Body Modification :: Body Piercings Essays

Body Modification: A Rising Sensation A heavily tattooed woman pinched my nose and picked up a gargantuan needle with her other hand. â€Å"Whoa...hold on,† I muttered. â€Å"What’s the matter?† â€Å"You have got to be kidding me. You can’t pierce me with that!† â€Å"Uh...why not?† â€Å"It’s waaaay too big! You can’t just take a chopstick and jab a hole into my face with it...† â€Å"Listen...do you want this piercing or not? I have a whole line of people waiting outside to be in this chair.† I stared in horror at the fearsome needle taunting me to challenge its glinting tip. I closed my eyes, prayed with every cell in my body for the pain to be minimal, and grimaced as she expertly twirled the needle between her fingers and then slid it through my flesh in one fluid motion. When I took a peek, I gaped cross-eyed at the foreign object jutting out of my nose and smiled. I don’t remember what state of mind I was in when I walked into the parlor, but I left victorious! Throughout history, people have decorated and modified the appearance of their bodies in many different ways. Nostril piercings are thought to have been adopted into the noble castes in the Middle East almost 4000 years ago. Nowadays, nostril piercings have been adopted by Christina Aguilera. In South America, Aztec and Mayan priests pierced their tongues as part of a ritual to communicate with their gods. In several African tribes, the beauty of women was determined by the size of plates that were fitted into their upper lips. In ancient civilizations of Egypt, a â€Å"perfect belly button† could elevate someone’s social standing. At that time, only Pharaohs and royal families could pierce their navels. Anyone else was promptly executed. A â€Å"perfect belly button†, however, could be a peasant’s ticket to a better life. The ancient Romans pierced their nipples (ouch) to show their strength and endurance. It is also theorized that their nipple jewelry he ld their cloaks in place! To this day, piercings have continued to capture human curiosity and fascination. The world record for the highest number of body piercings is one of the most volatile since it is constantly adjusting as each prickled being attempts to outdo the previous one. In 2002, Nathan Robitaille, 23, had 420 needles stuck into his arms, thus breaking the previous world record of 301 piercings.

