Describe the butterfly effect and evaluate its implications for Essay

Describe the butterfly effect and evaluate its implications for theology - Essay Example Poincare, in early twentieth century found that even the slightest error in the measurement resulted in enormous unpredictability in the behavior of astronomical system (Poincare, internet). Repeated experiments by him reaffirmed his earlier results that changes in the measurement did not follow Newtonian laws of producing identical behavior but produced outcomes which were vastly different and unpredictable. In 1963, Edwards Lorenz, a meteorologist, discovered that while predicting weather forecast, slight changes in the values in the equations for the theoretical model of prediction of the weather, produced hugely different outcome. When he used .506 instead of .506127, a slightly lesser precise measurement, the results were radically different as opposed to very little variation that should have happened as per the Newton’s laws. The continued erratic outcomes of the computerized model of prediction, with slight variation in the values, emphatically disproved the earlier Newtonian theory. Lorenz became the first scientist to prove it wrong. In 1972, while talking in a seminar on "Predictability: Does the Flap of a Butterflys Wings in Brazil set off a Tornado in Texas?" (AAAS, 1972), he successfully illustrated that the behavior of complex system is impossible to predict even when the conditions or factors influencing its outcomes are known mainly because of the fact that those precise conditions cannot be foretold or predicted and therefore the unpredictability of the outcome. Therefore it is impossible to predict the weather accurately. The unpredictable behavior of a physical system came to be known as ‘butterfly effect’ because of the slight difference in the starting point of the curves which can be compared to the flapping of a butterfly’s wings. As Stewart says ‘The flapping of a single butterflys

ICT327 Assignment 2 Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

ICT327 Assignment 2 Questions - Essay Example team conflict is associated with lower intrateam trust, which in turn may influence team structure by (1) reducing individual autonomy and (2) loosening task interdependencies in teams. This combination makes for a less than ideal team design. The strategies that they can be applied in resolving the conflict would be first to organize personal meeting with each one of the members of the team and try to figure out the problems and then with the whole team. The problems that have to be diagnosed are: personal and functional. By personal we mean that if there are any incompatibilities between the personalities of the team members. A useful tool apart from the personal meetings would be to do the Brystol – Myers test for each member of the team and see the personality incompatibilities and try to combine the most compatible personalities together and redefine their role. The meetings will also serve as a tool for solving issues and develop intrateam trust. From the functional point of view it is important to see if there are any dysfunctionalities i.e. hindrances in the work flow, obstacles of the info that the team requires, issues with the cooperation with the other departments of the organization. Then, if these or some of these dysfunctionalities occur then there must be a redesign of the processes that the team needs in order to work effectively. b. There should be organized a personal meeting with the experienced team member and see where exactly the problem is with his role. Then, a meeting with the rest of the team and the member would be set up in order to clarify the problem and the relations of the other members. The impacts that the leave of the team member will have on the project would be detrimental for the morale of the rest of the team and it may influence other members to leave the project or they may feel overburdened since they have to fill the knowledge gap that the absence of the member will create. In this case, there is the need to fill the

Was The Bosnian War An Ethnic Conflict Politics Essay

Was The Bosnian War An Ethnic Conflict Politics Essay The process by which one perceives a given situation can be misleading, especially when the information being relayed is moulded in a particular format- to the liking of the transmitter. World views of the war that took place in Bosnia between 1992 and 1995 leave most to conclude that the tension was a classic case of ethnic conflict. This essay will explore the multidimensionality of the conflict in hopes of shedding light on other areas of stress that might have contributed to the forming or outbreak of the war by assessing the general discord in terms of measures set in place by theories of ethnic conflict. After offering definitions of some key terms that will be used in this writing, the essay will provide a brief history of the conflict, single out ethnic and identity entrepreneurs, rediscover roots of any existing particularity or stressors (including polarisation and pillarisation in the conflict), present theories of ethnic conflict, and show a detailed analysis through revi ew of literature before concluding. An analysis of the diverse faà §ades in this conflict will serve as a basis for comparison for points of interest, actors or parties involved, and will highlight how these factors influenced the surge of events that took place. Can the conflict in Bosnia be considered solely an ethnic conflict? This paper will endeavour to challenge the status of this war, as purely ethnic, by showing that there exist dimensions of this conflict which render it impossible to disavow the presence of convincing supporting evidence regarding the role of ethnicity and ethnic diversity as a cause for civil war. Definitions It is important to point out that because of the qualifying large number of loss