The Process of Change in Relationships and the Balance in Power Essay

The Process of Change in Relationships and the Balance in Power - Essay Example The period between 1890 to 1991 represents landmark events responsible for a change in relationship across different countries. Certainly, these changes affected the balance in power from different perspectives as discussed in the paper which follows. Pearl Harbour, ‘the worst naval disaster in American history’1, was a key turning point in American and world history, which produced a profound shift from ‘isolationism to internationalism’2 in US foreign policy. Pearl Harbour was attacked by the Japanese navy in December 1941. It was important because it caused the American public to make a major shift and to change their minds about U.S. intervention in World War II, and this shift in public opinion accounted for much in determining the course of America foreign relations. Opinion polls in 1939 showed a staggering 99% of American people opposed American involvement in a foreign war.3 In 1940 the polls showed that 80% of them continued to oppose any involvement in military conflicts.4 After Pearl Habour this opposition changed. Senator Nye5 showed the aggression of the nation in his speech: As Senator Vandenberg7, noted in his memories: ‘That day ended isolationism for any realist.’ Arguably, America had been willingly entangled in world economic affairs, but had stayed clear of military interventions.. The United States were involved in economic expansion, German reparations, naval and land disarmaments, the creation of a new treaty system for ‘the Far East’. Many historians argue that Roosevelt was an internationalist because of his early ‘Good Neigbour Policy’ and he had doubts about intervention even before Pearl Harbor, but his policies and actions were limited by oppposing public opinion. The evidence of that is that he kept some of his actions hidden from scrutiny for example, the secret talks between British and American planners.

The Value of Philosophy Essay Example for Free

The Value of Philosophy Essay It is basic human nature to question. There is a curiosity inside all of us that leads us to wonder about everything. Curiosity leads to examination, which leads to contemplation. Through this process the mysteries of life and the universe are slowly discovered. But there are some questions that can never be answered with certainty. These questions make up the study of philosophy, and are considered using reason and logic. Two of the main arguments in philosophy discuss its value and the meaning of life. Socrates, Bertrand Russell, Blaise Pascal and Thomas Nagel attempt in their own way to reason through these questions and form their own unique answers. In Bertrand Russell’s â€Å"The Value of Philosophy†, he discusses what philosophy is and why it is important. He concludes that the value of philosophy is rooted in its very uncertainty. He maintains that all those questions that cannot be answered are a part of philosophical discussion, and questions with definite answers are a product of the physical sciences. When Russell is explaining in detail the value of philosophy he says, â€Å"These questions enlarge our conception of what is possible, enrich our intellectual imagination and diminish the dogmatic assurance which closes the mind against speculation† (Russell 12). For Russell, philosophy opens the mind and dispels ignorance and dogmatism, allowing us to think more freely and consider more possibilities. In Plato’s â€Å"Apology: Defence of Socrates,† Socrates also holds the view that philosophy is a necessary practice for all persons when he argues, â€Å"An unexamined life is no life for a human being to live† (Plato 40). Socrates has just been found guilty of corrupting the youth and not acknowledging the gods of the city. Once the verdict is reached, he argues for execution rather than exile because he believes that his study of philosophy is supreme in his life and it would be more honorable to die than to flee and study philosophy elsewhere, under subpar conditions than those in Athens. Philosophy is important to him because it allows people to think for themselves rather than go along with what they are told to believe. Russell and Socrates both uphold that the importance of philosophy come from what is does for the mind. Philosophy opens our minds, allowing unawareness and hypocrisy to dissipate. By questioning, we come to know more about the universe, and ourselves. However, Russell and Socrates do disagree on the certainty of truth. Socrates believes that there is certain truth, and one can reach it through reason and contemplation. Conversely, Russell maintains that everything is uncertain, but philosophy is still valuable because thinking of all possible explanations enlarges our minds. Through philosophy we are released from presumption, obliviousness, and bigotry. Whether or not we can know the absolute truth, contemplation through reason still holds immense importance for human beings. I draw from Socrates as well as Russell when I consider the value of philosophy. Philosophy allows me to see the world for what it is, instead of being bogged down by the opinion of the masses, or the societal norms. Through reason I can consider the truth and it’s importance to me. Similar to Russell, I see that much of philosophy’s greatness lies in its uncertainty. We cannot know for sure what the answers are, but through observation and thought we can form many possibilities, enlarging our minds to hold more than one solution to any given problem. Consequently this allows us to have a more open mind, and we can approach life with a broadened sense of self. Another question philosophers ask is â€Å"What is the point of our lives? † The answer varies greatly between each individual, demonstrated by the separate