third state to secede from the Union, doing so in 1861.  However, the state was not particularly important in the war.  There was only one major battle fought there.  At the start of the war, the Union already controlled various forts along the Florida coastline.  As the war went on, the North took some ports because there was simply too much coast for the South to defend and it had a very weak navy. 

All this means that the North was able to exert significant control over much of the coast.  However, the Union’s control did not extend into the exterior.  The North did attempt to invade inland to cut off the flow of supplies from Florida to the rest of the Confederacy, but these attempts generally failed.  For these reasons, I would say that Option C is the best choice for this question.

What are natural treatments for intestinal parasites?

Introduction

The human intestines play host to an enormous variety of bacteria and fungi. Most
of these are harmless or even helpful. However, other microscopic organisms can
also take up residence in the intestines. Such organisms are called intestinal
parasites. Common parasites include amoebas (especially Entamoeba
histolytica), Cryptosporidium, giardia
(Giardia lamblia), hookworm (Ancylostoma
duodenale and Necator americanus), pinworm
(Enterobius vermicularis), roundworm
(Ascaris lumbricoides), and tapeworm
(Taenia species).

Intestinal parasites can cause a wide variety of symptoms, including gas,
bloating, diarrhea, abdominal cramping, bloody stools, itching in the anus, and
weight loss. Some parasites are no more than a nuisance, while others can cause
serious disease and even death.

Conventional treatment for parasites begins with careful identification of the
particular parasite involved, followed by the use of medications capable of
destroying the infestation. Careful attention to hygiene while traveling in
developing countries can help prevent future infections with parasites.

Proposed Natural Treatments

Intestinal parasites are hardy organisms not easily killed. Traditional remedies used for parasites are generally fairly toxic. Until recently, conventional treatments for parasites were also quite toxic. However, now that safe drugs have been developed, it can be said as a general rule that conventional therapies for parasites are less toxic and almost certainly more effective than natural remedies.

Despite this, many natural products are marketed for the treatment of parasites. The profusion of such offerings is due primarily to a particular current of thought among some alternative practitioners that states that parasites are the underlying cause of many illnesses. Most such natural products are made of herbs that kill parasites in the test tube. However, it is a long way from a test-tube study to meaningful effects in humans, and there is no reliable meaningful evidence that any of these natural therapies are useful in a practical sense. Some herbs commonly mentioned for the treatment of parasitic infections include anise, black walnut fruit, cloves, curled mint, essential oils, garlic, gentian, grapefruit seed extract, lapacho, neem, olive leaf, oregano, propolis, pumpkin seed, sweet Annie, tansy, Terminalia arjuna, thyme, wormseed, and wormwood.

The substance berberine has shown some promise for the treatment of parasites, and
it was, for a time, evaluated as a potential new antiparasitic drug. Berberine is
found in barberry, goldenseal, goldenthread,
Oregon
grape, and other herbs, and for this reason these herbs are
commonly mentioned as useful for the treatment of parasitic infections. However,
the only studies relevant to these herbs used purified chemical berberine. To
obtain the same amount of berberine in the form of an herb, one would have to
consume massive (and possibly toxic) quantities.

One placebo-controlled study conducted in Africa concluded that the use of dried papaya seeds could reduce levels of intestinal parasites generally. However, this study had significant problems in design and reporting. Also, the form of papaya used in this trial was not equivalent to the digestive enzyme papain.

Bibliography

Kaneda, Y. “In Vitro Effects of Berberine Sulphate on the Growth and Structure of Entamoeba histolytica, Giardia lamblia, and Trichomonas vaginalis.” Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology 85 (1991): 417-425.

Okeniyi, J. A., et al. “Effectiveness of Dried Carica Papaya Seeds Against Human Intestinal Parasitosis.” Journal of Medicinal Food 10 (2007): 194-196.

Soffar, S. A., et al. “Evaluation of the Effect of a Plant Alkaloid (Berberine Derived from Berberis aristata) on Trichomonas vaginalis In Vitro.” Journal of the Egyptian Society of Parasitology 31 (2001): 893-904.

His work is inferior by far ____mine. Would you use then, to, or from to fill in the blank?

The best word to complete this sentence is to. Let's read the sentence by filling in the blank with the potential words and compare how they sound.

• His work is inferior by far then mine.


• His work is inferior by far to mine.


• His work is inferior by far from mine. 

The first sentence uses the term then, which implies causality or order of events. For example, "First this, then that." An alternate might be than, as in, "This is better than that," but in this particular sentence it does not make sense.

The third sentence uses the term from, which is sometimes used in making distinctions. For example, "This is different from that." Even though a distinction is being made with this sentence, the established grammar does not allow from to be a sensible answer.

The second term, to, makes more sense than either then or from. Because there is a comparison being made, as in where we compare one thing to another, this term makes the most sense. There is some implied expression in the sentence, so I hope the following might help you understand how to fits in here:

• His work is inferior by far [as compared] to mine.

What are the elements of Wayang Kulit?

Wayang kulit refers to the art of Indonesian puppet theater, which originated on Java but spread to every other Indonesian island. The term wayang kulit can also refer to puppets that are made of flat leather and illuminated from behind, in contrast to the three-dimensional, wooden puppets called wayang klitik or golek. The puppets have costumes, facial features, and body parts controlled by thin wooden sticks. Wayang kulit can be used as social commentary through criticism of the archetypal "ordinary person," a common character in puppet shows. Other common themes include retelling indigenous Indonesian myths, or borrowing characters from Indian and Persian epics. Traditional wayang kulit utilized complex music, but in order to compete with modern art forms and media, many modern puppet shows include popular music instead, as well as incorporating more comedy and less social critique.

What was Phillip's father's attitude toward the war?

Mr. Enright's cautious, honest attitude toward the war is slowly revealed throughout Chapter 1 of The Cay.

Phillip's father, Mr. Enright, believes that the threat of war must be taken seriously, that there is no such thing as a safe place in the world as long as the war is going on, and that even his young son is entitled to know the truth about what's going on. Mr. Enright shares all the information he has about the war and its encroaching dangers with Phillip, even admitting openly when he doesn't know something--like whether or not they will be attacked, or how many enemy ships are surrounding their island.

He works at an oil refinery that produces the gas that aircraft need in order to fight the war. Mr. Enright is very dedicated to this work, sometimes staying there until the late hours of the morning. His dedication is also evinced by the fact that he'd moved his wife and child to the island of Curacao so that he could continue helping the Americans' allies in the war, even though his wife is unhappy living there. Though he loves his son Phillip and would probably rather be fishing, sailing, or hiking with him instead of working, Mr. Enright takes his job (and its purpose of supporting the war effort) very seriously.

