Optimism Definition Essay

Optimism is a mental attitude or world view that interprets situations and events as being best (optimized), meaning that in some way for factors that may not be fully comprehended, the present moment is in an optimum state. The concept is typically extended to include the attitude of hope for future conditions unfolding as optimal as well. The more broad concept of optimism is the understanding that all of nature, past, present and future, operates by laws of optimization along the lines of Hamilton’s principle of optimization in the realm of physics. This understanding, although criticized by counter views such as pessimism, idealism and realism, leads to a state of mind that believes everything is as it should be, and that the future will be as well. A common idiom used to illustrate optimism versus pessimism is a glass with water at the halfway point, where the optimist is said to see the glass as half full, but the pessimist sees the glass as half empty. The word is originally derived from the Latin optimum, meaning â€Å"best.† Being optimistic, in the typical sense of the word, ultimately means one expects the best possible outcome from any given situation. This is usually referred to in psychology as dispositional optimism. Researchers sometimes operationalize the term differently depending on their research, however. For example, Martin Seligman and his fellow researchers define it in terms of explanatory style, which is based on the way one explains life events. As for any trait characteristic, there are several ways to evaluate optimism, such as various forms of the Life Orientation Test, for the original definition of optimism, or the Attributional Style Questionnaire designed to test optimism in terms of explanatory style. While the heritability of optimism is largely debatable, most researchers agree that it seems to be a biological trait to some small degree, but it is also thought that optimism has more to do withenvironmental factors, making it a largely learned trait.[1] It has also been suggested that optimism could appear to be a hereditary trait because it is actually a manifestation of combined traits that are mostly heritable, like intelligence, temperament and alcoholism.[2] Optimism may also be linked to health. Explanatory style Explanatory style is different, though related to, the more traditional, narrower definition of optimism. This broader concept is based on the theory that optimism and pessimism are drawn from the particular way people explain events. There are three dimensions within typical explanations, which include internal versus external, stable versus unstable, and global versus specific. Optimistic justifications toward negative experiences are attributed to factors outside the self (external), are not likely to occur consistently (unstable), and are limited specific life domains (specific). Positive experiences would be optimistically labeled as the opposite: internal, stable, global.[4] There is much debate about the relationship between explanatory style and optimism. Some researchers argue that there is not much difference at all; optimism is just the lay term for what scientists call explanatory style.[5] Others argue that explanatory style is exclusive to its concept and should not be interchangeable with optimism.[6][7] It is generally thought that, though they should not be used interchangeably, dispositional optimism and explanatory style are at least marginally related. Ultimately, the problem is simply that more research must be done to either define a â€Å"bridge† or further differentiate between these concepts. Philosophy Philosophers often link concept of optimism with the name of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, who held that we live in the best of all possible worlds, or that God created a physical universe that applies the laws of physics, which Voltaire famously mocked in his satirical novel Candide. The philosophical pessimism of William Godwin demonstrated perhaps even more optimism than Leibniz. He hoped that society would eventually reach the state where calm reason would replace all violence and force, that mind could eventually make matter subservient to it, and that intelligence could discover the secret of immortality. Much of this philosophy is exemplified in the Houyhnhnms of Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels. Panglossianism The term â€Å"panglossianism† describes baseless optimism of the sort exemplified by the beliefs of Pangloss from Voltaire’s Candide, which are the opposite of his fellow traveller Martin’s pessimism and emphasis on free will. The phrase â€Å"panglossian pessimism† has been used to describe the pessimistic position that, since this is the best of all possible worlds, it is impossible for anything to get any better. The panglossian paradigm is a term coined by Stephen Jay Gould and Richard Lewontin to refer to the notion that everything has specifically adapted to suit specific purposes. Instead, they argue, accidents and exaptation (the use of old features for new purposes) play an important role in the process of evolution. Some other scientists however argue the implication that many (or most) adaptionists are panglossians is a straw man. Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time Michael Shermer relates Frank J. Tipler to Voltaire’s character Pangloss to show how clever people deceive themselves. Shermer explores the psychology of scholars and business men who give up their careers in their pursuit to broadcast their paranormal beliefs. In his last chapter, added to the revised version, Shermer explains that â€Å"smart people† can be more susceptible to believing in weird things. Optimalism Optimalism, as defined by Nicholas Rescher, holds that this universe exists because it is better than the alternatives.[8] While this philosophy does not exclude the possibility of a deity, it also doesn’t require one, and is compatible with atheism.[9] The positive psychologist Tal Ben-Shahar uses optimalism to mean willingness to accept failure while remaining confident that success will follow, a positive attitude he contrasts with negative perfectionism.[10] Perfectionism can be defined as a persistent compulsive drive toward unattainable goals and valuation based solely in terms of accomplishment.[11] Perfectionists reject the realities and constraints of human ability. They cannot accept failures, delaying any ambitious and productive behavior in fear of failure again. [12]This neuroticism can even lead to clinical depression and low productivity.[13] As an alternative to negative perfectionism Ben-Shahar suggests the adoption of optimalism. Optimalism allows for failure in pursuit of a goal, and expects that while the trend of activity will tend towards the positive it is not necessary to always succeed while striving to attain goals. This basis in reality prevents the optimalist from being overwhelmed in the face of failure.[10] Optimalists accept failures and also learn from them, which encourages further pursuit of achievement.[14] Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar believes that Optimalists and Perfectionists show distinct different motives. Optimalists tend to have more intrinsic, inward desires, with a motivation to learn. While perfectionists are highly motivated by a need to consistently prove themselves worthy. Assessment Life Orientation Test (LOT) Designed by Scheier and Carver (1985), this is one of the more popular tests of optimism and pessimism. There are eight measurements (and an additional four filler items), with four positively (â€Å"In uncertain times, I usually expect the best†) and four negatively (â€Å"If something can go wrong for me, it will†) worded items.[15] The LOT has been revised twice–once by the original creators (LOT-R) and also by Chang, Maydeu-Olivares, and D’Zurilla as the Extended Life Orientation Test (ELOT). All three are most commonly used because they are based on dispositional optimism, which simply means expecting positive outcomes.[16] Attributional Style Questionnaire (ASQ) This questionnaire created by Peterson et al. (1982) is based on the explanatory style definition of optimism. It lists six positive and negative events (â€Å"you have been looking for a job unsuccessfully for some time†), and asks the respondents to record a possible cause for the event and rate the internality, stability, and globality of the event.[17] An optimistic person is one who perceives good things happening to them as internal, stable, and global. There are several modified versions of the ASQ including the Expanded Attributional Style Questionnaire (EASQ), theContent Analysis of Verbatim Explanations (CAVE), and the ASQ designed for testing the optimism for children.[16] Health Research has emerged showing the relationships between several psychological constructs and health. Optimism is one of these concepts and has been shown to explain between 5–10% of the variation in the likelihood of developing some health conditions (correlation coefficients between .20 and .30),[18] notably including cardiovascular disease,[19][20][21][22][23] stroke,[24]depression,[25][26] and cancer.[21][27][28] Furthermore, optimists have been shown to live healthier lifestyles which may influence disease. For example, optimists smoke less, are more physically active, consume more fruit, vegetables and whole-grain bread, and consume more moderate amounts of alcohol.[29] The relationship between optimism and health has also been studied with regards to physical symptoms, coping strategies and negative affect for those suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, and fibromyalgia. It has been found that among individuals with these diseases, optimists are not more likely than pessimists to report pain alleviation due to coping strategies, despite differences in psychological well-being between the two groups.[30] A meta-analysis has confirmed the assumption that optimism is related to psychological well-being: â€Å"Put simply, optimists emerge from difficult circumstances with less distress than do pessimists.†[31] Furthermore, the correlation appears to be attributable to coping style: â€Å"That is, optimists seem intent on facing problems head-on, taking active and constructive steps to solve their problems; pessimists are more likely to abandon their effort to attain their goals.†[31] It should be noted that research to date has demonstrated that optimists are less likely to have certain diseases or develop certain diseases over time. By comparison, research has not yet been able to demonstrate the ability to change an individual’s level of optimism through psychological intervention, and thereby alter the course of disease or likelihood for development of disease.

