Spinal Cord Repair Essays - Glial Cells, Neurophysiology

Spinal Cord Repair Spinal Cord Repair Once a pipe dream, researchers now are uncovering ways to repair spinal cord injuries. Current methods reduce the nerve cell damage or death that occurs in the hours following injury and increase the efficiency of surviving nerve cells. New evidence suggests that future treatments also may assist the regeneration of lost connections. Prospects include transplanting new nerve cells and supporting cells, delivering proteins that stimulate regeneration by the cells already in the spinal cord, and strategies to reduce inhibition of regeneration. A gymnast cartwheels from one side of the balance beam to the other. As she flips, underneath the ripple of protective bones called vertebrae, nerve cells are passing brain messages through the spinal cord. The cells' chatter directs the coordinated movement of muscles that propel her body. If an accident, such as a fall off the beam, injures these cells, the communication line shuts down below the point of impact. Some 250,000 Americans have spinal cord injuries. The result can include paralysis, a loss of sensation or the ability to move. The spinal cord and brain, known as the central nervous system (CNS), is one main part of our nervous system. The other primary section is the peripheral nervous system (PNS), which includes the nerves that project to the limbs, heart, skin and other organs outside the brain. Both consist of nerve cells, or neurons, and supporting cells. Scientists have known for years that following an injury, many neurons in the PNS can repair themselves, but CNS neurons are incapable of rebuilding connections. In fact, certain cells in the CNS produce proteins that inhibit the appendages of neurons, known as axons, from regrowing. In the early 1980s, however, researchers demonstrated that the manipulation of the neuron's environment could promote cell regeneration in animals. This finding is prompting: New insight on the mechanisms that regulate repair. Approaches for repairing damaged cells. In the last five years, researchers have unveiled techniques that modestly improve function in animals. One example involves the transplantation of cells taken from embryos, which are known to ignore the central nervous system's regeneration opponents. Researchers discovered that these cells can integrate into the spinal cord's broken communication line. In addition, when they grafted the cells into rats and cats with bruised spinal cords, close to the time of injury, some animals showed partial improved locomotion. Other researchers are making use of non-embryonic mature tissues. In one recent study, rats with completely severed spinal cords apparently showed limited functional improvement with multiple peripheral nerve section implants. The cells in the grafts initially include supporting cells, and cut axons. These axons degenerate, however, leaving behind a natural tube for the CNS axons to regrow through. In the study, the CNS axons grew across the grafts and apparently made connections with the neurons that move the legs. To create a better environment for growth, the scientists aimed the grafts into the gray matter -- the butterfly-shaped tissue in the center of the spinal cord -- which bypassed the spinal cord's inhibitory proteins (see illustration). The grafts were secured with a glue that contained cell injury reducing proteins known as growth factors. These natural factors, themselves, are an intense area of interest. Scientists are perfecting techniques to administer the proteins including specialized implants and genetically-modified cells that produce the factors. One study showed that rat cells, engineered to secrete a growth factor and then transplanted into the animal, regenerated some of the neuronal projections needed for walking. Researchers now are testing whether the growth improves function. Scientists also are examining the benefits of transplanting PNS supporting cells dislodged from their neighboring cells. These cells, called Schwann cells, naturally secrete their own growth factors and have membrane proteins that aid neuron growth. Recently, scientists successfully transplanted purified human Schwann cells into the severed spinal cords of rats and reported that some of the animals had a small improvement in function. More analysis is needed, however, to determine if effective connections were established Psychology Essays

Documenting Primary school teaching in Mumbai (India) The WritePass Journal

Documenting Primary school teaching in Mumbai (India) Introduction Documenting Primary school teaching in Mumbai (India) IntroductionHypothesis RationaleLiterature Review Teacher’s Quality   Teacher’s Interpersonal Skills Documentation of the best practices Primary school teachers and primary educationMethodologyAims ObjectivesOperational DefinitionsData CollectionSampleResearch DesignResearch ToolsData AnalysisReliability and Validity of the researchEthical Issues References: Related Introduction A century ago, when we look back at the educational situation, it can be seen that the concept of ‘primary education’ was not seeded in the minds of the people. Mist of the countries focussed on education as knowing of their religious needs rather than a preparation for one’s active life. Only in 19th century did most countries make primary education compulsory and people began regarding education as a right (Amrung Gerald, 1999). Children usually enrol in primary schools by the age of 6 and it evolves as a five-year cycle and primary education forms as a basis for all further education and schooling and it is also the foundation to cope with the changing world and society (Pollard Bourne, 1995). India’s primary education is like a glass which is two-third full and one third empty having 67 million children aged 6 to 10 years attending primary schooling but 28 to 32 million children who are not (World Bank Publication, 1997). Millions of young children ha iling from lower socio-economic, comprising nearly 40% never complete