Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 43

Assignment Example Likely trained as a Priest himself, Fulcher of Chartres (c. 1059 - ?) was one of the earliest historians of the First Crusade (1095-1099), a military expedition undertaken by European Christians to regain the ‘Holy Lands’ and recapture Jerusalem. In the particular excerpt from Fulcher’s chronicle that I have assigned to you, Fulcher recounts Pope Urban II’s (1088-1099) speech at the Council of Clermont. This speech is thought to have launched the First Crusade. incumbent (someone currently holding an official position); diocese (bishopric or area under the authority of a particular bishop); patriarch (a leading bishop in the Orthodox Church of the Byzantine Empire); ecclesiastical (of or referring to the church); patriarchate (area under the authority of a particular patriarch); cathedral chapter (body of clergymen formed to advise a bishop or, in his absence, govern the particular area under his authority); cultic (of or pertaining to worship According to Barlett, Latin Europe is that component of Europe which was predominantly Roman Catholic from the very beginning. The zone had common characteristics in geographical and cultural context. Latin was the dominant language for communication with a combination of Latin and Roman culture. Internal differences existed in the Latin Europe of the early Middle Ages unlike Latin Europe of the later Middle Ages. (Bartlett, 1) The ‘Latins’ were also referred as ‘Franks’. In the initial half of the ninth century, the Christian West and the Franskish Empire shared the same boundary. Frankish Europe as per Bartlett’s definition is the land of Carolingians. This was the center of the West. Some parts of England, Northern Italy, France and West Germany were also included. During the High Middle Ages, this part of the Empire may be regarded as central. The religion was

Susan Glaspells conflict and identity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Susan Glaspells conflict and identity - Essay Example The focus of all three writings is the exploration of feminine identity. Minnie Wright, the absent protagonist of â€Å"Trifles,† Jing-mei, the ‘disobedient’ daughter in â€Å"Two Kinds,† and Elisa Allen, the heroine of â€Å"Chrysanthemums,† are all women in stifling circumstances, who experience conflict. They are women who share a certain common yearning for assertion and identity and attempt to break out of the constraints of their circumstances. Minnie Wright, Jing-mei and Elisa Allen find themselves trapped in conflict and assert their identities in their own ways. Minnie Wright is trapped in an evidently unhappy marriage, and a cheerless home. John Wright is a kill-joy and a miser. Mrs. Hale asserts, â€Å"But he was a hard man† (Glaspell, 22). He is a silent, critical man whose very acquaintance is abrasive. Minnie’s life as Wright’s wife can only be a hopeless situation. Above all, Wright is a cruel man, with a sadistic streak, who deliberately stamps out his wife’s happiness in song and music by killing her pet canary. Minnie’s isolation from the community, the stifling loneliness of her life as Wright’s wife and the loss of her liveliness and love of music move her into deep desolation. . Wright’s killing of the lively, singing canary symbolizes his killing of Minnie’s singing. This brutal act finally pushes Minnie into strangling her husband as he sleeps. Minnie asserts herself by rising against the tyranny of a husband who abuses her as a woman and an individual. Tragically, this assertion of identity comes about only by Minnie being pushed over the border of sanity. This is seen in her laughter, her compulsive â€Å"kind of pleating of her apron† (Glaspell, 6), her concern for her preserves and her request for an apron in jail. She does not seem to realize the gravity of her situation. Although the concealment of her motive by Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters may save her from a trial and a verdict of guilt, her ability to live a normal life remains in doubt. Minnie becomes â€Å"done up† (Glaspell, 6). She resolves the conflict in her life but pays the price of assertion by losing her sanity and her chance of enduring happiness. Jing-mei is caught in her mother’s vicarious search for wealth and fame, and her attempt to use her daughter as a vehicle to fulfill her own dreams. Jing-mei â€Å"hated the tests, the raised hopes and failed expectations† (Tan, para. 4). Each of her mother’s experiments in making her a child prodigy ends in failure. What follows is a conflict between the ‘disobedient’ daughter who pleads, â€Å"Why don’t you like me the way I am?† (Tan, Para. 5), and the mother’s attempt to fashion her into the ‘obedient’ daughter whose achievements she can take pride in. Jing-mei rebels against circumstances in her own way. She decides to defy her moth er, and confesses: â€Å"I failed her many times, each time asserting my will, my right to fall short of expectations† (Tan, 9). She resolutely refuses to let her mother force her to meet her expectations: from failing to get straight A’s to being a college drop-out. Jing-mei remains firm in her resolution, â€Å"I won’t be what I’m not† (Tan, 4). Gradually, although her mother holds fast to her belief that her daughter has failed to become a prodigy only because of her lack of will, she accepts Jing-mei