thoughts of Socrates, Pascal, and Nagel. Socrates argues that it is worse than death to be unjust. He gives some examples of what qualifies as unjust. Injustice includes: lying, injuring others, breaking the law of a just state, and hurting those who hurt you. Above all, Socrates argues that the point of our lives is to seek the truth. He condemns the sophists because they have no regard for the truth; they only appreciate material things. The sophists were a group of philosophers around the time of Socrates who taught the youth of Athens how to win arguments, whether what they were arguing for was true or not. Socrates maintains that this is not the way to live. Life is not about money or material things, rather, the point of life is to be just, honorable, and true to yourself as well as the laws of the state. He even argues that one ought rather die than live a bad life. â€Å"I suggest that it is not death that is hard to avoid, gentlemen, but wickedness is far harder, since it is fleeter of foot than death† (Plato 41). Socrates claims that it is much easier to live in wickedness than die. Therefore, injustice and dishonor are two of the greatest evils and one should avoid them at all costs. In â€Å"The Wager,† Pascal presents a view of life centered on belief in God. Similar to Socrates, he upholds that life is about pursuing the truth as well as living a good life. He argues for the existence of absolute truth when he states, â€Å"Is there not one substantial truth, seeing there are so many things which are not the truth itself† (Pascal 83). Pascal maintains that this â€Å"one substantial truth† is God, and reasons for His existence. He claims that in life, we have two choices: to believe in God, or to not believe in God. We must accept the wager; we have no choice. There are four possible outcomes from this wager, according to Pascal. If God does indeed exist, and we so believe that he exists, we will gain infinite bliss; if we do not believe that he exists, then we are damned for eternity. However, if God does not exist and we believe the same, then we lose nothing, but we also gain nothing. If we believe that He exists and He does not, then we also lose nothing, but have lived a good life with faith, humility, and compassion. Above all, Pascal wants us to believe. His main points are summarized when he writes, â€Å"If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing† (Pascal 83). We must wager, and we must believe in God, for He is the ultimate truth. Thomas Nagel discusses absurdity, which is the discrepancy between how seriously humans take their lives, and how uncertain life actually is. Everything is open to doubt, and that causes us to feel that our lives are insignificant, and therefore, nothing matters. He maintains that humans deem life absurd through epistemological skepticism, or the view that nothing can be known with certainty. He presents five options, which vary from completely avoiding life’s absurdity to embracing it fully. His thoughts on absurdity and his solution to it are best portrayed when he states, â€Å"If†¦there is no reason to believe that anything matters, then that does not matter either, and we can approach our lives with irony instead of heroism or despair† (Nagel 27). By accepting the view that nothing matters, we accept the view that believing nothing matters also does not matter, freeing us from absurdity. Nagel urges us to not despair, but also not take life too seriously. Pascal, Nagel, and Socrates present different views of how to make our lives worthwhile; but all agree that our lives should be spent in search of the truth, which is reached through honest reasoning and individual contemplation. When faced with the absurdity and uncertainty of life, Pascal and Nagel agree that suicide is not a legitimate escape. It is not necessary and ends up robbing us of the possibility of infinite happiness or a life free from absurdity. I agree with Socrates’ view, that dishonor and injustice must be avoided in order to live a good and honest life. I accept Pascal’s wager, and am willing to place my bet on the existence of God, hoping to gain all. I have also experienced some of the absurdity Nagel discusses and have come to my own conclusions. I maintain that we should live for today. By living in the present we escape the fear of the future. We do not get hung up on the uncertainties, but still acknowledge their existence. I also agree with Nagel that life should be approached with irony, and we should not take ourselves too seriously. Russell, Socrates, Pascal and Nagel all present plausible answers to the questions â€Å"What is the value of philosophy,† and â€Å"What is the purpose of our lives†. They use reason and logic to reach their conclusions. Through philosophy, we can broaden our minds and free ourselves from the dogmatism of society. Once our minds are expanded, we are able to think with reason and discover, for ourselves, the truth. References Nagel, Thomas, â€Å"The Absurd,† In John Perry, Michael Bratman and John Martin Fischer, editors, Introduction to Philosophy: Classical and Contemporary Readings, Fourth Edition (New York: Oxford University Press) 2007. Pascal, Blaise, â€Å"The Wager,† In John Perry, Michael Bratman and John Martin Fischer, editors, Introduction to Philosophy: Classical and Contemporary Readings, Fourth Edition (New York: Oxford University Press) 2007. Plato, â€Å"Apology: Defence of Socrates,† In John Perry, Michael Bratman and John Martin Fischer, editors, Introduction to Philosophy: Classical and Contemporary Readings, Fourth Edition (New York: Oxford University Press) 2007. Russell, Bertrand, â€Å"The Value of Philosophy,† In John Perry, Michael Bratman and John Martin Fischer, editors, Introduction to Philosophy: Classical and Contemporary Readings, Fourth Edition (New York: Oxford University Press) 2007.