their primary schooling and those who can have to face a number of problems like poor qualified teachers, very high teacher-student ratio, inadequate teaching materials (Saxena, 2005). All these factors contribute to low quality of education that imparts only little or no learning. Teachers teaching in primary schools account for the largest steadily growing profession in India, with nearly 2.8 million primary and upper primary teachers employed in the year 2000 (Tilak, 1995) It is rightly said ‘upon the teacher rests the school’; the ‘teacher’ becomes the prime revitalizing force and plays a pivotal role in the education system. Good teacher is the one who is T- thoughtful, E- Enthusiastic, A-Ambitious, C- Creative, H- Having high dignity, E- Executiveness and R- Reliability and it is the teacher who helps the child to build his self-concept (Devasenathipati, 2001). According to Miyan Rastogi (2005), a primary school teacher can be called as ‘competent’ only when she/he has a varied range of knowledge in all spheres and skills to achieve her/his goals. Primary schooling is very complex as teachers introduce the children to mathematics, science, language and other social studies which can be very tough and boring for the children, so the onus likes in the hand of the teacher to make all these subjects interesting by using various techniques of teaching like games, music, books etc (Richardson Stop, 1998). ‘A unique human being- the teacher’ who has to play multiple roles; of a listener, leader, psychological diagnostician etc and requires her/his total self, the personal and professional side to shape the personality of the child (Spodek, 1972). In India till the 18th century, education was confined to conventional beliefs and thoughts. It was only later when great thinkers like Raja Ram Mohan Roy felt the urgency to introduce an ‘institution for training teachers’ to help the students cope with the changing educational system around the world (Saxena, 2005). Cheng (1996) commented that â€Å"A teacher with ‘low educational efficacy’ believes that education cannot affect student’s performance, whereas a teacher with ‘high educational efficacy’ believes that education does positively affect learning outcomes. High educational efficacy has been constantly correlated with child centred (developmentally appropriate) environments and positive student outcomes†. Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) is a term coined by the ‘National Association for the Education of Young Children’ which talks about the teaching techniques that identify and foster the developmen tal needs of children (Bredekamp, 1997).   Documenting these practices which can be named as ‘best practices’ will help teachers to enhance their skills and help them improve for the better, at the same time documentation will also prove as a link between the teaching fraternities globally giving birth to more systematic and educational system along with this it will be a boon for the upcoming generation of teachers to adopt these protocols. Hypothesis Rationale Many a time’s teachers are criticised for not doing their best in schools. There could be many reasons; either it could be ineffectiveness of the teacher or lack of resources. Hence it will be very useful to identify the best/healthy practices carried out by teachers with or without resources. This study will help in knowing and understanding the teacher’s effectiveness in primary schools and documenting the best practices so that other teachers who work under similar circumstances with similar goals and constraints get an idea of effective teaching.   The teachers will be observed, recorded and documented in 4 areas: Teacher as a Person, Teacher as a Professional, Teacher’s Interpersonal Relationship and Qualities of the Teacher. Literature Review The literature is based on past researches done on teachers and primary school teaching and it is presented on the following subtopics:   Teacher’s Quality Teacher’s Interpersonal Skills Teacher’s Qualification Documentation of the best practices Primary school teachers and primary education Teacher’s Quality According to Hammond (2000) teachers preparations and teachings are the strongest correlations of the student’s achievement and teacher’s quality is the most vital educational investment. Similarly Rvikin, Hanushek and Kain (1998) reported the student’s performance outcomes to the teacher’s quality, they analysed 400,000 students in 3000 schools from New York, which concluded that school quality is the most important factor in students achievement however teacher’s quality is the most important predictor whereas size and teacher education plays a very small role. Relationship between teachers’ personality and academic and social development was analysed by Heil and Washburne (1998). They found out that children made the greatest progress under the guidance of self-controlled teacher and least under fearful teachers. They also reported that children seem to grow as friendlier under self-controlled teachers.   Teacher’s Interpersonal Skills Dasgupta (2004) observed that those teachers who had a strong interest in their students as individuals and were sensitive to their needs, the students could relate themselves with such teachers in a much better way creating a level of comfort with them. On the other hand, those teachers who are friendly but make no attempt to know their students, the children feel anxious being with them and they even doubted the teacher’s ability to perform. Similarly, those teachers who did not show any interest, the students believed that the teacher had a very low ability to perform and was low self-motivated. A significant body of research reported that academic achievement and students’ behaviour is influenced by the quality of the teacher-student relationship. It also suggests that the emotional aspect of the teacher-student relationship is far more important than the conventional advice on methods and techniques of teaching (Gerald, 1999) Teacher’s Qualification Cheng (1996) conducted