of life and the nature in which that loss took place in this conflict, it can and will be termed as a war and genocide. For the purposes of this essay, while it is not always the case that ethnic groups share exclusive languages or affiliations, ethnicity, will refer to the existence of a unique set of racial, historical, linguistic, religious, cultural and/or ancestral traits, all shared specifically by a given group of individuals. National and ethnic identity, touch on the borders of a single concept, identity; it would seem fitting to relate them in terms of the conflict to be mentioned, as they both play a part in its history. Walker Connor defines this type of identity as being the self view of ones group, rather than the tangible characteristics, that is of essence in determining the existence or non-existence of ones nation (Qtd in Davis, 1999), while the presence of this type of identity is not always stable or fixed, as ethnicity is dynamic (Feron, Introduction to Concepts of Conflict, War Violence 2009). This essay will highlight four groups involved in this conflict: the Serbs (mainly Orthodox group), the Bosniaks (Muslim group), the Croats (mainly Catholic group), and potential causative foreign actors involved directly or indirectly in this conflict through participation or interest. A key term in this essay, prejudice, is defined by Herbert Blumer as a protective device. It functions however short-sightedly to preserve the integrity and position of the dominant group (Qtd in Kunovich and Hodson, 2002). Lastly, the term ethnic conflict, will indicate a situation of conflict, a clashing of goals among two or more parties or ethnic groups, sometimes depicting ancient hatreds, discrimination or victimisation through the use of media outlets and/or historical account, the possible involvement of ethnic or identity entrepreneurs whose contribution directly or indirectly l eads to a primary form of stress placed on any of the given parties or ethnic groups, differentiating the group in a way which might lead to the birth of a sense of external threat and resulting in a need to preserve the identity itself (Feron, Ethnicity Conflict 2009). History The Former Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) has had a multi-cultural and was always made up of multi-ethnic countries, while always falling under new rule or administration- each guided by different ideologies. This foundation makes for a breeding ground of multiplicity, resentment, gains and losses, and most of all change ever-present. As communism lost is hold on FRY, new, nationalist and separatist ideologies began to grow popular among the territories. Slobodan MiloÃ…Â ¡eviĆ¡ was placed into office in 1989, and quickly amended the Serbia constitution to allow for influence in Kosovo and Vojvodina (Region currently in the North of Serbia, which used to pertain to Hungary), which gave Serbia access to more votes on the federal level of Yugoslavias government. Montenegros vote then meant an additional vote for Serbia, leaving Serbia as the most powerful hand in the government (Ron 2000). Bosnia was considered an exotic country among European nations, due to its inhabitants and rich melange of cultures. Bosnia was a cosmopolitan country where more than a quarter of marriages cut through cultural divides (Lifschultz and Ali 1994). As the new nationalist and separatist mentalities span over the territories of FRY, mainly in Croatia and Serbia, things began to become clear that change was in the near future. After attempts to divide up Bosnia, into administrative and ethnic districts, proved semi-successful, but not without outbreaks for justice, it seemed inevitable that the moment had come for independence. Bosnia was already divided into the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia, Republika Srpska, and around the same time, both Slovenia and Croatia gaining independence from FRY. The then unseen yet not unthought-of situation was more evident day by day; if Slovenia and Croatia were to secede from Yugoslavia, Bosnia would quite literally be at the mercy of the Milosevic regime. Problems would then be expected from all sides of Bosnia, not to mention the l arger evil, as seen by Bosnians in that moment- Greater Serbia. Due to the separation of Croatia and Slovenia, even after thoughts to pursue a looser Yugoslavia Serbia would begin feeling its foundation and republic, quickly falling out beneath it, this only caused political leaders to consider preemptive action, in the form of attack. The republic became more unstable than ever when the government in Bosnia made it clear that when Slovenia and Croatia sought independence from FRY, that it would no doubt be forced to seek the same liberty, and Bosnia and Herzegovina began the referendum for independence alike. On March 5, 1992, parliament declared independence for Bosnia and Herzegovina, which shook the throne on which FRYs government had been founded, (Ron 2000). It is this timeline of events that outlines the situation in which Bosnia found itself under attack- both from the outside and the inside, including mass rape, killings, torture, oppression and finally the loss of approxim ately 200.000 lives. It is the identification of these sides which will prove interesting in testing theories of ethnic conflict on the conflict in Bosnia. Ethnic Identity Entrepreneurs In any given conflict there is sure to exist those who somehow find a way to use an existing fear or hate, to pressure or persuade others to feel endangered or moved to act. Franjo TuÄ‘man, of Croatia, and Slobodan MiloÃ…Â ¡eviĆ¡, of Serbia, entered into discussions which are known as the KaraÄ‘orÄ‘evo Agreement, which did just that by claiming rights to parts of Bosnia based on ethnic and demographic make-up (Ron 2000). As mentioned in the history (prior to the outbreak of this conflict) section of this essay, Croatia and Serbia took it upon