King Claudius is one of the most interesting characters Essay

King Claudius is one of the most interesting characters in William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet. He is a man who is always preoccupied with maintaining his own power, rather than protecting his country, Denmark, from danger. Act IV is one of the most significant acts in Hamlet as it shows us how Claudius really thinks. In this act, we get a taste of Claudius’s malevolent taste and his obsession with power. Claudius is thus one of the more significant characters in this act, as this is where we see how his mind works and how he goes to extremes to regain his control over his people and the events that have recently occurred. One of the ways that Claudius maintains his power is by using other people to his own advantage, namely Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are two indistinguishable courtiers who obey the Claudius’s every command. Claudius also uses them as his own personal spies, which is another good example of how he uses them to his own advantage. Hamlet reflects upon this in one of the best quotes in the play that properly describe Rosencrantz and Guildenstern: Besides, to be demanded a sponge! †¦ that soaks up the king’s countenance, his rewards, his authorities:†¦ when he needs what you have gleaned, it is but squeezing you, and, sponge, you shall be dry again. 1 In this quote, Hamlet describes Rosencrantz and Guildenstern as â€Å"sponges. † This is quite a good comparison since sponges soak up water and then are re-used once they are squeezed, while Rosencrantz and Guildenstern gather up vital information for the king and then are re-used once their information is shared with the king. Another example of how Claudius attempts to regain control over the affairs occurring in Denmark is when Polonius is murdered by Hamlet. When Claudius hears about the murder, he begins to think politically in the way that the murder might ruin his kingship. He realizes that to solve this issue without threatening his position would require much work and skill: â€Å"We must, with all our majesty and skill, / Both countenance and excuse. â€Å"2 Claudius, realizing that Hamlet’s original intent was actually to murder him3, decides to send Hamlet immediately to England in hope that the English king would murder him under Claudius’s request. This can be considered as a good example of how Claudius is obsessed with maintaining his political power. Since Claudius is now aware of Hamlet’s vengeful state, sending Hamlet to England may be considered as a good way to keep Hamlet away from Claudius. Another good reason to why Claudius sends Hamlet to be murdered in England and not in Denmark is because of fear of losing his political power. If Claudius decides to kill Hamlet, both Gertrude and the people of Denmark will hate him as they both love Hamlet very much, and thus, his kingship will be at stake. Yet must not we put the strong law on him: He’s loved of the distracted multitude, Who like not in their judgment, but their eyes; And where ’tis so, the offender’s scourge is weigh’d But never the offence. To bear all smooth and even, This sudden sending him away must seem Deliberate pause†¦ 4 Another example of how Claudius regains his control over the events occurring in this act is when Laertes returns demanding to know who had killed his father. Claudius does not tell Laertes the culprit in front of Gertrude, fearing that she would turn against him. Instead, he decides to tell Laertes behind her back. It is at this time that Claudius and Laertes are informed that pirates have returned Hamlet to Denmark, this gives Claudius a chance to strike a deal with Laertes: If Claudius lets Laertes kill Hamlet, then Laertes will be under Claudius’s command. This is a bigger advantage for Claudius as it gets rid of Hamlet without affecting his kingship, and it keeps Laertes under his command. My lord, I will be ruled: The rather, if you could devise it so That I might be the organ. 5 Claudius thinks up a foolproof plan to murder Hamlet. He suggests that a fencing match be held between Laertes and Hamlet, with the exception of a sharpened sword given to Laertes rather than a blunt sword. He also adds that if Hamlet were to win, Claudius would give him a poisoned drink as congratulations to his victory. †¦ And he calls for drink, I’ll have prepared him A chalice for the nonce; wherepon but sipping, If he by chance escape your venom’d stuck, Our purpose may hold here. 6. This particular scene is extremely significant as it shows the reader how truly malevolent Claudius is and how far he would go to maintain his power. Claudius is one of the most important characters in Hamlet. He is a character of true power and hatred, who would go to any extreme just to maintain his power and his kingship. His obsession with absolute power is greatly portrayed in Act IV of Hamlet, making it one of the most important and vivid acts in the play. 1 William Shakespeare, Hamlet (Toronto: Harcourt Brace & Company Canada Ltd, 1988), IV.ii. 13, 16-16, 20-22. 2 William Shakespeare, Hamlet (Toronto: Harcourt Brace & Company Canada Ltd, 1988), IV. i. 31-33. 3 William Shakespeare, Hamlet (Toronto: Harcourt Brace & Company Canada Ltd, 1988), IV. i. 13 4 William Shakespeare, Hamlet (Toronto: Harcourt Brace & Company Canada Ltd, 1988), IV. iii. 3-9. 5 William Shakespeare, Hamlet (Toronto: Harcourt Brace & Company Canada Ltd, 1988), IV. vii. 69-71. 6 William Shakespeare, Hamlet (Toronto: Harcourt Brace & Company Canada Ltd, 1988), IV. vii. 160-163.

