Eng 1010 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Eng 1010 - Essay Example In addition, it has superior display and graphics as compared to other phones in the market. The display options it provides are quite exciting because they provide the feel of using a computer, rather than just a phone. Its 6 Plus 5.5-inch monitor with high-resolution Retina HD display is remarkable, in addition to its protective capabilities. Apart from that, the iPhone has fast internet connectivity, which is convenient for intense web browsing and email applications. Excellent internet, coupled with a Dual-core 1.4 GHz Cyclone (ARM v8-based) processor, makes multitasking easy. IPhone 6 is undoubtedly a badly efficient and exceedingly powerful phone device whose stylish nature appeals to a great (but wealthy) section of the populace. Despite its advantages, the iPhone presents several imperfections, just like any other hi-tech device. Its main shortcoming is that it is considerably costly as compared to its competitors. Even so, its prestige lies on its expensive nature, so that only a few people can afford it and have boasting rights. In addition, its internal memory is non-expandable, and this means that an iPhone user can only use downloads that are originally available on the gadget. I dislike it because I am limited to downloading music from its music stores, rather than transferring my own music and movies. Its other notable disadvantages include the inability to remove its Li-Po battery for charging, and its lack of water resistance. Considering the iPhone 6 lacks some features that android phones have, it is still not a superior phone globally. In addition, considering there are phones such as Samsung Galaxy S5 that are certified as waterproof, the iPhone 6 is still at a disadvantage. Owing to its impressive features and prestige values, the iPhone is worth its price. As long as one can afford it, then it is worth the price. It is not advisable if an overzealous person has to save money to purchase one, merely to impress

School Lunches Essay Example for Free

School Lunches Essay School lunches today are not as hearty and delicious as they were back in the day. When I was a child my lunches were prepared at school by the cafeteria workers. Today, the cafeteria workers heat up the already prepared food. Todays food is prepared by means of nuking it in the microwave, or heated up in the oven. This could maybe be the cause of obesity with the unhealthy choices at lunchtime in the dining halls. When I was a child the mashed potatoes and turkey dinner were on of the best foods. I remembered all of my friends and I being so excited when turkey dinner day was approaching. The mashed potatoes were real with potatoes mashed not that power that you put milk in. The turkey was a real turkey, not fake or processed. That is not the case today. Just the about the weekend before Thanksgiving, I saw that turkey dinner was on the menu for school lunch. I thought yummy! I went down to the Miller Dining Hall for the turkey Dinner. I went to the front desk and the lady scanned my card. When this person started to tell me about the dreadful turkey dinner. She said, â€Å"This is not the Turkey Dinner that we had as kids. I just laughed at her thoughts and went in to try for myself. The turkey was a processed chunk of whitish colored meat. This meat was floating in brownish colored gravy. This gravy tasted like it was mostly water with maybe brown food coloring added in. Potatoes are not what this white fluffy stuff tasted like. The food tasted horrible, and the portions were limited. I can remember when I was a young boy in school; I never was hungry at any point throughout the day. The portions were healthy portions. You were given healthy portions of all the food that was offered for lunch. There was more variety in our choices. We had a choice of two vegetables and two of something else. I can remember when chicken nuggets were served we received six nuggets. The nuggets were along the size of the nuggets served at McDonalds. Today, the portions are more of micro baby sized portions. The portions are extremely small and college students are not satisfied throughout the day. Students today are allowed four mini nuggets with a choice of corn or carrots or soup. That is all good for students that eat salads. Not all students are salad eaters, and those kids are the ones that suffer throughout the day. Not only the non-salad eaters but students that are picky with there eating habits. Good reasons about school lunches is that who is vegan has their own little food bar with goodies that mare made just for them. You can make special orders about what food you can and cannot eat. If your allergic or you can’t have gluten in your meals. When you usually judge food on the smell and looks of the meal. But Miller Dining Hall that doesn’t work;(7) you just have to hope to God that it turns out good. Most of the food is fattening also. So let’s say you’re on a diet or a body builder, it’s really hard to maintain your fat in take at the dining hall because or the deep fried food already pre-made (6) food. I am fully aware that the schools are tying to cut down on obesity. The school is trying to cut the portions to not promote obesity. If I don’t have much for lunch or some days I say that lunch is nasty and I refuses to eat, I still have food at my dorm waiting. I would imagine that there are a few kids that have nothing waiting for them. These are the kids that I want to help. School lunches today will never be as good as they were. I think that the school could work a little harder to purchase food that tastes better, fixing homemade food, instead of preparing express food for the students. I feel that school lunch of the past would make a better alternative to the school lunch of today.

The Unobtainable Good Things in O’Connor’s A Late Encounter with the En

The Unobtainable Good Things in O’Connor’s A Late Encounter with the Enemy I have Seen the Enemy and it is Myself . . . . . . . She wanted the General at her graduation because she wanted to show what she stood for, or, as she said, "what all was behind her," and was not behind them. This them was not anybody in particular. It was just all the upstarts who has turned the world on its head and unsettled the ways of decent living. (134) These are the thoughts of Sally Poker Sash, as offered by Flannery O'Connor in the second paragraph of her story "A Late Encounter with the Enemy." Sally, a sixty-two year old school teacher, is receiving a college degree that has taken her twenty years to earn. She should be proud of her accomplishment. Of course she should be proud. She proves true the old adages, "its never too late" and "good things come to those who wait." Isn't it possible though, that in some situations, the "good things" come too late and when they do arrive they are not so good? I think O'Connor, through this story, is trying to warn us (the readers) of that possibility. The first paragraph of "A Late Encounter" is told from the point-of-view of Sally's grandfather, General Tennessee Flintrock Sash. O'Connor makes it very clear to us that the old man doesn't "give two slaps for her graduation." Surely, his attitude is apparent to Sally, too. Sally is aware of his attitude, too. Why, then, is it so important to her that he live to see her graduation? In the above passage, Sally offers three seemingly simple, but in actuality, complicated explanations for her prayer. Sally states explicitly that she wants her grandfather to attend her graduation because she "wanted to show what she stood for." This is very ... ...tory, opting instead to make for themselves a false past? Ironically, Sally is guilty of using this false past to impress the Dean and guarantee her degree. Graduation day arrives and Sally is ready for the "good thing" that she has waited so long for to arrive. Alas, if it is her grandfather that she wants to prove something to, she is out of luck. O'Conner cheats Sally out of her moment of glory. We learn at the end of the story that the old man dies while on stage at the graduation, oblivious to Sally receiving her diploma. Afterwards, her young nephew, the "crafty scout" John Wesley Poker Sash, hastily bumped the corpse out the back way so that he could get to the Coca-Cola machine; thus depriving Sally of her moment to gloat in front of him. Dammit! Cheated out of triumph again. Sally Sash (whose middle name is after all Poker) had bet on the past and lost.

Relationship between Hamlet and Rosencrantz Essay

Are there any acceptable reasons to lie to a friend? This question brings us to the issue of true friendship. In the play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, the relationship between Hamlet and Horatio as well as the relationship between Hamlet with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are presented. These relationships are portrayed by the occasion on which the friends meet, the method in which Hamlet’s friends treat him, and how they act towards him. From these incidents, Horatio proves to be a better friend to Hamlet than either Rosencrantz or Guildenstern. As the play develops, we see that Horatio treats Hamlet with more kindness than both Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. This is exemplified in Horatio’s actions in particular, his first meeting with Hamlet where he informed Hamlet about his father’s ghost, then advised him not to follow the ghost, and helped him perform the mousetrap in order to prove Claudius’ guilt in the murder of King Hamlet. In the beginning, after witnessing the appearance of King Hamlet’s ghost, Horatio informs Hamlet of what he saw. â€Å"I think I saw [your father] yesternight.† (I, ii, 188). The fact, that Horatio would tell his friend that he saw the ghost of his dead father every day for the last week proved that Horatio cared for Hamlet. Next, Horatio tried to protect Hamlet by warning him of possible dangers that could arise if he followed his father’s ghost. Hamlet: â€Å"It will not speak, then I will follow it† Horatio: â€Å"Do not, my lord†¦What if it tempt you toward the flood, my lord,/ Or to the dreadful summit of the cliff.† (I, iv, 62-63, 69-70) From this scene, Horatio is shown to be protecting Hamlet from dangers that could occur, an act that a true friend would carry out. Finally, Horatio helped Hamlet to perform the mousetrap in order to determine if Claudius really killed King Hamlet. Hamlet: â€Å"one scene of it comes near the circumstances which [Hamlet] have told [Horatio] of [his] father’s death†¦ Observe [Claudius]: if his occulted guilt.† Horatio: â€Å"well, my lord:/ If [Claudius] steal aught the whilst this play is playing,/ And ‘scape detecting, [Horatio] will pay the theft.† (III, ii, 75-76,79, 87-88) In this act, Horatio has agreed to team up with Hamlet, and defy his allegiance to the King of Denmark, to see if the Claudius killed King Hamlet. These events are evidence of the true friendship Horatio has with Hamlet. During the play, Hamlet is also introduced to his childhood friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Though they have known each other from a young age, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern prove not to be as true in their friendship to Hamlet as Horatio. This is evidenced by their reason come to Denmark, their first meeting with Hamlet, and the way in which they treated him. When Rosencrantz and Guildenstern arrive in Denmark they are welcomed by Claudius and Gertrude because they were sent for by the King and Queen. â€Å"Welcome, dear Rosencrantz and Guildenstern†¦ The need we have to use you did provoke/ Our hasty sending.† (II, ii, 1, 3-4). Since Rosencrantz and Guildenstern came to Denmark because they were called upon, and did not come on their own free will, this proves that they are not true friends to Hamlet. Next, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern agreed to Claudius and Gertrude’s proposal to spy on Hamlet. Claudius: â€Å"†¦ and to gather, †¦Whether aught to us unknown afflicts him thus,† Guildenstern: â€Å"But we obey† (II, ii, 15-18, 29) Since Rosencrantz and Guildenstern agreed to spy on Hamlet, their own friend, this reveals that they are not true friends. Finally, after Hamlet figured out that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were sent to spy on him did they finally confess â€Å"my Lord, we were sent for.† (II, ii, 292). After the truth came out, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern tried to make Hamlet feel better because he felt that he was in a prison living in Denmark because the ghost  told Hamlet of his murder and the adulterous relationship Gertrude had with Claudius. From examining the events surrounding the relationships of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern with Hamlet, it is plain to see that they were not good friends to Hamlet. In comparing Rosencrantz and Guildenstern relationship with Hamlet to Horatio’s relationship with Hamlet, it is clear that Horatio was a better friend. From the initial meeting of the two sets of friends to how they treated the main character, Horatio proved to be kinder to Hamlet throughout. First of all, the fact that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are called to Denmark by the King and Queen and did not come because they wanted to see their friend is very telling of the level of friendship they have with Hamlet. This is unlike Horatio, who goes out and seeks Hamlet in order to tell him about his father. Secondly, Hamlet shows his trust towards Horatio when he indulges his plan to figure out if Claudius killed his father. This is in contrast to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern who agreed to help Claudius figure out what was wrong with Hamlet. Finally, Horatio wanted to protect Hamlet from dangers when he warned him that something negative could possibly happen if he followed the ghost. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern only acted nicely to Hamlet once he figured out that they were sent to spy on him. These events provide evidence that Horatio was a better friend to Hamlet than Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were. In conclusion, from comparing the relationship between Rosencrantz and Guildenstern with Hamlet versus the relationship of Horatio with Hamlet, the evidence viewed, such as his first encounter with Hamlet, the way the main character is treated, and how the friends act with him, showed that Horatio was a true friend to Hamlet. Though, a person may make many friends throughout their lifetime, their actions provide the evidence that is used to determine who are in fact true friends.

