The Host Chapter 24: Tolerated

It was true that I did not smell good. I'd lost count of how many days I'd spent here-was it more than a week now? more than two?-and all of them sweating into the same clothes I'd worn on my disastrous desert trek. So much salt had dried into my cotton shirt that it was creased into rigid accordion wrinkles. It used to be pale yellow; now it was a splotchy, diseased-looking print in the same dark purple color as the cave floor. My short hair was crunchy and gritty; I could feel it standing out in wild tangles around my head, with a stiff crest on top, like a cockatoo's. I hadn't seen my face recently, but I imagined it in two shades of purple: cave-dirt purple and healing-bruise purple. So I could understand Jeb's point-yes, I needed a bath. And a change of clothes as well, to make the bath worth the effort. Jeb offered me some of Jamie's clothes to wear while mine dried, but I didn't want to ruin Jamie's few things by stretching them. Thankfully, he didn't try to offer me anything of Jared's. I ended up with an old but clean flannel shirt of Jeb's that had the sleeves ripped off, and a pair of faded, holey cutoff sweatpants that had gone unclaimed for months. These were draped over my arm-and a bumpy mound of vile-smelling, loosely molded chunks that Jeb claimed was homemade cactus soap was in my hand-as I followed Jeb to the room with the two rivers. Again we were not alone, and again I was miserably disappointed that this was the case. Three men and one woman-the salt-and-pepper braid-were filling buckets with water from the smaller stream. A loud splashing and laughing echoed from the bathing room. â€Å"We'll just wait our turn,† Jeb told me. He leaned against the wall. I stood stiffly beside him, uncomfortably conscious of the four pairs of eyes on me, though I kept my own on the dark hot spring rushing by underneath the porous floor. After a short wait, three women exited the bathing room, their wet hair dripping down the backs of their shirts-the athletic caramel-skinned woman, a young blonde I didn't remember seeing before, and Melanie's cousin Sharon. Their laughter stopped abruptly as soon as they caught sight of us. â€Å"Afternoon, ladies,† Jeb said, touching his forehead as if it were the brim of a hat. â€Å"Jeb,† the caramel woman acknowledged dryly. Sharon and the other girl ignored us. â€Å"Okay, Wanda,† he said when they'd passed. â€Å"It's all yours.† I gave him a glum look, then made my way carefully into the black room. I tried to remember how the floor went-I was sure I had a few feet before the edge of the water. I took off my shoes first, so that I could feel for the water with my toes. It was just so dark. I remembered the inky appearance of the pool-ripe with suggestions of what might lurk beneath its opaque surface-and shuddered. But the longer I waited, the longer I would have to be here, so I put the clean clothes next to my shoes, kept the smelly soap, and shuffled forward carefully until I found the lip of the pool. The water was cool compared to the steamy air of the outer cavern. It felt nice. That didn't keep me from being terrified, but I could still appreciate the sensation. It had been a long time since anything had been cool. Still fully dressed in my dirty clothes, I waded in waist deep. I could feel the stream's current swirl around my ankles, hugging the rock. I was glad the water was not stagnant-it would be upsetting to sully it, filthy as I was, if that were the case. I crouched down into the ink until I was immersed to my shoulders. I ran the coarse soap over my clothes, thinking this would be the easiest way to make sure they were clean. Where the soap touched my skin, it burned mildly. I took off the soapy clothes and scrubbed them under the water. Then I rinsed them again and again until there was no way any of my sweat or tears could have survived, wrung them out, and laid them on the floor beside where I thought my shoes were. The soap burned more strongly against my bare skin, but the sting was bearable because it meant I could be clean again. When I was done lathering, my skin prickled everywhere and my scalp felt scalded. It seemed as if the places where the bruises had formed were more sensitive than the rest of me-they must still have been there. I was happy to put the acidic soap on the rock floor and rinse my body again and again, the way I had my clothes. It was with a strange mingling of relief and regret that I sloshed my way out of the pool. The water was very pleasant, as was the feeling of clean, if prickling, skin. But I'd had quite enough of the blindness and the things I could imagine into the darkness. I felt around until I found the dry clothes, then I pulled them quickly on and shoved my water-wrinkled feet into my shoes. I carried my wet clothes in one hand and the soap gingerly between two fingers of the other. Jeb laughed when I emerged; his eyes were on the soap in my cautious grasp. â€Å"Smarts a bit, don't it? We're trying to fix that.† He held out his hand, protected by the tail of his shirt, and I placed the soap in it. I didn't answer his question because we weren't alone; there was a line waiting silently behind him-five people, all of them from the field turning. Ian was first in line. â€Å"You look better,† he told me, but I couldn't tell from his tone if he was surprised or annoyed that I did. He raised one arm, extending his long, pale fingers toward my neck. I flinched away, and he dropped his hand quickly. â€Å"Sorry about that,† he muttered. Did he mean for scaring me now or for marking up my neck in the first place? I couldn't imagine that he was apologizing for trying to kill me. Surely he still wanted me dead. But I wasn't going to ask. I started walking, and Jeb fell into step behind me. â€Å"So, today wasn't that bad,† Jeb said as we walked through the dark corridor. â€Å"Not that bad,† I murmured. After all, I hadn't been murdered. That was always a plus. â€Å"Tomorrow will be even better,† he promised. â€Å"I always enjoy planting-seeing the miracle of the little dead-looking seeds having so much life in them. Makes me feel like a withered old guy might have some potential left in him. Even if it's only to be fertilizer.† Jeb laughed at his joke. When we got to the big garden cavern, Jeb took my elbow and steered me east rather than west. â€Å"Don't try to tell me you're not hungry after all that digging,† he said. â€Å"It's not my job to provide room service. You're just going to have to eat where everyone else eats.† I grimaced at the floor but let him lead me to the kitchen. It was a good thing the food was exactly the same thing as always, because if, miraculously, a filet mignon or a bag of Cheetos had materialized, I wouldn't have been able to taste a thing. It took all my concentration just to make myself swallow-I hated to make even that small sound in the dead silence that followed my appearance. The kitchen wasn't crowded, just ten people lounging against the counters, eating their tough rolls and drinking their watery soup. But I killed all conversation again. I wondered how long things could last like this. The answer was exactly four days. It also took me that long to understand what Jeb was up to, what the motivation was behind his switch from the courteous host to the curmudgeonly taskmaster. The day after turning the soil I spent seeding and irrigating the same field. It was a different group of people than the day before; I imagined there was some kind of rotation of the chores here. Maggie was in this group, and the caramel-skinned woman, but I didn't learn her name. Mostly everyone worked in silence. The silence felt unnatural-a protest against my presence. Ian worked with us, when it was clearly not his turn, and this bothered me. I had to eat in the kitchen again. Jamie was there, and he kept the room from total silence. I knew he was too sensitive not to notice the awkward hush, but he deliberately ignored it, seeming to pretend that he and Jeb and I were the only people in the room. He chattered about his day in Sharon's class, bragging a little about some trouble he'd gotten into for speaking out of turn, and complaining about the chores she'd given him as punishment. Jeb chastised him halfheartedly. They both did a very good job of acting normal. I had no acting ability. When Jamie asked me about my day, the best I could do was stare intently at my food and mumble one-word answers. This seemed to make him sad, but he didn't push me. At night it was a different story-he wouldn't let me stop talking until I begged to be allowed to sleep. Jamie had reclaimed his room, taking Jared's side of the bed and insisting that I take his. This was very much as Melanie remembered things, and she approved of the arrangement. Jeb did, too. â€Å"Saves me the trouble of finding someone to play guard. Keep the gun close and don't forget it's there,† he told Jamie. I protested again, but both the man and the boy refused to listen to me. So Jamie slept with the gun on the other side of his body from me, and I fretted and had nightmares about it. The third day of chores, I worked in the kitchen. Jeb taught me how to knead the coarse bread dough, how to lay it out in round lumps and let it rise, and, later on, how to feed the fire in the bottom of the big stone oven when it was dark enough to let the smoke out. In the middle of the afternoon, Jeb left. â€Å"I'm gonna get some more flour,† he muttered, playing with the strap that held the gun to his waist. The three silent women who kneaded alongside us didn't look up. I was up to my elbows in the sticky dough, but I started to scrape it off so I could follow him. Jeb grinned, flashed a look at the unobserving women, and shook his head at me. Then he spun around and dashed out of the room before I could free myself. I froze there, no longer breathing. I stared at the three women-the young blonde from the bathing room, the salt-and-pepper braid, and the heavy-lidded mother-waiting for them to realize that they could kill me now. No Jeb, no gun, my hands trapped in the gluey dough-nothing to stop them. But the women kept on kneading and shaping, not seeming to realize this glaring truth. After a long, breathless moment, I started kneading again, too. My stillness would probably alert them to the situation sooner than if I kept working. Jeb was gone for an eternity. Perhaps he had meant that he needed to grind more flour. That seemed like the only explanation for his endless absence. â€Å"Took you long enough,† the salt-and-pepper-braid woman said when he got back, so I knew it wasn't just my imagination. Jeb dropped a heavy burlap sack to the floor with a deep thud. â€Å"That's a lot of flour there. You try carryin' it, Trudy.† Trudy snorted. â€Å"I imagine it took a lot of rest stops to get it this far.† Jeb grinned at her. â€Å"It sure did.