Vodun and the related Voodoo religions of the African culture Essay

Vodun and the related Voodoo religions of the African culture - Essay Example None of the part of this great continent can claim absolute ownership regarding the origination of Voodoo. However the Voodoo in its present form had been originated in Haiti when the Europeans colonized the Hispaniola. The origination of Voodoo has strong connection and interlink with the transportation of African slaves to the other parts of the world. When Africa first came under the European domination; the Africans were readily started to be considered as cheap labor and worthy of transportation as slaves. The European colonists were confident that since these slaves belonged to different ethnic groups hence, they can never come together and build any resistance against their so called white rulers (Chesi, 6-7; Louis, 47). Interestingly Voodoo evolved as a phenomenon within unity in diversity. The continuous oppression of the European rulers and the misery of slavery created a common thread among those who were oppressed and in search of salvation they created a religion that wa s a mix of different faiths and practises; cumulatively referred as Voodoo (Christoph and Oberlander). The term Voodoo has evolved from the West African term Vodun and is a fusion of different beliefs that came from various African Ethnic groups namely â€Å"Fon, the Nago, the Ibos, Dahomeans, Congos , Senegalese, Haussars, Caplaous, Mondungues, Mandinge, Angolese, Libyans, Ethiopians, and the Malgaches.† (Voodoo)... Such rituals are a culmination of â€Å"prayers, drumming, dancing, singing and animal sacrifice† (Edwards, 296). Among many other animals; serpent holds the prime spot in Voodoo rituals. The importance of serpent in Voodoo rituals can be easily grasped through the fact that the word Voodoo means â€Å"the snake under whose auspices gathers all who share the faith† (Voodoo). The serpent expresses his immense power through the Papa or Maman who is the high priest. Among all other deities Bon Dieu is considered as most powerful and prime of them all. In Voodoo spirits are called Loa who on one hand controls Mother Nature and on the other determines human fate through influencing their health, financial prosperity and happiness. Some important deities in Voodoo are Damballah, Ezil, Ogu, Agwe and Legba (Michel, 63; Owusu, 43). In Voodoo ceremony the spirit or the Loa occupies the soul and body of the faithful participants and delivers his advice, warnings and desires throug h them. Voodoo is closely associated with nature and every possible natural phenomenon is considered to be the act of a Loa. In western culture there is a misconception regarding Voodoo dance that forms an important part of any Voodoo ceremony (Owusu). Such dance as described by the western experts is sexual expression. In reality they are just the opposite; these dances are spiritual expression and an attempt to get connected with the divine being. Unlike many other religions Voodoo is mainly based on practical experience and is deeply routed with the family and the community. An excellent example of that might be considering the dead ancestors as a part of the Loas (Rigaud, 50). Somewhere such belief is deeply routed with history

