Sunday, January 19, 2020

Fairy Tale Icons in Morrisons Tar Baby and Monteros Te Tratare como a

Deconstructing Fairy Tale Icons in Toni Morrison's Tar Baby and Rosa Montero's Te Tratare como a una reina ABSTRACT In this study I will examine how, from a feminist perspective, both Toni Morrison's fourth African-American novel, Tar Baby (1981), and Rosa Montero's third post-Franco Spanish novel, Te tratarà © como a una reina (1983), explore the problems that arise when women believe that they are the stereotypes permeating literature. Both women writers employ similar techniques that subvert and deconstruct the stereotypical roles of men and women, unveiling the fairy tale icons of the heroine and the hero that have been masquerading as "real" people. ESSAY Day and night are mingled in our gazesÃ…   If we divide light from night, we give up the lightness of our mixtureÃ…   We put ourselves into water tight compartments, break ourselves up into parts, cut ourselves in twoÃ…   we are always one and the other, at the same time. -Luce Irigaray1 In 1975 the death of Franco and forty years of dictatorship and censorship offered Spanish women the freedom to reexamine their identity and question their role in a patriarchal society. At the same time on another continent, African-American women are also struggling to find their identity among the numerous American literary images that, until the 20th-century, had not realistically represented their gender or race. Notwithstanding the different histories, geographies, and ethnicities between African-American and Spanish women, a common thread that appears to bind them is their inheritance of a legacy of struggle against the internalization of controlling patriarchal perceptions and images of women that lead them to believe that they are, indeed, the stereoty... ...997. Montero, Rosa. Te tratarà © como a una reina. 1983. Barcelona: Seix Barral. 1990. Morrison, Toni. Tar Baby. 1981.New York: Plume, 1982. NOTES 1 Luce Irigaray, This Sex Which Is Not One (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1985) 217. 2 Critics have noted that what I call "multiple interpretations" and binary oppositions are characteristic of Morrison's works. 3 Trudier Harris, Fiction and Folklore: The Novels of Toni Morrison (Knoxville: U of Tennessee P, 1991) 116. 4 On the Sea Bird II he thinks of "women" (6), later with the same contextual references he thinks of "fat black ladies" (119). 5 This and all subsequent translations are mine. 6 Racial stereotyping, also defined in fairy tale motifs, suggest that Son is a "frog" when his African-American hair is in its natural state and a "prince" when he conforms to the grooming norms of the white culture.

