Tragedies of Love Ingreek Mythology

Everyone loves a good tragedy. The ones that make you cry and give the person next to you a big hug. Jack and Rose in Titanic; ninety percent of the people I know cry every time they watch Titanic. Rhett Butler and Scarlett O’Hara in Gone With The Wind, even Borat and Pamela Anderson in the movie Borat! But this paper isn’t about tragedies in recent times; it’s about love stories gone wrong†¦in Greek mythology. I have researched the stories I think were the saddest and most touching: Apollo and Hyacinthus: Apollo, the Greek god of knowledge and the arts had many affairs with both men and women, most of which didn’t end so well.He had an affair with Hyacinthus who was a prince of Sparta. Hyacinthus admired and loved Apollo so much so that he followed him everywhere. One afternoon, the lovers decided to practice discus throwing. You’d think it was a harmless enough game for two people in love to play. Apollo threw the discus and in such excitemen t to get it, the discuss hit Hyacinthus square on the head instantly killing him. Apollo later learned that it was Zephyrus (god of the West wind) who was also deeply in love with him, that manipulated the winds resulting in the change in direction of the discuss and ultimately the killing of Hyacinthus.It is said that the grieving Apollo turned his beloved Hyacinthus into the flower we all know as the Hyacinth. This is a good example of people who lose loved ones and keep mementos of them, keeping them in their memories. Apollo and Clytie: This is another story of Apollo’s many love affairs. I guess he just liked to ‘sow his seeds wildly’. Apollo and Clytie were hopelessly in love. Obliviously happy. Then Apollo did what he knew how to do best, he left Clytie for another woman: princess Leucothea. Feeling robbed, Clytie ousted Leucothea to her father who judged that his daughter be buried alive.Clytie thought she would finally have her Apollo back but alas this made him turn away from her for good. Sad as she was, she sat on a rock for days without food, waiting for her beloved and staring at the sky. Clytie suffered and turned brown and yellow, eventually turning into a heliotrope flower (it always turns its head towards the sky). This is an example of going to extreme lengths for love and yes, it often does not end well. Eos and Tithonus: After being cursed by Aphrodite to be eternally in love, goddess of the sun, Eos, fell in love with a Trojan Tithonus.Being so enchanted and taken with him, she kidnapped him and took him to Zeus to ask him for immortality for Tithonus. Zeus did give him the immortality that Eos asked for but in her haste she didn’t ask for eternal youth and health for Tithonus. So yes they were together forever but Tithonus grew older and older with each passing day. He eventually lost use of his body but he whimpered every so often. In need of preserving her love for him, she turned him into a cicada. To foreve r sing a mournful tone to her. Orpheus and Eurydice:Orpheus, son of Muse Calliope was married to Eurydice. Once, he sailed with the Argonauts meanwhile, back at home, Aristaeus attempted to seduce Eurydice away from Orpheus. But faithful she was. She fled him and unfortunately, she trod on a serpent which bit her and killed her. When Orpheus returned and found his wife dead, he played a song so mournful and sad that the gods and nymphs told him to go to Hades and retrieve her. He went to Hades and asked for his Eurydice back. Hades agreed and told him that she would follow him back to earth on the one condition that he not look back.As they approached the gates of the underworld, Orpheus couldn’t resist. ‘Is she really following me? ’ he thought ‘I can’t tell. ’ He couldn’t wait to see her face. He turned around and with that he watched her fade away, slip, away from him forever. This story is indicative of what love can do to people. I t makes you break the rules because it hurts so bad to abide by those rules. Narcissus and Echo: The nymph, Echo, was cursed by Hera to be unable to start conversation and to repeat last words uttered by others.She was hopelessly in love with Narcissus, son of a river god who was incredibly handsome as well as incredibly vain. One day Narcissus went hunting and Echo saw him and followed him. Narcissus thought he heard someone behind him and asked ‘Who’s there? ’ and poor Echo, unable to say anything apart from that, replied ‘Who’s there? ’ In a last ditch effort to get Narcissus’ attention, she showed herself to him but he turned her away and went on with his hunting. Heartbroken Echo went into a cave, sat and sadly faded away into nothingness†¦a voice.Narcissus grew thirsty from his hunting and decided to take a drink in the river. He saw his reflection in the water and fell in love with it, never knowing that it was HIS reflectio n. For fear of destroying the reflection he didn’t drink the water and wasted away of thirst, turning into the narcissus flower. I think this is the worst story because they both died of unrequited love which to me seems like the worst kind of scenario. Echo never being loved by Narcissus and Narcissus never being loved by his reflection. They both died unsatisfied.

Poverty in Africa Essay

Poverty is an unfortunate condition that exists throughout Africa. It is a widespread condition that affects the entire populace, resulting in Africa being the poorest continent. Poverty in Africa is derived from the many existing problems, and continues to cause devastating effects. However, a number of reforms are being implemented to resolve the problem of poverty. There are a number of existing issues in Africa, which leads to the derivation of poverty. Whether there is a civil war or a quarrel among its countries, Africa constantly remains one of the top locations for conflicts (â€Å"Poverty in Africa†). The effects of warfare, including the shifting of the population, the destruction of fields, crops and infrastructures, and the immigration of people from their homelands contribute to the rise of poverty. The destruction of fields and crops weakens the economy, which results in poor agriculture. With poor lands and agriculture, the availability of food and resources are greatly reduced. The infrastructures are crucial to the prospering of a nation. The lack of infrastructure in Africa results to the low availability of potable, clean water. Also, Africa does not have railways and roads that connect in a significant way, hence any transportation to and within Africa is very difficult (â€Å"Poverty in Africa†). Warfare can also result to refugees, which increases the number of people who are living in destitution. A weak government is also a root of poverty, thus an inefficient government will eventually lead the fall of the economy. It is difficult for a corrupt and an unproductive government to obtain the supplies and provide the people with the basic necessities, such as a providing the people with a proper education, building required infrastructures, and providing the people with enough food and water. Without a productive government, the country will not thrive and as a result, more people in the country will live in poverty.

Cortes Discussion Essay

1. Why is Cortes’ letter a primary source?  2. Is there any information in his letter that he did not actually observe? How do you reconcile this fact with the idea that this is a primary source? Can a document be partially primary and partially secondary? (i.e., written by someone who did not witness the events or experience the emotion?) 3. What can you infer about Cortes’ motives in writing about â€Å"the wonders of Tenochtitlan† and the Aztecs? Why did he choose to write about the topics he addressed in this letter? Who is is intended audience, and how might that have influenced the letter? 4. Using Cortes’ comments in the first two paragraphs, what assumptions can you make about the wealth of the Aztec state? 5. List three characteristics of the Aztec religion. What religious practice did Cortes attempt to do away with? Do you think that he could have been successful? Cortes’ letter is a primary source because he witnessed the events he wrote about first hand. From what I gathered through his writing Cortes did not appear to leave any vital information out as he reported every aspect of the noble city. The way he was able to give his reader, or readers, vivid descriptions of Temixtitlan from the outside in, gives us reassurance that his letter is indeed a primary source. Unfortunately a document cannot be comprised partially primary and partially secondary. Primary accounts are characterized as the direct proof of a period, with material being delivered by eyewitnesses and in this case, Cortes’ time in Temixtitlan. Cortes chose to comprehend the significance of knowing the geology of the domain he wanted to conquer. Clearly, for early explorers knowing the terrain and being able to locate natural resources is the difference between life and death. He also chose certain topics because he is attempting to make his description audience-relatable, and more importantly, he is trying describe the degree of sophistication of this great city. According to the beginning paragraphs you immediately know that Temixtitlan is an exceptional city as Cortes stated the city had many rare and wonderful objects and that he would try to describe the wealth of what he had seen to the best of his ability. The Aztec religion was sacrificial, barbaric, and full of idol worshipping.

Critical analysis of book The Catcher in the Rye Essay

Critical analysis of book The Catcher in the Rye - Essay Example He is resoundingly negative in his view of the world, and his search for an identity is constantly filtered through his dark condemnation of virtually everything and everyone around him. The facts of his life show that he is unable to stick at anything for very wrong: he drops out of several schools, is hospitalized in a mental hospital, and seems unable to connect with anyone in a meaningful manner. This anomie is associated with two traumatic experiences: the death of his brother and the suicide of boy in one of classes. Holden searches for an identity through criticizing everyone around him. His word for them, one that has entered the language as a pejorative instantly associated with the character, is that they are all "phony". Virtually everybody that Holden sees around him is phony, and it is a judgment that eventually makes him turn towards himself. He judges people in a superficial way, and uses humor to cover the fact that he realizes how utterly alone he is in the world. The passage in which he imagines that someone will probably write "fuck you"2 on his grave his hilarious and yet deeply revealing. The fact that he would think about his own grave as a teenager, let alone the abuse that someone would write on his headstone, shows that Holden has a more imaginative and deeper view of the world than his resolute condemnations of everyone suggest. His cursing and his cynicism are perhaps a protection as, like many teenagers, he has no idea of what his real identity is or should be. This tendenc y is seen in the first lines of the book: If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth. In the first place, that stuff bores me . . . 3 He adopts the pose of millions of teenagers who came after him: not caring about the world and all its conventionalities of biography, but accidentally reveals that he is surprisingly well-read. He has just been expelled from prep-school, and reveals that he has not only read Charles Dickens, but has understood it well enough to make fun of its conventions. Holden's search for identity throughout the novel is full of such accidental revelations of a deeper self. As with many teenage boys, Holden is obsessed with sex; but unlike many of them he is peculiarly puritanical about the subject. He admits that he is a virgin, and spends most of the novel trying to lose that virginity but also thinks that sex should only occur between people who care deeply about one another. Casual sex is an abomination to him, as when Jane has a date with a boy she hardly knows. At the same time, Holden reveals that he is interested in a much darker side of sexuality, such as the idea of spitting at a lover during the sexual act. Once again this reveals the depth of his imagination: he is a virgin but can imagine a particularly savage form of sexuality that involves humiliating and essentially hating the partner. He regards this behavior as "crumby", but want to indulge anyway. Holden's search for an identity is constantly hindered by his reluctance to move from his supposedly innocent childhood world of genuineness and openness into the hypocritical adult world of phonies. Here his name has important symbolic meaning. Caulfield

Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Case Study Example ep due to stress, work pressure and physical ailments. Chronic stress in Jennifer has affected her health physically. She has developed various physical ailments like backaches, headaches and indigestion. She also feels tired often. Though she visits doctor frequently, no obvious physical cause has been identified. These ailments actually lead to loss of sleep which further affects health and thus chronic stress is a vicious cycle of events. Chronic stress can lead to depression, anxiety, somatization, chronic fatigue and psychotropic drug consumption. It can lead to decreased immunity to infections. It can cause hypertension, precipitate diabetes, gastritis, gastroesophageal reflux and angina. It can also lead to poor eating habits, irregular sleep patterns, drug abuse and avert socialization, causing further worsening of health (Nevid and Rathus, 2005). How are these stressors affecting Jennifer’s self-concept and self-esteem? It is a well known fact that chronic stress impa cts not only the physical health of the individual, but also the mental health, including self-esteem and self-concept. Though Jennifer is a successful woman with excellent organizational qualities and good work performance record, several losses in her life like loss of conception, loss of mother and deteriorating health of father have impacted her performance and endurance. Added to these, long distance commutation, responsibilities at home and frustration over not being able to conceive and also not able to help her father out of suffering have undermined her very sense of achievement. Though Jennifer meets doctor often and has found no obvious reason for physical ailment, she does not admit going through stress. Being an ambitious woman and wanting to be perfect in every role of her life, she has unnecessarily put too many pressures on her shoulders. However, stress has reduced her level of self-esteem and self-concept. Jennifer, a once confident woman, is now beginning to quest ion her effectiveness as a daughter, daughter-in-law and wife. Due to innumerous mistakes at workplace, she is beginning to question her work performance. Also, inability to conceive after the previous miscarriage has shattered her confidence levels and she feels that she is not able to live up to the expectations of her in-laws who love her very much. She also feels guilty that she is not able to take care of her father in the manner he expects and thus feels that she is not able to live upto the expectations of her father whose health is deteriorating. Stress can lead to overwhelming fatigue, headache, abdominal pain, and impaired sleep. It can cause deterioration in social skills (Nevid and Rathus, 2005). Individuals in the midst of burnout often lose patience more easily, appear to be moody and depressed, withdraw from others, and do not interact with others as they did in the past. They may become more abrupt, cruder and abrasive in their dealings with others. Jennifer could be suffering from these problems too. How might Jennifer’s situation illustrate adjustment? How might this situation become an

Nigeria - oil war Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Nigeria - oil war - Assignment Example According to Frynas (158) the pollution of the environment through the extraction of oil in Nigeria has been the leading cause of the human rights abuses and environmental abuse in the Niger Delta. In this essay it is the aim of the research to examine and analyze how the oil industry in Nigeria has been the source of various conflicts and how the oil companies in Niger Delta have devastated the environment especially of the Ogoni lands. To achieve the goal of analyzing the environmental devastation of the Ogoni lands in the Niger Delta, I have organized this paper into five sections. The first section will be looking at the background and the history of the Ogoni land and their conflicts with the oil corporations operating within the contested area. Under this first section, further sub-sections will look at the background of the environmental resource that is being examined; the human rights issues that are the center of the conflict and the history of the inhabitants of the Ogoni land; and the location of the resource that is being evaluated will be explained. ... Under the international policies, governance and legislation several factors will be put into consideration including the specific policies and that are in place to regulate the resource around the Niger Delta and how the regime in the area was formed together with the structure put in place for the policies to work. Relevant international laws and treaties will be used in order to clarify the topic at hand in relation to the conflict area. Under this section the last sub-section will be how the implementation of the international enforcements is being done and whether there are challenges that are being faced when implementing the various rights and treaties and if not if there are cases whereby the country is not honoring the treaties that have been set. The fourth section is the challenges and barriers that are in place that makes it difficult in finding a remedy and a solution to the conflicts being experienced in the Niger Delta. This section will include the identification of t he obstacles that are limits the problem solving and also whether there are theories that support these problems that hinder the remedy of the conflict. On top of the identification, an opinion concerning whether a shift in the consciousness of the public will be prudent or not will be discussed in this section. The last section which is the fifth section that the paper will analyze will be the policy recommendations that might be deemed best to help in reducing the conflict that is currently being experienced. In addition the opinions of the whether a new policy recommendation will be necessary during the implementation of the solutions to reduce the conflicts will be given in this section. After all the main sections

Encoding Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Encoding Study - Essay Example In the following report, an understanding on how two primary procedures of encoding are rather effectively affecting the memory use of the young students shall be examined. Through an experimentation process, the entire study shall be based on evidence proven approach that would likely involve the use of certain willing participants and the evaluation of the results that are to be handled by the researchers early on. 2 The process by which the mind stores an awful lot of information in the head of human individuals is a great and awesome truth about the amazing capabilities of the human body’s capability to respond to the environment that a person lives in. Not a single super computer could amount to the capability of the human mind to store information about a hundredfold of details about different matters of consideration that a person is most likely interested in. 3 This particular capability of the mind is the basic reason why there is learning. The belief that growth comes along with the process of mindful maturity and the amount of information stored and utilized by the human minds is indeed considered as the basic foundation of the reasons behind the establishment of several learning institutions today.4 Truthfully, the entire process of storing and utilization of information is taken considerably by the human mind as the main function that it contributes to the function of the human body. However, not all human individuals are able to utilize the memory function of their minds. Some are able to develop an easier personal process of storing information in their minds, while some others find it hard to recall certain details that they were already supposed to know since their mind has already been fed with the information that they need to know.5 For this particular reason, the need to develop and investigate existing procedures of memory enhancement among students is pursued by many educators

Is Childhood Discipline Effective Research Paper

Is Childhood Discipline Effective - Research Paper Example The essay would hereby initially trace the historical background of using corporal punishment, particularly smacking, as a tool for childhood discipline. In addition, the discourse would present a general overview of different positions or contentions on the issue of smacking as the most effective technique for childhood discipline. Finally, the concluding portion would highlight the crucial points discussed and present a speculation and recommendation on the most effective tool for childhood discipline in the future. Relevant History and Background The roots of corporal punishment could be traced from the earliest published article in a periodical, the San Francisco Call, dated March 23, 1893 entitled â€Å"Slap or Spank?: School Punishment Query in Alameda† where the School Board of Alameda supposedly sought to determine the manner by which parents would agree and stipulate the kind of chastisement to be used to discipline the children (corpun.com 1). At that time, the conte nts of the article generated different reactions and responses from school administrators, teacher and parents; with the final recommendation that â€Å"the general verdict of all those seen is to the effect that the spanking process is far superior to the regulation strap method, but all concurred in saying that the best way of all in such matters was to leave it entirely with the teachers, who should be kept within bounds regarding the severity of the punishment inflicted by rules laid down by the Board of Education† (corpun.com 1). Suffice it to say that even at the earliest published article on corporal punishment through spanking or smacking, the issue was elicited diverse and conflicting arguments. Some parents averred that they do not want their children to be spanked at all. Other parents support smacking on prescribed areas of the body, but never on the face. And still, surprisingly, one parent remarked that â€Å"’taken across the knee and spanked, by all me ans. That's the old way, and I have found it very efficient.’ And the obedience of the little ones clustered about her was good evidence of the truth of the statement† (corpun.com 1). These diverse reactions have evolved through centuries and until contemporary times, smacking continues to be a controversial issue. In current times, Gershoff and Larzelere disclosed that, â€Å"corporal punishment remains a widely used discipline technique in most American families, but it has also been a subject of controversy within the child development and psychological communities† (par. 1). The controversial nature is clearly depicted from the contradictory arguments advocated by parents, to wit: â€Å"The consultation document issued this month by the Department of Health on the physical punishment of children states clearly that ‘many parents would welcome support in learning effective measures of disciplining their child which do not involve physical punishmentâ₠¬â„¢ while adding that ‘there may still be occasions when parents †¦ may consider it appropriate to discipline a child through physical punishment’† (Waterston 261). In this regard, parents, social workers, health professionals and policymakers all provide different perspectives on the subject of corporal punishme

Management Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Management - Coursework Example The example given by Ezell helps explore the question under discussion (Clawson, 2012).  Laura Dickson has comprehensively discussed the ways in which leaders can recognize talents. Laura highlights the role of human resources, which form a crucial part of an organization’s talents (Clawson, 2012).  This argument mirrors on the realization of the role that other people can play in the organization. In my understanding, the discussion by Smith majorly outlines the role of other stakeholders (such as employees) in the recognition of talents. However, the use of such strategies as promotion does not necessarily mean that talents will be easily recognizable (Clawson, 2012).  In the discussion, the main elements that help in the attainment of an organization’s vision are discussed. This discussion explores how leaders can build teams from individuals who possess multiple skills (Clawson, 2012).  As stated in the discussion, it is crucial to listen to the personal sto ry of the employees in order to ascertain what the employee likes or does not like (Clawson, 2012). However, this may not be an effective strategy as the reasons were given by some employees may not be valid.  This discussion has completely discussed the strategies that can be employed to influence employees who lack motivation, as well as unwillingness. The discussion is helpful; as it highlights the role played by effective leadership when it comes to influencing others in the workplace (Clawson, 2012).  This discussion gives a comprehensive overview of the ways through which leadership can be strengthened in organizations. I agree with the argument that leaders ought to take time to know their teams.