a study on high school students’ performance using data from the National Educational Longitudinal Studies (1998) and found that fully certified teachers have a significant positive impact on student test scores as compared to teachers who are not well qualified and certified. Heil (1998) through his study concluded that teachers who had been out from teacher education since long and were away from on-going professional development lacked familiarity with current knowledge. She also commented that there was a significant difference in strength of developmentally appropriate practice beliefs between novice teachers and veteran teachers. The more oriented teachers scored significantly high on measures of developmentally appropriate practices. Documentation of the best practices A study was conducted by Miyan in 2005 documenting the best practices on 25 children in 7 schools and it was seen that the most prominent best practices carried out were providing children with positive reinforcement, treating all children equally, spontaneity while teaching and innovativeness in teaching methods. Similar study conducted by Rastogi (2005) found out that the best teaching practices were using teaching aids and creative methods to teach like dramatizations, providing children with a stimulating environment. Primary school teachers and primary education According to Dasgupta (2004), ‘play’ should be the central activity of children even in primary schools and primary school teachers should teach children using the play way method as it helps children to relate to what is being taught. Introducing games in classroom is one of the ways of encouraging cooperation and motivating the children to study and learn the concepts. Washburne (1998) surveyed primary school children to see the kind of the teachers liked by them and those who were disliked. He found that physical characteristics such as grooming, nice voice, and pleasing personality were found to be more important along with teacher’s qualities like interest in teaching, enthusiasm, innovativeness etc. At the same time children also laid equal emphasis on the personality traits like being cheerful, fair, non-judgemental etc. Methodology Aims Objectives To identify and document the ‘best practices’ of teachers, nominated as ‘effective teachers’ by principals/supervisors To identify the practices that need improvement To observe, record and document the ‘best practices’ of primary school teachers in 4 areas: Teacher as a Person, Teacher as a Professional, Teacher’s Interpersonal Relationship and Qualities of the Teacher. To compare the teachers best practices in relation to the fee structure To compare the teachers best practices in relation to his/her years of teaching experience To compare teachers best practices in relation to the teacher child ratio. Operational Definitions Effective Teachers: These are the teachers having innovative and creative teaching practices and who will be nominated by the principals/supervisors Primary Teacher: Teacher teaching to children in 1st and 2nd grade Low Fee Structured Schools: Schools having fees ranging from Rs.15/- to Rs.350/- per month High Fee Structured Schools: Schools having fees ranging from Rs.350/- to Rs. 450/- per month Data Collection Sample Primary school teachers serving in the schools having low and high fee structure and located in Mumbai, India will be approached using an introductory letter. The schools will be selected keeping in mind the indicators like fee structure, location of schools, medium of instruction and minimum 5years of establishment. 10 schools will be approached and nearly 30 teachers will be observed and interviewed. From these 10 schools, 5 schools will represent schools having low fee structure and remaining 5 schools will represent high fee structure. Research Design The school authorities will be approached with a prior appointment and the school supervisor/principal will be given and introductory letter conveying the nature of the research (refer to appendix 2). The information and the facts about the school (profile of the school) will be obtained from the authorities including details of the school like the name, number of teaching staff, fee structure, teacher-child ratio etc. The principal/supervisor will be asked to nominate three teachers who according to them are effective in their teaching, in short who are exemplary. The teachers will be given a consent form (refer to appendix 1) which will agree their part-taking in the research. Research Tools The research tools that will be used for this study will be a fact sheet, an observation record documentation sheet along with an interview questionnaire. The sample of the research tools is provided in the appendix. The fact sheet will have two parts to it; first it will help in gathering the profile of the school and second one to gather the nomination of the teachers made by the principal/supervisor (Refer to appendix 3) The observation record sheet will be again divided in two parts.   First part will focus on gathering the teacher’s profile (age, qualification, number of years of experience) whereas the second part of the sheet who help in observing the nominated teacher in four criterias namely- Teacher as a Person, Teacher’s Interpersonal Relationship, Teacher as a professional and Qualities of the Teacher (Refer appendix 4a. 4b). The documentation sheet will help in documenting the best practices of teachers along with those practices which need improvement. This will also help in understanding the teacher-child interaction and noting down the minuscule but important details of classroom teaching (Refer to appendix 5) The interview questionnaire will help in interacting with the teachers on one to one basis. The nominated teachers will be interviewed on the basis of the four criterias namely- Teacher as a Person, Teacher’s Interpersonal Relationship, Teacher as a professional and Qualities of the Teacher. The interview will consist of open end questions will be give a chance to the teachers to be more expressive, so that all the details could be captured. (Refer appendix 6) To summarise, the researcher will visit the schools during the school hours for observation. Observation will be done for each teacher for 3 days and each session would be for an hour. The observation record sheet and the documentation sheet will be carried to the classroom to record the verbal comments as well as the non-verbal gestures of the teachers along with the recording of the best practices. So the researcher will observe 3 teachers for 3 days in each school (schools having high as well as low fee structure), one hour per teacher in each school.   