Conditioning Performance Analysis and Development of the Golf Swing The WritePass Journal

Conditioning Performance Analysis and Development of the Golf Swing Conditioning Performance Analysis and Development of the Golf Swing IntroductionNeeds analysisMuscle groupsMethodsResultsDiscussionStrengthPower Core stabilityExercise prescriptionConclusionRelated Introduction Golf is one of the most popular sports played throughout the world and is played at all levels, form beginner to advanced pro levels. One of the great things about golf is that you can compete against anybody of any levels as long as you have a handicap. Over recent years, since Tiger Woods came on to the scene, golf has seen more of a scientific approach with most pros and even elite amateurs implementing fitness programmes into their daily routine in order to improve their performance on the course. Burden et al. (1998) states that in order to optimise powerful rotational force that translates into the back of the ball via the club head, the athlete requires to produce a series of muscular contractions and joint movements that have to be precise in order to develop an efficient swing. The advantages of having an efficient and powerful golf swing will result in high ball velocity, which in turn will have a positive impact on performance. In addition, an efficient golf swing will require less effort to hit the ball the same distance when compared with someone that has less efficiency (Burden et al, 1998). It is evident from biomechanical literature that using the longest lever available will result in the greatest force being produced (Cooper et al, 1974). This can be highlighted in the game of golf, where an individual seeks to hit their longest club in the bag when they want to achieve optimal distance. At the elite level in golf, the difference between hitting the ball that extra 5 or 10 yards in the air can be huge. This could be the difference between carrying bunkers off the tee, to going for the green in 2 at a par 5. These finite differences can separate a golfer from his competitors and can be the difference between success and failure. As previously mentioned, golfers use the driver off the tee when they want to maximise distance. In contrast to this, Iron shots, chipping and putting are more about the feel that the golfer possesses, as the goal is to send the ball to a certain location with a required distance. In order to seek perfection in these categories, hand eye co-ordination is the skill required as opposed to strength and power. The purpose of this study was to identify the components of fitness that an elite amateur golfer possesses, which would provide the fundamentals for an efficient swing.   A battery of tests was constructed that replicated movements in the golf drive. These tests were performed by an elite amateur and recreational club golfer, which would highlight differences between results. A training programme was then constructed for the recreational subject, which would focus on the weaknesses and try to bridge the gap between the novice and elite athlete. Athlete Name: Keith Young Gender: Male Age: 36 Height: 5’10 Weight: 85kg Handicap: +2 Club: Gullane Keith Young is regarded as one of the best amateurs in Scotland and has been for many years. Keith has played at all levels of the game, representing his county and country along the way, together with turning pro for a spell earlier in his career. Keith was chosen for this project due to his past experience of competing at the top level, which will enable a true comparison to be drawn between an elite and novice golfer. Novice/Control Name: Stuart Brown Gender: Male Age: 39 Height: 5’9 Weight: 80kg Handicap: 15 Club: Glencorse Stuart has been playing golf for less than a year and in comparison to Keith he has a high handicap, which will enable the differences in physiological components of fitness to be highlighted in the golf swing. Needs analysis Barrentine et al. (2004) states that an efficient golf swing is a result of a sequence of muscular contractions that enables powerful rotation. Plowman and Smith (2003) define power as work divided by time. The power created in the golf swing is largely down to the strength of the muscles involved and the speed at which they contract. Large amounts of strength together with fast muscular contractions result in peak power output(McArdle et al, 2001), which essentially results in high ball velocities. In addition to the golfer requiring to produce large amounts of force into the back of the ball, it is essential that they maintain core stability throughout the swing in order to maintain efficiency and reduce the amount of energy being wasted (Hosea et al, 1990). Gatt, (1996) and Lehman, (2006) also imply that sufficient core stability will reduce the likelihood of injury and will maximise the total energy that is transmittedthrough the ball. A study by Baechle and Earle (2008) conveyed that core stability was the ability of the central muscles to control the movement of the body in the anterior and posterior directions. According to Hosea and Gatt, (1996), large levels of core stability around the abdominal and oblique area allow for an efficient transfer of power between the lower body and upper body. In contrast, low levels of core stability would result in the weaker muscle breaking down during the swing, which would result is the loss of energy and low power output. Due to the large amounts of force and torques being created during the golf swing, injury to the spine is likely if the athlete is not in the right condition. This is highlighted by Lehman, (2006) who noted that weak core stability will result in the golfer not being able to resist the large torques generated and may predispose the golfer to lower back pain. The golf swing is a complex movement and involves a sequence of coiling of the legs, hips, back, arms and the club. The power output of the golf swing is a byproduct of the power generated by the agonist and antagonist contractions, which is known as the pre stretch principle (Baechle and Earle, 2008). The pre stretch principle usually involves a rapid change from deceleration to acceleration in the positive direction and can be best replicated by using polymeric exercises (Chu, 1998). The driving distance of a golfer is well documented in studies by Doan et al, (2006) and Fletcher and Hartwell, (2004) who conveyed that you can significantly increase your driving distance, with the implementation of polymeric training. Muscle groups In the golf swing it is imperative that the golfer has a solid base, as this will provide balance for the rotation of the upper body, which will result in large amounts of torque being generated. Barrentine et al, (1994) suggests that the hamstrings, quadriceps and gluts provide the base and in turn have a large role to play in the golf swing. A solid base in the golf swing will involve a stance of shoulder width apart and a flexion at the knee of 40 degrees. To enable this knee flexion and a solid base, there will be an eccentric contraction around the quadriceps with an opposing concentric contraction in the hamstrings. Furthermore the hip rotation that goes towards the target is controlled by the quadriceps adductors and abductors. Barrentine et al. (1994), also state that it is imperative to contract the hip flexors, rotators and extensors if you want to achieve maximal club head speed, as in order to create this powerful transition between the lower and upper body,   hip rotation is the vital ingredient to the cores rapid uncoiling. In the same study by Barrentine et al. (1994) they also convey that a golfer must have strong forearms if they want to achieve optimal distance off the tee. This is largely due to strong forearms being able to resist the force of the club on the way down, allowing for a delay in the rotation of the forearms, which in turn increase the torque generated and essentially results in greater performance. Methods A battery of tests was constructed for both the athlete and the novice that would replicate the movements of the muscles in the golf drive. The tests were constructed in orderto cover all components of fitness that are vital in the golf swing and can be identified as; balance, power, strength and core stability. These tests were chosen as the golf swing is a whole body movement that involves open kinetic chain movements together with contractions of the muscles (Bruder et al, 1998). The following tests were carried out at Craiglockhart Sports Centre, Edinburgh, UK. In order to ensure that there were no external factors present that could affect the validity of the results, all tests were carried out in the fitness suite and sports hall. In order to minimize the risk of injury, prior to testing, both subjects performed a 10 minute warm up to ensure heart rate was elevated and the muscles were warm (Olsen et al, 2004). In addition to this, they also replicated their own warm up that they would undergo prior to playing golf. An overhead medicine ball throw (2kg; NIKE SPARQ) was prescribed to provide replication of the hip flexors on the back swing and downswing, as this ensures that the core and torso coil before rapidly uncoiling towards the target. This plyometric exercise was chosen to ensure that a pre stretch occurred around the hip joint. Fletcher and Hartwell. (2004) implied that in order for the projection of the ball to be successful, the subject would have to start the movement form the legs and in sequence transfer this energy through the hips and arms, which would ultimately lead to the projection of the ball. Poor co-ordination and an inability to link these sequential moves efficiently would result in loss of energy, which would present a poor throw. The subject required to stand in an upright position whilst holding the ball anterior to the hip flexors. The subjects then required to keep their arms extended, whilst flexing their knees, and then extend their knees to propel the ball vertica lly with the arms in the vertical direction. The ball was thrown overhead and distance was then recorded. Each subject was given 3 familiarisation trials post warm up, where upon they would have 3 trials and the best trial would be recorded. A 45 degree incline medicine ball throw was the second plyometric test performed by both subjects. Subjects required to flex both their knees whilst holding the ball just outside of the right knee and keep their arms extended. The subjects were then instructed to rotate in the opposite horizontal direction and extend vertically, where they would propel the ball at 45 degrees in the upward direction, where upon distance would be recorded. The subjects were then required to carry out the same movement in the opposite direction, to ensure that they were both using concentric and eccentric contractions that are replicable in the golf swing (Beachle and Earle, 2008). This would also help to highlight potential weaknesses or imbalances between the dominant and non dominant sides. One of the test measure used to measure core stability was the plank. This test involves the subjects to support their own body weight with the aid of their forearms and toes in the face down position. The plank requires the back to be flat at all times, together with a gap between the ground and core muscles at all times. Subjects were required to perform these tests to failure, which could be identified as a reduction in the gap present, increased curvature of the spine or failure to maintain the tension of the core muscle which