What is a locus of control?

Locus of control is a concept in personality psychology (the branch of psychology that studies the patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that make people unique). It refers to the degree to which individuals believe they can control their own lives. The concept was developed by celebrated psychologist Julian B. Rotter (1916–2014). It has since become a foundational aspect of personality studies.

Overview

According to Rotter, locus of control refers to how much power people believe they have over their lives and the things that happen to them. Rotter theorized that locus of control exists along a continuum (a progression of degrees) in which individuals believe they can exercise more or less control over their life outcomes.

Individuals with more of an internal locus of control believe that most of their life outcomes are the direct result of their own efforts or behaviors. They believe that their abilities, efforts, and actions directly determine what happens to them and how much success they achieve.

Individuals with more of an external locus of control, on the other hand, believe that most of their life outcomes are outside their direct control. They view life as controlled by forces outside themselves. For example, they may attribute circumstances to outside events, powerful people, sheer luck, or destiny/fate. At its furthest extreme, an external locus of control is known as
learned helplessness
(a refusal to take action to improve one's circumstances). Such individuals take no action to change their circumstances because they do not believe anything they do can make a difference.

Locus of control is an important aspect of personality psychology because it helps explain why some people are more proactive about their lives than others. It also shows one reason why certain people are able to rise above difficult circumstances or environments while others are unable to do so. For example, researchers have found that people with a high internal locus of control tend to perform well academically, achieve more professionally, act more independently, are healthier, are better able to cope, and experience less depression than their externally oriented counterparts.

The I-E Scale

Rotter developed the I-E scale, a personality scale, as a way to assess and measure an individual's locus of control. The I-E scale shows, along a continuum, how internally (I) or externally (E) oriented people may be, or whether they have more of an internal or external locus of control.

Rotter originally published this scale in 1966 in a journal called Psychological Monographs. He designed the scale as a series of paired statements. Each pair contains one statement that shows an internal focus and one statement that shows an external focus. Test takers had to select the statement that best applied to them, with the understanding that there were no right or wrong answers. The original scale included sixty statement pairs.

The I-E scale is still widely used by researchers, although the modern version has been trimmed to twenty-three focused statement pairs and six filler questions. These extra questions are meant to disguise the true purpose of the test from test takers and help to prevent
tester bias
(a distortion of test results that is produced when participants intentionally select statements that reflect how they wish to feel rather than how they truly feel).

The I-E scale is useful to psychologists because it helps them to understand their clients' outlook on life. They can use the client's responses to help the client understand his or her choices and approach to life.

Later Research

Since Rotter's introduction of the concept of locus of control and the publication and later validation of the I-E scale, other personality researchers have applied this knowledge to a variety of different research areas. For example, some researchers were interested to know how an individual's locus of control impacted his or her ability to perform well academically. Others were curious as to how internal or external focus might impact one's interpretation and use of constructive performance feedback. Still others wanted to know how one's locus of control impacted his or her spiritual beliefs and the afterlife.

Psychologist Bonnie Strickland has been one of the most impactful researchers on locus of control. As early as 1965, Strickland was studying the relationship between social activism and locus of control. Her study showed that college activists were more likely to be internally focused than externally focused; they believed that their behaviors could make a difference and acted accordingly.

Strickland also looked at locus of control in relation to different parameters of health. One important 1977 study analyzed how locus of control impacted health and fitness levels. Strickland's work showed that people with an internal locus of control were generally healthier because they felt more in control of their health. This feeling of control led them to eat healthily, exercise more regularly, and avoid behaviors that could cause health problems, such as smoking or excessive drinking.

Strickland also believed that locus of control assessments could be improved if they were designed for specific age groups. In the 1970s she worked with psychologist Steven Nowicki and others to develop a series of I-E scales directed toward people of specific ages. They designed and published the following:

• Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale for Children (1971)




• Adult Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale (1974)




• Preschool and Primary Internal-External Control Scale (1974)

This work has since been validated, and the adult and children versions of these scales are still in common use.

Bibliography

Buckley, C. "Professor Emeritus of Psychology Julian Rotter Dies." UConn Magazine. University of Connecticut. 10 Jan. 2014. Web. 30 Jan. 2015. http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2014/01/professor-emeritus-of-psychology-julian-rotter-dies/

Mearns, J. "The Social Learning Theory of Julian B. Rotter." California State University at Fullerton. 2015. Web. 30 Jan. 2015. http://psych.fullerton.edu/jmearns/rotter.htm

Nowicki, Stephen, Jr. "Bonnie Ruth Strickland (1936–)." Women in Psychology. Eds. Agnes O'Connell & Nancy Felipe Russo. Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group, 1990, 319–321. Print.

Nowicki, Stephen Jr., & Strickland, Bonnie R. "A Locus of Control Scale for Children." 1971: 79th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association. Web. 30 Jan. 2015. http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED058933.pdf

How does Quince move and speak in Act 1, Scene 2 of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream?

Act I, Scene II of A Midsummer's Night Dream opens at Quince's house.  Peter Quince is an amateur actor who is seeking to organize a group of other actors for a play.  Quince holds the script for the play in his hands and calls out the names of his fellow actors.  These actors are ordinary laborers, such as a tailor and a weaver.  Quince reads from the script and assigns each man his part.  He also explains the details of their assigned characters.  Some of the men question their roles, but Quince reasons with them and reassures them.  

Before he says farewell, Quince implores them to "fail [him] not."  Quince tells the players to meet him the next evening "in the palace wood, a mile without the town, by moonlight."  He is detailed in his directions, and also tells them to meet him "at the duke's oak."  He wants them to rehearse in the woods so that they will have more privacy.  He wishes for their rehearsals to be in secret.  He also tells them that before they meet, he "will draw a bill of properties."

In the poem "The Eagle" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, why is the eagle referred to as a "he" and not an "it"?

The eagle is personified in Tennyson's poem. Personification occurs when human qualities are given to an object or an animal. The eagle "clasps," has "hands" and "stands" as he surveys the blue sea below. It is only natural that "he" should be referred to as a man.

Romantic poets of the nineteenth century often personified nature (see Wordsworth's famous poem "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" where flowers dance or Keats's "On the Grasshopper and the Cricket" where an insect is also referred to as "he"). In stanza two, Tennyson portrays the eagle as a powerful force in the world, as strong as a thunderbolt, echoing Victorian confidence. In the latter half of the century, while Tennyson was poet laureate, England was considered the strongest nation on earth so it is only fitting that Tennyson's eagle is the epitome of that vigor.

