Understanding Dinosaur Combat

Understanding Dinosaur Combat In Hollywood motion pictures, dinosaur battles have clear champs and washouts, deliberately outlined fields (state, an open fix of scrubland or the cafeteria in Jurassic Park), and typically a lot of terrified human observers. All things considered, however, dinosaur battles were progressively similar to befuddled, turbulent bar fights than Ultimate Fighting matches, and instead of continuing for various rounds, they were as a rule over in the squint of a Jurassic eye. (See a rundown of the Deadliest Dinosaurs, just as Prehistoric Battles highlighting your preferred dinosaurs, reptiles, and well evolved creatures.) Its significant at the beginning to recognize the two primary sorts of dinosaur battle. Predator/prey experiences (for instance, between a ravenous Tyrannosaurus Rex and alone, adolescent Triceratops) were brisk and fierce, without any standards aside from murder or be executed. In any case, intra-species conflicts (state, two male Pachycephalosaurus head-butting each other for the option to mate with accessible females) had an increasingly ceremonial perspective, and once in a while brought about a soldiers passing (however one presumes genuine wounds were normal). Obviously, so as to battle effectively, you should be outfitted with appropriate weapons. Dinosaurs didnt approach guns (or even heavy-handed contrivances), however they were enriched with normally advanced adjustments that helped them either to chase down their lunch, abstain from being lunch or engender the species so as to restock the worldwide lunch menu. Hostile weapons (like sharp teeth and long paws) were solely the region of meat-eating dinosaurs, which went after each other or on gentler herbivores, while guarded weapons (like covering plating and tail clubs) were developed by plant-eaters so as to fight off assaults by predators. A third sort of weapon comprised of explicitly chosen adjustments, (for example, sharp horns and thickened skulls), employed by the guys of some dinosaur species so as to overwhelm the group or vie for the consideration of females. Hostile Dinosaur Weapons Teeth. Meat-eating dinosaurs like T. Rex and Allosaurus didnt develop large, sharp teeth just to eat their prey; like present day cheetahs and incredible white sharks, they utilized these choppers to convey fast, amazing, and (on the off chance that they were conveyed in the perfect spot at the opportune time) deadly nibbles. Well never know without a doubt, however thinking by similarity with present day carnivores, it appears to be likely that these theropods focused on their casualties necks and stomaches, where a solid nibble would cause the most harm. Paws. Some rapacious dinosaurs (like Baryonyx) were outfitted with huge, ground-breaking paws on their front hands, which they used to slice at prey, while others (like Deinonychus and its kindred raptors) had single, larger than average, bended paws on their rear feet. Its improbable that a dinosaur could have murdered prey with its hooks alone; these weapons were presumably additionally used to wrestle with adversaries and keep them in an extremely tight grip. (Remember, in any case, that enormous paws dont essentially indicate a rapacious eating regimen; the large pawed Deinocheirus, for instance, was an affirmed vegan.) Vision and smell. The most exceptional predators of the Mesozoic Era (like the human-sized Troodon) were furnished with enormous eyes and moderately progressed binocular vision, which made it simpler for them to focus in on prey, particularly when chasing around evening time. A few carnivores additionally had a propelled feeling of smell, which empowered them to aroma prey from far away (however its likewise conceivable that this adjustment was utilized to home in on effectively dead, decaying corpses). Force. Tyrannosaurs were assembled like battering rams, with colossal heads, thick bodies, and incredible rear legs. Shy of conveying a lethal chomp, an assaulting Daspletosaurus could thump its casualty senseless, if it had the component of shock on its side and an adequate head of steam. When the unfortunate Stegosaurus was lying on its side, dazed and befuddled, the ravenous theropod could move in for the speedy execute. Speed. Speed was an adjustment shared similarly by predators and prey, a genuine case of a transformative weapons contest. Since they were littler and more softly worked than tyrannosaurs, raptors and dino-flying creatures were particularly snappy, which made a developmental motivating force for the plant-eating ornithopods they chased to run quicker too. When in doubt, flesh eating dinosaurs were able to do short eruptions of rapid, while herbivorous dinosaurs could support a marginally less lively pace for a more drawn out timeframe. Awful breath. This may seem like a joke, however scientistss accept that the teeth of certain tyrannosaurs were formed in order to deliberately collect slivers of dead tissue. As these shreds decayed, they reproduced risky microscopic organisms, which means any non-lethal chomps perpetrated on different dinosaurs would bring about contaminated, gangrenous injuries. The unfortunate plant-eater would drop dead in a couple of days, so, all things considered the capable Carnotaurus (or some other predator in the prompt region) chowed down on its remains. Guarded Dinosaur Weapons Tails. The long, adaptable tails of sauropods and titanosaurs had more than one capacity: they assisted with counterbalancing these dinosaurs similarly long necks, and their abundant surface territory may have disseminated overabundance heat. In any case, its additionally accepted that a portion of these behemoths could lash their tails like whips, conveying shocking hits to moving toward predators. The utilization of tails for guarded purposes arrived at its pinnacle with the ankylosaurs, or protected dinosaurs, which developed substantial, macelike developments at the closures of their tails that could smash the skulls of unwary raptors. Defensive layer. Until the knights of medieval Europe figured out how to fashion metallic protective layer, no animals on earth were more impenetrable to assault than Ankylosaurus and Euoplocephalus (the last even had reinforced eyelids). When assaulted, these ankylosaurs would thud down onto the ground, and the main way they could be executed was if a predator figured out how to flip them onto their backs and dive into their delicate underbellies. When the dinosaurs went wiped out, even titanosaurs had advanced a light protected covering, which may have fought off pack assaults by packs of littler raptors. Sheer mass. One reason sauropods and hadrosaurs achieved such gigantic sizes is that full-developed grown-ups would have been essentially invulnerable to predation: not so much as a pack of grown-up Alioramus could want to bring down a 20-ton Shantungosaurus. The drawback to this, obviously, was predators moved their thoughtfulness regarding simpler to-take out infants and adolescents, implying that out of a grasp of 20 or 30 eggs laid by a female Diplodocus, just a couple may figure out how to arrive at adulthood. Disguise. The one element of dinosaurs that once in a while (if at any point) fossilizes is their skin colorso well can't be sure whether Protoceratops wore zebra-like stripes, or if Maiasauras mottled skin made it hard to see in thick underbrush. Be that as it may, thinking by similarity with present day prey creatures, it would be exceptionally astounding undoubtedly if hadrosaurs and ceratopsians didnt sport a cover to shroud them from the consideration of predators Speed. As referenced above, advancement is an equivalent open door business: as the savage dinosaurs of the Mesozoic Era become quicker, so do their prey, and the other way around. While a 50-ton sauropod couldnt have run exceptionally quick, the normal hadrosaur could raise up onto its rear legs and beat the bipedal retreat in light of peril, and some littler plant-eating dinosaurs may have been equipped for running at 30 or 40 (or perhaps 50) miles every hour while being pursued. Hearing. When in doubt, predators are invested with prevalent sight and smell, while prey creatures have intense hearing (so they can flee on the off chance that they hear a compromising stir out there). In view of an investigation of their peaked skulls, it appears to be likely that some duck-charged dinosaurs (like Parasaurolophus and Charonosaurus) could roar to one another over significant distances, so an individual hearing the strides of a moving toward tyrannosaur would have the option to caution the crowd. Intra-Species Dinosaur Weapons Horns. The fearsome-looking horns of Triceratops may just have been optionally planned to caution away an eager T. Rex. The position and direction of ceratopsian horns lead scientistss to infer that their primary reason for existing was in dueling with different guys for predominance in the crowd or reproducing rights. Obviously, unfortunate guys may be injured, or even murdered, in this processresearchers have uncovered various dinosaur bones bearing the characteristics of intra-species battle. Laces. The monster head trimmings of ceratopsian dinosaurs filled two needs. To start with, curiously large ruffles made these plant-eaters look at greater without flinching of hungry carnivores, which may pick to focus on littler toll. What's more, second, if these ornamentations were splendidly hued, they could have been utilized to flag the craving to battle during mating season. (Laces may likewise have had one more reason, as their enormous surface territories assisted with disseminating and ingest heat.) Peaks. Not exactly a weapon in the great sense, peaks were bulges of bone regularly found on duck-charged dinosaurs. These regressive pointing developments would have been futile in a battle, yet they may well have been utilized to pull in females (theres proof that the peaks of some Parasaurolophus guys were bigger than those of the females). As referenced over, its additionally likely that some duck-charged dinosaurs channeled air through these peaks as a method of motioning to others of their sort. Skulls. This impossible to miss weapon was special to the group of dinosaurs known as pachycephalosaurs (half-witted reptiles). Pachycephalosaurs like Stegoceras and Sphaerotholus wore up to a foot of bone on the highest points of their skulls, which they apparently used to head-butt each other for strength in the group and

