Pain Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Pain - Essay Example Pain is a sensation which is prompted by the nervous system and it can be helpful in diagnosing a health issue.   In some instances, it can be described as sharp or dull, prolonged or acute, localized or systemic pain.   Without the sensation of pain, a person might be seriously injured or ill without knowing it (Medline Plus, 2011).   There are various sources of pain: nociceptive and neuropathic pain.   In nociceptive pain, the nervous system is working well and the body tells the brain that there is a source of pain, such as an injury or a cut; in neuropathic pain, the nervous system is not working properly because there may be no apparent source of pain, but the body is still telling the brain that an injury is present (Helm and Shiel, 2011).   In terms of length of time that pain is experienced, pain may be considered acute or chronic.   Acute pain may be related to trauma or injuring agents like biological, physical, and psychological agents.   It may be sudden or slow in onset and be mild or severe in intensity with duration of less than 6 months.   The patient may verbally report pain sensation and manifest with observed symptoms of pain, including protective gestures to avoid pain, changes in muscle tone, restlessness, moaning, crying, and irritability (Nurse Blog, 2009).   Chronic pain is known to represent the disease itself.   It may be environmental or psychological; may persist over a long period of time and be resistant to medical treatments (Medicine.net, 2011).   Interventions for pain relief include: anticipate the need for pain relief; respond immediately to pain complaint; eliminate additional stressors or sources of discomfort; provide rest periods for sleep and relaxation; determine pain relief with the assistance of doctors though NSAIDS, opiates, and local anesthetic agents.   Apply non-pharmacologic pain relief strategies, including: guided imagery, distraction techniques, relaxation techniques, and biofeedback ( Nursing Care, 2010).   It is also important to coordinate with the physicians for the relief of chronic and severe pain.  

Target Market Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Target Market - Essay Example In order to respond to this issue, Mary Kay has representatives and consultants all around the world who are not only involved in research and development of new products but in the marketing and sales of the same. The brand identify of Mary Kay products has put it as a luxury brand that is known for standard and quality. The company’s own efforts are such that they try to brand each product as an individual brand that has to be taken care of with its own separate stream of marketing strategies. Like every cosmetic product, the motivation to use and buy is more psychological than material. People have the need to feel loved and appreciated and they like to adapt in a way that’s acceptable. The benefit of self-esteem with prestige is what Mary Kay sells. Of course, a brand will only sell on that basis when the message can be reflected in their product quality as well (Viverios & Negus, April 2009). Mary Kay enjoys exposure to a large customer base through its diversified brand and products range. It has a total of about 200 premium products that have been divided under 6 classes or categories, targets both men and women, is vertically well integrated and has a range of skin and hair care products sold as drugs and ailments too (Datamonitor, 2008). In 2008, Mary Kay was present in about 35 countries across the globe. Mary Kay exploits this advantage by having employed millions of independent beauty consultants around the world and having built a separate manufacturing plant in China to meet the needs of Asian customers (Bhattacharya & Prinyanka, 2008). As compared to its biggest competitor Avon and other competitors such as L’Oreal, companies that operate in a multinational and dynamic platform, Mary Kay lacks the ability to operate at such massive scales. While these companies have the ability to reach out customers in the farthest regions and

Minds Are Opened Only When Hearts Are Opened Essay Example for Free

Minds Are Opened Only When Hearts Are Opened Essay â€Å"Minds are like parachutes. They only function when they are open.† James Dewar To create the life that you want, growing as a human being and regularly experiencing a prosperous lifestyle, you will need a mind open to other people, possibilities, ideas and opinions around you. When you have an open mind you allow yourself to attract and follow up on opportunities. When you work with the power of the conscious and subconscious mind you will attract opportunities that will bring you what you need; for what you radiate you will constantly attract. When you are prepared to become creative you will create a vibrant life, while eliminating negative and unwanted situations. Most people think they already listen to others with an open mind, merely by paying close attention to what is being said. In fact, keeping an open mind is not easy to do if you are happy with the way you are doing things and do not see the point of changing. We all have moments, however, when we do listen with an open heart and mind, for example, we are more open to listening to someone we trust. An open mind is an understanding mind which will develop a genuine appreciation for people. When you take the trouble to think of other people’s feelings, their viewpoints and their desires you are saying â€Å"people are important†. An open mind will accept other people unconditionally. It requires the letting go of likes and dislikes and other similar emotions. When you do this you discipline your emotions and you allow people to be who they are with all their idiosyncrasies, differences and irritations. When you are communicating with others there can often be misunderstandings and these can lead to failure in your relations with others. We expect others to react and respond and come to the same conclusions we do over a given set of facts. Unfortunately, no one reacts to things as they are but to their own mental images; they are responding appropriately to what they see as the truth about the situation. An open-minded person will ask themselves â€Å"How does this appear to that person?† or, â€Å"How does that person interpret the situation?