Dyscalculia: Causes, Effects and Interventions

Dyscalculia: Causes, Effects and Interventions ABSTRACT This project suggests briefly about the Dyscalculia and the possible biological bases of dyscalculia and about the people who is suffering from the dyscalculia and also mentioned about the problems that are facing by the dyscalculic people in different fields of areas in their daily life. Coming to this case of Dyscalculia it is defined as the mathematical and arithmetical inability while coming to the brief description it is named as Number blindness. Here in this project we focussed only on arithmetical addition and briefly describing problems facing by the dyscalculic people while doing mathematical addition and counting of numbers. And secondly we are going to describe how does dyscalculia comes from and the reasons and explain the relationship between Dyslexia and Dyscalculia as there is a chance to acquire dyscalculia from dyslexia. The main aim of the project is to teach the mathematical addition rule to the People with Dyscalculia would struggle in doing arithmetical addition. Before starting to teach the mathematical addition rule to the dyscalculics I already studied briefly about the dyscalculia and how does it occur and what are the Types of dyscalculia that occurs to the dyslexic people and the deficits intended in dyscalculic people as they expressing while doing mathematical addition. Now a days Dyscalculia is the main problem that are affecting people up to some extent. But not as much this is the problem mainly occurs which is connected with Dyslexia. However one thing should remember that all the Dyslexics are not Dyscalculics although 40% of dyscalculia occurs from dyslexia. In this project to overcome Dyscalculia particularly in the arithmetical addition and to teach the mathematical addition to the dyscalculics I designed application software in Flash with visual graphical design with the help of a colourful Cuisenaire rods. By studying about the previous sources that are useful to teach the maths addition which were designed by some experts in dyscalculia studies such as Brian Butterworth and some other experts on dyscalculia the teaching designs like Phonological loop, Visio spatial sketch pad etc,. Hence by following some of that specific designs in my view and I designed an understanding design to teach mathematical addition rule to dyscalculia people. This includes brief understanding and attractive designs that can impress the dyscalculic and make them enthusiastically towards to the learning of mathematical addition from the basic adding to the high level digits adding that means starting from single digit adding to higher level adding. For this we need to train them on the Cuisenaire rods and the colours and values which was assigned to them and then we need to teach them first by running the application software automatically and I designed the whole process of addition in this software from the advanced stage to the stage of getting result. After that I am conducting a quiz to test their ability and grip on addition after teaching by using the designed application. I hope this design can help the dyscalculia to overcome arithmetical addition inability up to a greater extent. Introduction First of all before starting of my project this document reflects and introduce about the project from its advanced stage to the conclusion in a simple and briefly explanation on which concept that I am doing my project. I started my dissertation on a special concept of human disabilities which is known as Dyslexia and its further effects on human life prospectus. Especially this discuss about the defect on humankind that are suffering with mathematical and arithmetical difficulties known as Dyscalculia. The effect of dyscalculia mainly refers the lacking of mathematical skills and concepts such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Dyscalculia is the major problem that is affecting the human life in our daily activities mainly focuses on inability of basic mathematical concepts of adding and counting of things which performs vulnerable and inefficient out coming result while doing calculations and normal counting in our daily life The main aim of the project is to help the people who are suffering from Dyscalculia and its deficits. To perform the activities that can help to understand the mathematical concepts and to overcome the deficits of dyscalculia that is affecting the people in their real life. The way of designing and the implementation of the project can be able to pave the way for finding the right solution to solve the problems of dyscalculic people with which they are suffering and to overcome their deficits with which are having individually and its total scope is to enhance the possible ways of teaching methods of addition particularly for the dyscalculic in an understanding and in a possible way which can be capable by the dyscalculic. The whole project is designed as user friendly and can be able to the dyscalculic people who are suffering with learning difficulties particularly in arithmetic addition that is adding of numbers starting from the adding of single digit to the higher level addition. In the advanced stage of the project we introduced the design with colourful Cuisenaire rods with attractive colours so by introducing attractive features into the design so that the dyscalculics can show their interest on learning addition very faster and can show the efficiency to get the output result correctly with satisfaction. The entire work of the