Trafficking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Trafficking - Essay Example (Outshoorn, J., 2005) As the years progressed, sex workers have found points in trafficking regulations, existing or newly-implemented, which do not serve to alleviate their working conditions, which sometimes even cause more emotional and psychological damage and, which prevents them from having a better life. On the other hand, whenever in a trafficking debate, advocates of anti-prostitution measures stress the importance of human rights, morality and the need for implementation of stricter regulation on prostitution or the abolishment of such, if possible. Anti-prostitution followers insist that consent is irrelevant in trafficking of persons, specifically women, for sexual exploitation. When the human being is reduced to a body, objectified to sexually service another, whether or not there is consent, violation of the human being has taken place. (Barry, K., 1995) Prostitution, â€Å"consensual† or not, supports and is supported by social, economic, and political inequalities. (Balos, B., 2004) Consent shouldn’t be used as an excuse to mitigate the crime of trafficking or prostitution. It violates women’s human rights. Trafficked women are beaten, raped and sexually abused. They are â€Å"subject to starvation, forced use of drugs and alcohol, burning with cigarettes, isolation in dark rooms, being beaten and threats to themselves or their families.† (Balos, B., 2004) Because they lack the proper documents, trafficked women live in fear of authorities who have also been known to abuse their position by for cing themselves on the women. UN peacekeeping operations were rocked by a sex abuse scandal in the Congo that caused the organization to reexamine current training policy. (Trafficking in Persons Report, 2006) Apparently, refugees, including many minors, were victims of sex abuse crimes by dozens of peacekeepers on a mission in Congo. Changes in the training policy should be done to keep the peacekeepers in line. In addition, the women are

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 2

Rhetorical Analysis - Essay Example The welcome celebration was like a play while the serious part or the educational phase was supposed to be like work. However one was to work harder if he or she wanted to play hard which was a feature of the university. Indirectly, with the use of the term, ‘play’ and ‘work’ he made the message clear to the students that one had to study profusely side by side the celebrations at the university. This is a metaphorical comparison used here. He mixes this with an air of practicality without giving high philosophical sermon. The speech is a combination of run on and short sentence, which make it more interesting and ear catching. The author also explains the essence of freedom and responsibility, which will be the two main things they will learn in the University. In order to face this challenge of handling responsibility one has to master the art of self-control and self-discipline. Everyone should take the responsibility for not oneself only but also for his or her fellow mates or roommates. He even indicated a message of secularity when he said that they were from different ethnic backgrounds or religions but under the single umbrella of the university. He directly asks them to develop a community spirit among themselves within the campus but he never fails to mention strategically that an independent spirit is always admired more than a sheep. He made an indication to the drug addicts and alcoholics who follow the bandwagon impact of relishing in the momentary pleasure derived from these substances. He de-motivates them from taking to these habits by saying that losing control is never smart. He also makes them aware of the severe consequences one may face if they lose control and fall for these habits. He makes them realize with the help of metaphorical comparison that their lives were too precious to take lightly. He generated in them an urge of

Media Violence and Children Essay Example for Free

Media Violence and Children Essay Your children are surrounded by violence. From video games and television to the news itself, bloodshed is everywhere. Many parents and educators fear that violence seen on the media will at the very least desensitize children, and that it may even make children more likely to commit atrocities themselves. Other people claim the violence seen on the media is not real, and that children understand this. So whos right? In order to better understand this crucial issue, we need to examine the history of violence in entertainment as well as revelations made possible by modern science. Violence in entertainment is not new. Even in ancient Rome, people gathered to watch gladiators. In gladiator combats, two trained men (usually criminals or slaves) would fight each other in front of a cheering crowd. Sometimes, men would also be forced to fight wild animals. These shows were incredibly popular; in order to accommodate the huge masses of people eager to watch the combat, Roman officials built the Colosseum, which could seat 50,000 spectators, in 80 CE. The opening of the Colosseum was celebrated with 100 days of games, during which thousands of men and animals were seriously injured or killed. Long before children watched violent cartoons, they listened to violent stories. Even our most cherished fairy tales often contain bloodshed. In fact, modern versions of fairy tales tend to be a lot less violent than the originals. For example, in Hans Christen Andersons The Little Mermaid, the little mermaid has her tongue cut out, almost stabs her prince, and dies; Disneys famous version of this classic tale is significantly happier and less violent. But why is violence such a popular form of entertainment? There are several possible answers, and they are probably all true to some extent. People like watching violence because it is, at least to some degree, forbidden; all functioning societies need to have laws against murder. Seeing other peoples pain also makes your own problems seem insignificant. Finally, some violence in the media was meant to teach a practical lesson. Many gladiators were condemned criminals, so their violent and entertaining death served as a warning against would-be criminals. Public executions have served the same purpose throughout history. Fairy tales also warned children against the dangers of misbehaving. For example, the little mermaid disobeyed the rules of her father and her people, and she suffered as a result. Modern violence in the media is not that different from what occurred in the past. People enjoy watching violence because it is forbidden, distracting, and it can teach lessons about reality. At the same time, violence is becoming more and more prevalent. Additionally, much of the violence shown in video games, movies, and television is completely unrealistic; real consequences are very rarely shown, especially in cartoons. As a result, the violence may be too glamorized to teach real life lessons. Even if violence does teach a morality lesson, children may still be negatively affected. Vincent P. Mathews, a professor of radiology at Indiana University School of Medicine, discovered that watching violence on the media might actually alter brain function. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) showed that watching violent images decreased frontal lobe brain activity in children whether or not they had previous problems of aggression. Decreased frontal lobe activity is associated with attention and self control problems. Also using fMRI, Klaus Mathiak at the University of Aachen in Germany discovered that playing violent video games and thinking about actually participating in real violent activities stimulate the same part of the brain. In other words, an individuals brain cannot distinguish between violent actions that are committed by the individual and violent activities that are purely make believe. Additionally, violent video games may be training the brain for real life violent behavior. So what does all of this mean for parents? Children, like adults, are naturally drawn to violent images, and it is possible for children to learn valuable lessons from violent stories. However, exposure to too much violence, especially glamorized violence, probably does have a negative impact of children. Although more scientific research needs to be conducted before conclusive answers can be given, children may have a hard time distinguishing between real violence and fake violence, and simply watching violence may lead to increased behavioral problems. If you are worried that your children are watching too much violence, you should monitor exactly what they are watching. Movies and video games both have rating systems, and all televisions 13 inches or larger that were manufactured in the United States since January 2000 contain V chips. V chips allow parents to control what programs are watched, even when the children are unsupervised. You could also limit the amount of time that your children are allowed to spend watching television or playing video games, regardless of whether or not the programs or games contain violent content. Finally, you can discuss the reality of violence with you children to make sure that they can differentiate between make believe and reality.

