`5000/(1 + e^(2x)) = 2` Use the derivative to determine whether the function is strictly monotonic on its entire domain and therefore has an...

We are asked to use the derivative of ` y=5000/(1+e^(2x)) ` to determine if the function has an inverse. There is a theorem that states that if a function is monotonic (meaning the function is always non-increasing or non-decreasing) then it has an inverse. So, to show a function is monotonic, we need to check if its derivative is either positive or negative for all values in the domain.

By the quotient rule, the derivative is: 

`y'=(-5000(2e^(2x)))/(1+e^(2x))^2 `

The denominator is positive for all x. The `2e^(2x) ` term is positive for all x so the numerator is negative for all x. Therefore the derivative is always negative and the function decreases on its entire domain.

Thus the function has an inverse.

The graph of the function (black):

In Chapter I of The Great Gatsby, what gossip about Nick does Daisy mention? Is it true?

In Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, as Nick is leaving Tom and Daisy Buchanan's house after their "reunion," Daisy stops Nick as he is starting his car to drive away, and asks him about a rumor she and Tom had heard, that Nick was "'engaged to a girl out West'" (Fitzgerald 24). Nick somewhat jokingly denies it, but Daisy persists, saying she had had confirmation from three different people.  Nick shares with the reader that there had been a "someone," but no relationship rising to the level of an engagement.  And he also shares that he had fled east because the rumors interfered with the relationship, an "old friend" (25), he says, whom he has no intention of marrying. Nick is apparently looking forward to sowing some wild oats in the east, and we see in the first chapter that Jordan Baker has caught his eye.  But he says nothing of the underlying truth of the rumors to either Daisy or to Tom. 

How did the academic background of Malinowksi inform his later work, particularly his Argonauts of the Western Pacific text?

Starting in 1910, Malinowski studied Aboriginal Australians and their exchange patterns while at the London School of Economics (LSE). His work also included a trip to New Guinea, where he was located when World War I broke out in 1914. As he was not allowed back to England (as he was a citizen of Austria), he was allowed by the Australian government to travel to the Trobriand Islands in Melanesia. His book, Argonauts of the Western Pacific, focuses on the Trobriand Islands, using participant observation and interviews. In this book, published in 1922, he first discusses the methodology of ethnography, and then focuses on the religious beliefs, folk lore, and ways of life of the Kula people. He defines the conditions for getting involved with ethnographic work as "cutting oneself off from the company of other white men, and remaining in as close contact with the natives as possible." By interacting with the local people, he believes, the ethnographer gets to know them intimately, and this is the method he used for his study of the people on the Trobriand Islands. 

The nation had compromised many times on the slavery question before 1860. Why was the nation unable to compromise again in 1860-61 and how did...

The leader of the Compromise of 1820 and the Compromise of 1850, Henry Clay, died.  His voice of moderation was sorely missed in Congress in 1860.  There was finally a political party dedicated to abolitionists, the Republicans, and for the first time they put a candidate in the White House.  While Lincoln was a moderate Republican who only blocked the expansion of slavery, many slaveholders in the South feared that if slave states did not expand with respect to the growth of free states in the West, then at some future time the Senate could vote to end slavery.  By 1860 there was also more money in slavery than ever before, as European and Northeastern textile mills needed Southern cotton.  It would have been impossible for the federal government to issue fair compensation for all the slaves in the South in order to buy them and emancipate them, and slaveholders thought that the federal government might outlaw slavery instead in order to get around this moral predicament.  

Feelings about slavery were also never stronger in this country than during the 1850s.  Uncle Tom's Cabin, a book by Harriet Beecher Stowe, often painted slaveowners as greedy or callous and many people wanted slavery ended on humanitarian grounds.  John Brown became a martyr after he was hung in 1859 for trying to start a slave revolt.  The civil war between abolitionists and slaveowners in Kansas and Missouri proved that popular sovereignty could not work and that the nation needed a federal policy on slavery.  Also, the pro-slavery decision in the Dred Scot case made many in government think that the Compromises that saved the nation may not even be constitutional.  

How was slavery at the center of the expanding trade network between Europe and the colonies? Provide details and examples.

Slavery was a large and integral part of the world economy for centuries. During the 18th century, the largest slave trade in the world was the Trans-Atlantic Triangle Trade.

It was called the Triangle Trade because instead of going back and forth between two places as most trade does, it cycled through three, and made profitable trades at each point of the triangle.

Beginning in Europe, especially Great Britain, traders would first travel to Africa, bringing manufactured goods such as firearms and alcohol and trading them for slaves. It's a common misconception that the Europeans conquered and directly took slaves by force; this did happen a few times, but it was not the usual method. Instead, African slavers would capture people from enemy tribes, enslave them, and then the Europeans would purchase the slaves from those slavers. African slavery had been going on for centuries before Europeans ever got involved. Of course, the high demand for slaves from Europeans, along with the guns they provided for sale, surely made slavery in Africa much worse than it would have been on its own.