† My heart, which had been thrumming like a bird's for the entire episode, settled into a less frantic rhythm. The next day we were cleaning mirrors in the room that housed the cornfield. Jeb told me this was something they had to do routinely, as the combination of humidity and dust caked the mirrors until the light was too dim to feed the plants. It was Ian, working with us again, who scaled the rickety wooden ladder while Jeb and I tried to keep the base steady. It was a difficult task, given Ian's weight and the homemade ladder's poor balance. By the end of the day, my arms were limp and aching. I didn't even notice until we were done and heading for the kitchen that the improvised holster Jeb always wore was empty. I gasped out loud, my knees locking like a startled colt's. My body tottered to a halt. â€Å"What's wrong, Wanda?† Jeb asked, too innocent. I would have answered if Ian hadn't been right beside him, watching my strange behavior with fascination in his vivid blue eyes. So I just gave Jeb a wide-eyed look of mingled disbelief and reproach, and then slowly began walking beside him again, shaking my head. Jeb chuckled. â€Å"What's that about?† Ian muttered to Jeb, as if I were deaf. â€Å"Beats me,† Jeb said; he lied as only a human could, smooth and guileless. He was a good liar, and I began to wonder if leaving the gun behind today, and leaving me alone yesterday, and all this effort forcing me into human company was his way of getting me killed without doing the job himself. Was the friendship all in my head? Another lie? This was my fourth day eating in the kitchen. Jeb, Ian, and I walked into the long, hot room-into a crowd of humans chatting in low voices about the day's events-and nothing happened. Nothing happened. There was no sudden silence. No one paused to stare daggers at me. No one seemed to notice us at all. Jeb steered me to an empty counter and then went to get enough bread for three. Ian lounged next to me, casually turning to the girl on his other side. It was the young blonde-he called her Paige. â€Å"How are things going? How are you holding up with Andy gone?† he asked her. â€Å"I'd be fine if I weren't so worried,† she told him, biting her lip. â€Å"He'll be home soon,† Ian assured her. â€Å"Jared always brings everyone home. He's got a real talent. We've had no accidents, no problems since he showed up. Andy will be fine.† My interest sparked when he mentioned Jared-and Melanie, so somnolent these days, stirred-but Ian didn't say anything else. He just patted Paige's shoulder and turned to take his food from Jeb. Jeb sat next to me and surveyed the room with a deep sense of satisfaction plain on his face. I looked around the room, too, trying to see what he saw. This must have been what it was usually like here, when I wasn't around. Only today I didn't seem to bother them. They must have been tired of letting me interrupt their lives. â€Å"Things are settling down,† Ian commented to Jeb. â€Å"Knew they would. We're all reasonable folks here.† I frowned to myself. â€Å"That's true, at the moment,† Ian said, laughing. â€Å"My brother's not around.† â€Å"Exactly,† Jeb agreed. It was interesting to me that Ian counted himself among the reasonable folks. Had he noticed that Jeb was unarmed? I was burning with curiosity, but I couldn't risk pointing it out in case he hadn't. The meal continued as it had begun. My novelty had apparently worn off. When the meal was over, Jeb said I deserved a rest. He walked me all the way to my door, playing the gentleman again. â€Å"Afternoon, Wanda,† he said, tipping his imaginary hat. I took a deep breath for bravery. â€Å"Jeb, wait.† â€Å"Yes?† â€Å"Jeb†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I hesitated, trying to find a polite way to put it. â€Å"I†¦ well, maybe it's stupid of me, but I sort of thought we were friends.† I scrutinized his face, looking for any change that might indicate that he was about to lie to me. He only looked kind, but what did I know of a liar's tells? â€Å"Of course we are, Wanda.† â€Å"Then why are you trying to get me killed?† His furry brows pulled together in surprise. â€Å"Now, why would you think that, honey?† I listed my evidence. â€Å"You didn't take the gun today. And yesterday you left me alone.† Jeb grinned. â€Å"I thought you hated that gun.† I waited for an answer. â€Å"Wanda, if I wanted you dead, you wouldn't have lasted that first day.† â€Å"I know,† I muttered, starting to feel embarrassed without understanding why. â€Å"That's why it's all so confusing.† Jeb laughed cheerfully. â€Å"No, I don't want you dead! That's the whole point, kid. I've been getting them all used to seeing you around, getting them to accept the situation without realizing it. It's like boiling a frog.† My forehead creased at the eccentric comparison. Jeb explained. â€Å"If you throw a frog in a pot of boiling water, it will hop right out. But if you put that frog in a pot of tepid water and slowly warm it, the frog doesn't figure out what's going on until it's too late. Boiled frog. It's just a matter of working by slow degrees.† I thought about that for a second-remembered how the humans had ignored me at lunch today. Jeb had gotten them used to me. The realization made me feel strangely hopeful. Hope was a silly thing in my situation, but it seeped into me anyway, coloring my perceptions more brightly than before. â€Å"Jeb?† â€Å"Yeah?† â€Å"Am I the frog or the water?† He laughed. â€Å"I'll leave that one for you to puzzle over. Self-examination is good for the soul.† He laughed again, louder this time, as he turned to leave. â€Å"No pun intended.† â€Å"Wait-can I ask one more?† â€Å"Sure. I'd say it's your turn anyway, after all I've asked you.† â€Å"Why are you my friend, Jeb?† He pursed his lips for a second, considering his answer. â€Å"You know I'm a curious man,† he began, and I nodded. â€Å"Well, I get to watch your souls a lot, but I never get to talk with 'em. I've had so many questions just piling up higher and higher†¦ Plus, I've always thought that if a person wants to, he can get along with just about anybody. I like putting my theories to the test. And see, here you are, one of the nicest gals I ever met. It's real interesting to have a soul as a friend, and it makes me feel super special that I've managed it.† He winked at me, bowed from the waist, and walked away. Just because I now understood Jeb's plan, it didn't make things easier when he escalated it. He never took the gun anywhere anymore. I didn't know where it was, but I was grateful that Jamie wasn't sleeping with it, at least. It made me a little nervous to have Jamie with me unprotected, but I decided he was actually in less danger without the gun. No one would feel the need to hurt him when he wasn't a threat. Besides, no one came looking for me anymore. Jeb started sending me on little errands. Run back to the kitchen for another roll, he was still hungry. Go fetch a bucket of water, this corner of the field was dry. Pull Jamie out of his class, Jeb needed to speak with him. Were the spinach sprouts up yet? Go and check. Did I remember my way through the south caves? Jeb had a message for Doc. Every time I had to carry out one of these simple directives, I was in a sweaty haze of fear. I concentrated on being invisible and walked as quickly as I could without running through the big rooms and the dark corridors. I tended to hug the walls and keep my eyes down. Occasionally, I would stop conversation the way I used to, but mostly I was ignored. The only time I felt in immediate danger of death was when I interrupted Sharon's class to get Jamie. The look Sharon gave me seemed designed to be followed by hostile action. But she let Jamie go with a nod after I choked out my whispered request, and when we were alone, he held my shaking hand and told me Sharon looked the same way at anyone who interrupted her class. The very worst was the time I had to find Doc, because Ian insisted on showing me the way. I could have refused, I suppose, but Jeb didn't have a problem with the arrangement, and that meant Jeb trusted Ian not to kill me. I was far from comfortable with testing that theory, but it seemed the test was inevitable. If Jeb was wrong to trust Ian, then Ian would find his opportunity soon enough. So I went with Ian through the long black southern tunnel as if it were a trial by fire. I lived through the first half. Doc got his message. He seemed unsurprised to see Ian tagging along beside me. Perhaps it was my imagination, but I thought they exchanged a significant glance. I half expected them to strap me to one of Doc's gurneys at that point. These rooms continued to make me feel nauseated. But Doc just thanked me and sent me on my way as if he were busy. I couldn't really tell what he was doing-he had several books open and stacks and stacks of papers that seemed to contain nothing but sketches. On the way back, curiosity overcame my fear. â€Å"Ian?† I asked, having a bit of difficulty saying the name for the first time. â€Å"Yes?† He sounded surprised that I'd addressed him. â€Å"Why haven't you killed me yet?† He snorted. â€Å"That's direct.† â€Å"You could, you know. Jeb might be annoyed, but I don't think he'd shoot you.† What was I saying? It sounded like I was trying to convince him. I bit my tongue. â€Å"I know,† he said, his tone complacent. It was quiet for a moment, just the sounds of our footsteps echoing, low and muffled, from the tunnel walls. â€Å"It doesn't seem fair,† Ian finally said. â€Å"I've been thinking about it a lot, and I can't see how killing you would make anything right. It would be like executing a private for a general's war crimes. Now, I don't buy all of Jeb's crazy theories-it would be nice to believe, sure, but just because you want something to be true doesn't make it that way. Whether he's right or wrong, though, you don't appear to mean us any harm. I have to admit, you seem honestly fond of that boy. It's very strange to watch. Anyway, as long as you don't put us in danger, it seems†¦ cruel to kill you. What's one more misfit in this place?† I thought about the word misfit for a moment. It might have been the truest description of me I'd ever heard. Where had I ever fit in? How strange that Ian, of all the humans, should have such a surprisingly gentle interior. I didn't realize that cruelty would seem a negative to him. He waited in silence while I considered all this. â€Å"If you don't want to kill me, then why did you come with me today?† I asked. He paused again before answering. â€Å"I'm not sure that†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He hesitated. â€Å"Jeb thinks things have calmed down, but I'm not completely sure about that. There're still a few people†¦ Anyway, Doc and I have been trying to keep an eye on you when we can. Just in case. Sending you down the south tunnel seemed like pushing your luck, to me. But that's what Jeb does best-he pushes luck as far as it will go.† â€Å"You†¦ you and Doc are trying to protect me?† â€Å"Strange world, isn't it?† It was a few seconds before I could answer. â€Å"The strangest,† I finally agreed.