In Jane Austen's Persuasion and Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, how is love seen as fragile and easily destroyed?

Although Gatsby ends tragically and Persuasion ends happily, we can make a strong case that "love is fragile" is a reality that is portrayed by both books.  Both books show love persisting for a long time, over an absence, but they also show how it can fail because of seemingly minor factors.

In Persuasion, Anne Elliot continues loving Captain Wentworth even after she breaks off her engagement to him on the advice of her family.  She still has feelings for him after seven years of not seeing him.

In Gatsby, Jay Gatsby continues to love Daisy for five years after she marries another man.  He goes to the extent of making a fortune and buying a house across the bay from hers, hoping to win her back. 

In the case of Jay Gatsby, he imagines that all he has to do is reunite with Daisy and she will immediately declare her love for him and leave her husband and daughter.  It turns out that he has overestimated Daisy's strength of character, or underestimated her practicality.  Although she loves Gatsby, she does not want to disturb her secure lifestyle.  When Gatsby finally forces a showdown between himself and Daisy's husband Tom, the self-confident Tom is able to confuse and distract Daisy by exposing Gatsby as a fake.  Daisy simply runs out of emotional energy to go through with leaving Tom.  She would have to give up so much, that even a small amount of confusion is enough to deflect her purpose.  When Gatsby is killed the next day, she does not even attend his funeral.

Persuasion is more complicated.  Wentworth is understandably disillusioned with Anne after she breaks off the engagement.  While Gatsby's naive idea of Daisy led him to overestimate her confidence and maturity, Wentworth mistakenly concludes that Anne's choice to follow her family's advice shows that she is weak in character.  In fact, Anne has matured over the years since she last saw Wentworth.  Wentworth eventually recognizes this, and proposes to Anne again.  

This might look like it is about the persistence of love.  But in the interval, Wentworth was starting to become involved with another young woman, Louisa Musgrove.  He starts courting her, telling her that he values "determination" above all else, and obviously hoping that she is more "determined" than Anne and more likely to be true to him.  But he slowly starts to realize that she is just an average, immature young lady (just like Anne once was).  He still seems interested in her; then, when jumping from some stairs to be caught by him, she hits her head in a fall, is concussed, and spends some time in a coma.  This is all it takes for Wentworth to gracefully drop her.  Everyone is surprised when Wentworth does not go to visit Louisa on her sickbed, but it slowly becomes clear that he does not intend to pursue the relationship any further.

So, in Persuasion we have Anne dropping Wentworth simply because she is young, unsure, and easily influenced by her family.  Then, we have Wentworth losing interest in Louisa over something that isn't really her fault.  (Neither the accident nor the fact of being young and immature are really her fault.)  However, the actual reason he loses interest in her is perhaps that he realizes he was a bit too hard on Anne.  

Persuasion does not really show that love itself is fragile, but it does show how the smallest details of circumstances and bad timing may derail a love affair.  But as Anne points out, just because things do not work out between two people does not mean that they don't continue to love each other.

The message is almost the opposite in Gatsby: Just because things do work out, doesn't necessarily mean that love is present.  Gatsby and Daisy had an affair and they still feel a spark, but Gatsby was more in love with Daisy's way of life than with the actual woman, and Daisy's attraction to Gatsby did not mean that she loved him enough to sacrifice anything for him. 

All in all, Persuasion is about how society and circumstances may conspire against those who love each other, whereas Gatsby is about how lovers might be undone by their blind spots and their own treacherous hearts. 

What is babesiosis?

Causes and Symptoms

Babesiosis is caused by a protozoan parasite that infects livestock and domestic animals and, more rarely, humans. Babesia microti (in the United States) and Babesia divergens (in certain parts of Europe) are the species more often associated with disease in humans. The parasite, which destroys red blood cells, is spread by the bite of infected deer ticks (in the United States), which also transmit Lyme disease. Ticks become infected with the Babesia organism while feeding on infected deer, mice, or voles. The organism can also be transmitted by blood transfusions, although this mode is uncommon.

Many people infected with Babesia have no symptoms of illness, even though infection may persist for months to years. Others experience flulike symptoms, such as fatigue, poor appetite, fever, chills, sweating, headaches, body aches, or even nausea. Symptoms usually manifest themselves after a one- to nine-week incubation period and may last for weeks. For people with a weak immune system or who lack a functioning spleen, life-threatening, malaria-like symptoms may develop that include high fevers, severe anemia (as a result of the abnormal breakdown of red blood cells), and jaundice.

Treatment and Therapy

People with no symptoms or only mild symptoms usually recover on their own. Otherwise, the standard treatment has consisted of the antibiotic clindamycin and the antiparasitic drug quinine. More recently, therapy has included the antibiotic azithromycin and the antiparasitic drug atovaquone, which are more easily tolerated.

Transfusions may be given to replace the infected red blood cells in severe cases associated with high levels of parasites in the blood. For complications such as very low blood pressure, breathing difficulties, and kidney failure, supportive care consists of vasopressors (to increase the blood pressure), mechanical ventilation, and dialysis.

Perspective and Prospects

The Romanian scientist Victor Babes was the first to document the symptoms of babesiosis in cattle in 1888. The American scientist Theobald Smith
and his colleagues identified a protozoan as the cause of disease and the tick as the agent of transmission in 1893. The first case of babesiosis in humans was reported in 1957 in a person whose spleen had been removed.

In the United States, babesiosis is considered an emerging infection, especially in coastal areas of the northeastern United States and its offshore islands, where the first case was reported in 1969 from Nantucket Island, Massachusetts. No vaccine is available to date. The best prevention is to wear protective clothing to cover the skin and to use insecticides to repel ticks when journeying through wooded, tick-infested areas.

Bibliography:

"Babesiosis." National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Nov. 12, 2010.

Considine, Glenn D., ed. Van Nostrand’s Scientific Encyclopedia. 10th ed. 3 vols. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley-Interscience, 2008.

Gelfand, Jeffrey A., and Edouard Vannier. “Babesiosis.” In Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine, edited by Anthony Fauci et al. 18th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2012.

Mylonakis, Eleftherios. “When to Suspect and How to Monitor Babesiosis.” American Family Physician 63 (May, 2001): 1969–1974, 1976.

"Parasites - Babesiosis." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, July 10, 2012.

"Tick Bites." MedlinePlus, Apr. 29, 2013.

In the book Beowulf, the characters are trying to find meaning. What meaning are they trying to find?