would result in falling. In addition to the front plank there is an alternative method that can be used, and is known as the side plank. This method is used to assess the strength of the oblique’s, which are present in the in both the loading of the back swing and rapid uncoiling of the downswing. Subjects were required lie on their side and support their body weight with the foot and forearm of the same side. Proper technique was deemed when the hip was raised off the ground and a straight line between the feet and head was present. This test was performed on both the left and right sides to failure, which would highlight imbalances between sides and potential areas of gain. The back plank was the last testing plank protocol used to measure core stability. This test is similar to the previous planks, however it required subjects to face upwards and hold their body weight with both their heel and forearms. Again proper technique was only deemed if there was a straight line between the legs and upper body. However this exercise not only assesses the strength of the core muscles, it tests the strength of the lower back, which is one of the main injury risks in golfers (Vad et al, 2004). A medicine ball twist to failure was the last method used to measure strength in the core muscles. This method required subjects to sit on the ground with their knees flexed at 90 degrees, whilst keeping their back straight. They would then proceed to rotate laterally on both sides, ensuring that the ball touched the ground, as this would replicate the rotation of the golf swing and would imply a plyometric effect. In order for the subject to return the ball to the ground of each side, they would require to maintain balance throughout the core muscles and erector spine. This test was performed to failure, which could be deemed when the subjects back or legs touched the ground, or the inability to enable the ball to touch the ground on consecutive occasions. Strength in the forearm is a key element in the golf swing as mentioned previously. In order to measure this, a one rep max (1RM) was calculated for the flexion/extension of the wrist. The methods of Kraemer et al, (2002) were applied to this protocol to ensure that there was a low risk of injury. These methods required subjects to perform a 5RM in a seated position with the forearm resting on the knees, being flexed at 90 degrees, whereupon the dumbbell would be moved by the flexion of the wrist. As mentioned previously, the legs are the base of the golf swing and invole a serious of concentric and eccentric contractions in the quadriceps and gluts. The strength of the lower body was measured by having the subject perform a 1RM seated leg press, where the knees were flexed at 90 degrees and extension of the knee provided the subjects maximum strength in the gluts, quads and knee joint. In addition to this, a 1RM of the back squat to parallel was calculated for the subjects using the established 5RM protocol provided by Kraemer et al. (2002). The back squat required the subject to hold an Olympic bar (20kg; Eleiko, Sweeden) just below the back of the neck in the upper trapezius region. Whilst keeping the back straight, the subject was instructed to squat down until there was a flexion of 90 degrees at the knee. This position was addressed in advance to the test with familiarisation trial and a safety bar being placed at the 90 degree position. The parallel squat was used as Be achle and Earle. (2008) imply that this test is a true measure of whole body strength and is also deemed to be safer than testing for strength during the midpoint of the squat. This test was found to be relevant as it replicates the golf swing as a whole body movement, with the muscle and joints having to work in sequence to provide efficiency. Results Table 1: Battery of test results Exercise Athlete Novice Leg Press 260kg 195kg Back Squat 135kg 110kg Overhead Med. Ball Throw 45 ft. 46 ft. 45  °Med. Ball Throw Left 51ft. 40ft. 45  °Med. Ball Throw Right 45.9 ft. 37 ft. Med. Ball Twist 45 reps. 42 reps. Wrist Flexion 27 kg. 26 kg. Wrist Extension 11 kg. 9 kg. Plank 3 minutes 4 seconds. 2 minutes 42 seconds. Side Plank Left 3 minutes 15 seconds. 1 minute 45 seconds. Side Plank Right 2 minutes 30 seconds. 1 minute 52 seconds. Reverse Plank 2  Ã‚   minutes 42 seconds. 1 minutes   43 seconds. Figure 1: Measures of core stability. Time to failure measured in seconds. Figure 2: Measure of rotational power, distance measure in feet. Discussion The results illustrated above highlight that generally the elite golfer outperformed the novice golfer. In order to establish the differences between the two performers, components of fitness were put into different categories, of which were, power, core stability and strength. Due to the demands that strength training places on the body, it was agreed that flexibility work would be incorporated on a daily basis to ensure there was no restriction in range of motion. Strength As mentioned previously, power and strength are 2 key components in achieving a successful golf drive. Beachle and Earle. (2008) define strength as the ability to exert maximal force at a given velocity and in turn Kraemer et al. (2002) Portray they theory that in order to develop power, it is essential to have a strength base. Kraemer et al. (2002) also noted that individuals must train at intensities higher than 80% of their 1RM in order to seek optimal rewards. Strength training would therefore be incorporated into the programme prior to the commencement of the power phase. The use of closed kinetic chain exercises would be employed as Kraemer and Ratamess, (2004) implies these compound movements enhance the production of muscular force. Power Plowman and Smith (2003)defined power as the product of force and velocity. Therefore, it is imperative when constructing a training programme to take into consideration both elements (Kraemer and Ratamess, 2004). During the power phase the athlete should attempt to lift the same loads they were lifting in the strength phase (80% 1RM) but should attempt to do this at high speeds. Furthermore, the power production phase should involve the athlete lifting lighter loads (60% 1RM) at maximal velocity (Power and Howley, 2009). Research within the literature (Beachle and Earle, 2008; Kraemer et al, 2002; Kraemer and Ratamess, 2004) suggests that maximal power production be addressed with the use of both heavy and light loads at maximal velocity. Core stability As illustrated in the results section, the elite athlete possessed higher levels of core stability when compared to the novice. In order to minimise the risk of injury and achieve optimal performance, core strength training has to be prescribed in the exercise training programme (Baechle and Earle, 2008). The goal is to increase the neuromuscular strength or the core and enhance endurance, rather than focussing on shear muscle fore, as inexperience in this area can lead to injury (Kraemer and Ratamess, 2004). Exercise prescription The control subject did not employ a training programme prior to testing or at any stage in the last couple of years, therefore this training programme would not disrupt any progression with any other physical components. Following the guideline of Kraemer et al. (2006) it was decided that the control subject would exercise 3 days per week. This would enable the subject to have sufficient rest periods between sessions and allow for adaptation to occur (Power and Howley, 2009). The programme was prescribed in order to initiate the development of strength prior to the inclusion of the power phase, with development of core stability and maintenance of flexibility being incorporated throughout. All exercises with the exception of core stability were to be performed to 3 sets of 8; with a 2 minute rest period in between sets. The series of core exercises were prescribed to be performed for 4 sets of 25 reps and a 1 minute rest was deemed to be sufficient for recovery. In order for physiological adaptation to occur, each training phase was prescribed for a period of 4 weeks, as Kraemer and Ratamess (2004) state this period of time is sufficient enough to allow for adaptation to the training stimulus. Table 2: Strength development – Phase 1. Day One Day Two Day Three Deadlift Unilateral dumbbell bench press Squat Bent over row Shoulder lateral dumbbell raises Triceps kickbacks Core stability series Shoulder rear dumbbell raises Forearm curls/extensions Flexibility series Core stability series Core stability series Flexibility series Flexibility series The commencement of exercises prescribed in phase 2 could only be employed post phase 1, with the subject having adapted and now having a strength base. The goal in the power phase as noted by Kraemer and Ratamess. (2004) would be to apply maximal force at maximal velocity. In order to enhance power, it was deemed appropriate to reduce the weight to 60% of the athletes 1RM, as this would enable the load to be lifted at a higher velocity. All of the prescribed exercises were performed to 4 sets of 5 with 2 minutes rest, with the exception of the core, which was performed to 4 sets of 30. Table 3 – Power – phase 2 Day One Day Two Day Three Deadlift  ¼ Jump squat One arm dumbbell snatch Bent over row Hang pull Tricep kickbacks Unilateral dumbbell bench press Lateral medicine ball throw (off rebounder/wall) Forearm curls/extensions Core stability series Core stability series Core stability series Flexibility series Flexibility series Flexibility series The purpose of phase 3 was to divide the week into 2 different components, of which 2 sessions would be on each. The sessions would be based on strength/power and ballistic/speed exercises. On the force production days, it was deemed imperative to perform all exercises for 3 reps and 5 sets, as Kraemer and Ratamess (2004) implies that this will enable maximal force production.   The introduction of fast force sessions was incorporated to enhance power by moving heavy loads at high velocities. These sessions were to be performed for 5 sets and 3 reps, with 2 minutes rest in between.   The speed exercises were employed to be performed with light weights (30-60% 1RM) which is highlighted in the study by Kraemer and Ratamess (2004). These exercises were in accordance with the same set and reps of the fast force sessions. The core exercises increased from 4 sets to 5, whilst keeping the reps the same. Table 4: Maximal power – Phase 4. Day One/MaxForce Day Two/Speed Day Three/Fast Force Day Four/Speed Deadlift 60m sprint Hang pull 60m sprint Squat Hang clean  ¼ jump squat One arm dumbbell snatch Forearm curls/extensions Core stability series Seated Russian twist with weight plate Lateral medicine ball throw (off rebounder/wall) Triceps kickbacks Core stability series Flexibility series Core stability series Flexibility series Flexibility series Flexibility series Conclusion It is evident from all of the above, that in order to have efficiency in the golf drive, physiological components of fitness need to be addressed. With the comparison of the elite and novice golfer, noticeable difference can be highlighted and therefore shortfalls in the the novice are highlighted. A training programme can then be adopted following guidance within the literature and taking into account current fitness levels of the individual. This training programme aims to address the weaknesses in the novice golfer and provide a physiological basis for improvement taking into account the understanding of scientific literature.

