Ways of Reading Essay Example for Free

Ways of Reading Essay The Dark Night of the Soul The Dark Night of the Soul by Richard E Miller has been written with a main point always in mind, that reading and writing has very powerful influences people and their imagination but, the act of reading and writing is not being utilized as much in the modern world. Richard has created an essay that proves his point by taking five very different short stories and giving each a twist that helps the reader see the power of reading. As the reader is chronologically going through the essay he or she is given many possible meanings of the essay. The meaning and the relationships that the stories share are not revealed until the last page of the essay. The essay begins with the story of two distraught high scholars named Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold.In this story Miller really shows us the power of imagination. The feeling of being lonely drove them to the point of becoming violent. The boys went on a rampage. Miller also uses the example of Chris McCandless to further prove his point. McCandless threw away his life and went out on a journey to live by himself in the wilderness because of the stories he read. Miller wants to transmit to us that reading and writing have very powerful influences in people and their imagination, but he believes the power of reading and writing is not being utilized as much in the modern world. Through the examples he presents in the Dark Night of the Soul he tries to show different perspectives of reading and writing so that the reader realizes that both are really powerful realities which can have a big influence in someone’s life.

Neural Grafts for PD Symptoms

Neural Grafts for PD Symptoms New Neurons for Old The Swedish neuroscientist Patrik Brundin was twelve years old when his father was diagnosed with PD. He resolved to devote his life to finding a cure for the disease and elected to study medicine at Lund University in Sweden. In the late 1990s, he joined Anders Bjà ¶rklund, a pioneer of neural transplantation, to work on a series of neural grafts aimed at reversing the symptoms of PD. A neural graft is an experimental procedure for transplanting neural tissue into the brain. The operations were controversial because the transplanted neural tissue came from aborted fetuses. Research had shown that the optimal time to transplant human fetal-brain tissue from the substantia nigra was from six to eight weeks after fertilization. Because only 10 percent of the fetal cells are likely to survive the entire procedure, the neurosurgeon may need to implant cells from multiple fetuses in one operation. To prepare for the operation, the fetal tissue has to be dissected under the microscope so that only those cells whose destiny is to make dopamine would be transplanted. Attached to the substantia nigra tissue are cells that have different fates to become cartilage, skin, etc. If the surgeon isnt careful and grafts these cells into the brain, theyd grow into big bits of skin and cartilage. It is a delicate process. The entire fetus is only the size of a fingernail; the substantia nigra, the size of a pin. After hours of painstaking dissection, the fetal cells will be mixed with a chemical called trypsin to dissociate the cells into a liquid suspension. Researches with rats had shown that fetal cells grafted in the substantia nigra did not reverse PD-like symptoms, because the grafted nerve fibers could not grow long enough to reach their targets in the striatum. So the neurosurgeon will implant the fetal cells in the striatum. In the 1990s, 18 cases of neural grafting operations were conducted at Lund, and over 300 worldwide, with encouraging results. By 1999, many people believed this method is the only way to cure PD. But for others, the results were uncontrolled trials with a potential for a placebo effect. This led two teams in the United States to propose controlled blind