The next step in the triangle was to travel to colonies in North America and the Caribbean, where the slaves would be sold to plantations in exchange for goods, mostly agricultural products, that were difficult or impossible to obtain in Europe, such as tobacco, potatoes, and cotton.

Then, to complete the triangle, the traders returned to Europe and sold these "New World" goods for more manufactured European goods, pocketing the profits and beginning the cycle anew.

Without slavery, this triangle trade would not have been possible, and trade in general with the colonies in North America and the Caribbean would have dried up, unless European traders had found something else to sell the colonists. But most goods were actually quite abundant in the colonies, especially agricultural goods; mainly what they needed more of was labor. Firearms were relatively scarce, but European empires wanted it to stay that way, lest the colonies revolt (which of course many eventually did, notably the US).

The most viable mode of trade that wouldn't have been as horrifically evil as slavery would probably have been to bring free laborers, people who willingly came to North America to work and paid travel fees to do so. Of course, that wouldn't have been nearly as profitable for either the traders or the plantations, so in the absence of law or public outrage against slavery, the self-interested traders had little incentive to change.

What is the vernal equinox?

The vernal equinox occurs on March 20-22 and marks one of two times in the year in which the sun's rays hit Earth at 90° on the equator. The other equinox is called the autumnal equinox and takes place six months later on September 20-22. 

Earth spins on an axis that it tiled at a slight angle (23.5° to be exact). Because of this tilt, different parts of the Earth receive different concentrations of sunlight at different times. During equinoxes, the entire planet receives 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of night as the sun's rays hit Earth at 90° - however, that's not true all year.

During solstices, the sun's rays hit Earth at 90° on the tropics (23.5°N or 23.5°S). At this time, the poles either receive full sun all day or receive no sun all day, depending on the time of year.

• When the year begins, the Earth has just exited the winter solstice (Dec. 21) and is moving toward the vernal equinox. At this time, the sun's rays are hitting Earth at 90° at the Tropic of Capricorn at 23.5°S. The Antarctic circle will receive full sun all day while the Arctic circle receives no sun.


• As Earth moves toward the vernal equinox, the days grow longer in the southern hemisphere are shorter in the northern hemisphere. On March 21, the entire planet gets equal amounts of sunlight and night.


• Then, Earth starts moving toward the summer solstice. Days begin to grow longer in the northern hemisphere and shorter in the southern hemisphere. On June 21, the sun's rays hit Earth at 90° at the Tropic of Cancer at 23.5°N. At this time, the Arctic circle receives full sun and the Antarctic circle receives no sun.


• Finally, Earth moves out of the June solstice toward the autumnal equinox on September 21. At this time, the entire planet again receives equal amounts of sunlight and night.

Check out the attached video for more information on this topic and to get a visual idea of what is happening throughout the year.

Why do the family members try to avoid talking of the ghost?

Initially, the family avoid talking about the ghost because of the blood-stain in the library (in Chapter Two). Washington Otis removed it with Paragon Detergent but its continual reappearance troubles the family:

The whole family were now quite interested; Mr. Otis began to suspect that he had been too dogmatic in his denial of the existence of ghosts, Mrs. Otis expressed her intention of joining the Psychical Society.

After this incident, the family spends the day driving and talking of all manner of subjects which detracts their attention from the Canterville ghost. Arguably, they do this for two reasons: firstly, because they are afraid that the ghost really does exist and that more supernatural events will happen. Secondly, they avoid talking about him because they do not want to accept that they were wrong about the existence of ghosts. If they did this, it would be tantamount to admitting that their scientific and rational view of the world was wrong. This is fact that the Otis family are not quick to accept, considering Mr Otis's defence of science and the "laws of Nature" in Chapter One when he debated the existence of the ghost with Lord Canterville.

What acceleration is imparted to a football when the player kicked it with a force of 25 N? The mass of the football is 0.40 kg.

Q: 

What acceleration is imparted to a football if a player kicks it with a force of 25 N? Assume that the mass of the football is 0.40 kg.

A:

This problem involves an application of force (the kick) to an object of mass (the football). 

The general formula relating force to mass and acceleration is called Newton's Second Law. This law of motion states that the net force is directly proportional to both mass and acceleration. That is, the greater the mass or acceleration of an object, the greater the force required to accelerate it. `F = m*a`, where F is the force exerted, m is the mass of a given object, and a is the acceleration of that object, expressed in meters per square second.

The kick is an exertion of force onto the football. Thus, according to the formula we just gave, the football will accelerate in inverse proportion to its mass (that is, some of the force will be "dissipated" by its mass and the remainder of the force will accelerate it). Now that we have established a good understanding of Newton's second law, let's calculate the acceleration of the ball using the equation:

`F = m*a` 

`25 N = 0.40 kg * a`

Thus, we can divide both sides above by 0.40 kg, yielding this:

`62.5 (N)/(kg) = a`

To put this in terms of acceleration, we should remember that one Newton (N) is equivalent to `1 kg*m/(s^2)` .