The Battle of the Java Sea in World War II

The Battle of the Java Sea in World War II The Battle of the Java Sea occurred on February 27, 1942, and was an early naval engagement of World War II (1939-1945) in the Pacific. With the beginning of fighting in the Dutch East Indies, Allied forces attempted to unite to slow the Japanese advance south towards Australia. This saw a combined American, British, Dutch, and Australian fleet formed to protect Java. In late February, this fleets Eastern Strike Force, led by Rear Admiral Karel Doorman, engaged the approaching Japanese in the Java Sea. In the resulting engagement, Doorman doggedly attacked the Japanese but proved unable to halt their advance. The battle concluded with the loss of the light cruisers HNLMS De Ruyter and Java as well as Doormans death. In the wake of the fighting, the remaining Allied ships fled though most were destroyed in separate actions a short time later. Background In early 1942, with the Japanese rapidly advancing south through the Dutch East Indies, the Allies attempted to mount a defense of Java in an effort to hold the Malay Barrier. Concentrating under the unified command known as American-British-Dutch-Australian (ABDA) Command, Allied naval units were divided between bases at Tandjong Priok (Batavia) in the west and Surabaya in the east. Overseen by Dutch Vice Admiral Conrad Helfrich, ABDA forces were badly outnumbered and in poor condition for the approaching fight. To take the island, the Japanese formed two major invasion fleets. Japanese Attacks Along the Malay Barrier. US Army Center for Military History Japanese Sighted Sailing from Jolo in the Philippines, the Japanese Eastern Invasion Fleet was spotted by ABDA aircraft on February 25. This led Helfrich to reinforce Rear Admiral Karel Doormans Eastern Strike Force at Surabaya the next day with several ships from the Royal Navy. Upon their arrival, Doorman held a meeting with his captains to discuss the upcoming campaign. Departing that evening, Doormans force consisted of two heavy cruisers (USS Houston HMS Exeter), three light cruisers (HNLMS De Ruyter, HNLMS Java, HMAS Perth), as well as three British, two Dutch, and four American (Destroyer Division 58) destroyers. Sweeping the north coast of Java and Madura, Doormans ships failed to locate the Japanese and turned for Surabaya. A short distance to the north, the Japanese invasion force, protected by two heavy cruisers (Nachi Haguro), two light cruisers (Naka Jintsu), and fourteen destroyers, under Rear Admiral Takeo Takagi, slowly moved towards Surabaya. At 1:57 PM on February 27, a Dutch scout plane located the Japanese approximately 50 miles north of the port. Receiving this report, the Dutch admiral, whose ships were beginning to enter the harbor, reversed course to seek battle. ABDA Commander Rear Admiral Karel Doorman2 heavy cruisers, 3 light cruisers, nine destroyers Japanese Commanders Rear Admiral  Takeo TakagiRear Admiral Shoji Nishimura2 heavy cruisers, 2 light cruisers, fourteen destroyers The Battle Begins Sailing north, Doormans exhausted crews prepared to meet the Japanese. Flying his flag from De Ruyter, Doorman deployed his ships in three columns with his destroyers flanking the cruisers. At 3:30 PM, a Japanese air raid forced the ABDA fleet to disperse. Around 4:00 PM, Jintsu spotted the re-formed ABDA ships to the south. Turning with four destroyers to engage, Jintsus column opened the battle at 4:16 PM as the Japanese heavy cruisers and additional destroyers came up in support. As both sides exchanged fire, Rear Admiral Shoji Nishimuras Destroyer Division 4 closed and launched a torpedo attack. Exeter Disabled Around 5:00 PM, Allied aircraft struck the Japanese transports but scored no hits. At the same time, Takagi, feeling the battle was drifting too close to the transports, ordered his ships to close with the enemy. Doorman issued a similar order and the range between the fleets narrowed. As the fighting intensified, Nachi struck Exeter with an 8 shell that disabled most of the ships boilers and created confusion in the ABDA line. Badly damaged, Doorman ordered Exeter to return to Surabaya with the destroyer HNLMS Witte de With as an escort. The Sides Close Shortly thereafter, the destroyer HNLMS Kortenaer was sunk by a Japanese Type 93 Long Lance torpedo. His fleet in disarray, Doorman broke off the battle to reorganize. Takagi, believing the battle was won, ordered his transports to turn south towards Surabaya. Around 5:45 PM, the action was renewed as Doormans fleet turned back towards the Japanese. Finding that Takagi was crossing his T, Doorman ordered his destroyers forward to attack the approaching Japanese light cruisers and destroyers. In the resulting action, the destroyer Asagumo was crippled and HMS Electra sunk. Repeated Attacks At 5:50, Doorman swung his column around to a southeast heading and ordered the American destroyers to cover his withdrawal. In response to this attack and concerns about mines, Takagi turned his force north shortly before sunset. Unwilling to give in, Doorman steamed away into the darkness before planning another strike on the Japanese. Turning northeast then northwest, Doorman hoped to swing around Takagis ships to reach the transports. Anticipating this, and confirmed by sightings from spotter planes, the Japanese were in position to meet the ABDA ships when they reappeared at 7:20 PM. After a brief exchange of fire and torpedoes, the two fleets separated again, with Doorman taking his ships inshore along the Java coast in another attempt to circle around the Japanese. At approximately 9:00 PM, the four American destroyers, out of torpedoes and low on fuel, detached and returned to Surabaya. Over the next hour, Doorman lost his last two destroyers when HMS Jupiter was sunk by a Dutch mine and HMS Encounter was detached to pick up survivors from Kortenaer. A Final Clash Sailing on with his four remaining cruisers, Doorman moved north and was spotted by lookouts aboard Nachi at 11:02 PM. As the ships began to exchange fire, Nachi and Haguro fired spreads of torpedoes. One from Haguro fatally struck De Ruyter at 11:32 PM exploding one of its magazines and killing Doorman. Java was hit by one of Nachis torpedoes two minutes later and sank. Obeying Doormans final orders, Houston and Perth fled the scene without stopping to pick up survivors. Aftermath The Battle of the Java Sea was a resounding victory for the Japanese and effectively ended meaningful naval resistance by ABDA forces. On February 28, Takagis invasion force began landing troops forty miles to the west of Surabaya at Kragan. In the fighting, Doorman lost two light cruisers and three destroyers, as well as one heavy cruiser badly damaged and around 2,300 killed. Japanese losses numbered one destroyer badly damaged and another with moderate damage. HMS Exeter sinks during the Second Battle of the Java Sea, March 1, 1942. US Naval History Heritage Command Though soundly defeated, that the Battle of the Java Sea lasted seven hours is a testament to Doormans determination to defend the island at all costs. Many of the remaining units of his fleet were subsequently destroyed at the Battle of the Sunda Strait (February 28/March 1) and the Second Battle of the Java Sea (March 1). Many of the wrecks of those ships lost at the Battle of the Java Sea and the subsequent actions have been destroyed by illegal salvage operations.

Any topics,i will show the detail on instructions Essay

Any topics,i will show the detail on instructions - Essay Example For some historians such as Bacino (3), the tensions between the two nations may have started in 1917 when the US sought to promote social and economic reconstruction in Siberia. During the same period, the Russians also made some efforts to enforce a structural transformation of the international political economy. It is possible that differences in ideologies existed between the two nations and these may have sparked some tensions. Most historians however focus on 1939 and 1940, which are also the years that marked the beginning of the Second World War. The views of the later group of historians is supported by a series of events which began with the secret Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, and a supplementary accord that followed a month later and revealed the Soviets’ invention to integrate Estonia, Lithuania, Finland, eastern Poland, and Latvia into their territory (Elsuwege 29). The Russian Army occupied eastern Poland in the same month and by 1940, the Red Army ha d occupied Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. Russia however failed in its invasion of Finland in 1939 and this forced the Russians to accept cession of Finnish territory which it hoped would protect Leningrad from future invasions. The Soviet army advances in 1939 and 1940 and the signal that the Soviets received from Hitler’s Germany to expand westward culminated in the pursuit of Hitler’s defeated army to almost 100 miles west of Berlin. This evidence illustrates that Stalin had, at an early date, resolved to bring eastern Poland, the Baltic States, and Bessarabia within the expanding Russian empire but most of his expansion plans had to be put on hold between 1941 and 1944 as Russia defended its homeland territory. As shall be demonstrated later in this paper, some of the western leaders were uncomfortable with the Soviet’s territorial

The Mediating Effects of Role Stress and Intrinsic Motivation Research Paper

The Mediating Effects of Role Stress and Intrinsic Motivation - Research Paper Example are functions of external rewards and are often carried with the objective of avoiding pain like in the case of punishment or gaining something like in the case of promotions at work. Behaviors that are motivated extrinsically do not give happiness to the individuals in question as he/she acts in that way because of the external rewards. The problem associated with this is that it kills intrinsic motivation, as people get more concerned with the rewards at the expense of enjoying what they are doing (Robinson 2010). There are three types of extrinsic motivation as shown below. Table on Extrinsic Motivation MOTIVATION BEHAVIOR SUSTAINED BY EXAMPLE External Motivation Environmental rewards or punishment contingencies Learning in order to get a job Introjected Motivation Desire to avoid internally imposed remorse and blame Working in order to get money and support family Identified Motivation Desire to express important self-identifications Working because that is what I want to do. Ext rinsic motivation is crude and inefficient because using negative motivation like blackmail and threats or bribing someone to do something does not make him do it wholeheartedly as all the actions are subject to the expected rewards. The problem with this approach is that people are often concerned more with the outcome than the action itself and this leads to high levels of inefficiency (Eskildsen, Kristensen, & Westlund, 2004). These shortcomings can be fixed through using intrinsic motivation as it persuades people to concentrate on doing what they like for internal satisfaction. Intrinsic motivation is therefore the best way of focusing efforts as illustrated below. Intrinsic Motivation Intrinsic motivation can be defined as a type of motivation driven internally and not externally.... The purpose of this research is to examine the relationship between intrinsic motivation and organizational commitment in organizations. The concept of motivation is important when it comes to understanding the behavior of a group of people and finding ways of improving their performance. Motivation can be defined as a force that initiates, controls and maintains behaviors that are goal oriented. This is what propels people to do certain things like eating, working, and socializing. The forces that control behavior can be social, emotional, biological or cognitive in nature. Researchers have come up with different theories of motivation in order to explain the behavior of people and the reasons behind such actions. Intrinsic motivation improves performance more than extrinsic motivation because it is innate. When an individual is intrinsically motivated he/she will perform tasks with the intention of achieving inward satisfaction hence the levels of efficiency will be relatively high er than that of an individual that is motivated by external rewards. At the organizational level, even though the performance of employees is a function of both the environment and innate drives, the innate drives often determine the achievement levels among the employees. This explains the different in efficiency levels among different personnel working in the same environment. Through establishing the relationship between intrinsic motivation and organizational commitment, this paper will provide managers and administrators a better understanding of the behavior of the employees and their attitudes.