A Perspective of Cultural Conflict in Classroom Essay

This paper draws from the understanding that cultural differences and imbalance has extensively repressed the process of learning as well as literacy development. This factor is evident by the continual differential treatment of teachers on white and black children thus affecting the progress of colored children in literacy development. Learning literacy encompass the efforts employed by the teacher to help the child develop reading and writing skill in the second language. As such, this process occurs within the threshold of culture and is influenced by social factors ranging from the belief of the teacher and the ability of the children to literary skills. The evaluation of methods of literacy practice help in deigning validity and reliability of the instruments of instruction used in literacy acquisition and development amid cultural differences and conflicts reflects an element that formulates an important factor in situations where the teacher and his beliefs as well as the literacy practice extensively leverages the varying degrees of the whole language. Introduction Literacy acquisition and development is a pedagogical aspect that begins long before children commence their formal education as well as formal school instruction. During these years, children acquire skills and knowledge that are typified by literate behavior in a setting that is guided by socio-cultural manifestations. The whole process is influenced by a number of factors ranging from cultural implications, the beliefs of the teacher and the instruction methods for literacy practice. The teacher should emphasize on the development of literacy as a process that is ongoing, and through a classroom learning environment. This means that for the efficiency of literacy acquisition development, all aspects of literacy must develop simultaneously, with the language and literacy sharing similar features hence allowing students to encounter a natural hierarchy to the stages of development. Methods of Literacy Practice The complexity of literacy development rests on the pedestal of the children’s ability to effectively read and write in English as the formed literate culture. Delpit argues that our cultures and communities lay the basis on which differences in instructing children as they learn new language is evidenced (Delpit, 2006). This cultural bias and weakness presents a conflict which should be resolved by the teacher’s attempt to maximize the educational potential of children from colored racial background.   The teacher and his belief about literacy development play a significant role in the entire process of literacy and language development.   There is an interrelationship between literacy and language such that, the teacher should base his instruction on language; which plays a key role in building the foundation for reading and not on the racial backgrounds. Accordingly, the teacher should use the method of immersion to enable children develop literacy by being surrounded by spoken language. In so doing, children will not only learners to talk but will also encounter print language in charts labels and stories and an organized library which enables students to read and write in areas of the   print language. In addition, it is plausible to note that as a teacher, it is vital to use   a practical method of   instruction that help children demonstrate the literacy skill being learned in a context where the teacher uses good classroom management to root out racial power imbalance that exist in classrooms. As such, this should be done both in classroom and outside classroom situations. For example, Delpit contends that when people around children use language positively, things happen positively. Ideally, language, which the backbone of literacy, become part of life around children (Delpit,2006). This out of classroom situation means that a teacher should emphasis on the importance of language which is mirrored through books, literacy events and writing and thus children will learn the language at home, in town and in the villages where they are. In a classroom setting, demonstration of literacy skills should be enhanced by the teacher through modeling where children learn the four skills of language such as reading skills, writing skills, speaking skills and listening skills throughout the day. In this way, children will acquire and develop literacy skills by observing purposeful literacy in a myriad of ways. Furthermore, the teacher should advise parents to highly expect their children to talk thus relieving the whole process the pressure and tension of literacy development from learning in an environment that is cultural conflict. The teacher works on helping the students to learn literacy skills by working on these skills at appropriate levels. As a result, a teacher should provide children with enough materials that match their literacy levels and by catering for individualized differences; a teacher sets the pace of developing literacy skills thus structuring the class with expectation of leaning. To illustrate, the ways by which people respond and react during a conversation influences the behavior of a child and usually non verbal expressions such as smiles, cuddles and other remarks creates a verbal interaction that shapes the development of literacy. Therefore, acquiring and developing literacy skills does occur anywhere; at home, in groups, with relatives among others and this natural way should be used in helping the process of literacy acquisition and development. With the classroom, the teacher should create a collaborative learning environment where children have the opportunity to provide positive feedbacks to their peers which specifically is encouraging and constructive in terms of learning literacy skills. With regard to this, little children should be engaged in learning whether at home or in school the teacher should help the children to aim at better speaking skills, reading skills, writing skills and listening skills at school in activities that help them to make sense of their acquired literacy knowledge and skills. Racial, class, ethnic and gender conflicts influence the quantity of literacy instruction in a racially mixed class. However, a teacher should influence children and parents from disfranchised cultural groups to develop measures of subverting negative pressure dominant group. Delpit notes that the community environment as well as home leverages the literacy development of a child. As such, schools, homes, families and classroom are learning environments situated in the community. In this case, the out of class element extensively influences learning opportunities and gives a chance to take part in the process of literacy acquisition and development of their child (Delpit, 2006). Significantly, this narrows down to a cultural aspect in learning and impacts on the literacy development children acquire. For example, a child from a poverty stricken neighborhood encounters a disintegrated learning environment and owing to the fact they are likely to be face social emotional and behavioral conditions that are strong makes them develop non Standard English hence their literacy skills being interfered with. In addition, Delpit contends that the culture and environment directly relate to the ability of the child to develop vocabulary skills and thus the literacy development at kindergarten should be well structured because it determines how the child’s academic achievement varies in school and classroom. Children’s, socio behavioral, emotional self regulations are viewed within the precincts of cultural orientations   and all these are influenced by homes, families, schools and society at large. On this ground, Delpit postulates that the development of a child’s literacy skills should be allowed to take place at all times and in every place (Delpit, 2006). Accordingly, literacy is construed to be composite of varied dimensions that transcend the boundaries of classroom and society and this interplay strongly affect the learning opportunities that children are presented with both at home and in school. In light of this, there is considerable evidence that shows that proficient literacy obligate that children must have strong foundation in oral language; an element that borders phonological and vocabulary skills as well as the overall language skills which is basically determined by the cultural orientations. This falls in the wider dimension of influencing how a child demonstrates systematic and explicit ways of decoding, comprehending and writing language which is greatly impacted by the cultural base of the child. Due to the cultural influence in learning language and literacy skills, the preschool experience forms an important factor in the acquisition and development of literacy skills. Therefore, it has been speculated that achieving this learning element depends on the social economic status of the child’s family. Accordingly, children form less fortunate families begin their literacy levels late and without financial ability to buy literacy resource, many children from such backgrounds become literate very late. As such, the teacher should come to the aid of this group of children by working out a correlation that will improve home and classroom learning environment through what is inarguably called direct parent training and education. In essence, Delpit portends that parents from such economic thresholds should strongly embrace the concept of early preschool interventions in a bid to socially and academically make a vital difference in the literacy acquisition and development of their children. Similarly, the classroom environment influences the belief and mindsets of a teacher in their literacy development instruction. In essence, the attitude of the teacher over the children he is instruction posses a shared characteristic that   is marked by a safe and orderly environment high expectations for the literacy achievement of the students, strong educational leadership, the amount of time given to literacy instruction classroom management and available methods of evaluations and instructions. Accordingly, a flexible and homogenous literacy skill provides a more successful effect on reading, speaking and writing thus making the instruction children receive in the class more substantially. However, in the event of a heterogeneous literacy skill, it becomes difficult as the teacher to have clear cut expectations on the literacy achievement thus his beliefs may not allow him to substantially provide instruction that enhances literacy awareness. For the most vulnerable children in the black American community, the development of literacy skills is under certain progression challenges such as underachievement but Delpit shows that the social and motional support offered by the teacher creates a climate that leads to the efficiency in building literacy levels of children from multicultural backgrounds. The classroom setting should provide a highly social, emotional support and the teacher should therefore come in with a n instructional support which will systematically a stronger child literacy development and social outcomes. Particularly, such learning environment become important for children from the back community because they are typical of social problems and during the development of literacy skills, they may exhibit weak social skills. The engagement of children in different learning environment helps boots their motivation to learn and this contributes to their literacy growth. Conclusion From the foregoing discussion, it is evident that the type and amount of literacy instructions that a teacher should give to children in classroom and the continuous learning of literacy skills at home and in the society facilitates a constant and systematic literacy growth. Accordingly this involves a combination of methods that range from code focused strategies o holistic and meaning strategies prove to be the effective models of enhancing literacy development. Teachers therefore should use sustained interventions that range form intensive and balanced pedagogical aspects in literacy acquisition and development. Teachers therefore need to structure the instructional designs on the structure of the language and other social cultural elements that aids in the acquisition of literacy skills. Reference   Delpit, L (2006) Other People’s Children: Cultural Conflict in Classroom. New York: News press

