Historical Perspectives: Halloween & Decolonization
The Origins of Halloween
Halloween traces its roots to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, celebrated over 2,000 years ago in what is now Ireland, the UK, and northern France. The Celts followed a calendar that divided the year into two main parts: the light half (spring and summer) and the dark half (fall and winter). Samhain marked the end of the harvest season and the start of winter, a time associated with death and the supernatural. The Celts believed that on the night of October 31, the
Read MoreEuropean Power Shifts: Louis XIV, Mercantilism, and 17th-Century Conflicts
Louis XIV of France: The Absolute Monarch
Louis XIV of France stands as the best example of an absolute monarch. He took control of the government and ruled according to his own wish, without a Prime Minister and without asking advice from the États-Généraux (Estates-General). He viewed himself as the direct representative of God, awarded with a divine right to exert the absolute power of the monarchy.
To illustrate his status, he chose the sun as his symbol. He cultivated the image of an infallible
Read MoreUnderstanding Keats’s La Belle Dame sans Merci
John Keats’s “La Belle Dame sans Merci”
John Keats: A Romantic Poet’s Life
John Keats (1795–1821) was a prominent English Romantic poet. He was one of the main figures of the second generation of Romantic poets and also part of The Cockney School, alongside Leigh Hunt. The early deaths of his father, mother, and brother gave him a premonition of his own early demise from tuberculosis. This profound awareness led to a heightened interest in literature as an escape from the realities and tragedies
Read MoreAviation Airworthiness and Maintenance Regulations
Airworthiness Directives (ADs)
An Airworthiness Directive is a notification to owners and operators of certified aircraft that a known safety deficiency with a particular model of aircraft, engine, avionics, or other system exists and must be corrected.
They are issued by the National Aviation Authority (NAA) of the country of aircraft manufacturer or of aircraft registration. ADs are mandatory in most jurisdictions and often contain dates or flying hours by which compliance must be completed.
Required
Read MorePublic Policy Fundamentals: Cycle, Actors, and Evaluation
Understanding the Policy Cycle
The policy cycle is a framework used to understand and analyze policy making through its distinct stages. Policy issues flow from inputs, such as problem recognition, to outputs, which are the resulting policies.
Stages of the Policy Cycle
- Agenda Setting: Problem recognition and defining issues that require government attention.
- Policy Formulation: The proposal of solutions and development of policy options to address identified problems.
- Decision Making: The choice of
Contemporary Spanish Novel: Post-Franco Literary Trends
The Spanish Novel: From 1975 to the Present Day
The atmosphere of freedom that emerged in Spanish culture after the death of General Franco significantly enhanced the understanding of Spanish literature across Europe and within Spain’s Western literary landscape. This period was marked by the disappearance of censorship, the recovery of works by exiled writers, and a deeper appreciation for narrative forms from other countries.
Below, we briefly outline the main trends in the Spanish novel from 1975
Read MoreEssential Chemistry Concepts & Organic Reactions
Fundamental Chemistry Definitions
Analytical Chemistry & Solutions
- Titration
- A technique to determine the concentration of a solution by reacting it with a solution of known concentration.
- End Point
- The point in a titration at which the indicator changes color, signaling that the reaction is complete.
- Equivalence Point
- The exact point at which the amount of titrant is chemically equivalent to the substance being titrated.
- Titration Error
- The difference between the end point and the equivalence point.
Renaissance Literary Themes and Poetic Evolution
Renaissance Poetic Style and Themes
The Renaissance period was characterized by an aesthetic zeal, embracing classical ideals of simplicity, naturalness, selection, and elegance. In the latter half of the period, some authors intensified formal appeals.
Garcilaso de la Vega: A Renaissance Poet
Garcilaso de la Vega’s poetic evolution can be understood in three stages:
- Initially influenced by traditional song poetry, his early verses did not yet fully incorporate Petrarchan elements.
- In this stage, imitating
Understanding Social Science and Philosophical Inquiry
Social Science Methods
The goal of social science is to understand social reality. This pursuit gives the social sciences the following features:
- Predictive capacity is lower than in natural sciences.
- Generalization ability is lower than in natural sciences.
- Value neutrality is often impossible.
Do social sciences use the same methods as natural sciences? The response points to two different traditions: the empirical-analytic and the hermeneutic. The first tradition advocates applying the methods of
Read MoreBritish Society Transformed: Women, Reformation, and Enlightenment
Women’s Changing Role in Post-War Britain (1945-1970s)
After the Second World War, Britain underwent a significant social and cultural transformation. The role of women changed dramatically, influenced by several factors:
- The post-war ‘baby boom’
- Rising divorce rates and the beginning of new sexual openness
- Cinema sex symbols defining a ‘third war’ for women
During the 1960s, the women’s movement successfully campaigned for new rights. In 1967, the Family Planning Act made oral contraceptives available
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