Reflective Account Values Essay Example for Free

Reflective Account Values Essay The first part of this Reflective Account describes what influences and events in my life have helped to develop my Personal Values. My grandparents taught me most of my basic ‘Personal Values’. I learned from an early age how to be polite, have good manners and respect my elders as failure to do so would result in getting sent to bed early. In those days I did not have a television in my room so in my eyes this was the ultimate punishment! They were not deeply religious people; my grandmother attended church every Sunday and took me to Sunday school. At the age of twelve she gave me the choice as whether to attend or not. I did not attend but she still taught me the moral values of respecting myself, my body and how a female should/ should not behave in public and at home. As today’s culture climate is changing towards how some young women behave e.g. children to several partners, going out barely clothed and getting themselves into all sorts of situations, I feel she was perhaps right in her teachings but when I say this to some of my nieces they tend to tell me I’m a bit too old fashioned and they’re glad I’m not their mother. I do not have any specific religious values and I would not disagree or agree with anybody else’s views, I hold the value of everybody being entitled to their own opinions and beliefs. I have passed all of these values onto my own child over the years and feel proud when people say what a polite and thoughtful man he is. A value that changed as I got older was one of ‘First Impressions’. Again, my grandfather (who was a policeman) taught me that first impressions count but an experience in a local cafe showed me that this was untrue. An elderly gentleman who was often drunk and smelly used to come into the cafe and nobody, including myself would go near or speak to him. This day the only seat available to him was the one next to me. He started talking to me and I was astounded to realize that he was a very intelligent man, he was talking about things going on in the world and using words I had to ask the meanings of. I now use the value ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover’. A very important value which I learned was that of ‘Family’ values. Coming from a small dysfunctional family where there was no real closeness I married into a large family where they all lived in one another’s pockets. I learned all about honesty, trust and support in the family circle, how they were all there for each other, supporting each other through the good and bad times regardless of the consequences. When I divorced my son’s father, his family  supported both of us so my son had the best of both worlds, time with me and time with his father. I did not have this as a child, I did not see my father unless he was on a sober day and I never saw my mother until I was sixteen years old. I find this value very high on my list of personal values and have tried to pass this on to my son as he is about to become a father himself. Overall I have an open mind and I am willing to learn and compromise, maybe change a particular value or belief depending on th e role and situation I am in at the time, which takes me on to the second part of this reflective account. The second part of this reflective account describes how my personal values relate to social care values. As a social care worker I must follow the guidelines and key concepts as laid down by the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC). This council was formed in October 2001 by the Scottish Government and aims to raise the standards in the field of Social Care Services. They have laid down ‘Core Values’ which underpin Social Care conduct. These ‘Core values’ are Dignity, Privacy, Choice, Safety, Realising Potential and Equality and Diversity. I believe that everybody has freedom of choice. We all make choices, whether it be what we wear, eat, what career path we choose to follow. Our choices can be endless but can also be limited. Limited choices can be because of things like finances, availability or circumstances, other choices depend on health, safety and danger to ourselves or to others. In my role as a social care worker I have a service user who has complex, additional needs and also uses a wheelchair. This user has the choice to use their wheelchair and can work the back brakes managing to get around the classroom at any time. This makes it difficult for us to manage the rest of the class as the user has no sense of danger and could possibly harm or put other class members in danger. We therefore have to take away the user’s choice of chair as we need to keep them and the rest of the class and staff safe and free from harm. This example shows that conflict can arise between the ‘Core values’ of ‘Promoting Choice’ and ‘Keeping People Safe’ Privacy is not just a case of liking your own company or keeping private matters to yourself. I like my own privacy, having time to myself gives me the chance to gather my thoughts or just chill out in my own way. I can choose what I want people to know about me without fear, prejudice or being discriminated against. Privacy in Social Care often works alongside Dignity. Dignity is a value which varies from person to person. I myself on going to the bathroom would lock the door so that no one else comes in, another person might not bother, and for some people, they may be unable to do so. In Social Care a service users Privacy and Dignity must be preserved at all times. This means that when I support a user dressing/ undressing I must take them to the bathroom (as it is a school the bathroom is the only place for the user to do this as the door locks) maintaining their dignity and privacy. As well as respecting their dignity I also have to ensure that their private personal details are kept private from outside sources. Any written information such as care plans or medical records would be locked away in the filing cabinet in the Headmistresses office. Another aspect of privacy would be confidentiality. In my role as a social care worker I would hopefully have the trust of the user so’s that they could speak to me about anything, if I had any concerns that they would harm or put themselves or others

A Look Into False Memory Syndrome :: Memory Psychology Disorders Medical Essays

Memory is the mental faculty of retaining and recalling past experiences. A repressed memory is one that is retained in the subconscious mind, where one is not aware of it but where it can still affect both conscious thoughts and behavior. When memory is distorted or confabulated, the result can be what has been called the False Memory Syndrome: a condition in which a person's identity and interpersonal relationships are entered around a memory of traumatic experience which is objectively false but in which the person strongly believes (note that the syndrome is not characterized by false memories as such). We all have memories that are inaccurate. Rather, the syndrome may be diagnosed when the memory is so deeply ingrained that it orients the individual's entire personality and lifestyle, in turn disrupting all sorts of other adaptive behaviors. The analogy to personality disorder is intentional. False memory syndrome is especially destructive because the person assiduously avoids c onfrontation with any evidence that might challenge the memory. Thus it takes on a life of its own, encapsulated and resistant to correction. The person may become so focused on the memory that he or she may be effectively distracted from coping with real problems in his or her life (Loftus 1980, 1997). There are many models which try to explain how memory works. Nevertheless, we do not know exactly how memory works. One of the most questionable models of memory is the one which assumes that every experience a person has had is 'recorded' in memory and that some of these memories are of traumatic events too terrible to want to remember. These terrible memories are locked away in the subconscious mind, i.e. repressed, only to be remembered in adulthood when some triggering event opens the door to the unconscious. Both before and after the repressed memory is remembered, it causes physical and mental disorders in a person. Some people have made an effort to explain their pain, even cancer, as coming from repressed memories of incest in the body. Scientists have studied related phenomenon such as people whose hands bleed in certain religious settings. Presumably such people, called stigmatics, "are not revealing unconscious memories of being crucified as young children, but rather are demonstrating a fascinating psychogenic anomaly that springs from their conscious fixation on the suffering of Christ. Similarly, it is possible that conscious fixation on the idea that one was sexually abused might increase the frequency of some physical symptoms, regardless of whether or not the abuse really occurred.