Thus we have this:

`62.5 * (kg * m/(s^2))/(kg)`

The kilograms unit cancels out, and we are left with our final answer for the acceleration, `62.5 m/(s^2)` .

What is the significance of Mr. Peterson's knowledge of "The Gold-Bug" story in Avi's The Man Who Was Poe?

In Avi's The Man Who Was Poe, the fact that Mr. Peterson has read Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Gold-Bug" shows us that Mr. Peterson is well-acquainted with who the author is and his abilities.  Poe is gifted with the skills of observation and critical thinking that allow him to solve complex mysteries as well as to write them. Hence, as soon as Mr. Peterson finds out who Poe really is, Mr. Peterson begins worrying about his plans with Mr. Rachett being foiled, and the two partners in crime take further actions that make it more difficult for Poe and Edmund to find Edmund's sister.

"The Gold-Bug" was an award-winning short story Edgar Allan Poe submitted for a contest in 1843. The mystery thriller depicts a search for pirated gold, and the clues to the gold's whereabouts are hidden in an elaborately coded message that must be deciphered. The hunt for gold parallels the theft of gold that serves as Mr. Rachett and Mr. Peterson's motive for kidnapping and murder. Mr. Rachett and Mr. Peterson apparently felt so inspired by Poe's story of gold theft that they decided to imitate Poe by communicating with each other in the code Poe developed for his own secret message within his short story.

Mr. Rachett and Mr. Peterson felt that their plans were going splendidly until the day Poe poses as a "private investigator from the Lowell Insurance Company" and shows up at the Providence Bank, the bank from which the gold was stolen (p. 75). After Mr. Peterson, a clerk at the bank, shows Poe, calling himself Mr. Grey, around the vault, he receives a message from Mr. Prachett warning him that Mr. Grey is really Poe. Knowing how clever Poe is and fearing that he has figured everything out, Mr. Rachett and Mr. Peterson make plans to leave the city, taking Edmund's sister with them.

What's a list of differences between normal and cancerous cells?

Cancer cells are unlike normal cells in the sense that they grow and divide at an abnormal rate. Unlike normal cells that undergo cell senescence and eventually stop dividing after a set number of cell divisions has occurred, cancer cells continue to grow, divide, and evade apoptosis (or cell death).

Cancer cells are typically found to:

1. Grow and divide even without the presence of growth signals that normal cells need (either by producing these themselves or keeping mechanisms that the signals activate turned on)


2. Bypass cell cycle checkpoints that prevent other cells from growing and dividing as a means to avoid abnormal cells from persisting


3. Bypass apoptosis, which is a programmed form of cell death that maintains the balance among cells in the body and prevents the growth of damaged or abnormal cells


4. Have the capability to replicate their DNA by having excess of the enzymes like telomerase that are responsible lengthening the ends of chromosomes (or telomeres) and are shown to have decreased activity as normal cells age


5. Initiate the formation of blood vessels (angiogenesis) to obtain a supply of blood and nutrients


6. Move from their location to other areas of the body (metastasis) and "invade" new areas


7. Have abnormal metabolic processes


8. Evade immune responses of the body


9. Be genetically unstable (several mutations found in the genome)


10. Be caused by chronic inflammation

To what does Martin Luther King Jr. make allusions in his "I Have a Dream” speech?

King's "I Have a Dream" speech is full of literary and historical allusions. One of the most famous ones which pervades the speech is to the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, which King describes as a "promissory note" on which the nation has "defaulted as far as her citizens of color are concerned." King tells his vast audience in Washington that they are in Washington to "cash this check." He goes on to allude to a line from Shakespeare's Richard III by describing the "sweltering summer of the Negro's discontent" (Shakespeare coined the phrase "winter of our discontent"). He alludes to the famous patriotic hymn "My Country 'tis of Thee," and to the old spiritual "Free at Last" in his stirring conclusion to the speech. Overall, the entire speech alludes to the promise of American democracy, and to the hope that the blessings of democracy will be extended to all Americans regardless of race. King also alludes to many of the struggles experienced by civil rights activists, stating that he understands many may have come from the "narrow cells" of Alabama and Mississippi to attend the march. 

How can ethnocentrism limit our understanding of other cultures?

The question asks how ethnocentrism limits our understanding of other cultures. Let’s start with a good definition of ethnocentrism. Merriam-Webster defines it in terms of the condition of being ethnocentric, which in turn is defined as “having or based on the idea that your own group or culture is better or more important than others”.

The definition really sums up the problem. The concept of “understanding” supposes a certain level of objectivity and openness to new ideas. Having an a priori assumption that one’s own culture is superior interferes with this on several levels. At one extreme, belief in the superiority of one’s own ideas can lead to an intellectual isolationism, that is, that other cultures are not even worth finding out about. Following on the concept of a spectrum, the next level is the one at which the ethnocentric person investigates other cultures, but simply rejects the validity of differences in that culture.