Susan Glaspells conflict and identity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Susan Glaspells conflict and identity - Essay Example The focus of all three writings is the exploration of feminine identity. Minnie Wright, the absent protagonist of â€Å"Trifles,† Jing-mei, the ‘disobedient’ daughter in â€Å"Two Kinds,† and Elisa Allen, the heroine of â€Å"Chrysanthemums,† are all women in stifling circumstances, who experience conflict. They are women who share a certain common yearning for assertion and identity and attempt to break out of the constraints of their circumstances. Minnie Wright, Jing-mei and Elisa Allen find themselves trapped in conflict and assert their identities in their own ways. Minnie Wright is trapped in an evidently unhappy marriage, and a cheerless home. John Wright is a kill-joy and a miser. Mrs. Hale asserts, â€Å"But he was a hard man† (Glaspell, 22). He is a silent, critical man whose very acquaintance is abrasive. Minnie’s life as Wright’s wife can only be a hopeless situation. Above all, Wright is a cruel man, with a sadistic streak, who deliberately stamps out his wife’s happiness in song and music by killing her pet canary. Minnie’s isolation from the community, the stifling loneliness of her life as Wright’s wife and the loss of her liveliness and love of music move her into deep desolation. . Wright’s killing of the lively, singing canary symbolizes his killing of Minnie’s singing. This brutal act finally pushes Minnie into strangling her husband as he sleeps. Minnie asserts herself by rising against the tyranny of a husband who abuses her as a woman and an individual. Tragically, this assertion of identity comes about only by Minnie being pushed over the border of sanity. This is seen in her laughter, her compulsive â€Å"kind of pleating of her apron† (Glaspell, 6), her concern for her preserves and her request for an apron in jail. She does not seem to realize the gravity of her situation. Although the concealment of her motive by Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters may save her from a trial and a verdict of guilt, her ability to live a normal life remains in doubt. Minnie becomes â€Å"done up† (Glaspell, 6). She resolves the conflict in her life but pays the price of assertion by losing her sanity and her chance of enduring happiness. Jing-mei is caught in her mother’s vicarious search for wealth and fame, and her attempt to use her daughter as a vehicle to fulfill her own dreams. Jing-mei â€Å"hated the tests, the raised hopes and failed expectations† (Tan, para. 4). Each of her mother’s experiments in making her a child prodigy ends in failure. What follows is a conflict between the ‘disobedient’ daughter who pleads, â€Å"Why don’t you like me the way I am?† (Tan, Para. 5), and the mother’s attempt to fashion her into the ‘obedient’ daughter whose achievements she can take pride in. Jing-mei rebels against circumstances in her own way. She decides to defy her moth er, and confesses: â€Å"I failed her many times, each time asserting my will, my right to fall short of expectations† (Tan, 9). She resolutely refuses to let her mother force her to meet her expectations: from failing to get straight A’s to being a college drop-out. Jing-mei remains firm in her resolution, â€Å"I won’t be what I’m not† (Tan, 4). Gradually, although her mother holds fast to her belief that her daughter has failed to become a prodigy only because of her lack of will, she accepts Jing-mei

Why Marijuana Should Remain Illegal Essay Example for Free

Why Marijuana Should Remain Illegal Essay Specific Purpose:To teach my audience how to drive a stick shift car. Thesis Statement:By learning how to start a stick shift car, changing from first to fifth gear and reverse you would someday like to buy a stick shift car. Organizational Pattern:Chronological Introduction: Did you know that by knowing how to drive a Stick shift car you can save money on the initial price, maintenance, and fuel economy? How many of you guys could use an extra couple thousand. I am going to teach you how to drive a stick shift car and to do so you will need to know how to properly start the car, change the gears, and how to reverse the car. Body: 1. First, you will need to get in your car adjust your seat, so you can reach all three pedals. A. You will need to put your foot all the way down on the clutch. B. Then put your car in neutral so you can take your foot off the pedal 2. Second, you will need to put your foot on the clutch then put it in first gear with your foot on the clutch A. As you start to ease your foot off the pedal you need to start stepping on the gas your two feet must past each other at same time. B. Then you will completely take your foot off the clutch as you start to step on the gas you will no longer need your foot on the clutch. The process will repeat 3. Third, you will need to be at a full stop then you will need to put your car in neutral, A. Step on the clutch then push down on the knob till you feel a little nudge B. Then you will change the gear as you would do with your first gear C. You will need start to ease off clutch then step on gas pedal D. Finally you will need to come to a complete stop put your car in neutral and turn your car off. Step on the clutch then put your car in first gear and pull the hand break. Conclusion: Now that you all know how to start a stick shift car, change the gears and put it in reverse. Hope you guys can enjoy driving a stick shift car and also the benefits you get when you buy a stick shift car.