Adults Resistance to Change in the Workforce

Change has become an integral part of all organizations for bringing about innovation and creativity in their work procedures. Bringing about change is a complex process since change in one area affects the other area in the organization directly or indirectly.Change is extremely important if companies and businesses want to survive in the long-run. This is due to the changing needs of the organizations as well as the customers and due to changing internal and external environment. Today, there is an increasing trend towards the development of a learning organization where managers and employees are committed to bring about continuous improvement in the processes and capabilities.Such type of an organization can only be formed when everyone working in the company develops a positive attitude towards adapting change. Change might result in efforts to deal with existing problems or with the opportunities available in the external environment. Though change is important and should be in itiated in an organization but this does not mean that it can be easily implemented (Hultman, 1998).Planning ChangeInitiation and implementation of change requires proper planning and this planned process should be used to carry out change. If proper planning is not done then the change can fail and the employees’ fear and uncertainty related to it might come true.If the change fails initially in the organization then it would be highly difficult for the employees to support change in the organization. Firstly, the organization must see a need for change and the forces triggering change may be from the internal as well as external environment.Internal factors may be related to the company goals and objectives or problems facing the organization whereas the external factors are largely related to the environment such as changing customer tastes or the changing strategies of the competitors (Harvard Business School Press, 2005).These factors make the organization realize the ne ed for change and then this must be studied properly. The organization should critically evaluate its strengths and weaknesses as well as threats and opportunities so that the right change could be initiated at the right time. After evaluating the need for change, the management should initiate change and this can be done through different ways.Initiating change requires the recruitment of new and creative employees and this is where the problem starts arising since the adult employees began to resist their recruitment. The management should search for proper solutions which can used to meet the perceived need for change. Search involves observing and analyzing different organizations and making use of knowledge to meet the need.Creative employees are hired to find the correct solution in order to establish a creative and learning organization. Creative individuals are important since they are open-minded, original and focused in their approach. They are persistent and committed and use teams to work for initiating change.These creative individuals generate innovative ideas and these individuals are called idea champions. They form new-venture teams for developing and initiating innovative changes in the organization. It is these idea champions and new-venture teams to which the adult employees offer resistance since they perceive them as a threat to their position.They think that their employment by the organization underestimates their capabilities and qualifications. Sometimes the employees’ resistance is so high that it is impossible to implement the change. For implementing change, this resistance must be overcome or else the process will not proceed further (Hultman, 1998).There are huge obstacles and problems to be dealt with when implementing change successfully in an organization. This is because employees offer resistance to change and this resistance can be attributed to several reasons: ·One of the reasons that employee resist change is th at by implementing the new strategy or innovative idea, it will take away something valuable from the employees.It might be the loss of power, position or any other pay benefit. An employee’s self-interest is the most important to him and this loss can become the biggest obstacle in the way of implementing change (Hultman, 1998). ·Another reason is that employees are unable to understand the purpose behind the change and therefore, they cannot trust the organizational move. If the employees have a negative attitude towards the change initiator then they will offer their full resistance to implementing his idea.They cannot trust his idea for change and might think that its implementation will bring something negative to them. Therefore, lack of understanding and mutual trust becomes another factor for resisting change in organizations (Harvard Business School Press, 2005). ·Employees are also afraid of implementing change due to the uncertainty factor associated with the c hange. They get worried about the consequences of change and thus, do not offer their support towards it. They might also be worried as the new technology or new procedure requires more talent and creativity which they might not be able to provide (Markham, 1999). ·Lastly, the goals of the employees may be different from the goals of the organization. They might not be able to assess the change from the organization point of view and therefore, they disagree over the benefits resulting from the change (Jellison, 1993).These are the main reasons why employees offer resistance to change in an organization. Once an organization has the need for change then it looks for possible solutions through which the need can be overcome. Change requires innovation and creativity in an organization without which an organization cannot progress and will stagger behind.For initiating innovative and creative ideas, the organization starts hiring creative individuals in different departments. There are idea champions and new-venture teams formed with creative individuals who see the need for change and initiate it productively. Now here is where the main problem rises and this will center our research paper.By hiring creative individuals to form new-venture teams for developing innovation the organization attempts to change the workforce of the organization.Before offering resistance to change itself, the employees especially the aging ones offer their first resistance to change in the workforce. The research paper will focus the discussion on this issue of adult’s resistance to change in the workforce (Goldstein, 2001).Change in the workforceThe way a business is done is determined by its workforce. And changing workforce changes the way of doing business or in other words, bringing a change in the way of doing business requires a change in the workforce. Companies are recruiting and hiring young employees due to their creative and dynamic personalities.They are able t o see things differently and want transition in things that are still being done in traditional way (Pihulyk , 2003). Their ideas and solutions are different from what their parents had to offer and thus, they want the traditional approaches and strategies to change in an organization.They show their dissatisfaction in different areas of the organization and want them to change for the good. They are practical in their approach in that they can see the organization strengths and weaknesses and are aware of the threats and opportunities in the organization external environment and thus, develop a desire to change accordingly.But there is also a darker side to this brighter situation and this darker side is due to the existing employees and workers of an organization. Organizations have usually experienced and committed workers who are working their since years and thus are quite adult. These employees work in their own traditional and routine way and do not want any change in their s tyle of working.When an organization feels a need to hire young employees, the adults feel a threat to their power, position and prestige since they are not capable enough to work like the young ones. They feel threatened by the young employees who have more creative and novel solutions to organizational problems and work for bringing about change. At this stage the adults offer resistance to the recruitment of young employees in the workforce because it will not only threaten their position but also bring about a change in their style of working (Hultman, 1998).Aged employees consider themselves experienced enough and are not ready to tolerate younger employees imposing themselves and their ideas for change. They want a stable work environment and get negative feelings if some one tries to challenge their style of working.This is mainly the most important reason why adults and aged people offer so much resistance to recruiting ever energetic and efficient young employees in the org anization’s workforce.It has been always said that new and young employees are important for the success of an organization because they are able to see things from a different perspective which requires change, innovation and creativity. They want the organization to become a learning organization progressing on the path of continuous improvement and innovative problem solving.An organization becomes successful by the way a business is done it which in turn is determined by the employees working there so for making an organization successful talented young employees should be hired and trained for working with the organization (Harvard Business School Press, 2005).Today, the business expectations are rising and customers are becoming ever-demanding. The competition is becoming fiercer with everyone striving to attain the competitive edge.The organization that develops a positive attitude towards welcoming change will be able to continuously improve itself at the times of pro blems and opportunities and thus, this requires the contribution of the talented young working people who have just graduated and are fresh with the knowledge of business management.They have a tendency to work in teams because they realize the fact that a team can accomplish more what individuals can achieve. On the other hand, the adults do not appreciate collective working and work individually instead. The young workers are more popularly known as Generation Y whereas the adults are being referred to as Generation X.It has been estimated that 70% of 21-year old Generation Y people are in the US workforce today which shows an increasing trend towards young employees (Jellison, 1993).Moreover, the new generation adapts to technology changes easily and want to work with new and modern procedures but the older generation sees technology with a negative eye and does not adapts to it readily. This is not to say that adults and aged people are unimportant in an organization, in fact th ey are the most important assets of an organization.These assets can not be replaced because their age has given them an experience to deal with problems which is hard to find. Young people find most creative and novel solution to a problem whereas the experienced employees find accurate solutions through their experience. This means that both generations should be made to work together if the organization wants to rise higher than any other organization in the industry or outside the industry.There is an increasing amount of Generational Conflict in the organizations and it is predicted that by 2010 it is going to increase considerably (Hultman, 1998). By Generational Conflict, we mean the conflict between two or more generations and here we are referring to the two generations of X and Y (Pihulyk , 2003).This is due to the age diversification in the workforce as young and talented employees are being increasingly hired by the businesses. The new generation will cause the erosion o f old work ethics and they will require a more flexible workplace.Moreover, women representation will increase hundred percent in the upcoming years. There exists a multi-generational and multi-cultural workforce and this will continue to grow in the future years. Since this is going to increase therefore, management must properly plan for accommodating this change in their business as the demographic change can have positive as well as negative implications.The policies and procedures must be adapted for accommodating this change so that there should be new values for the new generation (Rosenburg, 2005).

Is the human security agenda influenced by nationalist political Essay

Is the human security agenda influenced by nationalist political ideologies based on fear Discuss in relation to Burma - Essay Example In view of this background, and in addition to the vast body of work which focused on the issues of human security, this research revolves around similar issues, fundamentally striving to sustain the hypothesis, whether or not the human security agenda in Burma, is influenced by nationalist political ideologies based on fear. In the process, various aspects concerning the issue of human security in relation to Burma are scrutinized, including, a deep rooted analysis of the persistent violence in the war torn country; the key reasons behind such clashes; the role of nationalist political ideologies in fuelling such persistent hostility as well as the issues and concerns regarding human security. Human Security, according to UNDP and World Bank (2004), means "freedom from pervasive threats to peoples rights, safety or lives; embraces the twin objectives of freedom from fear (referring to economic, health, environmental and other threats to peoples well being)."1 The issue of human security is a burgeoning paradigm for comprehending international susceptibilities whose advocates defy the conventional view of national security by contending that the appropriate testimonial for security should be the individual as opposed to the state. The ideology behind human security proposes that a people-centered outlook of security is crucial for ensuring national, regional and global stability. The notion primarily materialized from a post-Cold War, multi-punitive comprehension of security concerning a host of research areas, such as developmental studies, international human relations, tactical studies, as well as human rights. The widespread application of aggression, hostility, enforced labor, forced recruitment of children and forced immigration, acknowledged in large number of studies, conducted by various humanitarian organizations,

News Article related to Liquidated Damage Clause Essay

News Article related to Liquidated Damage Clause - Essay Example It often includes a reading that the parties involved in the contract are agreeing beforehand, as it would probably be unmanageable to decide the compensatory damages in the event of contract breach, although, such a statement is not mandatory. This clause may be conducted towards both parties involved in the contract. For instance in these words: "If both of us neglect to execute, one will be obliged to pay the other party $20,000." But it is not essential too. Normally, a liquidated damages clause is conducted towards only one party, along with the specified date of delivery of amount. The California Association of Realtors has provided a benchmark contract involving residential purchase that entails a liquidated damages clause that emphasizes that if a buyer failed to fulfill the completion of purchase contract due to fault by buyer, the seller will retain the amount deposited actually as the liquidated damages. The most noteworthy items in the mentioned clause include the asymmetry of the provision; as it puts the whole burden on one party, its limitation to a specific unit of residential property set by the Civil Code 1675 and the requirement of agreement by signing to ensure damages are paid. The signatory agreement is required to ensure that both parties have agreed that the contract has breached. Otherwise an arbitration or judicial decision will be needed. Initialling or signatory agreement on a liquidated clause is not mandatory but optional. Though it is printed priory in the agreement of CAR purchase, it is applicable only on the indication of both parties. Mostly in the encounter of a liquidating clause, a principle has the liability to inquire the meaning of the clause replied by the seller as defined by law. At times the contract has been breached by the buyer and this hurts the seller who desires to have more than the deposited amount so the inclusion of liquidated damage clause helps in