project is based on teaching of mathematical addition in an understanding way to the dyscalculic people with learning difficulties in mathematical addition. Particularly in adding and counting of numbers according to the situations in their daily life. The possible steps in designing the project which is very useful to dyscalculic; The simple way of designing the project can be easily to understand by the dyscalculic people. Operation is user friendly to dyscalculics Introduction of special features can attract the dyscalculics towards the learning process. They can show their interest on mathematical addition and can learn easily by understanding. Back ground; Dyscalculia; What is Dyscalculia; Dyscalculia is mainly defined as difficulties with numbers it is identified as the difficulty in counting the numbers and things fast and fluently with lack of grasping power. Why the people with dyscalculia are different? Individuals with dyscalculia have specific difficulty with numbers, despite exhibits good results in other areas. They may have great difficulties with counting and adding the numbers. The example of an arithmetic addition2+4 or 4+2 Prices in the shops like tendering the money and taking the change correctly. Normal identification of numbers and what those represent, e.g. which is bigger, 2500 or 2770? Does 100+100 = approximately 200 or2000. Judging of numbers instantly for example seeing there are 5 glasses on the table normal people can count immediately and respond quickly where as the dyscalculic need to count them and to respond slowly. Phone numbers, seeing of dates , time etc,. It shows that people having dyscalculia has to struggle to achieve successful goals in the field of employment than having disability. Dyscalculia is the main learning problem that affecting many individuals and it is termed as the learning of mathematic disability by the disabled. It states that dyslexia is identified as the difficulties in reading written text fast and fluently with lack of grasping capacity. On the other hand dyscalculia refers the difficulties with handling and carrying out specific mathematical operations such as addition, multiplication, subtraction, division. Relation between dyslexia and dyscalculia: Here the relation between dyslexia and dyscalculia is very obvious. However, there are some points of overlap. There is a variant of dyscalculia that could be called as dyslexic dyscalculia. This problem involves primarily difficulties in reading which leads to mathematical problems for the people and these are the problems that arise with reading numerical symbols or difficulties with reading with multi-digit numerals so that 14 becomes 41. If the error happens like this in the reading of a task then obviously the solution becomes incorrect. On the other hand dyscalculia can be recognized in the lack of mathematics concern the ability to quickly retrieve numerical facts such as adding small digit numbers like 4+5=9 from the memory. There are several indirect similarities between difficulties with reading and mathematics. A poor working memory is one of the more obvious. Dyscalculia is defined as the mathematical problems caused by working memory or evident in the tasks that must be solved mentally, in the head. In the time of calculation the student may run into great difficulties keep various numbers in the memory. The other case is problem of remembering longer instructions and commands. May be they can remember a short what was supposed to be done. The rest is forgotten, because the information was never stored in the memory. The earlier researches shows that people with dyscalculia also have dyslexia most of the people with dyscalculia can have only mathematical difficulties. And they have a highly specific form of a learning difficulty and many are good in reading. Nowadays the occurrence of both dyslexia and dyscalculia at the same time is diagnosed as icd-10. The most common thing in dyscalculia is the difficulty with the number order. Difficulties involve understanding and use of mathematical operations and concepts. People of large proportions with dyscalculia display problems with following calculations to reach a correct solution. They easily lose their strategy and therefore run into difficulties with complex mathematics. Students with dyscalculia can be able to solve mathematical tasks but with in a average time frame they are unable to retrieve numerical facts from their vulnerable memory and must expend a lot of energy doing The word dyslexia comes and originated from the Greek word Dys means impaired and lexia is a word. Dyslexia ranges from easy to severe conditions. There exist various forms of this disease. Therefore there are different types of symptoms of this illness. The individual features of every type are specified for every human being separately. In general there is no such a typical type of dyslexia. Dyslexia refers to be a learning disability of the brain especially difficulties in reading or writing and spelling and it is the disability of neurological disability. Due to dyslexia the main drawback is that the people with dyslexia failed to remember the name of the things or to connect the name of the item with the definition. Recent surveys revealed that girls are less dyslexic than boys. There are two kinds of dyslexia Genetic Acquired Genetic transfers with the genes and the second one that is acquired occurs to brain damage in the left hemisphere that is responsible for language areas. Possible causes of dyslexia; Dyslexia is widely recognised as