We should embrace nihilism for growth in understanding

â€Å"Nihilism is the belief that all values are baseless and that nothing can be known or communicated. It is often associated with extreme pessimism and a radical skepticism that condemns existence. A true nihilist would believe in nothing, have no loyalties and no purpose other than, perhaps, an impulse to destroy† (http://www.iep.utm.edu/n/nihilism.htm). In a nihilist perspective, there are no beliefs in dogma, religion and other socially constructed norms and standards. Nihilists question the set of universally made way of thinking and that there is nothing real in this world.SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONâ€Å"Social constructs are institutionalized entity or artifacts in a social system, invented or constructed by participants in a particular culture or society that exist because people agree to behave as if it exist, or agree to follow certain conventional rules, or behave as if such agreement or rules existed† (wikipedia.org). Social constructs are created entities in whi ch people or groups of people perceived them to be true. Social constructs are perceived realities that are put into a convention to be turned into social beliefs.Some examples of social constructs are religion, morality, sexuality, class and many more. These social constructs play a major role in people’s daily lives. Social constructs became an integral part of people’s daily lives. These became inevitable realities of their existence. Basically, how people act are based on social constructions. Social constructions dictate the everyday lives of people. Social constructs determine how people will act and what their pattern of actions is. These social constructs are the perceived rightness of actions in a particular given situation. Therefore, people’s lives are controlled and move by social constructs.Social constructs evolve and changes as time pass by. It depends on the richness of thought of human beings. The minds of human beings are very rich and full of possibilities. People have the capability of evolving one system of thought into another. A particular social construct is not permanent and will not last forever because it only depends on the people who were the ones who constructed them. Social constructs are dynamic because the minds of people are also dynamic. What most people are experiencing now may just become a history of tomorrow.THE WORLD AS A REALM OF MEANING AND CAN BE DISCLOSED BY NIHILISMFor Heidegger, he viewed the world as a realm of meanings and possibilities. These possibilities are for Da-sein to discover and the meanings are for Da-sein to assimilate. This world for Heidegger is where the Da-sein is situated and part of the facticities given to the Da-sein. This world is for the Da-sein to discover and understand. The world gives meaning to the existence of man and man is to exhaust these meanings or possibilities. Hence, the world is where the Da-sein interacts and for him to assimilate.This word â€Å"alethei a† describes the world for Heidegger. â€Å"Aletheia† means revelation and concealment which constitutes the world’s disclosedness to man. The world is the realm of meanings for man that man is always in constant assimilation. Even if it reveals itself to man, it also conceals something to man and that the task of man to assimilate and understand is a never-ending task and that Heidegger called man as â€Å"always already understanding the world†.The word â€Å"always† signifies the infinity of understanding that man is task to reveal the world, the never-ending task of correlation and understanding. Man as Da-sein is the very nature and function of man as a being who is thrown into this world. â€Å"Da† means there and â€Å"sein† means being. Da-sein is openness to the world and the readiness of man to exhaust and assimilate. Da-sein is the there of being of man, the very thrown ness of man into a particular context. To understand mo re of man as Da-sein, we will tackle on the succeeding parts the functions of being a Da-sein.According to the great Heidegger, attunement is man’s mood or state of mind in which affects his perception of reality. He viewed man as always in the mood and is always ready to understand reality. Man as being thrown into this world, attunement is already embedded in his being. This attunement as already embedded in the being of man girds man to understand. Given the facticity of Da-sein as being-in-a-world, he is always in the mood to seize reality or to be conscious of reality and thus constituting man’s openness to the world. Da-sein as the there of being is always situated in the world thus, a temporal being.This situated ness of man gives him ample opportunity to correlate with the world and to fulfill his very nature as an understanding being who is already attuned to do so. Man becomes conscious by virtue of interaction, which is the very process of understanding for Heidegger. To correlate with the world is to exhaust its possibilities, to assimilate its meaning. Through interaction, man becomes conscious of reality, becomes conscious of meaning. Reality is already in the realm of meanings, which constitutes the world, and it is only for man that he can be conscious of and that is by virtue of correlating with the world.To question dogma and religion and other social constructs can be a tool for better understanding of reality. As discussed, Heidegger emphasized that man can slowly reveal the reality of beings by correlating with the world which is the world of meaning and possibilities. The world has its own meaning. The nihilistic view in its proper use, such as not totally for destruction but of finding the truth behind the world, it can open man’s eye to the real meaning of this world. Man as Da-sein in being a nihilist can be able to arrive at a better truth regarding the world. The world still has a lot to give in man’s unde rstanding of it that is why dogmas and principles of today must be questioned because it is still not in its absolute state.NIHILISM AS A TOOL TO A BETTER UNDERSTANING OF REALITYMan’s life is full of socially constructed norms and beliefs that are the ones dictating what he ought to do and act. There is religion that dictates morality and there is government that dictates who are enemies and not such as who are terrorists and not terrorists. A society is comprised of many ideas and perspectives that battles to gain monopoly. Man is put in the center of contrasting views.With the birth of nihilism, there came an opportunity to arrive in a truth wherein wrong dogma and beliefs can be erased and replaced with better ones. Nihilism can give good effects if not put in its extreme nature of destruction. Questioning beliefs and dogma is a healthy process to undertake. Through questioning, man can slowly reveal to himself the true essence of his existence. Questioning must also not b e intertwined with destruction because it can be a truly great means for development and better understanding.â€Å"I hope to bring some balance and clarity to a number of realities that seem to attract a great deal of misunderstanding: [1] the very serious issues of violence in Islam [including recent Muslim violence]; [2] the abhorrence that many Muslims have of violence; [stereotypes of Islam and Muslims as inherently violent]; and [4] the larger context of violence in our world [not just the Muslim world], much of which is woven into the fabric of our society in such a way that we may not even regard it as our own violence† (Hussain, 2006). The misunderstandings such as looking as a Muslim to be violent can be corrected by the nihilist perspective. People can arrive to a certain truth that not all Muslims are violent and stereotyping can be erased.NIHILISM AS A TOOL TO END CHAOS AND VIOLENCE IN THIS WORLDThe chaotic world is brought about by the differences in beliefs and norms and even in the practices of different religions. These are products of social constructions. With different beliefs and principles and with the devotion to such beliefs and principles, it brings chaos and even to violence. People seem to impose their own beliefs to other people which also have their own set of beliefs. By imposing one’s beliefs, it creates an atmosphere of competition that gives tensions and chaos to this world.Nihilism can be a tool to end all chaos and find peace in this world. People, in there different perspectives, can look at the common ground of their different beliefs. To question their own beliefs is a healthy process and even comparing their own beliefs to others is also a healthy process. This is an act of nihilism. People will not destroy their principles and beliefs but rather, developing it to be better set of beliefs and principles. One example can be seen in the realm of religion where we can see differences but looking at the greater reality of it, there are much more similarities that can be used in arriving to a better belief, a belief that can be bannered by all people from different contexts. Even the difference of science and religion, if nihilistic perspective can be used in a proper way of dialectics and questioning, people may arrive at a certain truth that science and religion has its common ground and that one will not be an opposition of the other.CONCLUSIONThe world is a realm of meaning and possibilities and is plague with socially constructed beliefs and principles. With the birth of nihilism, which is a perspective that most of a time attributed to destruction, the world may find better understanding in its hand. By the method of questioning which is a healthy process, people can arrive to better understanding of reality and the very principles and beliefs that they believe. Therefore, we should embrace nihilism.BIBLIOGRAPHYBogossian, Paul. What is Social Construction. 03 Mar. 2007Heidegger, Marti n. The Question of Being. New Haven (Conn): College and University Press 1958.Hussain, Amir. Oil and Water: Two Faiths: One God. Pilgrim Pr, 2006.Nishitani, Keiji. Religion and Nothingness. University of California press, 1983.http://www.iep.utm.edu/nihilism/#H5https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_constructionism

George Robert Twelves Hewes essays

George Robert Twelves Hewes essays George Hewes was born in Boston in 1742 but moved to New York when he was eight. Born into a poor family with his dad dying of a stroke at a very young age, his mom was the sole benefactor of the house. From the beginning, it was clear that he was destined to be established into a low social class for he didnt have anything going for him. He wasnt' tall nor big so the only job he could do was to make shoes. Later when he would want to fight in the war, he could not because his physical statue. He was put into the shoemakin business by his mom beause she felt he wasn't capable of doin anything else. No one else in his family had done anything other than trading or jobs of such kind. This made Hewes seem to have a strong or dominant personality. "He was what Bostonians called 'saucy'; he was always in Dutch (575)." He mother was very controlling of him which would later effect the way he responded to authority. "Abigail Hewes must have been desperate to control George." This statement refers to how Abigail would punish George very heavily for the littlest things. Young interprets this as a way to keep her son in line or restrain him from straying from the family. As George Hewes got older, more Americans were rebelling against Britain's ruling. Britain began to tax the cities' more on things that seemed unnecessary to the people. Hewes still was a shoemaker as an adult male so that didnt help him move up into a higher social class. According to Young, "Between 1768 and 1775, the shoemaker became a citizen-an active participant in the events that led to the Revolution, an angry, assertive man who won recognition as a patriot (585)." This quote states much about Hewes personality. Throughout his life, many people tried to step on and take advantage of him, but this did not get him down. No matter how people treated him, he still gave them respect and would not act hastily or in spite. In one instance...