Life History Project

LIFE HISTORY PROJECT By Lorraine Ward PSY 355 5/14/09 TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 3 Life History Research †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 4-8 Works Sited Page †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 9 Appendix †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 10- 15 Photo of Interviewee †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 16 ABSTRACT: This research delves into the special concerns of aging. I look at options that to be explored to make life more satisfying for senior citizens. Harry Lo Vette was my interviewee and his answers are similar to others his age, depending on ducational background, socioeconomic status, mental and physical health. Programs need to be implemented for older adults and their families to discuss the lifespan. Lorraine Ward 5/1/2009 PSY 355 Life History Paper I chose to do the life history interview. I interviewed my neighbor/family friend, Harry E. Lo Vette. I learned a lot of interesting facts about Harry. He is the type of person that you can have a conversation with for hours and lose track of the time. Our interview took at least two hours. I have decided to have my parents fill out a questionnaire. This will be great to look back on, when my children have their own children. I am going to fill one out, too. I think it is a great way to record people in your family. My great, great, great-grandchildren may find it comforting to hear that we started cleaning up our planet or that cars ran on gas or moon hotels hadn’t developed, yet. These could be included in time capsules to show how we’ve evolved through generation to generation. There are many similarities between my interview and what we discussed in class. The one that bothers me the most is the acceptance of pain. Harry said he had overall good health but later in the interview said â€Å"I hurt. I take a few pills & it makes you feel dumb in the head & the pain goes away for half an hour. † I know my grandmother suffers with pain, too and she takes hands full of prescription medication. A man at my job takes 15 different vitamin and medications, twice a day. He suffers with pain. I don’t understand why take the pills if you are still going to hurt? Why prescribe a medication that obviously doesn’t work? Why are we not looking for alternative methods to take their pain away, if medications/pain relievers aren’t working? It seems to me that the physicians are just dealing with the pain and not the cause. Do we just put our elderly on a shelf? â€Å"Here, take these. Go home and come back when these are gone. † Your children and grandchildren have their hectic lives and visit between PTA meetings, softball, and soccer games. Your friends either can’t drive, have passed on, go south for winter, or are in a nursing home, possibly suffering more than you. We treat animals better than we treat our elderly and our country is supposed to be a great place to live†¦.. We must look into changing this. â€Å"†¦there is more to aging than meets the eye! † (Althoff, pg. 9) â€Å"For some, later years are a time of struggle, while others enjoy greater success† (Crosnoe, pg. 310). This may be because of good physical and mental health or because of their socioeconomic status being a positive one. According to Crosnoe, three criteria must be met to have a successful adaptation to aging. These criteria are; family engagement, occupational success, and civic involvement. We must remember that everyone is unique in their aging process, also. These factors are relevant to a subject’s differences in longevity and aging; biological background, education, occupation, marital status and family life, ethnic group, geographic location, housing, recreation, religion, and social class. (Althoff, pg. 9) Family interactions are important throughout life (Brubaker, pg. 212). Time spent with one’s family is important and so is accomplishing career goals (Crosnoe, pg. 311). Harry was successful in his career and enjoyed his job at the telephone company. He had a bad fall but went back on the job after he could walk, again. Also, he was involved with Boy Scouts from the time he was a child. I can recall many stories he has told my family and I about his camping trips with the Boy Scouts. He really enjoyed teaching the young boys important life skills and respect. He has had a lot of civic involvement. Marital status can have a positive influence on aging, also, especially if it’s a long term marriage to only one partner. It enhances a person’s security and provides social networks, especially for men (Crosnoe, pg. 312). Harry has been married twice but he realizes his first marriage dissolved because of his alcoholism. â€Å"Alcoholism is disruptive†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Crosnoe, pg. 312). He still visits his first wife (Rose) in the nursing home she resides at. Donna his current wife understands because she realizes Rose has Alzheimer’s disease and cancer. Harry has been married to Donna for over twenty five years. Religion can be beneficial to aging subjects. It can provide comfort, direction, a sense of community, and an anchor in social networks, which can increase social amalgamation over time and aid in successful adaptation Crosnoe, pg. 313). Harry is active in his church, the Salvation Army. His church gives to the less fortunate and Harry finds this important. He came from a family that believed in giving. â€Å"†¦to the extent that aging includes a greater concern with others’ welfare. † (Silver, pg. 13). Harry’s mother brought food to those without, during the G reat Depression. It’s fulfilling to help others, out of the kindness of your heart. Organization within the family unit is important at any age. â€Å"Well-organized families weathered even severe losses, while disorganized families suffered severe disruption. (Duvall, pg. 131). Every family has conclusive essential tasks that must be met: (a) provide physical care, (b) allocate resources, (c) arbitrate who does what, (d) assure members’ socialization, (e) authenticate interaction models, (f) incorporate and extricate members, (g) relate to society through its institutions, (h) and affirm morale and motivation (Duvall, pg. 131). I know in my own family if we stay organized, things run more smoothly and we have spare time for leisure activities. If we don’t stay on top of things, then it’s very chaotic. Psychological well-being and social engagement is a lifelong process. (Crosnoe, pg. 309). â€Å"A positive view of the world may not be crucial for the young, but seeing the world as more than good and people as more trustworthy than not is a source of well-being for older adults. † (Silvers, pg. 14). I see this in Harry. During my interview with him, I asked if he had experienced any prejudice against him due to his age and he had said no. He went onto explain that a younger person needs to be taught to respect others. This is a positive view of the world. I do wonder if this is across the board or if only by those who have adapted well to aging. Also, I wonder if this occurs across multicultural backgrounds or just those of European decent. The Great Depression and World War II greatly affected the current generation of senior citizens. They probably knew someone who served in the armed forces at this time or they themselves served. Combat experience and family death are traumatic events that affect a person for the entirety of his/her life (Crosnoe, pg. 313). â€Å"Combat in World War II increased odds of eing less adjusted (289%)†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Crosnoe, pg. 321). Those who served in WWII or had suffered a loss of a child were less likely to be satisfied with their life than others (Crosnoe, pg. 323). War veterans have a less effective style for aging, even years later (Crosnoe, pg. 324). The end of WWII brought more problems with it. â€Å"American families were in disarray. † (Duvall, pg. 127). The men came back from the wa r changed by the event. The women had experienced a newfound independence of being employed outside the home. Children were either left fatherless (during the war) or went off to war. President Truman formed the First National Conference on the Family for 1948. The enlistment of participation of 123 national agencies centered on the family was called on. (Duvall, pg. 127). Truman actually acknowledged that families were in need of help. I wish our President or past President would acknowledge this. Our troops are coming home with many confusing thoughts and addictions (Heroin is cheaper in Iraq and Afghanistan. ). They have never been faced with these kinds of traumatic events. A person must ascertain a certain amount of habits to insure they live a fulfilling life, even into old age. One must moderate food, drink, and physical pleasures (Althoff, pg. 11). Too much of a good thing, is not good. A person should avoid grief, drugs, tobacco products, and an excess of alcohol (Althoff, pg. 11). These are toxins. It is wise to exercise daily, get plenty of sleep, get good medical care, have good personal hygiene, and breathe pure air. Quality medical care is hard to come by for lower income adults, especially the elderly, in America. It is recommended that one achieve a balance of physical and mental work throughout their lifespan (Althoff, pg. 11). It is a fact that as we age our bodily functions decrease. â€Å"The resolution of early stages greatly influences the outcomes of later stages. † (Dunkel, pg. 13). This would be along the same lines of Psychoanalytic theory, also. Erikson has eight stages in his theory. The one that affects this paper, though, is integrity versus despair. In old age the individual must assess their lives and have a sense of contentment or sorrow. Wisdom arrives with integrity as strength (Dunkel, pg. 4). According to Dunkel, a basic sense of trust develops an understanding of autonomy, industry, identity, intimacy, generativity, and integrity (Dunkel, pg. 14). Harry seemed comfortable with his childhood and therefore, I assume this is why he is adjusting well to aging. My grandmother, too, has adapted well to aging, even though she suffers through a lot of pain. Is it possible that surviving great hurdles like war and economic struggles can bring a family closer and help a person to learn coping mechanisms to deal with adaptations needed in aging? Listening to the power point presentations in class, those who had a closer family network and had to struggle at some point in their life had a better outlook on aging. Is it generational or a theory we need to further research? The next generation to reach old age is the baby boomers. They are facing a different set of problems than their parents did. There is a higher rate of single parents, divorced, multiple marriages, extramarital activities, women that had entered the job force, and live in households where both parents were working (Giordano, pg. 11). This generation was more likely to have parents still alive and live close to them (Giordano, pg. 411). They are the recipients of advanced medical research, greater economic security, more open to alternative lifestyles, rising social security payments, and achieved higher levels of education (Giordano, pg. 412). Harry’s daughters are examples of how true this is. All three of them are teachers and that is a higher educa tion than Harry achieved. This generation has developed a more positive attitude on aging. They have adapted well and have increased their leisure activities, enjoy happier marriages and family relations (Giordano, pg. 412). There are (and will be) more fourth and fifth generation families. These subjects will require more counseling, health and enrichment programs (individual and marriage), and