The History Of Cloud Computing Information Technology Essay

The History Of Cloud Computing Information Technology Essay Cloud Computing are data and applications that are accessible through servers around the world (Clouds), and it can be reached at any time, from any device without installing that specific application to your computer. Data management within cloud involves extreme parallelization and distribution of data. Its goals are to provide quickness in which applications are deployed, increase the technology, and lower costs, all while increasing business agility.   The different types of services including IaaS, PaaS, SaaS have been projected for cloud computing. But, consumers want effective and efficient security for their virtual machines. There is some cloud providers that offer security-as-a-service based on VM introspection that promise the best of both worlds: efficient centralization and effective protection. Since customers can move data and apps from one cloud to another, an effective solution requires learning what providers to work with and what they secure. This report will provide detailed understanding of cloud computing and its major security issues. This will include the history of Cloud Computing, the models, its characteristics, deployment models, applications, advantages and disadvantages, security issues and other concerns. Key Words Access Control Cloud Computing Cloud Security Delivery Models Deployment Models SPI This Report is organized the following: Chapter 1: Introductions Chapter 2: Defining Cloud Computing Chapter 3: Cloud Security Chapter 4: Conclusion/Future Research Introduction Clouds is a metaphor for the Internet, the term Cloud Computing for computation over the Internet. It allows users to access resources database and Internet applications from anywhere as long as needed without worrying about maintenance or management of real resources. In addition, the databases in the cloud are very dynamic and evolving. Cloud Computing is unlike grid computing, utility computing, or autonomic computing. In fact, it is a very independent platform in terms of computing. The best example of cloud computing if Google Apps where any application can be accessed using a browser and it can be deployed on thousands of computer through the internet. Most of the data is stored on local networks with servers that may be clustered and sharing storage. This approach has had time to be developed into stable architecture, and provide decent redundancy when deployed right. Pinal Dave. Introduction to Cloud Computing Published 10 Apr 2009 This new technology, cloud computing, requires the attention and it changes rapidly the direction of the technology. Whether it is Googles file system or Microsoft Azure, it is clear that cloud computing has arrived with much to learn. In dealing with the abstract concept of the cloud, it is easy to misunderstand the structure and function. Defining Cloud Computing What is Cloud Computing? Cloud computing is a type of computation over the Internet. It shares resources instead of using a software or hardware on a physical computer. Cloud computing can be software and infrastructure. And, it can improve collaboration, mobility, size and availability features. It also improves cost reduction by offering a centralized platform for use when needed, and the reduction of energy consumption. Unlike grid computing, cloud computing can be hosted externally, but also internally, especially for companies who have businesses around the world. Consumers will no longer have to download and install memory-hogging applications and software on their device and will instead have access to everything they need via the browser. With this model, most of the computing software will be rented on an as-needed basis rather than being bought as an expensive one-off purchase. what is cloud computing and how to use it. February 11, 2010 . There are many definitions that try to answer the clouds of todays point of view of developers, researchers, administrators, engineers and consumers. This report focuses on a definition that is specifically tailored to the unique perspectives of IT network and security professionals. 2.2. History of Cloud Computing Originally, Cloud Computing was an unclear term for a vague and distant future in which computing would occur in a few remote locations without the need for very much human intervention. Infinite computing resources would be available for every need at prices approaching zero. Certainly, users would not care about how the computers, their software, or the network functioned. The idea of an intergalactic computer network was introduced in the 60s by J.C.R. Licklider, who was responsible for enabling the development of ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network) in 1969. His vision was for everyone on the globe to be interconnected and accessing programs and data at any site, from anywhere, explained Margaret Lewis, product marketing director at AMD. It is a vision that sounds a lot like what we are calling cloud computing. History of cloud computing Computer Weekly (2009). Computer scientist John McCarthy, who attributed the cloud concept, proposed the idea of computation being delivered as a public utility, similar to the service bureaus which date back to the 60s. Since the 60s, cloud computing has developed along a number of lines, with Web 2.0 being the most recent evolution. However, since the internet only started to offer significant bandwidth in the 90s, cloud computing for the masses has been something of a late developer. In the past, the computers were connected from a larger computer. It was a common technique in industry. The technique enabled you to configure the computer to talk to each other with specially designed protocols to balance the computational load across machines. As a user you didnt care about what CPU was running the program, and cluster management software ensured that the best CPU at that time was used to execute the code. In the early 1990s Ian Foster and Carl Kesselman came up with a new concept of The Grid. The analogy used was of the electricity grid where users could plug into the grid and use a metered utility service. If companies dont have their own powers stations, but rather access a third party electricity supply, why cant the same apply to computing resources? Plug into a grid of computers and pay for what you use. Cloud Expo: Article A Brief History of Cloud Computing: Is the Cloud There Yet? Paul Wallis August 22, 2008 One of the first milestones for cloud computing was the arrival of Salesforce.com in 1999, which pioneered the concept of delivering enterprise applications via a simple website. The services firm paved the way for both specialist and mainstream software firms to deliver applications over the internet. The next development was Amazon Web Services in 2002, which provided a suite of cloud-based services including storage, computation and even human intelligence through the Amazon Mechanical Turk. Then in 2006, Amazon launched its Elastic Compute cloud (EC2) as a commercial web service that allows small companies and individuals to rent computers on which to run their own computer applications. Amazon EC2/S3 was the first widely accessible cloud computing infrastructure service, said Jeremy Allaire, CEO of Brightcove, which provides its SaaS online video platform to UK TV stations and newspapers. A history of cloud computing Arif  Mohamed   Friday 27 March 2009 Another big milestone came in 2009, as Web 2.0 hit its stride, and Google and others started to offer browser-based enterprise applications, though services such as Google Apps. Today, many companies are setting up data centers, sometimes as an extension of their own needs, sometimes only to serve customers. Originally, the idea of these clouds was to provide power and storage capacity. Everything else will be taken up by the customer. Now providers offer many services depending on the consumer needs. Source: http://www.fuzeboxinc.com/Extras/Blog/ 2.3. SPI for Cloud Computing SPI. This abbreviation stands for the three major services in the cloud. Software-as-a-Service, Platform-as-a-Service, and Infrastructure-as-a-Service. Source: http://texdexter.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/figure-1-cloud-computing-architecture.jpg 2.4. Delivery Models Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)- Instead of wasting money on servers, software, hardware, racks..etc. the provider would resource the service. This will be on demand computing and whatever the amount is consumed that what the consumer will be charged. This service can be hosted or via VPS(virtual private servers) Major Infrastructure Vendors Below are companies that provide infrastructure services: Google (GOOG) Managed hosting, development environment International Business Machines (IBM) Managed hosting SAVVIS (SVVS) Managed hosting Terremark Worldwide (TMRK) Managed hosting Amazon.com (AMZN) Cloud storage Rackspace Hosting (RAX) Managed hosting cloud computing Cloud platform services (PaaS)- delivers a platform or a solution stack as a service. This makes the delivery of applications easier without the cost of hardware or software. Like Salesforce.coms, which lets subscribers access their applications over the cloud. Amazon, Google, and Microsoft have also allow the users access their applications from centralized servers. Software as a service (SaaS)- is  software in the cloud. This deployment model is absolutely through the web browser. This eliminates the installation of applications on the consumers computer making it easy to access as simplifying maintenance and support. Characteristic of SaaS: Availability via a web browser on demand availability payment terms based on usage minimal IT demands 2.5. Deployment Models Private cloud- This is used only for organizations. Can be managed by the organization or to third parties and can exist on premise or off premise. Community cloud- This is used by many organizations working together, and is compatible with a particular community, which shared the concerns (eg, mission, security requirements, policy and compliance). It can be managed by organizations or third parties and can exist on premise or off premise. Public cloud- This is owned by cloud providers and is used by a larger organization or the general public. Hybrid cloud- Cloud Infrastructure is composed of two or more clouds (private, community or the public), that remain unique entities, but are caused by a standardized or proprietary technology that enables data and applications. 2.6. Essential Characteristics What is Cloud Computing? On-demand self-service- A consumer can unilaterally provision computing capabilities, such as server time and network storage, as needed automatically without requiring human interaction with each services provider. Broad network access- Capabilities are available over the network and accessed through standard mechanisms that promote use by heterogeneous thin or thick client platforms (e.g., mobile phones, laptops, and PDAs). Resource pooling- The providers computing resources are pooled to serve multiple consumers using a multi-tenant model, with different physical and virtual resources dynamically assigned and reassigned according to consumer demand. There is a sense of location independence in that, the customer generally has no control or knowledge over the exact location of the provided resources but may be able to specify location at a higher level of abstraction (e.g., country, state, or datacenter). This includes storage, processing, memory, network bandwidth, and virtual machines. Rapid elasticity- Capabilities can be rapidly and elastically provisioned, in some cases automatically, to quickly scale out and rapidly released to quickly scale in. To the consumer, the capabilities available for provisioning often appear to be unlimited and can be purchased in any quantity at any time. Measured Service- Cloud systems automatically control and optimize resource use by leveraging a metering capability at some level of abstraction appropriate to the type of service (e.g., storage, processing, bandwidth, and active user accounts). Resource usage can be monitored, controlled, and reported providing transparency for both the provider and consumer of the utilized service. Source: www.katescomment.com/images/CloudCube.png Cloud Security 3.1. Pros and Cons The main question is whether users are prepared to use the service from your local computer and are moving into the cloud because cloud computing has advantages and disadvantages to all potential users, but may have different meanings for different users. Pros Reduced Cost: Cloud technology is paid incrementally (you pay only for what you need), saving organizations money in the short run. Money saved can be used for other important resources. Increased Storage: Companies can save more data than on servers. Highly Automated: IT staff not needed to keep software up to date as maintenance is the job of the service provider on the cloud. More Mobility: Employees can access information wherever they are. Allows IT to Shift Focus: No longer having to worry about constant server updates and other computing issues, government organizations will be free to concentrate on innovation. Cons Security: standards depending on company and global location Reliance on 3rd Party: Control over own data is lost in the hands of an difficult-to-trust provider Cost of transition: Is it feasible for me to move from the existing architecture of my data center to the architecture of the cloud? Uncertainty of benefits: Are there any long term benefits? Today, customers are looking expand their on-premises infrastructure, but cannot afford the risk of compromising the security of their applications and data. In this survey of IDC, security ranked first as the greatest challenge or issue in cloud computing. Source: IDC Enterprise Panel What is Cloud Security? Security in the cloud, is not different than security control. But, because of the cloud models for contractual services, business models and technologies are used to cloud services, cloud computing different risks of a traditional organization of IT solutions can have. Cloud Computing is to lose control and accountability at the same time, but operational responsibility lies with one or more other parties. Not all services are the same. This depends on the provider you choose. This picture below illustrates the issue in SaaS where the contracts are negotiable; service levels, privacy, and compliance are all issues to be dealt with legally in contracts. In an IaaS, the remainder of the stack is the responsibility of the costumer. PaaS offers a balance in between, where the provider is in charge of securing the platform, but securing the application developed against the platform and developing them securely, both belong to the consumer. Source: http://www.rationalsurvivability.com/blog/wp-content/media/2009/07/CloudRefModel.html The technology has many advantages for employers. It is a simple solution that is cost effective, and can be updated easily and as quickly as the business grows, especially during peak sales. Many entrepreneurs do not do their homework when registering with a provider of cloud, and neglect to ask whether sensitive data can be isolated or not, or what layers of security is available. Cloud Security Top Threats According to CSA (Cloud Security Alliance) The report, titled Top Threats to Cloud Computing V1.0, These are the following threats in cloud computing: Abuse and Nefarious use of Cloud Computing: Attackers can find a way to upload malware to thousands of computers and use the power of the cloud infrastructure to attack other machines.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¨Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¨ Insecure Application Programming Interfaces: The reuse and combination of existing code to rapidly build applications often sacrifices quality assurance for agility and quick turnaround, resulting in insecure APIs. Malicious Insiders: One that gains in importance as many providers still dont reveal how the hire people, how they grant them access to assets or how they monitor them. Transparency is, in this case, vital to a secure cloud offering, along with compliance reporting and breach notification. Shared Technology Vulnerabilities: Sharing infrastructure is a way of life for IaaS providers. Unfortunately, the components on which this infrastructure is based were not designed for that. To ensure that customers dont thread on each others territory, monitoring and strong compartmentalization is required, not to mention scanning for and patching of vulnerabilities that might jeopardize this coexistence. Data Lose/Leakage: Using security control to protect the inside data in a company. This control is hard to apply to new environment. There is a lack of having the ability to monitor and control what is going on. Accounting, Services and Traffic Hijacking: The cloud is vulnerable to hacking. Like being redirected to malicious sites. Unknown risk profile: The customer are not well informed on where their applications are being reside, nor the configurations of the systems. Access Control in the Cloud In a traditional network, access control focuses on protecting from unauthorized users based on host-based attributes. Which sometimes is inadequate, this can cause inaccurate accounting. In the cloud, the access control works as a cloud firewall policy. This is by using rules using TCP/IP parameters, including the source of IP, the source port, the IP destination and the port destination. Unlike the network-based access control, the access should be strongly focused in the cloud by binding the users identity to the resource in the cloud and will help protect access control, data protection and users accounts. ISO/IEC 27002 has defined six access control objectives that cover end user, privileged user, network, application, and information access control. The objective is to ensure that the authorized user have access the right information and unauthorized users are prevented from accessing the systems. A procedure should take place and should cover all stages in the lifecycle of the user access, staring from the registration of the new user to the final step which is denying the user who will no longer need to access the information in the system. The following are the six control statements: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Control access to information. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Manage user access rights. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Encourage good access practices. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Control access to network services. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Control access to operating systems. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Control access to applications and systems. The reasons for this six control statements from the view of IT security, is providing access to information and applications to authorized users. The objective of this task is to provide the right users the right services, while preventing access to unauthorized users. Conclusion/Future Research 4.1. Conclusion Cloud computing is increasingly popular. Industry leaders like Microsoft, Google and IBM, have been promoting cloud computing and have gain a lot of costumer. But the rest of the public that are still doing research on the topic are still doubting and afraid to migrate to the cloud. There are still many questions left without any answer and the most important one is security. On the other hand, Cloud Computing is the most amazing technology that has happened recently. It is easy to use, cheaper, faster, and convenient. The question is whether the users are ready to move and if so, what providers to move to. Security technology must be developed specifically for the protection of the business in the cloud. The technology has changed and security needs to keep up with it. Future Work According to btsecurethinking.com, Breach Security is working with partners, such as Akamai, to provide web application security in the cloud. Example, when deployed with Akamais Web Application Firewall service, Breachs WebDefend Global Event Manager is the first web application security management solution to defend against global application security threats by enabling customers to make distributed cloud and data center defense-in-depth architectures operational. CSA and HP are still doing research on top threats and intended to alert businesses to current and future cloud computing risks.