Beowulf is an ancient epic poem set in Sweden and Denmark. It was translated into Old English by monks, probably around 700 BC, give or take a couple of centuries. As an epic, it focuses on an almost superhuman hero who goes on a journey and performs great deeds while exemplifying the values of his culture. 

Loyalty was an important part of the Anglo-Saxon culture. They were a clannish, war-like people, who needed loyal leaders and followers to survive in a harsh, often violent world. 

There is another important kind of meaning that infused the lives of these warriors: spiritual meaning. 

What could be more meaningful than man's desire to live in harmony with God?

One of the most interesting parts of the Beowulf story is its treatment of religion. Christianity and paganism are both present in the story, but it is clearly Christianity that is valued more highly. We see Beowulf repeatedly mention God and fate as the powers that will determine his failure or success. That this willingness to accept fate seems almost antithetical to his fearsome nature shows how unquestioningly devout Beowulf is. This acceptance implies that his foremost desire is to live in accordance with his maker's wishes. 

What are some of the consequences of World War I?

There were many consequences that occurred as a result of World War I. One consequence was that there were many casualties as a result of the war. Over 14 million people were killed as a result of the war. Over $300 billion was spent on the war. The human and economic costs were very high.

World War I saw the end of several empires. The German, Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman, and Russia Empires all ended as a result of World War I. Many new countries were created based on the concept of self-determination. More people were now being ruled by their own ethnic group.

Another consequence of World War I was that it created the seeds for World War II. Germany felt the Versailles Treaty was way too harsh. When economic conditions deteriorated in Germany, Adolf Hitler used the harsh terms of the Versailles Treaty to motivate the German people to elect leaders like him to get revenge for this treaty. Benito Mussolini did the same Italy. Italy felt it should have received more land from the terms of the Versailles Treaty as a result of the help that Italy gave to the Allies. These leaders began to take aggressive actions in the 1930s that contributed to the start of World War II.

There were many consequences as a result of World War I.

An iron designed for use at 120 V and 5.0 A is connected to a source of 240 V. Calculate the current the iron will draw at the higher potential....

Even if we change the voltage the iron is connected to its resistance will still be the same. The resistance offered by a device can be related to the applied voltage and current, as per the following equation:

V = IR (Ohm's Law)

or R = V/I

where R is the resistance, V is the voltage and I is the current.

Since the iron has a rated voltage of 120 v and current of 5 A, its resistance is:

R = V/I = 120 v / 5 A = 24 ohm.

If the same iron is connected to twice the voltage, that is, 240 v, the current passing through it will be:

I = V/R = 240 v / 24 ohm = 10 A

Thus, a current of 10 A, or twice the design current, will pass through the iron.

When that happens, the device will stop working. The resistance wire will develop more heat than it normally does and will burn out. The device will short-circuit and you will have to get it repaired. (I actually connected a Wii, designed for 120 v to a 240 v supply and had a short circuit and had to get it repaired.)

This situation can be avoided by using devices rated over a broader voltage range (say 120-240 v, as is the case with most laptops these days) or using a voltage adapter. 

Hope this helps.

What are three gothic elements in "Rappaccini's Daughter"?

“Rappaccini’s Daughter” contains a number of Gothic elements, including the setting, the supernatural and extreme emotions.

Gothic fiction usually involves some kind of old, run-down castle or large home. The general atmosphere of the place is forbidding, gloomy, and slightly sinister.

The garden certainly fits this description.

“Or, not improbably, it might once have been the pleasure-place of an opulent family; for there was the ruin of a marble fountain in the centre, sculptured with rare art, but so woefully shattered that it was impossible to trace the original design from the chaos of remaining fragments.”

The garden exudes an unwelcoming air. As Giovanni watches Rappaccini walk through it, he is puzzled to see the doctor wearing heavy gloves and even a mask to protect himself from the plants. “When, in his walk through the garden, he came to the magnificent plant that hung its purple gems beside the marble fountain, he placed a kind of mask over his mouth and nostrils, as if all this beauty did but conceal a deadlier malice.” This mysteriousness and hint of danger in the setting is a common Gothic element.

Another Gothic element is the use of the supernatural and death. Often the supernatural may take the form of ghosts or demons. In this story, Rappaccini’s daughter is supernatural. She is not dead or inhuman, but she is poisonous. Whatever she touches dies. Because she was raised in the poison garden, she has built up immunity to the plants, but she herself has become as deadly as one of them. Her very breath kills any living creature near her.

A third Gothic element in this story can be found in the intense emotions felt by various characters. Giovanni loves Beatrice passionately, but he also hates her passionately when he realizes he is now as poisonous as she is.

“Yes, poisonous thing!” repeated Giovanni, beside himself with passion. “Thou hast done it! Thou hast blasted me! Thou hast filled my veins with poison! Thou hast made me as hateful, as ugly, as loathsome and deadly a creature as thyself — a world's wonder of hideous monstrosity! Now — if our breath be happily as fatal to ourselves as to all others — let us join our lips in one kiss of unutterable hatred, and so die!”

Beatrice shows the depths of her love by insisting on drinking the antidote first, asking Giovanni to wait to make sure it is safe. She dies in order to try to save him.

The spooky setting, supernatural powers, and intense emotions are all common elements in Gothic literature, and all are present in “Rappaccini’s Daughter.”

Analyze three quotes from chapter 5 in All Quiet on the Western Front.

The opening of chapter five in All Quiet on the Western Front reveals the daily difficulties that soldiers on the front had to encounter.  It represents yet one more aspect of life for which Paul and his fellow soldiers were not prepared:

Killing each separate louse is a tedious business when a man has hundreds. The little beasts are hard and the everlasting cracking with one's fingernails very soon becomes wearisome. So Tjaden has rigged up the lid of a boot-polish tin with a piece of wire over the lighted stump of a candle. The lice are simply thrown into this little pan. Crack! and they're done for.

Earlier in the narrative, Paul talked about how the young soldiers were told that they had to serve out of patriotic duty.  However, such words rang hollow when the recruits were put on the front line.  This is communicated in realities such as battling lice.  The young men must fight everyone and everything as part of their time on the front. Opposing soldiers, animals, and even lice posed a challenge.  The way Tjaden comes up with a way to kill lice is reflective of the struggle that young soldiers faced in war, something that never leaves Paul's thinking.