The researcher will then interview the teachers during the school hours according to the convenience of the teachers. The interview session would approximately last for an hour. Data Analysis The observation record sheet will be analysed both quantitatively as well as qualitatively where as the documentation and interview sheet will be analysed qualitatively only. The data for the quantitative analysis will be encoded using the SPSS and co-relational analysis will be conducted for the statistical analysis. The data for the qualitative analysis will be encoded using the analysing conversation technique and the IPA (Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis) so that a rich data is collected. Reliability and Validity of the research To understand the reliability and validity of the research, a pilot study will be conducted on two schools. During the pilot study the effectiveness of the tool will be checked. A meta-analysis can also be conducted to understand the nature of previous researches done and certain improvisations in the present study can be made on the basis of the systematic review of meta-analysis. Ethical Issues Any research and the practical applications of the procedures come under the scrutiny of professional ethics (Anastasi Urbina, 2004).   Even for this research certain ethical issues have to be taken care of in a systematic manner. A formal approval will be taken from the principals/supervisors of the school who decide to become a part of the study, even the nominated teachers would be asked if they would like to participate and be one of the respondents, they will also be entitled to sign a consent form. All the data collected will be confidential. No one except the researcher will be allowed to access that data. There are no foreseeable risks involved with the tools used for the research. They will be assured that all their information will be kept confidential and privacy will be maintained. While conducting the observations and interview there could be some risk involved like anxiety and questions in the respondents mind. All the participants will be explained the nature of the study, objectives. They will be assured that all their information will be kept confidential and privacy will be maintained. References: Amurang, C., Gerald. (1999). ‘Evaluating Primary Education’, International Developmental Research, Canada Anastasi, A., Urbina,S. (2004). ‘Psychological Testing’, Prentice Hall, USA A World Bank Publication, (1997). ‘Primary Education in India’, U.S.A: Library Cross Publication Bredekamp, S., Copple, C. (1997). ‘Developmentally Appropriate Practices in Early Childhood Programmes’, Washington D.C.: National Association for Education of Young Children. Cheng, Y.C. (1996). ‘Total Teacher Effectiveness: New conception and improvement’, International Journal of Education Management, 10 (6), 7-17. Devasenathipathi, M. (2001). ‘A Good Teacher’, Educational Review, 144 (9),   101. Hammond, L. (1999). ‘Teacher Quality and student achievement: A review of state policy evidence’, Seattle, WA : Center for the Study of Teaching and Policy, University of Washington. Kain, F., Rivikin, S. (2005). ‘Teachers, Schools, and Academic Achievement’, Econometrica, 73 (2), 417-458. Heil, Lousi., Washburne, C. (1998). ‘What characteristics affect children’s growth?’, The School Review, 68(4), 420-428. Dasgupta, D. (2004), ‘Effective teaching techniques’, Avishkar Publications. Miyan., M., Rastogi., A. (2005). ‘Manpower Planning for Elementary Teacher Education: A pre-requisite for Quality Elementary Education’, University News, 43 (18), 56-62. Pollard, A., Bourne, J. (1995). ‘Teaching and Learning in Primary Schools’, New York: Rout Ledge. Saxena, C. (2005). ‘A Historical Overview of Teacher Education in India from Rig Vedic Age till 1947’, University News, 43(18), 1-7. Spodek, B., (1972). ‘Teaching in Early Years’, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc. Tilak., J.B.G. (1995) ‘How free is Free Primary Education’, Occasional Paper-21, New Delhi: NIE Richardson, J., Stopp, P. (1998). ‘Becoming a Primary Teacher’, London: Penguin Books

PATHOLOGY & BIOCHEMISTRY MODEL DEGREE EXAM QUESTIONS Coursework

PATHOLOGY & BIOCHEMISTRY MODEL DEGREE EXAM QUESTIONS - Coursework Example (write about 250 words) The identifying characteristic of malignant neoplasms, with nomenclature of either carcinoma or sarcoma in their suffixes, is that they have ill-defined borders, and are able to infiltrate surrounding tissues and metastasize to other tissues of the body. Malignant tumors are also more prone to necrosis and hemorrhage, as compared to benign ones, growth named with an –oma attached at the end. As such, surgical treatment alone is not enough in treating the disease. Adjunct therapy may include radiation and chemotherapy. In contrast, benign neoplasms can be resolved through surgery because they are encapsulated and their growth is limited within the tissue of origin. Given these reasons, the prognosis of patients with malignant neoplasms is poorer than those with benign growths. Microscopic differences are also present. Malignant neoplasms are composed of cells with a higher mitotic activity compared to benign neoplasms. Thus, malignant tumors are typically larger than benign one s. They also look different from benign cells, which look like normal, differentiated cells, because they are undifferentiated and anaplastic, their nuclei