family therapy techniques will need adjusting to compensate for larger family networks (Giordano, pg. 413). They will be the pacesetters for the increase use of technology. They will not suffer from as many serious health issues, as previous generations had (Giordano, pg. 14). My parents are baby boomers and I agree with Giordano on most of what he wrote about on this generation. My mother goes to Curves for fitness. My father gardens, and remodels their home. This is form of enjoyment. They both like to travel via car to different castles and other places of interest to them. I know my grandparents never did this. In fact, I don’t believe they could afford to. â€Å"Health may be the most important factor associated with an older person’s well-being. † (Brubaker, pg. 212-213). Retirement is a major influence in an older adult’s life. It adds to the possible confusion that accompanies growing older. There need to be support groups that are community based and accessible to all ethnicities and genders, surrounding the topic of retirement. â€Å"Women have more difficulty adjusting to retirement than men. † (Brubaker, pg. 215). These support groups need to address financial planning (retirement income), â€Å"empty nest† syndrome, leisure activities, smaller households/larger family networks, medical care, intergenerational issues, accessing new technologies, social changes, fitness for the mind and body, and emotional changes (Brubaker, pg. 13). â€Å"Concurrent with the changes in spousal interaction, older parents need to develop new patterns of communication and interaction with their independent children. † (Brubaker, pg. 213). Issues pertaining to retirement programs are: â€Å"theoretical assumptions that under pins the programs’ rationale†, significance of the agenda, timin g of such learning occasions, teaching patterns, and accessibility of the program (Brubaker, pg. 215). There are stereotypes encompassing senior citizens that need to be altered because so many are negative. The assumption that older subjects don’t engage in sexual activities is false, for the most part. Many may not realize that holding hands, caressing each other, massages, and foreplay can astute to sexual activity. Intercourse does not need to be the only way to relieve sexual tension. Also, they may need to hear that it’s perfectly normal and okay to engage in sexual activity. Previous generations may have been told that it was not okay and this may have been passed down to other generations. As long as a physician has not said to refrain from sexual activity, it should be safe to do so. Other stereotypes include hearing loss, memory loss, control of bladder, perversion (â€Å"dirty old man†), and the necessity to call them â€Å"honey† or â€Å"dear†. There is hearing loss but not in everyone and not to the extreme pictured in cartoons. Short term memory loss is common but generally, long term memory is intact and sharper than some younger persons. Bodily functions do decrease but not everybody loses control of their bladder. The â€Å"Depends† and â€Å"Serenity† commercials would have you believe this occurs with all older adults, but it just simply isn’t true. The â€Å"Viagara† commercials play on people in the same way. Old people are no more likely to be perverted than anyone else. It is okay to be sexually attracted to another adult at any age. The person the attraction is aimed at should feel honored to be noticed by a more distinguished person. The older adult should feel proud that these feelings can be evoked still. Many older adults are living to see their children’s children and some have no idea how to deal with this. â€Å"Nearly 75% of older people are grandparents and nearly half are great-grandparents. † (Brubaker, pg. 216). Classes should be offered on how to be adequate, functional grandparents. Issues to be taught through family education classes ought to include: what to do with a grandchild, different grandparenting styles, intergenerational differences/similarities, how these bonds will strengthen the family structure, gender differences, listening to views of younger people, lifespan development, generativity, increase satisfaction of having grandchildren, and how to improve family communication (Brubaker, pg. 216-217). A grandparent’s role is very different from a parent’s role. They are more nurturing and less disciplining. A grandparent can teach a child more than a parent can, though. A child can learn about a generation that has past, with more detail than a textbook. Grandparents offer a wide array of learning experiences for their grandchildren. Environment influences how a subject adapts to aging. â€Å"People with particular needs search for the environments that meet them best. † (Text, ch. 5). Many different cultures hold the older generation as the wisest. Some are chiefs in their nations or kings/queens of their empires. The United States is one of the most powerful countries in the world but they hold very little respect for senior citizens. In fact, there are very few programs available to older adults. They often are challenged with high medical bills, high costs of mobility equipment, transportation costs (after they lose use of their driver’s license), and possible nursing home costs. Senior citizens may feel distraught over the obstacle of maturing. Our economy will determine if more programs are able to be launched or not. It will ascertain how well or not, the elderly live. (Frontline Video: Living Old)The length of time they live will be affected by the cost of living. Nursing homes need to get a facelift. Instead of being waiting rooms for death, they should be improved to be gazed upon as an oasis for the elderly. They have lived full lives and deserve to be treated with respect. Programs required in this environment are; life history therapies, training for staff, co-ed rooms, family education about lifespan development, technology training, discussions about aging (group therapy), memory builder games or skill training, course availability (of their choice) at a local college or learning institution, and options about dying with dignity (vegetable state, assisted suicide? , living wills). Presently, our economy is facing a possible depression. Medicare has been cut and Social Security runs the risk of running out of funding. Older adults are being forced either out of a job or into an early retirement due to budget cutbacks, the closing of companies, or the companies have moved out of the country. This leaves an older adult at a loss of coping skills. This needs to be addressed within every community because it affects everyone. Many of these people don’t have the required skills to achieve another job without a higher education. Some may not even have a high school diploma or GED. They are now faced with competing for jobs with younger, more viable adults that do have the required education and skills. This is a major stressor for these misplaced aging adults. Their risk for acute illnesses may rise due to this added stress leaving them even more vulnerable. I learned a lot from this course on adult development and aging, the life history interview, and this research paper. I realized how condescending I may sound to elderly customers who step into my taxi by calling them â€Å"honey† or â€Å"sugar†. I had never even thought about it until we learned it in class. I’m conditioning myself to use it less and to treat senior citizens like others in my cab and in general. I respect my elders, always. This is how I was raised and something I struggle to instill in my children. They seem so stubborn (lol). I tried to include approximately the same information in my research paper as I asked in my life history interview with Harry Lo Vette. This wasn’t difficult because most of the information I found on aging surrounded these same topics or topics we had already discussed in class. I’m going to interview my parents and myself for fun. The answers may be worth putting in a time capsule or away for future generations to reminisce over. It will be interesting to review and revise my answers when I’m 50 or 60. This course was rewarding for me because I learned more than I ever thought I would. The achievements that older adults have over me are that they have successfully lived longer than I have (to date). WORKS SITED: Althoff, Sally A. (1975). Preparing Teachers, Students, and Citizens to Deal Constructively with the Problems and Potentialities of Aging. 1-79. Brubaker, T. H. , Roberto, K. A. (1993). Family Life Education for the Later Years. Family Relations, 42, 212-221. Crosnoe, R. , Elder, Jr, G. (2002). Successful Adaptation in the Later Years: A Life Course Approach to Aging. Social Psychology Quarterly, 65, 309-328. Dunkel, C. S. , Sefcek, J. A. (2009). Eriksonian Lifespan Theory and Life History Theory: An Integration Using the Examples of Identity Formation. Review of General Psychology, 13, 13-23. Duvall, Evelyn M. (1988). Family Development’s First Forty Years. Family Relations, 37, 127-134. Giordano, Jeffrey. (1988). Parents of the Baby Boomers: A New Generation of Young-Old. Family Relations, 37, 411-414. Silver, R. C. , Poulin, M. (2008). World Benevolence Beliefs and Well-Being Across the Life Span. Psychology and Aging, 23, 13-23. APPENDIX Life History Interview DEMOGRAPHIC INFO: 1) What is your full name? Harry Edward Lo Vette 2) Where were you born? Corning Hospital, Corning, NY 3) What is your age? 79 (10/19/1929) 4) Oldest of 5 children: 3 boys & 2 girls. I lost one brother here, 10 years ago. He worked with asbestos @ Corning Glass. He died of Cancer from the asbestos. 5) Where did you live as a child? Spent most of my life in 100 radius of Dundee area. Grew up in Monterey on a farm, during the Depression, for a number of years. Lived in the Chenango Forks down near Binghamton & then we came back to Dundee area – Lakemont. Then we moved back to Binghamton area & then back to Dundee, just before the War 1950. Then I graduated high school in 1949. Went to Korea, came home & got married, 1st marriage, lived there until 1955 when I went to work for the phone company down in Corning. 6) What do you recall about your family home and neighborhood; you lived in as a child? We lived on a 500 acre farm. We didn’t have many cows. We milked 35 cows by hand, my brother & I, my mother & my father did. Everything was done by mules. We had black mules. During The Depression time you didn’t know you were supposed to have money in your pocket but we had food. We lived good, on food. We had all kinds of animals. Plus, we hunted a lot. We had beef, pork, never raised rabbits. We had ducks, chickens, and we always had a couple of tame sheep. The neighbors raised sheep. My mother always made us our White shirts. And I went to a one room school house until I was in 4th grade, over in Monterey. One room school house, one teacher, maybe 16 students. My mother was strict. My father only hit me just one time & that was calling my brother a liar. He was a hard working man, but he didn’t condone that type of behavior. We were supposed to take turns cutting wood, fill the kindling box and heavy wood. Come in from chores one morning, my father said â€Å"Before you eat, who was supposed to cut kindling wood last night? † My brother said â€Å"Harry†. I turned around to him. My father said â€Å"Get out there & cut it†. When I went by my brother, I said â€Å"You liar†. I can remember it & I never saw it coming. He picked up the little coal shovel & caught me right across the fanny. (He chuckled) He use to threaten to tear our arm off & beat us to death with a bloody stump, but he didn’t mean it. My mother was the domineering one, belt, switch, leather strap. 7) Where do you live? 800 Hill Road, Genoa, NY 13071 8) How long have you lived @ your current address? 