† and they will try to understand why someone might act differently to the way they expected. Many small business owners have faced extinction because they thought they knew it all and were not prepared to have an open mind and listen to others who had been down that path before them. When you are open minded you are always prepared to be teachable, to learn something new and take advantage of opportunities that present themselves. An open mind is the doorway to expansion of ideas. When you open your mind you are not compromising your ethics and values. It just means that you begin to practice a greater sense of awareness and in doing so you are prepared to look at your world a little differently. Test opportunities that are presented to you and examine where the message is coming from. It may be from a friend, a neutral party or from a source about which you are sceptical. If you are not sure, instruct your subconscious mind to guide you by simply saying, â€Å"I am making the right decision.† Focus on what you want, not on what you don’t want. A Closed Mind â€Å"A closed mind is like a closed book; just a block of wood. – Chinese Proverb. We have all been given the power to develop ideas and exercise free will. Unfortunately too often those ideas die as a seed and people use their free will to close their mind to the tremendous opportunities surrounding them. This stubbornness prevents them from achieving the goals that they want for themselves and so the opportunity for success is greatly decreased. In our formative years we grow and develop egos that maintain very particular ideas about ourselves in relation to the world around us. Your ego is your conscious mind, that which controls your behaviour and tries to give meaning to your external, material reality. It is powerful and can control your life if you allow it. Your external reality is a direct result of your mental and spiritual self so if the latter two are not where you want them to be your external and material self will suffer. The ego cannot improve the quality of your mental and spiritual life. When you close your mind you essentially become stubborn and become a victim of the ego mind which says, â€Å"My attitude is right despite what anyone else has to say†. The ego mind, although it thinks it knows better than anyone else, is never prepared to leave its comfort zone and so is not open to new ideas nor will it welcome others into its world. This kind of attitude shuts you off from the process of life and nature which is about growing and experiencing new possibilities. Think about how many times you were resistant to trying something new only to eventually give in and discover that you really enjoyed the process. Limitations are the jail of the mind so if you can throw off the shackles and open your mind to new and exciting ideas, your possibilities become limitless. When the mind is shackled and limited it affects every part of your life, for example, work presentations can lack innovation and impact and even every-day conversations are less productive and rewarding. Conversations often become defensive as the mind closes off to what is being said by others. Society today gives out a negative message that everyone is out to ‘take you down’ and that if it ‘looks to good to be true, it probably is’. This causes many to close their minds to everything beyond their current knowledge. An open mind is a mind that is aware that the current knowledge is not all there is to know and will eagerly investigate possibilities. When you have a closed mind to new and exciting possibilities you essentially tell yourself that you are not willing to go the extra mile – that you are not willing to grow and experience new things. You have now switched off the power within you and there can be no change and no progress in life and things will never improve. Such people become very introspective and weak. The old recordings of the past can, however, be changed. If you choose, you can wipe the old record clean, put on a new record and make a decision to activate the positive thoughts which lead to a relaxed and open view of the world. Remember, the past explains how you got to the present but where you go from here is your responsibility. In his book A Vision of Power Glory, John Kehoe gives a Zen parable about two monks who are on a journey together when they come to a river. By the river there is a beautiful woman. The woman asks them, â€Å"Please will one of you monks carry me across the river? The river is too wide and the current too swift.† The two monks look at one another, because they have taken a sacred vow to not so much as even touch a woman. Then, abruptly, the older monk picks up the woman, carries her across the river and puts her down on the other side. They continue on their journey. The younger monk is flabbergasted. He can’t believe it. An hour goes by and not a word is spoken between them. Two hours. Three hours. And finally, after four hours, he turns to the older monk and blurts out, â€Å"How could you have done that? How could you have carried that woman?† â€Å"Oh?† responds his companion, â€Å"Are you still carrying her? I put her down four hours ago.† John Kehoe goes on to say, â€Å"How much are we still carrying around inside us that should have been put down a long time ago? Disappointments; regrets; failures; grudges. How much junk are we carrying around inside us and how long are we going to carry it? All our life?† If you want to change and improve your attitude to life then it is imperative that you keep an open mind. That is not to say you will be taken in by every ‘fly-by-night’ scheme that may be put before you. An open mind is curious and investigative and examines new things. Your creative power system uses your conscious and subconscious mind to attract, explore and check out new opportunities so that you can begin achieving your goals and creating the life you want. Don’t limit yourself; learn how to attract new possibilities and make the right decisions by developing the power of your mind and heart. If you move in your community with an open mind and an open heart you can learn to accept others. You don’t have to agree with them, but accept who they are and feel free to express yourself. I remember a friend of ours who has passed on now, who was well-known and well-liked in community affairs. He met many people as he moved around and sometimes in a gathering he would be heard to say, â€Å"There’s a fellow over there I met recently and I didn’t like him; I must go over and get to know him better†. He would always come away with a new-found friend; now that’s an open mind and open heart.