Saturday, January 11, 2020

Exam Notes

Chapter 1- PRE MID Study Questions : 1) What are the challenges of working in the new economy 2) What are the organizations like in the new workplace? 3) Who are the managers and what do they do? 4) What is the management pricess? 5) How do you learn the essential managerial skills and competencies? Overview of the 21st century workplace -Organizations must adapt to rapidly changing society -Economy is global and driven by innovation and technology -High performing companies gain extraordinary results from people working for them -Interdependent, knowledge based STUDY QUESTION 1Intellectual Capital- People are the ultimate foundations of organizational performance, it is the collective brainpower or shared knowledge of a workforce that can be used to create value. A knowledge worker adds to the intellectual capital of an organization. Globalization- National boundaries of world business have largely disappeared. Globalization is the worldwide interdependence of resource flows, produc t markets, and business competition that characterize the new economy. Technology- There is an increasing demand for knowledge workers with the skills to full utilize the technology such as (internet computers and information technology)Diversity- Workforce diversity reflects differenes with respect to gender, age, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, and able bodiednes. Creates a diverse and multicultural workforce but challenges and offers opportunities to employers. Ethics- Code of moral principles, society requires business to operate according to high moral standards. Emphasis today is on restoring the strength of corporate governance. STUDY QUESTION 2 Some Critical skills for success in the workplace are; mastery, contacts, entrepreneurship, love of technology, marketing, passion for renewal.Organization- A collection of people working together to achieve a common purpose. Organizations provide useful goods and or services that return value to society and satisfy cus tomer needs. Organizations are Open Systems- Composted of interrelated parts that function together to achieve a common purpose and interact with their environments. They transform resource inputs into product outputs(goods and services). Environmental feedback tells organization how well it is meeting the needs of customers and society.Organizational Performance- value is created when an organization’s operations ads value to the original cost of resource inputs. Value creation occurs when businesses earn a profit or nonprofit organizations add wealth to society. Organizational Performance -Productivity: an overall measure of the quantity and quality of work performance with resource utilization taken into account -Performance Effectiveness: An output measure of task or goal accomplishment -Performance Efficiency: An input measure of the resource costs associated with goal accomplishmentWorkplace changes that provide a context for studying management; belief in human capital , demise of â€Å"command and control†, emphasis on teamwork, Preeminence of technology, Embrace of networking, New workforce expectations, concern for work-life balance, focus on speed. STUDY QUESTION 3 Importance of human resources and managers; toxic workplaces that treat employees as costs, High performing organizations treat people as valuable strategic assets, managers must ensure that people are treated this way.Manager- a person in an organization who supports and is responsible for the work of others, they are the ones who help those whose tasks represent the real work of the organization. Levels of Management: a)Top Managers- responsible for performance of an organization as a whole or for one of its larger parts. b) Middle managers- in charge of relatively large departments or divisions. c) Project managers- coordinate complex projects with task deadlines d) Team Leaders or supervisors- in charge of a small work group of non-managerial workers.Reponsibilities of te am leaders: Plan meetings and work schedules, clarify goals and tasks, and gather ideas for improvement, appraise performance and counsel team members, recommend pay raises and new assignments, recruit, develop and train team members, encourage high performance and teamwork, inform team members about organization goals and expectations, inform higher levels of work unit needs and accomplishments, co-ordinate with others teams and support the rest of the organization. Types of Managers: a)Line Managers: responsible for work activities that directly affect organizations outputs. )Staff managers: use technical expertise to advise and support the efforts of line workers c) Functional managers: responsible for a single area of an activity d) General managers: responsible for more complex units that include many functional areas. e) Administrators: work in public and nonprofit organizations. Managerial Performance and Accountability- accountability is the requirement of one person to answ er to a higher authority for relevant performance results. Effective managers fulfill performance accountability by helping others to achieve high performance outcomes and experience satisfaction in their work.Quality of work life (qwl) – an indicator of the overall quality of human experiences in the workplace. Some indicators are: fair pay, safe working conditions, opportunities to learn and use new skills, room to grow and progress into a career, protection of individual rights, pride in work itself and in the organization. High performing managers: build working relationships with others, help others develop their skills and performance competencies, foster teamwork, create a work environment that is performance driven and provides satisfaction for workers.The organization as an upside down pyramid: each individual is a value-added worker. A managers job is to support workers’ efforts. The best managers are known for helping and supporting. STUDY QUESTION 4 Managem ent is the process of planning, organizing, leading and controlling the use of resources to accomplish performance goals. All managers are responsible for the four functions, and they are carried on continually. Functions of management a) Planning – the process of setting objectives and determining what actions should be taken to accomplish them. ) Organizing- the process of assigning tasks, allocating resources and arranging the coordinated activities of individuals and groups to implement plans c) Leading- the process of arousing people’s enthusiasm to work hard and direct their efforts to fulfill plans and accomplish objectives. d) Controlling- the process of measuring work performance, comparing results to objectives and taking corrective action as needed Managerial activities and roles a) Interpersonal roles- involve interactions with persons inside and outside the work unit b) Informational roles- Involve giving, receiving, and analyzing of information. ) Decisio nal Roles- involve using information to make decisions in order to solve problems or address opportunities Characteristics of managerial work: Managers work long hours, work at an intense pace, work at a fragmented and varied tasks, work with many commutation media, work largely though interpersonal relationships. Agenda setting- Development of action priorities for ones job, includes goals and plans that span long and short Networking- The process of building and maintaining positive relationships with people whose help may be needed to implement ones work agendasSTUDY QUESTION 5 Essential managerial skills: Skill-the ability to translate knowledge into action that results in desired performance Technical skill- the ability to apply a special proficiency or expertise to perform particular tasks* lower level managers have more of this Human skill- the ability to work well in cooperation with others Conceptual skill- the ability to think critically and analytically to solve complex p roblems. * top level managers have more of this Managerial Competency- A skill-based capability that contributes to high performance in a management job.Managerial competencies are implicit in: Planning, organizing, leading and controlling. Informational, interpersonal, an decisional roles. Agenda setting and networking. Chapter 7-PRE MID Study Questions: 1) How is information technology changing the workplace? 2) What is the role of information in the management process? 3) How do managers use information to make decisions? 4) What are the steps in the decision-making process? 5) What are the current issues in managerial decision making? STUDY QUESTION 1Knowledge and knowledge workers provide a decisive competitive factor in today’s economy. Intellectual Capital- shared knowledge of a workforce that can be used to create wealth * irreplaceable organizational resources* Electronic commerce- the process of buying and selling goods and services electronically through use of the internet. Implications if IT within organizations: Facilitation of communcation and information sharing, operating with fewer middle managers, flattening of organizational structures, faster decision making and increased coordination and control.How IT is changing the office: progressive organizations activiely use it to help achieve high performance in uncertain environments. Key developments in networked offices are instant messaging and peer to peer sharing (p2p) STUDY QUESTION 2 Data- raw facts and observations Information- Data made useful for decision making drives management functions Characteristics of useful info: timely, high quality, complete, relevant, understandable. Information system- Use of the latest IT to collect, organize and distribute data for use in decision making.Management Information System (MIS)- specifically designed to meet the information needs of managers in daily decision making. Decision to support syste (DSS)- An interactive information system that allows users to organize and analyze data for solving complex and sometimes unstructured problems. Group Decision Support System (GDSS)- facilitates group efforts to solve complex and unstructured problems. *use groupware Artificial Intelligence (AI)- computer systems with the capacity to reason the way people do. Expert Systems (ES)- Software systems that use AI to mimic the thinking of human experts.Managerial advantages of IT utilizations 1) Planning advantaes- better and more timely access to useful information, involving more people in planning. 2) Organizing advantages- more ongoing and informed communication among all parts of the organization, improved coordination and integration 3) Leading advantages- improved communication with staff and stakeholders, keeping objectives clear. 