Mental Disturbance essays

Mental Disturbance essays In the film Falling Down, the main character D-FENS, played by Michael Douglas, deals with many ongoing social pressures that ultimately lead to his demise. At the start of his day, D-FENS' long-accumulated personal problems hit a boiling point and carry the man to a severe mental breakdown. He abandons his grid locked car during a traffic jam and decides to walk to the place he calls "home." Viewers are later opened to the fact that the place he would like to call home no longer welcomes him, nor does the wife and child he left behind. Throughout the day, his goal to reach his x-wife and daughter's residence in Venice Beach, California, acts as his motivation. This circumstance brings him in contact with many people who add to his already perturbed mental state. Inflated prices at a Korean-owned quickie-mart, a run-in with gang members on their "piece of shit hill" (Schumacher, Falling Down), and a modern day Neo-NAZI are some of the many factors that contribute to the character's i rrational behavior. After sitting through the entire duration of this 1 hour 53 minute film, it is apparent that the main character suffers from Antisocial and Borderline personality disorders and mood and stress related psychological disorders. Motivation, the "cause of an organism's behavior, or the reason that an organism carries out some activity" (Huffman, 410) drives D-FENS on his journey homeward. Motivation involves a need, a drive, and a goal. The character's need is one for "love and feelings of belonging," (Huffman 410) which is defined by American psychologist Abraham Maslow in his hierarchy of motives. D-FENS, who viewers can assume, has been split from his wife and daughter for sometime, felt that the place he once called home is where he could find this sense of love and belonging. Since his divorce, D-FENS had been residing with his mother who fulfilled his "primary level of motivation," (Huffman, 410) whereas his basic needs such as "...