One reality that was never communicated to the soldiers was how much they would miss home.  Young people signed up for the war under the belief that it would be quick.  They were filled with visions of returning home as conquering heroes.  As chapter five unfolds, it is clear that missing home is taking a toll on the young soldiers:

Haie looks at him sadly and is silent. His thoughts still linger over the clear evenings in autumn, the Sundays in the heather, the village bells, the afternoons and evenings with the servant girls, the fried bacon and barley, the care-free hours in the ale-house-- He can't part with all these dreams so abruptly; he merely growls: "What silly questions you do ask."

Haie's memories of the life he once lived brings out an added dimension to war's pain.  The quote captures an ache that soldiers felt.  As Paul details, the war will forever change the soldiers who fought in it.  They will either die on the battlefield or return unable to adjust to their world.  As Haie's "thoughts still linger" on his past, it becomes clear that he will never be "care-free."  This is why he growls and cuts off his recollections.  He knows that he will never be able to find the happiness that was once there.  He will never be able to soothe the ache of yearning for how things used to be.

Paul and the other soldiers realize that their experiences on the front do not compare to what they were told in school.  They received a theoretical instruction that failed to account for the war's brutal reality:

We remember mighty little of all that rubbish. Anyway, it has never been the slightest use to us. At school nobody ever taught us how to light a cigarette in a storm of rain, nor how a fire could be made with wet wood--nor that it is best to stick a bayonet in the belly because there it doesn't get jammed, as it does in the ribs.

Paul speaks honestly about how "mighty little of all that rubbish" resonates with the soldiers who are at the front. The war has taught the men that what was told to them in institutions such as school has little connection to war's reality.  It never prepared them for what they were to face.  This only adds to their disillusionment.  It shows how the war inflicted emotional and physical wounds.

What is autism, and how does it affect an autistic child's siblings?

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been diagnosed at an increasingly high rate since the 1980s. For example, in 2010 the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that 1 in every 150 children was diagnosed with ASD; in 2012 that number jumped to 1 in 88. Although some of this increase can be attributed to doctors' and parents' greater awareness of the condition, the CDC believes this increase is also because of the disorder's growing prevalence, which means many more families now have to deal with the effects of ASD.

ASD is a disorder that affects the entire family. It most strongly affects the person diagnosed with ASD, as he or she has to lead a different kind of life than peers. The parents or guardians of those with ASD must cope with the extra care involved in raising a disabled child. Similarly, the siblings of children with ASD sometimes struggle. They may feel sadness, guilt, and even anger because their sibling has this disorder and requires so much care. They may receive less attention from their parents than the sibling with autism.

Despite these challenges, however, most siblings eventually have caring, fruitful relationships with their brother or sister with ASD. They can also seek comfort and help from professional groups and organizations created to assist those in such situations.

ASD and the ASD Diagnosis

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a disorder that is generally characterized by challenges with social interaction, communication, and repetitive movements, behaviors, or ideas. Although most children suffering from ASD have such problems, people with ASD can have different symptoms that range in severity. ASD first affects children during their early developmental period, around age two. Scientists are not sure what causes ASD but know it is linked to genetics and the environment. People should understand that ASD is not contagious like a cold or other illness. They should also realize that it is no one's fault that someone they love has ASD.

The sooner a child is diagnosed with ASD, the better. Early treatment and intervention can help children suffering from ASD. Doctors generally make a diagnosis based on checklists, observations, and input from parents and caretakers. There is not yet a medical test, such as a blood test, to diagnose ASD.

Effects of ASD on Siblings

ASD affects the entire family. Although many studies have been conducted showing the effects of ASD on those who suffer from it and their parents, few studies have focused on how ASD affects siblings. Much of the research that has been conducted on the effects of the disease on siblings has been anecdotal, meaning it is based on individual reports and stories. However, if these findings are to be believed, the siblings of those with ASD are greatly affected by their brother's or sister's disorder.

Siblings of those affected by ASD may have complicated feelings toward their brother or sister. Often, their lives and routines are altered by their siblings' wants and needs. For example, many children with ASD need to follow very particular routines—because of these routines, their siblings may not be able to go on vacations or participate in activities because the family must always adhere to the same schedule. Parents' stress in caring for an autistic child may also affect their other children, whether by changing their normal parent-child interaction or by causing a child to worry at seeing their parents overworked.

Experiences like this can upset siblings of people with ASD and affect their relationships with parents and others. Furthermore, some siblings feel guilty because they are able to lead more normal lives than their ASD-affected brother or sister. In some cases they may attempt to compensate for their affected sibling's inability to perform tasks or chores, potentially increasing their own stress. They may also feel jealous of the attention that their sibling with the disorder receives from their parents (sibling rivalry), or embarrassed around their friends because their family is different. Occasionally a sibling may become a target to a person with ASD displaying aggressive behavior. Younger children who do not understand their sibling's condition may be frustrated that they are unable to interact normally with their brother or sister. Older children may become concerned about the possibility of having to take over as their ASD-affected sibling's caretaker.

Although the siblings of people with ASD do often experience some negative emotions, research suggests that most of these individuals have overall positive, close sibling relationships with their brother or sister despite the challenges. According to a 2012 Easter Seals Siblings Study, 80 percent of people who have a developmentally disabled sibling feel their relationship with that sibling enhances their life. Many people feel protective of their disabled sibling and help care for him or her at home and in social settings.

People with an ASD-affected sibling can have their lives affected in other ways, too. Some people change their daily schedules to help care for their sibling. Others become the primary caretaker of their sibling. This can be like having a full-time job. Giving a sibling this level of care affects people emotionally, mentally, physically, and socially.

Because autism is thought to include a genetic component, siblings of those with ASD are also potentially at a higher risk for this disorder themselves, but scientists still debate the subject. A 2013 study from researchers at Aarhus University in Denmark found that children with a older sibling affected by ASD are seven times likelier to be diagnosed as well, while the CDC provides the broad estimate that an identical twin of someone with autism has a 36 to 95 percent chance of being diagnosed. Parents with an autistic child have also been shown to have an increased risk of having another child with ASD. Several inherited genes have been linked to autism, although no exact cause is known. However, a 2015 study from the Hospital for Sick Children in Canada cast doubt on the inheritability of ASD, finding that almost 70 percent of siblings who both have been diagnosed with ASD in fact have different gene mutations linked to autism and have varying symptoms. This suggests that each case of ASD may be the result of wholly independent factors

Resources and Strategies for Siblings of People with ASD

Supportive parents are the best resource for unaffected siblings as well as those with ASD, so parents should do their best to be informed about caregiving responsibilities and stress management, and help their children develop a life independent of their siblings. Young children must be educated about what autism is, and research suggests that this information should be provided to children of all ages at appropriate levels. For example, younger siblings can simply be made aware of their ASD-affected brother or sister's limitations, such as the inability to speak, while preteens should be given more detailed explanations about the disorder. Repetition is important to ensure that children have an appropriate understanding of the issue rather than simply a familiarity with associated terms.