History of the Tudor Dynasty

History of the Tudor Dynasty The Tudor dynasty held the throne of England from 1485 to 1603. In this interval accomplished two revolutions of paramount importance: first, Britain became the first of the Protestant powers, and secondly, she became a maritime and colonial power. Henry VII, founder of the dynasty, presided over the rebuilding of the kingdom, while his son, Henry VIII, consumed his savings striving to solve intractable problems: in diplomacy, that of the European balance, in religion, that of Catholicism without the pope in administration, that of good finances without honesty. Edward VI opened the way for Protestantism, whose progress was repressed by Mary Tudor with an implacable rigor rendering him powerless. Elizabeth I, finally, gathered deftly around her statesmen and advisors, making the symbol of an official religion in accordance with the average opinion of his country and attempted to resolve the major international issues. King Henry VIII Reforms in the British Church were first conducted by Henry VIII more precisely the attachment of Bishops to the English crown: King Henry VII was eager for money, his father had increased the fortune of the English crown by taking the land of noble deaths during the War of the Roses, Henry VIII sought to take those of the Church. At that time the Church had a very important role (one of the largest in the kingdom) and was increasing the discontent of the people because of king s opulent lifestyle. The independence of the Archbishop of Canterbury and bishop s vis- -vis the kings, Henry VIII also found it impossible to tame the Pope because the kings of France and Spain were much more powerful than him. Henry VIII wanted to further centralize the power.(Guy, 245) He divorced one of his six women bishops attached to the crown of England. Indeed, in 1526, Henry VIII asked the Pope to divorce Catherine of Aragon, niece of Charles V King of Spain, because she did not have a son but the Pope, being under the influence of the King of Spain, refused. In 1531, Henry VIII decided to ignore this prohibition and managed to convince the Archbishop of Canterbury and the bishops to attach themselves to him. In 1534, the Act of Supremacy was passed by parliament and Henry VIII became head of all bishops of the kingdom. From the date of this act, all the kings of England became the head of the English Church leaving the pope with no authority. Henry VIII, with the help of Thomas Cromwell, then made use of the Domesday Book to take control of religious taxes; he shut down 560 monasteries and gave their land to the middle classes. This allowed him to raise money for allied merchant classes and landowners, many small gentlemen farmers started making a fortune with this. Also note that the Reformation of the Church had nothing much to do with the arrival of Protestantism: while Henry VIII broke away from the pope, he still remained deeply Catholic. He even grumbled that the Protestants were not loyal to him. He wrote a book critical of Martin Luther, praised by Pope, entitled Defender Fidei (Defender of the Faith or FD that is still found on the coins). Henry VIII crushed all Catholic rebels who would refuse to use the services of the new religion. The monasteries were emptied and sold, and their wealth was confiscated by the state. Thus, the King confirmed the English Reformation. Yet, through the reigns of Mary Tudor and Elizabeth I , daughters of Henry VIII, the Catholic reaction turned bloody, even if the Anglican Church was not called into question . Catholics opposed the system rejecting the reforms of Henry VIII altogether. On 11 July, Henry was excommunicated in Rome and subsequently he answered a call to a future council. A protest of public pity, that of Elizabeth Barton, the holy maid of Kent was rigorously suppressed. Now, war was declared with Rome, Henry VIII, with nothing to spare, ordered that the Pope would be appointed in the future as the bishop of Rome, the bishops would be appointed without the intervention of the Holy See , that church would ultimately be answerable to the Royal Court of Chancery (Anglicanism). Thomas More and Bishop Fisher were imprisoned, the preachers were released throughout the kingdom to speak against the Pope and the King and all the monks were invited to sign the declaration that the bishop of Rome did not more authority in England than any foreign bishop, on pain of punishment similar to those that struck the Franciscans of the Observance. In November 1534, the king added to his titles, according to the wishes of Parliament, that of Supreme Head of the English Church. Deny its supremacy became a crime. It was also a crime of high treason to call it heretical or wish that he, Anne Boleyn, or their children were deprived of the crown. The year 1535 saw a terrible persecution start, under new laws (Treason laws). The monasteries of Charterhouse and Sion troop of