28 yrs. Married Donna & moved in. Donna lived there for 29 years. (He gets in conversation with my Mom about our family house. It was built in early 1800s. ) 9) With whom do you live? Donna (wife) 10) Are there any concerns about safety or mobility? No. I can’t do the things I use to do. A little lame, so far, no. 11) Both of us are retired. I retired after 32 years from the phone company. Your annual income: $20,000-$30,000. We run about $30,000 a year, between the 2 of us. 12) What is your ethnicity? Paternal Grandfather: French Canadian. Paternal Grandmother: Scottish & English. 13) What religion do you practice? Christianity. Salvation Army. 14) How has the church affected your life and the life of your family? Different attitude @ looking @ things. A lot of good friends. Changed my life by quitting drinking. I don’t get as upset as I use to. I find the Salvation Army is comforting. I’ve been down there since 1972. Many churches are cliquish. They have their small groups. They may even look down their nose @ you, if you’re not properly dressed or you’re not this or this. The Salvation Army has never been that way. Their theme has always been you can teach the Word to someone who is down and out and hungry. The 1st thing you do is feed them & pick them up. It’s been better for my life. 15) What did you do for a living (jobs)? Picked berries/grapes as a child (made $100 a season), high school: drove truck (17-18 without a driver’s license) (big) – markets, Corning Glass Works- television bulbs (Spring 1950-1st to make rectangle bulbs), Army (Korea), drove truck, Dundee Phone Comp, NY Phone Comp. was @ NY Phone Comp for 32 years (1953-1985) Got hurt on phone Comp job @ 32 (1962). Fell from top of pole & landed standing up, couldn’t walk for almost 1 year! 16) How has these jobs changed? People my age were brought up to work. The injury changed his life. The Army & Korea let him travel. People working the jobs changed. Cell phones changed the whole phone company. Computers took over my job. HEALTH and LEVEL of FUNCTIONING: 1) How is your overall health? Good. I take blood pressure medicine, but my blood pressure is good. I quit smoking in 1983. 2) Have you had any serious illnesses? Bronchitis. I get it every winter now. It was real bad this year the 1st Anti-biotic didn’t work. ) How did this affect your life? I didn’t get much done. This weekend was my 1st time in my wood shop this year. 4) Have there been any changes in your physical functioning over the last several years? (He chuckles)Not as much stamina. I can’t do hard work for as many hours, w/out rest. 5) Has your vision or hearing changed? Yeah! Had Cataracts removed & new lenses implanted. Then got better vision than before. All hearing gone in right ear & hard to hear in left. 6) Has your memory changed? Yes. 7) Does this affect your life? Long term is good. Short term memory is bad. Not as sharp. I can do mathematics & plan a deck still. My 1st wife has Alzheimer’s disease. 8) Has your ability to use your mind or learn new things changed? You have to adapt. Attitude makes the difference. If you want to learn, you will learn it. 9) How are you treated by younger people? Respect is given & taken. You have to give younger people respect. Lately, I haven’t had to associate with them. You have to lay it down to them. I never was discriminated against. 10) How do you feel about getting older? You learn to accept it. I don’t want to live to be 100. I just don’t want to go into a nursing home, unless I have to. I‘d rather not. 11) If you could be any age, what would you be? I’d like to go back & be 19, again. Up until 32, when I fell. Now, some days it’s an effort to get up & do anything. I hurt. I take a few pills & it makes you feel dumb in the head & pain goes away for half an hour. Yeah, those were good years. 12) Why? My life started. I enjoyed life. The last of the 40s (the 1940s) was good. AGE-GRADED, HISTORY-GRADED, and NON-NORMATIVE EVENTS: 1) What is your highest level of formal education? High school. Graduated in 1949. Army: map-making survey = 2 years of college. semester of college @ Auburn Community College, after I fell off the telephone pole. 2) Where did you attend school? Monterey (1 room school house), Dundee (built new school in 1939), Chenango Forks (1937-2 years), & Dundee. 3) How did you get back & forth from school? 1st walked ? mile, later walked 2 miles to catch the school bus. 4) What were some of your classmates’ names? Richard Peterso n, Roscoe (big bee guy), Mike Hartford, A. Chadwick, Mary Sharp (my old flame) 5) Do you recall any childhood girlfriends? Mary Sharp (8 years) – went bad while I was in Korea. 6) Marriages? 2. My 1st wife (Rose) has Alzheimer’s and liver cancer 7) Where did you meet Donna? At Work. She came to the phone company. 8) Children? 1st Marriage – 3 daughters (all over 50 years old), 2nd Marriage – 2 step-children (daughter & son). 9) Grandchildren? 4 & 4 step-grandchildren. 10) Where do your children live? Oregon, California, and Willard, NY. All are teachers. 11) How often do you see them? Out of state – not as often. The one in NY more often. 12) Romantic Relationships (not married to)? Honestly? 30. I was proposed to 3 times during the Leap Year I got out of service. Only 1 regret. 3) Are your children supportive in areas you need them to be as you age? Yes. Steps: David more than Dorie. 14) Do they respect your wishes? Yes. 15) What effect did (The Depression, World War I, and World War II) have on your life? The Depression – always had food. My mother made us white shirts. She was a good seamstress. Christmas wasn’t as big. My mom ma de our gifts. She made me a farm set by hand. Mother gave the neighbor some foods that we had made. World War 1 – It was depressing. I was 11 years old. World War 2 – a friend of our family was in a Japanese prison Camp (didn’t die). We lost friends in Normandy. In Maine – airplane spotters. 16) What changes have you noticed during your life in such areas as fashion, morality and technology? Fashion – always wore jeans, sweatshirts, shoes. Probably affected women more than men. Morality – NOT taught anymore! Depressing. I had a certain amount of wildness but not like today. 20s – No Respect. Drug Problem – mostly Blacks (out of large cities & high school drop-outs). We didn’t have television. Media changed, too. 1st World War – it was weeks before we heard anything. 2nd World War – took 1 week. Korea – 3-4 days. Vietnam – same day. We kept some things quiet/hidden. Technology – EVERYTHING! Farming, cars (model B-4, 6-cylinder), lawn mowers (we had push mowers) – riders, flying (My 1st ride â€Å"Old Home Days† 1935. $5. 00 in an open cockpit, 2-seater; now 35,000 feet above ground, across USA) 17) How do you feel about these changes? Some is good. A lot†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Pesticides/sprays/growth are NOT good. There is a certain amount you have to have. Manufacturers – processed food. Candy bars used to be made @ Hershey Chocolate factory. 18) What do you think is one of the best technologies? Medical field. The development. If we had MRIs & Cat Scans I wouldn’t have gone what I had when I fell. Sooner for recovery time. Extended life (transplants) 19) What do you think is one of the worst? Control over pesticides/growth hormones/sprays on our vegetation are TOXIC! I wonder if this has anything to do with the trouble with newborns. 20) What was family life like when you were growing up? We looked out for each other. We all had jobs around the house. My Dad was a truck driver. He taught me how to drive tractor trailer truck @ 14. We did things together as a family; picnics, family gatherings. My Dad taught me farm work. Dad was interested in my schooling. We were very close. He was killed in a truck accident while I was in the service. 21) What was your favorite radio show? Lone Ranger, Amos & Andy, The Green Hornet, & The Shadow, The Riflemen. 22) How old were you when you got your first television? 1947-48. It was an Admiral. 16† set. 23) What are some of the traditions still carried on by your family? Birthdays & holidays. Easter is big in the church. 24) What were your favorite childhood games? Sandlot Baseball. We had a family of full-blooded Indians that lived above us. We played a lot of Indian games; Lacrosse – we made our own sticks & balls (baked clay wrapped in cloth), Stone Toss (similar to Tidily Winks), and a homemade game using a dried out pig bladder ( air dried, inflated with air, and used as a ball), Softball, Allie-Allie Over (over the school house, 2 teams-one on each side), Kick the Can, Hide & Seek, see who could swing over the top of bar (above the swing), Foxfire (on Spook Night) (decaying wood, NOT handled by your (bare)hands), hunting, fishing. 25) What other entertainment have you enjoyed? Square & Round dances, hiking, swimming. SOCIAL LIFE: 1) How many friends do you have? 100 easy. 5 close. You should always have 5 close friends. 2) How many of these friends are childhood friends? 15-20, some have died. 3) How often are you able to visit with them? Some not for years (meaning more than 2), some every 2 years, & some everyday. It depends on if they are old friends or new friends. 4) What activities did you enjoy doing when you were in your 20s? Roller skating & dancing. Hunting & fishing. 30s? Fell off pole. Small amount of fishing. 40s? Hunted & fished. Some woodwork. 50s? Fished & Bear hunting (Canada). Built my wood shop in my late 50s – early 60s. Wood working. 5) What are some activities you like to do together? 1950-1972 Camping – Canada, Nova Scotia, had nice Gardens 6) How many of these activities have changed as a result of getting older? Lots of them. Not as many. Don’t hunt, little fishing, no camping. 7) Do you belong to any church or other social groups? Men’s Fellowship @ church. 8) How has the Boy scouts affected your life? Better understanding of the world. Nature. Benefit: live with nature & do it comfortably. 9) What â€Å"Words of Advice† would you like to pass on to future generations in your family? Get a good education that you can get money & be comfortable. Go to college in fields worthwhile & prosperous. Nothing wrong with making a good living. STORY TIME: Some people you've met during your lifetime leave footprints in your life forever. You could talk about your family members, relatives, friends, acquaintances, or special some ones and how they made an impact in your life or even changed your life. Also, places you've been to or where you lived could also be nice reminiscences since you could describe the place, the people in it, and how the weather was like. My 1st Scout Master – NOT to judge others to fast. Don’t know what they have been through. Dad – Stand up for what you believe in. Lots of people; in Korea, camping. Some memorable pieces or items could become great components of reminiscing. Things like your childhood toys or games. Heirlooms are wonderful jewelries that have been given from generation to generation that bring history. This can be anything that may not be important to others but may be significant to you and brought good memories. Some things of my Dad & my uncle. An emblem from a guy I met on my way to Korea. I never saw him, again. 1) Do you have any regrets about your life? Lots of things. 2) What are they? I wouldn’t have drunk like I did. I made a lot of money and didn’t save it. 3) Are there things you would like to do that you haven’t done yet? Fly faster than the speed of sound (had the opportunity in 1991. Didn’t do it. ), visit Australia. 4) Do you think you will do them? Maybe. Who knows? Is there anything else you would like to share about yourself or a story? I’ve lived a rich life. I was accepted at Oswego State Teaching School but I didn’t have the money to go. .