How Mountains Form Through Plate Tectonics

How Mountains Form Through Plate Tectonics The Earth is made up of layers of rock and minerals. The surface of the Earth is called the crust. Just below the crust is the upper mantle. The upper mantle, like the crust, is relatively hard and solid.  The crust and upper mantle together are called the lithosphere. While the lithosphere doesnt flow like lava, it can change. This happens when gigantic plates of rock, called tectonic plates, move and shift. Tectonic plates can collide, separate, or slide along one another. When this occurs, the Earths surface experiences earthquakes, volcanoes, and other major events. Orogeny: Mountains Created by Plate Tectonics Orogeny (or-ROJ-eny), or orogenesis, is the building of continental mountains by plate-tectonic processes that squeeze the lithosphere. It may also refer to a specific episode of orogeny during the geologic past. Even though tall mountain peaks from ancient orogenies may erode away, the exposed roots of those ancient mountains show the same orogenic structures that are detected beneath modern mountain ranges.   Plate Tectonics and Orogeny In classical plate tectonics, plates interact in exactly three different ways: they push together (converge), pull apart, or slide past each other. Orogeny is limited to convergent plate interactions- in other words, orogeny occurs when tectonic plates collide.  The long regions of deformed rocks created by orogenies are called orogenic belts, or orogens. In actuality, plate tectonics is not at all that simple. Large areas of the continents can deform in blends of convergent and transform motion, or in diffused ways that do not give distinct borders between plates. Orogens can be bent and altered by later events, or severed by plate breakups. The discovery and analysis of orogens is an important part of historical geology and a way to explore plate-tectonic interactions of the past that do not occur today. Orogenic belts can form from the collision of an oceanic and continental plate or the collision of two continental plates. There are quite a few ongoing orogenies and several ancient ones that have left long-lasting impressions on the Earths surface.   Ongoing Orogenies   The Mediterranean Ridge  is the result of the African plate subducting (sliding) underneath the Eurasian plate and other smaller microplates. If it continues, it will eventually form extremely high mountains in the Mediterranean.  The Andean Orogeny  has been occurring for the past 200 million years, although the Andes have only arisen in the past 65 million years. The orogeny is the result of the Nazca plate subducting underneath the South American plate.  The Himalayan Orogeny  started as the Indian subcontinent began moving towards the Asian plate 71 million years ago. The collision between the plates, which is still ongoing, has created the largest landform of the past 500 million years- the combined Tibetan Plateau and Himalayan Mountain range. These landforms, along with the Sierra Nevada range of North America, may have induced a global cooling around 40 million years ago. As more rock is lifted to the surface, more carbon dioxide is sequestered from the atmosphere t o chemically weather it, thus decreasing Earths natural greenhouse effect.   Major Ancient Orogenies   The Alleghanian Orogeny  (325 million years ago) was the most recent of several major orogenies to help form the Appalachian Mountains. It was the result of a collision between ancestral North America and Africa  and resulted in the supercontinent of Pangea.  The Alpine Orogeny  began in the Late Cenozoic and created mountain chains on the African, Eurasian and Arabian plates. Although the orogeny ceased in Europe within the past few million years, the Alps continue to grow.

The Good and Bad of a School Principal Job

The Good and Bad of a School Principal Job I love being a principal of a school. There is nothing else that I want be doing at this point in my life. This does not mean that I enjoy every aspect of my job. There are certainly aspects that I could do without, but the positives far outweigh the negatives for me. This is my dream job. Being the principal of a school is demanding, but it is also rewarding. You must be thick skinned, hard working, diligent, flexible, and creative to be a good principal. It is not a job for just anyone. There are days that I question my decision to become a principal. However, I always bounce back knowing that the reasons I love being a principal are more powerful than the reasons I hate it. Reasons I Love Being a Principal of a School I love making a difference. It is fulfilling to see the aspects that I have a direct hand in making a positive impact on students, teachers, and the school as a whole. I love collaborating with teachers, offering feedback, and seeing them grow and improve in their classroom from day to day and year to year. I enjoy investing time in a difficult student and seeing them mature and grow to the point that they lose that label. I am proud when a program I helped create flourishes and evolves into a significant component of the school. I love having a larger impact. As a teacher, I made a positive impact on the students I taught. As a principal, I have made a positive impact on the entire school. I am involved with every aspect of the school in some way. Hiring new teachers, evaluating teachers, writing school policy, and establishing programs to meet school-wide needs all impact the school as a whole. These things likely will go unnoticed by others when I make the right decision, but it is satisfying to see others being positively impacted by a decision I made. I love working with people. I love working with the different groups of people that I am able to as a principal. This includes other administrators, teachers, support staff, students, parents, and community members. Each sub-group requires me to approach them differently, but I enjoy the collaboration with all of them. I realized early on that I work with people as opposed to against them. This has helped shape my overall educational leadership philosophy. I enjoy building and maintaining healthy relationships with the constituents of my school. I love being a problem solver. Every day brings about a different set of challenges as a principal. I have to be adept at problem solving to get through each day. I love coming up with creative solutions, which are often outside the box. Teachers, parents, and students come to me on a daily basis seeking answers. I must be able to provide them with quality solutions that will satisfy the problems they have. I love motivating students. I enjoy finding entertaining and unusual ways to motivate my students. Over the years, I’ve spent a cold November night on the roof of the school, jumped out of an airplane, dressed like a woman, and sang Karaoke to Carly Rae Jepsen’s Call Me Maybe in front of the entire school. It has generated a lot of buzz and the students absolutely love it. I know that I look crazy while I am doing these things, but I want my students to be excited about coming to school, reading books, etc. and these things have been effective motivational tools. I love the pay check. My gross salary was $24,000 the first year I taught. It is hard for me to fathom how I survived. Luckily, I was single at the time, or it would have been difficult. The money is certainly better now. I am not a principal for the pay check, but I cannot deny that making more money is an enormous benefit to becoming an administrator. I work extremely hard for the money that I make, but my family is able to live comfortably with some extras that my parents were never able to afford when I was a kid. Reasons I Hate Being a Principal of a School I hate playing politics. Unfortunately, there are many aspects of public education that is political. In my opinion, politics dilutes education. As a principal, I understand that it is necessary to be political in many cases. There are many times that I want to call parents out on when they come to my office and blow smoke about how they are going to handle their child. I refrain from this because I know that it is not in the school’s best interest to do so. It is not always easy to bite your tongue, but sometimes it is best. I hate dealing with the negative. I deal with complaints on a daily basis. It is a large part of my job, but there are days when it becomes overwhelming. Teachers, students, and parents like to gripe and moan about each other continuously. I feel confident in my ability to handle and smooth things over. I am not one of those that sweep things under the rug. I spend the necessary time to investigate any complaint, but these investigations can be time daunting and time consuming. I hate being the bad guy. My family and I recently went on vacation to Florida. We were watching a street performer when he picked me to help him with a part of his act. He asked me my name and what I did. When I told him I was a principal, I got booed by the audience. It is sad that being a principal has such a negative stigma associated to it. I have to make difficult decisions every day, but they are often based on mistakes of others. I hate standardized testing. I loathe standardized testing. I believe that standardized tests should not be the end all evaluation tool for schools, administrators, teachers, and students. At the same time, I understand that we live in an era with an overemphasis of standardized testing. As a principal, I feel that I am forced to push that overemphasis of standardized testing on my teachers and on my students. I feel like a hypocrite for doing so, but I understand that current academic success is measured by testing performance whether I believe it is right or not. I hate telling teachers no because of a budget. Education is an investment. It is an unfortunate reality that many schools do not have the technology, curriculum, or teachers necessary to maximize learning opportunities for students due to a budget shortfall. Most teachers spend a significant amount of their own money to buy things for their classroom when the district tells them no. I have had to tell teachers no, when I knew they had a fantastic idea, but our budget just would not cover the expense. I have a hard time doing that at the expense of our students. I hate the time it takes away from my family. A good principal spends a lot of time in his office when no one else is in the building. They are often the first one to arrive and the last to leave. They attend almost every extra curricular event. I know that my job requires a significant investment of time. This investment of time takes time away from my family. My wife and boys understand, and I am appreciative of that. It is not always easy, but I try to ensure a balance of my time between work and family.

You are what you eat Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

You are what you eat - Research Paper Example Ecological footprint calculators ask things such as how much of each kind of meat you might eat in a given week and where do you purchase your food, whether it's at a natural foods store, a local farmer's market or a chain grocery store. Two types of food that can increase your ecological footprint are beef and prepackaged frozen meals. Beef comes from cows and cows hurt the earth in many ways including producing high amounts of methane, polluting freshwater with their excrement, ruining topsoil with their grazing, and requiring a lot of grain to produce the meat we eat. Prepackaged frozen food uses the original resources necessary to create that food to begin with - whether its fish or chicken or vegetables - and then compounds the problem by processing that food for transportation to a manufacturing plant where it is all put together in packages that use more resources and then frozen using more resources. Once everything is ready to be stored, more resources need to be used to kee p the frozen packages frozen as they are shipped to wherever they will be sold, to keep them frozen in the store, and then to keep them frozen in our homes until we're ready to eat them. Then we have to use electricity to heat them and usually end up throwing the packaging away instead of recycling it. To understand this concept better, I chose to analyze the ecological footprint of eating Fritos Bean Dip.

Aspirin Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Aspirin - Assignment Example Two Italians, Brugnatelli and Fontana, had in fact already obtained salicin in 1826, but in a highly impure form. By 1829, [French chemist] Henri Leroux had improved the extraction procedure to obtain about 30g from 1.5kg of bark. In 1838, Raffaele Piria [an Italian chemist] then working at the Sorbonne in Paris, split salicin into a sugar and an aromatic component (salicylaldehyde) and converted the latter, by hydrolysis and oxidation, to an acid of crystallized colorless needles, which he named salicylic acid (Bellis, 2012) Acetyl salicylic acid is the chemical name of Aspirin. In other words, Salicylic acid is the major content of Aspirin. Aspirin plays a vital role in the metabolism of humans and animals. This paper analyses the various aspects of aspirin such as chemical formula, systemic names, physical and chemical properties, relevance of its physical and chemical properties and precautions while taking aspirin etc. As mentioned earlier, Acetyl salicylic acid is the chemical name of Aspirin. C9H8O4 is the chemical formula of aspirin. The elaborated chemical formula of aspirin can be represented as CH3COOC6H4COOH. In other words, each aspirin molecule consists of 9 carbon atoms, 8 hydrogen atoms and 4 oxygen atoms. Structural formula of aspirin can be represented as follows. Physically, Aspirin is a solid substance. It is colorless, odorless, white, crystalline, acidic substance. Its melting point is 137 °C and boiling point is 140 °C. Moreover, it is soluble in water. As evident from the chemical structure, Aspirin is an aromatic compound with a ring structure. It can be converted into several different useful compounds because of its ring or aromatic structure. â€Å"Molecular Weight of aspirin is 180.15 g/mole and its Specific Gravity: 1.35 (Water = 1)† (Material Safety Data Sheet Acetylsalicylic acid MSDS, n.d., p.3).