Power within organization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Power within organization - Essay Example Referent power originates from being trusted and/or respected. One gains this power when employees in the organization trust what they do and respect them for how they handle various situations. For instance, a manager who uses his power positively to ensure policies are in place for ensuring employees is fairly treated. Sin, this form of power subordinate, comply since one is in authority, for instance, the boss. This power exists when employees recognize the authority of their leader. For instance, the executive manager who determines budgetary needs of the company. His positive or negative consideration boost his legitimacy Many junior workers are motivated by rewards and incentives to be submissive to the superior. This inner motivation is a positive example of reward power. Other examples would include salary increment, job promotion, etc. The role of reward power is to trigger that human feature that appreciates recognition for high achievement. Expert power originates from an individual’s experiences, knowledge, and skills. Whenever an individual gains experience they become thought leaders in those fields and gather expert power enough to get others to help them meet their goals. For instance, the senior engineer who is an expert designing various unique applicants can positively use his or her power to get

Sigmund Freud Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

Sigmund Freud - Essay Example All human beings have aggression in them but some people are more aggressive than the others, Civilization dwells deep into aggression and why human beings get aggressive. Sigmund Freud has given logical explanations which sound really convincing to the readers. There are set laws in almost all the countries and this helps in keeping the aggressive people at bay. The most aggressive people tame their aggression when they think about the laws according to Freud. According to Freud the most important reason of aggression is unhappiness, an unhappy person reacts differently in most circumstances when compared to a happy person and this is very true and easy to understand. Unhappiness is also the root cause of several other problems; depression is directly related to unhappiness. People who become depressed often give up hope and try to inflict pain upon themselves, all this happens because they feel there is no place for them in the society. Psychological counseling comes into play here , the psychologist tries to explain to the victim the importance of their life and the ones closely related to him. According to Freud aggression also results from a very burdensome guilt, for instance a person who has committed a murder and is on the run would inevitably be more aggressive than a normal person because the burdensome sense of guilt will chase the accused everyday an make their life miserable. The other reason which triggers of bursts of aggression is psychological neurosis which means problems in the nerves. Some people are more mentally stable than the others and the ones who are mentally stable act appropriately even in the most difficult of all circumstances, on the other hand the people who are unstable act as they like and do not care about what the other people may think about their behavior. The disintegration of society is the result of over aggression; people get together and embark on an ambitious journey to rebel against a behemoth and this is when the di sintegration of the society begins. Freud also talks about the role of aggression in Eros and Thanatos, Eros refers to life and Thanatos refers to death drive. Freud talks about how we have a drive for death; this is why some bike riders especially the youths go at top speed. They do it because of the death drive and the aggression in them. â€Å"Freud argues that civilization is intrinsically inimical to human happiness. The process of "civilizing" the human being involves stifling many of the sexual impulses that lead most directly to pleasure. Freud also notes that participation in civilized life entails the renunciation of one's aggressive impulses. Thus, to be civilized we must do without the two strongest claims to our instincts, sex and violence.† (Civilization and its Discontents Theme) To conclude it is very fair to say that aggression plays a key role in the life of everyone, a person can make a grave mistake should he act aggressively where it is not at all require d. On the other hand a chaotic situation can easily be avoided if a person decides not to act aggressively. Eros and Thanatos are also linked with aggression, the death drive forces people to do unprecedented things. Aggression mainly stems from unhappiness; people who are unhappy with their lives tend to be more aggressive than the ones who are happy with their lives. Sense of guilt is also more than capable of causing people to be really aggressive; people also tend to be really aggressive when there is a problem with their psychological neurosis. â€Å"Individuals have consequently begun to rebel against civilization with an aggression that exceeds the level of aggression originally suppressed, threatening the disintegration of society.† (Civilization a

Power and Politics at Work Literature review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Power and Politics at Work - Literature review Example As the paper outlines, employee motivation is indeed one of the major aspects of modern business. But this could be vitiated by several aspects like harassment and rough treatment in the work place. In their article entitled Human Resource Development Review- Towards a theoretical model of performance inhibiting work place dynamics, Brian A. Altman and Mesut Akbere argue and analyze that many situations could arise that could best be termed as â€Å"performance inhibiting work place dynamics.† Therefore it becomes very important that employees need to be positive minded and not cynical or caustic about the work or any other related matter. In the second article, its authors, James B. Avey, Tara S. Wernsing and Fred Luthans argue that while negative minded situations do present itself in business enterprises, at the end of the day it is the positive mindedness attitude of the employees that could help overcome difficult situations and bring about beneficial â€Å"organizationa l change.† (Avey., Wernsing & Luthans, second article). For instance, many may think in terms of downsizing in a negative sense but it could also increase efficiencies and streamline operations in a positive way. In the next article, its authors argue about the pros and cons of the merit payment schemes in the context of nonprofit organizations. The authors argue that under conventional methods, entitlements to incentives were taken for granted and not directly related to performance, but the new concept is that even in organizations requiring workforce to consider altruistic motives while performing, it is often the better performers who gain more merit payments rather than the poorer performers. However, the fairness of the schemes often determines its effectiveness and negative performance rating could serve to lower productivity and performance since if the â€Å" the organization does not reward their performance, but instead responds unfavorably to it by appraising perf ormance unfairly, an employee will perceive inequity.† (Cirka., & Deckop, Third article). That being said, now the argument moves from individual-based performance and motivational strategies to group based ones. In the next  article, the authors argue that team efficacy sometimes becomes more important than self-efficacy and thus while providing a greater degree of flexibility and leeway to operations, especially customer servicing, service teams are able to deliver better results, although they may be constrained about the optimum performance of each team constituent member. Thus â€Å"self-managing teams† are indeed very crucial in the overall organization performance index and are greatly valued, despite the argument that gaining optimum levels of performance from all members may be difficult propositions. (Royter., Wetzels., & Jong, Fourth article)  

Environmental factors of substance abuse Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Environmental factors of substance abuse - Essay Example But, unfortunately, this relief in pain is only temporary and in the long run the habit deepens the sense of suffering and pain than ever before. In this context, all individuals who were brought up in dysfunctional family environments are susceptible to addiction. Hence, the first environmental factor is the dysfunctional family of the person. In the case of Ellis, we learn that his father use to return home drunk and beat up Ellis’ mom or sometimes Ellis himself. This is a telling sign of chaos in the family and this is a significant environmental factor that leads to Ellis’s addiction to Heroin. The fact that Ellis started experimenting with alcohol and marijuana even before reaching his teens is a strong indicator that he will have problems in his adult life. And sure enough, a couple of years after the death of his father, his old habits had come to haunt him, this time in the form of heroin addiction. It is a recurrent pattern with most heroin addicts that they seek out drugs very early in life. Recent research suggests that alongside environmental factors, genetic factors also have a role to play. But the consensus among researchers is that social and environmental factors are more important than genetic factors in determining the vulnerability of an individual to succumb to substance addiction. Researchers also concur on the view that those with genetic predisposition to drug abuse and growing up in a dysfunctional family environment run a very high risk of addiction. It was also found that people living in violent and lawless neighborhoods have a greater chance of heroin addiction. This implicitly means that the socio-economic status is a strong environmental factor in assessing risk for heroin abuse. The therapeutic approaches to treating heroin addiction have proven quite successful. Since the addicts developed their addiction as a result of flawed conceptions of guilt, reward and