With ASD-affected individuals and siblings of young ages, parents can take specific steps towards ensuring their children form positive relationships. Researchers suggest that siblings can be easily trained to follow guidelines in order to effectively play with a brother or sister with ASD. By using strategies such as providing easy instructions, giving praise, and maintaining attention, children can often overcome the barriers between a sibling with ASD caused by tantrums or lack of social skills. At the same time, parents must be aware that children need time away from their sibling with autism as well. Children should be allowed time on their own or with peers and individual parental attention.

Older children and adults with ASD-affected siblings can seek out resources and use strategies to help them deal with the problems they encounter. They can look to others who have ASD-affected siblings for support. Talking to people who have had the same experiences can be extremely helpful and can help them justify their feelings. Conversing with others can also give new insight into how to deal with particular issues. National or local support groups exist with the aim of helping siblings of those with disabilities, including The Sibling Support Project of the Arc of the United States, Autism New Jersey, and many others. Siblings of those with ASD may also look for books and websites produced for families with children with ASD. They can also become involved in ASD social media campaigns or community events. Parents must also communicate with their adult children to plan for the long-term care of an ASD-affected family member, including who will become their guardian after the parents' death.

Siblings of children with ASD can also talk to mental health professionals or therapists. These professionals are usually more objective than family members and friends. They give people a safe place to discuss their emotions, thoughts, and experiences. Some mental health professionals even specialize in caring for families with disabled children. They can help family members develop personalized plans to deal with stress or other negative emotions.

It is important for people with ASD-affected siblings to make time for themselves. By making time to care for themselves, these individuals will likely be happier and more supportive of their brother or sister and parents.

Bibliography

“Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC, 26 Feb. 2015. Web. 10 Mar. 2015.

Baio, Jon. “Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder Among Children Aged 8 Years—Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, 11 Sites, United States, 2010.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC, 28 Mar. 2014. Web. 10 Mar. 2015.

Cain, Barbara. “Autism’s Invisible Victims: The Siblings.” Time. Time, 30 Nov. 2012. Web. 10 Mar. 2015.

Harris, Sandra. "Siblings." Autism Society. Autism Society, n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2015.

“A Message for Teen Brothers and Sisters.” Sibling Support Project. Sibling Support Project, n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2015.

Scherer, Stephen W., et al. "Whole-Genome Sequencing of Quartet Families with Autism Spectrum Disorder." Nature Medicine 21 (2015): 185–91. Print.

“Siblings.” Autism Science Foundation. Autism Science Foundation, 2015. Web. 10 Mar. 2015.

What is the tone in Al Capone Does My Shirts?

The tone of Al Capone Does My Shirts is complex, as it is satirical but also serious. At the beginning of the book, the satirical side of the narrator, Moose, comes out as he describes his new home on Alcatraz. He says, "I want to be here like I want poison oak on my private parts" (page 3). He is also at first somewhat satirical about the school his family wants his autistic sister Natalie to attend, the Esther P. Marinoff School. He describes the school as "where kids have macaroni salad in their hair and wear their clothes inside out and there isn't a chalkboard or a book in sight" (page 3-4).

As the book goes on, Moose develops a more serious tone about his sister. For example, when he is watching her and trying to keep her calm before her school interview, she starts having a tantrum and ripping up the moons she's been drawing. Moose says, "her eyes are beginning to storm over" (page 182). Moose clearly feels responsible for Natalie, his sister, and distraught over her uncontrollable rages. 

There are also some fantastical elements in the book; for example, Al Capone's mother is on a boat going to Alcatraz, and she soothes a small baby. When she attempts to visit her son, the metal stays on her corset set off the metal detectors, and she is humiliated (page 134). In addition, Moose writes a secret note to Al Capone through the prison laundry asking him to help get his sister into the school, and when Moose receives his shirt from the laundry, the word "Done" is written on a note in the sleeve. These parts of the book add a fantastical tone to the book. 

What were the technological and the economic factors that impacted the United States military during the World War II?

The United States military was impacted by technological and economic factors during World War II. New forms of technology were used to help our military accomplish its goals. The navy was able to use sonar and radar to spot the German submarines. This helped to make it safer for Allied ships crossing the ocean. We also used radar to spot enemy airplanes. We developed the atomic bomb as a new weapon using newer forms of technology. This bomb helped bring World War II to an end.

There were economic factors that helped our military during the war. Because Great Britain didn’t have enough money to buy supplies from us, the Destroyers for Bases program was developed. This allowed our military to build bases in lands controlled by Great Britain. This allowed our military to have places to stop and refuel during the war. Additionally, with so many people unemployed as a result of the Great Depression, there were plenty of soldiers who could be drafted and plenty of people who could work in the war industries. It was the start of World War II that really ended the Great Depression for us. Our military benefited by having an ample supply of people who could be drafted into the military and who could go to work in the factories to produce the supplies and the equipment our soldiers needed.

Technological developments and economics circumstances impacted our military during World War II.

What was Jefferson's vision for the new republic?

Jefferson envisioned a nation of self-sufficient yeoman farmers who were all civic minded, guiding the decisions of the government by a direct form of democracy. It should be pointed out that the only people in the country who were considered citizens were Anglo landowners, so that should be understood when considering whose civic participation the government was supposed to follow. Also, his vision did not include enslaved Africans as having the same opportunities as the Anglo farmers.

Most Anglo Americans in the United States at the time earned their living from operating small farms in the countryside, and the United States at the time was only beginning to cross over into the Ohio Valley west of the Appalachians (the current Midwest). To accomplish his goal, he wanted every head of household to have access to a small plot of land that they could cultivate and make a living from. Jefferson saw the vast expanse of "open" land to the West as a good opportunity to be able to continue providing new land for farmers to obtain cheaply in order to sustain this economic model.

I put "open" in quotes because of course the land he saw as the means by which to continue to provide this opportunity to Anglo farmers was already occupied by Native peoples, which needed to be displaced in order for this model to work. He expected the Native peoples occupying said land to adopt the same model as the Anglos, thereby making it possible to contain them and thus make the needed land available to future generations of yeoman farmers.

Jefferson saw this model as a solution to avoid what was going on in Europe at the time, particularly England, where regular people were being displaced from their land by the wealthy elite and forced to work in terrible conditions in factories as England underwent industrialization. Jefferson did favor industrial development and international trade, but he mainly wanted it to benefit small farmers.

