Getting Started With Beekeeping

There’s a lot to know before jumping into a pursuit like beekeeping. It’s good to learn as much as possible to make sure that you get all of the right supplies and give yourself the best chance at creating a successful operation. Preparation is key, and there’s a lot of information floating around out there. Follow these links to find accurate and helpful insights for the brand new beekeeper.

Beginner Beekeeping Tips — The University of Missouri offers this free guide to beginning beekeeping. With tips, facts, and some important dos and don’ts this is a great place to start if you’re thinking about becoming a beekeeper.

Beginning Beekeeping — This site is for anyone interested in getting started with beekeeping. There are several pages covering everything about apiculture, and there’s even an “Ask The Beekeeper” section.

Beekeeping/Apiculture Guide  — From the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Services, this comprehensive guide covers all the bases of beekeeping from beginning to end, including more in-depth information like how to pass your state inspection and ways that you can pay for your project. The guide is free to download but you can also purchase a print copy for $3.

Nectar and Pollen Plants — A retired USDA apiculturist wrote this excellent guide filled with information about some different pollen and nectar plants and their effect on honey. Planning out your bee-friendly garden before getting started is an important component of beekeeping success.

All About Honeybees

Of course, the most important aspect of any beekeeping operation is the bees themselves.  Becoming educated about honeybees and how they work is the first step toward becoming a successful and responsible beekeeper. Plus, they’re pretty interesting to study – it’s no wonder that so many people are fascinated by bees!

Honeybees by National Geographic — This is a very basic but informative page about honeybees. Reading this will help aspiring beekeepers learn more about what bees do and how they do it.

Honeybee Facts — Backyard Beekeepers is the home of this page that is filled with interesting information about the different types of honeybees. Some basic honeybee terminology is covered, too.

Honeybee Slideshow for Kids — This slideshow from National Geographic Kids has some great information and accompanying pictures to help teach young beekeepers all about honeybees. Excellent quality images show just how bees go about gathering pollen and making honey up close and with perfect clarity.

Bee Guide From Pollinator.org — Here you can find downloadable state-specific bee identification guides that can be printed off and used as a reference when identifying the types of bees in your area.

Urban Beekeeping

Just because you live in a city doesn’t mean you have to miss out on the experience of keeping your own bees. Urban beekeeping, or backyard beekeeping, is catching on all over the world. If you know how to work within the space you have available, you can enjoy all the benefits of beekeeping right where you are. These pages will guide you through the basics of urban apiculture so that you can decide if it’s right for you.

Honey Love Urban Beekeeping — Honey Love is a nonprofit organization that exists to promote urban beekeeping and to provide the resources necessary for anyone to get started with their own beekeeping operation. Their core purpose is to protect and preserve honey bee populations everywhere.

Backyard Beekeeping — This page provides a step-by-step guide to creating your own urban beekeeping operation, with lots of helpful information to help you keep your hive happy – and your neighbors, too.

Avoiding Urban Beekeeping Problems –  This article, from Mother Earth News magazine, discusses the potential problems of beekeeping in the city and how to prevent them from happening to you.

10 Urban Beekeeping Tips — This three-page article outlines everything you need to know before you begin a beekeeping project in the city. These basic but necessary tips will help save you from making some common mistakes.

More Beekeeping Resources

The beekeeping community is comprised of all kinds of people, most of whom are willing to share their knowledge and insights. The internet makes it easy for apiculture enthusiasts to keep in touch and help each other out. The sites and pages listed here all offer valuable information – including plans and instructions for making equipment – for free.

BeeSource  — Beesource is a website dedicated to helping beekeepers find the information and support they need. There’s a user forum full of fellow apiculture enthusiasts willing to lend an ear and share their advice, insights, and even a little bad bee humor.

Build Your Own Beehive — Beesource Beekeeping offers this page full of free downloadable beehive building plans for any type of size of hive you want to build.

Beekeeping Equipment — This educational page gives a very thorough explanation of basic beekeeping equipment. There are instructions and plans for making your own apiculture tools, too.

Pollinator Partnership — You’ll find all kinds of fun resources and information about bees and the people who love them. The site is very active and updated regularly with information about group events and important beekeeping news.

Ham Radio for Beginners

While knowledge of basic electronics and science is helpful for those interested in ham radio, it is easy for those new to the world of ham radio to figure it all out. Local ham radio clubs are often full of individuals eager to get others involved with ham radio and help teach them the ropes.

Interesting Facts About Ham Radio – Learn how amateur radio got started and the different ways they can communicate with this comprehensive overview of ham radio.

About Amateur Radio – Discover the various uses for a ham radio license to see if it’s an ideal hobby for you.

What is Amateur Radio? – Get a basic overview of ham radio, including why ham radio operators call themselves “hams.”

Communications Log – Keep track of your contacts with a handy communication log template.

Phonetic Alphabet Tables – Print out these phonetic alphabet tables and keep them handy because the phonetic alphabet is an important component of ham radio communication.

Omniglot: Morse Code – While knowing Morse Code is not required for enjoying ham radio, some operators prefer to communicate using the dots and dashes.

Exam and Certification Resources

To help keep track of ham radio operators and employ a list of experts for use in emergency situations, the FCC requires that ham radio operators receive an official license. This involves passing a special ham radio exam. Passing the exam requires understanding the basics of using ham radio in an emergency and demonstrating knowledge of FCC guidelines.

Find an Exam – You cannot adequately prepare for the licensing exam without knowing where to take it. The AARL helps those wanting to take the exam find one in the area.

AH0A Technician Class: Exam Study Guide – Prepare for the technician license exam with this comprehensive document covering basic operation, FCC rules and radio set up.

The No-Nonsense, Technician Class Study Guide – Learn about electrical principles, radio and magnetic properties and other operating procedures and materials used in ham radio operation.

Technician Test Self-Study Guide – Not only does the self-study guide present information that will appear on the licensing exam, it contains review questions to help test your knowledge.

Amateur Radio Exam Practice – Test your knowledge of ham radio operation by taking a technician or general practice exam.