trials of fetal tissue transplantation operations. Patients entering the trial would be assigned to one of two groups: a treatment group and a control group. Patients would not know which group they were in and would continue taking their regular dopaminergic medication. The first study performed the trial separately for people over and under sixty. The doctors held follow-up meetings with the patients for twelve months. In 2001, the team reported the results. The over-sixty treatment group experienced no measurable improvement compared to the control group. The under-sixty treatment group got some improvements, but the researchers found worrying evidence of adverse side effects: facial dystonias and dyskinesias. Unlike L-dopa-induced dyskinesias, which disappear as patients medication wears off, these dyskinesias were coming from the graft, and they were permanent. The second study assigned the patients randomly to two treatment groups one using material from a single fetus, the other using material from four fetuses and a control group. The groups were followed for two years and tested using UPDRS. There was no difference between the three groups, showing that fetal dose didnt matter, and again some patients developed graft-related dyskinesias. These two studies killed the field of neural transplantation. A decade after these studies, Brundin is still a strong supporter of neural grafting. He claims the studies had numerous flaws. Brundin may be correct about neural graftings efficacy. It worked in the cases of two patients in the Lund series. The two patients were diagnosed thirty years ago. Both responded well to L-dopa, but developed severe L-dopa-induced motor complications. In the 1990s, they went to Lund, where the surgeons transplanted dopaminergic fetal tissue into the striatum on both sides of their brains. After four years, both patients could drop all dopaminergic mediations. Their PET scans showed clear signs of new dopamine production in the striatum, and their motor states, as measured by the UPDRS, showed a sustained benefit. These cases showed that this bold strategy can work and serve as a caution against dismissing neural grafts prematurely. The early scientific trials of levodopa failed. But scientists like George Cotzias persisted and worked out the correct dosing regimen, and the failure turned into spectacular success. In Europe, a large trial called TRANSEURO is under way involving some 150 patients. The work might redeem neural grafting. In the last few years, a potential alternative to fetal cells and embryonic stem cells has become available. In 2006, Japanese researcher Shinya Yamanaka showed in mice that ordinary skin cells could be reprogrammed to become pluripotent capable of becoming any cell. Soon after, Yamanakas technique was achieved with human skin cells. Rather than using fetal cells, researchers can take a patients own skin cells, reprogram them to become so-called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), then let them develop into dopamine neurons. These neurons can be studied in the lab or grown for neural grafts. Such iPSCs not only bypass the ethical issues plaguing embryonic stem cells, but also have other advantages. Because iPSCs are derived from the patients own cells, there is no need for immunosuppressive drugs. But because there is a risk that such cells might turn cancerous, it may take decades to develop a safe and effective procedure. Key Takeaways In the late 1990s, Patrik Brundin worked on a series of neural grafts aimed at reversing the symptoms of PD. Two controlled blind trials of fetal tissue transplantation operations conducted in the United States in early 2000s showed that the treatment group experience no measurable improvement compared to the control group. It was also worrisome that some patients developed graft-related dyskinesias. In 2006, Shinya Yamanaka showed that ordinary skin cells could be reprogrammed to become pluripotent.