The Original General Model Of Memory Essay - 1529 Words

The original general model of memory was proposed by Richard Atkinson and Richard Shiffrin in 1968. The Attkinson-Shiffrin theory of human memory states that human memory can be classified into three components: sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory (Atkinson, Shiffrin, 1968). Sensory memory is where sensory information is brought into memory and maintained by the senses. For instance, when a person perceives an environmental stimulus for a short time before it fades, the object is still preserved in the memory for a short amount of time. Although our minds store significant amounts of information through our senses, we still can’t process the majority of it accurately because of limitations of the memory. Therefore, information which can’t be instantly attended to is stored in our sensory memory for a short time (Atkinson, Shiffrin, 1968). There are two aspects of sensory memory: iconic and echoic memory. Iconic memory pertains to the memory of sight, whereas echoic memory relates to the memory of sound. Despite the fact that most of the information in sensory memory begins to diminish, some of the information is attended to. The information that is attended is transported over to to the short-term store, also known as â€Å"short term memory†. The purpose of short term memory is â€Å"to remember an insubstantial amount of information for a short period of time† (Atkinson, Shiffrin, 1968). The information stored in short term memory has a longer duration thanShow MoreRelatedEvaluate two models of one cognitive process1042 Words   |  5 Pagestwo models of one cognitive process This essay will be discussing one particular cognitive process: the memory by evaluating two models, which are the Multi store model introduced by Atkinson and Shiffrin in 1968 and the Working memory model by Baddeley and Hitch in 1974. The first model is the multi store model. It was first proposed by Atkinson and Shiffrin in 1968 and is a typical example of the information-processing approach. According to this model, memory consistsRead MoreEssay about Mulit-Store Model of Memory vs. Working Memory Model1101 Words   |  5 Pagescontrast the multi-store model of memory with the working memory model. This essay will firstly briefly describe the theories and important facts about the original multi-store model of memory (MSM) and the working memory model (WMM). This essay will then evaluate the key studies within these two models and explain the strengths and weaknesses of the main theories. The final part of this essay will be to examine the similarities and differences between the two models. The first issue that needsRead MoreThe Working Memory Model Proposed by Alan Baddeley and Graham Hitch1630 Words   |  7 Pages That our memory isn’t veridical is not a novel idea. This means that we don’t perfectly remember everything that we have seen or experienced in the past. Broadly speaking, there are two fundamental memory errors that occur in everyday life. One is forgetting events that have occurred, and the other is remembering something that did not transpire (or misremembering them in the way that they occurred). The first error, forgetting, is very common, and needs no explanation. We can all think of instancesRead MoreThe Human Life Expectancy1289 Words   |  6 Pagesperformance of memory demonstrates extensive variety and differences, with a generous increase in execution and performance over childhood and youth, a sneak peak in young adulthood, and fast decrease with propelling grown-up age. Memory execution improves and increases amid youth and pre-adulthood, and declines as the person hits maturity or in old age. Among more youthful grown-ups, better capacity to bind thing s to the setting in which they were experienced is connected with higher working memory executionRead MoreFreud s Interest Of Unconscious Ideas971 Words   |  4 Pageshypnotic trance, she started to talk about her symptoms, and he encouraged her to discuss the original incident that caused her problems. Breuer told Freud about this experience and others, and in 1893 they published the first psychoanalytic essay. Their essay, â€Å"A Preliminary Communication,† stated that â€Å"Hysterics suffer mainly from reminiscences.† They argued that hysteria was caused by repressed memories and the feelings that went along with them. Freud and Breuer agreed that symptoms could be curedRead MoreSata Commands1243 Words   |  5 PagesSome Stata Commands Last modified: January 2, 2006 9:51AM General Plotting Commands 1. Plot a histogram of a variable: histogram  vname 2. Plot a histogram of a variable using frequencies: histogram  vname, freq   histogram  vname, bin(xx) norm   where  xx  is the number of bins. 3. Plot a boxplot of a variable: graph box  vname 4. Plot side-by-side box plots for one variable (vone) by categories of another variable  vtwo. (vtwo  should be categorical)):   graph box  vone, over(vtwo) Read MoreOrigami As An Inclusive Term For All Folding Practices1155 Words   |  5 Pagesmost famous origami model is the Japanese paper crane. The majority of these designs begin with a square sheet of paper which the sides may potentially be of different colours, prints, or patterns. Traditional Japanese Origami was rather relaxed compared to Origami practised in the Edo period. Today it is frowned upon to sometimes cut paper or to use non-square shapes to start with, back then it was absolutely fine. What is the history of it? The history of paper folding, in general, is really murkyRead MoreForensic Examiner An Empirically Constructed Method Of Assessing Impairment1411 Words   |  6 Pagescriminal culpability with the ALI standard, and incorporates experimental decision models for guilty-but-mentally-ill, and M’Naghten standards (Rogers, 1998). On the basis of discriminant function analysis, he concludes that the R-CRAS variables were able to form differentiating patterns (between individuals showing impairment and those not showing impairment) for each of the five components of the decision model. Results indicated average hit rates of 94.3% (ranging from 87.8% for Major MentalRead MoreInfluencing The Performance Of Simultaneous Interpreters776 Words   |  4 Pageschapter 4 The position of interpreting studies (Pà ¶chhacker, 2013,60-72). In this chapter, with his emphasizing on simultaneous interpreting, Pà ¶chhacke(2013) introduced the history of interpreting studies, the definition in interpreting studies, the models and theory of interpreting studying, etc. The book The origins of simultaneous interpretation: The Nuremberg Trial(Gaiba, F,1998) gave a clear introduction of the nature and history of simultaneous interpretation form the Nuremberg Trial. BesidesRead MoreVarious Stages of Product Life Cycle798 Words   |  3 Pagesï » ¿The classic model of a product life cycle has four basic stages: Introduction, Growth, Maturity and Decline. These cylces may be mitigated by product extensions, etc. in the case of a childs bed, utilizing new themes could continually place part of the line extension back into the growth market to maturity instead of allowing the whole line to decline. The various stages of the cycle are often explained as: Introduction this is a development stage, market growth is light, but may be dependent