Moving along, the ethnocentric person who is perhaps less secure in their belief in their own cultural superiority will investigate other cultures, but will be always assessing differences with an eye toward determining the ways in which that other culture is inferior. That is, they are looking for validation of their own ethnocentrism. They will take in facts about that culture, then restate them (i.e. misunderstand them) in judgmental terms to assert the inferiority of that culture. This is where negative stereotypes of that culture come in (“the -----s are lazy”, the “the -----s are devious”, etc.). Cultural elements will be filtered, so that those that fit the stereotype are noticed, and those that contradict it are ignored.

Ultimately, true understanding requires a relatively complete lack of judgment. After true understanding is achieved, the person can then apply their value system to what they understand to determine whether some cultural element is “good” or “bad”.

Contrast the rulers of Oceania with rulers in historical totalitarian states.

Many readers have noted the similarities between George Orwell's Big Brother and twentieth century dictators like Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler. Like these real totalitarian authority figures, Big Brother is worshipped by his followers and rules absolutely all aspects of his subjects' lives. Also like Hitler and Stalin, Big Brother skillfully uses propaganda and paranoia in order to control the populace and maintain a firm grip on power, and he relies upon constant surveillance and cruelty to instantly squash any sign of disobedience. In creating Big Brother, Orwell is clearly commenting on the very real totalitarian regimes of the modern era.

However, there is one major difference between Big Brother and his real-life counterparts. While both Stalin and Hitler cultivated personal mythologies to strengthen their claim on legitimacy, they were still actual people who really created policies and interacted with their subordinates. In contrast, Orwell suggests that Big Brother isn't actually a real person. Rather, he's an idea, a symbol created by political elites to control the masses. As such, if one were to contrast Big Brother with actual totalitarian rulers, then one should definitely acknowledge that, while people like Hitler and Stalin existed, Big Brother is a construct created by the ruling political party to maintain power.

In The Merchant of Venice, how does Bassanio describe Portia's portrait in the lead casket?

Bassanio describes Portia's portrait in enraptured tones, although he recognizes it as only a faint imitation of her.

After deliberating between caskets, Bassanio finally opens the one made of lead; as he lifts the lid and sees the portrait of Portia, he exclaims,

                 ...What demigod

Hath come so near creation?

(Act III, Scene 2, line 119)

Overwhelmed by his fortune and Portia's painted beauty, Bassanio describes her portrait as "near creation," meaning the portrait seems almost real, real enough that Bassanio wonders aloud if a half-divine painter created it. Portia's eyes appear to be actually moving. Her sweet breath seems to part her lips. So alive does this painting seem that Portia's beautiful golden hair is described as a "golden mesh t'entrap the hearts of men" (Act III, Scene 2, line 122). Again, Bassanio returns to looking at Portia's eyes, which are so mesmerizing that Bassanio wonders how the painter was able to portray them, as he thinks the completion of the first eye would have so enraptured the painter that he would not be able to paint the other. Indeed, it is only Bassanio's discovery of the scroll and realization that this portrait is but an imitation that break him away from his enthrallment.  

How would you describe the materialistic system of Karl Marx?

Marx argued that materialism was one of the underlying forces behind historical development.

One of the most important elements in Marx's thinking was his process of dialectical materialism.  This idea suggests that history progresses in a dialectic, or dynamic, where those who possess material wealth are pitted against those who lack it.  This story of "the haves" and "the have nots" defines the Marxist progression of socio-historical development.  

Marx believed that dialectical materialism defined the current predicament of capitalism.  Those in the position of economic power were called the capitalist or "bourgeois," while their antithesis is the workers, or the proletariat.  Marx believed that material conditions ensured that these two forces would be unable to reconcile their difference because the capitalists sought greater material wealth in the free market.  The more money they made resulted in more hardship inflicted on the working class.  Marx felt that material reality differentiated both groups because, driven by self-interested profit, capitalism defines success based on wealth. The more one makes, the more value one has.  

Marx argued that the progression of dialectical materialism would eventually create an untenable situation for the capitalists.  Since only a few profit in capitalism and more people do not, Marx feels that historical materialism will yield a new and fairer system.  The very same material progression that brought about capitalism will inevitably transcend it.

I need to compose a short parable about what God is like using something in my life and world that is familiar to me.

Obviously, as an educator who is not personally acquainted with you, I cannot know what are important and familiar elements of your personal life; therefore I will focus on the parable as a genre and provide some tips concerning how you might approach the task of writing one.

The parable is an important literary genre in many religious traditions, and is often quite similar to moral fables such as those of Aesop. It is usually relatively short narrative concluding with a moral point or parallel. Often used to convey religious or moral conceptions to children or the illiterate, parables are characterized by simple, direct language and use of elements from everyday life. The characterizations tend to be simple and generic. Characters rarely have names and are not individuated (they are often just described as "a laborer" or "a rich man").