The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison

The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison There are many beautiful things in this world. There are beautiful people, beautiful places, and beautiful things. When telling a story there are ways to portray beauty. Then, on the other hand there are ugly things in this world. Things like the way people look, how situations can be, or how people can be treated. In every book the author will either look to tell the good parts of a story, or to show the bad in the situation. For example, an author could take a person and tell about how fat or poor the person is, and looks to entertain by pointing out those facts. Then on the other hand the author could talk about how perfect and rich a persons life is, and looks to entertain by talking about this. Well in the novel The Bluest Eye Toni Morrison does not portray beauty, but instead shows the ugliness in the world. Toni Morrison shows that it was very hard for Pecola in everyday life. For starters, Pecola was not the richest person. In fact, she and her family where very poor and living in poverty. As stated by Toni Morrison in the novel Although their poverty was traditional and stultifying, it was not unique. (Morrison 38). This quote is talking about the financial issues if the Breedloves family. It states that it is the average poor person situation. Theres nothing too deep about the issue. Instead of Toni Morrison talking about how poor the family is, she could have just shed more light on the good things out of the situation. She shows the way Pecola had to feel every time she wakes up. Out off all of the good things going in the world Pecola has bad things happening to her. Pecola also has to deal with being ugly. In The Bluest Eye it was also stated No one could have convinced them that were not relentlessly and aggressively ugly. (Morrison 38). This quote is showing the attitude that they had about themselves. It says that they felt no one could say much to prove them as not being ugly. They didnt really think highly of themselves. Toni shows how horrible life was for Pecola and her whole family being reminded every day that they are not beautiful. Having in the back of their minds that nobody feels that they are beautiful. In the novel The Bluest Eye Toni Morrison shows how sick and cruel people can be. Racism was shown very heavily towards Pecolas father Cholly when he was caught in the woods with a white girl. Two racist white men picked the perfect opportunity to show the sickness of racism. A recent article stated and we observe Chollys humiliating and traumatic sexual experience at the hands of two white, racist hunters. (Blumenthal 118). The quote tells about a sexual encounter with Cholly. He is caught in the act by two white racist hunters. They proceeded to humiliate him. In the world today sex goes on pretty much everywhere, but it is even worse that in this particular incident a black man was caught in the act by two racist whites. And, instead of just going about their business they just had to humiliate him by forcing him to continue as they watched. The two white men showed no remorse. Also, in The Bluest Eye Toni Morrison began to shed a little light on the cruelty of a fathers relation ship. A recent article shows a readers feelings about the situation, Father will you play with Jane becomes indicative of something darker (Blumenthal 117). This quote shows hidden darkness. It shows how one phrase can become something totally different. It implies that the father is a negative character. Its just shows the sickness of how a father can go and begin to have feelings for his very own blood daughter. Toni portrays this in the novel, and in fact has an entire section in it about the father not controlling his feelings, and actually getting physical with his daughter. Toni has no problem showing how evil the minds of people can be in this day and time, and its only getting worse. Toni Morrison shows how dreams never became reality, and how a young childs is never answered in the particular situation. In the novel Pecola sees her friends and other people around her with beautiful families. She sees this and starts to get ideas about how it would be to have a family like this. In a recent article from a reviewer of The Bluest Eye it was stated she also wants a family unlike her own. (Hirsch 3). In this quote the author is pointing out what Pecola wants. She wants a family not like her own. She doesnt like the one she has. This shows that there is a real issue due to the fact that a poor little girl has to go through feeling as if her family isnt so great, and that she could use a new, more perfect like family. Also Toni Morrison begins the novel off putting in how a perfect family would be with the Dick and Jane story. She does this almost as if to tease the reader that the story will be a perfect life time story. A reviewer recorded Mother, Father, Dick and J ane live in the green -and- white house. They are very happy. (Hirsch 3). This quote shows the perfect family of Dick and Jane. It tells about the house they live in. It is also very vague on details. The reason for Toni Morrison putting this in the beginning of the book was to show you a model beautiful family. Then she writes a novel about a very dysfunctional family. She points out almost everything that could be bad about a family. She shows a daughter being raped, a little girl being inappropriately touched, and a black man being forced to continue to have sex with a girl in front of two racist men. In the novel The Bluest Eye Toni Morrison shows the difficulties and struggles people had to deal with during this time. Most of the time a person is judged only on how they look, and are treated accordingly. In the novel a woman was decribed in these exact words Paulines blackness, her pregnancy, and every other manifestation of her physicality are entirely absent from her visual and cultural intake. (Rokotnitz 396). The quote is talking about Paulines physical appearance. It says that she I basically different on the inside than she is on the outside. She may look a certain way but it doesnt mean she feels that way. Even though she has a very different personality than the way she looks, she still has to deal with those who do not know her personally. She is constantly judged off of the first look. This is just one of the many situations that where dealt with during this time. Another incident deals with a little girl feeling guilty about something that she didnt fully understand. An article for a reader mentions from the novel Claudia holds herself responsible, believing she was to blame for these premature deaths. (Rokotnitz 401). The quote shows that Claudia feels guilty. She feels responsible for the death of the babies. She is too young at the time to understand the entire situation. This shows the ugliness of the novel. A young girl feels guilty of a death. This isnt something a young child should have to go through. Just imagine the hurt she feels and how she will be scared. Toni Morrison portrays the ugliness of the world in the novel The Bluest Eye. For starters, she shows how difficult life can be for the young girl Pecola growing up. Pecola and her family where not wealthy at all. They were actually poor and nothing was unique about them, They were just another poor family, and she had to wake up and deal with this every day. Not only was her and her family poor, but they were also very ugly. No one, including themselves, felt that they were beautiful. They had no hope or self esteem for themselves. Morrison also shows the cruelties of the way people were treated with the two white racist hunters forcing Cholly to continue to have sexual relations. And also, how sick a father could be to harness impure thoughts about a very own blood daughter. Morrison also shows that nothing good happens in this girls life. She dreams of having a perfect family unlike the one she has. In the end, Toni Morrison pointed out nothing beautiful in the story.