WHAT ARE THE IMPACT OF LONG TERM UNMPLOYENT ON WOMENS MENTAL HEALTH Essay

WHAT ARE THE IMPACT OF LONG TERM UNMPLOYENT ON WOMENS MENTAL HEALTH - Essay Example During the course of study they found that women who were unemployed for more than five months; which is consider long term unemployment period showed higher depressive symptoms (Bruce P. Dohrenwend, 1998). In this regard Jahoda’s Deprivation Theory of Unemployment has played a significant role in recognizing the impacts of unemployment on women’s mental health. The theory states that class, age (Stephen Edgell, 2012) and social setup (Torild Hammer, 2003) are dominant factors of poor mental conditions of women in post unemployment period. Women are more susceptible to stress, depression and other mental health issues due to unemployment (Susan G. Kornstein, Anita H. Clayton, 2004). However, recent researches have indicated that women can cope up with the stress more quickly than men (Sarah E. Romans, Mary Violette Seeman, 2006). The aim of this study is to identify the variables through which women can easily deal with post unemployment situations and health issues. The target population is the unemployed women who have failed to get employment in the last five months. In addition to employed women who are working from last five months. The sample size is calculated to be 50 as it would be convenient to collect data from small yet diverse group of individuals. Questionnaires are found to be more suitable for this research than personal interviews. It will be an individual project and would be carried out under the supervision of course coordinator. It shall be done in two stages; in the first stage filtration of the target population will be done and in the second stage actual research will be conducted. Random sampling procedures will be used for population sample. All the participants will have equal opportunity of being chosen; no biasness shall be considered. Participants shall be rewarded with the token

Nursing Ethics Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Nursing Ethics - Term Paper Example The nature of the nursing profession makes social connections practically unavoidable. These social connections also make moral and ethical choices which may affect other people inevitable (Butts and Rich, 2005). The various meaning describes to ethics provided the impetus for the different professions to document and enforce the acceptable norms of practice in their respective spheres. Diversity and geography eventually further necessitated different countries or states to delimit the standard professional practice in more vivid detail. Additionally, the scope of professional practice, like in nursing, is delineated into a legal scope of practice and a scope based on education, training in experience (Small, 2009). In the United States, for example, as cited in Small (2009), the scope of nursing practice may differ from one state to another. This paper will compare nursing ethics as practiced in the states of Florida and California. Nursing Practice in Florida and California and the Nursing Code of Ethics The practice of nursing in the US is defined under the Model Nursing Practice Act of 2004: â€Å"Practice as a registered nurse means the full scope of nursing with or without compensation or personal profit, that incorporates caring for all clients in all settings; is guided by the scope of practice †¦ through nursing standards established or recognized by the board† (as cited in Small 2009, p 21).... The nursing standards include, but is not limited to the following: (1) provision of complete nursing evaluation of the health condition of patients; (2) collaboration with a health care team in the development of coordinated health care plan which is client-focused; (3) strategy development for nursing care coordinated within a client-focused plan of health care which consists of: [a] nursing diagnoses, [b] setting goals within the context of identified health care requirements of patients / clients, [c] identification of applicable nursing interventions; (4) provision of nursing care through the employment of self-directed strategies and nutrition which are requested, ordered or prescribed by authorized health care professionals; (5) execution of health care plans through the designation and assignment of nursing interventions; (6) direct or indirect provision and maintenance of safe and effective nursing care; (7) fostering of a safe and healing environment; (8) providing quality support for patients by recommending / advising practices towards the best interest of the patients / clients; (9) examination of intervention outcomes and efficacy of the health care plan; (10) communication and collaboration with other health care professionals towards health care management and execution of the total health care regimen within and across various health care settings; (11) development and application of significant new information and technologies in nursing care practice; (12) managing, directing and assessing nursing practice; (13) teaching the theory and practice of healthcare; (14) taking part in the formulation of policies, methodology and systems which will support the

Closing the Border between the United States and Mexico Research Paper

Closing the Border between the United States and Mexico - Research Paper Example One of the major law and order problems, which take place at this border, is that of illegal immigration. This problem raised many issues, such as public hostility towards the immigrants and decrease in property values. According to the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) data available, the US Border Patrol catches thousands of illegal immigrants every year. Furthermore, it is important to note that this number only indicates the immigrants who failed while trying to enter illegally (Huffman and Torok, 1986). Undoubtedly, a much larger number of people have attempted it altogether, counting the failed attempts as well as the successful attempts. These illegal aliens are the cause of several economic and social problems in the US. One major problem is traceable to the reason why the Mexicans choose to immigrate to the US. Some of them do so in hopes of better job prospects and better living conditions. The ones, who choose to do so illegally, do so due to shortage of time or patience that is required for a legal immigration. Either way, they arrive in the US to face a lot of competition in the job market, as here the supply for their labor exceeds demand. Still, they manage to acquire jobs meant for low-skilled, manual workers. This creates resentment for the US citizens who are also only qualified for such jobs. They also resent these immigrants due to cultural and ethnic differences. All these factors combine to form a rather negative opinion about immigrants from Mexico. The fact that a large proportion are illegal immigrants, and thus not justified to be living in the US to begin with, further fuels the hostility, thus leading to violence and hate crimes (Espenshade, 1995). This is a major reason why the US government should consider closing down the US-Mexico border. Another problem, which arises due to this illegal migration, is the decrease in property value. The

Nursing Ethics Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Nursing Ethics - Term Paper Example The nature of the nursing profession makes social connections practically unavoidable. These social connections also make moral and ethical choices which may affect other people inevitable (Butts and Rich, 2005). The various meaning describes to ethics provided the impetus for the different professions to document and enforce the acceptable norms of practice in their respective spheres. Diversity and geography eventually further necessitated different countries or states to delimit the standard professional practice in more vivid detail. Additionally, the scope of professional practice, like in nursing, is delineated into a legal scope of practice and a scope based on education, training in experience (Small, 2009). In the United States, for example, as cited in Small (2009), the scope of nursing practice may differ from one state to another. This paper will compare nursing ethics as practiced in the states of Florida and California. Nursing Practice in Florida and California and the Nursing Code of Ethics The practice of nursing in the US is defined under the Model Nursing Practice Act of 2004: â€Å"Practice as a registered nurse means the full scope of nursing with or without compensation or personal profit, that incorporates caring for all clients in all settings; is guided by the scope of practice †¦ through nursing standards established or recognized by the board† (as cited in Small 2009, p 21).... The nursing standards include, but is not limited to the following: (1) provision of complete nursing evaluation of the health condition of patients; (2) collaboration with a health care team in the development of coordinated health care plan which is client-focused; (3) strategy development for nursing care coordinated within a client-focused plan of health care which consists of: [a] nursing diagnoses, [b] setting goals within the context of identified health care requirements of patients / clients, [c] identification of applicable nursing interventions; (4) provision of nursing care through the employment of self-directed strategies and nutrition which are requested, ordered or prescribed by authorized health care professionals; (5) execution of health care plans through the designation and assignment of nursing interventions; (6) direct or indirect provision and maintenance of safe and effective nursing care; (7) fostering of a safe and healing environment; (8) providing quality support for patients by recommending / advising practices towards the best interest of the patients / clients; (9) examination of intervention outcomes and efficacy of the health care plan; (10) communication and collaboration with other health care professionals towards health care management and execution of the total health care regimen within and across various health care settings; (11) development and application of significant new information and technologies in nursing care practice; (12) managing, directing and assessing nursing practice; (13) teaching the theory and practice of healthcare; (14) taking part in the formulation of policies, methodology and systems which will support the

Read an article and respond to the prompt Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Read an article and respond to the prompt - Essay Example Additionally, individuals with low economic status worked for more hours as compared to individuals with a higher economic status. In 1965, individuals with a college education and a high level of income spent more hours relaxing as compared to individuals with only a high school education. This trend changed towards the end of the twentieth century. According to the Economist "By 2005, the college-educated had eight hours less of it a week than the high-school grads". This postulation is supported by a methodical investigation conducted by the American Time Use Survey that proved that individuals with atleast college education in the US spend an additional two hours daily in their work stations as compared to those with high school education. This change has been contributed by a number of reasons. Educated individuals have been earning more today as compared to what they earned three decades ago. Therefore, these individuals tend to lose more money when vacationing as compared to what they could lose in the twentieth century. In todays job market, income is dependent on input in terms of working hours. Through my observation of others, it is worth positing that the advancement of technology has led to significant changes in peoples experiences of leisure. Enjoying oneself today does not necessarily mean going for a vacation anymore. People prefer watching a movie at home with friends and family during weekends rather than vacationing far away from home. In my opinion, this explanation of the shift is valid. Well learned individuals tend to have a higher level of income. Subsequently, these individuals are also in management positions and hence they are given supervisory roles in organizations. This means that they must spend extra hours in the office going through all reports from every department as they are accountable for every activity within organizations. This translates to spending less time relaxing. Conditions in the