themselves to divide up Bosnia- favouring ethnic enclaves and creating new republics for which, of course, new influences and/or votes could be easily manipulated, in the great scheme of gaining more and more land and authority. Populations were made to feel that their ethnic identity was externally threatened, and that there was somehow a need to protect it at any cost- first by separation and later t hrough physical battle. Other leaders, nations, entities, had made their views clear, that they would not interfere in this conflict and that they would also not stand for Bosnia to defend itself, without the forced attempt to sway Bosnia toward surrendering and ending up a helpless pawn in the international system, left to be carved or moulded- all the while losing its uniqueness (Kunovich and Hodson 2002). The issue with intervening in this matter, for the United States, and General Colin Powell, in 1992, was the question of deploying ground troops into Bosnia, something that would have held a cost of tens of billions of dollars. That particular point of debate took the panels down another avenue of discussion and of course complicated the situation of helping Bosnia (Lifschultz and Ali 1994). Later, the United States, the European community, and the United Nations, entered into a political huddle in what seemed to last forever. The process took the form of a remarkable policy deb ate, a discourse in search of rationales, while, in Diego Arrias apt phrase, slow-motion genocide was systematically carried out in Bosnia (Lifschultz and Ali 1994). The Serbs and the Croats had taken action to attempt to pull out of the game with more land, more authority and less opposition, but these actions do not directly target an ethnicity, and do not seem to be completely or even mainly ethnically based tactical decisions. After such a disaster, it was evident that life and surroundings echoed the erasing of certain ethnic qualities, but there was always an ulterior motive present. Bosnia as it had existed for six centuries had to be destroyed; the fabric which wove the lives of its many peoples together torn beyond repair; the loyalty of its indigenous Serb and Croat communities to a multi-ethnic Bosnian nation subverted; its native Muslim population terrorised. The objective was to cleanse Bosnia not only of the Muslims but also of the unique and dangerous cosmopolitanism of its cities which clearly had no place in the new pure nation-states emerging from the ruins of Yugoslavia. A cleansed Bosnia could then be carved up and annexed to the national states of Greater Serbia and Greater Croatia (Lifschultz and Ali 1994). These strategies to place pressures on ethnic grounds, as to influence the crowds, came about from already existing tensions in the communities that later witnessed the true results of what they had been convinced to do, all the while perhaps still not aware of the fact that they were being utilised, that their identity was being used as an instrument to gain their numbers, their voices and their force. Particularity Prejudice Genocide of this size could not have taken place without mass involvement of the common man and abuse of already established institutes/agencies, such as the existing military forces and of course the creation of new forces for the purposes of annihilating anyone that stood in their way. All prior events including agreements and discussions, only prepared the grounds for even worse events to come. Many contemporary theories of ethnic and racial prejudice, ethnic political mobilization, and ethnic conflict emphasize structural conditions that provide a context within which attitudes and behavior toward out-groups develop (Kunovich and Hodson 2002). In this way, it is a bit easier to follow the outcome of the events, and to understand how in the midst of such chaotic circumstances, so many windows to malice are opened. The events that followed ran rampant as pretexts of hatred, diversity and fear guided the masses to direct their uncertainties and reactions to those uncertainties towar d all things that seemed to represent the historically recognised Bosnia that Europe knew. Similar conflicts to the Bosnian War arose within the same time, such as the Rwanda genocide, which provide clear examples of particularity. Rwanda was a nation whose marriage statistics, just as pre-conflict Bosnia, showed a harmonious and culturally accepting coexistence. Upon the arrival of the Belgians to Rwanda, local authority was given in exchange for Tutsi collaboration, overturning many previously governed Hutu districts (Sadowski 1998). These types of interactions promote jealousy and fear in environments where such fears had never been so prevalently manifested. Foreign intervention did not come first in the physical form, but in the form of distant involvement, influencing authority throughout ethnic enclaves in Bosnia, although leaving a like scar, to that of the Rwandan example, in the midst of the conflict. Agreements were reached, regarding or involving these particular enclaves by foreign leaders from afar, who attempted to encourage the distribution of administrativ e authority ethnically, as to prevent the nation from sliding into war. This division of Bosnia used the previously existing, or seemingly clear ethnic population divisions that existed in Bosnia in areas where notable enclaves existed, which intended to label administratively as: Bosniak, Serb or Croat. Another point of this doing was to decentralise the Bosnian government by giving ethnic groups a sense of authority in their own land. This was done by assigning districts as pertaining to one ethnic group of another, even though random review showed that certain villages could have been up to 70% Bosniak and 30% Serb and yet still designated as a village or district administrated by Serbs or municipally adopted under Republika Srpska- an example of this type of