are big and hyperchromatic and their shapes are irregular. The malignant cells of a tumor also vary in size and shape, as opposed to cells of a benign tumor which are isomorphic. Malignant cells also lose their polarity, resulting to disorganized growth. Benign tumor cells still have their polarity intact, thus they are still capable of organized growth. Cell derangement is not just limited to structure , but also to function. Malignant cells have an altered function already, as opposed to benign tumors that retain the function of the tissue of origin. Q2. Write about the sequence of events and processes of the pathogenesis of a typical carcinoma. You may use the flow diagram below as a guide: (write about 200 words) EVENTS AND PROCESSES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF DUCTAL CARCINOMA IN BREASTS NORMAL Nonproliferative PROLIFERATIVE CHANG ES Caused by loss of growth inhibitory signals, increase in pro-growth signals, or decreased apoptosis DNA INSTABILITY AND ATYPICAL HYPERPLASIA Nuclear enlargement, irregularity and hyperchromasia as cells continue to proliferate HIGH GRADE DUCTAL CARCINOMA IN SITU Solid sheets of pleomorphic cells with hyperchromatism and necrosis Abrogation of the basement membrane, angiogenesis, stromal invasion HIGH GRADE INVASIVE CARCINOMA Cell mass with ill-defined borders A stepwise process is needed in the

The Overcoat - Nikolai Gogol Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Overcoat - Nikolai Gogol - Essay Example The portrayal of the protagonist supports the idea that environmental oppression impacts the individual, which may result in the formation of deviant behavioral patterns. Early in the work, the protagonist’s appearance is describes as ordinary and rather sallow, stating â€Å"There is nothing we can do about [the protagonist appearance], it is all the fault of the St. Petersburg climate† (Gogol 234). While this statement at surface value seems to refer to the weather, it closely parallels the bureaucratic climate that, much like the weather, is a large and dismal force that the protagonist feels powerless to alter. Even the name of the character, Akaky Akakyevich, closely resembles the Russian term ‘okakat’ meaning to smear with excrement, or the term ‘caca’, which is of Greek origin but refers to excrement in many modern languages (Paul 1). A parallel is drawn between the oppression of the bureaucratic system, wherein a designated rank oppress es societal classes, and the oppression of the individual by his personal designation, in this case the character’s given name. This is supported by in the text by statements such as â€Å"with us, rank is something that must be stated before anything else†, highlighting the oppressive qualities of personal designations, such as rank (Gogol 234). Oppression on many levels shapes the traits of the protagonist, suggesting that environmental influences are responsible for future deviant behavior. The protagonist at first negotiates a reality filled with oppression with acceptance; however, when his expectations are made higher by the prospect of a new overcoat, symbolic of a rise in the societal hierarchy, the character develops deviant personality traits, ultimately leading to his death and the wrath of his angry spirit. The author describes the Very Important Person as a character that

Motifs in Oscar Wildes The Picture of Dorian Gray Essay Example for Free

Motifs in Oscar Wildes The Picture of Dorian Gray Essay â€Å"If this girl can give soul to those who have lived without one, if she can create the sense of beauty in people whose lives have been sordid and ugly, if she can strip them of their selfishness and lend them tears for sorrows that are not their own, she is worthy of all your adoration, worthy of the adoration of the world† (59). Sibyl has inner beauty and Basil realizes that, but Lord Henry and Dorian only see the physical or symbolic beauty of her form. This is contrary to the reoccurring idea that beauty is only skin deep like Dorian for example he is beautiful on the outside but horrible on the inside. For the wonderful beauty that had so fascinated Basil Hallward, and many other besides him, seemed never to leave him. Even those who had heard the most evil thing against him, and from time to time strange rumours about his mode of life crept through London and became the chatter of the clubs, could not believe anything to his dishonour when they saw him† (93). Shows how society judges people by their looks. They project the desirable traits that they believe they should have, but in reality theyre the same as other people. Even though his reputation is being questioned when people see him all they see is his beauty. â€Å"He grew more and more enamored of his own beauty, more and more interested in the corruption of his own soul† (93). Morbid fascination with the portrait. Its so horrifying but he can not look away. â€Å"I have got through all that,† said Dorian, shaking his head, and smiling. â€Å"I am perfectly happy now. I know what conscience is, to begin with. It is not what you told me it was. It is the divinest thing in us. Don’t sneer at it, Harry, any more — at least, not before me. I want to be good. I can’t bear the idea of my soul being hideous. † (142). Dorian is still completely obsessed with his looks so in an attempt to purge himself he â€Å"spared an innocent thing† but because he did it because he did not want to look old and horrible it was still a selfish act. He was trying to convince himself that the death of Alan Campbell was not his fault. Conscience/Soul: â€Å"Conscience makes egotists of us all† (75). Dorians conscience was his portrait it showed him all the sins he committed throughout is life. It made him obsessed about his looks. The more you think of all the things you do the more you forget about the people around you. His unreal and selfish love would yield to some higher influence, would be transformed into some nobler passion, and the portrait that Basil Hallward had painted of him would be a guide to him through life, would be to