‘Investigating Wakefield’ – GCSE Geography Coursework

The overall topic of this investigation is land use within settlements. Urban land areas in towns and cities have got very complicated land use patterns and the industrial city of Wakefield is no exception. It has grown and developed over hundreds of years and now has a thriving population of around sixty thousand. Wakefield is a city situated in the North-East of England. It has good access to the M1 and A1 which is why it is such a popular destination for many factories and businesses. Wakefield is nine miles from the major city of Leeds which is also in Wakefield's county of West Yorkshire. The hypothesis which was investigated was ‘Are there obvious land use zones along a transect from the edge of Wakefield to the Central Business District (CBD)?' and to do this a transect of land which was 1.5km long was investigated. The transect started at Newton Bar and finished at the end of Wood Street, therefore coming in to the city centre in a southerly direction. Method A transect of land use from the city centre to the Northern outskirts of Wakefield was recorded. The transect was 1.5km long, stretched from Newton Bar roundabout to the end of Wood Street and the land use immediately next to the road was recorded by hand in a notebook. The age of the buildings was estimated and if any dates were visible they were recorded too. In Wood Street, some of the buildings had more than one use and both these uses were observed and recorded. After the data had all been collected, a land-use transect was drawn. Eight different colours were used to represent the different land use categories and this helped to decipher patterns in the land use. The land use categories which were used were residential, public buildings and services, healthcare, offices, entertainment, retail, education and religion because then the buildings were easier to categorise and then record. A simplified model was also produced to show the main land use zones more clearly. Description of the Area Studied The area of Wakefield which was used to carry out the hypothesis on was a transect of 1.5km and stretched from Newton Bar Roundabout to the end of Wood Street in the CBD. Newton Bar is about one mile from the CBD and the transect studied enters the city in a southerly direction. The area at the beginning of the transect has terraced housing and is slightly run down but industrial because it has a council construction site and a development department in close proximity, and a new housing estate is now being built. The quality of buildings improves as one goes further along the transect towards the CBD, the houses on St. John's North, Wentworth Street and Wentworth Terrace are particularly smart and elegant. As one walks down Bond Street and Wood Street, one sees buildings such as the County Hall, Crown Court, Police Station, Wakefield Museum and Town Hall which are superb examples of magnificent architecture. When one reaches Cross Street, the more commercial part of Wakefield begins with lots of small shops and businesses such as cafes, hairdressers and estate agents. There are also bars and other forms of entertainment such as internet cafes as well as ‘quality' stationers, book shops and music shops. This area of Wakefield is quite clean and well maintained although some of the buildings were probably built in the 1960s and are therefore less attractive. The pictures below show some of the different land use in places along the transect. Results The results were recorded by hand in a notebook as the transect's land use was observed and then a land use transect from Newton Bar to Wood Street was drawn as I have described in my method above. A simplified model was also drawn later to show the main land use zones more clearly. This model shows that there are five main zones along the transect, each being different in size and length. The zones are, coming out in order from the CBD, retail, public buildings/services and offices, education and healthcare, residential and public buildings/services. These zones reflect the types of land use there are in Wakefield. Discussion – Interpretation and Analysis of Results Zone 1 Zone one on my simplified model of land use is retail. This zone is in the middle of the CBD, starts at Cross Street and ends at the end of Wood Street. The land use there is mostly for shops and small public services or businesses. There are cafes, hairdressers, estate agents and lots of other small shops. These types of businesses are in the CBD because it is a typical type of zone to find in the middle of the city and because of accessibility. The businesses within this zone need to be in the CBD because their customers need to be able to get to them easily and if they are in the CBD there are lots of easy ways for them to do this – for example public transport and nearby car parking. It is good for these land uses to be in the CBD because it is the most accessible place to be situated for customers and they receive a lot of deals with passers-by who happen to go into their shop/business/public service or else inform other people about it. However, as the land prices are usually high in the CBD, only successful businesses are able to afford it. In Wood Street most of the buildings are old terraced houses which could also be a reason as to why these businesses are situated there, because lots of the buildings in Wood Street had flats or offices on the second story of their building and so would want buildings with more than one story. This type of zone would also be found in other cities, as it is a typical zone of a CBD. Zone 2 Zone two of the model consists of public buildings/services and offices. This zone begins at Bell Street and ends at Chancery Lane and included in this zone there are buildings such as the County Hall, the Crown court, the Town Hall, Wakefield Museum and the Police Station and offices. These buildings are where they are because they couldn't be in the CBD as they would not have been able to afford the land prices but they still needed to be near it so that they are accessible for visitors and workers. They are also on the major road to Leeds so they have good transport links. Another reason for these buildings being there could be so that the council could keep all its buildings together and so that everyone would be able to find the council buildings easily, without having to travel all over Wakefield to find the one they wanted. The buildings which are in this zone are all old, the County Hall was built in 1898 and many of the buildings have pillars outside the building which implies that they were built quite a long time ago. However, if the people who work in these places have to pay for the upkeep of the buildings, then this could be why they are not situated in the middle of the CBD – they do not have enough money to purchase land in the city centre. This type of zone could be found elsewhere in Wakefield because only one transect was investigated, which means there would be other transects possible to investigate on the other side of the CBD which implies that there could be other places in Wakefield with similar land use patterns. Zone 3 Zone three from the model is education and healthcare and in this zone there is Wakefield College, Wakefield Girls' High School, Clayton Hospital and an 1871 dentist. This zone also includes Wakefield Art Galley and the Christian Science Building. This zone stretches form Bell Street to North Road and is in the place it is because it, again, needs to be accessible, this time for students and workers, and because the land uses in it will not have been able to afford the high land prices of the CBD. Even if this zone could have been situated in the CBD, it would not have been because hospitals and schools need space to expand their premises and if they were in the CBD there would be no space to do this. Also, hospitals and schools need to have lots of space for car parking for workers and/or students and there would be no space for this in the CBD. The hospital and school also need good transport links in order for its workers/students to get there each morning which is another reason for why they are in this zone, it is on a major road which leads to the large city of Leeds. This zone could be found in other major cities such as Leeds, but not elsewhere in Wakefield. Zone 4 Zone four begins at the Leeds Road and stretches till North Road. In zone four the land use is mainly residential, but there are also places of religion and education such as St. John's Church, built in 1791, and St. John's Primary School, built in 1964. The housing in zone four is very varied, because there are areas of terraced houses from the 1920s-30s such as Snow Hill View, the 1960s-70s as in the houses between Andrew Street and St. John's Avenue and Georgian terraced housing in St. John's Square which is a protected heritage site. These buildings are where they are because they could not be in the CBD as it is far too expensive but they still needed to be easily accessible from the city centre. St. John's Square will have been built for wealthy people to live near the Church as the Church would have been the centre of the community in those times. St. John's C of E School, which was originally on Kilby Street (named after the Reverend Thomas Kilby), was rebuilt nearby as it is a Church school. The houses from the 1960s-70s were built on waste land which would have been cheap at the time but still had good transport links with the city centre, Church and local schools. This zone could not be found elsewhere in Wakefield but a similar area might be found in other cities. Zone 5 Zone five is between the Leeds Road and Newton Bar and it consists of mainly public buildings/services, although there are some terraced houses and quite a lot of open space. Included in this zone are ‘The Green', a council construction site, the Development Department, and the Vine Tree public house. These buildings are where they are because they could definitely not have been in the CBD, as they require a lot of land and room for expansion which would not be available in the city centre. However, even if there was suitable land available for these land uses in the CBD, it would have been too expensive for the businesses to afford and so they would have been forced to build further away from the centre anyway. As many of the workers in these buildings would come to work by car, these buildings also require space for car parks and good transport links, both of which they have. This zone would probably not be found anywhere else in Wakefield but it is very likely that other cities have parallel zones. Conclusion I found that, in Wakefield, there are five main land use zones and that as one goes further away from the city, the amount of housing increases. There is also more open space further away from the CBD which is not surprising as most businesses want to be in the city centre so their customers can have easy access and so that they get trade with people who happen to pass by. I also found that there seemed to be a greater concentration of shops and offices in the CBD but that there were also quite a lot of public buildings/services as well. There were no residential areas in the CBD which suggests that people prefer to live outside the city centre and go in each morning for work. I think that Wakefield's land use zones are quite similar to the Sector Model of land use so this suggests that Wakefield is a typical city. Evaluation I did this investigation to find out if there are obvious land zones along a transect from the edge of Wakefield to the CBD and I found that there were. Overall I think that the investigation went well but that it could have been better if I had not had to go out to study the transect on two different days. If I was to do this investigation again, I would investigate the transect once, in one session, and then I would go out at another time to record the landuse again. This would make my results more accurate because if I did the investigation twice, I would be able to match up the landuse on each set of my results and make sure I had not missed anything out the first time.

Family Belief Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Family Belief Systems - Essay Example They also remind them the meaning behind the adversities they face thus making it easy for them to face the difficulties as a family. Additionally, rules that families comply with create and encourage a sense of unity within the family unit. The laws dictate the family beliefs and family members are expected to follow. Parents dictate various concepts to children which consequently the children follow to be true. Family laws are not necessary developed and encouraged by the authorities but rater by the leaders in a family. Loyalty in the family is also encouraged based on the fact that it promotes and provides the family with a positive outlook. Family members use verbal or non verbal communication to explain the right or wrong choices made by other family members. Resilience is inhibited in case one family member goes against what is expected of them. It is therefore mandatory to encourage family

The Robot-Reply and the Definition of Being Human Essay

The Robot-Reply and the Definition of Being Human - Essay Example In perception, movement, and through the imitation of human action, one might begin to believe they are seeing a sentience, but true sentience requires something more. Searle explores the idea through an examination of causality, that a being must be able to create causality for its choices through the framework of intention. In an examination of the concept of intention as it relates to the creation of sentience, the exploration of the idea of AI becomes as much a philosophical discussion as one of science. In order to discuss the concept of artificial intelligence, one must first discuss the idea of sentience. Sentience means that the thoughts of a being are directed by intention and not dictated through programmed parameters within which the thoughts have been constructed. Claudia Dreifus discussed the emergence of social robots in the M.I.T. God and Computers project with Anne Foerst, the theological advisor for the project. The need for a theological advisor comes from a need to create a discourse on the meaning of the human experience as it is being translated through a computer generated reflection of human behavior. In the case of the M.I.T. project, the idea of embodiment goes a long way in defining the ‘intrinsic value’ of the robot, the premise being that this means that the robot deserves the respect of its reflection of humanity because it has become embodied. In relationship to this embodiment, the robot, according to Foerst, will develop the right to the kind of respect afforded to humans when it can no longer be turned off. When a robot exists in a framework of independence and without the vulnerability of the switch, it becomes a being of intent. Through the socialization skills that are being applied in the project, the robots they have created have already begun to breach the veil between mechanics and life. Searle discusses the idea of creating a thinking robot by creating psychological explanations. These psychological explanat ions provide a testing environment through which psychological factors in humans can be tested. This type of A.I. requires cognitive capacities. Given the appropriate programs, a computer begins to have cognitive states. In the God and Computers project from M.I.T. the robots are given humanoid embodiment, their shape and existence in space relatable at a level that provides for social interaction. The question that one can ask in relationship to the cognitive states that computers have been given in order to create psychological frameworks is whether or not those programs gain ‘life’ status when given into the embodiment of a robotic shell. Defining the difference between the way in which the brain thinks and the robot processes is an attempt to define human life in contrast to the reactions of a machine that can formulate human like responses. In other words, it is the discussion of what is human and what is human-like. The interesting thing that can be noted is that audiences and readers of Shelley’s work rarely consider that the creation made by Dr. Frankenstein is significantly distinguishable from human life. The body of the creation is human as it is constructed from human parts, and while the brain is human it is

United States History up to 1877 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

United States History up to 1877 - Essay Example Correspondingly, young girls were the chief accusers involved in demonstrating against various people for numerous offenses comprising practice of witchcraft. The leaders in the community promptly reacted to these accusation. As a consequence, many people were killed while certain other people were jailed which forced these people to acquire debt for jail charges. Eventually, as a consequence of this incident there was a loss of land along with hampering dignity of people as well as loss of lives (Linder 1-7). The incident of witch hunt in Salem is ascertained to have happened due to various reasons and was widely prejudiced by the dread of the devil and the generally accepted belief that the devil would allocate witches with power to hurt people as a reward of their faithfulness. Salem was established by puritans during 1628. This era also reflected the establishment of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Under the regime of King Charles I, the puritans were granted with a royal approval to colonize the area. However, Charles II revoked this charter in 1684 responding to the violation of charter rules by the colonists. These violations were mainly executed against the laws related with beliefs, religion and discrimination against Anglicans. These factors mainly represented the governmental causes behind the upheaval of the Salem witch trials. It can be argued that there were many other social and cultural factors that had significantly contributed towards the occurrence of Salem witch trials. In this regard, gender issue can be ascertained to be one of the major constituents related with the occurrence of Salem witch trials. Responsively, many scholars propounded that a majority of the victims who were accused and executed for practicing witchcraft were women. It has been further determined that the victims involving women were the ones who were perceived as â€Å"not fit into the typical Puritan framework of a good and obedient wife†