agreement is the Lisbon agreement, which was drawn up by Lord Carrington and Ambassador of Portugal, Jose Cutileiro (Ron 2000). The agreement was signed on March 18, 1992, by the three leaders of the ethnic groups, although Izbetgovic, leader of the Bosniaks, after meeting with the U.S. Ambassador, Warren Zimmerman, quickly withdrew his signature only ten days after having signed it. It is said that Izbetgovics decision to withraw his signature and renounce the agreement was influenced by the United States offer to finally intervene, viewed that he did so immediately after leaving the U.S. embassy on March 28, 1992 (Ron 2000). Even today, Bosnians ask themselves questions as to the interests behind such decisions, and wonder how their ethnicity was able to be so very discretely instrumentalised in the scheme of something that was obviously very multifaceted. One of the most targeted and still the most visibly affected aspects of that once cosmopolitan Bosnia that one recognised, are the elements of diversity that were once revered as the nations richest social resource- its cultural quality, eccentric and obvious traces of history demonstrated throughout the cities of all Bosnia Herzegovina. The countrys architecture, its buildings, bridges, monuments built by the Ottomans were the most visible, most immediately tangible signs of Bosnias otherness. These became targets of relentless artillery bombardment or straightforward demolition. As if the intent was to destroy all recorded history, libraries housing rare books and priceless manuscripts were deliberately destroyed. Hundreds of delicately designed mosques, large and small, that had stood for centuries unharmed, untouched, disappeared overnight (Lifschultz and Ali 1994). It is in this way that any and all unlikely seeming traits of Bosnia were the targets of particularity in the atro cities that took place throughout the cleansing of Bosnia Herzegovina. The particularities and stressors that factored into this conflict, were perhaps greatly influencing reasons for the masses to be shift into motion but they somehow do not come across as a great enough cause given the history prior to this conflict and the strategically devised agreements that led to the need for independence- much less the outbreaks of violence that followed. Theories of Ethnic Conflict When given a vast amount of information about a conflict, you use a sphere by which you measure the elements and the gravity, logic or even reality of the events occurred. As mentioned before the tool by which we are measuring up the events of the Bosnian Conflict, are theories of ethnic conflict. These theories provide limits and start points for possible patterns to describe a conflict of this genre and are ever growing in that they descend from fruitful tests of hypotheses that have branched from detailed research. There are two sides or clusters, if you will that theories of ethnic conflict provide us with, for views on analysis of this type of conflict: the primordialist and the instrumentalist take on things. The primordialist stance rests on explicitly attributing the cause for the events that took place as a history of ancient hatreds and prejudice. Instrumentalists negate that the direct cause of these types of conflicts could be a clear-cut question of primordial abhorrence (Blimes 2006). These paths help refine a thin line of sight for analysing this type of affair, facts and deeds fight myth and hearsay- in fact, instrumentalist refuse to accept that this could be the direct cause of antipathies. Instrumentalists point out that in many instances, ethnic groups with a history of animosity have managed to live in peace and therefore reject the ancient hatreds argument. After all, interethnic cooperation is the norm rather than the aberration between ethnic groups. Instrumentalists argue that ethnicity is merely a tool that an individual or group uses to achieve an end (Blimes 2006). Scholars have begun combining theories of ethnic conflicts with theories of civil war, in an attempt to view if either incites a greater probability in the other. The analysis proves interesting although no concrete results were extracted through any empirically tested models. Through the mentioned research, there were no greatly solidified demonstrations that ethnic fract ionalisation contributed directly to the onsite of civil war. Other scholars, not related to that particular study, conclude similarly that the link between ethnicity and civil war are relatively evident but, as of now, in no finitely tested way conclusive. The Bosnian war arose out of a familiar set of circumstances: the collapse of totalitarian control of territory producing a political void that, in turn, exposes a deep-rooted rivalry between ethnic groups leading to a struggle for control of territory ending in an attempt at violent resolution. Central to the process are the notoriously ambiguous concepts of ethnicity and nationalism (Doyon and Slack 2001). While opinions may differ, much research shares a relatively similar conclusion in that the roles of ethnicity and civil war are greatly influencing factors in terms of general dispute, and it is through the evaluation of analysis in these two theories that this essay has attempted to clarify the labelling of the conflict in Bosnia in the 1990s. Analysis Ethnicity is definitely a recurring theme in this conflict, and very rightfully so. Some academics, such as Jovanka Stojsavljevic, would say that the war in the Former Yugoslavian Republic was merely an opportunity- that old guard communists took advantage of a vulnerable moment in FRYs history to use the ideology of nationalism as their own personal ticket to increased power (1995). The important fact to remember when dealing with this type of immediate reaction, is to remember that with such a great deal of input to process, and more than enough on both sides of the scale (both