Dorothy L. Sayers’ Gaudy Night Essay -- Gaudy Night

Dorothy L. Sayers’ Gaudy Night When Gayle Wald wrote, â€Å"Sayers’s career writing detective stories effectively ends with Gaudy Night† (108), she did not present a new argument, but continued the tradition that Gaudy Night does not center on the detective story.   Barbara Harrison even labeled Dorothy Sayers’s Lord Peter/Harriet Vane books, Strong Poison, Gaudy Night, and Busman’s Honeymoon, as â€Å"deliriously happy-ending romances† (66).   The label stretches the definition of a romance, but Gaudy Night indeed has very little to do with crime.   Sayers encrypted the real story within her detective novel.   This story behind the story narrates love and human relationships.   In fact, the crimes in Gaudy Night only supply a convenient way for Sayers to place Lord Peter and Harriet Vane on equal footing to bring closure to their relationship.   So the story does not focus on the solving of a crime, at least from Sayers’s point of view.   Lord Peter, how ever, sees it differently.   As a character in the book, rather than the omniscient writer, Lord Peter, in fact, obsesses about solving the crime.   Sayers underlines this conflict between the writer and the detective by making us see Lord Peter entirely through the eyes of another character, Harriet Vane.   In Gaudy Night,   Sayers also provides the reader with a weak plot, at least compared to the rest of her opus, and a lack of details concerning the mystery, especially the content of the letters.   The story itself contradicts one of Sayers’s long held beliefs, that mystery and love stories do not, and should never, mix.   These facts, coupled with the grandiose detail given to us about Peter and Harriet’s personal interaction, show that Sayers had her mind more on love than on crime.   ... ...dy Night.   London:   V. Gollancz, 1951. Sayers, Dorothy L.   â€Å"Gaudy Night.†Ã‚   The Art of the Mystery Story:   A Collection of Critical   Ã‚  Ã‚   Essays.   Ed. Howard Haycraft.   New York:   Simon and Schuster, 1946.   208-221. Sayers, Dorothy L.   â€Å"The Omnibus of Crime.†Ã‚   Detective Fiction:   A Collection of Critical   Ã‚  Ã‚   Essays.   Ed. Robin W. Winks.   Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey:   Prentice Hall, 1980.   53-83. Vane Dine, S. S.   â€Å"Twenty Rules for Writing Detective Stories.†Ã‚   The Art of the Mystery Story:   Ã‚  Ã‚   A Collection of Critical Essays.   Ed. Howard Haycraft.   New York:   Simon and Schuster, 1946. 189-193 Wald, Gayle F.   â€Å"Strong Poison: Love and the Novelistic in Dorothy Sayers.†Ã‚   The Cunning   Ã‚  Ã‚   Craft:   Original Essays on Detective Fiction and Contemporary Literary Fiction.   Ed. Ronald G. Walker and June M.   Ã‚  Ã‚   Frazer.   Western Illinois University, 1990.   98-108.

The Challenge :: Education School Teaching Learning Essays

The Challenge The SCANS report challenged schools, parents, and businesses to help all students develop competencies in the basic skills, thinking skills, and personal qualities required for work in the current and future workplace. It identified five broad categories of competencies that would lead to successful transition from school to work (SCANS 1991): - Resources-Identifies, organizes, plans, and allocates resources - Interpersonal-Works with others on teams, teaches others, serves clients, exercises leadership, negotiates, and works with diversity - Information-Acquires, organizes, interprets, evaluates, and communicates information - Systems-Understands complex interrelationships and can distinguish trends, predict impacts, as well as monitor and correct performance - Technology-Works with a variety of technologies and can choose appropriate tool for task The SCANS report recommended that these competencies be learned in context in the environment in which they will be applied. Thus, the need for collaboration between schools and employers became apparent, as did the need for educational reform. Guided by these factors, vocational-technical programs have been redesigned and efforts such as tech prep have been initiated to respond to the SCANS challenge. State and Local Efforts Since 1991, many educational efforts have been initiated to incorporate the SCANS skills in the vocational-technical curricula of both secondary and postsecondary institutions. The Division of Vocational Education in the Idaho Department of Education, for example, developed a curriculum framework for the state's vocational-technical programs to address the training needs of employers and students. This framework, developed by industry and education personnel, encompassed the goals outlined in the SCANS report (Idaho Department of Education 1994). Tech prep programs in many states have been developed around the SCANS competencies. The Texas Education Agency and the University of Texas at Austin developed a model that incorporates tech prep components and SCANS competencies into their health science technology education program (McCarty et al. 1994). As part of their tech prep project, 91 Indiana secondary and postsecondary educators developed 50 application-based lessons during the 1993-1994 school year. Modeled around the SCANS competencies, these lessons are designed to bridge the gap students encounter when moving from school to work, focusing on long- and short-term project topics such as "creating a videotape" (Indiana Region 10 Tech Prep Consortium 1994). Most tech prep efforts incorporate recommendations presented in the SCANS report. For example, tech prep in Ohio is characterized by six benchmarks that focus on SCANS competencies (Ohio Department of Education 1993): - Tech prep programs will demonstrate systemic change at both the secondary and

anthropic principle :: essays research papers

The Anthropic Principle In the early 1970s, Brandon Carter stated what he called "the anthropic principle": that what we can expect to observe "must be restricted by the conditions necessary for our presence as observers" (Leslie ed. 1990). Carter’s word "anthropic" was intended as applying to intelligent beings in general. The "weak" version of his principle covered the spatiotemporal districts in which observers found themselves, while its "strong" version covered their universes, but the distinction between spatiotemporal districts and universes, and hence between the weak principle and the strong, could not always be made firmly: one writer’s "universe" could sometimes be another’s "gigantic district". Moreover, the necessity involved was never -- not even in the case of the "strong anthropic principle" -- a matter of saying that some factor, for instance God, had made our universe utterly fated to be in telligent-life-permitting, let alone intelligent-life-containing. However, all these points have often been misunderstood and, at least when it comes to stating what words mean, errors regularly repeated can cease to be errors. Has Carter therefore lost all right to determine what "anthropic principle" and "strong anthropic principle" really mean? No, he has not, for his suggestion that observership’s prerequisites might set up observational selection effects is of such importance. Remember, it could throw light on any observed fine tuning without introducing God. Everything is thrust into confusion when people say that belief in God "is supported by the anthropic principle", meaning simply that they believe in fine tuning and think God can explain it. As enunciated by Carter , the anthropic principle does not so much as mention fine tuning. Being aware of possible "anthropic" observational selection effects can encourage one set of expectations, and belief in God another set. If suspecting that Carter’s anthropic principle has practical importance, you will be readier to believe (i) that there exist multiple universes and (ii) that their characteristics have been settled randomly, some mechanism such as cosmic inflation ensuring that all was settled in the same fashion throughout the region visible to our telescopes. True, the believer in God can accept these things too, yet he or she may feel far less pressure to accept them. Even if there existed only a single universe, God could have fine tuned it in ways that encouraged intelligent life to evolve. A possible argument for preferring the God hypothesis runs as follows. A physical force strength or elementary particle mass can often seem to have required tuning to such and such a numerical value, plus or minus very little, for several different reasons.