martyrs, chained to Newgate, hung, quartered at Tyburn. Fisher, stripped by the Supreme Head of the bishopric of Rochester, was elevated to cardinal by Pope Paul III. Henry VIII had him executed, and his head rot for several days in the pillory of London Bridge. She was soon replaced on the hook by that of Thomas More. This year 1535 and the next date as the two campaigns led by Cromwell, Vicar-General of the supreme leader, for the suppression of the monasteries and destruction of images. In October, the famous doctors Bedyl, Legh, Layton, London, Petre, etc. The beginning of a visitation of all the monasteries of the kingdom was also marked. They were men of bad character, known for their greed, their hardness, coarseness, as evidenced by their correspondence. Everywhere they gathered to gossip and pretended to see the outrageous, secret debauchery. In fo ur months (very short time they had carried out carefully to a serious inquiry), they amassed a Black book material which was presented to Parliament in 1536 to support a proposal by the crown for the total abolition small monasteries and transfer their property to the king. He opposed Luther in asserting that Christs righteousness was imputed to men, nor was it given only to those who had faith that the justification of rights could be acquired by the practice of the virtues of faith, charity and hope, and through repentance and the fear of God, with some effort on the part of man in the exercise of his free will, which was denied by Martin Luther that the veneration of the Virgin Mary and the saints was recommended. The reading of Scripture was closed to the masses from 1546; executions of Lutherans continued until the kings death the following year. Edward VI Edward VI, on his accession to throne was nine years (January 21, 1547) old. His maternal uncle, Hertford, was protector of the kingdom and had himself given the Duchy of Somerset, the brother of Hertford, Sir Thomas Seymour, Lord Admiral and became Seymour of Sudeley. These characters were very much attached to the party of religious reform (Anglican), the young Edward VI shared their sympathies in this regard, in June 1548, and he refrained from making any offering after the Catholic rite at the offertory on Sundays. Ridley and Hugh Latimer were his most favorite preachers, but he listened with pleasure to the Puritan preachers like Hooper and John Knox. Edward VI of England promised a king Puritan, the reformers of all Europe were enthusiastic about his early piety. In April 1551, Calvin sent him a long letter of praise and exhortation. It was the new Josiah. But the learned and fervent devotion was not associated with Edward at the mere natural goodness. He had something in his childhood of deficiency and the hardness of Henry VIII. He was only indifferent to his uncle, the Protector Somerset. While Somerset in 1547 led an expedition against Scotland, his brother, Lord Seymour, treacherously tried to lose it in the spirit of the king. Mary Tudor Despite the measures taken by Edward VI to prevent his sister from becoming his successor, the people recognized the need for the rightful queen. To ensure his own royal authority, questioned by the discussions on the validity of the marriage of his parents, but also to meet his personal beliefs Catholic, Mary Tudor, remained faithful to his religion during the reign of his half-brother, wanted to bring his people back to the old religion with a firm hand. She tried to enforce Catholicism again in the kingdom at the price of imprisonment and death sentences. This is the reason here reign is often associate with blood. In so doing, she disregarded the religious situation of his country: Catholicism was lifeless, while Protestantism was full of vitality. Advised by his cousin, Emperor Charles V, she inaugurated her reign with moderation, content to repeal the laws of the Church taken in the reign of Edward VI, Cranmer jailing and condemning some of her subjects to exile.(Thomas,134) It would mean no bloody persecution against the Protestants, but it did not take account of the opposition of his people, or resistance of Parliament. To demonstrate her desire to give birth to Catholicism, she married in July 1554, the son of Charles V, Philip, heir to the throne of Spain. This reintegration of solemn Church of England in the bosom of the Roman Church attracted the hatred of many who fomented plots against the royal authority. The arrival of Protestantism in Britain or the threat of Catholic invasion pushed the people to convert: when Queen Mary (Queen Mary), half-sister of Catherine of Aragon, Catholic, became head of the kingdom after the death of the son of Henry VIII, Edward VI, who died very young in 1553, the kingdom then composed mainly of Catholics (the majority of the people) but an increasing proportion of the population converted to Protestantism (the richest because this new religion accepted wealth). The position