4) Controlling advantages- more immediate measure of performance results, allows real-time solutions to performance problems STUDY QUESTION 3Performance deficiency- actual performance being less th an desired performance Performance opportunity- actual performance being better than desired performance Problem Solving- the process of identifying a discrepancy between actual and desired performance and taking action to resolve it. Decision- a choice among possible alternative course of action. Programmed decisions- apply solutions that are readily available from past experiences to solve structured problems, these problems are ones that happen often and are familiar.Nonprogrammed decisions- develop novel solutions to meet the demands of unique situation that presents unstructured problems. Commonly faced by higher-level management Crisis Decision making – a crisis involves an unexpected problem that can lead to disaster if not resolved quickly and appropriately. Certain Environment- offers complete info about possible action alternatives and their outcomes Risk Environment- lacks complete info about action alternatives and their consequences, but offers some estimates of probabilities of outcomes for possible action alternatives.Uncertain Environments- Information is so poor that probabilities cannot be assigned to likely outcome of known action alternatives. Systematic v/s intuitive thinking- systematic thinking approaches problems in a rational step by step and analytical fashion. Intuitive thinking approaches problems in a flexible and spontaneous fashion. Multidimensional thinking applies both intuitive and systematic thinking. Effective multidimensional thinking requires skill at strategic opportunism. STUDY QUESTION 4 Decision making ProcessStep 1- Identify and define the problem: focuses on information gathering, info processing and deliberation. Decsion objectives should be established Step 2- Generate and evaluate possible solutions; potential solutions are formulated and more info is gathered, data are analyzed, the advantages and disadvantages of alternative solutions are identified. Step 3-decide on a preferred course of action; classica l decision model managers act rationally in a certain world, managers face clearly defined problems and have complete knowledge of all possible alternatives and their consequences this results in an optimizing decision.OR behavioral decision model; managers act in terms of what they perceive about a given situation, recognizes limits to human information-processing capabilities, they will choose the first satisfactory alternative Step 4- Implement the decision solution; involves taking action to make sure the solution decided upon becomes a reality, managers need to have willingness and ability to implement action plans. Step 5- evaluate results; involves comparing actual and desired results, positive and negative consequences of chosen course of action should be examined.STUDY QUESTION 5 Availability Heuristic- people use information â€Å"readily available† from memory as a basis for assessing a current event or situation Representativeness Heuristic- People assess the like lihood of something happening based upon its similarity to a stereotyped set of occurrences Anchoring and adjustment Heuristic- People make decisions based on adjustments to a previously existing value or starting point. Ethics double check- any decision should follow this ethics rule ask yourself â€Å" how would I feel if my family found out about this decision? â€Å"how would I feel if this was published in the newspaper† *ethical decisions satisfy the following criteria : utility, rights, justice, caring. Chapter 2- POST MID Study Questions 1) what can be learned from classical management thinking? 2) What ideas were introduced by the human resource approaches? 3) What is the role of quantitative analysis in management? 4) What is unique about the systems view and contingency thinking? 5) What are the continuing management themes of the 21 century? STUDY QUSTION 1Classical Approaches to management: 1) Scientific Management-(Frederick Taylor) Decelop rules of motion , st andardized work implements and proper working conditions for every job. Carefully select workers with the right abilities for the job. Carefully train workers and provide proper incentives. Support workers by carefully planning their work and removing obstacles. (The Gilbreths) Motion study, science of reducing a job or taskt to its basic physical motions. Eliminating wasted motions imporves performance. ) Administrative Principles ( Henri Fayol) – RULES OF MANAGEMENT a) foresight- co complete a plan of ation for the future b) organization- tp provide and mobilize resources to implement the plan c) coordination- to fit diverse efforts together and ensure information is shared and problems are solved. d) Control- to make sure things happen according to plan and to take necessary corrective action PRINCIPLES OF MANAGEMENT a) Scalar chain- there should be a clear and unbroken line of communication from the top to the bottom of the organization. ) Unity of command- each person sh ould receive orders from only one boss c) Unity of direction- one person should be in charge of all activities with the same performance objective. MARY PARKER FOLLET Group and human cooperation; Groups are mechanisms through which individuals can combine their talents for a greater good, Organizations are cooperating communities of managers and workers. Mangagers job is to help people in the organization cooperate and achieve an integration of interests.Forward-looking management insights; making every employee an owner creates a sense of collective responsibility (precursor of employee ownership, profit sharing, an gain sharing). Business problems involve a variety of inter-related factors. Private profits relative to public good (precursor of managerial ethics and social responsibility) 3) Bureaucratic Organization (max Weber)- Bureaucracy is an ideal intentionally rational and very efficient form of organization. Based on principles of logic, order, and legitimate authority.Char acteristics of Bureaucratic organizations : clear division of labor, clear hierarchy of authority, formal rules and procedures, impersonality, careers based on merit. STUDY QUESTION 2 Human resource approaches include : 1) Hawthorne Studies – initial tudy examined how economic incentives and physical conditions affected worker output. No consistent relationship found. â€Å"Psychological factors† influenced results. Relay assembly test room studies manipulated physical work conditions to assess impact on output, was designed to minimize the â€Å"psychological factors† of previous experiment.Factors that accounted for increased productivity : group atmosphere and participative supervision. Employee attitutes, interpersonal relations and group processes- some things satisfied some workers but not others, people restricted output to adhere to group norms. Lessons from the Hawthorne Studies: Social and human concerns are keys to productivity, hawthorne effect-peopl e who are singled out for special attention perform as expected. 2) Maslows theory of human needs- a need is a physiological or psychological deficiency a person feels compelled to satisfy.Need levels: physiological, safety, social, esteem, self actualization. Deficit principle- a satisfied need is not a motivator of behavior Progression principle- a need becomes a motivator once the preceding ower level need is satisfied. *Both principles cease to perate at a self actualization level 3) McGregors Theory X assumes that workers: dislike work, lack ambition, are irresponsible, resist change, prefer to be led. McGregors Theory Y assumes that workers are: willing to work, capable of self control, willing to accept responsibility, imaginative and creative, capable of self direction.Implications of Theory x and y : managers create self fulfilling prophecies, theory x managers create situations where workers become dependent and reluctant. Theory Y managers create situations where workes r espond with initiative and high performance * central to notions of empowerment and self management 4) Argyris’s theory of adult personality – classical management principles and practices inhibit worker maturation and are inconsistent with the mature adult personality.Management practices should accommodate the mature personality by: increasing task responsibility, increasing task variety, using participative decision making. STUDY QUESTION 3 Management science (operations research) foundations – scientific application of mathematical techniques to management problems. Techniques and applications include: mathematical forecasting, inventory modeling, linear programming, queuing theory, network models, simulations.Quantitative analysis today- use of staff and specialists to help managers apply techniques, software and hardware developments have expanded potential quantitative applications to managerial problems. Good judgement and appreciation for human factors must accompany use of quantitatitve analysis. STUDY QUESTION 4 System-collection of interrelated parts that function together to achieve a common purpose. Subsytem- A smaller component of a larger system Open systems- organizations that interact with their environments in the continual process of transforming resource inputs to outputs.Contingency thinking- triest to match managerial respinses with problems and opportunities unique to different situations. * espically indicidual or environmental differences. No â€Å"one best way† to manage. Appropriate way to manage depends on the situation. STUDY QUESTION 5 Quality and performance excellence- managers and workers in progressive organizations are quality conscious. * wuality and competitive anaylsis are linked Total Qaulity Management (TQM) – Comprehensive approach to continupus quality improvement for a total organization, creates context for the value chain.Global Awareness- pressure for quality and performance exce llence is created by a highly competitie global economy. Has promoted increasing intrest in new management concepts: process engineering, virtual organizations, Agile factories, network firms. Adoption of the theory Z management practices. Core Factors of a leraning Organization -mental models -personal mastery -systems thinking -shared vision -team learning In the 21st century managers must be Global strategists, masters of technology, inspiring leaders and models of ethical behaviour.