The Seven Wonders of the World Essay Example for Free

The Seven Wonders of the World Essay One of the most famous structures on the list of the seven wonders of the ancient world is The Great Pyramid of Giza. What makes this structure the most recognizable on the list? Not only is this pyramid the oldest structure on the list, but it is the only structure that still remains. The Great Pyramid of Giza was the tallest man made structure in the world for 3800 years which is not only a testament to its durability but to its mark as one of the most remarkable structures built. It is no wonder that The Great Pyramid of Giza was placed on the list of the seven wonders of the ancient world. The Great Pyramid of Giza is a fairly typical pyramid. It is not decorated with reliefs or inscriptions, and it is built in the same shape as all other pyramids. The Pyramid of Giza was not the first pyramid to be built, yet this pyramid has become one of the most famous structures in the world. Why has this particular pyramid gained all the fame and glory? The Pyramid of Giza, though not much larger than most pyramids, is in fact the largest pyramid ever built. This pyramid exemplifies the advancements and accomplishments of architecture in Egypt. The pyramid is large, precise and required an overwhelming amount of organization. It is not the pyramid that is so fascinating, but it is the process and method used to create it. Even today, Egyptologists are not completely sure how The Great Pyramid of Giza was built. In about 2,550 B. C. Pharaoh Khufu ordered the building of his tomb on the plateau of Giza which lies on the outskirts of Cairo. The tomb was designed to protect the Pharaoh’s body as well as his possessions. This would ensure a safe trip with all his belongings into the afterlife. Some believe that Khufu’s vizier, Hemiunu, was the architect of the pyramid whose seated statue was found in the tomb at Giza, but it is not known for sure. The pyramid took just under 30 years to build. The pyramid consists of 2 million limestone blocks each weighing from 2. 5 to 15 tons. The corners of the base of the pyramid coincide almost exactly with the four cardinal points, and the base is level to within in an inch. The pyramid is estimated to stand 481 ft tall. Right by The Great Pyramid of Giza lay three smaller pyramids which are believed to hold the Pharaoh’s queens. The second largest pyramid as well as the sphinx was commissioned by Pharaoh Khufu’s son, Pharaoh Khafre, in 2520 B. C.. It appears at first that this pyramid is the largest, ut do not be fooled. Pharaoh Khafre built his tomb on a plateau 33ft higher most likely to out due his father. The last and smallest pyramid was built by Pharaoh Menkaure around 2490 B. C.. Much like most old kingdom pyramids, the inside of The Great Pyramid of Giza consists of three chambers. The entrance is on the north face of the pyramid and placed up high. The entrance leads to a passageway that descends 191 ft through the pyramid into an underground chamber. There is a passageway from this chamber that is wide enough for only one man, but it leads to a dead end. On the east-west central axis of the pyramid remains the Queens Chamber which was misnamed by early explorers. This chamber was sealed off from the rest of the pyramid and is now believed to once be the location of the king’s ka (spirit) statue. Connected to the descending passage, there is an ascending passage as well. The ascending passage is only big enough to crawl in (approx 1m high and 1m wide). This passage leads you to the Grand Gallery which ultimately leads you to the Pharaoh’s Chamber. All that remains in the Pharaoh’s Chamber today is Khufu sarcophagus. The room is built in red granite, and it is believed that the pyramid was built around the sarcophagus. Also discovered were airshafts in the pyramid. The four airshafts are believed to be â€Å"escape routes† for the Pharaoh’s soul. Two of the airshaft point to Orion and the other two point towards the polar stars. The Pyramids were commissioned by the Pharoah, but the Pyramids were built by the people. With little tools or technology, the Egyptians were able to move heavy blocks of stone as far as 500 mi as well as place the blocks on top of one another so that the pyramid would reach 481ft tall. It is a mystery even today how the Egyptians maneuvered these heavy blocks, but some theories have been drawn. Many believe that the stones were carried using wooden sleds, levers and papyrus twine to the pyramid using ramps. The gradual ramps were made of mud, stone and wood. The ramps were used to move the blocks not only to the pyramid but around and up it as well. The Nile River was also used in transporting materials and equipment. Over 100,000 laborers worked on the project. The people that built the pyramid were skilled and well-fed builders who lived in nearby cities. Help from many ommunities across Egypt most likely occurred to create the pyramid. Originally, the pyramid had casing stones of highly polished white limestone lying on the outside of the pyramid. However in the Middle Ages, massive earthquakes loosened the casing, and the materials were reused for other projects. Erosion, grave robbers as well as tourists have also attributed to the Pyramid’s deterioration over the years. However, steps have been made to protect the pyramid. Now the pyramids are protected by organizations, Egyptologist and the people so that it may remain unharmed for future generations to see. Originally, The Great Pyramid of Giza was built as a symbol of Egypt’s wealth and power. Now, the pyramids are a symbol of Egypt and its rich history and culture. The Great Pyramid of Giza is a testament to the intelligence and technological advancement of Egypt’s ancient civilizations. Pharaoh Khufu was able to create one of the largest structures in the world as well as one of the oldest. The pyramid was an amazing feat of ancient civilization which is why it made the list as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

Employability Skills Within Health and Social Care Settings

Employability Skills Within Health and Social Care Settings Introduction. Employability. There are many career prospects in Health and Social care all across the United Kingdom. For someone to be employable in Health and social care setting, one has to be highly motivated, have skills they can transfer to the job, understanding and personal good qualities (Finley, Ivanitskaya, and Kennedy 2007). Employment is when someone is able to get a job, stay in the job and if an opportunity arises they will be in a position to develop their profession (Yorke,2004).To demonstrate that there are a lot of opportunities in Health and social care, this report is going to examine the variety of employment roles within the setting. It will also explain why it is important to have a well-structured organisation that is an organisation with hierarchy. In addition some of the hierarchy information will be described in diagrams and some will be noted down for example its responsibilities and roles .ref. Different types of professions within health and social care . According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (1987), people have the same desires and  needs which need to be satisfied. The needs are physiological, safety, social, esteem and self-actualisation. Depending on an individual, if one of these needs are not met or all of them one becomes preoccupied and vulnerable. For people’s needs to be met, health and social care need to be different so that it can offer cost-effective care while maintain good high quality (Smith, 2000). The needs can be met by giving direct support to individuals or by working with people in the society. Healthcare is the managementofillness by treating and preventing it. This can be achieved by trained professionals for example alliedhealthprofessions. Whereas Social Care services aid everyone who is marginalised and vulnerable due to sickness, disability, old age and poverty. However, social care consider needs and ability of the person before they provide the services (NHS, 2014) .There are many serv ices in health and social care services. They include care networks, community care networks, health maintenance organizations and accountable health plans. That means there are many places where one can get employment in health and social care. For example hospitals, medical offices and community health centres. Another service in social and health care is public health; is involved in the promoting of well-beings for individuals and societies. Because all of these services in health and social care, for effective services to be achieved there is supposed to have a variety range of professions (Martin, etal, 2010). Healthcare professions can be identified into three groups, that is independent practitioners provides range of services without the approval of the third party .Dependant practitioners provides few services under the management of an independent practitioner. Support staffs, works under the management of independent practitioners and dependant practitioners (Coles and Porter, 2009).However having said that, some of the healthcare occupations may fall under one category depending on the place of employment and duties that are attached to that job. Allied healthcare professions encompass a range of careers in all aspects of care. Some of the allied healthcare occupations are found in medical, technology, respiratory therapy, occupational therapy, physiotherapy and dietetics. They can work in either the community or with an individual depends on the place of work and responsibilities .This extends to the needs of the individual or the community. The nursing occupation is the biggest in healthcare .Nurses can work in different healthcare settings, depending on their roles and responsibility and the place they are working. Nurses have ethical responsibility to safeguard life and to relieve suffering. The moral principles that govern their behaviour are respect of autonomy, nonmaleficence and beneficence (Schwartz,etal,) Nurses have to apply standards and guidelines set by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC,2014). Another occupation in healthcare is Dietitians.They are qualified professionals in diet. They help people to make informed choice by giving them advice on good lifestyle and food choices. To practice as a dietician one has to be registered by Health and Care Professional Council (HCPC). They also treat people with different medical problems associated with diet (BDA, 2014). Other occupations within social care area, are social workers and social care worker. Social care workers do not need qualification because their main roles is to give personal care and help the service users to manage their every day to day life However duties may vary depend on where one works. A person can work in different social care settings for instance in the community giving door to door support to the service users. They don’t have a legal board but each and every one is accountable and responsible for their actions to their employers (Brotherton and Parker, 2011).Furthermore Social workers work in different places in social care settings .They can work with different organisations like charities, independent organisations. In addition some can work for the NHS and mental health trust. They work closely with service users, their friends and families. They can also involve police, local department schools and probation services depending on the client they are dealing with. For one to be a social work qualifications are needed a degree or masters because the job involves working vulnerable people. They can work with either adults or children; this includes elderly, young offenders, people with different disabilities and homeless. Hence their role is to advocates, advice, counselling and listening. In addition the type of job they can carry depends on the area and case they are working on. They work closely with law so for one to practise in UK has to be registered withHealth and Care Professions Council(HHPC). Demonstrating research skills in researching careers. It is important to show good research skills in researching a career one wants to follow. It is important because this will make someone prepared and show their dedication towards the career progression. If one wants to be a nurse, they are supposed to be caring, and compassionate towards people. In addition commitment to helping people is also important. There are many jobs that are available in nursing and the major employer being National Health Service (NHS) .They includes clinical practice, management, education and consultation. Nursing is divided into four branches which are; mental health, adult, learning disability and children’s nursing. For someone to be a qualified nurse, one needs to have a degree in nursing. And to be a qualified nurse working for NHS one needs to be registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NHS).In addition ,once one has qualified and obtained the important experiences ,they can go on and develop their skills so that they can become spe cialist in a particular field. They can become practice nurse .This can give them opportunities to work in different health and social care areas like community health centres and hospitals .If one is a nurse working for a NHS there are different Bands depending on experience and qualifications. All this information I started searching on the internet and then for in depth I searched on different NHS careers websites which are; http://www.nhscareers.nhs.uk/working-in-the-nhs/pay-and-benefits/agenda-for-change-payrates ,http://nursing.nhscareers.nhs.uk/. I also searched on www.ucas.com and the Royal of College of nursing website. http://www.rcn.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/78667/002775.pdf. Hierarchy within health and social care. Health and social care settings are very big, so effective and quality care to be given there must be order within the organisation. An organisation has to distribute the job to people who have skills arranging them from the bottom to the top (Fisk etal,2011). It is like a ladder, a person or group at the bottom will be managed by the ones above them. The people on the top levels have power, authority and ability to enforce rules to those on the bottom levels. This arrangement is called hierarchy (Galinsky and Magee,2011).In addition, since health and social care is very big, there are some job combinations that are unlikely to go well together. Some skills needed for a particular job may be different from one another, for an example the finance department and the nursing department. Furthermore in health and social care there are big organisations with big hierarchies and small organisations with small hierarchies. For an example NHS is a well-structured and a big hierarchical organ isation whereas a care nursing home is small hierarchical organisation. This means each and every worker in that particular organisation has a significant role that is connected to their qualifications and responsibilities. Below are diagrams of two different hierachies,big and small . The big organisations have got many structures and many management systems; this enables tasks to be carried out easy with competent people. The people on the lower levels often show support for hierarchies because whenever they are stuck on anything they ask the person above them, this reduces stress and responsibilities. The advantage of Hierarchy in a big organisation is that everyone knows their job description and who is above them. However this is different from a small organisation as there are few employees. In addition, small organisations everyone has to be a generalist. The other advantage of big hierarchical organisations is that they employ many employees and everyone would be accountable for their work, however nobody takes an overview because everybody will be doing their specific job. In a small hiercchial organisation if a problem arise it can be sorted quick because there are few workers and many of them do general whereas in a big hierarchical organisation informat ion passes through many people. Decisions take so long because they have to pass through many levels. In big organisations there are limited opportunities to develop skills because one will be stuck in one job description whereas in small organisation one can develop many skills because they do not have a specific job. There is also some limitations in small hierarchical system organisations, there is few chances of improvement within the organisation. The nursing staff can only advance if there is a promotion (Steege, 2014). There are limited positions available for that. There are only two advanced nursing positions in a nursing home. These nurses are MDS nurse and the Director of Nursing. Normally people working on these positions stay in the job for quite a long time so there would not be any vacancies. Furthermore in a small organisation workload can overburden the person in charge for example nurse in charge will be responsible for working on the floor, giving medications and answering any relative’s queries. Hierarchies motivates employees to perform well because of the opportunities for promotion, however in big organisations many levels increase the costs of the organisation. The Importance Hierarchy in terms of roles and responbilties. A hierarchy is very important in health and social care organisations because it provides order and structure (Markus and Kitiyana,2003).Hierarchy includes authority and following of rules. People who are employed in hierarchal organisations are accountable for getting assigned work done; hence there is authority and power involved. The role of hierarchy is to place people with necessary skills and competence at each level and making it easy to identify accountability at each level if any error happens(Rose,Wenzel,andMiltlying,2002). People who work in hierarchical organisations have assigned roles and responsibilities according to the contract they sign between them and the employer. According to employment Rights Act (1996), the contract should contain all employments terms. This helps to put boundaries in each level of the hierarchy because it states what a person can and cannot do. The hierarchy helps to create effective communication between employees and all levels of the hiera rchy. The hierarchy also ensures that employers and other professional guidelines are followed. CONCLUSION . There are many opportunities for one to be employed in health and social care settings. There are different ranges of occupations within the settings. Most of the occupations require training and one should be registered with the right board to be able to practise. Health and social care is big hence hierarchy is important to bring structure to the organisations. http://www.nhs.uk/CarersDirect/social-care/Pages/what-is-social-care.aspx nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/advice/planning/jobprofiles/Pages/dietitian.aspx. http://www.rcn.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/78667/002775.pdf D. Baird Schwartz, M.E. Posthauer, J. OSullivan Maillet Practice Paper of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: Ethical and Legal Issues of Feeding and Hydrationhttp://www.eatright.org/HealthProfessionals/content.aspx?id=6889Accessed April 29, 2013 http://www.nmc-uk.org/ www.bda.uk.com http://www.bdacareerchoices.com/. George.n root 111,demandmedia. 1