Learning and Skill Essay Example for Free

Learning and Skill Essay Tymon Muska Intro to Motor Learning Dr Rausch Jr. 11 / 14 / 08 The Skill of Juggling In terms of the type of skill, juggling is a continuous skill as opposed to a discrete or serial. Juggling is a continuous skill because it does not have a distinct beginning or end. Continuous skills involve practicing the movement nonstop and uninterrupted, unless a ball or scarf is dropped. The motor control loop partnered with juggling is the closed loop because feedback and the comparator are present. In terms of breaking down the scheduling for teaching and practicing this skill, one must understand there are several different components to practicing juggling. Similarly, the schedule would be blocked because one must practice a component for juggling and repeat this component until mastered. A blocked practicing schedule also allows the subject being taught to build a feel for the skill, begin to get more confident in performing the skill, and most likely with block scheduling the subject will be more successful in performing the skill, over and over again. I will be using a combination of part and whole practice. This is because teaching the skill in parts is easier for the learner to understand, but when it comes to showing the learner how to put all the movements together, that is where the whole practice comes into play. Using a combination of both types of practices gives the learner a chance to understand each movement, and at the same time get his or her rhythm down without constantly starting and stopping the motion when trying to put the skill together as a whole. Another portion on the practice side of juggling is called massed practice. This type of practice, which I will use, is the best type of practice for a beginner. â€Å"When applied to the length and distribution of practice sessions, a massed schedule will have fewer practice sessions than a distributed schedule, with each massed practice session requiring more and or longer practice† (Richard (2007). I’ll use this type of practice with my subjects because it allows the subject to get a good feel for the skill and build confidence. With those two things, the subject becomes more successful at the skill they are performing. When one thinks of juggling, they think of juggling with some type of ball. For a beginner, juggling with a ball can be very difficult. For one, they are heavier so they fall faster. Second, they are solid so they are harder to grab onto. In teaching the subjects I plan to use a simulated practice, â€Å" research investigations of the effectiveness of simulators have been more common for their use as training devices to help people learn how to drive cars, and pilots to fly planes, (Fisher, 2002), than for their use in sports contexts, (Stewart, Do home, Null Meyer, (2002)†. Scarves are perfect for a beginner to start off with because they are light and float in the air longer than a ball would. This gives the subject chance to get the right form and technique down. It will also increase their success rate in completing a juggling pattern, which in turn will lead them to build a higher level of confidence when juggling. Then, one must move to the next component involved in the skill of juggling. In other words, when beginning to learn how to juggle, one should begin without any scarves or balls. Mastering the hand movements and repeating the phrases ‘up, up, down, down’ or ‘throw, throw, catch, catch’ are important so that the student may now incorporate the scarves. The student should practice using one scarf and proceed to using two scarves. Also included in the schedule is the art of a practice. In this case, we would use part practice. In demonstrating the skill, I will first address the class explaining the use of the scarves and the different colors of the scarves and the sequence in which they will be used. I will demonstrate the toss and catch method with one colored scarf. Tossing the scarf up from the dominate hand and catching it with the non-dominant hand and then repeating the skill from non-dominant to dominant. The second step involves having two scarves, one in each hand. Starting with the dominant hand, the subject will toss with the dominant, toss with the non-dominant, catch with non-dominant and then catch with the dominant. The third step in learning how to juggle would involve the third color. Starting with the two original colors used for step one, in your dominant hand and step two in your non-dominant hand. Add the third color to your dominant hand; this scarf will be tossed last. In order to produce a perfect cycle of juggling the pattern goes like this, toss with the dominant, toss with the non-dominant, catch with the non- dominant, toss with the dominant and catch with the dominant hand. It is very important for the subject to keep the color and order of the scarves the same throughout each trial. By keeping the same colors in each hand, it will give the subject a base to go by. It will help them remember which scarf to through and grab and when and perform the skill in the correct order. Using the colored scarves is a form of simulated practice. Simulated practice is a great way to teach beginners a skill, but its major weakness is that it is not realistic in terms of juggling with real balls or heavier objects. For the practice consumption for juggling, we would be using the specificity of practice. The specificity of practice hypothesis has been around since the 1900’s. The theory explains why positive transfer occurs between two skills or skill learning situations, (Thorndike Woodworth 1901). Part practice consists of three different types and we would be using segmentation. Segmentation is a type of part practice in which one part of the target skill is practiced and mastered followed by the practice of a second part in which the first and second would then be put together until the entire skill is practiced. It is important to give the subject feedback on how they are doing result wise and not performance wise. The close loop system involves feedback, whereas an open loop system does not. In human movement, the feedback is afferent information sent by various sensory receptors to the control center. The purpose of this feedback is to update the control center about the correctness of the movement while it is in progress (Richard (2007). There are multiple kinds of feedback a subject’s teacher could give to them after watching a number of trials performed. In this case since my subject is a beginner, I will be using the Summary Feedback schedule which is when the subject has completed his or her trial or practice runs and the teacher gives them intervals of feedback. The specificity of this feedback schedule is called direction, which is strictly used for beginners because it is the easiest to understand and the least overwhelming. After explaining the basic three step method to the class, I will call on subject up and ask he or she to perform the skill and demonstrate for the rest of the class. For the next step, I will split the class up into groups. Each person in the group will have a chance to perform the skill, while being evaluated by their peers in their group. Each subject will perform the task of juggling the scarves ten times, and I will ask the people in the group to give the subject some kind of feedback whether negative or positive after every two trials. The subject juggling has a definite advantage considering he or she will be getting fifty percent feedback during their trial runs. In teaching the subjects how to juggle, my ultimate goal is for each subject to be able to complete a full cycle of juggling without a single error. Due to the time constraints in teaching this skill, the main focus will be on the subjects form in performing the skill and how well he or she interprets the information and que’s given to them to complete the task. Reference Page 1)- Magill, Richard (2007). Motor Learning and Control : concepts and applications,8, 86. New York, NY: The McGrawth-Hill Companies. 2)- Magill, Richard (2007). Motor Learning and Control : concepts and applications,8, 395 396. New York, NY: The McGrawth-Hill Companies. 3)- Thorndike, E. L. , Woodworth, R. S (1901). The influence of improvement in one mental function upon the efficentcy of other functions. Psychology Review, 8, 247 – 261. 4)- Fisher, D. L. , (2002). Use of a fixed based driving simulator to evaluate the effects of experience and PC-based risked awareness training on drivers decisions. Human Factors, 44, 416 5)- Stewart, J, E. , Dohme, J. A. , Nullmeryer, R. T. (2002). Motor Learning and Control : concepts and applications, 8, 416. New York, NY: The McGrawth-Hill Companies.

Improving Schools Essay Example for Free

Improving Schools Essay There are many improvements that can be made to our school. These improvements will progress the school into a higher grade of learning for students. There are many different facets to our school and small, inexpensive, environmentally friendly changes need to be made. Making changes to the school will help the students achieve higher grades, and therefore have even more university and college acceptance. Improvements such as free internet, a library on campus and free parking will for sure be solutions with a positive aftermath. My first suggestion to improving the school is free internet. Internet can be a positive solution for those students in St. Louis that English is not their first language. They can access translation sites to help them better understand the reading material and course assignments. Diagrams for courses with maps and graphs can be accessed on the internet. This will save paper for teacher, therefore creating a more environmentally friendly place and also will help students see the diagrams first hand in colour. We have decided as a democratic society that education is a right, with this right we must provide the tools to make it accessible, the internet will further progress students learning in variable ways. My second suggestion is that we have a library on campus. Through the library we can borrow books; this is a great solution to those who can’t afford to buy books. Buying books outside of school can be expensive and what can you do with them after you read them, borrowing them for the library is a simple and environmentally friendly solution. The library is a good place also to work on assignments and group projects on the lunch hour, this helps students get the work done and hand it in on time and also provides a work space other than their house. In addition to the above point, since we decided education is a right, it is imperative that a library be added for those who can’t afford a computer, internet etc. A library is a place for those to access the tools to have a better learning experience such as typing out assignments and accessing internet for class. We have decided education is a right but again we must provide to make that right available to all. Lastly, we should have free parking. Free parking has many positive variables. For instance, if we issue free parking for students we could insist that students carpool to reduce parking space demand, this will also lower our ecological footprint and therefore be good for everyone. Students coming from Cambridge, have a hour long bus ride to  get to the Kitchener campus and most of them have to come to the the Kitchener campus because Cambridge doesn’t offer University level courses. Free parking would make that drive less of a hassle that it already is. Also many students as St. Louis have kids and or a job. Free parking would aid in getting to work on time, or getting their child from daycare on time. In conclusion, our school has made a great start. But it is time to make even more effort to make students success more efficient. With solutions like free internet, a library and free parking we will reduce our ecological impact, make student life more enjoyable, and having a higher acceptance to University and College. We have decided that schooling is a right, with that we need to give students what they need to succeed. Our society will better from educated people that can support themselves, rather than people that depend on society. Education is not only for the now, it is forever.