Friday, January 3, 2020

Do Platonic Friendships Exist Between Ex-Lovers Literature Review Examples

Introduction Love resembles a vortex that charms us to its depth. People fall in love and none is forced to do so. Different people have different life experiences that they can testify to one another. The experiences can either be painful or sweet in memories. The truth is that once you are in love with a person and you happen to break up, the affection will remain in your heart for sometime ready to be replenished at any moment. Once the pain is gone you may find yourself feeling like you need to get back as friends and it is not surprising to find that the other person shares with you similar feelings. Can we be still friends? Resources and Barriers to friendship quality after romantic relationship dissolution Influence of Resources Resources have an influence on the friendship quality between former dating partners. According to a research conducted on some college students, it was realized that those who received more resources had higher levels of friendship quality with their former partners. Some barriers to friend quality include: lack of family or friends’ support, involvement in a new romantic relationship and using neglect as a disengagement strategy. The role of resources which are received from a former romantic partner and the barriers are the predictors of friendship quality after dissolution of a romantic relationship. Social Exchange theory A theory called social exchange theory has been put in place to examine how a former relationship can be handled or how it can have the effects on someone’s life. This framework is built on a combination of behaviorism and elementary economics. This theory investigates whether resources and barriers influence the quality of friendship with a former romantic partner. The investigation carried, helped us understand that the barriers and resources plays a very big role in determining the fate of a former relationship. The following hypotheses were developed using the principles from the social exchange framework. Hypothesis 1: The frequency of resources received will be positively related to friendship quality in post-dating relationships. Hypothesis 2: satisfaction with the frequency of resources received will moderate the association between frequency of resources received and friendship quality in post-dating relationships. Hypothesis 3: The presence of barriers will be negatively related to friendship quality in post-dating relationships. Critique Hypothesis Hypothesis 1and 2 were positive hypotheses. It was supported as there was a direct relationship between the frequencies of resources received and the quality of post-dating relationships. The quality improved with an increase in the resources received. In as much the frequency of resources received did not work for some post-dating relationships, for a majority it worked. The third hypothesis examined the effect of barriers. It was realized that barriers impacted negatively on the quality of post-dating relationships. Participants Gender insensitive: The participants who were involved in the research, had 71% women and 29% males. This did not give a good finding bearing in mind that both genders play a very important role in examining and determining the fate of a post-dating relationships. Type of relationship (misrepresentation). The research left out those individuals who had children with their former partners and those who had taken too long after the dissolution of their relationships. This misrepresented the sample space. The groups above needed to be considered so as to determine the long-term effect of a former relationship and whether children had any impact towards rekindling a former relationship. The Social Embeddedness of Redefining Romantic Couplings Symbolic Interaction Symbolic interaction theory examines the contours of post-dating relationships. Some of the questions that one can ask himself/herself during this study include: How do people orient themselves to one another after a dating relationship ends What is the power of dynamic between one’s social network and his/her postdating relationship The relationships between former spouses or lovers may satisfy legitimate needs such as friendship, shared history and extended social networks. (Metts, Cupach and Bejlovec, 1989) People may act towards things on the basis of the meanings that things have for them. Another meaning may arise out of a social interaction and the meaning may be handled in and modified through an interpretative process. The interactions that may exist between former lovers depend on the nature of the relationship and the type of social interactions that they had with each other. The meanings may change and expand throughout the course of a relationship. Cross-sex friendship with a romantic history A research carried out by Bell in 1981 came out with findings that over 50% of former lovers were friends. It is hard for men and women to be in platonic relationship. The matter is even worsened when they were once in a relationship. This is because there are always some attractions that exist between people of the opposite sex. There is usually a natural human instinct that drives people of the opposite sex together.

Thursday, December 26, 2019

Essay A Medicinal and Statistical Outlook On Autism

Temple Grandin, an American doctor of animal science and professor at Colorado State University, said of Autism, â€Å"Autism is an extremely variable disorder.† Autism is an extremely variable disorder because of the many different characteristics shown in children diagnosed with the disorder. Many Americans are clueless about Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome. In order to understand Autism one needs to know the definition of the disease, ascertain the characteristics of the disease, know the probability of being diagnosed with Autism, look at the inception of the disease, and recognize who the disease affects. First and foremost, Autism is a disturbance in psychological development in which use of language, reaction to stimuli, interpretation of†¦show more content†¦Asperger’s syndrome is an erratic disorder. (Autism Speaks)(Web MD) Children with Autism, who later on develop Asperger’s Syndrome, have displayed numerous distinctiveness of character. They vary in many degrees of relentlessness. Many have difficulty with saying their own words, making them repeat someone else’s words. They also range from random outbursts of laughing or giggles to minimum contact with children of their age group. They may have acute forms of these characteristics. Children with Asperger’s Syndrome tend to put themselves into awkward postures and/or shows lack of empathy, etc. Children with autism may have these following characteristics: they may not want to embrace others, they choose to be alone, they avowal on similarity, repeat words or phrases, unsuitable reply or no reply at all. They also may have a challenging beginning or keeping a conversation going and display interest extremely few objects or hobbies and play with them in recurring ways. (Inclusive Communities) (Autism Society) The chances of developing this disorder are extremely high. One percent of America’s children between the ages of three to seventeen have autism. Children diagnosed with autism are alarmingly higher than children with diabetes and cancer combined. Boys are four times more likely than girls to develop autism. Approximately three out of 10,000 people are diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome. One

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Odysseus A True Modern Hero Essay - 892 Words