Here is a good article that further explains Jefferson's ideology.

What are natural treatments for schizophrenia?

Introduction

Schizophrenia is a disabling brain disease that is a chronic, severe, and believed to be genetic. People with schizophrenia often experience auditory hallucinations, such as hearing internal voices that are not heard by others. Paranoia is also common, and those suffering with schizophrenia often believe that other people are reading their minds, controlling their thoughts, or plotting to harm them. These symptoms often leave individuals fearful and withdrawn. Also, their speech and behavior can be so disorganized that they may be incomprehensible or frightening to others. Schizophrenia increases a person’s risk of suicide, self-mutilation, substance abuse, and social problems such as unemployment, homelessness, and incarceration.

The severity of schizophrenic symptoms and the long-lasting, chronic pattern of the disease often cause a high degree of disability. Approximately 1 percent of the population develops this condition during their lifetime; more than 2 million people in the United States have this illness in a given year. Although schizophrenia affects men and women with equal frequency, the disorder often appears earlier in men. Men are usually affected in their late teenage years or early twenties, while women are generally affected in their twenties to early thirties.

Researchers are not sure what causes schizophrenia, although in 2016 scientists published a report indicating that the disorder has its roots in an individual's DNA. Problems with brain structure and chemistry are thought to play a role, and some researchers believe that environmental factors may contribute. It is theorized also that a viral infection in infancy or extreme stress, or both, may trigger schizophrenia in people who are predisposed to the disease.

Conventional drug treatment for schizophrenia is moderately effective. Although it seldom produces a true cure, it can enable a person with schizophrenia to function in society.

Tardive dyskinesia (TD) is a potentially permanent side effect of drugs used to control schizophrenia and other psychoses. This late-developing (tardy, or tardive) complication consists of annoying, mostly uncontrollable movements (dyskinesias). Typical symptoms include repetitive sucking or blinking, slow twisting of the hands, and other movements of the face and limbs. TD can cause tremendous social embarrassment. Several natural treatments have shown promise for preventing or treating TD.

Principal Proposed Natural Treatments

Because there are effective treatments for schizophrenia, it is unethical to perform studies comparing a hypothetical new treatment with a placebo. Therefore, studies of natural treatments for schizophrenia have looked at their potential benefit for enhancing the effects of standard treatment (or minimizing its side effects). No natural treatments have been studied as a sole therapy for schizophrenia.

Glycine
. Until recently, all common medications used for schizophrenia fell into a class called phenothiazines. These drugs are most effective for the positive symptoms of schizophrenia, such as hallucinations and delusions. (Such symptoms are called positive because they indicate the presence of abnormal mental functions, rather than the absence of normal mental functions.) In general, however, these medications are less helpful for the “negative” symptoms of schizophrenia, such as apathy, depression, and social withdrawal.

The supplement glycine might be of benefit here. A clinical trial enrolled twenty-two persons who continued to experience negative symptoms of schizophrenia despite standard therapy. In this double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study, volunteers were randomly assigned to receive either 0.8 gram(g) of glycine per kilogram of body weight (about 60 g per day) or placebo for six weeks, along with their regular medications. The groups were then switched after a two-week “wash-out” period during which they all received placebo.

Significant improvements (about 30 percent) in symptoms such as depression and apathy were seen with glycine when compared with placebo. Additionally, glycine appeared to reduce some of the side effects caused by the prescription drugs. Furthermore, the benefits apparently continued for another eight weeks after glycine was discontinued.

No changes were seen in positive symptoms (for instance, hallucinations), but it is not possible to tell whether this was the case because these symptoms were already being controlled by prescription medications or because glycine simply has no effect on that aspect of schizophrenia.

Four other small, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials of glycine together with standard drugs for schizophrenia (including the newer drugs olanzapine and risperidone) also found it to be helpful for negative symptoms. However, one small, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial (nineteen participants) suggests that adding glycine to the drug clozapine may not be a good idea. In this study, glycine was found to reduce the benefits of clozapine without helping to relieve the participants’ negative symptoms. Lack of benefit, although no actual harm, was seen in two other double-blind, placebo-controlled trials of glycine and clozapine. Another, later study not specifically limited to clozapine also failed to find benefit with glycine. A natural substance (sarcosine) that blocks the action of glycine has also shown promise for the treatment of schizophrenia.

Other Proposed Natural Treatments

Numerous other natural therapies have shown promise for aiding various aspects of treatment for schizophrenia, but in most cases, the supporting evidence is weak at best.

Enhancing drug action. For a number of theoretical reasons, it has been suggested that fish oil and its constituents (especially a slightly modified constituent called ethyl-EPA) might enhance the effectiveness of standard drugs used for schizophrenia; however, evidence for benefit remains incomplete and inconsistent.

A small, six-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled study evaluated the potential effectiveness of the supplement dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) taken at a dose of 100 mg daily for enhancing the effectiveness of drug treatment for schizophrenia. The results indicated that the use of DHEA led to improvement in various symptoms, especially negative symptoms. However, in another double-blind, placebo-controlled study, the use of DHEA provided minimal benefits, if any. Preliminary evidence suggests that ginkgo, the amino acid D-serine, and N-acetylcysteine may also enhance the effectiveness of various antipsychotic drugs.

Drug side effects. Vitamin B6
might also reduce symptoms of akathesia, a type of restlessness associated with phenothiazine antipsychotics. One small double-blind study found that the use of DHEA reduced the Parkinson-like movement disorders that may occur in people taking phenothiazine drugs. According to studies performed in China, the herb ginkgo may reduce various side effects caused by drugs used to treat schizophrenia.

Preliminary studies suggest that phenothiazine drugs might deplete the body of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10). While there is no evidence that taking this supplement provides any specific benefit for people using phenothiazines, supplementing with CoQ10 might be a good idea on general principles. The herb milk thistle might protect against the liver toxicity sometimes caused by phenothiazine drugs.

Other options. Preliminary evidence suggests that a special form of magnet therapy called repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) may be useful for schizophrenia. However, not all studies have found benefits above the placebo effect; rTMS is not yet available outside a research setting.

A study of nineteen people with schizophrenia who had disturbed sleep patterns found that 2 mg of controlled-release melatonin improved sleep. Another small study failed to find the supplement creatine helpful for schizophrenia.