A short story by Nadine Gordimer

This short story, by Nadine Gordimer, overall, speaks on the deep-seethed racial tension that influenced the individuals in this story. In essence it is about a presumably white woman being mugged by an equally presumable black male (Gordimer is from South Africa and frequently wrote about racial tension). The tension in this story is so saturating that it even manages to conquer the language, imagery, and actions of the two people involved. The first paragraph reads, â€Å"It was a cool grey morning and the air was like smoke.In that reversal of the elements that sometimes takes place, the grey, soft, muffled sky moved like the sea on a silent day. † In the very first sentence it is established that there is a smoggy, perhaps suffocating quality in the air. Smoke is a hazardous, cancer causing gas that is also an agent of concealment; these attributes can also apply to the effects of apartheid. Like cancer, racial tension spread rampantly through South Africa and concealed a person’s character by his skin color. Even in the morning the â€Å"air was like smoke† as if to almost say, no matter how early you wake up racial tension is prevalent.In the very next sentence, it is stated that a reversal of elements has taken place which foreshadows a reversal of sorts in the later part of the story in which the woman becomes a victim. As she walks by the man her concentration is directed towards the scent of pine needles that were formerly held in her hand. A thudding is heard and the man appears unexpectedly panting in her face. This sequence of events inspires another theme in the story—fear. A fear of the unknown is evident early in the story, if only subtly, and evolves into an overwhelming sense of dread.As the woman first notices the red-capped figure in the distance, she inexplicably switches her â€Å"bag and parcel from one arm to the other†. This is a common defense mechanism for women fearing a mugging from a perceived sou rce or to simply add a sense of security. Later, as she nears the figure on the path, she grabs â€Å"a little sheath of pine needles†¦and as she walked she ran them against her thumb. † An innocuous action that seems to hold her attention until the visage of the man steals it away.After passing the now weary, raggedy man, she realizes that the pine needles were no longer in her hand (she doesn’t know when this happened which would lead to the conclusion that she was transfixed on the man when the needles were dropped). The woman then decides to sniff her hand in order to remember what the needles smelled like in order to compare them to a similar scent from her childhood. The pine needles, which leave a residue on her fingers, leaves the woman with a need to wash them for, â€Å"Unless her hands were quite clean, she could not lose consciousness of them, they obtruded upon her.†By being keen on washing her hands, she would no longer be wary of the figure i n which she passed and therefore relinquish her caution. This sets up the next scene as just when the woman decides to let her mind linger on her hands, the man makes his move. â€Å"†¦and then he was there in front of her, so startling, so utterly unexpected, panting right into her face. He stood dead still and she stood dead still. Every vestige of control, of sense, of thought, went out of her as a room plunges into dark at the failure of power and she found herself whimpering like an idiot or a child. Animal sounds came out of her throat.She gibbered. For a moment it was Fear itself that had her by the arms, the legs, the throat; not fear of the man, of any single menace he might present, but Fear, absolute, abstract. If the earth had opened up in fire at her feet, if a wild beast had opened its terrible mouth to receive her, she could not have been reduced to less than she was now. † It is expressly stated that she did not fear the man, so why does Fear present itse lf only when he bounds to her? Such terror is realized when preconceived notions of class barriers are shattered unexpectedly and what’s to come next remains a mystery.The language changes to reflect the horror that the woman experiences in this moment. She does not simply stand still but dead still, a simile is used to express the fleeting feelings of control, and animal (inhuman) sounds are produced from her throat. Fear also becomes personified by being made a proper noun and entangling her in its grip. Throughout the story the man is made to seem opposite of the woman. As the woman in the story is traveling along a path, she spots a figure (a â€Å"native†) with a red cap.Upon reaching the man, by following the path, it is expressed that his trouser leg is torn off, revealing â€Å"the peculiarly dead, powdery black of cold† (the effects of the weather on his cracked skin); his eyes are also red and he smells of sweat. When the confrontation occurs, his depi ction of something different from her becomes more pronounced. His foot is stated to be â€Å"†¦cracked from exposure until it looked like broken wood†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , his face is sullen, voice is deep and hoarse, and he has a pink injury on his skin. Such a distinct contrast with the woman is made to emphasize the cause of the tension.After the woman escapes, she desperately runs from the scene in order to get back on the road. The language that follows gives a sense of one escaping a foreign world, â€Å"And she was out. She was on the road†¦. She could hear a faint hum, as of life†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Her once encompassing fear has now eased slightly and the cause seems to be her flight from the velds and brush. The setting of where the â€Å"native† resided and where the woman wants to go are also contrasts that make-up the difference between the two and only add to the foreignness of the encounter.The last two paragraphs of the story are most interesting in that after the tussle, the woman decides, after some deliberation, that she would not tell anyone of what just happened. â€Å"Why did I fight, she thought suddenly. What did I fight for? Why didn't I give him the money and let him go? † Perhaps she felt pity for the man? He was obviously poor and tired with severe exposure to the elements â€Å"His red eyes, and the smell and those cracks in his feet, fissures, erosion.†Perhaps her story would appear shady to the people she told, â€Å"She thought of the woman coming to the door, of the explanations, of the woman’s face, and the police. † It is evident from her previous behavior that a mugging was in the realm of possibility, and from the man’s appearance it was also evident that such an action was not beneath him. The woman doesn't tell anyone of her encounter because of the social difference between the two. At the end of the day, the woman can most likely replenish her lost items but, from the descriptio n of the man, his survival could have been at stake if he didn't acquire assets or funds.The is described walking down the road, â€Å"like an invalid†, because she was robbed and such an occurrence leaves a hollow feeling but she realizes that she must move on, signified by her picking the â€Å"blackjacks from her stockings. † â€Å"Is There Nowhere Else Where We Can Meet? † is a unique title, firstly in its use of ‘nowhere’ instead of ‘anywhere’ and secondly, that the meeting between the two characters in the story is an undesirable one because of the racial tension in South Africa. Had these two people met in a different country things might have been different.

Technology and Modern Communication Technologies

Modern communication technologies such as mobile phones, e-mails and internet chat programs like the MSN Messenger have brought significant changes to our lives in recent years. Yet, there remains some disagreement as to whether the overall effect of this innovation has been positive or negative. Although there are valid arguments to the contrary, it is my belief that the majority of people in the globe have benefited greatly from these powerful and effective means of modern communication. To begin with, mobile phones and other tools of modern communication facilitate not only contact with friends and relatives in faraway places but also global business. With the click of a button, the vast amount of information can be transmitted from America to China in just a few seconds. Furthermore, it is generally felt that the access to these tools of communication is available in every corner of the world. With a mobile phone or a laptop, a person can talk or send messages online at a bus stop, in a corner shop or anywhere they could imagine. Therefore, it seems that these new forms of communication do bring a great deal of convenience to humankind. Nevertheless, opponents of modern communications claim that only the more privileged are able to enjoy the benefits. They further point out that the wide spread use of these efficient and effective ways of communication costs a considerable amount of money. Anyone who aims to use these innovations have to not only pay for the appliances such as a mobile phone or a computer but also cover up costs for communication services. Consequently, people who live in poverty are less likely to be benefited from modern communication technologies. By way of conclusion, I believe that modern communication technologies will benefit more people in the future as the pace of life increases; however, the have-nots cannot be ignored simply because they couldn't afford it. Modern technology has increased material wealth but not happiness To what extend do you agree / disagree with the statement? According to recent statistics, the number of people who are stressed by the influence of a modern lifestyle is increasing. While having to suffer quick developments in advanced technology, people are always busy at work. Undeniably, modern technology makes people's standard of living higher, however, I am convinced that people will not be happy while they live in a modern society with modern technology all around them. First, technological advances, resulting in increased degrees of industrialisation, have changed a lot of things in society, therefore, people living in that society have to suffer influences of these big changes, e. . , instead of working for eight hours a day and spending time with their families or going out to enjoy chatting over coffee with friends, people must be in their office and do a lot of work, maybe ten working hours per day, even they have to take works to do at home and their meals are always fast food. Do you think is that a happy life? Moreover, modern technology makes people's life boring, after working time people often sit by their computer to play games or reading some information on internet. That means they do not refresh their mind and by accident they turn their own into slave of modern technology. In fact, a lot of teenage get stuck in their lives, they think that there is nothing to learn and to enjoy because they know everything thanks to technological advances, thus, they choose the death for their solution. For all above reasons, I thoroughly believe that modern technology can not decide the happiness, it has improved people's standard of living but not happiness.