For a modern parable, you might take an event or experience shared by your peers such as driving, attending school, shopping for groceries, or cooking. For example, you could contrast buying fast food with cooking a healthy dinner and use that to explain that God often requires us to do things in ways that are difficult but which end up being good for us. 

In "The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Edward Connell, what does Zaroff say to show that he places little value on human life?

Zaroff values human life differently than most people.  Without human life, he wouldn't have his ultimate prey to hunt.  But that is the extent of the value that Zaroff places on human life.  To Zaroff, a human isn't that much different than any other animal species that he hunts. Zaroff states that the one thing that humans possess that no other animal does is the ability to reason.  Therein lies the value of humans to Zaroff.  A human is a valuable target.    

Zaroff doesn't value human life in the normal sense.  He doesn't believe that humans should be allowed to live simply for the sake of being human.  During his dinner with Rainsford, Zaroff scoffs at Rainsford's belief that human life is somehow special.  

"Hunting? Great Guns, General Zaroff, what you speak of is murder."

The general laughed with entire good nature. He regarded Rainsford quizzically. "I refuse to believe that so modern and civilized a young man as you seem to be harbors romantic ideas about the value of human life." 

Another good quote occurs a bit later.  Rainsford questions Zaroff about how he acquires the men to hunt.  Rainsford accuses Zaroff of being barbaric, which slightly angers Zaroff.  Zaroff explains that he is completely civilized because he cares for his future victims.  The following is his explanation.  

"We'll visit my training school," smiled the general. "It's in the cellar. I have about a dozen pupils down there now. They're from the Spanish bark San Lucar that had the bad luck to go on the rocks out there. A very inferior lot, I regret to say. Poor specimens and more accustomed to the deck than to the jungle."

Notice how Zaroff refers to human life though.  He never actually calls them people or humans.  Zaroff calls them "pupils" and "specimens."  He refers to the group as a "lot."  All of those terms dehumanize the men.  By using those terms, Zaroff shows that he no longer considers the men valuable, living humans.  I teach several science classes, and my students dissect things.  I buy high quality "specimens" in "lots" of ten.  Zaroff sees human life as nothing more than a sick science experiment to be stuffed and hung on his trophy wall.   

Please discuss the summary of Doyle's "How It Happened."

A discussion about the "How it Happened" summary must begin with the knowledge that we have a nameless, first person narrator who has a chauffeur named Perkins.  Our narrator is returning from London and is met at the local station by his chauffeur.  Our narrator wants to try his new car which had just been purchased and delivered.  Before he begins driving however, the narrator is warned that the gears are not what he is used to.  Things begin to go wrong after the two drive over the crest of Claystall Hill.  The narrator loses control of the car.  The narrator desperately tries to get the car home while the wheels are "whirring" and is asked to jump out of the car by Perkins.  Our narrator does not jump out.  Instead, he arrives home and crashes the gate suddenly.  We soon learn that Perkins is injured in the crash.  More interestingly, though, our narrator meets Stanley, a deceased friend.  This should lead the reader to believe that the narrator has died in the accident.

"Stanley, you are dead."

[Stanley] looked at me with the same old gentle, wistful smile.

“So are you,” he answered.

How can I do a character analysis for We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver?

We Need to Talk about Kevin is a disturbing novel with many disturbing characters.  A character analysis most definitely should focus on one of the three main characters--Kevin, his mother Eva, or his father Franklin.  Any of these three would make a fascinating character, or even psychological, study.  

Kevin is introduced as a hopeless psychopath.  From the time he is an infant, he is different and unsettling.  He won't nurse, he destroys his mother's projects, he refuses to talk.  Even his nanny, who has much experience with children, finds him uncontrollable.  As the novel progresses, we see Kevin's psychopathic tendencies worsen.  He is cruel to other children at school, but he is especially vicious to his little sister Cecilia when he convinces her to wash her eye out with Draino.  Despite others' attempt to befriend him--his English teacher, who tries to bring out Kevin's potential in writing; his father, who believes in him and defends him; and even his mother who sees Kevin for what he is and tries to manage him--Kevin cannot be helped and is the perpetrator of a cruel, senseless mass murder at school.  Any character analysis of Kevin would have to involve his detachment from his mother, his contempt of his father, and his rejection of all those who try to help him and are deceived by him.  Shriver seems to show us that some people are born this way and how easy it is for others to misjudge them because it's difficult to believe that a son, student, friend, or child can be evil.  If you were to focus on Kevin, you might look at his relationship with his mother and how that develops throughout the novel, his relationship with his father, and how his actions become more and more savage, devious, and manipulative.  His victims seem to be those who seem to see him as normal or good.  The focus should be not really on why Kevin acts as he does--there may be no real explanation for why some people are how they are--but on the way others treat Kevin or refuse to see the truth.   