Question Mark Definition and Examples

Question Mark Definition and Examples A  question mark (?)  is a  punctuation symbol placed at the end of a sentence or phrase to indicate a direct question, as in:  She asked, Are you happy to be home?  The question mark is also called an  interrogation point, note of interrogation, or  question point. To understand the question mark and its use, its helpful to know that in grammar, a  question  is a type of  sentence  expressed in a form that requires (or appears to require) an answer. Also known as an  interrogative sentence, a question- which ends with a question mark- is generally distinguished from a sentence that makes a  statement, delivers a  command, or expresses an  exclamation. History The origination of the question mark is shrouded in myth and mystery, says Oxford Living Dictionaries. It may date to the ancient cat-worshiping Egyptians who created the curve of the question mark after observing the shape of an inquisitive cat’s tail. There are other possible origins, says the online dictionary: Another possibility links the question mark with the Latin word  quaestio  (‘question’). Supposedly, in the Middle Ages scholars would write ‘quaestio’ at the end of a sentence to show that it was a question, which in turn was shortened to  qo. Eventually, the  q  was written on top of the  o, before steadily morphing into a recognizably modern question mark. Alternatively, the question mark may have been introduced by Alcuin of York, an English scholar and poet born in 735, who was invited to join the court of Charlemagne in 781, says Oxford. Once there, Alcuin wrote many books- all in Latin- including some works on grammar. For his books, Alcuin created the  punctus interrogativus  or point of interrogation, a symbol resembling a tilde or lightning flash above it, representing the rising tone of voice used when asking a question. In A History of Writing, Steven Roger Fischer says that the question mark first appeared around the eighth or ninth century- possibly beginning with Alcuins works- in Latin manuscripts but did not appear in English until 1587 with the publication of  Sir Philip Sidneys Arcadia. Sidney certainly made full use of the punctuation mark when introducing it to the English language:  According to a version of Arcadia transcribed by Risa Bear  and published by the University of Oregon, the question mark appeared in the work nearly 140 times. Purpose The question mark always indicates a question or doubt, says Merriam-Websters Guide to Punctuation and Style, adding that A question mark ends a direct question. The dictionary gives these examples; What went wrong?When do they arrive? The question mark is the least demanding of punctuation marks, says Rene J. Cappon, author of The Associated Press Guide to Punctuation, adding: All you need to know is what a question is and you punctuate accordingly. Merriam-Webster defines a question as  an interrogative expression, often used to test knowledge, as in: â€Å"Did you go to school today?†Ã‚   The purpose of the question mark would seem simple, then. They are direct questions, invariably followed by the interrogation point, says Cappon. But a closer look shows that this seemingly simple punctuation mark can be tricky to use and easy to misuse. Correct and Incorrect Use There are a number of cases where using the question mark can be tricky for writers: Multiple questions:  Cappon says that you  do  use a question mark, even multiple question marks, when you have multiple questions for which you expect an answer or answers, even with sentence fragments such as: What were her vacation plans? Beach? Tennis? Reading War and Peace? Travel? Note that the quote marks at the end of War and Peace come before the question mark because this punctuation mark is not part of the books title. Omit the Comma and Other Punctuation Marks: Harold Rabinowitz and Suzanne Vogel in The Manual of Scientific Style: A Guide for Authors, Editors, and Researchers, note that a question mark should never be placed  next to a  comma, nor should it be next to a  period  unless it is part of an  abbreviation. Question marks should not generally be doubled for emphasis or paired with  exclamation points. And The Associated Press  Stylebook, 2018 says that a question mark should never supersede a comma, as in: Who is there? she asked. You would  never  pair a comma and a question mark, neither before nor after quotation marks. In this sentence, the question mark also comes before the quote mark because it ends the interrogative sentence. Indirect questions: As a general rule, do not use a question mark at the end of an indirect question, a  declarative sentence  that reports a  question  and ends with a  period  rather than a  question mark. An example of an indirect question would be:  She asked me if I was happy to be home. Cappon says that you don’t use a question mark when no answer is expected and gives these examples of indirect questions:   â€Å"Would you mind closing the window† is framed like a question but probably isn’t. The same applies to, â€Å"Would you please not bang the door when you leave.† Gerald J. Alred, Charles T. Brusaw, and Walter E. Oliu in The Business Writers Companion, agree, further explaining that you omit the question mark when you ask a  rhetorical question, essentially a statement for which you do not expect an answer. If your question is a polite request for which you simply assume youll get a positive response- Can you carry in the groceries, please?- omit the question mark. A Question Within an Indirect Question Using the question mark can become even more difficult, as the Merriam-Webster punctuation guide shows with this example: What was her motive? you may be asking. The sentence itself is an indirect question: The speaker does not expect an answer. But the indirect question contains a question sentence, where the speaker is essentially quoting or announcing the listeners thoughts. Merriam-Webster provides even trickier examples: I naturally wondered, Will it really work?  Thoroughly puzzled, â€Å"Who could have done such a thing?† she wondered. The first sentence is also an indirect question. The speaker (I)  is quoting his own thoughts, which are in the form of a question. But the speaker does not expect an answer, so this is not an interrogative statement. Merriam-Webster also suggests that you reframe the first sentence above as a simple declarative statement, negating the need for a question mark: I naturally wondered whether it would really work. The second sentence is also an indirect question that contains an interrogative statement. Notice that the question mark comes  before  the quote marks because the interrogative statement- Who could have done such a thing?- is a question that requires a question mark. George Bernard Shaw, in Back to Methuselah, gives a classic example of indirect questions that also contain interrogative statements (or questions): You see things; and you say, Why​? But I dream things that never were; and I say, Why not? The speaker is making two statements; he does not expect an answer for either. But, within each statement is a question- Why? and Why not?- both quoting the listener. Conversational Mark The question mark is the most profoundly human form of punctuation, says  Roy Peter Clark, author of The Glamour of Grammar. This punctuation mark envisions  communication  not as assertive but as interactive, even  conversational. A question mark at the end of an interrogative statement implicitly recognizes the other person and seeks her views and input. The question mark is the engine of debates and interrogations, of mysteries, solved and secrets to be revealed, of conversations between student and teacher, of anticipation and explanation, adds Clark. Used correctly, the question mark can help you engage your reader; it can help draw in your  reader as an active partner whose answers you seek and whose opinions matter.

China. Economic Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

China. Economic Analysis - Essay Example Amongst the top three economies of the world, and just after United States has more stable condition after the international recession as the world recovers from it five years after the biggest slump hit the entire globe. The trade partners stretch far and wide and its industries are strong enough to manufacture all kinds of stuff, with specialization in electronics in modern times. China has the largest population bench in the world, and thereby resources are needed to accommodate the citizens. Energy sources are a serious concern, for this purpose the government in recent years has started focusing on energy sources besides the conventional sources. Nuclear power plants and other renewable energy sources are in line for this purpose. Only recently did China become the world’s largest exporter to all parts of the world. This despite being the recession that has hit the entire world with its storm. While the period from 2008 to 2011 marked severe lows in the world market, chin a has shown better performances in terms of their economic growth, their exports and other variables. They have devised policies that ensure minimizing the deficit and losses due to recession. Though it would be a biased statement to say that it was not hit by the recession, it’s wise and safe to say that the policies crafted by Chinese helped resisting the global recession in a better and organized manner. Government has contributed in the field of state owned organizations and with its efforts has aimed at revamping the entire structure to strengthen this sector. In recent times, the G.D.P growth has come down slightly to a single digit value (Mundi). This has to do with the international recession, the domestic demand increase and various other factors. Still considering the nature of recession all over, this is considerable resistance with regard to the G.D.P decrease. Down slide on Chinese graph of economy and G.D.P will definitely effect the other pats of the world and their economies since its economy, exports and investments are spread are spread all over in the local markets(The Economist Online). Chinese exports find a large market in Europe and considering the inter dependence, with Europe still strangled deep into the economic crisis and with Euro issues looming dark over their markets, being a global player China is, it is bound to feel the heat from the Europe side and this could impact its G.D.P and overall economy’s progress. China’s success can be attributed to its separation of currencies on local and international front. Without any surprise people are advocating this form of approach for the euro crisis as well. After the policy change from 1980s, China’s policy depended largely on the private sector organizations, however having stabilized that pole, their forte in recent times has been the governmental organizations. They have regularized them, brought about necessary changes and provided them with the necessar y security that would be demanded for the investors who are willing to invest in the state owned organizations. This is aided by the incentives attached to the investments in the government sector by both the local investors and the foreign investors. Having identified the achievements and the pluses that are there, there are obstacles at the same time that are being faced by the Chinese government and economy. One of these is the small domestic demand; this has largely got to do with the low capita income in domestic. The per capita income zone has the margin for improvement as it is relatively lower compared to other parts of the world and especially those countries that are in the rank and have some say and command over the international markets. Other problems and challenges faced include the handling of the large number of immigrants