having a genetic component for example if a one kid of a pair of twins is dyslexic and the other twin is more likely to be dyslexic in the areas specially in language processing dyslexia links with brain differences. Possible causes of dyscalculia; It suggests by evidence that dyscalculia may have a genetic component. If there exists dyscalculia in one identical twin most possibly there is a chance of around 70% to become dyscalculic characteristics in the other twin. For non identical twins there is a less possibility of getting dyscalculia around 55% only. Research facts of Dyscalculia; Brian Butter worth an expert in dyscalculia research facts; Simply Brian butter worth done some research on a particular person who has dyscalculia and he is describing about the situation of the particular person and his name is Charles. Brian Butterworth met Charles when his (Charles) age was 30 years old Charles is a good professor in psychology and getting psychology degree is an achievement for Charles. But entries to the university in the first place even though he is best he failed to normal condition for entry into the maths GCSE. Charles is intelligent and very hard-working. But he is very poor in number skills that always have been a severe handicap and shopping is a constant embarrassment he doesnt understand the product prices and unable to grasp the idea of the total cost of the shopping basket. When he comes to the till, he has no idea about the money how much to tender and to get correct change. At that time immediately he use to add and multiply his fingers, and he is unable to do the two digit arithmetic problems such as 47-19. The real surprise thing that Butterworth found here about Charles is he couldnt tell that which is bigger or which is smaller in a numbers list which were given for suppose 9 or 5 and to find the difference suddenly he started to count his fingers to work in out. Charles is an example and this condition is known as dyscalculia and this mainly affects the ability of acquire the skills in mathematical and arithmetical skills. Dyscalculic learners may face the difficulties in understanding the basic and simple arithmetical concepts like adding of single digit numbers. For simple arithmetical concepts they may face severe anxiety and they struggle to understand what is obvious to all their friends and classmates. Dyscalculics even if they produce a correct answer or use a correct method they may do so mechanically and with lack of confidence. This captures what many dyscalculics like Charles feel about maths it is incomprehensible. Dyscalculia is not only a problem for the individuals but also it is one of the effect to the nation and for some especially as from the published report of the basic skills agency shows that poor math skills is a bigger handicap to getting a job by having that poor numeracy the employee will transport the wrong number of goods and fails in the money transactions such as receiving or paid out the money. And due to this poor efficiency in calculations affects the particular company. The current estimations suggest that about 5-6% of average to the superior intelligence children will have a real deficit in doing maths. Dyscalculia seems to be particularly found in dyslexics around 40% of the people who struggles with reading difficulties also having difficulties in learning maths and the remaining 60%have no problems than normal. It was found already that there is link between dyslexia and math learning difficulties although the latter can occur alone. It is worth noting that learning about numbers is different from learning to read in an important way. We are born with basic numerical abilities. Infants, even in the first week of life, are sensitive to changes in the number of things they are looking at. We know this because they will look longer at a display when we change the number of things, but often will not when we change one of the things but keep the same number. Babies also seem to be able to do very simple arithmetic. If the baby sees a doll place behind a screen, and then another doll placed behind it, it can be shown that the baby expects there to be two dolls (1 + 1) when the screen is removed. Babies look longer at things they dont expect, and will look longer at one doll or three dolls in this situation. So there is evidence of an innate capacity for numbers. One hypothesis to explain dyscalculia is a lack this innate capacity. However we dont have a specialised capacity in reading by birth. Reading is a complex skill made up of various brain systems set up automatically to do the other tasks like language recognising visual patterns, sequencing, and so on. And some of these used to learn maths in school and deficits in them may also affect learning in mathematics. What we need urgently is a way of diagnosing dyscalculia, and separating it from all the other causes of maths problems, including inappropriate teaching. Once we can identify these children reliably, we can begin systematic research on how best to help them. Charles was not diagnosed as dyscalculic until he came into our lab, and, like many other dyscalculics, felt himself first to be incredibly stupid for not being able to do what all his friends could do easily. This was not good for his self-esteem, of course. After that he came to realise that there was something wrong, but he was completely immersed in the dark as what it could be. Better for his self-esteem, but of little practical help. We dont know there are how many cases like Charles, but we are slowly reaching