supporting and negating), there is not one single response and when there is perhaps a combined answer, even that is difficult to clearly devise into a black or white response. The Bosnian war arose out of a familiar set of circumstances: the collapse of totalitarian control of territory producing a political void that, in turn, exposes a deep-rooted rivalry between ethnic groups leading to a struggle for co ntrol of territory ending in an attempt at violent resolution. Central to the process are the notoriously ambiguous concepts of ethnicity and nationalism (Doyon and Slack 2001). This conflict demonstrates a great deal of multidimensionality and it is clear that such a trait must be taken into consideration when attempting to trace a fault or pin blame. Stojsavljevics conclusion of these events gets directly to the point and immediately cancels out ethnicity as a cause for the war. The one thing it does not do is seek to locate the role of ethnicity in the controversy or to quantify ethnicity as an influence. To do so, it is important to realise the situation that Bosnia Herzegovina was in at the time. With the decentralization of political power following Titos death and trends toward democratization within republics, political leaders on all sides mobilized ethnic enclaves for political gain. Once small-scale conflicts began to develop in these ethnic enclaves, fear spread rapidly , and the mobilization of individuals in more tolerant regions became possible. Thus, regional differences in ethnic prejudice provided a foundation for the emergence and spread of ethnic conflict (Kunovich and Hodson 2002). Misdistribution of power, bad leadership, a lack of checks and balances system and utter greed brought upon by fears for loss of fortune, authority, as well as future livelihood became deciding factors and the people who were not among the few in power, were significant liabilities that needed to be made to cooperate quickly. The decision in Bosnia and Herzegovina to seek independence was one that Serbian leaders anticipated and feared. It is that fear that incited a chain reaction of domestic and international obstacles to aid that would later end in ethnic cleansing, genocide and an immense infraction on human rights. The length, in time, that these obstacles stalled the international community from intervening, would serve as the lifeline for the atrocities that took place. The more divided the nation became; the easier it became to instrumentalise historical accounts and diversity as weapons to fan the flames of fear. Many claim that the simple fact that Bosnia and Herzegovina was so ethnically fractionalised directly affected the probability for the onset of conflict and that it made for a likely place for civil war. Scholars, such as Blimes, would respond that empirical assessment of any such hypothesis, that the very existence of ethnic fractionalisation could directly, much less greatly affect the inception of civil war has not turned out any unassailable conclusions (2006). To attribute ethnic cleansing, genocide, and mass violence to ethnic fractionalisation, or even ethnicity alone, would mean that everything that took place from the late 1980s to 1995 to build up to this conflict somehow all stems from ancient hatreds or that sooner or later all nations where ethnic fractionalisation exists will have a similar fate. This way of thinking suits a primordialist view in the sphere of theories of ethnic conflict. Blimes goes into detail by mentioning that primordialists consider ancient hatreds to be the direct root of these ethnic issues, while instrumentalists view that an explanation or blame on ancient hatreds quite commonly oversimplifies conflicts that are really much deeper than can be simply explained by timeless rancour (2006). The worst genocides of modem times have not been targeted along primarily ethnic lines. Rather, the genocides within Afghanistan, Cambodia, C hina, the Soviet Union, and even, to a great extent, Indonesia and Uganda, have focused on liquidating political dissidents: to employ the emerging vocabulary, they were politicides rather than ethnicides. Indeed, the largest genocides of this century were clearly ideologically driven politicides (Sadowski 1998). This and many similar conflicts are simply much too multifaceted to ascribe all responsibility to one factor or to omit the existence of other very evident agents. Conclusion As one refines the scope of analysis a bit, it becomes more and more apparent that in order to strongly support whether or not this conflict can be looked at solely as an ethnic conflict, indeed lies in isolating and identifying the function of ethnicity and/or ethnic diversity as factors. Of the two clusters mentioned in theories of ethnic conflict, it seems an instrumentalist view is more efficient in meticulously combing through this tumultuous history with a fine toothed comb. This does not indicate that ancient hatreds did not or do not exist or that a primordialist viewpoint is completely erroneous- only that it does not convincingly represent the foundation of motive behind years of strategically planned moves that in turn yielded even more power and riches to those making the decisions (which were not those of the targeted ethnic groups). Ethnicity and ethnic diversity do not compellingly embody a basis for ethnic cleansing, genocide or mass violence. Rather, ethnic diversity serves as natural fault lines on which a society, subjected to other variables that have a direct influence on the likelihood of civil war onset, can fracture or act as a solution to collective action problems that might otherwise prevent a cohesive rebellion from forming (Blimes 2006). While it is true that ethnicity and ethnic diversity are both pervasive in the sphere of this conflict, this essay finds that the Bosnian Conflict cannot justly be labelled and viewed solely as an ethnic conflict.