Purchasing and Supply Chain Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Purchasing and Supply Chain Management - Essay Example Austin Wood Products (AWP) is a successful company located at Austin Texas and specializes in manufacturing custom made wooden doors. Its current turnover is $ 25 million per annum. Maximum sales take place during February to November but the productivity is hampered by unregulated inventory system. Sadly, until the inventory is physically checked at the warehouse, production is not certain of its availability. In half the cases the material required is unavailable and has to be ordered. This effects both production and delivery. The company expects an increase in turnover by 20% in the coming year but with such erratic and uncontrolled inventory management, the production manager is apprehensive of meeting schedules and is worried about loosing customers. It is an established fact that the Just-in-Time (JIT) based System is the answer to manufacturing operations. JIT has lead to the development of what is known as Lean Manufacturing. It offers scope for reducing inventories and introducing ways and means to improve productivity by planning optimal use of resources. Today manufacturing faces new challenges and has been offered a variety of solutions to manage these. Most prominent among them are the Material Planning Method (MRP) and Flexible Manufacturing System (FMS) adopted by many leading solution providers like SAP. But the Theory of Constraints (TOC) is the culmination of the above and a better answer to industry needs. MRP uses fixed lead times to calculate the Bill of Material, often resulting in surplus stock of raw materials. It does not take into consideration materials available in hand. In other words the Purchase Process is built around orders in hand. There is little or no Production Planning and Production just follows availability of raw materials to plan its own executions. The focus is on orders in hand and essentially MRP plays safe ensuring that raw material is always available to Production. But this is both wasteful and ties up huge

Research Method Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Research Method - Dissertation Example How strong can this sense of community be? 4. What kinds of cultural identity have been formed in this virtual community? Research Method Ethnographic interview.Analysis of the interviews occurred in four stages. In the first stage, the transcripts are analyzed for concepts and themes. The comments and themes are in the transcript margins. This is the first stage. In the second stage, there was an analysis of expert files, which refers to pertinent experts which are from each interview related to each theme, and this refined the themes. These expert files, which are thematically related, were refined further. The theoretical framework of the study is linked to the thee in the fourth stage In the interviews, the interviewee explains his or her version of reality, while constructing this reality. In this way, the interviews are a kind of â€Å"interpersonal drama.† The researcher must stand back, and not direct the interview, because to insert oneself into the interview would in sert the researcher’s agenda into the issue, and the researcher might interpret the themes accordingly. There are alternate interpretations of the interview responses, and the interview should proceed in a manner which encourages this. Because respondents should answer in a way that develops his or her own perspective, the interviews should be unstructured. Nonetheless, the interviews are semi-structured, because this study has an exploratory nature. To develop the research interests of the study, open-ended questions were asked. These open-ended questions were not a strict questionnaire, however. Rather, they were simply used to tease out the key topics, and served as a reminder not to miss these topics. In the beginning of the interviews, the interviewees were given a general idea of what the focus would be. That said, the interviewees were encouraged to direct the conversation’s flow, and I would intervene only when I wanted to more about the issue. The only other t ime that I intervened was when the topic of conversation had gotten too far off of the focus of the interview. The questions were open-ended as much as possible. As the interview reached its’ close, I double-checked the question list to make sure that there was nothing important missing from the interview, and, if this was the case, I probed the interviewee further. Throughout my data collection period, I constantly added new questions to incorporate issues brought up in previous interviews. Recruitment of respondents.Ten people were recruited from the users of internet. I did not attempt to cover all ethnic groups, whichis beyond the scope of the project. Instead, I chose a particular group of people as the target of my study. To achieve the best results, they met the following two requirements: 1. They still maintain their distinctive cultural identities as ethnic people, surrounded in the sea of host countries’ mainstream culture. 2. They are not much affected by th e traditional community ethnic media, yet they are actively using the new media. That way, the influence of the computer media can be best measured. Specifically, Each participant recruited were an expert practitioner of his/her mass mediated world, knowledgeable in the most detailed and intimate ways of how it shapes their identities, which provides entry points to their complex culture condition of living on ‘borderlands’ and to their ongoing process of identity negotiation.

Microeconomics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 7

Microeconomics - Essay Example For instance, firms in the agricultural sector experience perfect competition. A firm that deals with supplying eggs may make a complete loss due to lack of good production. This does not make the firm go out of production but experience a loss (Francis 56). Firms that experience perfect competition often look at their competitors as a very small competitor in comparison to the total market. Though each company produces the same products, the aim is to provide a marketing edge to attain the customers (Krama, Bartram and Cieri 45). The problem comes as the products and services provided are of the same quantity and quality. By providing a competitive edge, companies are able to attract and maintain customers. A firm can go into a loss if it offers no competitive edge such as customer care service, after sale services, poor communication and in adequate advertising (Kern 78). Proper customer care services acts as a major consumer attraction. Firms under the same business line may suffer a loss but remain in business due to poor customer care services. Customers will prefer to access the same products or services from a different firm. The firm that does not offer proper customer care services ends up making sales only if the other firms are closed or their products supply is low. After sale services is another reason why firms can continue to make losses in a perfect competitive market. Firms may be offering the same products but others gain a competitive advantage by providing their customers with after sale services. A firm providing customers with eggs may offer an after sale service of providing free delivery of the products to the clients (Jain and Haley 98). Communication to the customers comes as an important aspect of ensuring competitive advantage. A firm in a perfect competition market should ensure to communicate properly to the clients before pushing for sales. Signs of the location of the business have to be communicated to the

Quality of Living Analysis for Greenpoint, Brooklyn Essay Example for Free

Quality of Living Analysis for Greenpoint, Brooklyn Essay Greenpoint Greenpoint, Brooklyn is a culturally vibrant neighborhood full of a wide range of retail shops, restaurants, bars venues, banks, and other services. It is largely occupied by people of Polish descent (43. 6% according to the 2000 Census) and of Hispanic descent (19. 2%. ) The median income is $33,578, significantly lower than the corresponding national average of $41,994. Even with the median income in Greenpoint being almost $10,000 less than the national average, it has many of the same difficult characteristics shared by most New York City neighborhoods namely igher-than-average housing prices, overcrowded schools, higher utility prices, high local taxes, and lack of high paying Jobs- all of which create a much higher total cost of living than most cities in the United States. A very low proportion of Greenpoint residents own their homes. According to the 2000 census, only 19. 2% of residents owned the homes they were living in, versus the 66. % national average. Rent prices have also consistently been on the rise, despite a few significant hiccups since the November 2008 financial crisis. It could be a great advantage to local residents if a rogram was set up providing local tax breaks for first time home owners in Greenpoint. Also, if the budget would allow, the City could match the Federal governments pledge of $8000 in assistance for first time homebuyers. With $16,000 in assistance, and lowered taxes, many Greenpoint residents who otherwise would not be able to purchase a home might be able to afford that option. A lower percentage of Greenpoint residents graduate high school than the national average (70. 4% vs. 80. 4%), which is also true for those with Bachelors degrees (21. 2% vs. 24. 4%). This lack of higher education hinders peoples likelihood of getting high aying Jobs, and in turn, makes it harder for them to move out of poverty into the middle class. A no-cost GED training center should be set up on Greenpoint Avenue to assist high school dropouts (of any age) in getting a diploma. Similarly, a Greenpoint GED College fund should be set up, to provide full CUNY scholarships for the top 10% of the graduates of these GED programs. This not only would incline many people to seek their own education who otherwise wouldnt, but it would also prevent many of the best students from slipping through the cracks, and ensure that more Greenpoint kids got a chance to go to college. A hot button issue for Greenpoint (and Brookyn as a whole) is land-use and development. In 2005, the City Council passed a plan for the re-zoning and development of much of the Greenpoint and Williamsburg waterfront, as well a large block of the upland area. The plan is known as the Greenpoint-Williamsburg Land Use and Waterfront Plan. The plan focuses on changing zoning regulations along the northern Brooklyn waterfront and some of the upland areas, mostly to allow for large residential buildings to be built. Many residents of the community were worried about the waterfront development uildings being built very high, and pushed for regulations limiting the number of condominium ; rental developments being geared only toward those with high incomes, and not toward those with average Greenpoint ; Williamsburg incomes (Williamsburg has an even lower median income than Greenpoint, $23,567. An attempt was made to strike a compromise between the community and the development groups, to solve both of these problems in one fell swoop. The compromise that was eventually passed is called the Greenpoint-Williamsburg Inclusionary Housing Program, which attempts to address concerns about both uilding height and low-income housing. The program stipulates that any development that includes a certain amount of affordable housing is eligible for a floor area bonus, meaning they are allowed to build higher than the base restriction. There are 2 waterfront zones designated, R6 and R8; in R6 the base floor area restriction is up to 23 stories, in R8 it is 33 stories. With 20-25% of space within the development designated for affordable housing, this restriction can be raised 4. 7% to 30 stories and 40 stories respectively. While in theory this idea sounds promising, in practice it will not accomplish the goals it claims to. First of all, if a new development chooses not to go past the floor area restrictions, then there is no requirement that they provide any affordable housing. This leaves little incentive for developers to spend the extra money to build higher, and choose to include the low- income housing, as they only gain 4. 6% in floor area bonus, but have to designate over 20% of the total space of affordable housing. It ends up only inclining them against building past the base floor area restrictions (which many residents believe are already far too lax, allowing for unnecessarily tall buildings that block other uildings views, and obstruct sunlight for large areas of the upland waterfront. I believe the plan should be changed to require that any and all new developments include at least 10% affordable housing to begin with. In addition to the affordable housing problem, the Greenpoint-Williamsburg Land Use and Waterfront Plan does not include any provisions for building new schools in the neighborhood. A new high school in Greenpoint is sorely needed, as most high school age students who cannot attend the Automotive Technical School, which is the o nly public high school in Greenpoint, end up attending schools in Ridgewood, Queens and Williamsburg. The plan also has no provisions for public daycare centers, tutoring or after-school programs, or improved transportation routes from the northwestern waterfront area (which is very difficult to commute from). It would be prudent to adjust the plan to require at least some of these programs to be set up in the area, at the shared cost of the developers and the City. It is important to use contractors and building companies from the local area when building new developments in Greenpoint. Too often, contracts for restoration projects, and new developments end up going to companies not from Brooklyn. For instance the old Greenpoint Hospital, which has been gathering dust since 1982, is going to be converted in 240 units of affordable housing, but the contract for this conversion went to TNS Development Group, based in Queens. Two other contracts, from local Greenpoint community groups, were both rejected. A perfect sector to create high paying Jobs in the local community is in skilled construction and building, it seems only right to award the slew of evelopment contracts that are available in the area to local contractors and edited to require that 50% of all building contracts from now on go to companies located in the 11222 area code. Shortly before her death, Jane Jacobs summed up the problems with the waterfront development plans in a letter to Mayor Michael Bloomberg: The communitys plan does not cheat the future by neglecting to provide provisions for schools, daycare, recreational outdoor sports, and pleasant facilities for those things. The communitys plan does not promote new housing at the expense of both xisting housing and imaginative and economical new shelter that residents can afford. The communitys plan does not violate the existing scale of the community, nor does it insult the visual and economic advantages of neighborhoods that are precisely of the kind that demonstrably attract artists and other live-work craftsmen [but] the proposal put before you by city staff is an ambush containing all those destructive consequences. The roadblocks in the way of changing some of these plans would be great, and in order to make it possible, it would require a tremendous amount of public outcry and rassroots organization, in order to influence some major change of character in the highest levels of local power. If Mayor Bloomberg could be convinced to live up to his many campaign promises of building more public schools (and not Just charter schools), and more affordable housing, then maybe Greenpoint could get the funds and zoning changes needed to build a new High School and provide good housing for its largest demographic, the lower class. In order to fund some of these projects, taxes could be raised on all waterfront property that is not designated to low income ousing- which might provide some more incentive for developers to build more affordable housing in the area, and if it not, it might at least add some tax revenue that could help fund a new local high school. A plan that properly addresses all the issues in a neighborhood like Greenpoint would have to be much more expansive and detailed, and would surely encounter a lot of resistance from some local politicians and big development companies, but some of the ideas presented in this paper could have far-reaching positive consequences if they could gain enough public support, and be implemented.