The Heart Disease Prediction System Computer Science Essay

The Heart Disease Prediction System Computer Science Essay There are enormous amount of data available from medical industry which could be useful for medical practitioners when it is used for discovering hidden pattern with help of existing data mining techniques. The basic medical records from a patients profile can be useful in identifying hidden pattern with data mining techniques. In this paper, NaÃÆ'Â ¯ve Bayes algorithm to predict heart disease is implemented with basic records of patients like age, sex, heart rate, blood pressure etc., from a sample dataset. The benefits, limitations, and technical details of this implementation will also be discussed in this paper. 1 Introduction Over these years in medical history, many types of medical problems have been identified and many data are available regarding a particular problem. But not all the medical data are same, but there are many patterns hidden inside those data which needs to be identified. Data mining techniques could help identify these hidden patterns by knowledge discovery. In the medical field, patients health issues are predicted by doctors intuition or experience [2] where the knowledge rich data is suppressed which results in high medical expenses and unnecessary medical tests. In recent years, there are many researches being conducted in order to find the hidden pattern from basic medical data [1]. Identifying these hidden pattern would result in a developing an efficient decision making system in medical industry which aide as a tool to support doctors decision making or at least serve as a prediction system for any medical issues. In this paper, we have taken into consideration of heart disease and predict it using the set of data that are already in existence with the help of data mining technique. The algorithm that we have chosen is the NaÃÆ'Â ¯ve Bayes algorithm, this algorithm is ideal for a vast amount of database that may contain hundreds and thousands of rows and columns. The NaÃÆ'Â ¯ve Bayes algorithm provides the intended output faster and more accurate as the number of data in the database increase. 1.1 Problem Scenario There are only few decision support systems available in medical industry whose functionalities are very limited. As mentioned earlier, medical decisions are made with doctors intuition and not from the rich data from the medical database. Wrong treatment due to misdiagnosis causes serious threat in medical field. In order to solve these issues data mining solution was with help of medical databases was introduced. 1.2 Related Work There are many techniques available to discover knowledge from medical database [1]. Researchers at Southern California used data mining technique to discover the success and failure of back surgery in order to improve medical treatment [3]. Shouman et al [4] implemented predictive data mining to diagnose heart disease of patients. Palaniappan et al [2] developed a prototype Intelligent Heart Disease Prediction System (IHDPS), using data mining techniques. 1.3 Objective In this paper, NaÃÆ'Â ¯ve Bayes algorithm to predict heart disease is implemented with basic records of patients like age, sex, heart rate, blood pressure etc., from a sample dataset. Based on the literature survey NaÃÆ'Â ¯ve Bayes algorithm was found to be an effective technique. The probabilistic method helped in finding the converse probability of the conditional relationship. The dependence relation may exist between two attributes of data set which can be determined with this algorithm. 2 Data Preparation In order to implement the algorithm, a medical data was required. The sample dataset used for the purpose of implementation of algorithm was obtained from Cleveland Clinic Foundation. The sample of dataset is shown in the below figure (Figure1.) C:UsersMadan KumarDesktopUntitled2.jpg Figure1. Sample dataset 2.1 Dataset Source The Cleveland institute medical data was downloaded from website of University of California, Irvine. 2.2 Dataset Attributes The dataset consists of 16 attributes. The last attribute of dataset consists of value 0 and 1. The value 0 indicates that the patient does not have heart disease whereas 1 indicates that the patient has a heart disease. The prediction of algorithm can be verified with this value while evaluating the algorithm. The first 15 attributes are shown in the figure2. C:UsersMadan KumarDesktopattri.jpg Figure2. Dataset attributes 3 Program Architecture The program was implemented using JAVA. Apache TOMCAT server and MySQL Database is also used. The NaÃÆ'Â ¯ve Bayes algorithm has three class files: Calculation.java, Prediction.java, and Detection.java. Detection.java reads the data file from the source path and stores the attributes into temporary array list. The mean and standard deviation values calculations are performed and probability calculation is also done in Prediction.java. All the dataset attributes are defined in calculation.java where mean and standard deviation of attributes were calculated. The calculation.java calls the other two classes while executing the program. Figure3 represents the program architecture. C:UsersKirubanidhyDesktopArchitecture.jpg Figure3. Architecture 3.1 Building and running a Demo TOMCAT server is used to present the output in web based form. The output will run in localhost. The MySQL database is used to identify the patient records. At the execution point, the local host is accessed and 15 questions will be displayed which will be obtained from user and algorithm will be called to calculate and predict the disease possibility on that person. A report will be generated at the end of the demo which says if the person is predicted with heart disease or not. In general, 1. Obtains the values from user. 2. Reads the data file. 3. Calls the algorithm and calculates mean, deviation, and probability of attributes. 4. Generates a report displaying the values given with the prediction of disease. 4. Implementation All the attributes of dataset is of a numerical value that has some meaning. The meaning of dataset attributes are as shown in figure2. Example: the attributes sex is denoted with values 1 and 0 where 1 denotes Male and 0 denote Female. Fasting blood sugar values are also denoted using 1 and 0 where 1 denotes >120mg of fasting blood sugar level and 0 denotes These values from the data file are accessed by the NaÃÆ'Â ¯ve Bayes algorithm. The values 0 and 1 are extracted from data file and stored to an array list for each attribute e.g. age array list, sex array list, and chest pain type array list etc., in order to perform calculation. Here, the values are defined on what those values stands for before storing to the array list. The sample of the interface (for obtaining slope value) is shown in figure4. Here the un-sloping, flat, and down- sloping represents the value 1, 2, and 3 respectively. C:UsersMadan KumarDownloadsUntitled.jpg Figure 4. Interface Sample C:UsersMadan KumarDownloadsUntitled2.jpg Figure5. Sample of report format 5. Modules Description Analyzing the Data set The attribute Diagnosis was identified as the predictable attribute with value 1 for patients with heart disease and value 0 for patients with no heart disease. The attribute PatientID was used as the key; the rest are input attributes. It is assumed that problems such as missing data, inconsistent data, and duplicate data have all been resolved. Naives Bayes Implementation in Mining Bayes Theorem finds the probability of an event occurring given the probability of another event that has already occurred. If B represents the dependent event and A represents the prior event, Bayes theorem can be stated as follows. 5.2.1 Bayes Theorem Prob (B given A) = Prob (A and B)/Prob (A) To calculate the probability of B given A, the algorithm counts the number of cases where A and B occur together and divide it by the cases where A occurs alone. Applying NaÃÆ'Â ¯ve Bayes to data with numerical attributes, predict the class using NaÃÆ'Â ¯ve Bayes classification: Figure6 (a) Top Mean (b) Bottom Standard Deviation Figure6 (c) Laplace Transform 6. Evaluation User enters the values for the questionnaire to find out whether the patient has a heart disease or not. By feeding sample data from the dataset and performing the mining operations with the NaÃÆ'Â ¯ve Bayes algorithm, it is found out that the NaÃÆ'Â ¯ve Bayes algorithm gives 95% probability in predicting if patient have heart disease or not. 95% accuracy is quite good to use as a decision support system. The figure shows the accuracy of NaÃÆ'Â ¯ve Bayes algorithm (figure7). The figure shows the highest probability of correct predictions and lowest probability of incorrect predictions. C:UsersMadan KumarDesktopUntitled1.jpg Figure7. Model Results of three algorithms [2] 7. Limitations Apart from the benefits like probabilistic approaches and fast reliable algorithm of NaÃÆ'Â ¯ve Bayes, the serious shortcoming of the algorithm is its ability in handling small datasets. NaÃÆ'Â ¯ve Bayes classifier requires relatively large dataset to obtain best results. Yet, studies showed that Naive Bayes algorithm outperforms other algorithms in accuracy and efficiency. Notable limitation of this paper is the usage of small dataset. This dataset can be used for training or testing purpose only. Also the dataset could include more attributes for a more effective prediction in supporting clinical decisions. 8. Future Work The algorithm is working well with this sample dataset. Implementing the algorithm with large dataset could give better results which can aid as a supporting tool in making medical decisions. In future, other possible algorithms could be implemented where efficiency of all algorithms could be analyzed to decide on best suitable technique in terms of speed, reliability, and accuracy. 9. Conclusion In this paper, NaÃÆ'Â ¯ve Bayes algorithm is the only algorithm used for calculation of attributes and prediction. Efficiency and accuracy of the algorithm in predicting were discussed. Designing effective models are constrained by size of the datasets and noisy, incorrect, missing data values. The prototype developed so far has been generally tested by computer experts and not by the doctors. For effective understanding of the health issues, medical experts have to work collaboratively and test the prototypes in order to implement the system in real life to support medical experts in taking clinical decisions.

St. Johns Wort...A Peculiar Name for an Interesting Plant :: Botany

St. John's Wort...A Peculiar Name for an Interesting Plant There is an illness that afflicts about 17.6 million American adults each year. In the U.S., it is the number one reason that someone consults a family physician. It costs the economy more than ulcers, diabetes, arthritis or hypertension. What is this mysterious illness? -- It is depression. Depression has been treated in the past with prescription drugs such as Prozac, Zoloft, and Paxil, but now more and more people are turning to the herbal "remedy" known as St. John's wort (3). St. John's wort, also known as Hypericum perforatum, has grown in popularity in the last several years. Its' popularity originated in Europe where it is prescribed and treated as a drug (5). In Germany, St John's wort extract is prescribed 8 times more often than Prozac for depression (7). In the United States, retail sales of St. Johns wort climbed by almost 3,000% during the past year (5)! This herbal is effective for mild to moderate depression and can also help those who have troubles sleeping (2). Even though St. John's wort seems like the perfect remedy for mild to moderate depression, there can be drug interactions and side effects associated with it. St. John's Wort comes from a shrubby plant that has also been termed a weed. Its' flowers are yellow and are 5 petaled, 1-2 inches across, and bright yellow with dense tufts of stamens. Its' bloom period is in July. It can be found growing naturally in Kentucky and Tennessee, south to northern Florida, west to eastern Texas (4), and grows quite well in Northern California and Southern Oregon. Ancient Christian mystics named Hypericum after St. John the Baptist. "Wort" is an old English word for plant. The flowers were traditionally collected on June 24th, which is St. John's Day. The flowers were soaked in olive oil for several days to produce a blood red anointing oil, which symbolized St. John's blood (7). The active chemical in St. John's wort is hypericin. Dried extracts from harvested buds, blooms, leaves, and stems contain variable amounts of hypericin (6). It was once thought that this chemical interfered with MAO, which is an enzyme in the brain. The purpose of this enzyme is to destroy amines that make us feel good such as: serotonin, epinephrine, and dopamine. This chemical is what is responsible for the red color (3). This, however has been shown to be wrong recently. St. John's Wort...A Peculiar Name for an Interesting Plant :: Botany St. John's Wort...A Peculiar Name for an Interesting Plant There is an illness that afflicts about 17.6 million American adults each year. In the U.S., it is the number one reason that someone consults a family physician. It costs the economy more than ulcers, diabetes, arthritis or hypertension. What is this mysterious illness? -- It is depression. Depression has been treated in the past with prescription drugs such as Prozac, Zoloft, and Paxil, but now more and more people are turning to the herbal "remedy" known as St. John's wort (3). St. John's wort, also known as Hypericum perforatum, has grown in popularity in the last several years. Its' popularity originated in Europe where it is prescribed and treated as a drug (5). In Germany, St John's wort extract is prescribed 8 times more often than Prozac for depression (7). In the United States, retail sales of St. Johns wort climbed by almost 3,000% during the past year (5)! This herbal is effective for mild to moderate depression and can also help those who have troubles sleeping (2). Even though St. John's wort seems like the perfect remedy for mild to moderate depression, there can be drug interactions and side effects associated with it. St. John's Wort comes from a shrubby plant that has also been termed a weed. Its' flowers are yellow and are 5 petaled, 1-2 inches across, and bright yellow with dense tufts of stamens. Its' bloom period is in July. It can be found growing naturally in Kentucky and Tennessee, south to northern Florida, west to eastern Texas (4), and grows quite well in Northern California and Southern Oregon. Ancient Christian mystics named Hypericum after St. John the Baptist. "Wort" is an old English word for plant. The flowers were traditionally collected on June 24th, which is St. John's Day. The flowers were soaked in olive oil for several days to produce a blood red anointing oil, which symbolized St. John's blood (7). The active chemical in St. John's wort is hypericin. Dried extracts from harvested buds, blooms, leaves, and stems contain variable amounts of hypericin (6). It was once thought that this chemical interfered with MAO, which is an enzyme in the brain. The purpose of this enzyme is to destroy amines that make us feel good such as: serotonin, epinephrine, and dopamine. This chemical is what is responsible for the red color (3). This, however has been shown to be wrong recently.