Ham Radio Exam Study Tips – Do not stress about taking the licensing exam and, instead, follow some handy tips to make your studying successful.

U.S. Amateur Licenses – Ham radio operators can obtain different licenses; learn what they are and what is required to obtain each one.

FCC Form 605 – Every amateur operator must fill out FCC Form 605 in order to officially get started with the ham radio process.

FCC Universal Licensing System – Access all of the forms and services need to obtain and renew your license to operate a ham radio.

Help and Tips for Ham Radio Operators

Even veteran ham radio operators need help every now and then. Knowing the hot call signs and keeping up with the latest news can help all ham radio operators get the most out of their hobby. It can also help ensure their radios are up-to-date and they are ready to pitch in should a natural disaster strike.

AmateurLogic.TV – Watch videos on how to set up ham radio equipment and learn tips to improve your ham radio operation.

A Beginner’s Guide to Making CW Contacts – Learn how to find contacts that prefer to communicate using Morse code.

UALR Call Sign Database – Make sure your call sign information is up-to-date and find the call signs of other ham radio operators.

Amateur Radio Newsline – Keep up with the latest FCC regulations, product launches and other news in the world of amateur radio to make your hobby more enjoyable.

Radioactive Camping Tips – Take your ham radio camping, making sure you have the proper tent, stakes and power sources in advance.

72-Hour Kit – If you plan to use your ham radio skills to help in an emergency, make sure you are prepared to survive by preparing a 72-hour kit of food and other essential supplies.

Suggested Go-Kit Checklist – Have everything you need to pick up and go when disaster strikes by making sure you have everything on this go-to checklist.

Save the environment one piece of garbage at a time by recycling. Keeping trash out of landfills, oceans, and roadside ditches not only leaves our planet looking and feeling clean, but it has positive long-term effects. Imagine what would happen if all of our landfills were full or our ocean was so contaminated with junk that the sea life died. By recycling, which means turning trash into new items, we are helping to save our environment one step at a time. For most people, however, recycling is an afterthought, which is why it is important to introduce recycling to children at an early age. The sooner we get our children to make recycling a habit, the better off our world will be. Here are some tips to help you introduce recycling to even the youngest of learners.

How to Recycle

Earth Day, celebrated annually on April 22, is the most popular day to discuss recycling. However, you should start today by introducing the idea of recycling to your kids. While many younger children may not grasp the concept of why it is important to recycle, you can show them why recycling is great so that it becomes a habit for them later on in life. The best way to teach your child to recycle is to be a good role model by recycling yourself. In the resources below, you will find plenty of guidance as you approach this topic with your children no matter what their age.

• The 3 R’s – Discover ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle from a kid’s point of view, games and activities included from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
• How Garbage Affects Nature – Using an interactive program, see how garbage affects animals and the ecosystem directly – includes hands on craft projects, online games, and additional resources.
• Introducing Recycling to Young Children – National Geographic provides an informative article for parents who are struggling with ways to teach young children the reasons and ways of recycling.
• Kids’ Green Scene – The Kids’ Green Scene is a kid-friendly blog that posts current events related to recycling.
• Ways to Encourage Recycling – Read about methods you can use to make recycling a daily habit for your child.
• Visit Recycle City – The Environmental Protection Agency has developed an interactive site featuring online games and hands-on activities that encourage children to recycle.
• Meet Recycle Rex – One helpful dinosaur, Recycle Rex reinforces the principles of the 3 R’s with online games and printable coloring pages.
• Read About Recycling (pdf) – Check out this book list of suggested reading for children in preschool through 5^th grade.
• Lesson Plans for Kindergarten – Find several lesson plans geared at kindergarteners, as well as a list of links for further information.

What Kids Can Make with Recycled Paper

Paper products ranging from newspaper to toilet paper tubes are one of the most substantial forms of recyclable material we produce. It is also the easiest type of material to reuse in our homes. Here are several resources related to reusing paper, including a method for recycling your very own paper. Check out all of the craft projects you can do at home using all kinds of paper including old magazines and school notebook paper.

• How to Make Recycled Paper – Watch an informative video that shows you the process of recycling your used newsprint and craft paper, and transforming it into recycled sheets of paper.
• Simple Craft Projects for Recycled Paper – Instead of throwing out all of your used paper products including plates and toilet paper rolls, try some of these kid-friendly craft ideas.
• How to Make Paper Bowls – Craft paper bowls and trivets using pages from your old magazines, the perfect option for those glossy pages that cannot be recycled by many facilities.
• 24 Paper Crafts – Martha Stewart presents 24 paper crafts that reuse a wide range of paper products, from empty paper towel rolls to used greeting cards.
• Toilet Paper Tube Art – Apartment Therapy lists several innovative ways to reuse those empty toilet paper and paper towel cardboard tubes.

General Arts and Crafts Made from Recyclables

One of the most immediate benefits of recycling is that you are saving money. By taking stuff you would normally toss in the recycling bin, you can transform it into new-to-you objects. Get ready to be creative as you try out some of these craft projects using everything from old stuffed animals to stained T-shirts. As the 3 R’s are recycling, reducing, and reusing, you are doing your part by reusing stuff rather than filling the landfills with it. And, you can create some nice and useful items, which you can keep or give away as gifts.

• 40 Recyclable Projects – Family Fun by Disney has compiled 40 kid-friendly craft projects that reuse and re-purpose recyclable objects.
• Go Green with Crafting – Learn how to transform all types of things, from CDs and DVDs to empty egg cartons, into new and useful items.
• 12 Crafts for Older Kids – Pre-teens and teenagers will love these funky crafts that save money without sacrificing on style, including stuffed animal headphones, colorful night lamp covers, and re-purposed T-shirt tank tops.
• Make Art for Pennies – Kinder Art presents dozens of craft project resources targeted at young children including a milk carton bird house and wind chimes made from old silverware.
• 6 Kid Crafts – Better Homes and Gardens lists 6 fun projects for kids to do that transforms trash into treasure.
• Celebrate Earth Day – Here is a wonderful selection of dozens of crafts using recyclable items. Create coffee ground fossils, paper mache globes, and tin can flower pots.
• Useful Crafts for Kids – From a cardboard box oven that really works to a food box camera, here are some innovative projects using recycled items.
• Eco-Friendly Craft Projects – Check out these ecologically-friendly crafting ideas by Martha Stewart, including beads made from stale bread and cardboard doll furniture.