Gerard Egan

An Easy Introduction to Egan’s Skilled Helper Solution Focused Counselling Approach By Patrick JM Nelson Part One What is it? Gerard Egan’s Skilled Helper Model of eclectically based counselling provides a structured and solution focused basis for counsellors, psychotherapists and hypnotherapists. It is a three stage model in which each state consists of specific skills that the therapist uses to help the client move forwards. By mastering the process of using these basic skills in an appropriate manner (often in a cyclical process of stage 1 – 2 – 3 evaluate 1 – 2 – 3 evaluate) the talking therapist may be able to increase their efficiency and structure their work in a more logical way, thus helping clients in a more consistent manner and being less reliant upon their fluctuating ‘therapeutic inspiration’. Theoretical Origins Theoretically the Skilled Helper approach draws on Carkuff's theory of high-level functioning helpers (which explains that helpers with the skills of empathy, respect, concreteness, congruence, self-disclosure, confrontation and immediacy are most effective); Strong's Social influence theory (which explains that helping is a process whereby clients are influenced by others because they perceive therapists as having particular attributes and with this influence being most powerful when the the therapist avoids both laxity and coercion and is instead collaborative, empowering and democratic) and Albert Bandura's Learning theory (in which clients are seen as acquiring skills through coming to understand the processes of learning and developing appropriate self-efficacy expectations – expecting to achieve their goals by learning useful behaviours). Essential Therapeutic Orientations The Egan Skilled Helper approach encourages clients to become active interprete rs of the world, giving meanings to actions, events and situations, facing and overcoming challenges, exploring problem issues, seeking new opportunities and establishing goals. Quite simply, success usually comes when human beings become active in initiating positive behaviours and developing problem-solving strategies. The Skilled Helper aims to help their clients develop the skills and the knowledge necessary to solve both their current problems issues and ones that may arise in the future. To facilitate client development the helper builds a healthy therapeutic alliance with the client based on collaboration, warmth and acceptance. The Skilled Helper facilitates the client by helping them to formulate a plan of action, helping them accept their responsibility for becoming a more effective person and helping them to develop their own inner resources. The Skilled Helper also helps their client to transfer newly acquired skills and knowledge to fresh situations, facilitates them in establishing appropriate and realistic goals (that match their problem-solving skills), encourages them to become selfdirective and develop the skills of problem-solving, helps them to build on their inner strengths and to utilize external resources and support groups, helps them realize their potential and facilitates them in developing goals which are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, ethical and reasonable. Furthermore the Skilled Helper remains in a state of external sensory awareness and retains an awareness of their client's non-verbal communications. Effective Listening – SOLER Effective listening is key to being a Skilled Helper. It consists of various skills, which Egan covers with the acronym : S. If it suits them, face the client Squarely (some prefer up to 45 degrees etc) O. Maintain an Open Posture with the client. L. Lean towards the client (as appropriate). E. Maintain appropriate Eye Contact with the client. R. Be a Relaxed helper as by doing so you greatly improve the quality and comfort of the sessions. Active Listening & Empathy Active Listening is a key skill for the Skilled Helper. It consists in concentrating on the client's non-verbal and verbal communications and relating them to the client's story (non-verbal communication includes body language, expressions, reactions etc). Verbal communication articulates the client's experiences, behaviours and feelings. The Skilled Helper encourages the client to stick to the point (what is relevant), they are non-judgemental and they are Empathic rather than sympathetic. Appropriate Empathy is a state of human interaction in which the helper enters and understands the client's perspective, whilst getting in touch with their thoughts and feelings, however, in this the helper remains rational in their understanding of the client's situation and reality. Unlike in some counselling approaches, although the Skilled Helper communicates Empathy to the client as the basis of counselling, when appropriate they may also use challenging skills with the client when particular and clearly harmful irrational statements or destructive patterns etc keep resurfacing, however any challenging must be congruent with the maintenance of therapeutic Rapport and Empathy because Empathy and Rapport provide the client with the warmth, comfort and safety needed to facilitate effective positive change. Exploring Skills (Egan Stage I Introduction) Exploring the client's Existing Situation The stage one skills of the Egan Helping Model are based upon the exploration of the client’s situation and they basically correlate with the Rogerian counselling skills of the Person Centered Approach. The purpose of Stage I is to build a nonthreatening counselling relationship and help the client explore their situation and then focus on chosen issues. In this stage the Skilled Helper helps the client to identify and clarify problems and opportunities and assess their resources. Clients are often reluctant or resistant at this stage, therefore the therapist helps them to explore new perspectives, challenges negative modes of thinking and constructively challenges the client's excuses, evasiveness, distortions and negative self-statements. This stage is based around helping the client in establishing priorities and developing action plans that put into practice productive strategies. Stage I exploring skills include: Open-ended questions Silence Focusing Empathy Paraphrasing & Reflecting Meaning Paraphrasing & Reflecting Feeling Structuring Summarising Understanding Skills (Egan Stage II Introduction) Helping the Client Establish Aims and Goals The purpose of Stage II is to help facilitate the client in developing a more in-depth and objective understanding of their situation. This stage is enacted as the Skilled Helper assists the client in exploring options and possible goals. The Skilled Helper establishes what the client really wants and needs and the client is encouraged to consider new possibilities and perspectives, choosing ones that are realistic, consistent with their values and for which there are adequate incentives. The Skilled Helper facilitates the client in developing rational decision-making based upon healthy data collection, analysis and action planning. In this state brain-storming, divergent thinking, a balance-sheet approach and force-field analysis may be used with the client in order to facilitate choices between different ways of dealing with situations and achieving goals. These techniques help the client to explore various options and strategies as well understand and work around blocking factors with facilitating factors. Stage II understanding skills include: Recognising Patterns & Themes Alternate Frames of Reference Self-disclosure Immediacy Challenging Timing & Pacing Advanced empathy Acting Skills (Egan Stage III Introduction) Help the Client to Develop Strategies Stage III skills are assist clients to take appropriate action by defining goals, changing ways of relating and working through issues using problem solving or decision making methods, while providing support and encouragement. Stage III skills help the client to cope with current problems and assist in the learning of new skills that will enable them to live more effectively in the future. Action is based on exploration and understanding gained by using stage I & II skills. In stage III the Skilled Helper facilitates the client in finding ways of achieving their goals. After helping the client to come up with as many strategies as they can the Skilled Helper then helps them to focus upon those that are viable in terms of client situati on, needs, aspiration and resources. This process is designed to help the client move from the current situation to one that they would prefer. Transition experiences may make the client feel vulnerable therefore the process may often be built upon the taking of small comfortable steps as the client grows in confidence (but this must be based upon the needs of the client – some like big jumps). Realistic achievable planning and time-tabling are key to success and the Skilled Helper is warm and supportive – helping the client look out and overcome obstacles, turning challenges into opportunities and inspiring the client to mobilise their personal, social and material resources (particularly helpful family members, friends and self-help networks etc). Stage III action skills include: Divergent Thinking Goal Setting Decision Making Problem Solving Programme Choice Evaluate Knowledge of Resources Using Knowledge of How Behaviour is Changed Using Knowledge of How Useful Behaviour is Maintained Teaching skills & Promoting Learning skills Evaluation In addition to Explore, Understand & Act skills evaluation of the therapy process is also important. It can take place at the end of each session as a summarization, whenever appropriate. It helps the client understand what ground they have gone over, helps them perceive progress they have made and inspires them with understanding on how they want to move forwards. To learn about this approach in detail see Part II, III & 4 of An Easy Introduction to the Egan’s Skilled Helper Solution Focused Counselling Approach by Patrick JM Nelson. Gerard Egan’s ‘The Skilled Helper’ is available from the FETT Bookshop Article Copyright Patrick JM Nelson 2007