In Homer’s, The Odyssey, I believe that Odysseus is a true modern hero. During his long and perilous journey home Odysseus shows many heroic qualities that help save his men from many dangerous situations. He first shows his Valiant behavior during the war in Troy, he cares about his crew and survives the war. He also deeply cares about the welfare of his men on their return trip to Ithaka. Odysseus is a hero because he is a courageous leader, a quick thinker and a modest man. Odysseus is a courageous leader because he saves his crew in combat many times. One way Odysseus shows he is a courageous leader is by proving his worth in combat. Odysseus is obviously a good fighter because he survived the Trojan War, if he had not have been a†¦show more content†¦Another way Odysseus is also a hero is he always finds a way to survive whether he is in conflict or out on the sea. One of the many situations Odysseus survives is his encounter with Skylla. Six of his crew members do perish but through his hard work and dedication he survives. He makes another smart decision in choosing to go through Skylla instead of Kharybdis because only six of his crew members die instead of the whole crew. Another decision Odysseus makes to survive is not eating the cattle of Helios while on Thrinikia, his crew members choice in eating the hallowed cows results in their death, but Odysseus knew the consequences and did not touch a cow. Another way Odysseus quick-decision skills helps him is when he chooses to leave the island of the Lotous-eaters, because he realized his whole crew would have fell under the curse if he had stayed there. Odysseus is also a master tactician whose complex plans save his crew and help him regain his crown. One of these plans was his ingenious idea to trick Polyphemos, which shows he is a hero by saving countless lives. Another plan he implemented was to kill the suitors which is also a success because Odysseus and Telemakos themselves kill over a hundred men without an injury to themselves .Odysseus is a quick-thinker whose resourceful ideas save many lives. Odysseus also starts out the Epic as man full of hubris but quickly changes into a truly modest man. HeShow MoreRelatedOdysseus, A Hero Essay1135 Words   |  5 PagesIs there such a thing as a true hero? Or are those that are considered heroes just regular people who made the right choice at the right time and became idolized for it? To be a true hero, the person would have to be totally good. It is impossible for a human being to be totally good because weaknesses, character faults, and the tendency to make mistakes are all rooted deeply into human nature. Therefore, no human being can ever truly be a hero, though we may do heroic deeds. A well known exampleRead MoreOdysseus is Not a Hero for the Modern Age Essay800 Words   |  4 Pages Many would argue that Odysseus is more of a villain nowadays, for every instance of his wiliness or feats of strength there are several of venality, vice, cruelty, or selfishness. The episode of the Sirens,(Book 12), is one example. The only reason Odysseus ties himself up to the mast, when instead he could have simply plugged his ears with wax like the rest of his crew, is that he chooses the jeopardous choice, wanting to go down in the books by being the first man to ever listen to the SirensRead MoreEpic Passages of The Epic of Gilgamesh and Homers Odyssey921 Words   |  4 PagesThe definition of a hero has evolved over time through both written word and human experiences, so what is a hero? In the two epic passages The Epic of Gilgamesh and Homers Odyssey, heroism appears to be a clear distinction with the literature, and has the same basic framework as today’s definition of a hero. 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In the Odyssey, topics such as terrifying monsters , love tests, and an unstoppable hero are all related to ancient Greek culture. The Odyssey shows archetypes th at also reveal this culture. Three archetypes found are monsters, loyalty, and a hero, which shows the ancient Greek culture for modern readers. Skull crushing and blood thirsty monsters is a common fear and an archetype. For example, in the article Monster Archetypes in theRead MoreArchetypes In The Odyssey868 Words   |  4 PagesAncient Greek culture is brought up by Homer through archetypes. In the Odyssey, topics such as terrifying monsters , love tests, and an unstoppable hero are all related to ancient Greek culture. The Odyssey shows archetypes that also reveal this culture. Three archetypes found are monsters, loyalty, and a hero, which shows the ancient Greek culture for modern readers. Skull crushing and blood thirsty monsters is a common fear and an archetype. 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An epic hero is defined as a character who possesses superhuman strength, craftiness, and confidence, is helped or harmed by the gods, and usually possesses a natural position of authority. Without a doubt, Odysseus is an epic hero; he is cleverRead MoreThe Epic Of The Odyssey Essay942 Words   |  4 PagesHowever, compared to Odysseus in The Odyssey, who is strong, but untrusting, we will soon see that Sunjata is not only a man but a hero. In both texts we see each man adored by many and even compared to Gods like Odysseus in The Odyssey. However, when we break down the words of each epic we are faced to confront the truths of what a hero really is. This claim explains why The Odyssey expresses a false sense of heroism whereas Sunjata gives the audience an d example of a real hero. However, before theRead More Comparing Two Heros - Beowulf and Odysseus Essays618 Words   |  3 PagesComparing Two Heros - Beowulf and Odysseus Reading through Beowulf I began to compare it to the last great epic I read, Homer’s Odyssey. While the Odyssey and Beowulf are each examples of both historic and modern ideas of heroism, the acts of Beowulf’s hero seem to fit better within its context. Beowulf exhibits many obvious heroic qualities, such as his strength and confidence in battle. These along with more subtle diplomatic actions serve to define him as both a great warrior and leader