Mongol Yoke Impact on Russias Development

Mongol Yoke Impact on Russias Development The principalities of Russia had a long history of clashes between those on the Russian frontier and nomadic peoples. The existing equilibrium of attacks between the principalities and the nomads was disturbed altered by the emergence of the Mongol empire. The Mongols unified the large groups of nomads creating a large united force and empire that stretched across Asia, to the loose border of the Kievan Rus. By 1237 Batu Khan, ruler of the Mongols, turned his sights to the Rus and launched the Storm of the Mongols. In only three years Kiev had been captured and destroyed and the Russian lands conquered. Rather than subjugate the Russian principalities the Mongols implemented a system of suzerainty in which the Russian princes would pay tribute[1], and Russia would act as a vassal state. The rein of the Mongols over Russia for almost two centauries had some positive impact on Russias development and has had a lasting influence on Russian culture and identity. With the freshly conquered Russia under their control, the Mongols needed to implement the administrative system for collecting the tribute that they demanded from the Russian people. The Mongols decided on using the existing system of principalities to require that each prince collect the taxation from the land which they controlled. Princes were incentivised to cooperate with their Mongol occupants as those that did were given greater powers and control to reign over their principalities. The Mongols pursued a policy of divide and concur, as due to the competition for Mongol favour the Kievan Rus disintegrated further as principalities communicated less. The competition and struggle for power was particularly great between the principalities of Moscow and Tver as both competed to become the most influential Russian principality and for the yarlyk. In the 13th century the Principality of Tver was less dependent on the Golden Horde, and as a result its people grew frustrated at the t axation and subjection and started to rise in rebellion in 1327. Prince Ivan I of Moscow saw this as an opportunity to gain further favour of the Mongol rulers and to defeat Tver, taking his Muscovite forces to quash and put down the rebellion, restoring order. In reward for his loyalty the Khan bestowed to Prince Ivan I the yarlyk, and to Moscow the sole responsibility for tax collection across the lands[2]. This decision has a dramatic impact on the balance of power in Russia and its development that is evident still today. Due to its role as main tax collector Moscow grew ever wealthier, which was aided by the screwed and skilled ruling of the Muscovite Princes. With their increasing wealth the Moscow began a process of gathering of the Russian lands in which it bought up and subjected other principalities allowing them more access to resources taxes and consequently more power. This progression continues and by the 15th century the Moscows power has expanded to most principaliti es being under Muscovite control. Therefore the Mongol decision to grant the yarlyk to the Muscovite Prince Ivan I had a great impact on the development of Russia as it led to the unification and consolidation of its lands under the rule of Moscow. No longer was Russia to be ruled be divided and competing Princes and their principalities. This was to be highly beneficial to Russias development as the principalities led to a state of constant turmoil as Princes warred with one another, which is highly costly in resources and manpower, hindering development. The consolidation of power under Moscow created the relative stability needed for Russia to develop and flourish. Additionally the impact of favouring Moscow has been incredibly long lasting as Moscow is still the capital and largest city in Russia today. The Mongols had a significant impact on the forming of the administrative structure that developed in Muscovy. This was not as a result of the Mongols imposing these systems upon the Russian rulers, but rather the Muscovite princes deliberate attempt to adopt and modify the Mongol administrative structure as a model for their own[3]. The Muscovite princes gained a first-hand understanding of these political and administrative structures during their numerous visits to the Khan, as well as many of their sons being kept within the Mongol Empire to ensure the cooperation of the ruling princes. These institutional reforms were to be highly beneficial to Russias development, as the number of principalities that fell under Muscovite control increased so did the need for administration of these territories. Muscovys princes turned to the Mongol legacy for inspiration as it was necessary to implement a full scale administrative bureaucracy as they needed a system to govern over their growing lands and to maintain control over their acquired principalities[4]. The princes naturally adopted and modified institutions that they had seen work well for the Mongols and applied it to their lands. Perhaps most important of the institutions was the system of daruaga, the territorial subdivision of Russia and the greater Mongol Empire. The governing of these territories was the responsibility of the darughachi who were the main administrators, and primarily the tax collectors. This system was developed and implemented by Ivan Kalita and future princes as the structure of tax collection and control in their territories. Consequently the Mongols had a significant impact on Russias development as the daruaga was a Mongol invention, and the wealth amassed by Muscovy through taxation was vital for its expansion and consolidation of Russian lands. However the Mongol influence in the development of taxation should not be overstated. The Mongols did not need to make major changes or alte rations to the existing Rus institutions as the surviving principalities already contained their own hierarchical structures and tributary networks[5]. Nevertheless, it was the levying of tributes upon Russia by the Mongols which led to these systems being formalised and strengthened by adopting Mongol institutions that resulted in the daruaga. The Mongol influence and impact on finance and trade in Russia has been lasting and is evident still today as the Russian word for money, dengi originates from the Tatar word denga as the first paper money to appear in Russia was issued under Mongol rule. Additionally many words concerning trade and banking are of Mongol origin including tamozhnya (customs), kazna (treasury), tovar (good or merchandise)[6]. To enable taxation to be efficient and as effective as possible the Mongols gave great priority to census tabulation and had performed the first census of the Rus by 1257, just 17 years after its conquest. Census recording was conducted by the darugi and served to ensure that taxes were being paid by all and of the purpose of conscription. Moscow continued this practice of collecting census data for centuries after the fall of the Mongol Empire. Russia was one of the earliest adopters of census tabulation as it would not become prevalent in Europe until the early 19th century, and not to the level of thoroughness and detail achieved in Russia. The impact of the Mongol rule on the development of Russia is apparent and extensive as it helped the Russian princes to create a strong and central government needed to govern a vast and populous territory, and later empire. In addition to aiding the expansion of Muscovy, the Mongols brought with them the institutions needed to maintain a growing territory. The Mongols had much experience ruling great sprawling empires, and had developed the institutions needed to rule vast land masses. One of these important development was the yam. The yam was a system of posts which was developed to provide to messengers and leaders; food, bedding and horses[7]. Each post ensured riders with rested horses and a place to retire exhausted horses, allowing riders to travel faster and further. The local people were responsible for the sustaining of these posts and caring for the horses. The yam enabled the Mongols to communicate quickly between the Khan and local leaders as a form of a fast postal service, but also dispatch elites between the various cities and principalities across the large Mongol Empire. The system was fast and efficient with a Hapsburg emissary reporting that the yam had allowed him to travel 500 kilo metres in only three days, much faster than anywhere else in Europe[8]. The yam system was important to the Mongols being able to maintain a tight control over its empire, and its usefulness was noticed by the Muscovite princes. Towards the end of Mongol control over Russia, Prince Ivan III continued to use the Mongol invention as the established method of communication as it gave to the price all the same benefits it did to the Mongols. By adopting the yam Muscovy had greater control over its citizens and was able to operate more effectively. The Mongols therefore had some impact on the development of Russia as whilst the yam does differ to the contemporary postal system we have today, it continued to be operated by Russian princes long after the Mongol Khans lost their control of the region and remained largely unchanged until the early 18th century. Whilst the Mongols Yoke did bring some positive aspects to Russia, much of the impact of the Mongols was negative and detrimental to Russias development. During the invasion of the Rus by the Mongol armies looted and razed cities and slaughtered the people, devastating whole regions. It is believed that around half the population of the Kievan Rus died during the Mongol invasion[9] which has given the Mongol Empire and its rule over Russia a reputation of brutality. This sense of Mongol brutality and Russian victimhood has had a lasting impact on Russian national identity and Russian culture. As a consequence the Mongols were blamed for the destruction of the Kievan Rus and from this was born the idea of oriental despotism and an unwillingness to attribute improvements to the Mongol Yoke. However it seems that whilst the initial invasion by the Mongols was certainly bloody and destructive, they were no solely responsible for the turmoil, rather warring principalities continued to bat tle one another in quasi civil wars. Additionally, Russian chronicles have very limited records of the rule of the Mongols following their assault and their immediate consequences. Whilst it is possible that a sense of national pride resulted in the monks responsible for chronicling the events choosing to omit the Mongols from their records out of shame of being dominated by a foreign and non-Christian force, it is also possible that the Mongol Yoke simply did not have that great of an impact on normal Russians. As the Mongols utilised some of the existing hierarchical power systems their control over the Rus was indirect and therefore less noticeable. Furthermore the violence between Russian principalities was more noticeable and striking at the time, allowing for the impact of the Yoke to be ignored. This suggests that whilst the initial invasion of the Rus certainly had a negative impact on Russias development as it resulted in the deaths of so many, but also the destruction of c ities such as Kiev that would take centauries to recover. Additionally the tribute in the form of taxes placed on the people would have been a burden on the Russian people, particularly for the peasantry and serfs[10], but they were not a new phenomenon for the Russian people as they would have been expected to pay tribute to their prince before the Mongol invasion. Therefore the negative impact that the Mongols had on Russias development has likely been exaggerated as beyond the immediate invasion the Mongols avoided creating significant changes to the ruling of Russia and adapted existing structures. In conclusion, beyond the initial devastation that the Mongols inflicted upon Russia it would seem that overall the Mongol Yoke had a moderately positive impact in the development of Russia. By giving favour to the Muscovite princes and granting them the role of tax collectors enabled the principality to flourish and grow. The unifying and gathering of the Russian lands that was possible with this wealth has had an enormous impact on Russias development as it allowed for the creation of a strong centralised government that still exists as the capital today. Furthermore the creation of the yam system had a positive impact on Russias development, as the Russian princes continued to utilise the Mongol invention long after their Empire collapsed as they benefited from fast communication. Overall the impact of the Mongol Yoke is only moderate as some of the institutions credited to their rule although certainly beneficial, were improvements upon existing Rus systems, such as the use of ce nsus tabulation to improve taxation. Additionally if their impact was more significant it would be expected for there to be greater mention of the Mongol Yoke within Russian documents of the time. Bibliography Dmytryshyn, Basil. A History of Russia. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1977 Goldfrank, David M. Muscovy and the Mongols: Whats What and Whats Maybe. Kritika: Explorations in Russian and Eurasian History 1.2 (2008): 259-266. Halperin, Charles J. Russia and the golden horde: the Mongol impact on medieval Russian history. Vol. 445. Indiana University Press, 1987 Hosking, Geoffrey. Russia and the Russians: A History. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2001 Hosseini, Dustin. The Effects of the Mongol Empire on Russia, Vestnik: The Journal of Russian and Asian Studie 2005. Ostrowski, Donald. Muscovy and the Mongols: cross-cultural influences on the steppe frontier, 1304-1589. Cambridge University Press, 2002. Ostrowski, Donald. The Mongol Origins of Muscovite Political Institutions. Slavic Review (1990): 525-542. Riasanovsky, Nicholas V. A History of Russia. Sixth ed. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc. 2000. The Moscow Times,. Was Tatar Yoke Really All That Bad? | News. N.p., 2015. Web. Apr. 19 2000. Vernadsky, George. A history of Russia. Vol. 5. Yale University Press, 1969. Wittfogel, Karl A. Russia and the East: A Comparison and Contrast, Slavic Review, Vol. 22, No. 4, December 1963: 627-643. [1] Ostrowski, Donald. Muscovy and the Mongols: cross-cultural influences on the steppe frontier, 1304-1589. Cambridge University Press, 2002. [2] Hosseini, Dustin. The Effects of the Mongol Empire on Russia, Vestnik: The Journal of Russian and Asian Studie 2005. [3] Ostrowski, Donald. The Mongol Origins of Muscovite Political Institutions. Slavic Review (1990): 525-542 [4]Halperin, Charles J. Russia and the golden horde: the Mongol impact on medieval Russian history. Vol. 445. Indiana University Press, 1987. [5] Goldfrank, David M. Muscovy and the Mongols: Whats What and Whats Maybe. Kritika: Explorations in Russian and Eurasian History 1.2 (2008): 259-266. [6] The Moscow Times,. Was Tatar Yoke Really All That Bad? | News. N.p., 2015. Web. Apr. 19 2000. [7] Hosking, Geoffrey. Russia and the Russians: A History. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2001 [8] Wittfogel, Karl A. Russia and the East: A Comparison and Contrast, Slavic Review, Vol. 22, No. 4, December 1963: 627-643. [9] Vernadsky, George. A history of Russia. Vol. 5. Yale University Press, 1969. [10] Stearns, Peter. Russia in Bondage, World Civilizations: The Global Experience