Native American Remedies Essay -- Medicine Culture Papers

Native American Remedies "Mike Spring, paralyzed from the waist... down and in constant pain, sailed to the Azores and back. On his return, he confounded his TV interviewer with the statement that the only way he was able to obtain relief from the pain that continually racked his body was to press his back to an oak tree. This simple and cost-free action would then afford him several hours of complete relief and helped him to carry on in life. When asked for a scientific explanation, Mr. Spring replied that he had none-- it simply worked! He had heard of the treatment from an American Indian source and had been using it successfully for years" (Psychology of Healing- Murry Hope 89). How can that possibly be? A tree curing backaches? He must have been taking some aspirin, too, many of us assume. It is not uncommon for a person in Western culture to be thinking this way. We were raised with the belief that our medical society largely based on chemical concoctions is powerful because it has cures for everything from various cancers all the way down the list to the common cold. Don't get me wrong, the medical profession is quite effective, but for several generations, Native Americans have been using herbs to cure aches and pains, and various other illnesses. Many of the herbs used by Native Americans are the ones you can actually find in aspirin and other medications today. In fact, many ingredients used in various modern medications are actually derived from Native American cultures. Herbal medicine is being reintroduced through various forms of alternative medicine. Out on the market we see aromatherapy, acupuncture, herbology, and many more forms of alternative medicine. Herbology is a practice which seeks to heal... ...out injecting chemicals such as morphine, demerol, oxycodone, and hydrocodone into your blood stream? How different is it really to seek cures from artificial hospital rooms than it is to look for cures from nature? Works Cited Allen, Paula Gunn. Grandmothers of the Light. Boston: Beacon Press, 1991. Croft, Prof. Candance, Personal Interview. 9 Feb. 1999. Hope, Murry. The Psychology of Healing. Great Britain: Element Books, 1989. Wolf, Melinda. "Alternative Medicine: A journey to proactive healthcare." CNI Newspapers (Wauwatosa) 25 Feb. 1999. Wolf, Melinda. " Alternative Medicine: Yoga, t'ai chi, aromatherapy keep body healthy." CNI Newspapers (Wauwatosa) 4 Mar. 1999. Workshop on Alternative Medicine. Alternative Medicine: Expanding Medical Horizons. Chantilly, VA: 1992. Zimmerman, Larry J. Native North America. London, England: 1996.