Development of Autism Research

Development of Autism Research Fighting the Monster By writing a book called Infantile Autism, a Navy psychologist named Bernard Rimland established autism as an inborn condition rather than bad parenting. The books popularity inspired him to launch the National Society for Autistic Children (NSAC). By forming an alliance and reaching out to parents, he gave the parents in his network a sense of hope and progress at a time when there was virtually no research in the field, setting the stage for the surge of interest in autism research. Bernard Rimland was born in Cleveland in 1928, the son of Russian Jewish parents who emigrated after World War I. When he was twelve, his family relocated to San Diego, California. He got a bachelors degree in experimental psychology from San Diego State University in 1950 and earned his masters degree a year later. He met Gloria Alf, a Jewish girl from the neighborhood, and got married before heading east to Penn State to earn his doctorate. After completing his degree at Penn State, Rimland was hired as the director of research at the new naval base in San Diego. Their son, Mark, was born in the spring of 1956. But something was drastically wrong with Mark and it was only much later that his condition was determined to be early infantile autism. Besides reading everything he could on the subject, Rimland wrote a letter to Kanner in 1959 describing his sons behavior and announcing his intention to write a paper on the subject. After five years of research, Rimland published his book Infantile Autism: The Syndrome and Its Implications for a Neural Theory of Behavior in 1964, featuring an introduction by Kanner. The crux of the book was that autism is primarily a product of genetic inheritance rather than family dynamics. At one point, he even referred to Asperger syndrome without explaining it. He suggested that in some cases the syndrome was caused by unknown environmental factors acting upon a genetic predisposition. He speculated that parents who tend to be gifted in certain fields pass this vulnerability down to their children along with the genetic factors for high intelligence. This hypothesis would fall into disrepute in the 1970s as studies by Michael Rutter and others proved that autism does not discriminate by IQ or educational level and is equally prevalent across all socioeconomic strata. Rimland wanted the diagnosis to be strictly defined so that autism would turn out to be a metabolic dysfunction akin to phenylketonuria (PKU) that could be averted with a dietary intervention. PKU is a rare genetic disorder due to a gene mutation that impairs the metabolism of the amino acid phenylalanine. Untreated PKU can lead to behavioral problems, seizures, intellectual disability, and mental disorder. To facilitate autism research, Rimland included in the book a questionnaire called the Diagnostic Check List for Behavior-Disturbed Children (Form E-1), designed as a template for clinicians to copy and give to parents. After the book came out, Rimland unexpectedly received piles of completed E-1 forms. He followed up with the parents by telephone after scoring the checklist with a proprietary algorithm. He was so gregarious and empathetic to the parents that he became Uncle Bernie to a generation of families. In the second edition of his book, he included a revised version of the checklist called the E-2 designed for the parents to send to Rimland directly. His questionnaires had planted the seeds of a revolution. *** In the 1960s, most psychologists in America were still convinced that autistic kids were constitutionally incapable of learning. But a professor in the Psychology department of the UCLA named Ole Ivar Lovaas thought otherwise. Ole Ivar Lovaas was born in Norway in 1927. He and his family were forced to work as migrant laborers when the Nazis occupied Norway in June 1940. After the war ended, Lovaas was allowed to immigrate to the United States on the strength of his violin playing. He got a music scholarship at Luther College in Iowa and earned his bachelors degree in a year. Then he talked his way into the graduate program in psychology at the University of Washington in Seattle. He didnt want to become a psychoanalyst because he had lost patience with the speculations of theory-based psychiatry, so he focused on lab research. After earning his doctorate at the University of Washington, Lovaas stayed in Seattle, teaching and conducting research at the Child Development Institute near the university. At the institute, he experienced that improving the language skills of children with developmental delays might help them control their problematic behavior. He was also influenced by a psychologist at Indiana University named Charles Ferster who proposed that parents had inadvertently conditioned their children to be more and more autistic by rewarding their misbehavior with doting attention. In 1961, he accepted a position as an assistant professor in the psychology department at UCLA. In his first year on the job, the Clinic referred only one child to his lab: a nine-year-old girl named Beth who spoke mostly in echolalia and bore scars all over from banging herself against walls and furniture. Luvaas outfitted a suite of rooms with one-way mirrors, hidden microphones, and a push-button device that enabled his assistants to record the frequency and duration of her behaviors. He called this style of intensive intervention applied behavioral analysis, or ABA. Rimland was skeptical of the Lovaas method when he first heard about it. But he set his doubts aside and began to use the technique in training his eight-year-old autistic son. Lovaas had been thinking about inviting parents into the process because the lessons learned in ABA often didnt generalize beyond the artificial situation in the lab. The best hope for stimulating lasting behavior change was to train the children in their natural environment at home. Rimland arranged a dinner with Lovaas and a few of the couples from his network of autistic parents. Before the meal was over, they were begging Lovaas to train them in his method. By forming an alliance and reaching out directly to parents, Rimland and Lovaas had just built a shadow infrastructure for autism research in which parents, rather than medical professionals, were the ultimate authorities on their childrens well-being. *** In the fall of 1965, Rimland received a letter from Ruth Christ Sullivan, a young nurse and mother of an autistic son. Sullivan proposed forming a national group to advocate for the needs of autistic children. On November 14, 1965, Sullivan, Rimland and 60 other parents formed the National Society of Autistic Children. In