Environmentalism in Watership Down by Richard Adams Essay -- essays re

The small group of rabbits that left their original warren, Sandleford, to find a new home often uses their little spare time to listen to stories generally told by Dandelion. These stories are often about the Thousand Enemies and how they are a threat to the rabbits, especially El-ahrairah. Humans are presented as one of the â€Å"Thousand.† The author of the book, Richard Adams, displays man in a negative way because of this. Man is portrayed as violent, nonsensical, and abusive to the natural way of life. In the book, Watership Down, Richard Adams portrays the life and style of man in a negative way. In both their old warren and on their journey, the group of rabbits encounters urban development and the city life which relentlessly interfere with their plans. The inciting point is the cause of sub-division development ("Literature in Brief Information about Watership Down.") and humans post a notice in the field where the rabbits live that says: â€Å"THIS IDEALLY SITUATED ESTATE, COMPRISING SIX ACRES OF EXCELLENT BUILDING LAND, IS TO BE DEVELOPED WITH HIGH CLASS MODERN RESIDENCES BY SUTCH AND MARTIN, LIMITED, OR NEWBURY, BERKS† (Adams 8). This residential construction ignites Fiver’s â€Å"visions† which causes the group to leave Sandleford Warren. In a later chapter, Holly and Bluebell seek out Hazel and his group and voice their willingness to join. At the same time, Holly relays the story of what happened in their old warren, Sandleford. Men with the white sticks in their mouths and made the air turn bad to kill the rabbits. Soon after, bulldozers flattened the area, with no regard whatsoever for the well-being of the rabbits. Richard Adams could be seen as taking use of development to get his rabbits to a better place, but such vio... ... them technically part of the man. Because of their connection to man, Richard Adams exposes animals like cats and dogs, which are man’s possessions, in a distasteful way. All in all, Richard Adams has a very negative view when it comes to man: human development and their creatures. His writing really gets into the mind of a rabbit, and through these rabbits he celebrates the natural, undisturbed world in which the rabbits live ("Literature in Brief Information about Watership Down."). Whether the rabbits simply hear about humans or even encounter them, they are generally displayed in a bad way. There may be a few times when there is a caring human, or a courteous animal, but that occurs very rarely. Richard Adams, in his book Watership Down, celebrates the natural created world before humans â€Å"destroyed† it. Websites used: www.answers.com/topic/watership-down-2

My Grandmother: A Powerful Woman Essay -- Personal Narrative

My Grandmother: A Powerful Woman Stella Stefanides was born fifty-four years ago in a small village by the Greek-Bulgarian border. Her life reads like a fictional story about deprivation, loss, love and hardships. This woman, whom I am referring to happens to be my grandmother. Her life is truly inspiring because she has overcome many difficulties and continues to be the glue that holds my family together. Stella was born in the time of the civil war in Greece. Her parents had many babies but they would all die after being removed from their mothers’ womb, which was very common at the time due to the lack of medical assistance. After dealing with the death of five babies, Theano, Stella's mom, was convinced that her dreams of having children were never to be realized. Even as a baby, Stella was a fighter. She fought for her little life and won. That's where she got her name "Stiliani," which means strong in Greek. That name truly captures the essence of her. Growing up was hard. Dealing with the war, the conflicts, the poverty, Stella, just like any other child, had to work. Because she is a female, school was not a priority. Although she wanted to help her family, she insisted on going to school. Craving to learn something new, to explore the world beyond her village borders; she told her parents that she would never leave school. She was willing and able to do both. They agree d, as long as it wouldn't interfere with her work. Deep down inside, her parents were happy that they had a headstrong, smart daughter. School and work weren't easy for Stella. Adding to the picture was a new brother, Savva. Taking care of him while her parents were at the fields became her responsibility. The responsibilities of school, work, takin... ...oss and makes all the decisions. Every customer and community member knows and loves "Mamma Stella." She listens, smiles and is always ready with a kind word and a hug. She yells when you don't finish your food and is generous with goods she bakes in her kitchen. Stella is an individual who fully embodies the "American Dream." She has had to fight to get where she is and she is passionate about staying there. Her family always comes first and their problems are hers. Stella is admired by many for her love, strength and fierce determination. These qualities were given to her so that she would make a difference in people's lives. She has taken those tools in hand and successfully crafted an amazing life for herself and her family. I am honored and lucky that Grandma Stella is a part of my life. She inspires me to achieve great things. I am who I am because of her.