Themes in The Old Man and the Sea :: Old Man and the Sea Essays

Themes in The Old Man and the Sea    The Old Man and the Sea is a heroic tale of man’s strength pitted against forces he cannot control. It is a tale about an old Cuban fisherman and his three-day battle with a giant Marlin. Through the use of three prominent themes; friendship, bravery, and Christianity; the â€Å"Old Man and the Sea† strives to teach important life lessons to the reader. The relationship between the old man and the boy is introduced early in the story. They are unlikely companions; one is old and the other young, yet they share an insuperable amount of respect and loyalty for each other. Santiago does not treat Manolin as a young boy but rather as an equal. Age is not a factor in their relationship. Manolin does not even act as a young boy; he is mature and sensitive to Santiago’s feelings. He even offers to go against his parent’s wishes and accompany Santiago on his fishing trips. Santiago is viewed as an outcast in his village because he has not caught any fish for more than eighty-four days and is therefore â€Å"unlucky†. Nonetheless Manolin is loyal to Santiago and even when his parents forbid him he wants to help his friend. Their conversations are comfortable, like that of two friends who have known each other for their whole lives. When they speak it is usually about baseball or fishing, the two things they have most in common. Their favorite team is the Yankees and Santiago never loses faith in them even when the star player, Joe DiMaggio is injured with a heel spur. In this way Santiago not only teaches Manolin about fishing but also about important characteristics such as faith. In the story Santiago’s bravery is unsurpassed but it is not until he hooks the â€Å"great fish† that we truly see his valor and perseverance. Through Santiago’s actions Hemingway teaches the reader about bravery and perseverance in the face of adversity. He demonstrates that even when all is lost and seems hopeless a willful heart and faith will overcome anything. Santiago had lost his â€Å"luckiness† and therefore the respect of his village. Through the description of his cabin we also suspect that Santiago is a widower. Although Santiago has had many troubles he perseveres. He has faith in Manolin, in the Yankees, in Joe DiMaggio, and most importantly in himself. Themes in The Old Man and the Sea :: Old Man and the Sea Essays Themes in The Old Man and the Sea    The Old Man and the Sea is a heroic tale of man’s strength pitted against forces he cannot control. It is a tale about an old Cuban fisherman and his three-day battle with a giant Marlin. Through the use of three prominent themes; friendship, bravery, and Christianity; the â€Å"Old Man and the Sea† strives to teach important life lessons to the reader. The relationship between the old man and the boy is introduced early in the story. They are unlikely companions; one is old and the other young, yet they share an insuperable amount of respect and loyalty for each other. Santiago does not treat Manolin as a young boy but rather as an equal. Age is not a factor in their relationship. Manolin does not even act as a young boy; he is mature and sensitive to Santiago’s feelings. He even offers to go against his parent’s wishes and accompany Santiago on his fishing trips. Santiago is viewed as an outcast in his village because he has not caught any fish for more than eighty-four days and is therefore â€Å"unlucky†. Nonetheless Manolin is loyal to Santiago and even when his parents forbid him he wants to help his friend. Their conversations are comfortable, like that of two friends who have known each other for their whole lives. When they speak it is usually about baseball or fishing, the two things they have most in common. Their favorite team is the Yankees and Santiago never loses faith in them even when the star player, Joe DiMaggio is injured with a heel spur. In this way Santiago not only teaches Manolin about fishing but also about important characteristics such as faith. In the story Santiago’s bravery is unsurpassed but it is not until he hooks the â€Å"great fish† that we truly see his valor and perseverance. Through Santiago’s actions Hemingway teaches the reader about bravery and perseverance in the face of adversity. He demonstrates that even when all is lost and seems hopeless a willful heart and faith will overcome anything. Santiago had lost his â€Å"luckiness† and therefore the respect of his village. Through the description of his cabin we also suspect that Santiago is a widower. Although Santiago has had many troubles he perseveres. He has faith in Manolin, in the Yankees, in Joe DiMaggio, and most importantly in himself.