Jesus vs Hercules

Myths and Religion are generally presumed to be two entirely different things. Myths are seen as stories shared between groups of people that are part of a cultural identity, while Religion is a belief that a group of people of a cultural identity share. Although they differ in certain aspects, they still hold similarities. Comparable to bible stories, myths have different versions which are both inspirational, as well as entertaining to those who do not believe them to be true. Along with this major similarity, there are parallels to specific stories. Various nurturing aspects of Hercules from Greek mythology, and Jesus Christ from the Bible are similar, including their birth, life and ultimately death in their respective lives. Right from their births, Jesus and Hercules’ lives are comparable. Jesus was born of a virgin mother, Mary, while Hercules was born of Alcmene, who was impregnated by Zeus. Although both their mothers were not virgins, their birth was similar in the sense that they were both half mortal and half god. Jesus and Hercules both had mortal mothers and gods as fathers. They were both raised by other men who played the role of a father in their lives – Joseph for Jesus, and (name) for Hercules. As babies, Jesus and Hercules’ lives were both in danger. Herod, who was the king at the time Jesus was born, wanted him killed as he was afraid Jesus was to be the next king. To solve this, he sent out armies of men to kill every newborn in the city. Jesus was saved when an angel appeared in Joseph’s dream to warn them about the danger. In the case of Hercules, his stepmother was the one that wanted him killed. She was jealous that her husband Zeus slept with multiple women and wanted baby Hercules dead. She let two venomous serpents into his crib, but being the son of Zeus, Hercules was born with great strength, and was able to easily catch and strangle the serpents to death. During their time on earth, Jesus and Hercules lived fairly normal lives as men in their towns. Jesus started to perform miracles in his home town around the age of thirty where as Hercules was always seen as a mighty strong man. Hercules and Jesus were both icons, Jesus the icon of Christianity and Hercules the icon for the Greeks. They both had many followers as young men who seemed to have later been abandoned during times or turmoil and danger. Jesus when he was preaching about God lost many followers as the Pharisees claimed Jesus’ works a cult, where as Hercules lost his followers when cursed by Hera his stepmother in a fit of anger killed his own wife and children. Although many seem to think of Hercules as a redeemer and saviour, Hercules did not save the world in any sense nor did he ‘redeem’ people as a whole. He defeated bad guys and rescued good guys, but never granted salvation from sin or died to save any followers as Jesus gave up his life to save the world. During the few end years of their lives, Jesus and Hercules were made to suffer a great deal. Jesus had to live being ridiculed and shamed where as Hercules lived in exile away from everyone as he spent twelve years doing the twelve labour he brought on himself to make up for the remorse he felt for brutally murdering his family. Ultimately Jesus and Hercules both met with violent deaths, Jesus died on the cross out of own free will for the love of his people, even though he did not voluntarily decide to die on a cross. Hercules on the other hand voluntarily decided to died on a pyre of fire as stories mention he wanted to get rid of the body that was responsible with the killing of his family.

Cook Essay

For many years, I have been interested in studying baking and pastry arts. I want to pursue a career in culinary arts and attend a college that will allow me to be creative and collaborate with people that share the same passion. To me education is the most important asset that you can have or achieve. By attending college I want to gain my associates degree, by using the knowledge I learned and hope to begin a career as a pastry chef in a well-known restaurant, and to eventually own my own bakery. Since I was a child my dad told me to go to college, earn a degree and get a good job. Lakes region provides me with an opportunity to accomplish my goal. I want to learn the history and techniques used for baking and take that knowledge and turn it into master piece. I want people to fall in love with cakes, candy, chocolate, and every other dessert under the sun the way that I have. To gain this degree it would prove to everyone including myself that I can go back to school and achieve w hat I set out to do. To earn my associates degree is very important to me because without continuing my education I wouldn’t be able to accomplish my future priorities. I feel so much pride when a cake rises into perfection, when chocolate unmolds successfully without breakage, or when the fondant goes on smoothly without any rips. My dream is to work at an upscale restaurant and be the lead pastry chef. LRCC it would make my dream into reality and prepare me for what the future lies ahead. â€Å"Find a job you love and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.† This quote by Jim Fox is a hundred percent true, whenever I’m in the kitchen baking I feel like this is what I’m supposed to be doing and I enjoy every bit. Having the ability to create multiple varieties of deserts and to decorate them would fulfill my dreams of becoming a pastry chef. The importance of your college having an impact on my life is major because without the help of the chefs teaching, guiding and handing down there knowledge is more than I could ever ask for. Without the experience and education your college could give me, I wouldn’t have the chance to work along great pastry chefs and learn and grow. A wise man once said â€Å"that our lives are defined by what we do.† Enrolling in culinary school is defining my life in a major way. I know what I want and it is to accomplish all my goals so that I have a more desirable future. I’ve never been so passionate about anything in my life. It’s important that I stay on track and give it my all so I can get my associates and then one day own a bakery. My  education is highly important to me because I want to be able to have a successful life. When I earn my associates degree it will help me achieve my dream job working as a chef. Lakes region community college is going to prepare me for everything I need to know to succeed. By attending the Lakes region community college I will gain my associates degree, begin a career as a chef, and one day own a bakery.

Critically assess the view that multicultural policies promote social Essay - 1

Critically assess the view that multicultural policies promote social segregation - Essay Example The policy proposes that all the ethnic groups should be treated equally. No one group is taken to be superior to the other. The government does not force people to adhere to one universal religion or culture. Many people support multiculturalism. This is especially so in the academic circles and in the media (Malik, 2008:89). It receives a lot of support from those countries that are culturally diverse, with a lot of different cultural groups making up the society, as opposed to one cultural group. But this theory has its share of opponents. It is especially opposed by those people who adhere to a particular set of norms of one culture. In Europe and the United States of America, this phenomenon of multiculturalism can be traced back to the last years of the nineteenth century (Barry, 2001:56). It started as a form of philosophical, pragmatist ideology. Then, as the nineteenth century came to an end and the twentieth century began, it metamorphosised into something entirely new. It became part of the political and cultural pluralism in these countries (Barry, 2001:67). Around this time, the European and Western countries were colonising Africa and as such, had to recognise the cultural d iversity of these countries. There were a lot of migratory activities in to Europe and America which meant that these countries had a diverse society as far as cultural groups are concerned. The sociologists and historians of the time came up with a form of cultural pluralism that gave rise to multiculturalism (Harker, 2006:45). This paper will try to look at multiculturalism as far as social segregation is concerned. This is because multicultural policies have been accused of segregating the society into different and separate cultural groups and these acts as a hindrance to social cohesion. These policies might include the recognition of multiple citizenship. The administration might also promote media houses that operate in a minority

Economy situation in Poland before and after EU funding Dissertation

Economy situation in Poland before and after EU funding - Dissertation Example It is from these debates that Poland has reinvented itself, thus attaining the title of a modern European state that possesses a liberal political system that is democratic and sustainable market Economy (Cox and Myant 1). According to Bache, Poland has a record of the largest entrant to the European Union in the year 2004. In 1989 after the era of communist had ended, Poland undertook a territorial restructuring period. The membership position held by Poland in the European Union has helped the Poles to restructure as well as uphold their economy (Bache 73). One of the greatest success story attributed to the post-communist transformation in Poland is the high rate at which the small as well as the private companies are emerging over the last 20 years. 69% of employment as well as 60% of turnover are among the benefits of the small and medium sized enterprise to the Polish economy. The entry and the exit levels of enterprises, whose large percentage is the small ones, are higher in Poland than the average EU (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development 11). Literature Review Poland’s economy before the EU funding Europa publications Limited indicate that before its incorporation into the European Union, Poland had at the time had a population of about 40 million people. In addition to this, Poland was relatively poor especially in terms of aggregate, as their income per head was a third of the EU’s average. Poland provided incentives to non European members e.g. the special tax concession provided to Korean car manufacturers (Europa publications Limited 3). The Polish government had established an agency prior to joining the EU in the year 2000. The aim of this agency, which was known as the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development (PARP), was to offer active support to entrepreneurs in Poland thus improving the country’s economy. The main function of the PARP was to manage the funds of entrepreneurship that were granted by the state. This agency upon incorporation to the European Union also mandated was with the task of managing funds granted by the EU for entrepreneurship (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development 131). In the year 1997, Poland had already experienced continuous economic growth that lasted for five years. This was attributed to the reduction of industrial output during the transition period. Crucial steps had been undertaken to ensure that inflationary pressures experienced in 1990s were eliminated. In addition to this efforts had been made in redirecting Poland’s exports away from old communist bloc and towards the EU markets (Europa publications Limited 62). In the late 1970s, Poland had suffered an economic crisis. Its external finances indicated vast deficits of payment as its domestic economy fell in disarray. Poland had to find a way of arresting the situation before it could get out of hand as the interests were accumulating. The Authorities then decided on the modernization and investment strategy as the way forward (Marer et al 3). Dramatic changes in Poland have always caught the attention of the world. In 1989 the government in power transformed the existing centrally planned economy into a free market. In 1990 the price controls in majority of the products were scraped off. These were some of the

The Song of Rolan - the Foundation of French Literacy Essay

The Song of Rolan - the Foundation of French Literacy - Essay Example As the paper outlines, a large number of top knights and Duke Roland of the Brittany Marches were killed in the massacre. Ganelon accepted the task, certain that he would die. He threatened Roland, "If God should deign that I come back again then I shall stir up such a feud with you that it will last as long as you're alive!" (Anonymous, 1957, 20, pp. 289-291). Emperor Charlemagne was firm about sending Ganelon and said his command must be followed implicitly. Ganelon had no other option, but to comply with the order.  In the fight against Muslims in Spain Charlemagne made great strides and Saragossa was the only surviving city ruled by the Muslim King Marsile. Knowing the might of the army of Charlemagne, he dispatched messengers to Charlemagne promising his conversion to Christianity and submission of treasure. In return, he urged him to go back to France. Charlemagne too wished to buy peace as he and his men were tired of the long war. The issue was about the selection of a mess enger who would represent the King at Marsile’s court. The choice fell on Ganelon, stepfather of Roland. Ganelon, however, viewed this selection with suspicion and feared that he was being sent deliberately to die in the hands of the cruel pagans. He had always hated his stepson and he thought that he had an opportunity to settle scores with Roland.  Joining the Saracen peace ambassadors, Ganelon talked at length with Blancandrin as they rode together back to Saragossa. He spat venom against Roland and blamed him for inciting the Franks for the war that was fought without intermission. â€Å"If someone killed him," said Ganelon, "we might all have peace" (Anonymous, 1957, 29, pp. 391). Blancandrin was greatly excited about this observation and both of them pledged to each other and decided to design a plot to get rid of him. Roland was brave but failed to gauge the consequences of his actions and due to this weakness, treacherous Ganelon succeeded in outwitting his knightl y companions and his army.