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For example, music therapy can be a powerful tool in opening the flow of communication for special needs kids who have trouble expressing themselves and interacting with others and the world around them. Music therapy comes in the form of singing and playing instruments, writing songs, and other listening exercises under the guidance of trained practitioners. The resources on this page all come from reliable and reputable groups within the worldwide music therapy community.

Music Therapy Information

These sites are operated by non-profit foundations. They are filled with valuable information about music therapy and can help connect you with others in the music therapy industry in different areas of the world.

• American Music Therapy Association – The official site of the AMTA, a non-profit group dedicated to furthering the understanding and practice of music therapy through education.
• World Federation of Music Therapy – The WFMT not-for-profit group is an international community of music therapy users, workers, and enthusiasts.
• Australian Music Therapy Association – Home page for the AMTA, a group of music therapists, parents and teachers of special needs kids, and others who are interested in or passionate about the benefits of music therapy. The AMTA is a member of the WFMT.
• Canada Association for Music Therapy – Non-profit group supporting the music therapy community across Canada.
• American Cancer Society on Music Therapy – This page, from the ACS, explains what music therapy is and how it can be beneficial as part of a treatment plan for cancer patients.

Music Therapy Practitioners and Centers

The sites in this group are all centers that actively practice music therapy. They are all highly respected, long-standing institutions. Most are run from University schools and provide lots of great free sources of information about the field of music therapy. They are a fantastic place to start if you’re seeking treatment for someone you love.

• Institute of Applied Psychomusicology – A group dedicated to sound therapy and treatment through music. Started by a psychologist and musician specializing in psychoeducation, the site offers literature and training for those who want to teach others about the therapeutic benefits of music.
• The Rebecca Center for Music Therapy – Based out of Molloy College in New York, this non-profit music therapy center is renowned for its work in helping to increase function through music therapy in special needs children, teens, and adults. Additionally, they can help you find a reputable center in your area.
• Nordoff Robbins Center at NYU – The center, operating as part of New York University’s Steinhardt School, offers degree programs in music therapy as well as on-site treatment and research. The site is rich with resources for anyone who is curious about music therapy.
• MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Music Therapy Pages – The Anderson Center is a part of the University of Texas Integrative Medicine family of treatment centers. Not only are there resources for those seeking music therapy internships through the center, but you can download and listen to specialized therapeutic music created through the institution.

Careers in Music Therapy

If you’re interested in become a practitioner of music therapy, check out some of these sites with information about educational programs, internship opportunities, and other resources to help you get your foot in the door of the industry.

• Temple University’s Music Therapy FAQ Page – Temple University’s Boyer College of Music and Dance has put together this handy Q&A page to answer all of your basic questions about becoming a music therapist. While the page was created for potential students considering a career in music therapy, it’s a helpful resource for anyone who is curious about the concept.
• California Department of Mental Health Internships – Hospital internships for music therapy students through the Department of Mental Health.
• CSUN Music Therapy FAQs – A Q&A page from California State University at Northridge, outlining the steps it takes to get a music therapy degree as well as how to go about getting yourself certified and ready to work in the field.
• SWOSU Music Therapy Pages – Southwestern Oklahoma State University’s Music Therapy Program offers up this great collection of resources for those interested in pursuing an education and career in music therapy. You’ll find everything from class descriptions to outside links for delving deeper into the world of practical and applied therapeutic music.

Music Therapy Stories

You can read all you want about music therapy as a practice, but there’s nothing like hearing stories from real people who have benefitted from music therapy. This collection of sites and pages will take you to the real-life stories of those who have experienced the healing benefits of music.

• Soundscape Music Stories Page – This page is from the site of a music therapy center in Kentucky, and features links to well-written stories chronicling some of the personal success stories of applied music therapy. You’ll get a peek at actual patients and the therapy techniques used to help them flourish.
• Center for Music Therapy Client Stories – This site includes firsthand testimonials attesting to the value of music therapy. Learn more about some of the specific conditions music therapy can be used to treat and the effects it can have on patients.
• Stories from the Canada Music Therapy Trust – A fantastic collection of stories, told through text and video, of how music therapy has helped people to dramatically improve their quality of life and overcome communication and behavioral issues.
• Success Stories from Pasadena Child Development – Touching stories from real parents who have watched changes in their own children as a result of applied music therapy. The center is a non-profit corporation dedicated to providing music therapy to as many children as possible.

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Throughout both The Aeneid and Iliad these works, each of the main characters are “chosen” by the gods in some way and have gained favor not only because of their birth (the partial sons of gods or goddesses) but also because they are destined to fulfill a certain fate or prove themselves in some other way. This essay will argue that each author’s representation of the gods having a direct influence on he lives of mortals is symbolic of this “glory age” in which each author was trying to capture and it will also explore the ways these two protagonists are different and similar in terms of the societies they are shown to be living in as seen in both works.

The gods in both The Iliad and The Aeneid are shown not only to have a direct hand in the lives of mortals, but also, they are shown to be choosy about who they wish to help. The reasons behind their motivations and decisions isn’t based on any modern Christian notion of who “deserves” to have the honor “Greek religion embraced powers and fears of all kinds. As we have seen, its gods were within the world, one that they did not create. These powers—gods, nymphs, and other spirits—did not die (ordinarily) but were born. The Greek gods had favorite humans and intervened in human affairs, but they did not live within the human heart. They were powerful, but their power had limits.