of the Queen Mary was not simple because the kingdom has not experienced female leader for 400 years but Mary committed several errors that resulted in extreme repercussions later on. First, she asked parliament for permission to marry the Catholic King Philip of Spain that compelled disagreeable people to create an uprising. Moreover, the burning of 300 Protestants in five years further aggravated the feud between Catholics and Protestants. Mary died in 1558. For the reinstatement of the Anglican Church to be effective, the big obstacle was the restitution of church property, secularized during the reign of Henry VIII, who had helped some get rich quick. Pope Julius III did not claim this refund, he even sent his legate, Cardinal Reginald Pole, a nephew of Queen Mary, with a mission to give all the English people the full papal absolution. Officially, the authority of Rome was again recognized in the kingdom of England antipapal laws were repealed, Parliament re-enacted the laws against heretics, the bishops called for strong action against all Protestants. The bloody persecution then stood not only against the ecclesiastical dignitaries such as former Archbishop Cranmer, but also against the masses, creating a de facto hostility against Bloody Mary and nourishing a new antipope. The persecution continued with Marys death in 1558. Elizabeth 1 Elizabeth Tudor, daughter of Anne Boleyn, was set to succeed her half-sister. Certainly, on the occasion of the coronation of Mary, Elizabeth had confessed the Catholic faith and promised to defend the true religion, but because of criticism that she opposed the Catholics, accusing her mothers marriage to Henry VIII, Elizabeth which was not affected personally by religious issues but had to promote Protestantism. More skilful politician than her sister, she worked to avoid alienating any of her subjects, the Catholics and Protestants. Elizabeth I, half-sister Mary and Protestants became head of the kingdom because there was no other descendant of the Tudors in 1558. She wanted to reconcile the English among themselves on religious issues and succeeded in 1559 to admit Protestants to two conditions: (1) that they are closer to the Catholics of the kingdom as other Protestants continents, (2) that the monarch remains the sole master of the Church. Elizabeth I undertook many reforms such as the use of Parish (territorial organization of the Church) as an administrative division of the kingdom, the obligation to go to church every Sunday under penalty of law, and finally re-wrote Mass sermons with regard to the attack to the king as a Pechet. Thus, the Church and its representatives had then become fully part of the machinery of state power.(Turton,76) Finally, the English Protestantism completely took off in 1585 with the execution of Mary Queen of Scots in 1587. In fact, Mary Queen of Scots (different from the Queen Mary of England died in 1558) fled to England because she was persecuted in his kingdom of Scotland but this an internal risk in the UK for Elizabeth I as English Catholic nobles would replace the Queen prostetante a Catholic, Elizabeth I therefore took the decision to shut Mary Queen of Scots jail. However, the threat of Spanish invasion (Catholic country) that would attach to England and to defend the Queen Mary over the decision to appoint Mary Philip of Spain as his successor led Elizabeth I to marry in order to cut short the threat of Spanish invasion, or to see the Scottish crown from the hands of Spain. The English people joined the Queen Elizabeth I to stand against the growing threat of Spanish invasion. Elizabeth had the great merit of understanding and acting with a wise and slow progression, behaving immediately after her accession to chief of the Church of England, but assumed that the government of this Church and not s never saying the supreme leader the suprerne head as had once been Henry VIII. The Book of Common Prayer was reworked, and reforms of Matthew Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury sacred by the ordinal of Edward VI (1559), ended after a series of preparatory measures, the Act of Uniformity (1564), which was made compulsory. In 1558, good spirits still doubted the possibility of the victory of new ideas in England. As wrote the Philip II of Spain, a careful observer (it was Fest, his ambassador in London), that the Catholics were the majority of the people, and if the capital, the country of Kent and seaports adhered to doctrines of the Reformation, the rest of the country remained committed to the Roman religion. But even most young noblemen and universities were also removed from it. Elizabeth I, deep admirer of his father and determined to behave like him in all things, there were valuable auxiliaries in a business it knew how to carry out with prudence, skill, and dexterity truly remarkable. England was weary of the sudden change of religion for nearly twenty-five years.