Hawthornes Hierarchy of Sin in The Scarlet Letter Essay -- Scarlet Le

Hawthorne's Hierarchy of Sin in The Scarlet Letter  Ã‚        Ã‚   Throughout the novel The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne focuses on the struggle of Hester Prynne, a woman who is forced to deal with the strict Puritan punishment for the adulterous birth of her child, Pearl.   Yet, the very Puritan values that bring Hester public ignominy help to lift her to a position of respect in the community.   Although Hawthorne does not condone Hester's sin, he takes pains to show that her sin is minimal in comparison to those of her weak lover, Arthur Dimmesdale, and of her vengeful husband, Roger Chillingworth.       Hester finds solace in the moral teachings of her religion and in acts of repentance, which help her deal with the struggles resulting from her sin.   Although she no longer practices her faith openly after her public disgrace, she still has deep ties to her God and religion.   She often prays for Pearl in hopes that her child's wild character will be calmed with time.   Hester accepts her punishment readily, elaborately embroidering the scarlet "A" she is forced to wear on her breast and dressing Pearl in scarlet.   She continues to wear the symbol of her sin long after the community declares her repented due to her commendable record of community service, showing everyone that she has nothing to hide.   Indeed, Hester's salvation lies in the truth:   "In all things else, I have striven to be true!   Truth was the one virtue which I might have held fast, and did hold fast, through all extremity.    . . . A lie is never good, even though death threaten on the other side!" (200).   Hester finds comfort in prayer and repentance, which help to make her strong:   "Shame, Despair, Solitude!   These had been her teachers- s... ...esdale.   For his sins Chillingworth suffers a horrible fate:   "All his strength and energy-all his vital and intellectual force-seemed at once to desert him; insomuch that he positively withered up, shriveled away, and almost vanished from mortal site. . ." (268).   He dies very shortly after Dimmesdale.       Although it appears at first glance that Hester is Hawthorne's focus in The Scarlet Letter, a closer examination reveals that the novel revolves around the struggles of a weak lover and a jealous husband.   Indeed, Hawthorne shows that Hester, who readily faces her problems, grows stronger and gains the respect of her community, whereas both Dimmesdale and Chillingworth, who are consumed by fear and hate respectively, bring about their own demise.    Works Cited Hawthorne, Nathaniel.   The Scarlet Letter.   New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1948.

Computer Game Addiction Essay

ABSTRACT With the constant improvements in gaming technology, ranging from graphics to new types of controllers to faster processors, there is a growing problem of computer game addiction. In order to fully understand this problem, one must define addiction. According to the Center for Addiction and Mental Health, addiction is a psychological or a physical dependence on something. LITERATURE REVIEW In this paper, we will discuss the problem of computer game addiction, one of the most addictive games, and ways to prevent or stop addiction. Massively Multiplayer Online Role- Playing Games Game addiction really started turning into a problem with the advent of Massively Multiplayer Online Role- Playing Games, or MMORPGs. While regular games would keep you entertained until you beat it, MMORPGs have no ending, so there really is no reason to stop playing. MMORPGs immerse the player in the world and since there is no way to beat the game, the goal is character progression. Leveling up your character and obtaining better and better armor and weapons is usually the norm in most MMORPGs. Addiction Questionnaire Dr. Kimberly Young, known as â€Å"the world’s foremost Cyber-Psychologist,† created a set of eight questions to ask one’s self to test for online gaming addiction. 1) Do you need to play online games with increasing amounts of time in order to achieve the desired excitement? 2) Are you preoccupied with gaming (thinking about it when offline, anticipating your next online session)? 3) Have you lied to friends and family members to conceal extent of your online gaming? 4) Do you feel restless or irritable when attempting to cut down or stop online gaming? 5) Have you made repeated unsuccessful efforts to control, cut back, or stop online gaming? 6) Do you use gaming as a way of escaping from problems or relieve feelings of helplessness, guilt, anxiety, or depression? 7) Have you jeopardized or lost a significant relationship, or even risked your marriage because of your online gaming habit? 8) Have you jeopardized a job, educational, or career opportunity because of your online gaming habit? Answering yes to any of those questions could mean that you are addicted. One would think that video games are harmless, but once they start interfering with real life and even take precedence over it, then there is a real problem. Video game addiction has not received official recognition as a diagnosis in theDSM IV standard [8], but is still aconcern for many people. Problems with addiction One study done on the problems of addiction used a modified version of the formal definition of gambling addiction. 