 All gods, including Zeus, were subject to fate” (Powell 123). The fallibility of the gods is apparent in both works since they are capable of being defeated and they have emotional impulses that drive them to make decisions. They are not represented as being all-powerful, and are prone to vices and nepotism. Although The Iliad and The Aeneid  were written in entirely different eras with different political structures and cultural systems, both Homer and Virgil (as well as their readers) would have had a similar understanding of the gods and these characters. Both pieces were written during times of political and social strife, and this could be part of the reason why both texts, particularly Homer’s (since the Aeneid was written in a corresponding style) are heavily invested in depicting a “golden era” where mighty heroes of war lived long adventures and were aided by the direct hands of the many gods. There are many important quotes from both the Aeneid and Iliad that reflect these themes.

Achilles and Aeneas are similar in the sense that they have received favor from the gods, partially as the result of a sort of “divine nepotism” and also because they stand out from ordinary men because of their military or physical prowess. Both of these from The Iliad and The Aeneid characters are a mix of the two, thus making them worthy to receive the direct contact. Perhaps what is most strange, at least to the modern reader (steeped, whether voluntarily or not) in the traditions of Christianity, is that although Aeneas seems to deserve his gifts, Achilles does not yet has divine favor nonetheless.

While Aeneas is proud, he is not arrogant. He is a warrior, but he has the capacity for great love and sympathy and instead of abandoning his fellow soldiers in a time of need, he rallies them with a moving speech. In these ways he seems to be a hero worthy of the divine intervention and to make an even stronger case for that, he is the direct descendent of a god. Achilles, quite unlike Aeneas, is very aggressive and often without the sympathy or kindness (until the very end) shown by Aeneas. He is quick to react negatively and holds grudges. He is, in many senses, not worthy of what the modern reader might think of as a great person, but he has superhuman strength and is the descendent of a god as well. One cannot help but question why they receive equal intervention, but then again, the gods are seen as fickle and nepotistic in both works, sometimes favoring the wrong cause and proving them to be prone to making bad decisions.

The gods occupy a strange role in the Iliad and the life of Achilles. “The gods do not meet the expectations of the human characters. They do support the Greeks, but for reasons that have nothing to do with morality. They love and they hate, but they never talk about justice. Thus the narrator gives us the impression that Troy must in any case fall, that the Trojans are victims of a power that men, however virtuous, cannot conquer” (Kip 381). In the Iliad, there is a particularly poignant statement made by Ares in regards to his role in the lives of humans when he states in one of the important quotes from The Iliad by Homer, “We everlasting gods . . . Ah what chilling blows/ we suffer—thanks to our own conflicting wills— /whenever we show these mortal men some kindness. (Iliad 5.346-348). It is clear from this statement that the gods realize their failures yet they continue on the behalf of their chosen mortals, Aeneas and in the Iliad, Achilles. Both Homer and Virgil show that the gods are not perfect and that they are capable of recognizing their own faults. In a cultural/religious context, this is a potent statement since it reveals that this is not a society that believed in the ultimate righteousness of their gods, but rather knew that they were prone to same fallacies of mortals. Keeping this in mind is important in the analysis of the two protagonists of each texts since many of their actions are based on these gods’ wills and decisions. While they may react differently (Aeneas with submission and Achilles with rage and defiance) the fact remains that they are just as much out of control in some senses as the gods that, through all their bickering and self-interest appear to be.

One of the biggest differences in between Achilles and Aeneas in terms of their interactions with the gods and subsequent decision is the way they handle this divine intervention. In the Iliad, there seems to be an underlying tension that Achilles carries about the fact that so much is already determined for him. He already knows his fate and although he does have the choice to settle down to the life of comfort he wishes for, he still decides to go and fight (partially for the glory rather than because of any sense of duty, it seems). This tension is apparent when he is speaking with his mother, the sea goddess Thetis, and she asks him what is troubling him. Achilles’ response reveals quite a bit about his feelings about this intervention as he shoots back, ““Why tell you what you know” (Iliad I.423). This is an enlightening scene since it shows the way Achilles reacts in the face of the divine influences, even if this one is his own mother. It also reveals the extent to which he knows his actions are being observed and that there is perhaps some hostility in this. It could also be that this is a more modern interpretation of this line and Achilles is not in fact angry, but is merely stating a fact. No matter which way the reader chooses to look it at though, he still knows that the gods are watching and finds out later that they are prone to favoritism, error, and violence.

Unlike Aeneas in the Aeneid, Achilles is prone to fits of rage and although he may seem a bit daunted by the interference of the gods at times, they do serve to help him curb his very worst character flaw—rage. For example, when the reader is first shown how aggressive Achilles is, they also quickly learn that gods who favor him act as balancers to his anger. Recall the scene in which Achilles is ready to kill Agamemnon without a thought, but Athena intervenes and explained in one of the important quotes from The Aeneid by Virgil, “It was to check this killing rage I came from heaven, if you will listen. Hera sent me, being fond of both of you, concerned for both. Enough: break off this combat” (Iliad I.243-246). Not only are the gods then shown to have favorites between these two prominent men, they act as personality moderators and seem to know the outcome—presumably that Achilles will win this fight and kill Agamemnon.

In some ways, it only seems fitting that Achilles’ capacity for rage and outbursts of childishness are sometimes unchecked by the gods. After all, the gods themselves, while bickering about the fate of the mortal Achilles, are prone to their own angry outbursts and childish scenes.  Hera challenges Zeus’ decision to punish the Greeks in revenge for Achilles’ dishonor, and later she directly intervenes in the midst of a successful Trojan onslaught, angry at their successes. “In these instances her anger is not described in conjunction with a reference to thumos, but at other times she surely has a thumos—‘Now Hera, she of the golden throne … her thumos was happy’ (Iliad 14.155). Even Aphrodite admits to having a thumos when she addresses Hera: “Speak forth whatever is on your mind. My thumos is urgent….” (Iliad 14.195). Only Thetis among the goddesses is particularly liable to sorrow” (Koziak 1066). Again, as with the mortals that have been chosen, the gods themselves are victims to the same sorts of emotion (thumos)-driven battles that Achilles and Agamemnon are open to. When viewed in this context, the actions of the gods in both texts are seen as entirely fallible and one can’t help but question whether Aeneas has been somewhat more foolish that Achilles in devoting himself to their fickle wills.