What is the color of methyl orange in acids and alkalis?

Methyl orange is a pH indicator. A pH indicator is a substance that changes colour when added to an acid or alkaline solution. Methyl orange is used in titrations because its color change is clear and unambiguous. Methyl orange is red in an acid and yellow in an alkali.

Alkaline solutions have a pH higher than 7.0, while acid solutions have a pH less than 7.0. Methyl orange is more commonly used for titration of strong acids because of its distinct color change to red below a pH of 3.1. As the solution becomes less acidic, its color moves from red to orange. At a pH above 4.4, it turns yellow. This implies the red color change will not be observed in weaker acids with higher pH.   

What are the prosodic features of Thomas Hoods' "Bridge of Sighs"?

Thomas Hoods' "Bridge of Sighs" actually refers to the Waterloo Bridge in London rather than the better-known one in Venice. The poem addresses the problem of suicide or attempted suicide by drowning of poor women. It specifically addresses the attempt of seamstress Mary Furley to kill herself and her children after she had been robbed.

The poem consists of eighteen stanzas, varying in length from four to nine lines. There is no regular pattern of stanza length, but instead the length of each stanza seems chosen to suit its specific theme rather than for metrical reasons. 

The most interesting aspect of the poem, from a prosodic point of view, is its use of falling rhythms. The lines all contain two stresses and the feet within the lines are either dactyls or trochees. The following lines (and in fact all the lines in the stanza) consist of two dactyls each:

Touch her not scornfully;

Think of her mournfully

Other lines consist of a dactyl followed by a trochee, such as:

Look at her garments

Clinging like cerements;

Because of the use of falling rhythm, the poem uses exclusively feminine rhymes. The fourth stanza of the poem (beginning with "Touch her not scornfully") rhymes AABCCB, but rhyme patterns vary from stanza to stanza.

In Chapter Two, why was Harris against the idea of camping out?

Harris was against the idea of camping out because he didn't relish the prospect of having to deal with rainy weather in the wild.

In Chapter Two, both George and Jerome proposed camping out, but Harris warned about the difficulties rainy weather would impose upon them. As a response, Jerome accused Harris of having "no poetry" and no desire to be "wild and free." Jerome's thought was that, roughing it out in the wild would fulfill some inherent masculine desire to conquer nature.

Meanwhile, Harris was not so easily convinced. For his part, Jerome began to articulate his friend's arguments against camping out. First, setting up a tent in rainy weather would be an ordeal. Then, after the project was finished (assuming it was successful), lighting up a wood fire would be next to impossible, considering the dampness in the atmosphere. A stove would have to do.

Next, one wouldn't be able to have an after-dinner smoke because the tobacco would be too damp. This would then lead the campers to drink copiously in order to comfort themselves. Of course, the resulting intoxication would induce strange nightmares during the night, and the next morning, all the campers would likely be ill-tempered and under the weather.

In the end, the three friends made a compromise. They would camp out in good weather and resort to staying at inns or hotels when it rained. Problem solved!

In "Inchcape Rock," why and how did Sir Ralph's ship sink?

Sir Ralph's ship sank because it crashed onto the Inchcape Rock. As the ship filled with water, it sank.

Every ship floats because the buoyancy force (the force that pushes up the ship) is greater than the gravity force (the force that weighs the ship down). In Sir Ralph's case, as the ship filled up with water, the extra weight increased its gravity force relative to its buoyancy force. That's why it sank.

In the poem, the Abbot of Aberbrothok had put a bell on a buoy to warn sailors about the "perilous" Inchcape Rock. However, Sir Ralph had effectively "cut the bell from the Inchcape Float" so that "“The next who comes to the Rock,/ Won’t bless the Abbot of Aberbrothok.” Sir Ralph had been intent upon causing others harm, but he himself later fell prey to his own machinations.

Under what circumstances can a landlord kick a tenant out? Does the situation change if the landlord does not do any promised repairs?

First, it should be noted that answers are for study purposes only and address classroom assignments rather than constituting legal advice.

The laws applying to tenant evictions vary depending on the state and even municipality where the tenant resides, and thus it is impossible to give a blanket answer to this question irrespective of locale. Also, the conditions under which a landlord can evict a tenant depend on the specific nature of the lease agreement.

For a landlord to evict a tenant, the landlord must present the tenant with an eviction notice. In most states, tenants have the right to appeal and many local tenants' rights associations and legal aid societies can help the tenant with such appeals. In such an appeal, the fact that the landlord had failed to complete repairs in a timely fashion and the efforts of the tenant to make partial payments, demonstrating good faith, would be factors that might lead to resolution of an appeal in favor of the tenant. Generally, while an appeal is active in the legal system, tenants have the right to continue to occupy the property. 

What does "Love looks not with thy eyes, but with thy mind, and therefore is winged Cupid painted blind" mean in A Midsummer Night's Dream?