the coming years, parents would launch hundreds of local NSAC chapters all over the country. By the mid-1970s, the NSAC launched a number of legislations aimed at protecting the rights of individuals with autism and mandating services for them, especially education. Autism was also included in the Developmental Disabilities Act of 1976. In 1974, by conducting thorough examinations of 78 children brought to the Childrens Brain Research Clinic in Washington by NSAC members, the clinics researchers theorized that autism is not a single clinical entity but is composed of multiple distinct subtypes. Rimland also did a groundbreaking study on savant skills based on data from his questionnaires, rediscovering the same clusters of enhanced ability in music, memory, art, science, mathematics, and technology that Asperger called autistic intelligence. Over time, the two paths represented by NSACs founders Sullivans focus on services and Rimlands search for a cure would diverge, resulting in Rimland being voted off the board of his own organization. *** Meanwhile, Lovaas was experimenting with alternating rounds of acquisition (reinforce proper behavior) and extinction (extinguish self-injurious behavior) trials on Berh. He found that she was responsive on acquisition trials, but not on extinction trials. So Lovaas sought a more expeditious solution, which was the use of punishment. Concerned that some of his techniques might seem unorthodox, Lovaas invited members of the press down to the lab to watch him in action. When the articles came out, members of the NSAC were concerned about how brutally kids were being treated at UCLA. Despite Rimlands tireless cheerleading for aversives, many NSAC parents refused to use them. Meanwhile, state hospitals across the country embraced the harsh techniques promoted by Lovaas at UCLA as a way of keeping problem patients in line. In 1988, the NSAC (now changed the name to the Autism Society of America) has passed a resolution calling for a ban on aversive techniques. But painful electric shocks are still employed to punish autistic children at an institution called the Judge Rotenberg Educational Center in Massachusetts, even in the face of a public outcry against their use. In the 1970s, Lovaas lent his expertise to a series of experiments called the Feminine Boy Project. The projects most celebrated success story was Kirk Andrew Murphy. Kirks was enrolled into the program at UCLA when he was five because his parents were concerned that he was exhibiting behavior that was too feminine. Lovaas worked with a graduate student named George Rekers who was Kirks behavioral therapist. Rekers and Lovaas devised a program of total immersion based on Lovaass work on autism. After sixty sessions in the lab, Rekers and Lovaas declared victory over Kirks sissy-boy behavior. Rekers went on to build a career based on the premise that homosexuality can be prevented. He became a founding member of the Family Research Council, a faith-based organization that lobbies against gay-rights issues. In the meantime, Kirk committed suicide in 2003 at age thirty-eight, following decades of depression. His parents claimed that Kirks earlier therapy had contributed to his suicide. In 2010, Rekers days as an anti-gay champion came to an end when two journalists ambushed him at the Miami airport returning from a holiday in Madrid with a hired male escort. In 1987, Lovaas claimed that nearly half of the children in an experimental group at UCLA had achieved normal intellectual functioning by undertaking intensive ABA starting at age three. Lovaass study was the breakthrough that many parents had been waiting for: empirical proof that their children could become normal given enough devotion, effort, and expense. *** In 1964, Rimland received an invitation from the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Standford University for a years fellowship in Palo Alto. There he fell under the spell of Linus Pauling, who had won two Nobel Prizes, a Nobel prize in Chemistry, and a Nobel Peace Prize. Pauling was the most prominent advocate of the notion that megadoses of Vitamin C could avert the common cold, slow the aging process, and improve mood. Paulings concept of orthomolecular psychiatry meshed perfectly with Rimlands thoughts on PKU and autism. Meanwhile, Rimland had started getting letters from parents claiming that their sons and daughters had become more calm and engaged after taking megadoses of certain nutrients, particularly vitamins B and C. After talking with doctors convinced of the therapeutic value of the megavitamin regimen, Rimland established the Institute for Child Behavior Research, later renamed the Autism Research Institute in San Diego to launch a study. But he di d not use the so-called double-blind placebo-controlled trial model in his study. Instead, he developed a home-brewed form of data analysis that he called computer clustering, an algorithmic search for clinically significant ripples in a sea of big data. With 45 percent of parents reporting that the vitamins definitely helped their children, Rimland was thrilled with the results of his experiment. But three independent analyses of his dataset revealed more problems with his design. The design of the experiment with parents as evaluators of changes in their childrens behavior was anything but blind in the statistical sense. A Navy statistician with access to the raw data concluded that no reliable information about the reaction in the vitamins by various subtypes in the sample population could be obtained by using Rimlands computer clustering scheme. Rimland was bugged by the disappointing response of his peers to his megavitamin experiment. Noting the serious side effects caused by prescription drugs, Rimland concluded that the future of his work was not to be found in conventional medicine. He would eventually encourage his parent-experimenters to try several treatments at once, making it nearly impossible to tease out the benefits and side effects of any single one. This try-everything-at-once approach gave the parents in his network a tremendous sense of hope and momentum at a time when the mainstream science of autism was at a standstill. From his office in Kensington, a suburb of San Diego, Rimland forged a productive alliance with the nineteen-year-old Steve Edelson, a psychology/sociology major in Lovaass lab. Together they wrote a book called Recovering Autistic Children that became one of the bibles of the biomedical movement. In the 1990s, they launched Defeat Autism Now! (DAN!), the network of clinicians and alt-med practitioners that Shannon Rosa turned to for advice on the GFGC diet and other treatments after Leo was diagnosed in 2002.