Monday, December 9, 2019

Global Travel With Respect to Ebola-Free-Samples for Students

Question: Discuss about the Global travel with respect to Ebola. Answer: Background- An increase in the international journeys exposes the travellers to high risks of many infectious heath disorders. It is important to provide preventive measures by circulating information about the mode of transmission and promote well-being to those who travels frequently to countries with high risk (Merrill 2015). World Health Organisation (WHO) have implemented the primary strategies through vaccination, but with 900 million hike in international travellers occurring every year, it is essential to address other preventive measures to reduce the risk factors both in national and international wise (World Health Organization 2013) . The following essay discusses the safety measures while travelling in context to Ebola virus and for this a detailed understanding of this virus with respect to precautions and preventions are required. History- Ebola is a severe viral disease often observed fatal in humans. The largest outbreak of Ebola till date was recorded from West Africa, particularly from Guinea, Sierra, Liberia and Leone (Fisman Khoo and Tuite 2014). 7178 cases of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) with 3338 deaths were reported on October 1, 2014 (Fasina et al. 2014). Apart from this incident, 20 cases of EVD were reported from Nigeria, but after this no such severe cases of EVD were observed since September 2014 (Weyer Grobbelaar and Blumberg 2015). The 20 cases that were reported resulted due to a particular importation through a traveller who was returning on July 2014 from Liberia (Shuaib et al. 2014). Ebola virus (Zaire ebolavirus) is responsible for hemorrhagic fever with increased rate of fatality. Till date five viruses of genus Ebola belonging to the family of Filoviridae are identified in which four viruses causes human EVD and the fifth species has been found in primates of nonhuman in nature (NHPS) (Rewa r and Mirdha 2014). The species are Bundibugyo ebolavirus (BDBV), Zaire ebolavirus (EBOV), Sudan ebolavirus (SUDV), Reston ebolavirus (RESTV) and Cte dIvoire ebolavirus (TAFV) respectively. The transmission of this virus occurs by direct contamination of blood, fluids of the body or derma of patients with EVD or through dead bodies due to this disease (Gebretadik et al. 2015). The pathogenic nature of these viruses varies, with EBOV being lethal to a great extent in humans. Pathophysiology- Zaire (EBOV) replications produce large quantity of virus found in monocytes, dendritic cells and macrophage cells. The chemical signals of high inflammation are released due to triggered monocytes (Falasca et al. 2015). Endothelial cells, liver cells, macrophages and monocytes are prone to this infection. This virus first infects the macrophages leading to cellular death and infection in endothelial cells occurs after 3 days of exposure. The vascular injury caused by breakdown of endothelial cells attributes to glycoproteins (GP) of EBOV. The affected people with haemorrhage undergo edema with hypovolemic shock. A small soluble glycoprotein (SGP) is secreted just after the infection. This glycoprotein attaches the virus to endothelial cells by forming one trimetric complex. The (SGP) interferes with neutrophils signalling by forming a dimer protein evades the virus to immune system by inhibiting the action of neutrophil. These infected white blood cells pass the vir us throughout the entire body into the organs such as liver, lungs, lymph nodes and spleen (Paessler and Walker 2013). The presence of virus within the cells causes cell damage and releases the chemical signals such as IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-? causing fever and inflammatory symptoms. The blood vessels integrity is reduced by the infection in endothelial cells which increases (GP) synthesis which in turn decreases the specific integrins. Lack of these integrins causes liver damage resulting in improper clotting. The proteins of EBOV blunt the immune system of humans by interfering the cells production ability with consequent response towards interferon proteins such as interferon alpha, beta and gamma (Meyer and Ly 2016). Mode of transmission- Identification of natural host reservoir of Ebola virus and how the virus appears in human at beginning of the outbreak are yet to be known. According to some scientists, the first person got infected through a direct contact with an animal such as primates or fruit bat infected by this virus. This condition is termed as spillover event (Chowell and Nishiura 2014). This then goes on transmitting other person affecting a large count of individuals. It is believed that the primates in past got affected by Ebola and people got infected too when they came in contact or consumed the infected primates. The mode of transmission of this virus occurs through various ways. The Ebola spreads through skin that is broken or via mucous membrane present in eyes, mouth and nose (Judson Prescott and Munster 2015). The virus spreads through blood or body fluids such as saliva, sweat, urine, semen, vomit and breast milk of an Ebola affected person. Other mode of transmission is th rough virus contaminated needles and injections. Transmission through fruit bat or apes and monkeys infected by this virus is also noted (Weingartl et al. 2012). Ebola is not an air borne disease neither it spreads through water or food. Transmission through mosquitoes or any other insects are not observed. This infection has been reported to confined species of mammals such as humans, apes and bats and hence plays active role in spreading the virus. The risk of transmission increases significantly when directly coming to the patient contact at the acute phase of the disease (Shears and O'Dempsey 2015). Incidence and prevalence of Ebola cases- The incidence of EVD and its current prevalence with respect to last few years is being tabulated in the Appendix comprising the morbidity and mortality numbers. Incubation period of Ebola- Ebola virus can thrive in liquid medium or the materials that are dry in nature. The gamma irradiation inactivates the virus along with 60 minutes heating at a temperature of 60C or 5 minutes of boiling. Bleaching with sodium hypochlorite and similar disinfectants can reduce their sensitivity. On the other hand, freezing them does not exert any affect on their sensitivity (Passi et al. 2015). The incubation duration that is the time period between the appearance of the first symptom and the infection varies between 4-10 days, sometimes the incubation starts from early 2 days extending to 21 days. The case fatality rates (CFRS) of the ZEBOV infections vary from 44% to 90% (Nanclares et al. 2016). The series of symptoms varies from individual to individual and manifestations include severe pain, feeling nausea and ill followed by bleeding. The fever in the second week either decreases or causes failure of multiple organs in the patient. The range of the mort ality rates are species dependent and depends on the virus strains of the species. Early symptoms are common to bacterial infections that are less severe such as malarial fever, influenza fever or typhoid fever. Initially, the fever is 101.8 Fahrenheit followed by pain, headache, throat sore, bleeding, nausea, dizziness with fatigue feeling. With the progression of the disease, the patient develop more critical issues such as faeces characterised by bloody and dark appearances, vomiting with blood, diarrhoea and eyes showing red appearances resulting in sclerotic arterioles haemorrhage. Other signs of secondary infection show tachycardia, decrease in blood pressure and hypovolemiatic shock (Beeching Fenech and Houlihan 2014). In certain cases the infected person starts bleeding from injures that is partially healed or site of injection in skin epidermis. It occurs when the virus affects blood platelets which in turn develop sutures into the capillary walls. Ebola alters the levels o f white blood corpuscles and platelets, making the blood clot more difficult with consequent haemorrhage over 50% patients (Goeijenbier et al. 2012). Diagnosis with possible treatment- The process of diagnosis is difficult in person with Ebola as the initial symptoms are nonspecific such as fever and often found in patients having malarial fever and typhoid fever. If any symptoms corresponding to Ebola are noticed, the person should be kept in isolation with prior notification to health professionals. Samples should be collected to confirm the infection. Detection of Ebola virus in the blood starts only after the symptoms onset through fever. It takes minimum 3 days to reach the detection stage. No such FDA-treatment such as treating by antiviral drugs is available for Ebola (Chmielecki 2015). But by following certain basic interventions in early stage can improve survival chances significantly. The strategic interventions are provided by intravenous fluids and by balancing the electrolytes of the body salts. Maintaining the oxygen rate with balanced blood pressure and taking proper care to treat other infections if any, reduces t he risk factors. Experimental treatments surrounding Ebola are under process but yet to be tested for effective safety implications. A good caring support can recover the incidence of