Helena says that love can trick you into seeing beauty where it does not exist.

Helena is upset about the circumstances surrounding her relationship with Demetrius, and the fact that Hermia’s father Egeus wants her to marry him.  Hermia is not interested in Demetrius.  When her father doesn’t relent and Thesues tells her that she has to listen to him, Hermia decides to run away with Lysander.

Hermia makes the mistake of telling Helena about her plans.  They have been friends for a long time, and she thinks she can trust her because she really has no plans for Demetrius.  Helena doesn’t believe her.  In a soliloquy, she says that things would be much easier if she wasn’t in love, because love messes with our heads.

Things base and vile, folding no quantity,
Love can transpose to form and dignity:
Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind;
And therefore is wing'd Cupid painted blind:
Nor hath Love's mind of any judgement taste;
Wings and no eyes figure unheedy haste:
And therefore is Love said to be a child,
Because in choice he is so oft beguiled. (Act 1, Scene 1)

Cupid supposedly brings love to unsuspecting people by shooting his arrow.  When Helena says that Cupid is blind, it is because our judgement is altered when we are in love.  Love turns everything around and inside out, so we see things that aren’t there or things seem better than they are.  She says that when you are in love, you are easily tricked or fooled, because love makes you childlike.

The concept of loving someone who may not love you back is one continued throughout the play.  When the four lovers go into the forest, they enter the world of the fairies.  They get manipulated by Puck, who has a potion that makes you fall in love with the first person you see when you wake up.  Eventually, the rightful pairs end up together.

"Two Kinds" by Amy Tan is about individuals struggling with complex sets of external forces that regulate and define their lives. The external...

External forces play an integral part in the plot of “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan. Both mother and daughter struggle with at least two of the external forces. They are influenced by both society and tradition.

The first sentence of the story, “My mother believed you could be anything you wanted to be in America,” demonstrates how Suyuan Woo’s thought process was influenced by society. The mother left her broken life in China with the belief she could rebuild a better one in the United States.

Social norms in the U.S. would allow her and her loved ones to accomplish anything they chose to, including her daughter, Jing-mei, becoming a child prodigy. The external influence of society could also be detrimental to relationships as demonstrated by the strained relationship that develops between mother and daughter when the daughter does not live up to expectations. Jing-mei’s cousin, Waverly, becomes a chess whiz, while Jing-mei struggles to see herself as anything more than an ordinary girl. She chooses to establish her own identity, never achieving the social goals set by her mother.

Tradition influences the mother-daughter relationship, and is evident when Jing-mei refuses to practice piano after her failed concert. Although Suyuan Woo left China, she reverts to her native language and expectations when dealing with her daughter’s need for independence. Traditions die hard.

"Only two kinds of daughters," she shouted in Chinese. "Those who are obedient and those who follow their own mind! Only one kind of daughter can live in this house. Obedient daughter!"

Jing-mei retorts that she would rather not be her mother’s daughter if that is the case.  The daughter revolts and refuses to live by these expectations. Unfortunately, the rift between the two lasts for the rest of the mother’s life.

In The House on Mango Street, what does Esperanza find shameful or burdensome about her name, and why did Cisneros choose this name for the...

In the vignette entitled "My Name," Esperanza discusses the meaning of her name. Although the direct translation from Spanish to English is "hope," Esperanza says, "It means sadness, it means waiting" (10). Clearly, there is a discrepancy between what a name full of hope represents compared to how the character feels about it. This discrepancy exists in part because of the tale of her great-grandmother, from whom she received the name. Her great-grandmother Esperanza was strong-willed and never wanted to get married. Unfortunately, her great-grandfather kidnapped and forced her great-grandmother to marry him. Esperanza sadly explains the following:  

And the story goes she never forgave him. She looked out the window her whole life, the way so many women sit their sadness on an elbow. . . I have inherited her name, but I don't want to inherit her place by the window (11).

Esperanza associates her name with a violent abduction that resulted in a life beholden to a husband, not with a name or life full of hope. It's as though the story behind her name is shameful and the Spanish translation feels burdensome to her. 

Cisneros probably chose to name her protagonist Esperanza because of the irony associated with the name and one of the recurring themes of the book—poverty and the inability to escape one's cultural traditions. For instance, many women in The House on Mango Street seem to be trapped in dead-end or abusive marriages. These women's lives are examples that discourage Esperanza from wanting marriage before an education and a career. Ironically, even though Esperanza doesn't associate the word "hope" with her name or culture, she proves she does hope for a better life. She vows to herself that she will go to college and buy a house of her own one day, which is not only a wonderful goal for her to pursue, but one filled with hope.

What are correctional institutions doing to address problems such as assaults, rape, sexual violence, and other criminal acts in correctional...