Welfare and Food Stamps Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Welfare and Food Stamps - Research Paper Example The program has tried to reduce hunger and improve food security among low-income Americans. This paper will discuss the high administration costs, alleged fraud cases in the program, and the negative effect on the labor market make it a failure. There is a need for urgent reforms in the food program to reduce enrolment and government spending, and localize it to the state level. The history of food stamps dates back to the 1930s. The Food Stamp program was both a farm price support program as an anti-poverty one. This has been the case since the early days of the program in the 1930s. The depletion of food surpluses and mismanagement saw the phase out of the program. It took several years to re-establish the program and congress passed legislation to provide food stamps to low-income Americans. However, only pilot programs took shape. It was only after President Lyndon Johnson directed congress to pass the Food Stamp Act of 1964 that saw the initiation of the modern food stamp program. The main aim of the program was to boost the agricultural economy and improve nutritional levels of Americans. Presently, it faces several challenges, especially after the 2002 farm bill, the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002, and Energy Act of 2008 under the Obama administration, allowed noncitizens to register. This, coupled with easier claiming of benefits, in creased the trend of registration to the program. After the change of name from ‘food stamps’ to the ‘Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program’, President Obama’s 2009 stimulus bill further stretched the program by increasing benefits by 13.6 percent (Tanner 2). Consequently, roughly 48 million Americans receive SNAP benefits today, and in so doing, this gives taxpayers a yearly cost of more than $78 billion (Tanner 2). Because of this surge, critics suggest that food stamps and the farm bill should be two separate entities

Huck Finn Racism Essay -- essays research papers

"To Be or not To Be" In extreme cases the book, Huckleberry Finn, has been banned from some schools because of the depiction of racial tension towards Jim, the black slave, in Huckleberry Finn. This story takes place at a time where slavery was considered moral. Blacks were considered inferior to whites, but Huckleberry challenges the notion that he was raised upon. Through Huckleberry’s adventures Twain expresses his challenge towards civilization’s rules and moral code. One must read between the lines and reach for the meaning in Mark Twain’s subtle literature dialog. If one were to do this that one would realize that it is not racist, but anti-slavery. For someone to think that Twain considering the era was racist would ludicrous. Considering that Mark Twain is a revolutionary writer and must use detail from an era to make the story unique he shouldn’t be considered racist. Their time period is set around the Civil War which was fought for abolishment of slavery. Huck to some people would be the argument for Twain’s racism, but Huck was raised from a boy by people with extreme hatred towards blacks such like Pap and Miss Watson. Even if bigotry was part of Huck’s attitude towards blacks it should be excused. Towards the end of the novel Huck encounters Aunt Sally who makes a remark towards blacks. She remarked that thank god no one was hurt ...

