Contrasting Nature, Gender, and Genre in Anne Finch's "A Nocturnal Reverie"

Anne Finch came to be considered one of the most influential female figures of the Augustan era because of her free, intimate exploration of nature and gender through poetry as well as her ability to seamlessly blend both classical and modern genres. In this article, Finch's unique style, voice, and perspective are examined in the context of "A Nocturnal Reverie," the final poem in her only published collection in 1713. "A Nocturnal Reverie" best showcases Finch's subtle but subversive style as she revisits scenes from John Milton,  criticizes the idyllic presentation of mankind's relationship with nature, and makes a proto-feminist argument against woman's confinement to the domestic sphere all while operating under the pretext of nature poetry

"Man is driven in total by his insecurities": Tony Soprano's Castration

HBO’s massively successful and influential crime drama series The Sopranos helped to usher in a new wave of complex, boundary-pushing narratives by confronting audiences with a fresh and subversive portrait of crime, family, and the legacy of Freud in American culture at the turn of the 21st century. The series centers around the daily life of mobster Tony Soprano as he navigates the challenges posed to his business by the RICO Act, to his family and marriage by his double life, and to his mental health by his deteriorating sense of power and identity. Previous analyses of the series have recognized that Freudian psychoanalysis is a major theme in the series as Tony visits psychiatrist Dr. Jennifer Melfi to find the root causes of his depression and anxiety, but few have produced psychoanalytic readings of the series itself. Through a scene-by-scene analysis of the series pilot through a Freudian lens, this essay examines how the characterization of Tony (and others) engages with the Freudian themes of castration anxiety and the Oedipus complex in a self-conscious manner and comes to the conclusion that Tony’s neurosis is driven by an unconscious resentment of his mother.&nbsp

Avaliação do desempenho do sistema de bicicletas compartilhadas de Brasília

O forte desenvolvimento econômico pelo mundo aliado a falta de planejamento resultaram nas cidades atualmente em sérios problemas de mobilidade urbana e na qualidade dos espaços públicos. Congestionamentos diários, poluição do ar, perda da qualidade de vida e produtividade são os desafios dos gestores públicos atualmente. Esse cenário despertou em vários países estratégias focadas no transporte sustentável que prioriza o modal coletivo e não motorizado em detrimento do particular motorizado. A bicicleta nesses termos se destaca e oferece vantagens pelo baixo custo de aquisição e manutenção em relação aos carros, alcança muitas vezes regiões que o ônibus e metrô não passam, faz a manutenção da saúde, não polui e alimenta o transporte coletivo auxiliando duplamente no modelo sustentável. Na última década sistemas de bicicletas compartilhadas se difundiram pelo mundo como forma de incentivar o modal e oferecer a população uma alternativa de comodidade para seu deslocamento. Entretanto muitos sistemas sucumbiram por não se atentar as necessidades dos usuários ou se desenvolveram de forma incoerente a realidade das cidades, ao passo que outros são um sucesso e mudaram a dinâmica dos deslocamentos nas cidades. O presente estudo busca analisar o desempenho do atual sistema de bicicletas compartilhadas de Brasília baseado nos problemas existentes através da combinação do Sistema de Informações Geográficas (SIG) em análises georreferenciadas com as características e percepção dos usuários em relação ao sistema. Tal metodologia resulta em indicadores que é utilizado para construir um novo arranjo espacial e oferece aos gestores públicos feedback em relação a infraestrutura cicloviária, disposição espacial das estações, identificação de demandas não supridas e fraquezas em relação a operação do sistema. A pesquisa conclui que o atual sistema de bicicletas compartilhadas em Brasília se encontra em situação desfavorável de desempenho contribuindo para sua inviabilidade e deixando em risco sua existência. O estudo provoca se permitir, abertura da percepção referente a otimização do sistema preservando a sustentabilidade na mobilidade urbana

Growth rings, growth ring formation and age determination in the mangrove <i>Rhizophora mucronata</i>

Background and Aims The mangrove Rhizophora mucronata has previously been reported to lack annual growth rings, thus barring it from dendrochronological studies. In this study the reported absence of the growth rings was reconsidered and the periodic nature of light and dark brown layers visible on polished stem discs investigated. In addition, the formation of these layers in relation to prevailing environmental conditions, as well as their potential for age determination of the trees, was studied.Methods Trees of known age were collected and a 2.5-year cambial marking experiment was conducted to determine the periodic nature of the visible growth layers.Key Results Annual indistinct growth rings were detected in R. mucronata and are defined by a low vessel density earlywood and a high vessel density latewood. The formation of these growth rings and their periodic nature was independent from site-specific environmental conditions in two forests along the Kenyan coast. However, the periodic nature of the rings was seriously affected by slow growth rates, allowing accurate age determination only in trees with radial growth rates above 0.5 mm year(-1). The onset of the formation of the low vessel density wood coincided with the onset of the long rainy season (April-May) and continues until the end of the short rainy season (November). The high vessel density wood is formed during the dry season (December-March). Age determination of the largest trees collected in the two studied forests revealed the relatively young age of these trees (+/-100 years).Conclusions This study reports, for the first time, the presence of annual growth rings in the mangrove R. mucronata, which offers further potential for dendrochronological and silvicultural applications

Successive cambia development in <i>Avicennia marina</i> (Forssk.) Vierh. is not climatically driven in the seasonal climate at Gazi Bay, Kenya

This study is intended to provide early access to recent findings on the formation of the successive cambia of Avicennia marina (Forssk.) Vierh. in Kenya. The non-annual character of the growth layers was demonstrated by using three trees from a cambial marking experiment and three trees from a plantation of known age. The respective number of growth layers produced during one year was on average a half and three. Considering 28 stem disks of trees at three study sites, differing in local site conditions, growth layer development was shown to be strongly correlated with stem diameter (R²=0.84, pA. marina (from Kenya)