High doses of various vitamins, including folate, A, B1, B3 (niacin), B6, B12, C, and E, have been suggested for the treatment of schizophrenia, but the evidence that these vitamins offer any real benefit remains incomplete and contradictory at best. One trial of eighty-one adolescents and young adults (considered at very high risk for psychotic disorder) found that daily omega-3 fatty acid (fish oil) supplements for twelve weeks delayed the onset of a full schizophrenic episode. Larger trials are necessary before fish oil supplementation can be recommended for persons at risk for schizophrenia.

Yoga too has been studied for schizophrenia. In one small trial, persons who supplemented their regular treatment with a yoga program lasting four months had improved symptoms, were able to function better, and reported a better quality of life compared to those who did physical therapy alone.

Herbs and Supplements to Avoid

There are some indications that using the supplement phenylalanine while taking antipsychotic drugs might increase the risk of developing tardive dyskinesia. Antipsychotic drugs can cause dystonic reactions (sudden intense movements and prolonged muscle contraction of the neck and eyes.) There is some evidence that the herb kava can increase the risk or severity of this side effect.

Phenothiazine drugs can cause increased sensitivity to the sun. Various herbs, including St. John’s wort and dong quai, can also cause this problem. Combined treatment with herb and drug might increase the risk further.

St. John’s wort might also interact adversely with the newer antipsychotic drugs in the clozapine family. Persons who take any of these drugs and then start taking St. John’s wort may see blood levels of the drug fall. However, if a person is already taking both the herb and the drug, but then stops St. John’s wort, the level of drug in the body could reach the toxic point.

The supplement chromium is often sold as chromium picolinate. Because picolinate can alter levels of various neurotransmitters (substances that the brain uses to function), there are theoretical concerns that it could cause problems for people with schizophrenia.

The herb yohimbe is relatively toxic and can cause problems if used incorrectly. Also, phenothiazine medications may increase the risk of this toxicity.

Bibliography

Amer. Psychiatric Assn. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: DSM-5. Washington, DC: Amer. Psychiatric Assn., 2013. 2013. Print.

Amminger, G. P., et al. “Long-Chain Omega-3 Fatty Acids for Indicated Prevention of Psychotic Disorders.” Archives of General Psychiatry 67 (2010): 146–54. Print.

Buchanan, R. W., et al. “The Cognitive and Negative Symptoms in Schizophrenia Trial (CONSIST): The Efficacy of Glutamatergic Agents for Negative Symptoms and Cognitive Impairments.” American Journal of Psychiatry 164 (2007): 1593–602. Print.

Duraiswamy, G., et al. “Yoga Therapy as an Add-On Treatment in the Management of Patients with Schizophrenia.” Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 116 (2007): 226–32. Print.

Holi, M. M., et al. “Left Prefrontal Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in Schizophrenia.” Schizophrenia Bulletin 30 (2004): 429–34. Print.

Kaptsan, A., et al. “Lack of Efficacy of 5 Grams Daily of Creatine in Schizophrenia.” Journal of Clinical Psychiatry 68 (2007): 881–84. Print.

Ritsner, M. S., et al. “Improvement of Sustained Attention and Visual and Movement Skills, but Not Clinical Symptoms, After Dehydroepiandrosterone Augmentation in Schizophrenia.” Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology 26 (2006): 495–99. Print.

Sekar, Aswin, et al. "Schizophrenia Risk from Complex Variation of Complement Component 4." Nature (Jan. 2016): 1–7. Print.

Tranulis, C., et al. “Should We Treat Auditory Hallucinations with Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation?” Canadian Journal of Psychiatry 53 (2008): 577–86. Print.

Trattler, Ross, and Shea Trattler. Better Health through Natural Healing: How to Get Well Without Drugs or Surgery. Berkeley: North Atlantic, 2013. Print

How is Juana's life changed by the scorpion bite in The Pearl?

After the scorpion bites her baby, Juana's simple, but relatively peaceful life becomes disturbed and complicated by reversals of fortune.

Before her baby is bitten by the scorpion, Juana is content with her simple life as peasant. She sings softly in the morning as she prepares a meal:

Juana sang softly an ancient song that had only three notes and yet endless variety of interval....Sometimes it rose to an aching chord that caught the throat saying this is safety, this is warmth, this is the Whole.

However, the "Whole" is shattered with the events subsequent to the incident of the scorpion. Then, the "Song of Evil" enters her family's lives. As a result of their fear of the baby's dying from the scorpion bite, Kino seeks the doctor, but when he sees that Kino is a peasant without money, the doctor tells his servant to say that he is out. An angered Kino strikes the gate with his fist, bringing blood to his knuckles.

After this rejection, Kino decides that he must dive deeper into the ocean than he usually does in order to find a pearl with which to hire a doctor. Ironically, while she waits on Kino, Juana makes a poultice of seaweed that is "as good a remedy as any" for the baby. Finally, Kino comes onto shore with a magnificent pearl. 
Thinking he has found "The Pearl of the World," Kino plans to return to the doctor. However, word of this pearl soon reaches others and they come to ask Kino for favors. The avaricious doctor pretends that the scorpion's bite, which appears to be healing, can become inflamed again, so he must treat it. When Kino tells him he can pay with the pearl he has found, the doctor acts as though he has no knowledge of this great pearl.
But that night the "Song of Evil" enters the home of Kino and Juana as a robber, who is probably sent by the doctor, sneaks around and, hearing him, Kino strikes "first blood."

Because they are but peasants, Kino and Juana are exploited. When Kino takes his pearl to the pearl dealers, who are really agents of the same dealer, they conspire and pretend that this beautiful pearl is worthless because it is over-sized. Their refusal to give him what he feels it is worth causes Kino to vow to go to Mexico City and sell it there. But their neighbors worry because other men who have tried to do the same thing have met harm or death.

"That good wife Juana...and the beautiful baby Coyotito, and the others to come. What a pity it would be if the pearl should destroy them all."

Their worries are prophetic. Despite Juana's efforts to stop him, Kino refuses to be cheated on this Pearl of the World. Then, after Kino kills a thief, Juana tells her husband,

"Kino, this pearl is evil. Let us destroy it before it destroys us. Let us crush it....Let us--let us throw it back in the sea where it belongs."

Nevertheless, Kino insists, "I will fight this thing." Tragically, however, Juana is wiser, for on their journey to the city, Kino kills another man, but not before the thief, believing that he has heard a coyote howl, shoots Coyotito as he wails in the night. After this tragic occurrence, Juana convinces Kino to walk with her to shore and toss back the pearl.

And the pearl was ugly; it was gray like a malignant growth.

Their simple, but loving and peaceful life broken by murders and the tragic loss of their baby, Juana and Kino's existence is forever altered.