him what holiness is to some, and conscience to others, and the fear of God to us all. There were opiates for remorse, drugs that could lull the moral sense to sleep. But here was a visible symbol of the degradation of sin. Here was an ever-present sign of the ruin men brought upon their souls. Portrait was like a mirror of his soul, his true self. The portrait would always be the one thing that would constantly remind him of all his sins in life, while opium could help him forget the things that were haunting his mind the portrait was a constant reminder of everything he did wrong. â€Å"Choice is taken from them, and conscience is either killed, or, if it lives at all lives but to give rebellion its fascination, and disobedience its charm† (139). The pursuit for pleasure is encoded in our DNA its a natural thing that we must cope with, but most times people cant control their impulses and give in, and instead of their conscience helping them to fight the urge it is the one that pushes you to succumb to it. â€Å"The soul is a terrible reality. It can be bought, and sold, and bartered away. It can be poisoned, or made perfect. There is a soul in each one of us. I know it† (158). Dorians soul was corrupted after the influence of Lord Henry, and he sold it to stay young forever. A soul means nothing to Dorian he does not even believe in it anymore. â€Å"He looked round, and saw the knife that had stabbed Basil Hallward. As it killed the painter, so it would kill the painters work, and all that that meant† (164). When Dorian stabbed the painting it was similar to when he stabbed Basil. In the beginning Basil said he put his soul into the painting, then after that it became Dorians soul. They were linked, he could not destroy the painting without destroying himself. Influence: He was conscious and the thought brought a gleam of pleasure into his brown agate eyes that it was through certain words of his, musical words said with musical utterance, that Dorian Grays soul had turned to this white girl and bowed in worship before her. To a large extent the lad was his own creation† (42). This is where Dorian starts his descent into a sinful life. Lord Henry influenced him into falling in love with â€Å"poetry† or art. The only reason he fell â€Å"in love† with Sibyl was because he saw her as living art, her passion for acting fueled his passion for her. â€Å"If one doesnt talk about a thing, it has never happened† (79). A saying by Lord Henry, denying that something happened helps you get over it faster so you have no sorrowful feelings, you just push it out of your mind or seek pleasure to distract yourself. â€Å"A strange sense of loss came over him. He felt that Dorian Gray would never again be to him all that he had been in the past. Life had come between them.. † (58). Lord Henrys influence ruined the pureness of Dorian. He now embraced hedonism which corrupted him and made him vain and hateful. â€Å"A man who is master of himself can end a sorrow as easily as he can invent a pleasure. I dont want to be at the mercy of my emotions. I want to use them, to enjoy them, and to dominate them† (79). Lord Henry said something similar when Sibyl died. Its goes against the ideology of Hedonism to be sad or regretful because you are supposed to be in pursuit of happiness. â€Å"The mere fact of having publish a book of second-rate sonnets makes a man quite irresistible. He lives the poetry that he cannot write. The others write the poetry that they dare not realize† (41). This shows the relationship between Lord Henry and Dorian. Lord Henry influenced someone with the idea of Hedonism, while he himself did not completely indulge himself in that lifestyle. While Dorian is pursuing every pleasure that he can find. In a way Lord Henry is living through Dorian. Hedonism: â€Å"There was an exquisite poison in the air. I had the passion for sensations Well, one evening about seven oclock, I determined to go out in search of some adventure. I felt that this grey, monstrous London of ours, with its myriads of people, it sordid sinners, and its splendid sins, as you once phrased it, must have something in store for me† (35). Dorian now feels the need to satisfy his hedonistic craving. He realizes the world is not pure or innocent anymore and that there is many ways to sin and indulge himself. Pleasure is the only thing worth having a theory about But I am afraid I cannot claim my theory as my own. It belongs to Nature, not me. Pleasure is Natures test, her sign of approval. When we are happy we are always good, but when we are good we are not always happy† (56-57). Lord Henry believes that morality does not promote happiness, and we must experience pleasure because that is a huge part of life. If everyone pursued pleasure the world would be happier and more ideal. â€Å"Believe me, no civilized man ever regrets pleasure, and no uncivilized man ever knows what pleasure is† (57). Same idea, the world is better off with pleasure, it will make the world happier, although upper class receive the most pleasure because they can afford all the luxuries of life. While lower class people can only imagine what true pleasure is because they are to busy worrying about other things they dont the time nor fund to indulge in the finer things. â€Å"Beautiful sins, like beautiful things, are the privilege of the rich† (57). Dorian lives this saying. He lavishes himself with the most luxurious items because he has the money to do so. Having fancy objects in life is purely for the aesthetic pleasure that we receive from them, and repeating the word beautiful emphasizes and glorifies the idea of pleasure. Difference of object does not alter singleness of passion. It merely intensifies it. We can have in life but one great experience at best, and the secret of life is to reproduce that experience as often as possible† (145). Pleasure and passion are universal emotions that can be felt anywhere. Repeating that emotion can help you feel younger, it will take you back to all the other times you felt that way, its another way of reminiscing.