Still even though one may question the issue of the reliability of the gods, the fact remains that Aeneas does put a great deal of stock in their will. On the other hand, the gods are beneficial—at least in their eyes—because they think they helping Aeneas overcome a flaw. Very much as with Achilles, Aeneas’ “negative” personality traits are counterbalanced by the actions of the gods. By calling a trait “negative” in Aeneas’ case, this would be his devotion to the vengeful Dido. The gods know that he has a prophecy to fulfill, thus they serve as constant reminders of his duty and don’t allow him to slip into a domesticated life with a woman that he obviously loves. When they send him the divine message that he must leave Dido, he obeys, and thus is obeying the will of the gods (who, when one really thinks about it, are merely playing off of his domestic instincts by invoking his father’s name). Although the personality traits are very different between Aeneas, the fact remains that the gods serve to make them hold true to their purposes by causing them to act in ways that cancel out their bad habits and undesirable ways of acting of believing.

It truly seems as though Aeneas, unlike Achilles, is more willing to bow down to the pressures of the gods—even if he might think they have erred in their judgment. “Aeneas has long been recognized as a sort of proto-Stoic, struggling with variable success to achieve self-control and obedience to Fate. At the beginning of his journey, however, he momentarily resembles an Epicurean philosopher even as he engages in an act of conventional pietas. When his attempts to uproot a small tree to deck his altar twice cause the bark to drip blood (Aeneid 3.24-29), he tries to discover the hidden cause of this bizarre phenomenon” (Dyson 449). This is a rare moment of symbolism in the text and reveals Aeneas to be searcher for truth. Strangely though, his truth is not found in his own emotions, which the gods seem to deem as secondary to his fate, but his undaunted belief in this will seems unshakable and the fact that he questions the smallest signs would lead one to believe that he wishes to know the meaning of things.

In this cultural context (gods playing a direct role in the lives of mortals) one sees clearly that both Homer and Virgil, by attempting to reconstruct a romanticized past of glorious wars and great heroes, must have these men being directed by something divine. What makes these two characters so similar is that they both are the children of one god (thus the nepotism angle) and that they both possess outstanding features. While Achilles is the strongest man, he is prone to violent outbursts, but the gods temper this flaw. While Aeneas has a strongly emotional side, this too is counterbalanced by the wishes of the gods. Even though they have these two things in common, it is clear that their biggest difference lies in the way they react in the face of divine intervention, but more importantly, how greatly they wish to put stock in entities that are prone to making rash decisions. It would be difficult to engage in any meaningful discussion about either of these heroic characters without mentioning the gods, thus this paper has sought to represent the two in order to compare and contrast Achilles and Aeneas.

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Works Cited

Dyson, JT. “Fluctus Irarum, Fluctus Curarum: Lucretian Religio in the Aeneid.” American Journal of Philology 118.3 (1997): 449

Kip, A. Maria Van Erp Taalman. “The gods of the Iliad and the fate of Troy.” Mnemosyne 53.4 (2000): 385.

Koziak, Barbara. “Homeric Thumos: The Early History of Gender, Emotion, and Politics.” Journal of Politics 61.4 (1999): 1068.

Powell, Barry B., and Ian Morris. The Greeks: History, Culture, and Society. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2002. 123.

The use and misuse of journalism as an instrument of propaganda is one of the central motifs in Orwell’s 1984, and the concerns that George Orwell articulates in his novel 1984 (as well as in other novels by George Orwell such as Animal Farm) are as relevant today as they were during the author’s own time, if not more so. The primary consequences about which Orwell worried because of media manipulation were individuals’ loss of a critical thinking faculty and the diminished capacity for self-expression. Contemporary readers of 1984 may justifiably have the same concerns.

As this thesis statement for 1984 by George Orwell attempts to unravel, one of the main concerns about the damaging psychological and sociological impact of the media is articulated early in the novel, when Winston Smith first engages in the subversive act of beginning a journal. Winston has been contemplating the act of starting a diary for some time, and, as stated in one of the important quotes from 1984,  “[f]or weeks he had been making ready for this moment” (Orwell 8). He had bought a journal in a shop, though he knew it was wrong to do so. He had also procured a pen and some ink. The reader gets the sense from this, among other quotes in 1984, that Winston is acting out of a certain urgency, that in fact, he has something important to record, for himself, certainly, and perhaps for posterity as well.

Indeed, the narrator of 1984 tells the reader that Winston planned the diary with the hope that he could “transfer to paper the interminable restless monologue that had been running inside his head…for years” (Orwell 8). Yet a curious thing happens to Winston when he touches pen to paper. At first, he is seized up with anxiety, realizing that he had thought so much about the act of writing that he had not thought much at all about what he was actually going to say. Initially, he draws a blank that is as pregnant as the page that is waiting for his words. The narrator of 1984 observes that Winston “… seemed not merely to have lost the power of expressing himself, but even to have forgotten what it was that he had originally.

The sense that Winston’s capacity for critical thinking and self-expression have been robbed from him are amplified by the fact that when Winston is finally able to translate his thoughts to the page the reader learns that Winston has not written in so long that his handwriting is tentative and “childish,” “stragg[ling] up and down the page” (Orwell 8). No one in Oceania needs to write because all thought and information, or more accurately, propaganda, are conveyed through telescreens. As Winston writes, in one of the important quotes from 1984 by George Orwell, his hand takes over and he abandons all “capital letters and finally even…full stops,” writing with an intense need about even the most seemingly mundane subjects (Orwell 8). He begins by describing the previous evening’s outing to the movies, and then describes the movie, which has obvious symbolic significance, and his own reaction, which is even more meaningful: “i dont suppose anything happened to her nobody cares” (Orwell 9). Winston is beginning to recuperate his capacity for critical thought and self-expression, as well as memory, which had eluded him earlier. The continued battle for self-expression however will be almost as difficult and as challenging as living in a repressive society where the media are instruments of hate, misunderstanding, and misinformation.