The Dangers of Genetically Modified Foods Essay examples -- GMOs, Heal

Do you ever question what is really in the food you eat? Is a piece of steak really just a piece of steak from a cow’s body? Is a bowl of rice really a bowl of rice grown on a farm? If you answer no to any of these questions, don’t feel bad you’re just like 90 percent of other Americans. The multibillion dollar genetically modified food industries have evolved immensely over the past two decades, and it has secretly entered our lives today. We are not aware of the damage genetically modified organism can bring, by altering the natural traits of our foods not only impact our environment but it also impacted our abilities to functions as regular humans. We are not aware because GMOs are not labeled; government regulations right now do not require the labeling of Genetically Modified products thus so, consumers are left in the dark eating foods that are potentially lethal to our body. A simple label can control the growth of this industry and promote healthy organic products. We have been hidden in the dark for many years now, how are we growing all these crops when our population is growing at an immense pace. More and more people are born into this world every day and yet our crop source doesn’t seem to be dwindling. There seem to be less and less famines, this is due to the increasing amount of genetically modified foods or GMOs or GE which stands for Genetically Engineered. People don’t understand the danger of genetically modified foods. The process of genetically modifying a product is not easy, and it goes against the natural way or growing things. We all the different species have different character traits, for example penguins and owls, they are both considered birds but penguins can’t fly but they can withstand extr... ... Adams, Connor. "'Monsanto Protection Act 2.0' Would Ban GMO-Labeling Laws At State Level." International Business Times. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 May 2013. . Poulter, Sean. "Cancer Row over GM Foods as Study Says It Did THIS to Rats... and Can Cause Organ Damage and Early Death in Humans." Mail Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 May 2013. . Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2001. Print. Bocco, Diana. "Curiosity." Discovery Channel. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 May 2013. .

The Accuracy of Weather Prediction Essay -- Meteorology

The purpose of this paper is to explain the advances being made in technology and algorithms in helping advance the accuracy of forecasting. It will contrast the forecasting methods of several decades ago with forecasting methods in use today. In discussing how errors can accumulate over time and providing simple mathematical formulas as examples, this paper intends to show how the repetition of minor errors can affect the accuracy of weather predictions. Introduction Back in the days of Thomas Jefferson and George Washington, weather observations were recorded daily but not hourly or by the minute. Such repetition of data didn’t seem useful. After the telegraph was invented which enabled information about weather data to be transmitted across the country, they still reported only once a day. In contrast to today's virtual world of weather, making 24/7 use of climate data from satellites, buoys in the oceans, the ability to record worldwide temperatures, worldwide rainfall records, track wind speeds, pressure pulses of solar wind, carbon dioxide levels, tornadoes and hurricanes...etc (Harris, 2012). An early pioneer of meteorology was Vilhelm Bjerknes, and his son Jacob, who described the lifecycle of the extratropical cyclone and shared his ideas for scientific weather forecasting. Bjerknes was disappointed over the unscientific methods of meteorology at the time, which, in contrast was making precise predictions in astronomy and meteorology as he felt, was at a standstill. His goal was to introduce scientific concepts to meteorology. According to Bjerknes, the two main ingredients in weather forecasting was knowledge of the atmosphere and accurate knowledge of the physical laws that govern it. Bjerknes identified: pressu... ...Went Wrong?.ncep.noaa.gov/nwp50/Presentations. Retrieved February 19, 2012, from www.ncep.noaa.gov/nwp50/Presentation NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory. (n.d.). NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory. Retrieved February 18, 2012, from http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/ Vanorsow. (2010, July 17). The Teaching Company User Community: View topic - 23. Prediction and Predictability. The Teaching Company User Community: Index. Retrieved February 18, 2012, from http://teachingcompany.12.forumer.com/viewtopic.php?t=3034 Weather Modeling and Prediction. (2011, May 16). NOAA's Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research. Retrieved February 17, 2012, from http://www.oar.noaa.gov/weather/t_modeling.html The Weather Research&Forecasting Model Website. (n.d.). The Weather Research&Forecasting Model Website. Retrieved February 18, 2012, from http://wrf-model.org/index.php

Laertes and Ophelia as Character Foils in Hamlet Essay