History Of Haiku :: essays research papers fc

In Japan, short poems have a long history. The earliest Japanese poetry such as that of the Manyoshu, written in 759 A.D., includes stirring narrative, dramatic and short lyrical poems which scholars believe were originally written as part of the pre-Buddhist or early Shinto ceremonial rituals (Haiku). This anthology includes anonymous songs and prayers designed to celebrate and pacify the gods, prayers for safe voyages, formal eulogies on the death of an Emperor or Empress and courting, marriage, planting and harvesting rituals. The 5 syllable, 7 syllable, 5 syllable haiku has evolved and been reinvented many times over the centuries. One such form is the 31 syllable waka composed of five 5-7-5-7-7 syllable phrases. Developed as the early imperial court of the late eighth century consolidated cultural, social and political forms, the waka took its place as one of the important regularized poetic forms of the period. Within imperial circles, minor officials and scribes gained recognition as poem-providers and word specialists due to their ability to compose waka (Haiku). Nevertheless, early Japanese poetry went beyond official usage. In the 14th century, an intellectual game developed where one person would write the first half of a waka-like poem, and another would complete it, adding the two 7-syllable stanzas.As many as four people took part in composing such poetry in what developed as a serious poetic form, with many complicated rules to ensure that the elegant court-poetry diction and aesthetic ideals were maintained. However, in large social gatherings where Japanese rice wine, or sake, was often served, participants became inebriated and started writing haikai, comic linked verse, which ignored many of the rules and allowed any subject matter at all, from the truly crude and erotic to pure slapstick, daffy comedy. According to Dr. Kerkham, it was this lower-level poetic form which Matsuna ga Teitoku, haikai master, tried to clean up and popularize and teach to his student Matsuo Basho (1644-1694). Basho's haiku, written while travelling around Japan, made him one of Japan's most celebrated poets.

Text Linguistics

TEXT LINGUISTICS Structure As a science of text, text linguistics describes or explains among different types of text the: * Shared features * Distinct features Text linguistics is the study of how texts function in human interaction. Beaugrande and Dressler define a text as a â€Å"communicative occurrence which meets seven standards of textuality† – Cohesion, Coherence, Intentionality, Acceptability, Informativity, Situationality and Intertextuality, without any of which the text will not be communicative.Non-communicative texts are treated as non-texts. [4] [edit] Cohesion Surface texts are the exact words that people see or hear. Cohesion concerns the ways in which the components of the surface text are connected within a sequence. Grammatical forms and conventions are adhered to by surface components and therefore cohesion rests upon grammatical dependencies. The grammatical dependencies in surface texts are major signals for sorting out meanings and uses.Cohesion encompasses all of the functions that can be used to signal relations among surface elements. â€Å"| SLOWCARS HELD UP| †| Such a text can be divided up into various dependencies. Someone might construe it as a notice about ‘slow cars’ that are ‘held up’, so that conclusions could be drawn about the need to drive fast to avoid being held up. However, it is more likely for one to divide the text into ‘slow’ and ‘cars held up’, so that drivers will drive slowly to avoid accidents or take alternative routes to avoid being caught in the slow traffic.A science of text should explain how ambiguities such as this are possible, as well as how they are precluded or resolved without much difficulty. For efficient communication to take place there must be interaction between cohesion and other standards of textuality because the surface alone is not decisive. [edit] Coherence Coherence concerns the ways in which concepts and relations, which underlie the surface text, are linked, relevant and used, to achieve efficient communication. A concept is a cognitive content which can be retrieved or triggered with a high degree of consistency in the mind * Relations are the links between concepts within a text, with each link identified with the concept that it connects to Surface texts may not always express relations explicitly therefore people supply as many relations as are needed to make sense out of any particular text. In the example of the road sign ‘SLOW CARS HELD UP’, ‘cars’ is an object concept and ‘held up’ an action concept, and the ‘cars’ are the link to ‘held up’.Therefore, ‘slow’ is more likely to be interpreted as a motion than as the speed at which cars are travelling. Types of relations include: I. Causality â€Å"| Itsy Bitsy spider climbing up the spout. Down came the rain and washed the spider out| †| The event of à ¢â‚¬Ëœraining’ causes the event of ‘washing the spider out’ because it creates the necessary conditions for the latter; without the rain, the spider will not be washed out. II. Enablement â€Å"| Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall| †| The action of sitting on the wall created the sufficient but not necessary conditions for the action of falling down.Sitting on a wall makes it possible but not obligatory for falling down to occur. III. Reason â€Å"| Jack shall have but a penny a day because he can’t work any faster| †| In contrast to the rain which causes Itsy Bitsy spider to be washed out, the slow working does not actually cause or enable the low wage. Instead, the low wage is a reasonable outcome; ‘reason’ is used to term actions that occur as a rational response to a previous event. IV.Purpose â€Å"| Old Mother Hubbard went to the cupboard to get her poor dog a bone| †| In contrast to Humpty Dumpty’s action of sitting on the wall which enables the action of falling down, there is a plan involved here; Humpty Dumpty did not sit on the wall so that it could fall down but Old Mother Hubbard went to the cupboard so that she could get a bone. ‘Purpose’ is used to term events that are planned to be made possible via a previous event. V. Time ‘Cause’, ‘Enablement’ and ‘Reason’ have forward directionality with the earlier event causing, enabling