While Orwell’s novel may seem allegorical, it is not difficult to see that there are clear parallels between the kind of environment that he describes in the dystopic 1984 and our own fragmented world. As Cohn points out in his thesis statement for 1984 by George Orwell, an astute analysis of media tactics following the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, it is not even the intent to misinform or propagandize that is most dangerous. Equally as treacherous, and perhaps even more so, is the unconscious use of certain kinds of linguistic resources to subtly establish and consistently reinforce American dominance. Facts and information become distorted quickly when media outlets reports stories by using non-neutral words and descriptors that are by no means value- and judgment free. Speaking specifically of the conflicts between Israelis and Palestinians, Cohn, citing Fisk, writes that the United States’ media treatment of the Middle East region is characterized by euphemisms and misleading descriptors that convey subtle but clear messages about what Americans believe and for whom they should side. Cohn writes, “the ‘occupied territories’ are called ‘disputed territories,’ Jewish ‘settlements’ have become Jewish ‘neighborhoods,’ Arab militants are ‘terrorists’ but Israeli militants are just ‘fanatics’ or ‘extremists,’ and civilians killed by Israeli soldiers were ‘caught in the crossfire’” (25). Such reporting techniques are not unique to the American media’s coverage of events in the Middle East, though. Coverage of other countries’ and continents’ events, and our own domestic news is characterized by the same kinds of linguistic manipulations. Instead of reporting facts and trusting that comprehensive coverage of information will permit people to exercise their critical thinking and render their own judgments, the media are used to shape Americans’ opinions. Like Winston Smith, those Americans who question the “facts” or who deviate from the official interpretation of events and the opinions that should be adopted as a result are rendered suspect.

Orwell’s novel was an exercise in futuristic imagination, and a warning, of sorts, against a government and a society that robs its citizens of their capacity for critical thinking and reasonable, authentic self-expression. While many of the events and experiences described in 1984 may have seemed absurd at the time at which the novel was written, and may still seem exaggerated in some respects today, the reader who pays attention to current events and current media strategies realizes that the world as George Orwell envisioned it is not so different from the world in which we are living. Orwell was right to be concerned about these issues, and so should his contemporary reader.

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Works Cited

Cohn, Majorie. “Understanding, Responding to, and Preventing Terrorism.” Arab Studies Quarterly 25.

Kosicki, Gerald M. “Problems and Opportunities in Agenda-Setting Research.” Journal of Communication43.2 (1993): 100-120.

Orwell, George. 1984. New York: Plume, 2003.

James Fenimore Cooper was one of the first novelists to enjoy great fame as a result of his literary career and although some may argue that this is because the subject matter was entertaining (rather than instructive or socially conscious, for example) the fact remains that he was able to introduce Americans to their own frontier. A writer in the style of romanticism, James Fenimore Cooper was enamored with tales of the outdoors and encounters with strange and often hostile people or forces. This material was well-received and because of his literary success James Fenimore Cooper was able to produce his large body of works throughout his lifetime.

James Fenimore Cooper was born in Burlington, New Jersey, although the family soon moved to New York where his father, a prominent judge and member of the government set up a new town called Cooperstown. After an unsuccessful stay at college, James Fenimore Cooper joined the Navy and enjoyed some deal of success commanding a ship as a lieutenant. Many of his works would eventually reflect his knowledge of the ocean as a wild frontier just as he also wrote about the American frontier in a number of other stories and novels. Interestingly, aside from his military background, James Fenimore Cooper knew little about the American frontier although in many ways his story came to define it.

He began writing as a young married man and his stories that involved sentimental and highly romanticized plots, settings, and characters were extremely popular with the ever-growing number of readers in the United States. Many of his stories were simply tales of adventure although his most important work, “The Last of the Mohicans“ remains in the literary canon today because of  its complex portrayal of white and Native American interactions. While there are certainly elements of the tale that would be, at least in modern times, rather “politically incorrect” the novel does offer a striking realistic understanding of this relationship.

The Last of the Mohicans (as well as the other books featuring Natty Bummpo) explored such themes as the wide open country, the new population of the frontier, battles at sea, and living by one’s wits. While these themes were intensely popular with the general American public and gained Cooper notoriety with a number of other contemporary authors, his works were not always well-received in literary circles. For instance, Mark Twain thought Cooper’s works were akin to romantic drivel and he wrote a long piece entitled “Fenimore Cooper’s Literary Offenses” in which he criticized James Fenimore Cooper’s stories for being formulaic, too much enamored with romanticism, and highly implausible. At one point, he writes,  “In his little box of stage-properties he kept six or eight cunning devices, tricks, and artifices for his savages and woodsmen to deceive and circumvent each other with, and he was never so happy as when he was working these innocent things and seeing them go” (Twain 89). Still, despite such harsh criticism from an American literary master, Cooper managed to continue enjoying great success.

James Fennimore Cooper seemed to have little trouble creating stories rapidly and although they generally dealt with the same general settings and themes, they brought him a great deal of success, both in terms of money as well as literary prestige. By the time The “Last of the Mohicans“ appeared on the scene, “James Fenimore Cooper had become a national figure, although critical judgment in New England condescended to him. He founded the Bread and Cheese Club in New York, a literary society of which he was the moving spirit” (Van Doren 288). This club flourished in the city as writers, both romantics and the emerging early realists came forth. Interestingly, James Fenimore Cooper was quite politically active in his community in support of liberal causes but he saved his views for the newspapers and other forms of non-fiction. Despite what he may have thought politically, his stories were usually removed from current debates and set in a land where such things did not matter. While he may have had something to offer readers politically, he instead offered them a chance to consider the American landscape and their relations with Native Americans. In addition to this, he also opened new avenues in romantic writing by incorporating adventure.

Aside from The Last of the Mohicans, Cooper’s most important literary contributions include The Spy andThe Pioneers. Fenimore Cooper also wrote a host of short stories. Again, both of these texts are romanticized adventures that offer his readers, both past and present, a new way to look at the American landscape and offers us a unique chance to consider how our relationships with our land and native peoples have changed throughout the years.

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Twain, Mark. Fenimore Cooper’s Literary Offenses. 1838.