Knights Templars Essays - Philip IV Of France, Knights Templar

Knights Templars The Knights Templars was a strict military request whose insider facts and riches annihilated the association. The request had a few names, and the individuals had a few titles. The Knights Templars began as a little gathering of priests. Individuals had obligations and certain ways of life as Templars. The request quickly spread across Europe. During the subsequent campaign, the Templars battled for the Christian exertion. After the second campaign the knights turned out to be extremely ground-breaking and well off. The request was devastated, yet it despite everything lives on today. The Knights Templars were covered up in obscurity and mystery, and they will consistently stay a riddle. The Holy Order of the Poor Knights of Christ and the Temple of Solomon is the complete name of the Order. Most stuff allude to them as the Knights Templars. Some call the individuals just Templars, or warrior priests. The Poor Fellow Soldiers of Christ and the Temple of Solomon is another name utilized. Individuals back in the hour of the campaign would have called them legends. After the main campaign two new military requests emerged in Jerusalem. One, the Knights Hospitallers, or Knights of Saint John, whose undertaking was to help the injured in Outremer, or the land over the ocean. Holy person John's Ambulance Service gets from the Hospitaller legend. The subsequent military request to emerge was the Knights Templars, whose obligation was to safeguard the travelers on their way to the Holy Land. In 1118 Hugues de Payan and eight individual knights went to Jerusalem and offered their administrations to the ruler, Baldwin 1. Ruler Baldwin offered lodging to the knights at the previous mosque al-Aqsa, which was situated on the site of King Solomon's incredible sanctuary. The request got its name from this reality. Knights took pledges of neediness, purity and acquiescence to the Grand Master, or president. Every Templar wore a common white robe with the red Maltese cross symbol. Chainmail defensive layer was worn in fight. The Templars battled boldly against the Saracens, not leaving fight except if dwarfed three to one. The request got the gift of the Pope in 1129, and the Templars before long got acknowledgment as legends. With the Pope's favoring, the Templars could now enroll individuals and fund-raise through gifts. Gifts went to the Templars in huge sums. The warrior priests were given riches, gems, and property. Ruler Alfonso 1 of Argon gave the Templars 33% of his Spanish Empire on his deathbed. They claimed land in France, Spain, England, Italy, Germany, Portugal, Austria, Hungary, and different spots. Men likewise went to the Templars to help their motivation, and some in order to get rich. The Knights Templars had their faultfinders however. Some felt they were unchristian, slaughtering many individuals, including ladies and youngsters. They held gatherings stealthily, which alarmed a few people. It was obscure what was held in their mystery gatherings. The subsequent campaign was in progress and the Templars battled on the Christian side. Military and budgetary help was given for their benefit. They battled an Islamic over the top gathering known as the Assasins. The Assasins indicated no leniency, they executed more than the Templars. Gradually the Christians started to a free area. In 1187, at the clash of Hattin, 25,000 Christians were vanquished by 60,000 Islamic soldiers drove by Saladin. The fields recovered Jerusalem and the Templars moved. They went to Acre and in the long run left Outremer all together. The rest of the Templars fled to Limassol, where they made another central command. The Templars were done battling, and they thusly looked for another assignment. The Templars possessed houses all over the guide, and they utilized that to their advantage. The Knights Templars turned into the principal investors. Explorers would store cash at one Templar building, and travel, with an announcement of store, to another city. They would then trade out their announcement and get a similar measure of cash at another Knight structure at their last goal. This was a protected strategy, in light of the fact that the voyager couldn't get ransacked. The Templars started to accompany explorers on their armadas of boats. The Pope liberated the Templars from dependability to any ruler, from that point on the request just offered an explanation to the Pope. The Templars got engaged with legislative issues. They served on illustrious panels and