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal Chapter 22

Chapter 22 Tamil, as it turned out, was not a small town in southern India, but the whole southern peninsula, an area about five times the size of Israel, so looking for Melchior was akin to walking into Jerusalem on any given day and saying, â€Å"Hey, I'm looking for a Jewish guy, anyone seen him?† What we had going for us was that we knew Melchior's occupation, he was an ascetic holy man who lived a nearly solitary life somewhere along the coast and that he, like his brother Gaspar, had been the son of a prince. We found hundreds of different holy men, or yogis, most of them living in complete austerity in the forest or in caves, and usually they had twisted their bodies into some impossible posture. The first of these I saw was a yogi who lived in a lean-to on the side of a hill overlooking a small fishing village. He had his feet tucked behind his shoulders and his head seemed to be coming from the wrong end of his torso. â€Å"Josh, look! That guy is trying to lick his own balls! Just like Bartholomew, the village idiot. These are my people, Josh. These are my people. I have found home.† Well, I hadn't really found home. The guy was just performing some sort of spiritual discipline (that's what â€Å"yoga† means in Sanskrit: discipline) and he wouldn't teach me because my intentions weren't pure or some claptrap. And he wasn't Melchior. It took six months and the last of our money and we both saw our twenty-fifth birthdays before we found Melchior reclining in a shallow stone nook in a cliff over the ocean. Seagulls were nesting at his feet. He was a hairier version of his brother, which is to say he was slight, about sixty years old, and he wore a caste mark on his forehead. His hair and beard were long and white, shot with only a few stripes of black, and he had intense dark eyes that seemed to show no white at all. He wore only a loincloth and he was as thin as any of the Untouchables we had met in Kalighat. Joshua and I clung to the side of the cliff while the guru untied from the human knot he'd gotten himself into. It was a slow process and we pretended to look at the seagulls and enjoy the view so as not to embarrass the holy man by seeming impatient. When he finally achieved a posture that did not appear as if it had been caused by being run over by an ox cart, Joshua said, â€Å"We've come from Israel. We were six years with your brother Gaspar in the monastery. I am – â€Å" â€Å"I know who you are,† said Melchior. His voice was melodic, and every sentence he spoke seemed as if he were beginning to recite a poem. â€Å"I recognize you from when I first saw you in Bethlehem.† â€Å"You do?† â€Å"A man's self does not change, only his body. I see you grew out of the swaddling clothes.† â€Å"Yes, some time ago.† â€Å"Not sleeping in that manger anymore?† â€Å"No.† â€Å"Some days I could go for a nice manger, some straw, maybe a blanket. Not that I need any of those luxuries, nor does anyone who is on the spiritual path, but still.† â€Å"I've come to learn from you,† Joshua said. â€Å"I am to be a bodhisattva to my people and I'm not sure how to go about it.† â€Å"He's the Messiah,† I said helpfully. â€Å"You know, the Messiah. You know, Son of God.† â€Å"Yeah, Son of God,† Joshua said. â€Å"Yeah,† I said. â€Å"Yeah,† said Joshua. â€Å"So what do you have for us?† I asked. â€Å"And who are you?† â€Å"Biff,† I said. â€Å"My friend,† said Josh. â€Å"Yeah, his friend,† said I. â€Å"And what do you seek?† â€Å"Actually, I'd like to not have to hang on to this cliff a lot longer, my fingers are going numb.† â€Å"Yeah,† said Josh. â€Å"Yeah,† said I. â€Å"Find yourself a couple of nooks on the cliff. There are several empty. Yogis Ramata and Mahara recently moved on to their next rebirth.† â€Å"If you know where we can find some food we would be grateful,† Joshua said. â€Å"It's been a long time since we've eaten. And we have no money.† â€Å"Time then for your first lesson, young Messiah. I am hungry as well. Bring me a grain of rice.† Joshua and I climbed across the cliff until we found two nooks, tiny caves really, that were close to each other and not so far above the beach that falling out would kill us. Each of our nooks had been gouged out of the solid rock and was just wide enough to lie down in, tall enough to sit up in, and deep enough to keep the rain off if it was falling straight down. Once we were settled, I dug through my satchel until I found three old grains of rice that had worked their way into a seam. I put them in my bowl, then carried the bowl in my teeth as I made my way back to Melchior's nook. â€Å"I did not ask for a bowl,† said Melchior. Joshua had already skirted the cliff and was sitting next to the yogi with his feet dangling over the edge. There was a seagull in his lap. â€Å"Presentation is half the meal,† I said, quoting something Joy had once said. Melchior sniffed at the rice grains, then picked one up and held it between his bony fingertips. â€Å"It's raw.† â€Å"Yes, it is.† â€Å"We can't eat it raw.† â€Å"Well, I would have served it up steaming with a grain of salt and a molecule of green onion if I'd known you wanted it that way.† (Yeah, we had molecules in those days. Back off.) â€Å"Very well, this will have to do.† The holy man held the bowl with the rice grains in his lap, then closed his eyes. His breathing began to slow, and after a moment he appeared not to be breathing at all. Josh and I waited. And looked at each other. And Melchior didn't move. His skeletal chest did not rise with breath. I was hungry and tired, but I waited. And the holy man didn't move for almost an hour. Considering the recent nook vacancies on the cliff face, I was a little concerned that Melchior might have succumbed to some virulent yogi-killing epidemic. â€Å"He dead?† I asked. â€Å"Can't tell.† â€Å"Poke him.† â€Å"No, he's my teacher, a holy man. I'm not poking him.† â€Å"He's Untouchable.† Joshua couldn't resist the irony, he poked him. Instantly the yogi opened his eyes, pointed out to sea and screamed, â€Å"Look, a seagull!† We looked. When we looked back the yogi was holding a full bowl of rice. â€Å"Here, go cook this.† So began Joshua's training to find what Melchior called the Divine Spark. The holy man was stern with me, but his patience with Joshua was infinite, and it was soon evident that by trying to be part of Joshua's training I was actually holding him back. So on our third morning living in the cliff, I took a long satisfying whiz over the side (and is there anything so satisfying as whizzing from a high place?) then climbed to the beach and headed into the nearest town to look for a job. Even if Melchior could make a meal out of three grains of rice, I'd scraped all the stray grains out of both my and Joshua's satchels. The yogi might be able to teach a guy to twist up and lick his own balls, but I couldn't see that there was much nourishment in it. The name of the town was Nicobar, and it was about twice the size of Sepphoris in my homeland, perhaps twenty thousand people, most of whom seemed to make their living from the sea, either as fishermen, traders, or shipbuilders. After inquiring at only a few places, I realized that for once it wasn't my lack of skills that were keeping me from making a living, it was the caste system. It extended far deeper into the society than Rumi had told me. Subcastes of the larger four dictated that if you were born a stonecutter, your sons would be stonecutters, and their sons after them, and you were bound by your birth to never do any other job, regardless of how good or bad you were at it. If you were born a mourner, or a magician, you would die a mourner or a magician, and the only way you'd get out of death or magic was to die and be reincarnated as something else. The one skill that didn't seem to require belonging to a caste was village idiot, but the Hindus seemed to thrust the more ec centric holy men into this role, so I found no openings there. I did have my bowl, and my experience at collecting alms for the monastery, so I tried my hand at begging, but every time I would get a good corner staked out, along would hop some one-legged blind guy to steal my action. By the late afternoon I had one tiny copper coin and the steward of the beggars guild had come along to warn me that if he caught me begging in Nicobar again, he'd see that I was admitted to the guild by the immediate removal of my arms and legs. I bought a handful of rice at the market and was skulking out of town, my bowl before me and my head down, like a good monk, when I saw before me a most delicate set of toes, painted vermilion and followed by a dainty foot, an elegant ankle ajangle with copper bangles, an inviting calf decorated with hennaed designs as intricate as lace, and from there a bright skirt led me up the seam to a bejeweled navel, full breasts haltered in yellow silk, lips like plums, a nose as long and straight as a Roman statue's, and wide brown eyes, shaded in blue and lined to make them look the size of a tiger's. They drank me in. â€Å"You're a stranger,† she said. One long finger on my chest stopped me on the spot. I tried to hide my rice bowl in my shirt, and in a fabulous display of sleight of hand, ended up spilling the grains down my front. â€Å"I'm from Galilee. In Israel.† â€Å"Never heard of it. Is it far?† She reached into my shirt and began to pick out the rice grains that had caught against my sash, running her fingernail along my stomach muscles and dropping the grains, one by one, into my bowl. â€Å"Very far. I've come here with my friend to obtain sacred and ancient knowledge, that kind of thing.† â€Å"What is your name?† â€Å"Biff – or Levi who is called Biff. We do that ‘who is called' thing a lot in Israel.† â€Å"Follow me, Biff, I'll show you some ancient and sacred knowledge.† She hooked her finger into my sash and walked into a nearby doorway, for some reason completely confident that I would follow. Inside, amid piles of colorful pillows strewn about the floors and deep carpets the likes of which I hadn't seen since Balthasar's fortress, stood a carved camphorwood stand on which a large codex lay open. The book was bound in brass filigreed with copper and silver, and the pages were made of a parchment finer than I had ever seen. The woman pushed me toward the book and left her hand on my back as I looked at the open page. The handwritten script was gilded and so ornate that I could barely make out the words, which didn't matter anyway, because it was the illustration that caught my eye. A man and a woman, nude, each perfect. The man had the woman facedown on a rug, her feet hooked over his shoulders, her arms held behind her as he entered her. I tried to call on my Buddhist training and discipline to keep from embarrassing myself in front of the strange woman. â€Å"Ancient sacred wisdom,† she said. â€Å"The book was a gift from a patron. The Kama Sutra, it's called. Thread of Desire.† â€Å"The Buddha said that desire is the source of all suffering,† I said, feeling like the kung fu master that I knew I was. â€Å"Do they look like they are suffering?† â€Å"No.† I began to tremble. I had been too long out of the company of women. Far too long. â€Å"Would you like to try that? That suffering. With me?† â€Å"Yes,† I said. All the training, all the discipline, all the control, gone in a word. â€Å"Do you have twenty rupees?† â€Å"No.† â€Å"Then suffer,† she said, and she stepped away. â€Å"See, I told you.† Then she walked away, trailing the scent of sandalwood and roses behind her as she went to the door, her hips waving good-bye to me all the way across the room, the bangles on her arms and ankles ringing like tiny temple bells calling me to worship at her secret grotto. At the door she crooked a finger for me to follow her out, and I did. â€Å"My name is Kashmir,† she said. â€Å"Come back. I'll teach you ancient and sacred knowledge. One page at time. Twenty rupees each.† I took my stupid, pathetic, useless grains of rice and went back to my holy, stupid, useless, stupid male friends at the cliff. â€Å"I brought some rice,† I said to Joshua when I had climbed to my nook in the cliff. â€Å"Melchior can do his rice thing and we'll have enough for supper.† Josh was sitting on the shelf of his nook, his legs folded into the lotus position, hands in the mudra of the compassionate Buddha. â€Å"Melchior is teaching the path to the Divine Spark,† Joshua said. â€Å"First you have to quiet the mind. That's why there's so much physical discipline, attention to breath, you have to be so completely in control that you can see past the illusion of your body.† â€Å"And how is that different from what we did in the monastery?† â€Å"It's subtle, but it's different. There the mind would ride the wave of action, you could meditate while on the exercise posts, shooting arrows, fighting. There was no goal because there was no place to be but in the moment. Here, the goal is to see beyond the moment, to the soul. I think I'm getting a glimpse. I'm learning the postures. Melchior says that an accomplished yogi can pass his entire body through a hoop the size of his head.† â€Å"That's great, Josh. Useful. Now let me tell you about this woman I met.† So I jumped over to Josh's ledge and began to tell him about my day, the woman, the Kama Sutra, and my opinion that this just might be the sort of ancient spiritual information a young Messiah might need. â€Å"Her name is Kashmir, which means soft and expensive.† â€Å"But she's a prostitute, Biff.† â€Å"Prostitutes didn't bother you when you were making me help you learn about sex.† â€Å"They still don't bother me, it's just that you don't have any money.† â€Å"I got the feeling she likes me. I think maybe she'll do me pro bono, if you know what I mean?† I elbowed him in the ribs and winked. â€Å"You mean for the public good. You forget your Latin? ‘Pro bono' means ‘for the public good.'† â€Å"Oh. I thought it meant something else. She's not going to do me for that.† â€Å"No, probably not,† said Josh. So the next day, first thing, I made may way back to Nicobar, determined to find a job, but by noon I found myself sitting on the street next to one of the blind, no-legged beggar kids. The street was packed with traders, haggling, making deals, exchanging cash for goods and services, and the kid was making a killing on the spare change. I was astounded at the amount in the kid's bowl; there must have been enough for three Kama Sutra pages right there. Not that I would steal from a blind kid. â€Å"Look, Scooter, you look a little tired, you want me to watch the bowl while you take a break?† â€Å"Get your hand out of there!† The kid caught my wrist (me, the kung fu master). He was quick. â€Å"I can tell what you're doing.† â€Å"Okay, fine, how about I show you some magic tricks. A little sleight of hand?† â€Å"Oh, that'll be fun. I'm blind.† â€Å"Look, make up your mind.† â€Å"I'm going to call for the guild-master if you don't go away.† So I went away, despondent, defeated – not money enough to look at the edge of a page of the Kama Sutra. I skulked back to the cliffs, climbed up to my nook, and resolved to console myself with some cold rice left over from last night's supper. I opened my satchel and – â€Å"Ahhh!† I leapt back. â€Å"Josh, what are you doing in there?† And there he was, his beatific old Joshua face with the sole of a foot on either side like big ears, a few vertebrae showing, one hand, my ying-yang amulet vial, and a jar of myrrh. â€Å"Get out of there. How'd you get in there?