Political Cartoon Essay -- American History, Working Class

America has gone through different economical phases, especially when one of the big issues is the working class and the conditions that the working class faced. The most rigorous and grueling conditions were brought about in the era of 1870-1920. At this time the make up to the working class shifted drastically, the work expectation was not possible, and the working conditions were horrendous. The world of the ‘working class’ thus changed drastically. In the 1870’s, there was a flood of immigrants coming into the country. They had no skills, spoke broken English (if any), and were willing to work for virtually no pay. These immigrants began to make up the â€Å"new† working class, (Hollitz, 105). The work that these men did was not easy and by no means was it safe. Occupations varied from laborers to brakemen to coal miners to iron and steel workers, (Hollitz, 28-34). By the 1920’s jobs had become more specialized. In order to get hired, one needed to be a skilled worker with experience and an apprenticeship under their belt, (Bell, 30). Beginning in 1906, women began to take the work world by storm (Wright, 114). People began building allow women to go to work, rather than worrying about keeping the enormous houses clean (Wright, 115). Within thirty years, the average pay rose from ten cents an hour for hard labor on the railroads to fifteen cents an hour for a boy to work in a glass factory, (Bell, 224). Th e changes that happened in fifty years completely revolutionized the archetype of a working class family. In 1870, a working class family was poor and could barely afford to feed themselves. By 1920, the working class family could afford a decent sized house, a car, and to spoil themselves every once in a while. The working ... ... working class by getting involved in a war. Gompers recognized that there was unrest in the working class. There were problems with work hours, safety, and benefits. He believed the government was trying to cover up complaints by starting something bigger, so that the complaints were not the most important things on the hypothetical table. While Gompers did not completely understand the particulars of the war he did understand the main idea. He tried to scare the listeners by saying Chinese immigrants were going to come into our culture and take over. He compared immigrants to slaves saying, they would work for virtually no money. Therefore, bringing the wage rate down and making jobs harder to find. Samuel Gompers conveyed passion and spoke with confidence. He made people believe what he was saying, and scared them into wanting to take action against the war.

Impact of Divorce on Children

The Impact of Divorce on the Family Sociology as defined by Sociology: exploring the architecture of everyday life is the systematic study of human societies (Newman, 2012). By studying human societies we can observe and understand how individuals interact with each other in society and the developing global system, but in order to understand these relationships we must look at society and the world at a different perspective. In turn a sociologist would be a scientist who studies human societies.A sociologist would be interesting in studying the topic of impact of divorce on children because it directly involves a relationship between two people. By studying divorce through a sociological perspective a sociologist can observe the causes that resulted in the divorce and the sociological implications it has on the nuclear family. Divorce is defined as the legal dissolution of marriage by a court or other competent body (Newman, 2012). The divorce rate in the United States is somewhere between 40-50 percent.The causes for divorce can vary greatly and can range anywhere from unhappiness with the marriage to extramarital relationships. In the 1950’s to the 1970’s divorce was only fault based meaning one spouse had to prove the other spouse committed a marital offense (Jolivet, 2012). Since the culture in the 1950’s was much different than it is now divorced couples were stigmatized, and their children were also labeled as outcasts from a â€Å"broken home†. It was also thought that children from a â€Å"broken home† had a higher chance of failing out of school or delinquency since there was an obvious lack of parenting.In the 1970’s divorce became more common and legislation changed, therefore, no fault divorce was introduced. Once divorce became more common, society became more accepting and divorce was not viewed as taboo anymore. Instead people now see divorce as another chance to be happy. Children of divorce were now v iewed as resilient instead of delinquents (Jolivet, 2012). The change in the way children were viewed comes from being able to cope with the loss of a family or growing up without living with a mom and dad.The effect of divorce on an individual’s life can be tremendous, it can impact almost everyone the individual interacts with. In an article by Greif and Deal (2012) they explained how friend networks would overlap with marriage and when that couple divorce that network is put at risk. It was found that after 8 months of separation men and women maintained 61% of that network but after 16 months only 50% of that network remained. The individual is important when it comes to observing effects of divorce.In a study done with 31 divorced women it was found that their physical appearance often changed as they struggled with their identity after divorce (Greif and Deal, 2012). This is most due to the high levels of stress before and after the divorce The impact parent arguing can have on the children could be very dramatic. A survey done by Dr. Robert Gordon that asked 1000 teenagers between the ages of fourteen and eighteen about their opinions on divorce concluded that the children wanted their parents â€Å"more than anything† to stay together (Jolivet, 2012).The survey also looked into children’s opinions’ on parent arguing and found that 50% of children think that parent arguing is â€Å"terrible† (Jolivet, 2012). There are different types of parental arguing, which can range from disagreeing, criticizing, screaming and physical confrontation. When children were asked about what arguing meant to them 39% said it involved disagreement, 26% said it was criticizing the other parent, but less than 35% said that arguing involved screaming or physical confrontation.Further research shows that most married couples agreed to occasionally arguing in front of their children. Dr. Gordon concluded that children are deeply affected by pa rental arguing and hopes that his research will make couples think twice about arguing or criticizing each other in front of their children (Jolivet, 2012). The social implications of parental arguing on children are mostly negative but in some situations can be positive. When children are exposed to a negative environment it threatens their emotional stability, which can result in depression, anxiety, and aggression.Although when parental conflicts are solved sensibly children learn constructive ways to settle arguments. Children learn to compromise and use compassion instead of aggressive behavior to solve disagreements. The overwhelming message that children of divorced parents try to convey is that they want more than anything for their parents to stay together. When teenagers were asked about what they would want their parents to know the majority said that it’s â€Å"Not easy for all of us† and â€Å"they don’t want to be blamed for it† or â€Å"ca ught in the middle† (Jolivet, 2012).This shows that the impacts of divorce and stress levels are not only felt by the individuals involved in the relationship but are felt almost as equally by the children. Children of divorced parents in present times are seen as resilient and being able to cope with difficult times. In a study done by Dr. Robert Gordon about teenager’s opinions on divorce found: Seeing parents divorced or growing up without mom and dad living together makes our whole view of life different.We become more independent and strong. Marriage and kids are not such a positive thing anymore/7 Kids also wanted their parents to know that, simply, they can handle the truth of the situation. (Jolivet, 2012) As a result of viewing marriage and kids differently teenagers who come from divorced families are more likely to have trouble with their own marriage. This is because children do not know what caused their parent’s marriage to collapse, therefore, are unable to maintain a successful relationship.The immediate effects of divorce on children is evident but there are usually no long term effects as they usually fall into the normal range of psychological and social adjustment (Jolivet, 2012). Although, the way the parents handle the divorce is the determining factor for long-term effects on divorce. The number one factor that puts a child at risk for long-term effects of divorce is the intensity and level of parental conflict prior, during, and after the divorce. For example, battles for custody can put high levels of stress on children as they have little control of the legal events and outcomes.If a child has to suffer through a high- conflict divorce it can double the rate of behavioral and emotional adjustment problems along with many more potential effects. Studies have also examined the effect of divorce on boys and girls as different groups. Data shows that the effect on boys was more immediate and dramatic. Boys were also mo re vulnerable to aggression and disruption. However, the effect on girls culminated over time and resulted in increased sexual promiscuity, skipping school, and acting out (Jolivet, 2012).This research concludes that the effect of divorce on children can be predicted by the conditions that existed before the separation. As children go through the stages of divorce with their parents they are observing everything that is going on, these observations could have a negative effect on how these children view marriage and divorce later in life. In a study of divorce done by Dr. Amato and Dr. DeBoer found that divorces were more common in children whose parents divorced than among children whose parents stayed married (Jolivet, 2012).When parents divorce the child is familiar and used to the subject and is more likely to view it much less benignly than a child who did not grow up with divorce in the household. This results in those children being more open to divorce if they are unhappy wi th their marriage. Children could also view marriage as an unpredictable relationship and love and commitment can come and go (Jolivet, 2012). Although adult children with divorced parents are more likely to get divorce does not mean they are doomed for an unsuccessful marriage, they just need to work a little bit more to keep their relationship strong and interesting.Divorce is a difficult topic for many people and can affect almost everybody connected to an individual in the relationship. In a family the individuals who opted for the divorce are obviously greatly affected as well as the children. Divorce can have many negative implications on children including social and behavioral problems as well as problems with their own marriage later in life. Unfortunately, everyone involved feels the negative results of divorce but the degree of that effect can be lowered if certain measures are taken prior to a divorce.Dr. Lisa Strohschein suggests that instead of focusing on helping chil dren after divorce, paying attention to what happens to the kids leading up to the divorce could lower levels of anti-social behavior (Jolivet, 2012). She also states that parents who help children cope with divorce and shape their attitude toward more positive associations could have a great effect on their mental health (Jolivet, 2012). Even though the negative implications of divorce are very prevalent I believe that they can be reduced to a degree where the effects are minimal.