Where is Andorra and other FAQs about my IAP

Where is Andorra and other FAQs about my IAP January in Andorra FAQ When I tell people that I spent January in Andorra, their first question is usually Whats Andorra? Its a question Ive gotten pretty good at answering over the past couple of months. So Ive decided to compile an FAQ. January in Andorra FAQ Whats Andorra? Andorra is a tinnnnnyyy little country in Europe. Its about double the size of Boston by area and about a tenth of the size by population. So by U.S. standards, it probably wouldnt even qualify as a city. Where is it? Up in the Pyrenees, right between Spain and France! Wait, you still dont see it? Its there, I promise! The country is actually split into 7 parishes, or small towns, which you can see in the map above: Ordino, Canillo, La Massana, Encamp, Escaldes, Andorra la Vella, and Sant Julià. Fun fact: if youre a fan of alpine skiing, the World Cup finals are being held in Andorra in a few days, so youll be able to see it in on TV! And Ill be participating! Jk, as you can probably tell from my stance in this picture Im nowhere near good enough. This is one of the world cup ski slopes! pista Copa del Món means World Cup ski slope in Catalan. Are you sure its a country? Yes! Well technically its a principality, or according to Wikipedia, a sovereign microstate. Its definitely not just a city. Its a member of the United Nations, and although its not a member of the EU, the euro is the national currency. There are even Andorran euros! One of a special series of euros printed with the Andorran seal. On the seal, you can see symbols representing the two co-princes of Andorra (keep reading to learn about the princes!) Its also not just an offshoot of France or Spain (at least not technically). Its got its own national government, in addition to 7 local governments, one for each of the 7 parishes. I got to visit the seat of the national government! This is La Casa de la Vall, the historical government building of Andorra. Picture from flickr Andorras national parliament, the Consell General de les Valls, is the second-oldest parliament in Europe. It has 28 representatives, some of which are elected nationally and some of which are elected on a parish-by-parish basis. The parliament is responsible for making the laws of the country. The parliament recently moved to a new, modernized building with a lot of neat technology, including electronic voting, which makes it officially fancier than the U.S. House of Representatives. The seat of the Andorran parliamentboth the old, historical chambers on the left and the new, high-tech chambers on the right. We werent allowed to take pictures inside, so pictures are from the Casa de la Vall website and the company who made the new parliament building. Interestingly, although the Consell General is able to elect its own Head of Government, the Head of State is chosen via a decidedly more archaic process. The state is headed by two co-princes, one from Spain and one from France. This arrangement dates back to the 13th century, when the Spanish Bishop of Urgell and the French Compte de Foix signed a treaty establishing joint leadership of the principality, and has continued through to modern day, with the inheritors of these two titles also inheriting the position. Except at some point the French house of Foix merged with the ruling family of France, which means that nowadays, the title holding the French princeship is actually the president of France. Which means that Emmanuel Macron is a Prince of Andorra. The local city government of Encamp, the parish of Andorra where I was living. Portraits of the two current co-princes are hanging on the wall. Macron is on the right. France and Spain have a lot of influence on Andorra, as is to be expected. In fact, there are three school systems in the countryAndorran, Spanish, and French, each sponsored by one of the three countries. The Andorran system is actually the most recent! Why Andorra? Even my host dad seemed a little surprised when I told him that I had specifically asked to be placed in Andorra. But I was actually really excited because Andorra is one of the few places where they routinely speak both Spanish and French. Im a little bit of a language nerd and Ive been taking Spanish classes since middle school and French classes since high school. In Andorra, I could practice both, which made me absurdly happy. And I also learned una mica of Catalan! If youre still unconvinced that the language landscape there is as fascinating as I seem to think, read on. What language do they speak? The simple answer is Catalan. Thats the language they speak in Cataloniayou know, the autonomous community in Spain (including Barcelona) that is regularly agitating for independence. Andorra borders Catalonia. The roads connecting Andorra to Barcelona are more reliable than those to its French counterpart, so there is a lot of cultural overlap between Andorran and Catalan culture. A lot of Andorrans are really proud of the Catalan language. The true answer is a lot more complicated. Catalan, Spanish, French, English, and Russian are all spoken to some extent, roughly in that order of prevalence. Geography, politics, immigration, economics, and professional needs all play a role in the languages people use and in what context. Among the people I was around, Catalan was the language of daily conversation. Everybody also spoke perfect Spanish. French was also pretty common, with some people speaking fluently and most everybody understanding. English was less common, and although I didnt experience it much personally, I was told that Russian was becoming more important. To some extent, peoples grasp of French, English, and Russian depended upon their career. For instance, the technology students that I was interacting with had to learn English, because so much technological documentation is written in English. However, for other students at the school where I was teaching who were studying to be corporate secretaries, French was more important because they had to interact with French clients. Some people in the tourism sector learned Russian because of the large volume of Russian tourists that came to ski. But language was also a function of social group and geography! Different neighborhoods tended to attract higher proportions of tourists from different countries and reflected the languages thereof. For instance, one night I went to a restaurant in a heavily English neighborhood where a lot of the waiters were speaking English. I was also told that in some parts of Andorra, Catalan is not as common, either because a lot of the people working there had immigrated from Spain or Latin America, or because Spanish was more convenient for communicating with Spanish tourists. And finally, the school system in which you study highly influences the languages you are exposed to. The language of instruction in the Andorran, Spanish, and French school systems is Catalan, Spanish, and French, respectively. Dont get me wrong; these schools are far from monolingual. The students at the Andorran school where I was teaching took FOUR DIFFERENT LANGUAGE CLASSES: Catalan, Spanish, French, and English. As an American and someone who loves language, it is hard for me to express how impressed and jealous I am. Growing up in the American school system, you learn: English, English, maybe a little bit of Spanish or Latin, and more English. USA, you have to up your game. Finally, Im just going to add that as an English-speaker, Im usually really spoiled when I travel in the sense that typically a lot of people are used to speaking English at least in a tourism setting. Andorra was maybe the first place Ive visited where English is not a priority (I mean, look at how many other things they have to learn!). Which was actually really fun. What were you doing there? I was teaching STEM subjects to high-school-aged students who were training to be IT personnel. MIT has a program called GTLGlobal Teaching Labswhere you visit another country during the month of January and teach high-school-aged students in a subject you are knowledgeable about. Although Ive traveled over IAP before, this was my first time teaching. I was placed at a school called the Centre de Formació Professional dAndorra (in English, Center for Professional Formation; CFP for short). The CFP is a vocational school mostly geared towards students who want to learn a trade so they can go work in a certain area. The students are roughly high-school aged; the students in their third (and last) year were around 19-20. There are 5 courses of study, including hairdressing, being a corporate secretary or assistant, a sports trainer/assistant, and informática or Information Technology. I was working exclusively with the IT students. The outside of the CFP, where I was teaching The subjects I was teaching ran the gamut, and my role in each depended on the preferences of the teacher. I taught classes in physics (both kinematics and electromagnetism), English, and computer science. In some classes, like electromagnetism, I was more like an assistant teacher, helping run example problems on the board and explaining concepts in English. In others, I was more like a substitute; the regular teachers had material that they wanted me to cover, but it was up to me to design lessons, including practice problems and activities, to convey that information. And in the informática classes I basically had free rein to do whatever I wanted!!! Another fascinating aspect of teaching at the CFP wasyou guessed itthe language! To my surprise, I was actually technically forbidden from speaking Spanish at the school. I taught all my classes in English, per the instructions of the GTL program and the instructors at the CFP. Since English is a third or fourth language for most of the students (and teachers), I was looking forward to using Spanish to clarify points of confusion. But since the school was part of the Andorran system, speaking Catalan was actually a point of national pride, and speaking castellano was seen as something of a concession to Madrid. In reality, I ended up speaking some Spanish anyway when I needed to get a point across, but I thought it was fascinating how language had such political connotations. One more thing that really took me aback was that every single IT student I was teaching was male. Out of the three-year program encompassing maybe 75 students, there was only one female in her first year, who I never saw because I didnt teach first year students. I think thats the starkest example Ive ever seen of a gender divide in STEM. What was the hardest part about teaching? One thing I had to adjust to quickly was the complete difference in educational theory at the CFP versus MIT. MIT is quite theoretical. I have spent my entire undergrad learning equations and then learning math so that I can manipulate those equations. I rarely touch hardware other than my keyboard. Even MITs attitude towards learning how to code is surprisingly theoretical. The first lecture of our intro to Python class is about the difference between an algorithm and a program. You learn Python as a first coding language because its an easy high-level language for programming algorithms without worrying about low-level hardware. And in upper-level classes, you either A) go a theoretical-mathematical route and leave coding behind, or B) learn to program in C when you see your first Operating Systems pset. For the most part, MIT teaches theory, and practical know-how you have to learn on your own. The CFP is totally different. The first day of electromagnetism class, the students homework assignment was to try to create a motor that produces infinite energy by dismantling whatever electronics they had at their disposal. The IT classes were packed with rows of servers and network routers (my host dad, who also teaches IT at the CFP, was horrified that I had never touched a router before). Classes, especially IT classes, tended to be really hands-on, and if I or another teacher veered into theory for more than half an hour, the students rapidly lost interest. So quickly, my original plan of adapting some of my favorite MIT class materials from MITs Open Course Ware fell apart, and I had to re-plan my lessons. Instead, I ended up designing my own, hands-on activities for the students. Since I had a lot of freedom with my informática lesson plans, I wanted to make sure I chose subject material that was both interesting and relevant to the students, but also well-matched to my skillssomething important that they might not learn otherwise. I ended up teaching them some coding in Python using Python tutorials that I developed, because Python is an easy-to-learn yet widely-used language that I thought might come in handy. Then, given that the students were learning a lot about how to configure servers and networks, I designed an activity about a launching a Python web server in the cloud using a free platform called Heroku, and then finally I did a brief introduction to Django, a Python framework for developing web applications. I ended up running classes more like office hoursstudents worked on the activities at their own pace, and I was there to give explanations and answer questions. I think this kept the students more engaged! Teaching at the CFP was also quite humbling because it showed me how limited even an MIT education can be. A lot of the practical systems configuration knowledge that these students are learning is totally outside of my sphere of knowledge. If you handed me one of their homework assignments, I would be totally lost. There is always so much to learn, even when youre the teacher :) What was the best part of being in Andorra? 110% my host family. My host family was awesome. My host family! Pepo and Carina and their two children, Pol and Alèxia My host dad is a teacher of IT at the school where I was placedin fact, a lot of the classes I was teaching were with his students! He was the one who introduced me to the school, the students, and the other teachers, and got me settled into my teaching routine. He also taught me a ton about the CFP, the Andorran education system, and Andorra in general. (In fact, hes the source of a lot of the information in this blog post) In addition to my host mom and dad, there were also two young children, Alèxia and Pol. And because Andorra is so small, a lot of extended family lived in the same village. Every weekend there was an extended family lunch with grandparents, cousins, in-lawsand me :D I felt really included in my host family. I was invited Alèxias 10th birthday party and I went to one of Pols soccer games. I ate dinner with the family and hung out with them on weekends. I cooked with the kids and taught Alexia how to make a pillow. They really went out of their way to introduce me to Andorran culture. The first day I showed up, my host dad taught me how to make pan con tomate. They had postponed the Christmas tradition of the Tió de Nadal until I arrived so that I could participate in it with them. They showed me a lot of cool sites in Andorra, like a gorgeous mountainous lookout called el Mirador del Roc del Quer, a beautiful modern cathedral called El Santuari de Meritxell, and the snow-fabricating station at Grau Roig, part of the biggest ski resort in Andorra. At the end of the month, when I was absolutely exhausted because between teaching and exploring I barely had time to sleep, my host dad said to me Well, we didnt get to see everything, but I think we d id a pretty good job. Baking molten chocolate cakes with the kids! Pan con tomate, or bread with tomato, does not involve putting slices of tomato on bread, as you might thinkinstead, you rub an overripe tomato on top of your bread and finish it off with salt and olive oil and sometimes Iberian ham. The view from Roc del Quer Part of the huge, complex system of pumps and tubes that powers the artificial snow fabrication at Grandvalira, Andorras largest ski station Me and Avital, another MIT GTL student, inside the  Santuari de Meritxell. Sewing with Alèxia! Here is a video of the tradition of the Tió de Nadal. I really recommend reading more about this tradition, because it is fascinating and from an American perspective, totally bizarre. document.createElement('video'); https://mitadmissions.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/20190111_193207.mp4 Living with my host family also gave me an incredible opportunity to practice both Spanish and French! They spoke Catalan among themselves, but they all also spoke perfect Spanish. Additionally, my host mom spoke fluent French because her father is actually French, and Alèxia spoke better French than I did. The kids were learning English, but in an ironic twist, their homework was so British that I didnt even know some of the vocab. So I spoke to my host dad in Spanish, my host mom in French, and the kids in Spanish, French, English, or sometimes horrible Catalan. It was awesome. My colleagues at the school were really welcoming too. Anna, the director of the CFP, invited me to Caldea, the an incredible spa in downtown Andorra la Vella, where you can go do a zumba class and then relax in an outside hot tub next to a pile of snow. Yeah, its pretty crazy. The giant indoor pool at Caldea I also made friends with Cristina, a physics teacher at the Centro. My last weekend in Europe, I went down to Barcelona with her and her family. We went to la Pedrera, one of the houses designed by Gaudí. Then we went to an FC Barcelona football (sorrysoccer) game! Cristina and I skiing. Shes a really good skiier. A view of Barcelona from the roof of Gaudís Pedrera. You can see possibly his most famous work, the Sagrada Familia cathedral, in the background. Camp Nou, Barças stadium! Barça was playing Valencia, and they only tied, but at least I got to see Messi score twice :D I have now sworn to be a lifelong Barça fan. Honestly, before arriving in Andorra, I was pretty nervous about it. I didnt really know what to expect from the country, and it was really small and I was afraid I might get bored or feel lonely. I had nothing to worry about. My host family and the people at the CFP were so friendly and welcoming and went out of their way to make it a great experience for me. I had so much fun with them that I ditched all my plans to visit France and Spain on the weekends and hung out in Andorra instead. Im so thankful I got to live with my host family. Was it totally awesome? Yes. Photo evidence attached ;) Skiing at Grau Roig. What, you thought we just went to look at the water pumps? The funicular that connects Encamp to Grandvalira, nicknamed the Funicamp, is 6 km long!!! This is the view from my host familys living room, looking out over the Andorran mountains and the town of Encamp. Its beauuuutiful. This is Encamps celebration of an event called the Escudella de Sant Antoni. Basically the whole town comes together and cooks many enormous cauldrons of soup, filled with veggies and Andorran sausage including a delicious black sausage called butifarra negra. This is the commercial district of Andorra. Since Andorras economy relies heavily on tourism, and since taxes here are a lot lower than in neighboring France and Spain, there is a lot of luxury shopping. Pepo and I went snowshoeing up to a lake nearby the house. It was my first time showshoeing and the day was perfect! Bye Andorra! Post Tagged #andorra #GTL (Global Teaching Labs) #IAP #international #January #languages #teaching