Gummy Bear Lab Essay

Question- If the percent of the concentration of a solution varies, will the amount of water gained or lost vary in a linear fashion? Hypothesis- If the concentration of a solution varies, then the amount of water lost or gain will not vary in a linear fashion Prediction- I think that the amount of water lost will not vary in a linear fashion. I think the water will vary like one gummy bear would lose 4 grams while another would lose 6 grams while another would lose 3.56 grams. Just numbers all over the place. Experiment- 1. Materials needed: a. 5 gummy bears b. 5 beakers c. A scale d. Distilled water e. Salt f. A cover for each beaker g. A paper to put on the scale h. Tweezers The independent variable is the salt in the water. The dependent variable is whether the amount of water lost or gained in the gummy bears varies in a linear fashion. The constants are the type of gummy bear used in this experiment, the type of salt, the type of beaker, the type of scale, the cover, amount of water, and the amount of time the gummy bears have. The control is the beaker without the salt in it; Beaker A. Safety procedures  include washing your hands before and after the experiment. Day 1: Get 5 beakers and 5 gummy bears. Put a paper on the scale and find the weight of the gummy bears. Then put the gummy bears in each beaker and label the beakers A-E. Put 100 ml of water in each beaker. Pick a solution you want each beaker to have. For this experiment the solutions were: Beaker A- 0%; Beaker B- 5%; Beaker C- 10%; Beaker D- 15%, and Beaker E- 20%. So to put the solutions into the beaker, first take salt and find the weight of it. It you want a 5% solution; the salt’s weight has to be 5 grams or close to 5 grams. Do the same for the other beakers. Of course, Beaker A will have no salt in it because it doesn’t have a solution with salt. Cover each beaker with the same kind of cover and wait for 24 hours to see what happens. Day 2: Take the beakers out of the place they were in. Spill all the liquid out of all the beakers. Make sure to identify which gummy bear is which. It is best to do this one at a time. Take the gummy bear out of the beaker with tweezers. Put a paper on the scale and weigh each gummy bear. Record the weight. When you are done weighing each, throw the gummy bears and all waste away and wash your hands. Analysis: Observations were that all the gummy bears lost their pale yellow color and turned into a clear color. Some gummy bears had salt sticking to it. Another gummy bear lost its shape completely and it looked like glob. Some gummy bears looked like it gained weight and some looked like it lost weight. Errors were that a little bit of salt was added into the control group; Beaker A. Results from Alexis’s group were that all the gummy bears gained weight and Justin told me that all his gummy bear’s also gained weight although I don’t know what their solution were for each beaker or the difference from the final weight to the initial weight. Their results didn’t vary in a linear fashion. Mathematical calculations were to subtract the final weight of the gummy bear with the initial weight of the gummy bear. Conclusion The results of the experiment were that the water lost or gained didn’t vary in a linear fashion. It went from one number to another. Even though the amount of solute varied in a linear fashion, the differences did not. They vary at a nonlinear rate. These results matched the hypothesis and proved it correct. Errors that happened in this experiment were that some salt was added to the control group; Beaker A. This could have affected the dependent variable by gummy bear losing a little bit of weight because of the salt. The results from the other groups were that their results didn’t vary in a linear fashion. This is consistent with my results because the difference in grams also didn’t vary in a linear fashion. This means that my lab was done correctly. Other experiments that can be done are by taking a jar and filling it with water. Then secure the paper towel on the jar with a rubber band. Make a water filled chamber to put food coloring drops it in and see what happens. The paper towel is the cell membrane and the food coloring is the water molecules crossing the cell membrane. Another experiment is by filling two beakers of water, making them  ¾ full and labeling them. Then add salt to one beaker and mix it into the water until no more salt can dissolve. Put a carrot, celery, and 3 raisins in each beaker and see what happens in 24 hours.

What Are Thigmotactic Insects

Thigmotaxis is an organisms response to the stimulus of contact or touch. This response can be either positive or negative. An organism that is positively thigmotactic will seek contact with other objects, while one that is negatively thigmotactic will avoid contact. Thigmotactic insects, like cockroaches or earwigs, may squeeze into cracks or crevices, driven by their preference for close quarters. This behavior makes it tough to eradicate some household pests, as they can hide in large numbers in places where we cant apply pesticides or other treatments. On the other hand, roach traps (and other similar pest control devices) are designed to use thigmotaxis to our advantage. Roaches crawl into the small trap opening because theyre looking for a tight-fitting refuge. Behavior of Thigmotactic Insects Thigmotaxis also drives some insects to aggregate in large numbers, particularly in the cold winter months. Some overwintering thrips seek shelter under tree bark, crawling into crevices just a fraction of a millimeter wide. They will reject shelter that is otherwise suitable if space is deemed too large to provide the contact they desire. Lady beetles, too, are driven by the need for touch when forming overwintering aggregations. Scale insects, guided by positive thigmotaxis, will cling tightly to any substrate under them, a behavior that keeps them fastened to their host plant. When flipped on their backs, however, this desire drives them to grab hold of anything within reach, in a desperate and sometimes futile attempt to keep their bellies in close contact with the world. Sources Encyclopedia of Entomology, edited by John L. Capinera.Encyclopedia of Insects, edited by Vincent H. Resh, Ring T. Cardà ©.Journal of Economic Entomology, published by the Entomological Society of America, 1912.The Ecology of Insect Overwintering, S. R. Leather.