Young Goodman Brown - A Thematic Illustration :: essays research papers

Nathaniel Hawthorne comes from an interesting background. He was born in Salem and later returned to live there. He was a descendant of William Hathorne, a puritan judge who persecuted Quakers, and John Hathorne, a puritan magistrate who participated in the Salem witch trials. Hawthorne's kinship to these two notables of puritan history makes the story "Young Goodman Brown," all the more interesting. Hawthorne alludes to John Hathorne when he writes about Goodman Brown's "fellow traveler" commenting on Brown's grandfather, who "lashed the Quaker woman so smartly through the streets of Salem." "Young Goodman Brown" is about one man's journey through the woods with the devil and his encounters that make him doubt his faith in himself, his wife, and the community in which they reside. The theme of this story is that beyond any intangible evil, the evil that men do is ultimately the more damaging. Throughout the story Hawthorne uses setting and characters as symbols representing different aspects of good and evil and he uses the plot to develop the eventual win-over of evil over "Goodman" Brown's "Faith." Not surprisingly "Young Goodman Brown" takes place in Salem during the puritan era. The story begins with Goodman Brown departing from his wife in the village to meet with and take a stroll in the forest with a "fellow-traveler" the devil. The contrast between the forest and the town is symbolic. On the outside, it seems like a normal, religious puritan village, but when one goes in deep, one sees there is a center of darkness. The deep, dark forest in the puritan town represents the internal evil of the villagers. The forest is viewed as mysterious, unknown and inhabited by the devil, while the town is pleasant safe and where his wife, "Faith," is. During Goodman Brown's walk through the "dark forest," he sees and learns that many of his mentors and relatives have chosen the path of evil. The forest is where all the respectable people of the town go to vent their evil while outside of the forest, they seem like they are pure and good. Hawthorne adds to the symbolism by personifying the trees "which barely stood aside to let the narrow path creep through" as Brown "walks alongside a dreary road." Hawthorne uses the characters of the story also to represent good and evil. The names of the main character and his wife are ironic. Faith, in the literal context of the story, is Goodman Brown's wife.