Where is Andorra and other FAQs about my IAP

Where is Andorra and other FAQs about my IAP January in Andorra FAQ When I tell people that I spent January in Andorra, their first question is usually Whats Andorra? Its a question Ive gotten pretty good at answering over the past couple of months. So Ive decided to compile an FAQ. January in Andorra FAQ Whats Andorra? Andorra is a tinnnnnyyy little country in Europe. Its about double the size of Boston by area and about a tenth of the size by population. So by U.S. standards, it probably wouldnt even qualify as a city. Where is it? Up in the Pyrenees, right between Spain and France! Wait, you still dont see it? Its there, I promise! The country is actually split into 7 parishes, or small towns, which you can see in the map above: Ordino, Canillo, La Massana, Encamp, Escaldes, Andorra la Vella, and Sant Julià. Fun fact: if youre a fan of alpine skiing, the World Cup finals are being held in Andorra in a few days, so youll be able to see it in on TV! And Ill be participating! Jk, as you can probably tell from my stance in this picture Im nowhere near good enough. This is one of the world cup ski slopes! pista Copa del Món means World Cup ski slope in Catalan. Are you sure its a country? Yes! Well technically its a principality, or according to Wikipedia, a sovereign microstate. Its definitely not just a city. Its a member of the United Nations, and although its not a member of the EU, the euro is the national currency. There are even Andorran euros! One of a special series of euros printed with the Andorran seal. On the seal, you can see symbols representing the two co-princes of Andorra (keep reading to learn about the princes!) Its also not just an offshoot of France or Spain (at least not technically). Its got its own national government, in addition to 7 local governments, one for each of the 7 parishes. I got to visit the seat of the national government! This is La Casa de la Vall, the historical government building of Andorra. Picture from flickr Andorras national parliament, the Consell General de les Valls, is the second-oldest parliament in Europe. It has 28 representatives, some of which are elected nationally and some of which are elected on a parish-by-parish basis. The parliament is responsible for making the laws of the country. The parliament recently moved to a new, modernized building with a lot of neat technology, including electronic voting, which makes it officially fancier than the U.S. House of Representatives. The seat of the Andorran parliamentboth the old, historical chambers on the left and the new, high-tech chambers on the right. We werent allowed to take pictures inside, so pictures are from the Casa de la Vall website and the company who made the new parliament building. Interestingly, although the Consell General is able to elect its own Head of Government, the Head of State is chosen via a decidedly more archaic process. The state is headed by two co-princes, one from Spain and one from France. This arrangement dates back to the 13th century, when the Spanish Bishop of Urgell and the French Compte de Foix signed a treaty establishing joint leadership of the principality, and has continued through to modern day, with the inheritors of these two titles also inheriting the position. Except at some point the French house of Foix merged with the ruling family of France, which means that nowadays, the title holding the French princeship is actually the president of France. Which means that Emmanuel Macron is a Prince of Andorra. The local city government of Encamp, the parish of Andorra where I was living. Portraits of the two current co-princes are hanging on the wall. Macron is on the right. France and Spain have a lot of influence on Andorra, as is to be expected. In fact, there are three school systems in the countryAndorran, Spanish, and French, each sponsored by one of the three countries. The Andorran system is actually the most recent! Why Andorra? Even my host dad seemed a little surprised when I told him that I had specifically asked to be placed in Andorra. But I was actually really excited because Andorra is one of the few places where they routinely speak both Spanish and French. Im a little bit of a language nerd and Ive been taking Spanish classes since middle school and French classes since high school. In Andorra, I could practice both, which made me absurdly happy. And I also learned una mica of Catalan! If youre still unconvinced that the language landscape there is as fascinating as I seem to think, read on. What language do they speak? The simple answer is Catalan. Thats the language they speak in Cataloniayou know, the autonomous community in Spain (including Barcelona) that is regularly agitating for independence. Andorra borders Catalonia. The roads connecting Andorra to Barcelona are more reliable than those to its French counterpart, so there is a lot of cultural overlap between Andorran and Catalan culture. A lot of Andorrans are really proud of the Catalan language. The true answer is a lot more complicated. Catalan, Spanish, French, English, and Russian are all spoken to some extent, roughly in that order of prevalence. Geography, politics, immigration, economics, and professional needs all play a role in the languages people use and in what context. Among the people I was around, Catalan was the language of daily conversation. Everybody also spoke perfect Spanish. French was also pretty common, with some people speaking fluently and most everybody understanding. English was less common, and although I didnt experience it much personally, I was told that Russian was becoming more important. To some extent, peoples grasp of French, English, and Russian depended upon their career. For instance, the technology students that I was interacting with had to learn English, because so much technological documentation is written in English. However, for other students at the school where I was teaching who were studying to be corporate secretaries, French was more important because they had to interact with French clients. Some people in the tourism sector learned Russian because of the large volume of Russian tourists that came to ski. But language was also a function of social group and geography! Different neighborhoods tended to attract higher proportions of tourists from different countries and reflected the languages thereof. For instance, one night I went to a restaurant in a heavily English neighborhood where a lot of the waiters were speaking English. I was also told that in some parts of Andorra, Catalan is not as common, either because a lot of the people working there had immigrated from Spain or Latin America, or because Spanish was more convenient for communicating with Spanish tourists. And finally, the school system in which you study highly influences the languages you are exposed to. The language of instruction in the Andorran, Spanish, and French school systems is Catalan, Spanish, and French, respectively. Dont get me wrong; these schools are far from monolingual. The students at the Andorran school where I was teaching took FOUR DIFFERENT LANGUAGE CLASSES: Catalan, Spanish, French, and English. As an American and someone who loves language, it is hard for me to express how impressed and jealous I am. Growing up in the American school system, you learn: English, English, maybe a little bit of Spanish or Latin, and more English. USA, you have to up your game. Finally, Im just going to add that as an English-speaker, Im usually really spoiled when I travel in the sense that typically a lot of people are used to speaking English at least in a tourism setting. Andorra was maybe the first place Ive visited where English is not a priority (I mean, look at how many other things they have to learn!). Which was actually really fun. What were you doing there? I was teaching STEM subjects to high-school-aged students who were training to be IT personnel. MIT has a program called GTLGlobal Teaching Labswhere you visit another country during the month of January and teach high-school-aged students in a subject you are knowledgeable about. Although Ive traveled over IAP before, this was my first time teaching. I was placed at a school called the Centre de Formació Professional dAndorra (in English, Center for Professional Formation; CFP for short). The CFP is a vocational school mostly geared towards students who want to learn a trade so they can go work in a certain area. The students are roughly high-school aged; the students in their third (and last) year were around 19-20. There are 5 courses of study, including hairdressing, being a corporate secretary or assistant, a sports trainer/assistant, and informática or Information Technology. I was working exclusively with the IT students. The outside of the CFP, where I was teaching The subjects I was teaching ran the gamut, and my role in each depended on the preferences of the teacher. I taught classes in physics (both kinematics and electromagnetism), English, and computer science. In some classes, like electromagnetism, I was more like an assistant teacher, helping run example problems on the board and explaining concepts in English. In others, I was more like a substitute; the regular teachers had material that they wanted me to cover, but it was up to me to design lessons, including practice problems and activities, to convey that information. And in the informática classes I basically had free rein to do whatever I wanted!!! Another fascinating aspect of teaching at the CFP wasyou guessed itthe language! To my surprise, I was actually technically forbidden from speaking Spanish at the school. I taught all my classes in English, per the instructions of the GTL program and the instructors at the CFP. Since English is a third or fourth language for most of the students (and teachers), I was looking forward to using Spanish to clarify points of confusion. But since the school was part of the Andorran system, speaking Catalan was actually a point of national pride, and speaking castellano was seen as something of a concession to Madrid. In reality, I ended up speaking some Spanish anyway when I needed to get a point across, but I thought it was fascinating how language had such political connotations. One more thing that really took me aback was that every single IT student I was teaching was male. Out of the three-year program encompassing maybe 75 students, there was only one female in her first year, who I never saw because I didnt teach first year students. I think thats the starkest example Ive ever seen of a gender divide in STEM. What was the hardest part about teaching? One thing I had to adjust to quickly was the complete difference in educational theory at the CFP versus MIT. MIT is quite theoretical. I have spent my entire undergrad learning equations and then learning math so that I can manipulate those equations. I rarely touch hardware other than my keyboard. Even MITs attitude towards learning how to code is surprisingly theoretical. The first lecture of our intro to Python class is about the difference between an algorithm and a program. You learn Python as a first coding language because its an easy high-level language for programming algorithms without worrying about low-level hardware. And in upper-level classes, you either A) go a theoretical-mathematical route and leave coding behind, or B) learn to program in C when you see your first Operating Systems pset. For the most part, MIT teaches theory, and practical know-how you have to learn on your own. The CFP is totally different. The first day of electromagnetism class, the students homework assignment was to try to create a motor that produces infinite energy by dismantling whatever electronics they had at their disposal. The IT classes were packed with rows of servers and network routers (my host dad, who also teaches IT at the CFP, was horrified that I had never touched a router before). Classes, especially IT classes, tended to be really hands-on, and if I or another teacher veered into theory for more than half an hour, the students rapidly lost interest. So quickly, my original plan of adapting some of my favorite MIT class materials from MITs Open Course Ware fell apart, and I had to re-plan my lessons. Instead, I ended up designing my own, hands-on activities for the students. Since I had a lot of freedom with my informática lesson plans, I wanted to make sure I chose subject material that was both interesting and relevant to the students, but also well-matched to my skillssomething important that they might not learn otherwise. I ended up teaching them some coding in Python using Python tutorials that I developed, because Python is an easy-to-learn yet widely-used language that I thought might come in handy. Then, given that the students were learning a lot about how to configure servers and networks, I designed an activity about a launching a Python web server in the cloud using a free platform called Heroku, and then finally I did a brief introduction to Django, a Python framework for developing web applications. I ended up running classes more like office hoursstudents worked on the activities at their own pace, and I was there to give explanations and answer questions. I think this kept the students more engaged! Teaching at the CFP was also quite humbling because it showed me how limited even an MIT education can be. A lot of the practical systems configuration knowledge that these students are learning is totally outside of my sphere of knowledge. If you handed me one of their homework assignments, I would be totally lost. There is always so much to learn, even when youre the teacher :) What was the best part of being in Andorra? 110% my host family. My host family was awesome. My host family! Pepo and Carina and their two children, Pol and Alèxia My host dad is a teacher of IT at the school where I was placedin fact, a lot of the classes I was teaching were with his students! He was the one who introduced me to the school, the students, and the other teachers, and got me settled into my teaching routine. He also taught me a ton about the CFP, the Andorran education system, and Andorra in general. (In fact, hes the source of a lot of the information in this blog post) In addition to my host mom and dad, there were also two young children, Alèxia and Pol. And because Andorra is so small, a lot of extended family lived in the same village. Every weekend there was an extended family lunch with grandparents, cousins, in-lawsand me :D I felt really included in my host family. I was invited Alèxias 10th birthday party and I went to one of Pols soccer games. I ate dinner with the family and hung out with them on weekends. I cooked with the kids and taught Alexia how to make a pillow. They really went out of their way to introduce me to Andorran culture. The first day I showed up, my host dad taught me how to make pan con tomate. They had postponed the Christmas tradition of the Tió de Nadal until I arrived so that I could participate in it with them. They showed me a lot of cool sites in Andorra, like a gorgeous mountainous lookout called el Mirador del Roc del Quer, a beautiful modern cathedral called El Santuari de Meritxell, and the snow-fabricating station at Grau Roig, part of the biggest ski resort in Andorra. At the end of the month, when I was absolutely exhausted because between teaching and exploring I barely had time to sleep, my host dad said to me Well, we didnt get to see everything, but I think we d id a pretty good job. Baking molten chocolate cakes with the kids! Pan con tomate, or bread with tomato, does not involve putting slices of tomato on bread, as you might thinkinstead, you rub an overripe tomato on top of your bread and finish it off with salt and olive oil and sometimes Iberian ham. The view from Roc del Quer Part of the huge, complex system of pumps and tubes that powers the artificial snow fabrication at Grandvalira, Andorras largest ski station Me and Avital, another MIT GTL student, inside the  Santuari de Meritxell. Sewing with Alèxia! Here is a video of the tradition of the Tió de Nadal. I really recommend reading more about this tradition, because it is fascinating and from an American perspective, totally bizarre. document.createElement('video'); https://mitadmissions.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/20190111_193207.mp4 Living with my host family also gave me an incredible opportunity to practice both Spanish and French! They spoke Catalan among themselves, but they all also spoke perfect Spanish. Additionally, my host mom spoke fluent French because her father is actually French, and Alèxia spoke better French than I did. The kids were learning English, but in an ironic twist, their homework was so British that I didnt even know some of the vocab. So I spoke to my host dad in Spanish, my host mom in French, and the kids in Spanish, French, English, or sometimes horrible Catalan. It was awesome. My colleagues at the school were really welcoming too. Anna, the director of the CFP, invited me to Caldea, the an incredible spa in downtown Andorra la Vella, where you can go do a zumba class and then relax in an outside hot tub next to a pile of snow. Yeah, its pretty crazy. The giant indoor pool at Caldea I also made friends with Cristina, a physics teacher at the Centro. My last weekend in Europe, I went down to Barcelona with her and her family. We went to la Pedrera, one of the houses designed by Gaudí. Then we went to an FC Barcelona football (sorrysoccer) game! Cristina and I skiing. Shes a really good skiier. A view of Barcelona from the roof of Gaudís Pedrera. You can see possibly his most famous work, the Sagrada Familia cathedral, in the background. Camp Nou, Barças stadium! Barça was playing Valencia, and they only tied, but at least I got to see Messi score twice :D I have now sworn to be a lifelong Barça fan. Honestly, before arriving in Andorra, I was pretty nervous about it. I didnt really know what to expect from the country, and it was really small and I was afraid I might get bored or feel lonely. I had nothing to worry about. My host family and the people at the CFP were so friendly and welcoming and went out of their way to make it a great experience for me. I had so much fun with them that I ditched all my plans to visit France and Spain on the weekends and hung out in Andorra instead. Im so thankful I got to live with my host family. Was it totally awesome? Yes. Photo evidence attached ;) Skiing at Grau Roig. What, you thought we just went to look at the water pumps? The funicular that connects Encamp to Grandvalira, nicknamed the Funicamp, is 6 km long!!! This is the view from my host familys living room, looking out over the Andorran mountains and the town of Encamp. Its beauuuutiful. This is Encamps celebration of an event called the Escudella de Sant Antoni. Basically the whole town comes together and cooks many enormous cauldrons of soup, filled with veggies and Andorran sausage including a delicious black sausage called butifarra negra. This is the commercial district of Andorra. Since Andorras economy relies heavily on tourism, and since taxes here are a lot lower than in neighboring France and Spain, there is a lot of luxury shopping. Pepo and I went snowshoeing up to a lake nearby the house. It was my first time showshoeing and the day was perfect! Bye Andorra! Post Tagged #andorra #GTL (Global Teaching Labs) #IAP #international #January #languages #teaching