Van Doren, Carl. The Cambridge History of American Literature Book II/Chapter VI: Brown-Cooper. New York: 1921.

Adjectives are words in sentences that are used to describe and are often used to tell readers more about what the noun or the subject of the sentence is discussing. Adjectives do not always stand alone in a sentence and can be used in multiples throughout a sentence. Generally, although adjectives can appear anywhere in a sentence, they are often found just before the noun or sentence subject(s) they are referring to. While this is not a hard rule that is always present, many basic sentences do follow such a format.

The following are a few examples of adjectives in sentences that will highlight a few important points. You will notice that all adjectives are in bold lettering and upon closer inspection, you will notice that the bold adjectives are being used to describe the main subject (or subjects) of the sentences in question.

The girl took her blue ball to the playground.
The tall, lean man had a face that was long and grizzled.
The website offering extended definitions of adjectives was very simple but easy to navigate and full of useful information.

All three of these sentences with the bold adjectives range in their level of complexity. For the first sentence, the only adjective present is being used to describe (which is the main function of adjectives) the ball. If we wanted to get more descriptive in this sentence, it would be perfectly acceptable to add another adjective, say for example before the word “playground” that would describe what the playground was like. Did you notice that the first two sentences contained the adjective just before the subject they were referring to? That is quite common and often sounds the most natural when spoken.

As demonstrated above, there are no rules about using adjectives multiple times in a sentence and this is demonstrated even further in the second and third sentences. Notice that the last two examples use several adjectives, but they all describe different elements of the sentence as they refer to different subjects. The last example of adjectives, for example, has adjectives that describe not just the main subject of the sentence, which is the website, they also describe how easy it is navigate (thus clarifying a verb) and also describe what the information is like.

You might be wondering why the word “easy” is not in bold in the last sentence since it appears to be a descriptive word. While this is a word that is describing an element of the sentence, the word “easy” is not describing a subject of the sentence, it is rather modifying the meaning of the verb navigate. When you have a descriptive word that looks like an adjective, make sure to double-check that the subject is not actually a verb since that will mean that what you have is not an adjective, but an adverb.
There are various types of adjectives that apply to different situations you will encounter as you learn more about adjectives and proper grammar. Below are a few important types of adjectives you might want to learn more about so you can help decide what is and is not an adjective and how the adjectives should be properly used in sentences:

Extended Definition of Attributive Adjectives : What is an Attributive Adjective?
Part of the term “attributive” means that something has attributes that are being applied. Attributes are like characteristics; they are aspects of a particular thing, place, or person and the perfect way to reveal attributes is through the use of adjectives, since the goal of attribution is to describe and quantify. Attributive adjectives are the easiest adjectives to identify because they simply come right before the noun in question and directly apply to that subject distinctly. Here are a few examples with the attributive adjectives in bold.

She had long braids that hung across her freckled shoulders.
He took a deep breath and ran across the green meadow.

These are quite simple, see? All you need to do to determine if an adjective is attributive is to see if it comes in right before the noun it is describing. Remember that this can sometimes be tricky if you’re not careful and you could actually find yourself staring at an adjective rather than attributive adjective, predictive adjectives, absolute adjectives, substantive adjectives, Proper adjectives.

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While it is true that there are a number of risks of permanent, serious injury for children involved with this activity, with proper education of the children participants and their parents as well as a strict prohibition on any form of competition, this can be a healthy, fun, engaging, and ultimately useful form of physical activity for any child, regardless or his her age. Despite the media’s assertions that this is a dangerous activity, it should be recognized that while there are some dangers, mixed martial arts are not bad in themselves and again, with proper education and control of how they are practiced, this can have a positive impact on young people.

Some of the greatest dangers children face today are issues that can be address through any healthy and educated approach to mixed martial arts. For instance, obesity rates for young people are at an all time high and this is in part due to a lack of physical activity. Mixed martial arts encourage healthy behaviors and promote exercise that uses all parts of the body. Furthermore, unlike other forms of exercise that are simply physical in nature, mixed martial arts also requires mental agility—the ability to think quickly.

Children who are overweight due to inactivity often sit and watch television or remain immobilized on their computers and mixed martial arts gets them moving both physically and mentally. These are young people who are sedentary and their only experiences with martial arts or self-defense comes from what they learn from the television. Unfortunately, the self-defense they learn on television has little to do with what might be required of them in terms of physical and mental agility. While they may think that watching self-defensive action and thinking about it might help them react with appropriate force in a threatening situation (such as forced abduction, for instance) the reality is they will be entirely unprepared. In short, mixed martial arts can address two valid concerns many parents have about young people; inactivity and its related effect on weight, as well as the ability to fight back if an abduction or other physical altercation occurs. The dangers posed by mixed martial arts alone, especially since no competitions would be allowed, are by far less drastic than the dangers this art form could protect children from.

One critic of mixed martial arts defines the fights that occur in competitive events “nasty, brutish and short” but does note that “while the lack of rules has always been one of the attractions of the sport, ultimate fighting has introduced limitations as the sport has progressed” (Shimo 53) and notes that the most “dirty” and violent of moves, including “hair pulling, eye gouging, and clawing your opponent are illegal” (Shimo 53) although these and other fighting tactics, including hits to the groin, still happen when fights are particularly intense. These are elements of mixed martial arts, but the sport has undergone a change as it has been forced underground and also forced to change some of its most brutal aspects. What is most critical to this discussion is that these negative aspects of the sport concern adults and how they choose to practice. For children, especially in the controlled environment being proposed here, these violent, aggressive, and injurious competitive situations would never be allowed to exist. Children in any mixed martial arts training program would be coached on how to make what they learn applicable only in appropriate situations and to understand that the benefits of such training are to be kept to the self, except in the case of a violent struggle.