607 8th and 9th grade students where surveyed, and of these 15% where classified as addicted. Of the addicted students, approximately 80% where male. Less than 30% of non-addicted student reported having been in a fight in the past year, while almost 50% ofaddicted students reported the same. Addiction also correlated with reported arguments with friends, and with teachers. Just as many students classified as addicted reported having a B average as those classified as nonaddicted. However, there where 4 times as many F students classified as addictedas there where non-addicted, and far more non-addicted A students than addicted ones. Not surprisingly, students classified as addicted averaged almost 4 times as much playtime as nonaddicted ones [7]. These figures are somewhat worrying. World of Warcraft (WoW) The current king of MMORPGs is World of Warcraft. According to a press release on Blizzard’s World of Warcraft webpage, World of Warcraft’s subscriber base numbers more than 8.5 million, as of March 7, 2007, and it continues to grow every day. The expansion pack that was recently released sold nearly 2.4 million copies worldwide just on the first 24 hours [3]. It is often referred to as â€Å"World of Warcrack.† Dr. Maressa Orzak, a Harvard professor and founder of Computer Addiction Services at McLean Hospital in Newton, MA, estimates that as many as 40% of the people who play WoW are addicted. She believes that games like World of Warcraft are designed to keep people in the game and that they are inherently addictive [4]. There are dozens of websites just for the purpose of providing support for WoW addiction. The game has a feature where if you type â€Å"/played† into the chat interface, it displays how much time you have spent playing that particular character. Some people report that they’ve spent 200 to 300 days played in the game [5]. In 2004, Zhang Xiaoyi, a 13 year old Chinese boy, committed suicide by jumping off a building afterplaying World of Warcraft for 36 hours straight. He left a suicide note saying that he wanted to â€Å"join the heroes of the game he worshipped† [6]. Fig. 1: A large battle between the Alliance and the Horde Is it Addiction? According to Weimer-Hastings and Ng, many people who are excessive MMORPG users are not actually dependent on video games [8]. They propose that many of these people use video games not because they are addicted, but because it is the only comfortable social medium for them. This was found through a comparison ofMMORPG player and other video game players. The MMORPG players tended to spend far more time playing, but much of that time is spent socializing. Some MMORPG players who showed long hours of playtime didn’t actually show any of the signs of addiction [8]. This study shows that care must be taken with the definition of addiction. Conclusion Video game addiction is something we must come to terms with as a society. Whether it is decided to be a read full fledged addiction, or just a compulsive behavior, it can still cause trouble in people’s lives. The problem will not go away either, it will probably only get worse, as designers get a better understanding of what makes consumers want their games. On the other hand, the problem is not as bad as it sounds at first. For many people these games are a social outlet, not an addiction. Video games are an integral part of many people’s lives now, and they’re here to stay. Let’s learn to use them responsibly. References 1. Center for Addiction and Mental Health – What is Addiction? http://www.camh.net/About_Addiction_Mental_Health/Drug_and_Addiction_Information/Addiction_Information_Guide/addiction_what_is.html 2. Center for Internet Addiction Recovery – Are You an Obsessive Online Gamer? http://www.netaddiction.com/resources/online_trading.htm# 3. Blizzard Entertainment – PressRelease. http://www.blizzard.com/press/070307.shtml 4. Rob Wright – mmORPGs and Game Addiction. August 8, 2006. http://www.twitchguru.com/2006/08/08/ world_of_warcraft_players_addicted/ 5. WoW Detox – Ex-players’testimonials. http://www.wowdetox.com/ 6. Associated Press – Chinese‘Warcraft’ Game Distributor Sued Over Teen’s Suicide.May 12, 2006. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,195236,00.html 7. Hauge, Marny R. & Gentile, Douglas A. â€Å"Video Game Addiction Among Adolescents: Associations with Academic Performance and Aggression† http://www.psychology.iastate.edu/FACULTY/dgentile/SRCD%20Video%20Game%20Addiction.pdf 8. Wiemer-Hastings, Peter & NG, Brian D. â€Å"Addiction to the Internet and Online Gaming† Cyberpsychology & Behavior Vol8, Number 2 http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1089/cpb.2005.8.110

Poetry Essay

Understanding and interpreting poetry requires a different method of reading than the method which is generally associated with prose. While a given poem, especially a lyric poem, may be literally read in a matter of minutes, the comprehension of the poem may take a lifetime. This is due to the extraordinary ability of poets to compress meanings and also develop complex and multi-layered associations of language, figurative language, image, rhyme, and even narrative within a very brief literary forms. Contemplating a poem is as much a part of experiencing it as merely reading a poem. In the hands of a talented and inspired poet, the minimal use of words and the seemingly constricted forms offered by poetry are actually platforms to convey thoughts, themes, and emotions that would find no more complete expression even if given the â€Å"larger† platform of a novel, essay, or even memoir. As an example of this multi-tiered expression that is found in good poetry, Anne Sexton’s poem, â€Å"Starry Night† provides a rich demonstration of how poetry conveys multiple meanings and associations within a minimalist form. To begin with, Sexton’s poem â€Å"The Starry Night† is an exercise in ekphrasis. Ekphrasis is a type of poem written about another art-form. Most often, in poetry, it involves painting. When writing a poems inspired by paintings, poets attempt to make language, image, and meter evoke the same emotional