Revelations And Its Impact On Our Faith And Understanding...

Reflecting on humanity in focus of general and specific revelation is eye opening to a believer walking closely with Christ. Revelations are the way God communicates with his people, not receiving that communication frequently can quench a relationship of any makeup. Reflecting on the lecture last week, revelations are a key part of theology. Enrolling in Christian Theology at the graduate level, is stretching my belief system at the core. When allowing the mind to approach theology with no predetermined perception of the scripture. A believer can gain a full understanding of the scripture, and develop a thought process of retaining knowledge to form or reform a belief. Allowing the believer to understand, and articulate exactly what is believed. With that said, I want to spend time in this reflection paper talking about general and specific revelations. I believe revelations from God to be major in a person’s walk of faith. Understanding the two types of revelations, can hel p us grow in our faith and understanding of God. General revelations impart knowledge from records of history, creation, and experiences. One receiving a general revelation does so through the enlightenment of their experiences, and the history that is around them. In chapter one of the book of Romans we can see, and understand general revelation. The scripture exemplifies the divine power of God, allowing the power to be revealed and understood by the creation being presented. Helping the personShow MoreRelatedIs Theology A Science Of God?1749 Words   |  7 PagesIntroduction Theology is a science of God which looks to comprehend God s creation, especially man and his condition, and God s redemptive working in connection to humankind. On the off chance that theology is science, with a particular sort of reason routines for showing what science generates and improves in its access of faith. 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As the Catechism of the Catholic Church states â€Å"Sacred tradition and Sacred Scripture, then are bound closely together, and communicateRead MoreRole Experience Has Played Over Past Centuries1611 Words   |  7 Pagesto the tradition of our faith it is imperative that we theologize in such a way as to bring to Christianity integrity and an intellectual uniqueness that integrates and gives sense to the varied and diverse dimensions of the modern experience. One can exercise critical thinking and still hold fast to fundamental persuasions and ties of faith. To practice one’s faith responsibly, a person requires an understanding of philosophical foundations and an understanding of the impact of those foundationsRead MoreChristian Foundations By: Kathleen Fischer Thomas Hart1731 Words   |  7 PagesMany people would agree that without faith, the world would be in chaos. The book Christian Foundation by Kathleen Fischer and Thomas Hart gives an interpretation on faith in our time. Many people would question the definition of faith. Faith is a gift, which is given by God to have trust in him and belief in him. This book is a great entry in anyones life that has speculation on his or her own faith. The book has many ways into understanding ones own religion. It discusses the Bible, Jesus, ChurchRead MoreGender, Or Race, And Many Christians Essay1074 Words   |  5 Pagesgender, or race, and many Christians did not believe in killing. The apologies demonstrated the fallacy of pagan religions and Christianity. The importance of Christian history provides an example of those who took their faith seriously in the early church. Apologetic writings also explained that Christianity was not new because Jesus was the prophesied Messiah of the Old Testament. Christian history give generations to come, a blueprint of the source that is traceable to the critical problems