California History :: American America History

California History 1. EPIC EPIC is the Educational Participation in Communities. This organization involves students as volunteers in the fight against poverty and social neglect in local communities. The goal is social awareness and student involvement. It says that poverty, neglect, and social inequity are a growing reality for millions of people in America. Families are losing their homes, people can't find good jobs, children go hungry, and education in the inner-city is a disaster. There is a is problem because the public and community programs that serve as a safety net to assist such populations are strained beyond their capacity and are usually understaffed and under-funded. Since they cannot do the job without help, EPIC helps. It recruits college students to do volunteer work in schools, hospitals, community centers, legal aid, probation, youth agencies, and other and public service programs. EPIC volunteers provide thousands of volunteer hours to the community. 2. Earl Warren Earl Warren was a political leader. He was a governor of California, but he is remembered as the chief justice who led the Supreme Court of the United States when it made big changes in civil rights laws and in criminal procedures. Warren was a liberal Republican, and he was born in Los Angeles, California. He was elected attorney general of California in 1938. During his four years in office he gained standing as a strong enemy of racketeers. He was elected governor of California in 1942. His progressive policies won him bipartisan support and he was reelected as governor in 1946 and 1950. He was seen as an activist on the Supreme Court, as well as a liberal. 3. Pat Brown Pat Brown was the governor of California. He was elected two times, for two terms (12 years total). He was a Democrat. He thought that nobody could beat him, but the Republican, Ronald Reagan, beat him in the 1966 election. Brown had good policies, and by 1962 California had a booming economy and the largest population of any US state. Brown generously funded social programs that were a factor to the state's prosperity. He enlarged the University of California system, and he built many water projects. During Brown's two terms a governor, the California legislature passed some of the most progressive civil rights laws in the US. 4. Ronald Reagan In 1966 Ronald Reagan beat Pat Brown by a landslide in the election for California governor.

Barbie-Q Essay

In Sandra Cisneros’s â€Å"Barbie-Q†, a sudden abundance of flawed Barbie dolls makes the child narrator accepts her own identity and discards society’s ideals of women. The initial storyworld is that of materialism and perfection. What the narrator values in her dolls and what she plays with them could be seen as a reflection of her own self image, of what she thinks she should look like and what kind of life she should live. From the first few lines of the story it becomes clear that the narrator of the story is a little girl. She describes the outfits of her barbies, as if reading from the package, to her friend. â€Å"Yours is the one with mean eyes and a ponytail. Striped swimsuit, stilettos, sunglasses, and gold hoop earrings. † The doll’s mean eyes reveals the author’s critical attitude towards the ideal it represents. This attitude also shows in the title of the story. The Narrator uses second person, as if directly adressing the reader. Who she is talking to is never defined in the story, but it is clear that she is talking to a fellow child. The narration mainly uses only first and second person, which realistically recreates the world of a little girl, where the narrator and her friend are the only people and Barbie dolls the only things that matter. In the second paragraph, the girls repeat society’s gender roles in their play: â€Å"Every time the same story. Your Barbie is roommates with my Barbie, my Barbie’s boyfriend comes over and your Barbie steals him, okay? † The invisible Ken doll could be seen as the author’s way of emphasising her point about society’s assuptions of young women’s interests. The author makes the scene strange enough to catch the reader’s attention. The flea market scene describes the mundane reality of the narrator’s neighbourhood which is contrasted with the girl’s aspirations that are projected to barbie dolls that represent a different social background and lifestyle. The narrator lists the items in the flea markets just like she did with her dolls: â€Å"Lying on the street next to some tool bits, and platform shoes with the heels all squashed, and a fluorescent green wicker wastebasket, and aluminum foil, and hubcaps, and a pink shag rug, and windshield wiper blades, and dusty mason jars, and coffee can full of rusty nails. This emphasises the contrast. The initial story world is disrupted in the flea market scene as the narrator finds flawed Barbies for sale. This scene develops in the next paragraph as the narrator gets all the Barbies she dreamed of, only all of them damaged by a fire. In the last paragraph, the narrator seems to accept her own social background as she understands that it doesn’t matter that they can’t afford all the new Barbie dolls. So what if we didn’t get our new Bendable Legs Barbie and Midge and Ken and Skipper and Tutti and Todd and Scooter and Rickie and Alan and Francie in nice clean boxes and had to buy them on Maxwell Street, all water-soaked and sooty. † The narrator describes her flawed Barbie: â€Å"And if the prettiest doll, Barbie’s MOD’ern cousin Francie with real eyelashes, eyelash brush included, has a left foot that’s melted a little-so? † This statement could be seen as having a wider meaning, that the child also accepts her own flaws and ends her quest for perfection defined by society.