â€Å"The spirit that I have seen May be the devil: and the devil hath power To assume a pleasing shape; yea, and perhaps Out of my weakness and my melancholy, As he is very potent with such spirits, Abuses to damn me:† (2.2.58) In William Shakespeare’s classic drama, ‘Hamlet’, the titular protagonist, Hamlet, is a dynamic, round character with constantly evolving traits. The character Hamlet, himself, interestingly, is not noted for what he does, but rather, is noted for his indecisiveness and lack of taking action throughout the play. Despite Hamlet having a ulterior motive throughout the play, he is constantly seen to be deliberating as to whether or not he should act on his actions. Through his numerous soliloquys, Hamlet’s innermost reflections are seen, many of them contemplating existence, and the nature of the task which he has taken upon himself to carry out: the task of killing his uncle, the current King of Denmark. In ‘Hamlet’, there are numerous characters, many of whom belong to either one of two families focused upon in the play: there is the royal family, consisting of Hamlet, his mother Gertrude, the Queen, and his stepfather Claudius, the current King of Denmark; and there is the family of the King’s chief counselor, Polonius, which includes his daughter, Ophelia, and his son, Laertes. In both families, the parent-child relationship is heavily focused upon. Compared to the other ‘children’ of the play – Laertes and Ophelia – Hamlet’s slow, deliberate thinking is brought to the forefront, with both Laertes and Ophelia acting as character foils to Hamlet. Hamlet and Laertes may both be defined by their fathers, and how they react to them, as well as the way they are viewed by the public. Hamlet and Laertes are seen to be in similar situations: both of them are sons, and students who were studying abroad at the time of old King Hamlet’s death. Both of them appeared to have shared a relatively close relationship with their fathers. After his father’s death, Hamlet dressed in black, in grief and mourning. When the Queen asked why Hamlet seemed to be so affected by  his father’s death, he replied, ‘†Seems,† madam? Nay, it is.’ (1.2) Polonius, meanwhile, had been hesitant to let Laertes return to France, stating that Laertes had â€Å"wrung upon me my slow leave by laborsome petition, and at last upon his will I sealed my hard consent.† (1.2) Both Hamlet and Laertes are juxtaposed when their respective fathers are murdered, contrasting them – while both feel wronged by their fathers’ deaths, the means with which they take action are different. Hamlet did not consider revenge until the Ghost told him to â€Å"revenge this most foul and unnatural murder†. (1.5) Even then, Hamlet took action slowly, carefully and deliberately planning out the steps of his plan with which to get revenge. Laertes, however, upon hearing of his father’s death, returned to Denmark, smashing the doors to the Elsinore castle open, demanding that the â€Å"vile king† should â€Å"give (him his) father†. (4.5) Their moral compasses, too, are exceedingly different. Hamlet had had the opportunity to murder Claudius while Claudius was praying, but chose not to, thinking that if he killed Claudius then, he would â€Å"this same villain send to heaven†, showing that he still believes in a higher power, and demands that justice be paid. (3.3) Conversely, Laertes, when asked by Claudius what he would do to prove that he was â€Å"in deed (his) father’s son more than in words†, Laertes stated that he would â€Å"cut his throat i’ th’ church†. (4.7) Through this comparison, it may be seen that while Hamlet is uncertain about committing murder to avenge another murder, Laertes has no hesitation about it. How Hamlet and Laertes are viewed by other characters, too, shows the similarities between both of them, despite the differences in how they act. Both of them are loved by the public, and are competitors for the throne of Denmark. Claudius himself states that â€Å"the great love the general gender bear (Hamlet)† is the reason that he does not prosecute Hamlet. (4.7) Laertes, too, has the affection of the public, evidenced by their cries of â€Å"‘Laertes shall be king, Laertes king!'† (4.5) Due to this popularity, the king naturally has reason to be wary of both of them, a trait which is reflected in his chief counselor, Polonius. Polonius is seen to be spying on various characters, including Hamlet and Laertes – he requested that Reynaldo, a servant, should go to France and spy on Laertes; he himself  spied on Hamlet. This may be interpreted as meaning that neither Hamlet nor Laertes are completely trustworthy. The other member of Laertes’ family, Ophelia, however, is loved by both Laertes and Hamlet, and Ophelia’s death results in their confrontational duel, which in turn results in their respective deaths, both indirectly killed by Claudius. Ophelia herself is a foil to Hamlet. While Laertes as a foil to Hamlet was a contrast in their actions after their father’s deaths, Ophelia and Hamlet contrast in their emotional well-being, and the kind of madness that they face. Both have been disappointed by someone whom they love – Hamlet being disappointed by Gertrude’s