Movie Analysis Oedipus The King - 1810 Words

While watching a cheesy romantic comedy or a sappy drama, it s likely that one will feel some sort of emotional connection to the characters, whether that be through happiness, grief, or empathy. As the characters in these movies fall in love, lose a loved one, or struggle through any of life s obstacles, one may cry or laugh out loud as they relate to what is happening on the screen. When it comes to Sophoclean tragedies, one of the main goals is to give the audience these intense emotions through catharsis, bringing them an emotional purging and lasting empathy for the characters being portrayed. The characters in these tragedies experience intense trauma and fatal downfalls, and the audience feels relief that they are not experiencing†¦show more content†¦By the beginning of the tragedy, the audience is already aware of the famine, the prophecy fulfilled by Oedipus, and the tragic outcome of the whole ordeal; in order to ensure an emotional experience, the Chorus goes int o great detail about the suffering the citizens of Thebes face. For instance, in the first Choral Ode, one Chorus member goes into dark detail about the overarching death due to the famine and plague in Thebes: Wasted thus by death on death All in our city perish. Corpses spread infection round; None to tend or mourn is found, There s wailing on the altar stair; Cries of mothers rend the air - Long drawn-moans and piercing shrieks Blend with prayers and litanies. (Sophocles 183-190) As the Chorus describes the infected corpses scattered about the city and the desperate cries of the people, the audience is inclined to create a graphic image of these events in their own minds, tailoring these horrific events to the capacities of their own experiences and understanding. Death is a natural, human experience, and it is likely that members of the audience may have experienced grief and suffering themselves. Sophocles adding details of the desperation the people of Thebes face, the wailing of those close to death, and the prayers they chant for a cure, is likely to make the audience relate to a time they experienced grief and suffering themselves, making audience members feel for the characters and seeShow MoreRelated Fate Versus Free Will Essay1746 Words   |  7 Pagesduring analysis. The play, Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, stars a young man, Oedipus, who appears to be the pawn of the gods. 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On this Ancient myth, the playwright Sophocles weaves a complex story that can be interpreted on many different levels of in tellectual thinking. This play, since the time it was staged has been subjectedRead MoreFate and Ignorance in Oedipus Rex Essay2564 Words   |  11 Pages   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Oedipus Rex is a story that can be interpreted on many different levels of thinking. The ancient tale has existed for centuries and has been subjected to countless forms of analysis. What is it that makes Oedipus the King such a fascinating story? Is it the suspense of a developing mystery that captivates the audience? Or perhaps the wonderful feeling the readers get after vicariously experiencing the horror Oedipus feels? And if not that, could it be that the reader is intrigued at SophoclesRead MoreThe Child That Lives From Within1611 Words   |  7 Pagesquestion if psychopathic behaviour is innate or a product of social environment. The answer seems difficult to discern because it is not split down into equal parts of nurture and nature, but rather rely on one another for a better understanding. In the movie Psycho by Alfred Hitchcock, Norman Bates’ downfall proposes how crucial a healthy childhood is to the mental state of developing child. Contrary to n ature focused beliefs, not all human behaviour comes from an individual’s genetic makeup, but ratherRead MoreThe Child That Lives From Within1681 Words   |  7 Pagessocial sciences often question if psychopathic behaviour is innate or a product of a social environment. Recently, nurture-based theories has gained credibility in understanding how a child’s upbringings can trigger psychopathic behaviour. In the movie Psycho by Alfred Hitchcock, Norman Bates’ downfall proposes how crucial a healthy childhood is to mental health rather than biological vulnerability. 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This is further corroborated in Hamlet’s soliloquy, in which he contrasts the King with his father (â€Å"My father’s brother: but no more like my father, Than I to Hercules†) and describes how the King’s marriage to his mother breaks his heart. However, as close attention is paid to the circumstancesRead MoreAnalysis Of Shakespeare s The Tempest 2603 Words   |  11 PagesRowe, one of Shakespeare?s earliest editors states that Shakespeare was a genious.28 The characters each have their own sense of superiority. The Boatswain in Act I, creates ?vivid lines and dominates the scene.? This is comparable is Gonzalo in King Lear, ready to meet his fate with detachment and humor. Each character has a situation and a solution. The confinement of the island also bring the reminders of sin and ways of repentance .29 In order to fully analyze Shakespeare?s mind, Orgel

Essay On Mental Illness In Macbeth - 1182 Words

Ladies and Gentlemen, in the trial of The People of Scotland vs. Macbeth, the prosecution will claim a tale of a power-hungry man who let ambition get the best of him. They will present physical evidence of him with the dagger, him conspiring with his wife, and him hiring men to kill. However, the evidence presented today by the defense will tell the true story: a man overtaken by mental illness. Macbeth displays the classic signs of narcissistic personality disorder: elevated sense of entitlement and delusions about power. While Macbeth did commit the murders, he was insane, and therefor did not commit the murders with criminal intent. The extent of his mental disorder has manifested in hallucinations and the gradual unraveling of his†¦show more content†¦Macbeth may talk of big plans to assassinate Duncan, but at the root he is still a good person. His description predicts the eventual effect of his actions: total and complete loss of rational self, and slippage into full- blown psychosis. Following this point, Macbeth should not be held accountable for his crimes, as he goes completely insane. A characteristic of narcissistic personality disorder is heavy hallucinations, caused by a fantasy the person has imagined for themselves. Even before he murders Duncan, Macbeth’s delusion of him becoming king manifests through hallucinations involving murder imagery. As he walks towards Duncan’s room, a floating dagger, only visible by him, leads him there. The mirage he has placed himself in, where he is king of Scotland, has caused his subconscious to produce delusions, â€Å"Is this a dagger which I see before me, the handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee. I have thee not and yet I see thee still† (2.1.44-45). Macbeth acknowledges that the dagger is not real, and yet he still attempts to clutch it, fully invested in his fantasy. He describes later as â€Å"A dagger of the mind†, as if the very delusions he is undergoing are ripping his mind apart (2.1.50). However, through the phrases ‘of the mind’ and ‘I have thee not†™ connote that he knows the visionsShow MoreRelatedMacbeth Mental Illness Essay746 Words   |  3 Pages In the beginning of the play, Macbeth was in a great state of mind, he won the war for the people of Scotland, and was seen as a hero. On the way home from war, Macbeth meets three witches who prophesied that he will become The King of Scotland, which led to the ultimate downfall of his mental health. 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Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Essay Example For Students