According to the National Institute of Justice (see the link below), it is estimated that 4.5% of prison inmates, or 60,5000 people, have reported sexual violence, assaults, or rape in prison (the data comes from the Bureau of Justice Statistics). The Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) of 2003, passed by the U.S. Congress, required the U.S. Department of Justice to make elimination of rape a priority in prisons. According to research by Zweig and colleagues (see the reference below), many states are implementing sexual violence policies that involve the prevention, detection, and response to sexual violence in prisons. Several states have made a commitment to changing a prison culture in which violence is condoned, and many states require prison staff to undergo training related to sexual violence. Staff are critical in reducing sexual violence and responding to it in appropriate ways. Therefore, staff in prisons have been training on the procedures for reporting incidents and on the way to provide services to victims, though several barriers remain, including the unwillingness of some victims to report sexual violence and the delay in reporting violence. 

Reference:

Zweig, J.M., R.L. Naser, J. Blackmore, and M. Schaffer, Addressing Sexual Violence in Prisons: A National Snapshot of Approaches and Highlights of Innovative Strategies, Final Report (pdf, 187 pages) , final report submitted to the National Institute of Justice, January 2007 (NCJ 216856).

What observations help us determine whether a chemical reaction has taken place?

There are several observations that can be made to determine if a chemical reaction has occurred. The first is a change in temperature. Heat can be absorbed (endothermic reaction) or released (exothermic reaction) which results in a temperature change. This can be noted with a thermometer. Reactions can also have a color change. A change in color represents a chemical reaction. Another observation is if there is a smell or odor after the reaction takes place. When a reaction takes place, gases can sometimes be removed from the system. This can be observed by the formation of bubbles. Another observation is the formation of a precipitate. This is a solid that forms out of solution. When a solute is dissolved in a solution, a chemical reaction took place. Lastly, if there is a change in pH a chemical reaction took place. This will need to be tested with pH strips.

What was inflation during the Civil War?

There are several ways a government can pay for a war. It can raise taxes on its citizens. It can also borrow money, or it can just print it. The South was generally against tariffs and especially raising them, which restricted one source of revenue for the South. The South had fewer people and was generally poorer than the North. This made it harder for the South to borrow money. The South was able to generate less than half of the revenue to cover the cost of the war through taxes and through borrowing. Thus, the South turned to printing money. As a result, inflation was a significant issue for the South. By January 1862, inflation in the South was about 12% a month. Overall, by the end of the Civil War, the South experienced an inflation rate of 9000%.

There was inflation in North. However, inflation was more manageable in the North because the North was able to raise more revenue from tariffs and from the sale of bonds. The North was able to generate about 90% of the revenue needed to cover the cost of the war from these sources of revenue. The North did print money, but not to the extent that the South did. The North experienced an inflation rate of about 180%. While this wasn’t ideal, it was far better than what the South faced.

Inflation was an issue for both sides during the Civil War. However, it was much worse in the South.

Where can I find quotes about women in World War I?

Most American History textbooks will contain quotes about women during World War I.

Many American History textbooks feature sections where they detail contributions of women during World War I. These would be solid locations to find general quotes about the role women played in the conflict.  However, I believe that you can find some very interesting quotes in the work of Kathryn Atwood.  Her book entitled Women Heroes of World War I:  16 Remarkable Resisters, Soldiers, Spies, and Medics focuses on women during World War I.  The book is a collection of the powerful contributions that women made to the "Great War," endeavors that are sometimes overlooked in a textbook retelling of the war effort.  One of her quotes captures the important role women played in World War I by linking it to historical record:

During the conflict that was placed before them, they not only gained the gratitude of many in their own generation but they proved, for the first time on a global scale, the enormous value of a woman’s contribution, paving the way for future generations of women to do the same.

Atwood argues that what women did during World War I should earn them a place in "remembered history."  Her book goes very far in establishing such an idea.

I think that another place to find some interesting quotes made by a significant woman during World War I would be in the thoughts of Jeannette Rankin.  She was the first woman elected to the United States Congress.  She was also a passionate opponent of the war.  As the first woman to hold nationally elected office, Rankin fought for her beliefs.  Rankin once said, "War is the slaughter of human beings, temporarily regarded as enemies, on as large a scale as possible."  Emphasizing her opposition to war, Rankin also said that "There can be no compromise with war; it cannot be reformed or controlled; it cannot be disciplined into decency or codified into common sense." These quotes reflect Rankin's courageous attitude against war.  

Rankin's quotes are significant because we have a woman in the position of political power espousing how war is not the answer.  They are meaningful because they run counter to the dominant attitude of the time period where war was seen as absolutely necessary.  Rankin had the courage to speak her mind, and share unpopular opinions. She is as significant as the many women who sacrificed comfort and security to do what they felt was right in serving their country.  Rankin's words resonate today. She once said, "Men and women are like right and left hands; it doesn't make sense not to use both."  This idea might be one of the most powerful in communicating how men and women are essential to the American narrative. It speaks to Rankin's belief that America before, during, and after World War I is dependent on the efforts of both men and women.