or thematic impact which is delivered by the visual techniques and textures of paintings. In â€Å"The Starry Night,†Anne Sexton was inspired not only by Vincent Van Goght’s painting of the same title, but by a letter the artist wrote to his brother, which contained the epigraph for Sexton’s poem: â€Å"That does not keep me from having a terrible need/of— shall I say the word— religion. Then I go/out at night to paint the stars. † By including the quotation form Van Goght above the body of her poem, Sexton accomplishes a clever bit of compression, in fact: explicating the poem’s theme before a word of the poem, proper, has a chance to even be read by the reader! This sly trick is compatible with Van Gogh’s technique in the painting â€Å"The Starry Night† which discards subtlety in favor of grandeur and obscurity in favor of explicit emotional expression. In the painting we see a night sky crowded with swirling clouds, blazing starts with burning halos and a moon which reflects each of the lunar phases in one image. All of these attributes are exaggerated, pulling the viewer into a setting of epic epiphany and emotional release. Van Goght’s sky is alive and engages the viewer relentlessly. The overall initial experience is one of being overwhelmed by the immensity of cosmic nature. Below a set of rolling hill lies a small town. The focal point of the town is the large church- steeple, which presides over the rest of the buildings. This steeple seems to anchor the town and the rest of the scene beneath the sky, suggesting that it is the religious and spiritual dialogue between humanity and the cosmos which is of the most importance, not the town itself. Similarly, Sexton begins her poem, â€Å"The town does not exist† establishing the primacy of a non-linear mode of perception, as well as setting the stage for the eventual, climactic religious epiphany. Van Gogh painted Starry Night while in an Asylum at Saint-Remy in 1889. According to many sources his behavior was erratic during this period of his life. During his youth, Van Gogh had dedicated his life to the church. Many believe that Genesis 37:9: â€Å"And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me† greatly influenced Van Gogh’s â€Å"The Starry Night. † Sexton, too, carefully reserves the numerical symbolism of the painting in her lines: â€Å"The night boils with eleven stars. /Oh starry starry night! This is how/I want to die! † By repeating the adjective â€Å"starry,† Sexton gains the â€Å"crowded† feeling of Van Gogh’s canvas in her stanza. She grasps the â€Å"living sky† element in the following lines: â€Å"It moves. They are all alive. /Even the moon bulges in its orange irons. † The key to Sexton’s masterful ekphrasis seems to lie in her use of compressed diction: â€Å"The old unseen serpent swallows up the stars. †This, like Van Gogh’s hurried, thick brush stroked invokes a sense of both urgency and passion. Sexton’s use of the refrain â€Å"This is how I want to die! † encapsulates the theme of Van Gogh’s paining, that of religious ecstacy, by merging the erotic/death urge so common in Elizabethan poetry and here marked by an additional shading of surrealism â€Å"sucked up by that great dragon, to split/from my life with no flag. In so doing, Sexton remains true to her confessional mode, also capturing an element which is perhaps understated in Van Gogh’s original, but present nonetheless, a â€Å"confession† of deep loneliness and alienation, marked by the darker swirls of color on the painting’s peripheries and also by the lone black tree, which Sexton describes as â€Å"a drowned woman† marking for posterity her close identification with the emotional confessional and religious themes of Van Gogh’s painting. Sexton’s poem is a wonderful counterpoint to Van Gogh’s painting, a rich example of the artistic and expressive potential of transposing the themes textures and techniques from one art medium to another.

Sonya Sanchez essays

Sonya Sanchez essays To understand Sonia Sanchez, you must first understand her past to appreciate her drive toward the future. Sanchez, a militant and dominating voice in the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, struggled through her early childhood while finding her voice when she needed it most. After her mother died when she was one year old, Sanchez was then raised by her grandmother that died when she was five. Soon after her death, Sonia began to stutter. Sanchez struggled with the problem for 12 years. She would later share that writing helped her organize her thoughts and helped her slow down and speak more deliberately, thus discovering her own form of poetry. I like Sanchezs form of writing because she experiments with form, spelling, beats, jazz scats, and more or less manipulates words with rhythms that roll syllable to syllable. Her first two collections of poetry, Home Coming (1969) and We a BaddDDD People (1970), reflect her militant, antiwhite stance, inspired in part by the example of Malcolm X. She incorporates dialect and profanity into her pithy, biting poems, and the tone is usually combative. Sanchez unleashed some of her rage at America's Anglocentric educational system. Her criticisms, however, were followed by suggestions, and she has become a powerful advocate of black studies programs. Sanchez's later poetry volumes are more specifically feminist in orientation, treating Sanchez's personal growth while celebrating women in general. One of her most celebrated volumes is Homegirls Sanchez continues to teach and write in Philadelphia. Black American Women Fiction Writers (Writers of English: Lives and Works), Harold Bloom, ed., 1995. Used by permission of Chelsea House Publishers. The "eye" devices (lowercase letters, speed writing, fluid lines) al...