Whole Foods: a Whole-Istic Strategy

1. Define Whole foods’ â€Å"product†. How does it deliver value to customers? The Whole Foods Market chain was the first retailer in the United States offering products to its customers that are natural (grown without being treated with growth hormones or antibiotics) and ’certified organic’. The product of Whole Foods are organic, natural and gourmet foods, taking into account the environment as an important factor, and making of the earth the first priority. hey’re not a company selling cheap products but they’re a company selling quality and health to their customers. They’re not giving importance to businnes, but to quality and satisfy their customers. Whole foods is not only taking care of their customers but also of the environment and of our oplanet. Whole foods deliver value to their customers by selling the highest quality natural and organic products available, satisfying and delighting their customers, supporting team member happiness and excellence, creating wealth through profits and growth, caring about communities and the environment, creating ongoing win-win partnerships with their suppliers and promoting the health of their stakeholders through healthy eating education. 2. Organic food are becoming very popular. Many chains, including Wal-Mart, have begun offering and expading their selection of organics. Does this pose a competitive threat to Whole Foods? Wal-Mart represent a big threat to the Whole Foods stores, because it is starting to offer organic products at lower prices and if consumers start to see this in Wal-mart they’re going to start buying in there, but now in the USA all Products sold as â€Å"Organic† must now meet the requirements of the USDA Organic Rule, and every product most under a number show how organic is their product, that could be an advantage for Whole Foods because it can show that the quality meet the prices that they have, and for Wal-Mart could be a little difficult to have such quality product at such a low price. . With respect to Whole Foods’ targeting and positioning strategies, what challenges will the company face in the future as it continues to grow and expand? As it grows and expand it’s difficult to the market of organic food to keep all of these demand as far as it has Whole-Foods, it is also very difficult to satisfy the expectations of all the customers using suc h a high quality level in each of the products. For high quality products it is improtant to takle care of every item that comes out to the market, and it is so expensive for Whole Foods to do that so it is going to reduce quality. It is also important to know that Whole Foods incomes are flattening and net income is plummeting. And this is all going to create a debt for Whole foods and making such expensive products, they most cut costs to make make the company more proffitable. 4. In some places, Whole Foods is commonly known as â€Å"Whole Paycheck† While the firm has clearly positioned itself away from pricing issues, can it avoid this element of the marketing mix forever? Why or why not? It can avoid them by giving lower prices to their customers, but it’s difficult because they’re offering organic quality products, which in countries like the United States are very expensive to afford. It is very difficult to overcome this situation but Whole Foods is doing well by offering more discounts, increasing lower-priced store brands, advertising products they sell at a good value and organizing budget-focused store tours. This could be a major move for Whole Foods to create a new image of their market. . What other trends in the future of retailing do you think will have an impact on Whole Foods? The economy have it cycles but in the other hand it gives some trends like it’s people taking care of their health, there is a lot of people with their awareness and their consciousness and how lifestyle plays into the role of health. There’s a million of people realizing they want vitality in their lives. And these are big trends. These are shifts that people are not going to go back from.