or providing reason for the later event. Purpose’, however, has a backward directionality as the later event provides the purpose for the earlier event. More than just a feature of texts, coherence is also the outcome of cognitive processes among text users. The nearness and proximity of events in a text will trigger operations which recover or create coherence relations. â€Å"| The Queen of Hearts, she made some tarts;The Knave of Hearts, he stole the tarts; The King of Hearts, called for the tarts| †| In the explicit text, there is a set of actions (making, stealing and calling); the only relations presented are the agent and the affected entity of each action.However, a text receiver is likely to assume that the locations of all three events are close to one another as well as occur in a continuous and relatively short time frame. One might also assume that the actions are meant to signal the attributes of the agents; the Queen is skilled in cooking, the Knave is dishonest and the King is authoritative. As such, coherence encompasses inferencing based on one’s knowledge. For a text to make sense, there has to be interaction between one’s accumulated knowledge and the text-presented knowledge.Therefore, a science of texts is probabilistic instead of deterministic, that is, inferences by users of any particular text will be similar most of the time instead of all of the time. Most text users have a common core of cognitive co mposition, engagement and process such that their interpretations of texts through ‘sensing’ are similar to what text senders intend them to be. Without cohesion and coherence, communication would be slowed down and could break down altogether. Cohesion and coherence are text-centred notions, designating operations directed at the text materials. [edit] IntentionalityIntentionality concerns the text producer’s attitude and intentions as the text producer uses cohesion and coherence to attain a goal specified in a plan. Without cohesion and coherence, intended goals may not be achieved due to a breakdown of communication. However, depending on the conditions and situations in which the text is used, the goal may still be attained even when cohesion and coherence are not upheld. â€Å"| Want I carry you on my back? | †| Even though cohesion is not maintained in this example, the text producer still succeeds in achieving the goal of finding out if the text re ceiver wanted a piggyback. edit] Acceptability Acceptability concerns the text receiver’s attitude that the text should constitute useful or relevant details or information such that it is worth accepting. Text type, the desirability of goals and the political and sociocultural setting, as well as cohesion and coherence are important in influencing the acceptability of a text. Text producers often speculate on the receiver’s attitude of acceptability and present texts that maximizes the probability that the receivers will respond as desired by the producers.For example, texts that are open to a wide range of interpretations, such as ‘Call us before you dig. You may not be able to afterwards’, require more inferences about the related consequences. This is more effective than an explicit version of the message that informs receivers the full consequences of digging without calling because receivers are left with a large amount of uncertainty as to the conse quences that could result; this plays to the risk averseness of people. [edit] Informativity Informativity concerns the extent to which the contents of a text are already known or expected as compared to unknown or unexpected.No matter how expected or predictable content may be, a text will always be informative at least to a certain degree due to unforeseen variability. The processing of highly informative text demands greater cognitive ability but at the same time is more interesting. The level of informativity should not exceed a point such that the text becomes too complicated and communication is endangered. Conversely, the level of informativity should also not be so low that it results in boredom and the rejection of the text. [edit] Situationality Situationality concerns the factors which make a text relevant to a situation of occurrence.The situation in which a text is exchanged influences the comprehension of the text. There may be different interpretations with the road s ign â€Å"| SLOWCARS HELD UP| †| However, the most likely interpretation of the text is obvious because the situation in which the text is presented provides the context which influences how text receivers interpret the text. The group of receivers (motorists) who are required to provide a particular action will find it more reasonable to assume that ‘slow’ requires them to slow down rather than referring to the speed of the cars that are ahead.Pedestrians can tell easily that the text is not directed towards them because varying their speeds is inconsequential and irrelevant to the situation. In this way, the situation decides the sense and use of the text. Situationality can affect the means of cohesion; less cohesive text may be more appropriate than more cohesive text depending on the situation. If the road sign was ‘Motorists should reduce their speed and proceed slowly because the vehicles ahead are held up by road works, therefore proceeding at too h igh a speed may result in an accident’, every possible doubt of intended receivers and intention would be removed.However, motorists only have a very short amount of time and attention to focus on and react to road signs. Therefore, in such a case, economical use of text is much more effective and appropriate than a fully cohesive text. [edit] Intertextuality Intertextuality concerns the factors which make the utilization of one text dependent upon knowledge of one or more previously encountered text.If a text receiver does not have prior knowledge of a relevant text, communication may break down because the understanding of the current text is obscured. Texts such as parodies, rebuttals, forums and classes in school, the text producer has to refer to prior texts while the text receivers have to have knowledge of the prior texts for communication to be efficient or even occur. In other text types such as puns, for example ‘Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a ba nana’, there is no need to refer to any other text.