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Essay The primary device that Doyle uses is a combination of melodrama and academic writing. The latter is used in abundance with touches of the former to ensure that the reader is not put off at any point. Furthermore, it ensures a sense of realism which makes the mystery much more intense. Doyles academic style can be seen from the very first sentence of the story when he states: Of all the problems, which have been to my friend Mr Sherlock Holmes for solutionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Coupled with academic writing is understatement when he writes, At the time the circumstances made a deep impression upon me, and the lapse of two years has hardly served to weaken the effect. Melodrama can be observed from the statement, was so strange in its inception and so dramatic in its detailsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Throughout the beginning of the story the credibility of the narrator, Dr Watson, is built up to ensure a relationship of trust between him and the reader. This means that everything he says is instantly believable and this amplifies the mystery and suspense. An example of this is: My practice had steadily increased, and as I happened to live at no very great distance from Paddington Station, I got a few patients from among the officials. Here you can see that Doyle is emphasising Watsons profession. The reader is given the impression that because Watson is a doctor he can be trusted. Furthermore, the reader knows that hes not going to dramatise the events. To ensure that the mystery itself is properly described, no detail is left out and this creates vivid images. The horrific details that Doyle puts across are not dampened in any way and this makes the story seem more believable. He goes to great lengths to describe everything so that a full picture can be constructed without leaving anything to the imagination. Whilst this is a fairly aggressive way of treating the reader, it ensures that he or she sees the story in exactly the right way. It also emphasises the feeling of trust for the narrator since hes sharing so many details. Since the details are so unbelievable in themselves, Doyle ensures that the storyteller, the engineer, tells his story rationally, which ensures its believability. An example of this is the following, rather modest, paragraph spoken by the engineer: Oh, no; not now. I shall have to tell my tale to the police; but, between ourselves, if it were not for the convincing evidence of this wound of mine, I should be surprised if they believed my statement, for it is a very extraordinary one, and I have not much in the way of proof with which to back it up. And, even if they believe me, the  clues which I can give them are so vague that it is a question whether justice will be done.' In order to further amplify this image created by Doyle, conversation is short, sharp and factual to make sure that only facts are conveyed to the reader so that he or she can make up his or her own mind about whats happening. Doyle doesnt force his opinions on them and this makes it more realistic. An example of this type of conversation is this exchange between Holmes and the engineer: One horse? interjected Holmes. Yes, only one. Did you observe the colour? Yes, I saw it by the sidelights when I was stepping into the carriage. It was chestnut. Tired-looking or fresh? Oh, fresh and glossy. Thank you. I am sorry to have interrupted you. Pray continue your most interesting statement.' This is another example of the factual nature that the conversations take. The engineer seems to be telling everything he knows and this makes him much more believable. .u44c6323fd0de69560b539c07fda9f600 , .u44c6323fd0de69560b539c07fda9f600 .postImageUrl , .u44c6323fd0de69560b539c07fda9f600 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u44c6323fd0de69560b539c07fda9f600 , .u44c6323fd0de69560b539c07fda9f600:hover , .u44c6323fd0de69560b539c07fda9f600:visited , .u44c6323fd0de69560b539c07fda9f600:active { border:0!important; } .u44c6323fd0de69560b539c07fda9f600 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u44c6323fd0de69560b539c07fda9f600 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u44c6323fd0de69560b539c07fda9f600:active , .u44c6323fd0de69560b539c07fda9f600:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u44c6323fd0de69560b539c07fda9f600 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u44c6323fd0de69560b539c07fda9f600 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u44c6323fd0de69560b539c07fda9f600 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u44c6323fd0de69560b539c07fda9f600 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u44c6323fd0de69560b539c07fda9f600:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u44c6323fd0de69560b539c07fda9f600 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u44c6323fd0de69560b539c07fda9f600 .u44c6323fd0de69560b539c07fda9f600-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u44c6323fd0de69560b539c07fda9f600:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: The Time Machine by HG Well EssayThe very detailed description of the events has another effect. It very gradually builds up the suspense and the reader is allowed to wonder what the mystery could be and what could be so unusual. The engineers statement is greatly lengthened as much as possible to ensure that this happens effectively. The intrigue of this story is supplemented by the odd contrasts between the characters. On the side of the engineer, there is a very respectable professional man, Dr. Watson, who is a stark contrast to the quirky and abnormal private detective, Sherlock Holmes. This quirkiness, that is so unique to Holmes character, adds a further level of realism to the story because its a twist that ensures the story is not two-dimensional. A flat story, that has no abnormalities or odd occurrences and characters, is a boring story. Holmes character ensures that that is not the fate of this story and it gives softens the reader for what oddities are to come towards to end of the book. As was mentioned previously, the engineers statement is lengthened as much as long as possible. It is also riddled with dramatic pauses to build up the suspense even more. A good example of this is the quoted exchange above. It breaks up an otherwise lengthy explanation and increases the suspense by making the reader want to return to the explanation. Lastly, the character of the Colonel Lysander Stark must be discussed. The name in itself gives a sense of intrigue. The reader is at once put on edge about his demeanour. One is at once reminded of a stereotypical colonel, a cruel harsh person with militaristic cruelty at heart. He is depicted as a model villain. He has a German accent, which was and still is a very common nationality for stereotypical villains of stories such as this. From the very beginning, he is described as  emaciated, paranormal and above all inhuman the image of death. These qualities can be seen from Doyles description of Stark: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦a man rather over the middle size but of an exceeding thinness. I do not think that I have ever seen so thin a man. His whole face sharpened away into nose and chin, and the skin of his cheeks was drawn quite tense over his outstanding bones. Yet this emaciation seemed to be his natural habit, and due to no disease, for his eye was bright, his step brisk, and his bearing assured. In conclusion, I will say that using all these devices, Doyle successfully builds up curiosity and hence mystery and intrigue. Using little but heavy description, he is able to build up a powerful image that has the ability to shock the reader into submission. It is, for the most part, instantly believable and this serves the purpose of lulling the reader into a false sense of security. When the whole truth is finally revealed it is ever more vivid and much more successful in entertaining the reader.