The Ten Greatest Marketing Mistakes and How to Avoid Them :: Business Marketing Mistakes Companies Essays

The Ten Greatest Marketing Mistakes and How to Avoid Them Its a certain fact that business these days is more competitive than its ever been. To stay alive these days, you just cant just offer a quality product at a fair price. These days, you have to know how to market effectively. Unfortunately, most businesses have no idea of how to get the most out of every marketing dollar that they spend. You should demand that ou get the best results from every dime you drop into marketing! Most companies spend more time planning their company Christmas party than they do creating powerful, persuasive, marketing communications. Now this can stop. Herein are the 10 greatest marketing mistakes and how you can avoid them. Before I get into it, let me tell you why I put this together. As I consult with current clients, bring on new clients, and market for more, I am learning more and more. Its come to my attention time and time again, when I bring on a new client I find that they are making almost the exact same mistakes as another of my clients was, in a totally unrelated field! These marketing mistakes arent confined to a singular industry. These mistakes Ive found across the board. I have worked with computer software companies, food companies, cable sales companies, real estate brokers, financial consultants, and many more. All of these companies had most, if not all of these 10 greatest marketing mistakes present in their operations. If one or two of these mistakes dont apply to you, then you should congratulate yourself! You must already be on the road to marketing success! Here they are in no particular order: Mistake # 1: Your business focuses on itself, and not on your prospects and customers needs. Does this seem too obvious? Look through your yellow pages. Pick them up right now and glance through. Answer this question: Are most of the ads telling you what benefits you get if you if you become a customer? Or are the ads telling you about the vendors, where they are, how wonderful they are, what they do, how great their quality is, how great their service is, and all about them? 95% of the ads are totally focused on the business and not on what the business can do for YOU, the prospect! Take a look at the ads in the newspapers, on the TV, and listen to the radio.