Ebola by improving the immunity power of the patient. The antibodies developed by the recovered patients last for more than 10 years. It is still unknown that the people who recover are life immune or is there any possibility of getting infected by other species of Ebola. The recovered people have showed complications in joint and visualising (Blaser 2014). Vaccination- Treatment through vaccination in an experiment showed increased protection against the fatal virus that was trailed in Guinea (Kaushik et al. 2016). The vaccine that was used named rVSV-ZEBOV was experimented on 11841 people in 2015. No such cases of Ebola was recorded after 10 days of vaccination among 5837 people whereas 23 cases were there 10 days post vaccination among them who did not take the vaccination. WHO along with Ministry of Heath of Guinea collaborated with international partners in a protocol of ring vaccination. In this trail, some rings were vaccinated immediately after a detection of a case whereas the other rings were vaccinated after 3 weeks (Shu-Acquaye 2017). Prevention- Controlling the outbreak of this disease needs interventional package for managing the case, survey study with contact tracing, well equipped laboratory services, mobilising socially and controlled burials. The outbreaks can be successfully controlled by community engagement through increasing awareness about the risk factors for this infection and providing protective measurements such as through vaccination can thereby minimise human transmission. The messages of risk reduction are based on factors such as by reducing the transmission risk from wild animals to humans by avoiding contact with infected primates or fruit bats and avoiding their raw meat consumption. The handling of these animals should be done with gloves and protective clothing. The second factor is reducing the transmission risk between the same species such as human from coming in direct contact with Ebola detected patients specially body fluids of them. Patients should be handled by wearing gloves and protective clothing with regular hand sanitising. The third factor is by reducing the risk caused by sexual transmission (Regmi Gilbert and Thunhurst 2015). Developing control measures by heath workers- The health workers should follow standard precautions during the care of patients diagnosed by this viral symptom. They should control the transmission by maintaining hand and respiration hygiene along with protective equipment to avoid contact with materials infected and safe disposal of injections. The health workers allocated to the suspected patients should take extra control measures in order to avoid direct contact with blood and fluids of the patients body. Workers in close proximity of 1 metre of the patients should use mask, gloves, goggles with protective gown. Apart from the heath workers, the workers in the laboratory are also prone to infection. Proper handling of the infected sample should be carefully handled by staffs well trained and the sample should be processed in well equipped laboratories (West and von Saint Andr-von Arnim 2014). Roles of WHO in preventing the Ebola outbreaks- Ebola outbreaks are controlled by the WHO (World Health Organisation), an international Committee on Scientific and Technical Coordination. This committee implements measures to control the daily life activities conducted by certain working subgroups. The management team for patient isolates the clinical cases into quarantine ward and trains to equip proper preventive measures such as use of gloves, mask and protective clothes and also provides medical care corresponding to symptomatic theory in order to maintain the vital functioning of the body. The committee based on coordination controls all the epidemic activities by conducting meetings and writing reports for public related health authorities. The surveillance team on epidemiology finds the cases by verifying the case related rumours. The team for hygiene and sanitising disinfects and buries all the Ebola related dead bodies safely. The laboratory team collects, stores and ships t he samples to confirm the diagnosis (Gostin and Friedman 2015). Remarks- It can be concluded from the above discussion that the travellers returning from the affected regions should apply necessary measures to prevent the infection if any disease related symptoms starts developing within 21 days of return. The travellers specially the health workers suspecting Ebola symptoms should seek medical attention. They should report the travel history to the physician in order to under the root cause of the symptoms and hence proceed for prevention strategies. References: Beeching, N.J., Fenech, M. and Houlihan, C.F., 2014. Ebola virus disease.BmJ,349, p.g7348. Blaser, M., 2014.Missing microbes. Oneworld Publications. Camacho, A., Kucharski, A.J., Funk, S., Breman, J., Piot, P. and Edmunds, W.J., 2014. Potential for large outbreaks of Ebola virus disease.Epidemics,9, pp.70-78. Chmielecki, A., 2015. The Status of Expanded Access in Light of the 2014 Ebola Outbreak Introduction.J. Health Biomedical L.,11, p.25. Chowell, G. and Nishiura, H., 2014. Transmission dynamics and control of Ebola virus disease (EVD): a review.BMC medicine,12(1), p.196. Falasca, L., Agrati, C., Petrosillo, N., Di Caro, A., Capobianchi, M.R., Ippolito, G. and Piacentini, M., 2015. Molecular mechanisms of Ebola virus pathogenesis: focus on cell death.Cell death and differentiation,22(8), p.1250. Fasina, F.O., Shittu, A., Lazarus, D., Tomori, O., Simonsen, L., Viboud, C. and Chowell, G., 2014. Transmission dynamics and control of Ebola virus disease outbreak in Nigeria, July to September 2014.Euro Surveill,19(40), p.20920. Fisman, D., Khoo, E. and Tuite, A., 2014. Early epidemic dynamics of the West African 2014 Ebola outbreak: estimates derived with a simple two-parameter model.PLoS currents,6. Gebretadik, F.A., Seifu, M.F. and Gelaw, B.K., 2015. Review on Ebola Virus Disease: Its Outbreak and Current Status.Epidemiology (sunnyvale),5(204), pp.2161-1165. Goeijenbier, M., Van Wissen, M., Van De Weg, C., Jong, E., Gerdes, V.E.A., Meijers, J.C.M., Brandjes, D.P.M. and van Gorp, E.C.M., 2012. Viral infections and mechanisms of thrombosis and bleeding.Journal of medical virology,84(10), pp.1680-1696. Gostin, L.O. and Friedman, E.A., 2015. A retrospective and prospective analysis of the west African Ebola virus disease epidemic: robust national health systems at the foundation and an empowered WHO at the apex.The Lancet,385(9980), pp.1902-1909. Judson, S., Prescott, J. and Munster, V., 2015. Understanding ebola virus transmission.Viruses,7(2), pp.511-521. Kaushik, A., Tiwari, S., Jayant, R.D., Marty, A. and Nair, M., 2016. Towards detection and diagnosis of Ebola virus disease at point-of-care.Biosensors and Bioelectronics,75, pp.254-272. Merrill, R.M., 2015.Introduction to epidemiology. Jones Bartlett Publishers. Meyer, B. and Ly, H., 2016. Inhibition of innate immune responses is key to pathogenesis by arenaviruses.Journal of virology,90(8), pp.3810-3818. Nanclares, C., Kapetshi, J., Lionetto, F., de la Rosa, O., Tamfun, J.J.M., Alia, M., Kobinger, G. and Bernasconi, A., 2016. Ebola virus disease, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2014.Emerging infectious diseases,22(9), p.1579. Paessler, S. and Walker, D.H., 2013. Pathogenesis of the viral hemorrhagic fevers.Annual Review of Pathology: Mechanisms of Disease,8, pp.411-440. Passi, D., Sharma, S., Dutta, S.R., Dudeja, P. and Sharma, V., 2015. Ebola virus disease (the killer virus): another threat to humans and bioterrorism: brief review and recent updates.Journal of clinical and diagnostic research: JCDR,9(6), p.LE01. Regmi, K., Gilbert, R. and Thunhurst, C., 2015. How can health systems be strengthened to control and prevent an Ebola outbreak? A narrative review.Infection ecology epidemiology,5(1), p.28877. Rewar, S. and Mirdha, D., 2014. Transmission of Ebola virus disease: an overview.Annals of global health,80(6), pp.444-451. Shears, P. and O'Dempsey, T.J.D., 2015. Ebola virus disease in Africa: epidemiology and nosocomial transmission.Journal of Hospital Infection,90(1), pp.1-9. Murray, P.R., Shu-Acquaye, F., 2017. The Ebola Virus Prevention and Human Rights Implication.U. Mass. L. Rev.,12, p.2. Shuaib, F., Gunnala, R., Musa, E.O., Mahoney, F.J., Oguntimehin, O., Nguku, P.M., Nyanti, S.B., Knight, N., Gwarzo, N.S., Idigbe, O. and Nasidi, A., 2014. Ebola virus disease outbreakNigeria, JulySeptember 2014.MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep,63(39), pp.867-72. Weingartl, H.M., Embury-Hyatt, C., Nfon, C., Leung, A., Smith, G. and Kobinger, G., 2012. Transmission of Ebola virus from pigs to non-human primates.Scientific reports,2, p.srep00811. West, T.E. and von Saint Andr-von Arnim, A., 2014. Clinical presentation and management of severe Ebola virus disease.Annals of the American Thoracic Society,11(9), pp.1341-1350. Weyer, J., Grobbelaar, A. and Blumberg, L., 2015. Ebola virus disease: history, epidemiology and outbreaks.Current infectious disease reports,17(5), p.21. World Health Organization, 2013. Global action plan for the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases 2013-2020. World Health Organization. (2017).Ebola virus disease. [online] Available at: https://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs103/en/ [Accessed 24 Aug. 2017].