Soft System Methodology free essay sample

Systems Methodology By Name Course Professor University City/State Date In management, problematic situations often arise. Some from a need to harmonize different peoples’ perceptions, some from need to expand the business and others from the need to start new projects The soft system methodology is a general approach for addressing real-world difficult situations in management. It has been developed with time as a result of extensive research by Peter Checkland and Brian Wilson among others. It grants a framework for a step by step enquiry and knowledge concerning the organization. It provides a clearly defined research approach that is action based to assist in addressing iniquitous problems. It concerns developing models that don’t represent the real world but allows people to structure their thinking about the existent world through the use of systems principles and rules. It constrains thinking with an intention of eventually expanding it. It all begins with a real world problem and it is from the problem that the model is created. We will write a custom essay sample on Soft System Methodology or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page It makes some assumptions: That most organizational and management problems cannot be perceived as wholesome systems problems because the system is too complex to analyze and it also assumes that applying a complete approach to a non-systemic problem is important. There are the factors that make it suitable for use in projects: It is suitable for complex, messy situations, it is adaptable to the real world, it culminates into a learning process, it teases the problem situation thus making it more creative in the problem solving process and it is excellent at pointing lines and/or areas of weakness and also at spotting relationships, a vital aspect in project management. The client’s project brief helps in identification of the firm’s goal, the strategic direction that the firm can use to achieve the goals. From it we can also identify the contrasting poles; the two options that can be taken towards achieving the goal. This makes it a complex problem, a specialization of Soft Systems Methodology. It has seven stages addressing both the conceptual and real worlds. The first stage is the problem situation that is considered difficult and messy. This stage is in the real world and it involves acknowledging, investigating and defining the problem. At this stage, there are no constraints caused by organizational boundaries or strict definitions. Data is collected in whatever form and using any statistically appropriate method. In the second stage, the problem is somehow expressed in the totality of its richness using the data collected. It should include processes, climate, issues that people express, people, conflicts and structures. According to Checkland, the best way of executing this stage is by the use of pictures. These inclusions should be evaluated to deduce what they entail. The third stage is about root definitions. A root definition is a sentence put across in usual language, consisting of elements according to the mnemonic CATWOE, whereby C stands for customers who are the victims of the transformation, A for Actors who perform the transformation, T for the transformation process, W for Weltanschauung which is the world view that makes the transformation meaningful in a perspective, O stands for owners that are able to alter the transformation and E for environmental constraints; elements that the system takes as given. It is in the conceptual world and is mooted as the most difficult stage of the methodology. First and foremost, understanding of the different perspectives’ concepts that can be drawn from the rich picture is crucial. In the words of Checkland, they are called holons. Stage four is the development of the conceptual model using the root definitions. The conceptual model is the planned set of activities that logic calls for in a speculative system which essentially is the one described in the root definition. Stage five entails comparing conceptual models with the reality. Different models formulated can be compared in order to get the best model. Pitfalls of the model are outlined for improvement. Stage six involves outlining possible adjustments that are feasible and advantageous and finally, stage seven is the implementation of the approved changes at stage six. SSM ANALYSIS 1-Client’s perspective In the first stage we start with the situation that needs intervention in this project. The company is in the process of expanding to levels that it will be able to compete with the best in the United Kingdom. As the company expands, so do its responsibilities; to the industry, to the community and future trends. It has a responsibility to the environment. However, as it strives to fulfil its responsibilities to the environment, there are several other factors that have to be put into consideration. The other factors that come into play can be researched by the use of both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection. This would help to produce results as per the different perspectives of the company’s employees and those it affects. In the second stage, our problem situation is how to fulfil the company’s responsibility to the environment. Prospective clients I can’t affords that Competitors Will customers support the change? I think I can afford CompanyCustomer Will the change be very costly? I better clean it myself Will the changes be sustainable? It will all depend on the quality * Improved performance * Services that are environment friendly * Services at affordable cost Shareholders Environmentalregulators Root Definition A system that is jointly owned by the client and its consumers with the available cleaning resources to ensure that the consumers get cleaning services at an affordable cost and in a way that will not impact negatively on their environment by using environment friendly cleaners within the constraints of time and budgetary allocations while meeting the high standards expected by the shareholders, prospective clients and environmental regulators and ensuring it does not give competitors an edge. The customers are the consumers of the service that the company provides. The actor is the company (the client). The transformation is to ensure the consumers get cleaning services. The input for this transformation is the cleaning services to be offered while the output is the cleaning services offered. The Weltanschauung is at an affordable cost that will not have negative impact on the environment. The system is jointly owned by the client and consumers of its services. The environmental constraints are time, budget allocated to the service and living up to the standards set by the environmental regulators, shareholders and the watchful eye of competitors and prospective clients. After that we have to make a conceptual model that captures the root definitions in a conceptual world. Below is the activity model taking the client’s perspective. Know about the available cleaning resources Establish what a complete cleaning service is. Assess what an affordable cost entails. Determine available time Provide cleaning services Assess what negative environmental impact is Assess whether the service was high quality Establish the funds available Ensure that the service satisfies the quality standards set by shareholders and environmental regulators. It should also attract new customers and keep competitors at bay. Control action Controlac Efficiency (‘doing the thing right’; ‘is there least use of funds? ’) entails cost and process management, and is an interior weight of the managerialist model in principle and specifically project management literature. A lot of work has been prepared in generating methods to intensify the power exerted by project implementation teams, and thus progress project efficiency. A project is efficient if it brings the planned yield within the budgeted inputs and on time. Within particular constraints, the efficiency of a project is a factor of the management aptitude of the implementation team. SSM emphasizes efficiency since a system is prone to fail to achieve the desired results without a wealth of resource usage. Efficacy (‘doing a successful thing’; ‘does the way work? ’) regards the pros of the assumption of change of a given project. Every aid project is based on an inherent ‘theory of change’ that supposes that the outputs of the project will advance changes in knowledge, approach or practice among persons with whom the project relates. That is, the degree to which the ‘means’ generate the projected ‘ends’. Efficacy is usually the focus of most appraisal literature and is a function of the design—the level to which the causality of the project is based in ingrained understanding and uses apposite means of social renovation. A project design may be adjudged efficacious when the yields of the project lead to the estimated outcomes. SSM is keeps a keen eye on efficacy because a system could fail if the means chosen to convey about the intended transformation does not work. Effectiveness (‘doing the right thing’; ‘is this the right thing to do? ) encompasses the thoughtful and developmental value or aptness of an idea. Eventually, effectiveness is decided by the environmental, social and economic sustainability of intercession and therefore is a function of the guidelines and strategies espoused by the project implementing agency. Effectiveness is holistic in nature (i . e. the whole program or approach) to which any set project plays a role. That is, given a project considered to be efficacious, effectiveness is into whether or not the project result contributes to the expected impact. In a nutshell, effectiveness is a gauge of the degree to which certain system adds to the more comprehensive perspective that gives that system meaning. SSM B In this analysis, I’ll look at it from the view-point of the different departments of the company. The problem that needs intervention is the fulfilment of the company’s corporate responsibility and the departments, though in the same company, have different perspectives of how they view the situation. Some of them can be viewed differently are: * Clients are not sure if the increase in cost will be forwarded to them. Clients prefer degrading of environment to increase in prices. * Will clients support the new environment friendly approach? * Consider products practices if they are pleasing to the public. * Lessen environmental impact * Changing is likely to be more costly * [Don’t want to] change prices and practices * Clients might not support the change and go elsewhere * Operate at national level in the long term * Adding a recycling service * Tie in well with existing services These are even what the rich picture would most constitute. CATWOE elements of fulfilling environmental responsibility. This would be better expressed through a rich picture that would capture the perspectives of the different stakeholders in the company. The inter-relationships of the different people would also come out. The subsequent analysis will go through the players in the system and then I’ll take a look at the impediments and catalysts of the implementation of the submissions and recommendations made. ANALYSIS I This centres on the roles of different people in the company. The interaction between the consultancy firm and the company is indicative that there has been established that there is a need for intervention. There are also those that can be affected by the whole intervention, those that the intervention revolves around. They include: a) The company’s clientele who have to be satisfied that the service is value for their money. As the price hike is implemented, they must feel that the marginal price is equivalent to their marginal utility in terms of quality of service and environmental conservation. This quality should have a good face value. b) The company’s management should ensure that as the company grows it at the same time meets its goals and objectives. ) The sales office must ensure that the addition of the proposed quality does not affect the company’s sales negatively. d) Employees in general should feel that the project does not unnecessarily increase their work load without a perk associated with it. e) The environmental regulator should also feel that the company is true to its pledge towards environmental conservation. CULTURAL ANALYSIS (II) Information about the cultural dynamics in the company is scanty. This is because the project brief only explains what they want to implement but they don’t explain how different people behave or relate in the company. However, it is common knowledge that there are stakeholders in the company and to be specific, the sales office, the company’s employees, the finance office and the customers. The sales office is represented by the national sales manager Stephen Grant, a person whose character cannot be depicted from the interview but since there is a scheduled meeting, it will pose an opportunity to know him better. Information on employees is non-existent but in liaison with relevant departments with the company we’ll get it. This is critical because the change will directly affect their work load and how they respond to the changes is likely to alter the direction of the company. The national sales manager will also provide us with information about the constraints that face the financial office and the behaviour of their clients, another bunch that is meant to be affected by the changes. ANALYSIS OF POWER (III) In this section, I will look at the different interests at play and how the company will take care of all the interests in the system. The same issue owners wield the instruments of power in the company. Therefore, they will be Stephen Grant (national sales manager), finance department, clients (customers), Environmental regulators and employees. The finance department holds the financial power and goodwill of the company. Any tendency by the department to frustrate the project implementation can take it (the project) down. The employees on the other hand must feel motivated to work for the company and support the project. If the terms are not improved and the workload increases, they are likely to go in search of pastures new and this would not help in the success of the project. The clients also hold a very powerful position in the system; if they feel that the company’s project does not add value and decide to seek the services from another company the company’s sales will go down and this would mean the project has not succeeded. The environmental regulators who double as government agencies also wield some power and could influence the success of the project. They would like to see that the company is steadfast in its efforts to conserve the environment and also comply with the tax regimes that are forthcoming when the project is implemented. The national sales manager is also powerful owing to his role in deciding price floors and ceilings and would detect when sales falter. He is therefore in a position to influence the success of the project. The perspectives of different primary stakeholders are also of utmost importance in this project. They are the same issue owners save for the employees who in this case are replaced by the company’s management. Clients’ perspective PQR P- Responding to the company’s advances R-To help the company to implement its project on environmental conservation CATWOE C-Consultancy team A-Clients themselves and the consultancy team T-Making their feelings known to the consultancy team W-Working towards a higher quality, competent service that is environmental friendly. O-Clients E-Time and mindset Management’s perspective PQR P-Put up systems that are both customer and environmental friendly Q-Investigating the available options and decide which one is best placed to achieve the objectives. R-In order to adapt an environmental friendly model and become more attractive to attract new customers CATWOE C-The Company itself, Government and environmental regulators, consumers A-Company’s management, Stephen grant, Consultancy team T- Introduces practices and products that are environmental friendly. W- Practices that can improve the image of the company to the genral public and the world at large. O- Company’s management. E- Budget, Time, market forces, conflict of interests. Consultancy team’s perspective PQR P-Perform the task requested by Forebys. Q- By doing research and presenting a clear report on ways in which Forebys could achieve its goals and objectives. R-In order to improve the image of the company CATWOE C- Forebys A- Consultancy firm. T- Preparing a report that will give Forebys a clear direction on the practices and products they want to introduce. W- Forebys expects a comprehensive report that will be value for money. O- Forebys E- Budget, Time, expectations of Forebys, availability of information. Stephen Grant’s Perspective PQR P- To introduce environment products and practices by the company. Q- By hiring a consultancy firm to do the analysis and come up with a workable model R- In order to be competitive in the market and offer services that are environmentally sound. CATWOE C -Consumers, Company’s board A – Stephen Grant, Consultancy firm T- Introducing new products and services to the market W- Becoming an environmental friendly company in all aspects O- The company’s management E- Budgetary constraints, the customers’ desire, time, Competitors 3Es Efficiency- is there least use of funds? Efficacy- does the way work? Effectiveness- is this the right thing to do? Briefing Notes Objectives of the Meeting i. The most pressing objective for the consultancy firm is winning the contract. ii. To familiarise itself with the dynamics of the company. Background of Company and Project (From project brief) i. Having been in operation for 4 years, the company has stretched its muscles to whole of west midlands and plans to go full throttle in the next five years. It offers cleaning and gardening services; it started as a window cleaning company but extended its services to cleaning houses after floods and fire. ii. Besides expanding, it desires to adopt an environmental friendly model which they have come up with two options that can be adopted to achieve it. However, none of these options have been ratified and so they have to be investigated. They are: * Introduction of products and practices that are environmental friendly. * Setting up a recycling service that would be incorporated by its existing networks and operations. Deliverables * The consultancy firm aims at doing a comprehensive investigation that will deliver beyond the scope of the firm. * The consultancy is dedicated to delivering highly feasible and easy to implement mechanism to achieve the intended goals. * We will gear our efforts towards a lucid, concise working formula to make it easy to achieve intended goals and objectives in a timely manner. Preliminary Analysis A preliminary analysis shows that: * Customers should be the focal point when carrying out this whole investigation because their choice to shift allegiance would mean total collapse of not only the project but also the company. * Shareholders should also be willing to inject new finances to the company for a better future. * There will be conflicts of interests in the drafting and implementation of the projects and so it will be upon the company to balance the interests. Bibliography Wilson, B. 2008. Soft Systems Methodology: Conceptual Model Building and Its Contribution. New Jersey: John Wiley amp; Sons.