â€Å"o’erhasty marriage†, Ophelia by Hamlet’s rough treatment of her during his supposed madness. (2.2) While it is revealed several times by Hamlet that he is faking madness, saying that he â€Å"essentially (was) not in madness but mad in craft,† Ophelia’s madness seems less forced – after Polonius’ death, she appears to have slipped right into insanity. (3.4) Hamlet, conversely, had gone through a mourning period before appearing to be mad. Interestingly, the contrast in how they act when they are mad – Hamlet being deliberate, Ophelia to have seemingly been truly mad – provides an even bigger contrast as to how each of them die, with Hamlet’s death occurring in a violent situation, while Ophelia’s death is shrouded with the calming natural imagery of flowers and trees. Hamlet dies due to a poisoned sword during his duel with Laertes, played out in front of an audience. The circumstances behind Ophelia’s death, however, is more unknown and ambiguous. It is implied that her death was accidentally. According to Gertrude, that â€Å"on the pendant boughs her coronet weeds clambering to hang, an envious sliver broke,† (4.7) implying that Ophelia’s death was accidental. However, as Ophelia’s death is not shown, it is possible that she had decided to commit suicide instead. Should she have decided on death by her own hand, a powerful foil is brought in, contrasting against Hamlet, who, while seen to be contemplating suicide on several occasions, never kills himself, instead wishing â€Å"that the Everlasting had not fixed His canon ‘gainst self-slaughter†. (2.5) While Ophelia is commonly portrayed to be weak, her choosing to take her own life implies that she is of a stronger  will than Hamlet, who is eventually killed by Laertes. Ophelia, like Hamlet and Laertes, seeks revenge for her father’s death, but her form of revenge is not violent in the way that Hamlet and Laertes’ confrontational duel is. Rather than choosing to blame a single person for Polonius’ death, Ophelia instead passes judgement on the other characters in the play in a much more feminine way – by handing out different types of flowers, saying, â€Å"There’s fennel for you, and columbines.-There’s rue for you, and here’s some for me. We may call it â€Å"herb of grace† o’ Sundays.-Oh, you must wear your rue with a difference.-There’s a daisy. I would give you some violets, but they withered all when my father died.† (4.5) Ophelia’s way of retribution for her father’s death contrasts strongly with Hamlet’s – his is a single-minded focus on killing Claudius, whom he holds personally responsible for his father’s death. While Ophelia could have gone down the same path as Laertes, demanding justice for Polonius, she does not – rather, she blames everyone in the play for what has happened. However, her way of doing this, too, provides a similarity with Hamlet – the flowers were deliberately chosen in the same way that Hamlet deliberately staged the play – in order to â€Å"catch the conscience† of those around them. (2.2) The flowers that Ophelia chooses to hand out raises the question of her madness – has she truly lost her mind, as some characters believe, or is she just mad in certain ways, while retaining her logic in some other ways? The flowers that she chooses to hand out each conveys its own meaning: fennel is thought to mean flattery, columbine meaning foolishness, daisies portraying innocence, violets showing faithfulness, rosemary â€Å"for remembrance†, pansies for thought, rue meaning regret. (4.5) The meanings of these flowers all seem to have some connection with the characters in the play. Rosemary may be meant for Hamlet, who, to Ophelia, may seem to have forgotten who he is in his state of madness, pansies, for thought, may be meant for Laertes, to consider his actions. Fennel may be paired with the King, a reflection of how his words are often deceiving and manipulative; columbines may be paired with Gertrude, a criticism on her actions. Daisies and violets, interestingly, do not appear to be given to anyone. Daisies, a symbol of innocence, may be a statement that Ophelia does not believe that anyone is  worthy of having the flowers. That Ophelia does not hand out violets may be a portrayal of herself, a particularly interesting note, as she leaves on the note that all violets had withered when Polonius died, perhaps showing her lack of faith to anyone left. Secondary characters in Hamlet seem to mostly be a foil of Hamlet himself – while he is slow, deliberate, and carefully plans out what he wishes to do in order to exact revenge for his father’s death, other characters reflect and contrast these traits. By choosing to place Laertes and Ophelia in similar positions as Hamlet, but making them react in different ways, Shakespeare emphasises the usage of character foils in Hamlet. All of them are the children of noblemen in court, all of them have lost a father, but all of them react in contrasting ways to each other. It may be seen that the characters of Laertes and Ophelia do increase our understanding of Hamlet, a dynamic character who is not easily understood, by providing foils against him, adding emphasis to the ways in which he acts in certain situations.