Monday, December 2, 2019

Wallace Stevens Essays - American People Of German Descent

Wallace Stevens Samantha Erck Research Paper Wallace Stevens: Inside the Gray Flannel Suit Rationalists, wearing square hets, Think, in square rooms, Looking at the floor, Looking at the ceiling, They confine themselves To right-angled triangles. If they tried rhomboids, Cones, waving lines, ellipses- As for example, the ellipse of the half moon- Rationalists would wear sombreros. Six Significant Landscapes (Collected Poems p.73-75) Wallace Stevens is considerd one of the most important poets of this century. His style was unique and diffrent. The way he used words to optain the reality of something that can't be touched, is an amazing and brilant talent. Stevens was a very successful lawer and business man as well as a great peot. We usually think of peots and artists as starving artists. Stevens was a very accommplished lawer and was still able to write beautifull peotry. His peoms useually contadicted his lifestile, but that might be were he got his insperation. He had a wife, family, and career, he had a very queit lifestyle. But, his peotry is very loud and abstract. Wallace Stevens was born in 1879, in Reading, Pennsylvania. As a child, he started out at parochial schools, and later enrolled in public schools. Wallace's parents encourage him to read, which helped him become a better writter. In school, Wallace was an excellent student. After high school, he continued his education at Harvard University, where he became involved with two Harvard newspapers, first the Advocate and then the Harvard Monthly. After leaving college, he moved to New York City. He worked as a journalist, and considered a literary career. But, his father encouraged Stevens to become a more practical career in the law business. He worked as a lawyer for a few years in New York. He worked at different firms and then at the Fidelity and Deposit Company. He finally settled at the Hartford Accident and Indemnity Company, where he became the vice president for the rest of his life. It was like Stevens led two separate lives, one of a business man and one as a poet. Stevens himself once said in a New York Times interview, I prefer to think I'm just a man, not a poet part time, business man the rest. This is a fortunate thing, considering how inconsiderate the ravens are. I don't divide my life, just go on living. Many of Stevens' fans are often surprised when they learn of Stevens' life as a business man. As mentioned earlier, Wallace Stevens' work reflected his life in many ways. His daughter, Holly, and his wife, Elsie were both inspirations for his poems. The people, places, and things in Stevens' private life all influenced his poetry. He wrote about Florida, the Orient, his family, life, death, religion, nature, and many other subjects. His poetry had many unique themes as well. He wrote about paganism, metaphysics, imagination, dreams, God, and reality. In his lifetime, Stevens published many of his poems, his most well-known are Harmonium, The Man With the Blue Guitar, Transport to Summer, and The Auroras of Autumn. He also wrote prose, essays, and plays. Stevens peoms are complex. In order to read most of his poetry, it's nessassary to have a dictionary in hand. Stevens has a huge vocabulary and he puts it to good use in his poetry. Many have called his work deep becauses of the philosophical aspects of his poems. One poem that I like, Contrary Thesis (II) was difficult for me to read at first. An excerpt from it is a good example of Stevens' diffrent use of language: ...He walked with his year-old boy on his shoulder. The sun shone and the dog barked and the baby slept. The leaves, even the locust, the green locust. He wanted and looked for a final refuge, From the bombastic intimations of winter And the martyrs ? la mode. He walked toward An abstract, of which the sun, the dog, the boy Were contours. Cold was chilling the wide-moving swans. The leaves were falling like notes from a piano... - Contrary Thesis (II)(Collected Poems p.207) This peom is talking about a man looking for a refuge before winter comes. It seems to be talking about getting old, the way the seasons change from autumn to winter. The man who is looking for refuge seems to be trying to find out where his life is taking