Night World : Spellbinder Chapter 12

Fhea settled on the box springs, not the most comfortable seat. â€Å"Now, this all happened back in the days when there was still magic, okay? And Helle-wise could do magic, and so could most of the people in her tribe. She was the daughter of Hecate Witch-Queen-â€Å" â€Å"She was a witch?† Roz sounded intrigued. â€Å"Well-they didn't call it that then. They called her a Hearth-Woman. And she didn't look like a Halloween witch. She was beautiful: tall, with long yellow hair-â€Å" â€Å"Like you.† â€Å"Huh? Oh.† Thea grinned. â€Å"Thanks, but, no. Helle-wise was really beautiful-and she was smart and strong, too. And when Hecate died, Hellewise became co-leader of the tribe. The other leader was her sister, Maya.† Rosamund's whole head was above the mattress now. She was listening with fierce, if skeptical, interest. â€Å"Now, Maya.† Thea chewed her lip. â€Å"Well, Maya was beautiful, too: tall, but with long black hair.† â€Å"Like that girl who came to the vet's after you.† Thea was briefly startled. She'd forgotten Rosamund had seen Blaise. â€Å"Well-uh, maybe a little. Anyway, Maya was smart and strong, too-but she didn't like having to share the leadership with Hellewise. She wanted to rule alone, and she wanted something else. To live forever.† â€Å"Sounds like a good idea to me,† Rosamund growled. â€Å"Well-yeah, there's nothing wrong with being immortal, I agree. Except, see, that it all depends on how much you're willing to pay to be it. Okay? Following me?† â€Å"Nope.† â€Å"Well†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Thea floundered. Any Night Person would know immediately what she was talking about, even if by some outrageous chance they hadn't already heard the story. But of course humans were different. â€Å"Well, you see, it was a matter of what she had to do. No ordinary spell would make her immortal. She tried all sorts of things, and Hellewise even helped her. And finally they figured out what kind of spell would do it-but then Hellewise refused.† â€Å"Why?† â€Å"Because it was too awful. No, don't ask me,† Thea added as Rosamund's interest level immediately shot up. â€Å"I'm not going to tell you. It's not a subject for kids.' â€Å"What, what? If you don't tell me, I'm just going to imagine even worse things.† Thea sighed. â€Å"It had to do with babies, okay? And blood. But that's not the point of this story-† â€Å"They killed babies?† â€Å"Not Hellewise. Maya did. And Hellewise tried to stop her, but-† â€Å"I bet she drank the blood.† Thea stopped and looked hard at Rosamund. Human kids were ignorant, but not dumb. â€Å"Okay, yes, she drank the blood. Satisfied?† Roz grinned, nodded, and sat back, listening avidly. â€Å"Okay, so then Maya became immortal. But the thing was, she didn't know until afterward the price she'd have to pay. She would live forever-but only if she drank the blood of a mortal creature every day. Otherwise, she'd die.† â€Å"Like a vampire,† Rosamund said with relish. Thea was shocked for an instant, then she laughed at herself. Of course humans knew about vampires- the same way they knew about witches. Silly legends filled with misinformation. But that meant Thea could tell her own story without fear of being believed. â€Å"Just like a vampire, actually,' she said impressively, holding Rosamund's eyes. â€Å"Maya was the first vampire of all. And all her children were cursed to be vampires, too.† Roz snorted. â€Å"Vampires can't have children.† She looked doubtful. â€Å"Can they?† â€Å"The ones descended from Maya can,† Thea said. She wasn't going to say the word â€Å"lamia† to a human. â€Å"It's only the kind who get made into vampires by being bitten that can't. Maya had a vampire son called Red Fern and she bit people. That's the story, you see-Maya wanted to make everybody like her. So she started biting people in the tribe. And eventually Hellewise decided she had to stop it.† â€Å"How?† â€Å"Well, that was the problem. Hellewise's tribe wanted to fight with Maya and the other vampires. But Hellewise knew if they did that, they'd probably all get killed. Both sides. So Hellewise challenged Maya alone to a duel. Single combat.† Rosamund pushed the mattress over with a thump. â€Å"I'd fight a duel with Mr. Hendries-he's the boys' trekleader.† She jumped on the mattress and attacked a pillow with hands and feet-and teeth. â€Å"I'd win, too. He's out of shape.† â€Å"Well, Hellewise didn't want to fight, but she had to. She was scared, because as a vampire Maya was a lot stronger now.† For a moment, Thea thought about it, visualizing the old story the way she had as a child. Seeing Hellewise in her white leather shift, standing in the dark forest and waiting for Maya to come. And knowing that even if she won the fight, she'd probably die-and being brave enough to keep standing there. Being willing to give up everything for the people she loved, and for peace. I don't think I could ever be that brave. I mean, I'd certainly hope I would be, but I have a terrible feeling that I wouldn't. And then a strange thing happened. At that instant, she seemed to hear a voice, not her usual mind-voice, but one that was urgent and almost accusatory. Asking a question as if Thea hadn't just decided on the answer. Would you give up everything? Thea shifted. She didn't usually hear voices. I suppose that's what Hellewise must have been thinking, she told herself uneasily. â€Å"So what happened? Hey! Thea! What happened?† Rosamund was war-dancing on the mattress. â€Å"Oh. Well, it was a terrible fight, but Hellewise won. She drove Maya away. And the tribe was left in peace, and they all lived happily ever after†¦ um, except Hellewise. She died of her wounds.† Rosamund stopped dancing and stared in disbelief. â€Å"And you're telling me this to make me feel better? I never heard such a lousy story.† Her chin began to tremble. Thea forgot she was dealing with a human child. She held out her arms the way she had to Bud the puppy, the way she would have to any creature in pain-and Rosamund threw herself into them. â€Å"No, no,† Thea said, anxiously cuddling. â€Å"You see, the point is that Hellewise's people lived on, and they were free. And that may seem like a little thing, because they were just a little tribe, but that little tribe got bigger and bigger, and they stayed free. And all the witches in the world are descended from them, and they all remember Hellewise and honor her. It's a story every mother tells her daughters.† Rosamund breathed irregularly for a moment. â€Å"What about her sons?† â€Å"Well, her sons, too. When I say ‘daughters' I mean ‘sons and daughters.' It's just shorter.† One green eye looked up from a mop of shaggy hair. â€Å"like ‘he' and ‘him' are supposed to mean ‘she' and ‘her,' too?† â€Å"Yeah.† Thea thought. â€Å"I guess maybe neither is the best system.† She shrugged. â€Å"The important thing is that one woman's courage kept us-them- all free.† â€Å"Look.† Rosamund straightened up, staring through the hair. â€Å"Are you just jerking my chain or is that a true story? Because frankly you seem like a witch to me.† â€Å"That's what I was going to say,† an amused voice behind Thea said. Thea's head snapped around. The door was open a few inches and a woman was standing there. She was tall and lanky, with little glasses and long silky brown hair. Her expression reminded Thea of a look Eric got sometimes, a look of very sweet puzzlement, as if he'd suddenly been struck by one of life's overwhelming mysteries. But that didn't matter. What mattered was that she was a stranger. An Outsider. A human. Thea had been blurting out the secrets of the Night World, the history of the witches, and a human adult had been listening. Suddenly her hands and feet went numb. The golden haze disappeared, leaving her in a cold, gray reality. â€Å"I'm sorry,† the human was saying, but to Thea the voice seemed to come from a distance. â€Å"I didn't mean to startle you. I was just kidding. I really was enjoying the story-sort of a modern legend for kids, right?† Thea's eyes focused on another human behind the adult. Eric. He'd been listening, too. â€Å"Mom's such a kidder,† he said nervously. His green eyes were apologetic-and intense. As if he were trying to make a connection with Thea. But Thea didn't want to be connected. Couldn't be, to these people. She was surrounded by humans, trapped in one of their houses. She felt like the rattlesnake in a circle of big creatures with sticks. Sheer, raw panic overtook her. â€Å"You should be a writer, you know?† the human woman was saying. â€Å"All that creativity†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She took a step inside the room. Thea stood up, dumping Rosamund on the floor. They were coming at her-by now, the very walls seemed to be closing in. They were alien, cruel, sadistic, terrorizing, evil, not-her-kind. They were Cotton Mather and the Inquisition and they knew about her. They were going to point at her in the street and cry â€Å"Witch!† Thea ran. She slipped between Eric and his mother like a frightened cat, not touching either of them. She ran down the hall, through the living room, out the door. Outside, the sky was clouded over and it was getting dark. Thea only stopped long enough to get her bearings, then headed west, walking as fast as she could. Her heart was pounding and telling her to go faster. Get away, get away. Go to earth. Find home. She turned corners and zigzagged, like a fox being chased by the hounds. She was ten minutes from the house when she heard an engine pacing her. She looked. It was Eric's jeep. Eric was driving and his mother and Rosamund were passengers. â€Å"Thea, stop. Please wait.† Eric stopped the jeep and jumped out. He was on the sidewalk in front of her. Thea froze. â€Å"Listen to me,† he said in a low voice, turning away from the jeep. â€Å"I'm sorry they came, too-I couldn't stop them. Mom feels awful. She's crying, Roz is crying†¦ please, won't you come back?† He looked close to crying himself. Thea just felt numb. â€Å"It's okay. I'm fine,† she said at random. â€Å"I didn't mean to upset anybody.† Please let me go away. â€Å"Look, we shouldn't have eavesdropped. I know that. It was just†¦ you're so good with Rosamund. I never saw anybody she liked so much. And†¦ and†¦ I know you're sensitive about your grandma. That's why you're upset, isn't it? That story is something she told you, isn't it?† Dimly, somewhere in the pit of Thea's mind, a light shone. At least he thought it was a story. â€Å"We have family stories too,† Eric was saying, an edge of desperation in his voice. â€Å"My grandpa used to tell us he was a Martian-I swear to God this is true. And then he went to my kindergarten Back to School and I'd told all the kids he was a Martian, and they made these beep-beep noises at him and laughed, and I felt so bad. He was really embarrassed†¦.† He was babbling. Thea's numbness had receded enough that she felt sorry for him. But then a shape loomed up and she tensed again. It was his mother, silky hair flying. â€Å"Look, Thea,† Eric's mother said. Her expression was wretched and earnest. â€Å"Everybody knows your grandma, knows how old she is, how she's a little†¦ quirky. But if she's scaring you-if she's telling you any kind of weird stuff-† â€Å"Mom!† Eric shouted through his teeth. She waved a hand at him. Her little glasses were steamed up. â€Å"You don't need to deal with that, okay? No kid needs to deal with that. If you want a place to stay; if you need anything-if we need to call social services-â€Å" â€Å"Mom, please, I'm begging you. Shut up.† Social services, Thea was thinking. Dear Isis, there'll be some sort of investigation. The Harmans in court. Gran accused of being senile-or being part of some cult. And then the Night World coming in to enforce the law†¦. Her terror peaked and left her deadly calm. â€Å"It's okay,† she said, turning her gaze toward Eric. Not looking at him, but going through the motions exactly. â€Å"Your mom's just trying to be helpful. But really†-she turned the same face toward his mother-â€Å"everything's okay. Gran isn't strange or anything. She does tell stories-but she doesn't scare anybody.† Is that good enough? Close enough to whatever you believe? Will it make you leave me alone? Apparently so. â€Å"I just don't want to be responsible for you and Eric-well†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Eric's mom exhaled nervously, almost a laugh. â€Å"Breaking up?† Thea made a sound that was also almost a laugh. â€Å"Don't worry. I'd never want that.† She turned a smile on Eric, looking down because she couldn't meet his eyes. â€Å"I'm sorry if I got- touchy. I was just-embarrassed, I guess. Like you said about your grandpa.† â€Å"Will you come back with us? Or let us take you home?† Eric's voice was soft. He wanted her to go back to his house. â€Å"Just home, if you don't mind. I've got homework.† She lifted her eyes, making herself smile again. Eric nodded. He didn't look happy, but he wasn't as upset as he had been. In the backseat of the jeep, Rosamund pushed up against Thea and squeezed her hand. â€Å"Don't be mad,† she hissed, fierce as ever. â€Å"Are you mad? I'm sorry. Want me to kill somebody for you?† â€Å"I'm not mad,† Thea whispered, looking over the top of Rosamund's shaggy head. â€Å"Don't worry about it.† She had reverted to the strategy of any trapped animal. Wait and watch for your chance. Don't fight until you see a real opportunity to get away. â€Å"See you tomorrow,† Eric said as she got out of the jeep. His voice was almost a plea. â€Å"See you tomorrow,† Thea said. It wasn't time to get away yet. She waved until the jeep was gone. Then it was time. She dashed inside, up the stairs, and straight to Blaise. â€Å"Wait a minute,† Blaise said. â€Å"Go back. So you're saying they didn't believe any of it.† â€Å"Right. At worst Eric's mom thinks Gran's bonkers. But it was a close call. For a while there I thought she might want to get Gran declared unfit or something.† The two of them were sitting on the floor by Blaise's bed where Thea had collapsed. Blaise was eating candy corn with one hand and scribbling on a yellow legal pad with the other, all the while listening attentively. Because that was the thing about Blaise. She might be vain and self-centered, quarrelsome, hot-tempered, lazy, unkind to humans, and generally hard to live with, but she came through for family. She was a witch. I'm sorry I said you might be a little like Maya, Thea thought. â€Å"It's my fault,† she said out loud. â€Å"Yes, it is,† Blaise said, scribbling. â€Å"I should have just found some way to keep him at a distance in the beginning.† But of course, it was because of Blaise that she hadn't. She'd thought Eric was safer with her than he would have been with Blaise. She'd thought that somehow†¦ somehow†¦ Things would work out. That was it. There had always been some secret underlying hope that there could be a future with Eric. Some little hiding place where she'd kept the hope that things could be all right. But now she had to face reality. There was no future. The only thing she could give Eric was death. And that was all he could give her. She'd realized that, all in one terrible explosion of insight when she'd seen Eric's mother in the room. There was no way for them to be together without being discovered. Even if they ran away, someday, somewhere, the Night People would find them. They'd be brought before the joint Night World Council, the vampire and witch elders. And then the law would be fulfilled†¦. Thea had never seen an execution, but she'd heard of them. And if the Harmans tried to stop the Council from killing her, it would start a war. Witches against vampires. Maybe even witches against witches. It could mean the end of everything. â€Å"So it doesn't look like we have to kill the mother,† Blaise said, frowning at her scribbles. â€Å"On the other hand, if we kill the kids, the mother's bound to be unhappy, and might make a connection. So to be safe-â€Å" â€Å"We can't kill any of them,† Thea said. Her voice was muted but final. â€Å"I don't mean ourselves. I'm going to call one of our friendly vampire cousins. Ash-he's supposed to be out on the West Coast somewhere, isn't he? Or Quinn, he likes that kind of thing. One quick bite, let the blood run out-â€Å" â€Å"Blaise, I am not going to let vampires kill Eric. Or anybody,† she added as Blaise opened her mouth. â€Å"It's not necessary. Nobody needs to die.† â€Å"So you have a better idea?† Thea looked at a statue of Isis, the Queen of Egyptian Goddesses, on the desk. â€Å"I†¦ don't know. I thought of the Cup of Lethe. Make them forget everything about me. But it might look suspicious-this entire family with a gap in their memory. And kids at school would wonder why Eric doesn't remember my name anymore.† â€Å"True.† Thea stared at the moon held between Isis's golden horns. Her brain, which had been working so coldly and logically, helping her to survive, was stalling now. There had to be a way to save Eric and his family-or what was the point of living herself? Then she saw it. â€Å"What I really think would be best,† she said slowly, because it hurt like a physical pain, â€Å"would be for Eric to stop caring about me. To fall in love with someone else.† Blaise sat back. She stirred the candy corn with long, elegant nails. She ate a piece. â€Å"I admire you,† she said. â€Å"Very sensible.† â€Å"Not yon,† Thea said through clenched teeth. â€Å"You understand that, right? A human. If he falls in love with another girl he'll forget about me without any Lethe. Nobody will disappear or have amnesia; nobody will get suspicious.† â€Å"Okay. Although I would've liked to try him. He's got a strong will-I think he'd have held out for a while. Been a challenge.† Thea ignored this. â€Å"I still have some of his blood. The question is, do you have something you've been holding back, some love spell that will completely blow him out of the water?† Blaise ate another piece of candy corn. â€Å"Of course I do.† She narrowed her gray eyes. â€Å"Also, of course, it's a forbidden spell.† â€Å"I figured. Blaise, I'm now the princess of forbidden spells. One more doesn't matter. But I'll do the actual working, I don't want you to get in trouble.† â€Å"You won't like it. It involves the bezoar stone from the stomach of an ibex-which I just happened to pick up while we were living with Aunt Gerdeth.† Ibex were an endangered species. But this one was already dead. â€Å"I'll do the working,† Thea said stubbornly. â€Å"You really care about him, don't you?† â€Å"Yes,† Thea whispered. â€Å"I still think we're soul-mates. But†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Would you give up everything? â€Å"I don't want to be the reason he dies. Or the reason a war starts between the Harmans and the rest of the Night World. And if I have to give him up, I'd rather do it myself, make sure he's safe with somebody else who loves him.† â€Å"Have you got somebody picked out?† â€Å"Her name is Pilar.† Thea looked at her cousin suddenly. â€Å"Blaise? When Luke asked you what you wanted, and you said nothing you could have†¦ what did you mean?† Blaise tilted her head back and examined the ceiling. Then she looked down. â€Å"Does anybody ever want anything they can have? Really?† â€Å"I†¦ don't know.† Blaise clasped her knees and rested her chin on them. â€Å"If we can have things, we don't really want them anymore. So there's always something out there that we're wanting and not able to get†¦ and maybe that's good.† It didn't sound good to Thea. It sounded like one of those terrible lessons in Life 101 that were supposed to make you more mature. â€Å"Let's do the spell,† she said.