The Stupidest Angel Chapter 6

Chapter 6 BE OF GOOD CHEER; THEY MIGHT HAVE PUT A TREE UP YOUR BUM The Archangel Raziel found, after some consideration, that he did not care for being run over by a Swedish automobile. As far as things  «dirtside » went, he liked Snickers bars, barbecued pork ribs, and pinochle; he also enjoyed Spider-Man, Days of Our Lives, and Star Wars (although the concept of fictional film eluded the angel and he thought they were all documentaries); and you just couldn't beat raining fire on the Egyptians or smiting the bejeezus out of some Philistines with lightning bolts (Raziel was good with weather), but overall, he could do without missions to Earth, humans and their machines in general, and (now) Volvo station wagons in particular. His broken bones had knit nicely and the deep gouges in his skin were filling in even as he came upon the chapel, but all things considered, he could go a very long time not being run over by a Volvo again and feel just dandy about it. He brushed at the all-weather radial tire print that ran up the front of his black duster and across his angelic face. Licking his lips, he tasted vulcanized rubber, thinking that it wouldn't be bad with hot sauce or perhaps chocolate sprinkles. (There is little variety of flavors in heaven, and an abundance of bland white cake has been served to the heavenly host over the eons, so Raziel had fallen in the habit of tasting things while dirtside, just for the contrast. Once, in the third century B.C., he had consumed the better part of a bucket of camel urine before his friend the Archangel Zoe slapped it out of his hand and informed him that it was, despite the piquant bouquet, nasty.) This wasn't his first Nativity mission. No, in fact, he had been given the assignment of the very first Nativity mission, and due to having stopped on the way to play some pinochle, he'd shown up ten years late, announcing to the prepubescent Son himself that he â€Å"would find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.† Embarrassing? Well, yes. And now, some two thousand years later, he was on another Nativity mission, and he was sure now that he'd found the child, that this one was going to go much more smoothly (for one thing, there were no shepherds to frighten – he'd felt bad about that back then). No, come Christmas Eve the mission would be accomplished, he'd grab a plate of ribs and head back to heaven lickety-split. But first he needed to find the site for the miracle. There were two sheriff's cruisers and an ambulance outside the Barker house when Theo arrived. â€Å"Crowe, where the hell have you been?† the sheriff's deputy was yelling before Theo was even out of the Volvo. The deputy was the second-shift commander; Joe Metz was his name. He had a linebacker frame that he augmented with weight lifting and marathon beer drinking. Theo had encountered him a dozen times in as many years. Their relationship had gone from a mild disregard to an open disrespect – which was pretty much Theo's relationship with everyone in the San Junipero County Sheriff's Department. â€Å"I saw the suspect and made pursuit. I lost him in the woods about a mile east of here.† Theo decided he wasn't going to mention what he'd actually seen. His credibility was thin enough with the sheriff's department. â€Å"Why didn't you call it in? We should have units all over the area.† â€Å"I did. You do.† â€Å"I didn't hear the call go in.† â€Å"I called it in on my cell. My radio's broken.† â€Å"Why don't I know about it?† Theo raised his eyebrows as if to say, Perhaps because you're a big no-necked dumb-ass. At least that's what he hoped the gesture said. Metz looked at the radio on his belt, then turned to disguise his action as he turned a switch. Immediately the voice of the dispatcher came on, calling out for the shift commander. Metz keyed the mike clipped to the epaulet of his uniform shirt and identified himself. Theo stood by, trying not to smile as the dispatcher reported the entire situation again. Theo wasn't worried about the two units that were headed to the woods up by the chapel. He was sure they weren't going to find anyone. Whoever the guy in black was, he had a way of disappearing, and Theo didn't even want to think of the means by which he did it. Theo had gone back to the chapel, where he'd caught a glimpse of the blond man moving through the woods before he was gone again. Theo had called home to make sure that Molly was okay. She was. â€Å"Can I talk to the kid?† Theo asked. â€Å"When the EMTs are done looking at him,† Metz said. â€Å"The mother's on the way. She was out to dinner with the boyfriend in San Junipero. Kid seems okay, just real shaken up, some bruises on his arms where the suspect picked him up, but no other injuries I could see. Kid couldn't say what the guy wanted. There's no property missing.† â€Å"You get a description?† â€Å"The kid keeps giving us names of characters from video games for comparison. What do we know from ‘Mung-fu, the Vanquished'? You get a good look at him?† â€Å"Yeah,† Theo said, forcing a lump out of his throat, â€Å"I'd say Mung-fu is pretty accurate.† â€Å"Don't fuck with me, Crowe.† â€Å"Caucasian, long blond hair, blue eyes, clean-shaven, six foot two, one-eighty, wearing a black duster that goes to the ground. I didn't see his shoes. Dispatch has it all.† Theo kept thinking of the deep gouges in the blond guy's cheeks. He had started to think of him as the â€Å"ghost-bot.† Video games – right. Metz nodded. â€Å"Dispatch says he's on foot. How'd you lose him?† â€Å"The woods are thick up there.† Metz was looking at Theo's belt. â€Å"Where's your weapon, Crowe?† â€Å"I left it in the car. Didn't want to scare the kid.† Without a word, Metz stepped over to Theo's Volvo and opened the passenger-side door. â€Å"Where?† â€Å"Pardon?† â€Å"Where in your unlocked car is your weapon?† Theo felt the last of his energy flow out of him. He just wasn't good at confrontation. â€Å"It's at my house.† Metz smiled now like the bartender had just announced pitchers all around, on the house. â€Å"You know, you might be the perfect guy to go after this suspect, Theo.† Theo hated it when the sheriffs called him by his first name. â€Å"Why's that, Joseph?† â€Å"The kid said he thought the guy might be retarded.† â€Å"I don't get it,† Theo said, trying not to grin. Metz walked away shaking his head. He climbed into his cruiser, then as he was backing past Theo, the passenger window whirred down. â€Å"Write up a report, Crowe. And we need to get a description of this guy to the local schools.† â€Å"It's Christmas break.† â€Å"Dammit, Crowe, they'll be going back to school sometime, won't they?† â€Å"So you don't think your guys will catch him, then?† Without another word Metz whirred up the window and whipped the cruiser out of the driveway as if he'd just received an urgent call. Theo smiled as he walked up to the house. Despite the excitement and terror and outright weirdness of evening, he suddenly felt good. Molly was safe, the kid was safe, the Christmas tree was up at the chapel, and there was just no rush that compared to safely and successfully fucking with a pompous cop. He paused on the top step and considered for a moment that perhaps, after fifteen years in law enforcement himself, he really should have matured past that particular pleasure. Nah. â€Å"Did you ever shoot anybody?† asked Joshua Barker. He was sitting on a bar stool at the kitchen counter. A man in a gray uniform was fussing medical over him. â€Å"No, I'm an EMT,† said the EMT. He ripped the blood-pressure cuff off Josh's arm. â€Å"We help people, we don't shoot them.† â€Å"Did you ever put that blood-pressure thing around someone's neck and pump it till their eyes bugged out?† The EMT looked at Theophilus Crowe, who had just entered the Barkers' kitchen. Theo frowned appropriately. Josh turned his attention to the lanky constable, noting that he had a badge clipped to his belt but no gun. â€Å"You ever shoot anybody?† â€Å"Sure,† Theo said. Josh was impressed. He'd seen Theo around town, and his mom always said hi to him, but he never thought he actually did anything. Not anything cool, anyway. â€Å"None of these guys ever shot anyone.† Josh gestured to the two deputies and the two EMTs stationed around the small kitchen, giving them a look that said the wussies! with the full disdain his soft seven-year-old features could muster. â€Å"You kill the guy?† he asked Theo. â€Å"Yep.† Josh didn't really know where to go now. If he stopped asking questions, he knew that Theo would start asking questions, just like the sheriffs had, and he didn't want to answer any more questions. The blond man had told him not to tell anyone. The sheriff said that the blond man couldn't hurt him, but the sheriff didn't know what Josh knew. â€Å"Your mom is on the way, Josh,† Theo said. â€Å"She'll be here in a few minutes.† â€Å"I know. I talked to her.† To the EMTs and deputies, Theo said, â€Å"Guys, can I talk to Josh alone a minute?† â€Å"We're done here,† the lead medic said, leaving immediately. Both the deputies were young and eager to be asked to do something, even if it was to leave the room. â€Å"We'll be outside writing this up,† said the last one out. â€Å"Sergeant Metz told us to stay until the mother got home.† â€Å"Thanks, guys,† Theo said, surprised at their congeniality. They must not have been on the department long enough to learn to look down on him for being a town constable, an archaic and redundant job, if you asked most area cops. Once they were gone he turned to Josh. â€Å"So tell me about the man who was here.† â€Å"I told those other police.† â€Å"I know. But you need to tell me. What happened. Even the weird stuff you didn't tell them.† Josh didn't like the way Theo seemed to be ready to believe anything. He wasn't being too nice, or talking baby talk like the others. â€Å"There wasn't any weird stuff. I told them.† Josh nodded as he spoke, hoping he'd look more convincing. â€Å"None of that bad touch stuff. I know about that. None of that.† â€Å"I don't mean that kind of stuff, Josh. I mean weird stuff you didn't tell them because it's unbelievable.† Josh really didn't know what to say now. He considered crying, did a test sniffle just to see if he could get things flowing. Theo reached out and took his chin, lifted it so Josh had to look him in the eye. Why did adults do that? Now he'd ask something that would be really hard to lie about. â€Å"What was he doing here, Josh?† Josh shook his head, mostly to get out of Theo's grip, to get away from that adult lie-detector look. â€Å"I don't know. He just came in and grabbed me and then he left.† â€Å"Why did he leave?† â€Å"I don't know, I don't know. I'm just a kid. Because he's crazy or something. Or maybe he's retarded. That's how he talks.† â€Å"I know,† Theo said. â€Å"You do?† He did? Theo leaned in close. â€Å"I saw him, Josh. I talked to him. I know he wasn't like a normal guy.† Josh felt like he'd just taken his first deep breath since he left Sam's house. He didn't like keeping secrets – sneaking home and lying about it would have been enough, but witnessing the murder of Santa, and then that strange blond guy showing up. But if Theo already knew about the blond guy†¦ â€Å"So, so, you saw him glow?† â€Å"Glow? Shit!† Theo stood up and spun around as if he'd been hit in the forehead with a paintball. â€Å"He glowed, too? Shit!† The tall man was moving like a grasshopper locked in a running microwave. Not that Josh would know what that was like, because that would be a cruel thing to do and he would never do something like that, but, you know, someone told him about it once. â€Å"So he glowed?† Theo asked, like he was trying to get this straight. â€Å"No, I didn't mean that.† Josh needed to back out of this. Theo was trippin'. He'd had enough of adults trippin' for one night. Soon his mom would come home to find a bunch of cops in her house and the trip to beat all trips would start. â€Å"I mean he was really mad. You know, like glowing mad.† â€Å"That's not what you meant.† â€Å"It isn't?† â€Å"He really glowed, didn't he?† â€Å"Well, not constantly. Like, for a little while. Then he just stared at me.† â€Å"Why did he leave, Josh?† â€Å"He said he had what he needed now.† â€Å"What was that? What did he take?† â€Å"I don't know.† Josh was beginning to worry about the constable. He looked like he might hurl any second. â€Å"You're sure you want to go with the glowing thing, Constable Crowe? I could be wrong. I'm a kid. We make notoriously unreliable witnesses.† â€Å"Where'd you hear that?† â€Å"CSI.† â€Å"Those guys know everything.† â€Å"They have the coolest stuff.† â€Å"Yeah,† said Theo wistfully. â€Å"You don't get to use cool cop stuff like that, huh?† â€Å"Nope.† Theo was sounding really sad now. â€Å"But you shot a guy, right?† Josh said cheerfully, trying to raise Theo's spirits. â€Å"I was lying. I'm sorry, Josh. I'd better go. Your mom will be home soon. You just tell her everything. She'll look out for you. The deputies will stay with you until she gets here. See ya, kiddo.† Theo ruffled his hair and started out of the kitchen. Josh didn't want to tell her. And he didn't want Theo to go. â€Å"There's something else.† Theo turned and looked back at him. â€Å"Okay, Josh, I'll stick around – ; â€Å"Someone killed Santa Claus tonight,† Josh blurted out. â€Å"Childhood ends too soon, doesn't it, son?† Theo said, putting his hand on Josh's shoulder. If Josh had had a gun, he'd have shot him, but being an unarmed kid, he decided that of all of these adults, the goofy constable might just be the one who would believe what he had seen happen to Santa. The two deputies had come into the house with Josh's mother, Emily Barker. Theo waited until she had hugged most of the breath out of her son, then reassured her that everything was okay and made a quick escape. As he came down the porch steps, he saw something yellow shining by the front tire of his Volvo. He looked back to make sure that neither of the deputies was looking out, then he crouched before the front tire and reached up into the wheel well and pulled out a hank of yellow hair that had caught in the black vinyl dent molding. He quickly shoved it into his shirt pocket and climbed into the car, feeling the hair throbbing against his chest like a living thing. The Warrior Babe of the Outland admitted that she was powerless without her medication and that her life had become unmanageable. Molly checked off the step in Theo's little blue Narcotics Anonymous book. â€Å"Powerless,† she muttered to herself, remembering the time when mutants had chained her to a rock in the den of the behemo-badger in Outland Steel: Kendra's Revenge. If not for the intervention of Selkirk, the rogue sand pirate, her entrails would even now be curing on the salt stalagmites of the badger's cave. â€Å"That would sting, huh?† said the Narrator. â€Å"Shut up, that didn't really happen.† Did it? She remembered it like it did. The Narrator was a problem. The problem, really. If it had just been a little erratic behavior, she might have been able to wing it until the first of the month and go back on her meds without Theo noticing, but when the Narrator showed up, she knew she needed help. She turned to the Narcotics Anonymous book that had been Theo's constant companion when he was battling his pot habit. He talked about working the steps all the time, and how he couldn't have done it without them. She needed to do something to reinforce the rapidly blurring line between Molly Michon, party planner, cookie baker, the retired actress, and Kendra, mutant slayer, head breaker, the warrior temptress. â€Å"‘Step two, † she read. â€Å"‘Come to believe that a power greater than ourselves can restore us to sanity. † She thought for a moment and looked out the front window of the cabin for the lights from Theo's car. She really hoped she could get through all twelve steps before he got home. â€Å"Nigoth the Worm God shall be my higher power,† she declared, snatching her broken broadsword from the coffee table and waving it in defiance at the Sony Wega TV that mocked her darkly from the corner. â€Å"In Nigoth's name shall I sally forth, and woe unto any mutant or sand pirate that crosses my path, for his life shall be sacrificed and his bloody balls shall decorate the totem tree of my lodge.† â€Å"And the wicked shall cower before the grandeur of your dirt-striped and well-shaped thighs,† said the Narrator, with robust enthusiasm. â€Å"Goes without saying,† Molly said. â€Å"Okay, step three. ‘Turn your life over to God as you understand Him. â€Å" â€Å"Nigoth requires a sacrifice,† cried the Narrator. â€Å"A limb! Cut it from your body and impale it still twitching upon the worm god's fiery purple horn.† Molly shook her head to rattle the Narrator around a little. â€Å"Dude,† she said. Molly seldom  «duded » anyone. Theo had picked up the word on his patrol of Pine Cove's skateboard park and now used it generally to express incredulity at the audacity of someone's statement or behavior – the correct inflection on the word would convey Doood, please, you've got to be joking or hallucinating, or both, to even suggest such a thing. (Lately Theo had been doing some testing on â€Å"Yo, dat's wack, yo.† But Molly had forbade its use outside of the house, for, as she pointed out, there is little more off-putting than the sound of hip-hop vernacular coming out of the mouth of a white, fortysomething, goony bird of a man. â€Å"Albatross of a man, yo,† Theo had corrected.) Thusly duded, the Narrator bid devotion down. â€Å"A finger, then! The severed finger of a Warrior Babe – â€Å" â€Å"Not a chance,† Molly said. ‘A lock of hair! Nigoth requires – â€Å" â€Å"I was thinking I'd light a candle to symbolize that I'm turning myself over to my higher power.† And to illustrate her sincerity, she took a disposable lighter off the coffee table and lit one of the scented candles she kept on a tray at the table's center. â€Å"A snotty Kleenex, then!† tried the Narrator. But Molly had moved on to step four in the book. â€Å"‘Make a searching and fearless moral inventory of yourself. I have no idea what that means.† â€Å"Well, I'll be fucked in the ear by a blind spider monkey if I get it,† said the Narrator. Molly decided not even to acknowledge the Narrator on that one. After all, if the steps worked like she hoped they would, the Narrator was not going to be around for much longer. She dug into the little blue book in search of clarification. Upon further reading, it appeared that you were supposed to make a list of all the things wrong with your character. â€Å"Put down that you're fucking nuts,† said the Narrator. â€Å"Got it,† Molly said. Then she noticed that the book recommended making a list of resentments. She wasn't exactly sure what she was supposed to do with them, but in fifteen minutes she had filled three pages with all variety of resentments, including both parents, the IRS, algebra, premature ejaculators, good housekeepers, French automobiles, Italian luggage, lawyers, CD packaging, IQ tests, and the fucktard who wrote the â€Å"Caution, pastry may be hot when heated† warning on the Pop-Tarts box. She paused for a breather and was reading ahead to step five when headlights swept across the yard and raked the front of the cabin. Theo was home. † ‘Step five, † Molly read. â€Å"‘Confess to our higher power and another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. â€Å" As Theo came through the door, Molly, her broken broadsword in hand, spun from the cinnamon candle of Nigoth the Worm God and said, â€Å"I confess! I did not file taxes for the years ninety-five through two thousand, I have eaten the radioactive flesh of mutants, and I resent the hell out of you for not having to squat when you pee. â€Å"Hi, honey,† Theo said. â€Å"Shut up, grommet,† said the Warrior Babe. â€Å"So I guess I'm not going to get my Volvo washed?† â€Å"Quiet! I'm confessing over here, ingrate.† â€Å"That's the spirit!† said the Narrator.