Although there are problems with the current image of mixed martial arts, for this to become a truly accepted sport for children, there needs to be more oversight into the matter. One publication notes that “Currently, there is no single governing body for youth mixed martial arts competitions. Rules vary from location to location. In some organized matches, blows to the head and elbow shots are prohibited. A fighter can win when the opponent taps the mat or by a knock, which for kids means the opponent becomes unsteady” (Weekly Reader 970). This is still a rather violent set of circumstances without much consensus about rules. In other to overcome its negative associations, a better, more standardized set of rules to protect the safety of participants will be required if they are under a defined age. Additionally, those opposed to this sport for children, including many parents who refuse to permit their child to participate based on negative assumptions, will need to see that more oversight and regulation is being performed in order to accept this more widely. The sport has a long way to go to become accepted and more rules, such as requiring particular sorts of headgear and protective items, need to be firmly instituted and enforced.

The best way to counter both the negative stereotypes associated with mixed martial arts and to overcome bias by parents who fear their children will be seriously injured is to make people more aware of what this sport is actually about. Too many special interest groups who have pushed for a ban on the sport are blinded by the violence they see in select events and do not understand what a positive effect the practice of this sport could have on young people. This is a sport that requires physical and mental agility, empowers young people (especially if they are in a situation that calls for a necessarily aggressive or self-defensive act) and gives them self-confidence. It gets them away from the television and video games—which themselves come with more violence than this sport ever will if taught and practices in a safe, controlled, and restricted non-competitive environment. In short, children are going to be denied the opportunity to develop their mental and physical capacities through mixed martial arts based on a series of negative representations by the press. These groups make exaggerated claims about the overall danger of the sport outside of the competitive context and are thereby eliminating a possibility for some young people who are just waiting for the right sport to spark their interest in physical activity for life.

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Works Cited

Shimo, Alexandra. “Nasty, Brutish and Short.” Maclean’s Magazine 10 March 2008: 52-55.

“Teen throwdown: should ultimate fighting for kids be banned.” Weekly Reader 5 May 2008: 970.

The purpose of the study I am undertaking is to present non-experimental research and analysis on how an employee’s relationship with their supervisor(s) has an effect on overall morale. To this end, the central research question is “what effect does the supervisory environment in the workplace on overall employee morale?” While it should be noted that this is a topic that is still undergoing refinement and fine-tuning, the supporting, the supporting questions, that may be integrated with this still-broad research question will include more specific issues, for instance, “are incentives more valuable than a positive relationship with a supervisor in terms of motivating employees” or, as another example, “how does environment shape leadership styles?” The research question is one that can provide basis for an argument and some of the supporting questions lead to more focused answers to that question.

Nine methods of research/identify and choose most aligned

Historical – A historical method involves an attempt to recreate the past objectively and accurately, often in relation to the tenability of a hypothesis. This method is often highly reliant on the work and/or observations of others and involves “detective work” (Isaac 45) as the researcher pieces together evidence to support the hypothesis. In gathering this evidence, the researcher must be diligent in making sure there is integrity in the data used through a systematic and disciplined approach to the primary and secondary sources, which provide the material. This method has much in common with a critical review of literature as it addresses many materials as the source of support for the hypothesis, with an internal and external critical structure that examines issues related to (and not limited to) motivations of the authors, limitations to the study, and other aspects of contamination to the materials used.

Descriptive – As its name suggests, this requires accurately presenting a full description of facets and features of the topic of interest or the population in question. Unlike many other forms of research methodologies, description is limited in that it does not make attempts to draw connections, parallels, and form predictions; it merely describes or makes a full compilation of the issue at hand. These can include reports, surveys, and other data that can be collected, analyzed and accurately and without conjecture or the need for argument, described.

Developmental – These studies examine patterns and trends that demonstrate growth, declines, or general change across time. It examines not only the patterns and associated correlations between time and the declines or patterns of growth, but also looks at rates of change, general trends, and the factors that prompt the changes. These can include longitudinal and cross-section studies as well as more general developmental/change over time studies.

Case and Field – As Isaac most succinctly puts it, these studies seek “to study intensively the background, current status, and environmental interactions of a given social unit: an individual, group, institution, or community” (49). Case and field studies take a broad approach to their subject and seek to explore nearly every facet that has any influence on the subject, from a detailed history to an exhaustive analysis of the environment or context. While this is ideal for a broad examination of topic as it can allow for chronological structure, it can also be streamlined to fit with a narrowed-down hypothesis and become a highly detailed study of one sole issue. Isaac notes that despite the similarity between the two, a survey study looks at many variables across a small sample, whereas a case and field study is large in scope, encompassing numerous variables and possibilities.

Correlational – Correlational studies examine how variations across factors correspond to one other with the basis being on correlation coefficients. This is a valuable format for a study that seeks to examine many variables and relationships at once and is used for complex studies with large amounts of data to synthesize. It allows for a more nuanced set of results that does not simply prove or disprove something, but demonstrates the nuances by showing how far or distantly related (or not) variables are. It should be noted that this method tends to ignore cause and effect relationships and lends itself to ambiguous results.

Cause-Comparative or “Ex Post Facto” – This method seeks to define potential causal relationships by observation and then research into the factors that might lead to this cause and effect paradigm. One of the most important aspects of this research is that it relies upon data that has been formulated after all events in question are complete and requires the researcher to go back to prior studies or data to look for relationships, connections, and conclusions.

True Experimental – This type of study examines causal relationships through experimental and control groups; the experimental group receives the treatment (or other application) while the control, to test for effectiveness, for example, does not get this treatment/application. Random assignment is a crucial component to research of this type.

Quasi-Experimental – To approximate the conditions of the true experiment in a setting which does not allow the control and/or manipulation of all relevant variables. The researcher must clearly understand what compromises exist in the internal and external validity of his design and proceed within these limitations.

Action – “To develop new skills or new approaches and to solve problems with direct application to the classroom or other applied setting”.. In essence, this is research with an immediate practical application.

My research methodology will be causal-comparative/Ex Post Facto, which will allow me to explore the relationship between how environment affects a leadership style and/or the supplemental issues of what impact a supervisor has on overall morale. Since the events have already transpired, I will go back through the data and, using external sources that explore similar possible connections, attempt to draw upon parallels that do or do not exist, depending on the final results.

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