Criminal Justice Essay

Herbert Packer a professor from Stanford University came up with two models of how the criminal justice system works. The two models that Herbert Packer had came up with is the crime control model and due process model.The crime control model is based on conservative values such as aggressive arrest, prosecution and conviction of criminals and makes the system more efficient and safer for people. The due process control is basically protecting an individual’s rights whether they’re accused and to protect the innocent people from conviction. According to the article , neither models should be used because both the crime control and due process model have both significant strengths and weaknesses. For example, one weakness of a due process model is it only protects the accused individual rights and not the victim. Also the articles claims that â€Å"both appear to have potential pitfalls and dangers that could threaten both safety and security and the individual freedoms that have made the United States a beacon of stability and freedom throughout the world†. The article also states that crime control model is too harsh while the due process model is just soft on the accused individuals. While the crime control model is aggressive arrest and it could be trouble if the police officers arrest the innocent by accident and during the aggressive arrest it may hurt the victims also.This shows that neither models should be used due to all the reasons above. Herbert Packer feels that both methods should be combined to prevent weaknesses in the model while gaining more strengths and less dangers to the society. Also Herbert Packer feels that if the models were combined, it’ll be the best strategy to deal with crimes days in the future. With the criminal control model being harsh and the due process being more soft on the accused, they would make a great team which adjusting the levels to just right not too harsh or too easy. These reasons above states why Herbert Packer feels that both models or methods should be combined. Based on all the facts given to me, I would prefer the crime control model because crime control model could actually prevent more crimes while the due process model would increase the amount of crimes a year. Also the crime control model enforces the law while the due process model doesn’t. I would prefer the crime control model also because it’s better to be safe than sorry and increases the social order in that certain area. Since the due process model is too easy on the criminal, there may be a chance that the individual would commit another crime and in society it is important to maintain social order or there would be chaos.I also think that if the crime control model is including traffic stops ,wiretapping and surveillance , it’ll still protect the victim and the criminal somehow. The crime control model is necessary to make a free society. With the crime control model, the criminal justice system should be more efficient than ever. The crime control model increases the police powers which make the criminal afraid of committing any more crimes. This is shows why I prefer the crime control model over the due process model. Herbert Packer a professor from Stanford University came up with two models of how the criminal justice system works. The two models that Herbert Packer had came up with is the crime control model and due process model. In conclusion, there are many strengths and weaknesses among the models but still the crime control method is more important in order to prevent crimes from increasing.

Influence of Media in Student’s Life

Different kinds of Medias are there which influence the common people. News paper, T. V, Radio etc are the prominent Medias at present. Mass Medias have the power to educate people through advertisement, visuals, clippings and film slides. The propagation of ideas become very easy since it directly induces comprehensive knowledge in common man. The news paper is useful only to literate people where as T. V and radio covers all the human flock irrespective of literate or illiterate. Among all the Medias T. V is the most important device. People can understand facts from T.V simultaneously by hearing and by viewing the programme. T. V exerts a feeling that the things are happening in front of them. The media serves as a link between the government and the people. The government policies and activities are conveyed to the people . The views of people are forcefully expressed to make the authorities aware of the public feelings. The media can perform its true role as a guardian of public interest and a true source of all kind of information in a true democracy. The media in the advanced society should perform a noble mission of enlightening people.It can broaden the vision of people and discourage sectarian, communal and divisive trends. Media should not resort to sensationalism and distortion of truth. The influence of media is very great since it can make or break the government . It should be a real mirror of the society The responsibilities of media are the stronghold of the democratic setup. Democracy is based on the mass participation of the people in the affairs of the government . Article19-22 of constitution of India states right to freedom . Today the media is the forum of expression.A free press and media are therefore essential instruments of openness in society. Here we should remember a vital saying Your freedom ends where anyone else’s begins†. Freedom of expression should not be allowed to degenerate into freedom of abuse. In wider sens e the freedom given to media should not be allowed to degenerate into abuse. Even though there are lot of plus points so many negative points are also associated with the Medias. It has the bad effect of inducing baseless ideas through advertisements. The advertisements are mainly used for the enhancement of business purposes.Moreover most of the advertisements contains obsenity. Our cultural heritage is usually get hampered in such programmes. Since the media educates the people, and it does not extend any corrective measures people have to decide by themselves whether the idea propagated by the medias are correct or not. Since repetition of programmes are possible and its frequent reiteration, instill the people, the fundamental concepts which it intends to propagate through the particular programme. Thus the people believe that what the media propagates is fully correct.Now the young generation has a tendency to imitate certain scenes from cinemas and from some advertisements. Th ey don’t know such scenes are exaggerated or even created with the help of technological advancement. Thinking that it can be done in real life also, the people try to imitate it and landed up in danger. Hence the media has the power of educating people, the good and the bad. Since it affect the eyes, the ears and the mind simultaneously nothing can overcome the influence of the media. The present life of the people is controlled by the Medias alone. From this we know, how deep the influence of media in human life is.

Gender Equity Issues in Antigone Essay

In our present day, many believe they should be treated fairly regardless of their race, religious beliefs, or gender. When gender equity is put on the table as the main discussion we may find women to have more aggressive opinions and views rather than men. Some will suggest this is due to the thousands of years women have been limited to certain rights that men are so freely able to obtain. Greek men are born and viewed as the superior being while women face limits on their freedom and justice. They are, however, given restrictive rules and laws that do not apply equally to their counterpart. According to one analysis of Antigone, â€Å"women individuality were violated and hidden while they were subjugated by a man’s desire†(Karim, 2012). In Antigone, Sophocles changes the script of many before him, as he displays his main character, Antigone, a courageous and respectful woman, who has great beliefs in the Gods. Antigone is quick to put her family before the law as she goes against the king’s order. Antigone can be looked upon as a great leader of society except there’s one problem; she is a woman which has great effects on the actions she wishes to take. Even though Ismene, Antigone’s sister, understands her decision she goes along with the king’s order to keep from disobeying the law. Antigone feels that the king, Creon, is being unjust when he doesn’t allow her to give her brother, Polynices, a proper burial. Creon becomes devastated when he finds out that it’s a woman who has publicly defied him. â€Å"There are factors, such as, catastrophes, wars, and events that have effects on the culture, history, and politics of one society. However, sometimes domestic issues can also cause great debate and reflect large concerns governing society and culture† (Rokem, 2006). Antigone’s rebellious act upset gender roles and threaten the Greek culture. Women in the Greek Society In Ancient Greece it was very common for men to have a dominant role. Men were highly involved in politics and it was very rare to see women engage in jobs that were thought to be more suited for men. Women stayed in the home and if they worked they normally held jobs as maids or servants. Men looked for wives who didn’t speak much but instead kept to their cleaning, weaving, and caring for the children. Women were forbidden to go against the beliefs of men and if they spoke out against a man then harsh consequences would follow. The Consequences Antigone Will Bare In Sophocles’, Antigone, Creon sees Antigone as a threat to his society. He hates that a woman is going against his first order as king. He makes it clear that Polynices is not to be buried but will remain on the field of battle to rot. When Antigone, a woman, buries her brother, Polynices, Creon is devastated. Creon feels Antigone is trying to rule over him. She is thought of as disobeying Creon and the law he has set forth. He wants to make an example of her and punish her for going against his law and his gender role. Creon: The Male Role Throughout the play, Antigone, Creon displays his feeling of women time after time. He doesn’t hold back his beliefs that men are dominant and should never be over powered by any woman. Creon states to Antigone, â€Å"while I live, no woman shall rule me† (Sophocles, Jebb trans). Creon feels that Antigone is out of order by defying him. He hates that Antigone is breaking the law but he also hates the fact that as a woman she is going against him. Creon Creon: The Male Role doesn’t care that his son, Haemon, has asked Antigone to marry him. Once Antigone breaks the law and confesses her beliefs to him, Creon will not approve of her as a wife for his son. He has to terminate her womanly courage and sentence her to death. Many women in the kingdom probably felt the same as Antigone but they dare not express them to a man. Ismene even felt that Antigone was being treated unjustly but she remained in her woman role and would not stand with Antigone. At one point she couldn’t understand why Antigone was reacting in such an unlawful way. Ismene Beliefs as a Woman Many readers may feel that Ismene was nothing more than a coward. Some may ask how she could stand by and allow someone to disrespect her dead brother. Unfortunately, Ismene beliefs and actions were those of many women in their society. It was expected of Ismene, as a woman, to follow the word of man and his law. Ismene is willing to defy the Gods in order to respect the laws of man. She is afraid of Creon and she allows herself to be governed by him. She is like all other women in her society who know their boundaries. Ismene kept her inner thoughts to herself. She was upset that no one else in the town would not stand and support Antigone’s decision. Ismene displays her feelings of being a woman to Antigone as she says, â€Å"Nay we must remember, first, that we are born women, as who should not strive with men; next, that we are ruled of the stronger, so that we must obey in these things† (Sophocles, Jebb trans). Ismene beliefs are common in comparison to other women in her society but Antigone was not going to stand by and allow men to defy the Gods, even if it meant death for her. A Courageous Woman The character, Antigone, was an interesting and dynamic role due to her personal traits. Antigone held her personal convictions tightly and her beliefs in the Gods tighter. She held her allegiance first to the gods rather than to the mortal institutions of man. Antigone was not just a rebellious role but was much different than other docile women of her day. Despite being a woman, Antigone is not afraid of disobeying Creon’s law nor is she afraid to tell Creon how she has no respect for him. Antigone was being punished for following the Gods which were of higher statue than Creon’s law. She stated, â€Å"I have longer to please the dead than please the living her: in the kingdom down below, I’ll lie forever. Do as you please and dishonor the laws the gods hold in honor† (Sophocles, Jebb trans). She will not defy the Gods to please Creon and takes her death sentence lightly. Creon hates that Antigone won’t go against her beliefs. She knows she is being used as an example to show other women how to not act. It takes the Gods to interrupt Creon’s death sentence to Antigone. Unfortunately, it comes too late and before Creon can release Antigone she has already taken her own life. Thoughts of Antigone Antigone is a reminder of how women were mistreated in previous societies. Even though the play ends tragically, Antigone will never be forgotten as a woman who stood up close to her beliefs regardless if she was cast away by an authoritive male figure. She didn’t care if she had to stand alone but she was willing to die rather than obey man’s law and dishonor the Gods. Karim (2012) suggests, â€Å"routine fundamental subject of burial of the dead created conflict relative to law, religion, and culture. It also generated critical debate on a woman’s status. † Thoughts of Antigone Antigone was a role model to other women because she remained true to her religion by going against the culture and law of her society.