† I've mentioned our satchels before. The Greeks called them wallets, I guess you would call them duffel bags. They were made of leather, had a long strap we could throw over our shoulder, and I suppose if you'd asked me before, I would have said you could get a whole person in one if you had to, but not in one piece. â€Å"Melchior taught me. It took me all morning to get in here. I thought I'd surprise you.† â€Å"Worked. Can you get out?† â€Å"I don't think so. I think my hips are dislocated.† â€Å"Okay, where's my black glass knife?† â€Å"It's at the bottom of the bag.† â€Å"Why did I know you were going to say that?† â€Å"If you get me out I'll show you what else I learned. Melchior taught me how to multiply the rice.† A few minutes later Joshua and I were sitting on the ledge of my nook being bombarded by seagulls. The seagulls were attracted by the huge pile of cooked rice that lay between us on the ledge. â€Å"That's the most amazing thing I've ever seen.† Except that you really couldn't see it done. One minute you had a handful of rice, the next a bushel. â€Å"Melchior says that it usually takes a lot longer for a yogi to learn to manipulate matter like this.† â€Å"How much longer?† â€Å"Thirty, forty years. Most of the time they pass on before they learn.† â€Å"So this is like the healing. Part of your, uh, legacy?† â€Å"This isn't like the healing, Biff. This can be taught, given the time.† I tossed a handful of rice into the air for some seagulls. â€Å"Tell you what. Melchior obviously doesn't like me, so he's not going to teach me anything. Let's trade knowledge.† I brought rice to Joshua, had him multiply it, then sold the surplus in the market, and eventually I started trading fish instead of rice because I could raise twenty rupees in fewer trips. But before that, I asked Joshua to come to town with me. We went to the market, which was thick with traders, haggling, making deals, exchanging cash for goods and services, and over on the side, a blind and legless beggar was making a killing on the change. â€Å"Scooter, I'd like you to meet my friend Joshua.† â€Å"My name's not Scooter,† said the waif. A half hour later Scooter could see again and miraculously his severed legs had been regenerated. â€Å"You bastards!† said Scooter as he ran off on clean new pink feet. â€Å"Go with God,† Joshua said. â€Å"Now I guess we'll see how easy it is to earn a living!† I shouted after the kid. â€Å"He didn't seem very pleased,† said Josh. â€Å"He's only learning to express himself. Forget him, others are suffering as well.† And so it came to pass, that Joshua of Nazareth moved among them, healing them and performing miracles, and all the little blind children of Nicobar did see again, and all the lame did stand up and walk. The little fuckers. And so the exchange of knowledge began: what I was learning from Kashmir and the Kama Sutra for what Joshua was learning from the holy man Melchior. Each morning, before I went to town and before Joshua went to learn from his guru, we met on the beach and shared ideas and breakfast. Usually some rice and a fresh fish roasted over the fire. We'd gone long enough without eating animal flesh, we had decided, despite what Melchior and Gaspar tried to teach us. â€Å"This ability to increase the bounty of food – imagine what we can do for the people of Israel, of the world.† â€Å"Yes, Josh, for it is written: ‘Give a man a fish and he eats for a day, but teach a man to be a fish and his friends eat for a week.'† â€Å"That is not written. Where is that written?† â€Å"Amphibians five-seven.† â€Å"There's no friggin' Amphibians in the Bible.† â€Å"Plague of frogs. Ha! Gotcha!† â€Å"How long's it been since you had a beating?† â€Å"Please. You can't hit anyone, you have to be at total peace with all creation so you can find Sparky the Wonder Spirit.† â€Å"The Divine Spark.† â€Å"Whatever, th – ouch. Oh great, and what am I supposed to do, hit the Messiah back?† â€Å"Turn the other cheek. Go ahead, turn it.† As I said, thus did the enlightened exchange of sacred and ancient teachings begin: The Kama Sutra sayeth: When a woman winds her small toes into the armpit hair of the man, and the man hops upon one foot, while supporting the woman on his lingam and a butter churn, then the achieved position is called â€Å"Rhinoceros Balancing a Jelly Donut.† â€Å"What's a jelly donut?† Joshua asked. â€Å"I don't know. It's a Vedic term lost to antiquity, but it is said to have had great significance to the keepers of the law.† â€Å"Oh.† The Katha Upanishad sayeth: Beyond the senses are the objects, and beyond the objects is the mind. Beyond the mind is pure reason, and beyond reason is the Spirit in man. â€Å"What's that supposed to mean?† â€Å"You have to think about it, but it means that there's something eternal in everyone.† â€Å"That's swell. What's with the guys on the bed of nails?† â€Å"A yogi must leave his body if he is going to experience the spiritual.† â€Å"So he leaves through the little holes in his back?† â€Å"Let's start again.† The Kama Sutra sayeth: When a man applies wax from the carnuba bean to a woman's yoni and buffs it with a lint-free cloth or a papyrus towel until a mirror shine is achieved, then it is called Readying the Mongoose for Trade-in.† â€Å"Look, she sells me pieces of sheepskin parchment, and each time, after we're finished, I'm allowed to copy the drawings. I'm going to tie them all together and make my own codex.† â€Å"You did that? That looks like it hurts.† â€Å"This from a guy I had to break out of a wine jar with a hammer yesterday.† â€Å"Yeah, well, it wouldn't have happened if I'd remembered to grease my shoulders like Melchior taught me.† Joshua turned the drawing to get a different angle on it. â€Å"You're sure this doesn't hurt?† â€Å"No, not if you keep your bottom away from the incense burners.† â€Å"No, I mean her.† â€Å"Oh, her. Well, who knows? I'll ask her.† The Bhagavad Gita sayeth: I am impartial to all creatures, and no one is hateful or dear to me, but men devoted to me are in me, and I am in them. â€Å"What's the Bhagavad Gita?† â€Å"It's like a long poem in which the god Krishna advises the warrior Arjuna as he drives his chariot into battle.† â€Å"Really, what's he advise him?† â€Å"He advises him not to feel bad about killing the enemy, because they are essentially already dead.† â€Å"You know what I'd advise him if I was a god? I'd advise him to get someone else to drive his friggin' chariot. The real God wouldn't be caught dead driving a chariot.† â€Å"Well, you have to look at it as a parable, otherwise it sort of reeks of false gods.† â€Å"Our people don't have good luck with false gods, Josh. They're – I don't know – frowned upon. We get killed and enslaved when we mess with them.† â€Å"I'll be careful.† The Kama Sutra sayeth: When a woman props herself up on the table and inhales the steam of the eucalyptus tea, while gargling a mixture of lemon, water, and honey, and the man takes the woman by the ears, and enters her from behind, while looking out the window at the girl across the street hanging out her laundry to dry, then the position is called â€Å"Distracted Tiger Hacking Up a Fur Ball.† â€Å"I couldn't find that one in the book, so she dictated it to me from memory.† â€Å"Kashmir's quite the scholar.† â€Å"She had the sniffles, but agreed to my lesson anyway. I think she's falling for me.† â€Å"How could she not, you're a very charming fellow.† â€Å"Why, thank you, Josh.† â€Å"You're welcome, Biff.† â€Å"Okay, tell me about your little yoga thing.† The Bhagavad Gita sayeth: Just as the wide-moving wind is constantly present in space, so all creatures exist in me. Understand it to be so! â€Å"Is that the kind of advice you'd give someone who's riding into battle? You'd think Krishna would be saying stuff like, ‘Look out, an arrow! Duck!'† â€Å"You'd think,† Joshua sighed. The Kama Sutra sayeth: The position of â€Å"Rampant Monkey Collecting Coconuts† is achieved when a woman hooks her fingers into the man's nostrils and performs a hokey-pokey motion with her hips and the man, while firmly stroking the woman's uvula with his thumbs, swings his lingam around her yoni in a direction counter to that in which water swirls down a drain. (Water has been observed swirling down the drain in different directions in different places. This is a mystery, but a good rule of thumb for achieving Rampant Monkey is to just go in the direction counter to which your own personal drain swirls.) â€Å"Your drawings are getting better,† Joshua said. â€Å"In the first one I thought she had a tail.† â€Å"I'm using the calligraphy techniques we learned in the monastery, only using them to draw figures. Josh, are you sure it doesn't bother you, talking about this stuff when you'll never be allowed to do it?† â€Å"No, it's interesting. It doesn't bother you when I talk about heaven, does it?† â€Å"Should it?† â€Å"Look, a seagull!† The Katha Upanishad sayeth: For a man who has known him, the light of truth shines. For one who has not known, there is darkness. The wise who have seen him in every being on leaving this life, attain life immortal. â€Å"That's what you're looking for, huh, the Divine Spark thing?† â€Å"It's not for me, Biff.† â€Å"Josh, I'm not a satchel of sand here. I didn't spend all of my time studying and meditating without getting some glimpse of the eternal.† â€Å"That's good to know.† â€Å"Of course it helps when angels show up and you do miracles and stuff too.† â€Å"Well, yes, I guess it would.† â€Å"But that's not a bad thing. We can use that when we get home.† â€Å"You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?† â€Å"Not a clue.† Our training went on for two years before I saw the sign that called us home. Life was slow, but pleasant there by the sea. Joshua became more efficient at multiplying food, and while he insisted on living an austere lifestyle so he could remain unattached to the material world, I was able to get a little money ahead. In addition to paying for my lessons, I was able to decorate my nook (just some erotic drawings, curtains, some silk cushions) and buy a few personal items such as a new satchel, an ink stone and a set of brushes, and an elephant. I named the elephant Vana, which is Sanskrit for wind, and although she certainly earned her name, I regret it was not due to her blazing speed. Feeding Vana was not a difficulty with Joshua's ability to turn a handful of grass into a fodder farm, but no matter how hard Joshua tried to teach her yoga, she was not able to fit into my nook. (I consoled Joshua that it was probably the climb, and not his failure as a yoga guru that deterred Vana. â€Å"If she had fingers, Josh, she'd be snuggling up with me and seagulls right now.†) Vana didn't like being on the beach when the tide came and washed sand between her toes, so she lived in a pasture just above the cliff. She did, however, love to swim, and some days rather than ride her on the beach all the way to Nicobar, I would have her swim into the harbor just under water, with only her trunk showing and me standing on her forehead. â€Å"Look, Kashmir, I'm walking on water! I'm walking on water!† So eager was my erotic princess to share my embrace that rather than wonder at the spectacle as did the other townsfolk she could only reply: â€Å"Park the elephant in back.† (The first few times she said it I thought she was referring to a Kama Sutra position that we had missed, pages stuck together perhaps, but it turned out such was not the case.) Kashmir and I became quite close as my studies progressed. After we went through all the positions of the Kama Sutra twice, Kashmir was able to take things to the next level by introducing Tantric discipline into our lovemaking. So skillful did we become at the meditative art of coupling that even in the throes of passion, Kashmir was able to polish her jewelry, count her money, or even rinse out a few delicates. I myself had so mastered the discipline of controlled ejaculation that often I was halfway home before release was at last achieved. It was on my way home from Kashmir's – as Vana and I were cutting through the market so that I could show my friends the ex-beggar boys the possible rewards for the man of discipline and character (to wit: I had an elephant and they did not) – that I saw, outlined on the wall of a temple of Vishnu, a dirty water stain, caused by condensation, mold, and wind-blown dust, which described the face of my best friend's mother, Mary. â€Å"Yeah, she does that,† said Joshua, when I swung over the edge of his nook and announced the news. He and Melchior had been meditating and the old man, as usual, appeared to be dead. â€Å"She used to do it all the time when we were kids. She sent James and me running all over the place washing down walls before people saw. Sometimes her face would appear in a pattern of water drops in the dust, or the peelings from grapes would fall just so in a pattern after being taken out of the wine press. Usually it was walls.† â€Å"You never told me that.† â€Å"I couldn't tell you. The way you idolized her, you'd have been turning the pictures into shrines.† â€Å"So they were naked pictures?† Melchior cleared his throat and we both looked at him. â€Å"Joshua, either your mother or God has sent you a message. It doesn't matter who sent it, the message is the same. It is time for you to go home.† We would be leaving for the north in the morning, and Nicobar was south, so I left Joshua to pack our things on Vana while I walked into town to break the news to Kashmir. â€Å"Oh my,† she said, â€Å"all the way back to Galilee. Do you have money for the journey?† â€Å"A little.† â€Å"But not with you?† â€Å"No.† â€Å"Well, okay. Bye.† I could swear I saw a tear in her eye as she closed the door. The next morning, with Vana loaded with my drawings and art supplies; my cushions, curtains, and rugs; my brass coffeepot, my tea ball, and my incense burner; my pair of breeding mongooses (mongeese?), their bamboo cage, my drum set, and my umbrella; my silk robe, my sun hat, my rain hat, my collection of carved erotic figurines, and Joshua's bowl, we gathered on the beach to say good-bye. Melchior stood before us in his loincloth, the wind whipping the tails of his white beard and hair around his face like fierce clouds. There was no sadness in his face, but then, he had endeavored his entire life to detach from the material world, which we were part of. He'd already done this a long time ago. Joshua made as if to embrace the old man, then instead just poked him in the shoulder. Once and only once, I saw Melchior smile. â€Å"But you haven't taught me everything I need to know,† Josh said. â€Å"You're right, I have taught you nothing. I could teach you nothing. Everything that you needed to know was already there. You simply needed the word for it. Some need Kali and Shiva to destroy the world so they may see past the illusion to divinity in them, others need Krishna to drive them to the place where they may perceive what is eternal in them. Others may perceive the Divine Spark in themselves only by realizing through enlightenment that the spark resides in all things, and in that they find kinship. But because the Divine Spark resides in all, does not mean that all will discover it. Your dharma is not to learn, Joshua, but to teach.† â€Å"How will I teach my people about the Divine Spark? Before you answer, remember we're talking about Biff too.† â€Å"You must only find the right word. The Divine Spark is infinite, the path to find it is not. The beginning of the path is the word.† â€Å"Is that why you and Balthasar and Gaspar followed the star? To find the path to the Divine Spark in all men? The same reason that I came to find you?† â€Å"We were seekers. You are that which is sought, Joshua. You are the source. The end is divinity, in the beginning is the word. You are the word.†