there. Difference between dyscalculic and ordinary people in arithmetic calculations; Ordinary people; For suppose if there is a four dots or four things on a screener the ordinary people(without dyslexia) can identify the things which is on the screener and they can give instant reply with respect to the situation. So therefore the normal people can react very quickly and they can respond very quickly comparing to the dyslexic people. The grasping capacity is very good in the normal people. Dyslexic people (Dyscalculia); While coming to the dyslexic who suffers from dyscalculia cannot give the quick responses with respect to the situations like ordinary people. So to overcome this type of situations in dyslexic people we need to train them in such a way so that they can give their responses slowly in a particular way as the trainer and the people can understand a bit. In order to train the dyslexic people to overcome the problem of arithmetical difficulties we should introduce some specific designs which is very user friendly and comfortable to hold by the dyslexic people particularly who is suffering with dyscalculia. And the designing aspects should be able to overcome their deficits. Mathematical grasping capacity; This describes the mathematical ability of the dyslexic people and their mental ability of doing the mathematical calculations mainly the people who is suffering with dyscalculia. For suppose if we introduce any four kinds of things in front of the dyslexic people they cannot give the quick response by counting the things so they will take time to count one by one and starts 1,2,3,4 and will give the response very slowly as 1+1+1+1=4 So people suffering with dyscalculia unable to do bigger calculations like adding numbers which is in big units like 234+432 so therefore we need to train them in such a way from the earlier stages of addition like adding single digits 1+2=3 so we need to begin from the earlier stages of addition. And after that by observing their progress we should train them to the further stages like adding double digits and then 100s and 1000s and so on. Its very important to train them with respect their progress by observing their progress we can easily calculate their mental ability of doing the calculations and thereby we can implement the teaching techniques which can very easily and comfortable to the dyslexic people. So by introducing the new and comfortable techniques of teaching the people (dyslexic) can easily do the mathematical addition. Teaching of mathematical addition rule; To teach the Mathematical addition rule to the dyscalculia we need to train them in specific way. The mathematical symbol (+) is to be fix in their mind strongly. And to make them to learn its importance and its rule. Types and sub-types of dyscalculia; Developmental dyscalculia; It is referred as mathematical and arithmetical dysfunction in individuals with normal mental functioning, that results and occurrences of brain anomalies at the time of prenatal development. Discrepancy occurs between the mean mental age and math age there exists a neat and clear retardation in mathematical development. Problems encountered by pupils with dyscalculia; The will recognised and the observable things that generally we can find in the peoples with Dyscalculia are the learning and remembering difficulties in mathematical concepts like addition, subtraction, multiplication etc,. In this project especially we are focussing on the mathematical addition particularly and the difficulties which are the dyscalculics are facing in their real life in the fields of employment and in the living society and we had discussed the problems with dyscalcilia which they are facing in all the areas of everyday life prospectus. Leaving that matter about what we are talking above and coming to the point of the problems that are encountered by people about the problems of dyscalculia. The well recognised problems of dyscalculics; Difficulty in learning and remembering of mathematical concepts such as used in our daily life in our activities Ex; Addition In the time of interviews with teachers. Difficulty in remembering even up to the number bonds to 10 is the worst problem that pupils struggling with maths were up against. Difficulty in executing mathematics calculations procedures. In 1984 Russell and Ginsburg found a dyscalculic group of people struggling on both written calculation and arithmetical fact retrieval. In 1992 Yamashita and Aram found dissociation absence between arithmetical fact ability and procedural ability with numerical processing difficulties in pupil. In 1993 Geary suggests that procedural problems are likely to improve with experience and also suggests the retrieval difficulties are less likely to do so. And he proposes that the emerging of procedural problems is due to lack of understanding concepts. Problems of retrieval difficulties are the result of general semantic memory dysfunction. In 1999 Ostad has noted that the dyscalculia people use fewer procedures and often apply their smaller repertoire in the situations where they are not appropriate. Even the counting of simple and single digits were shown to be vulnerable in dyscalculic people Geary, Bow-Thomas and Yao in 1992 found that dyscalculic people are less likely to detect the counting errors than normal people. However, all these deficits occur by the lacking of the conceptual understanding of the basic ideas of the numerosity and arithmetical concepts. Good memory for arithmetical facts depends and can be able to convert and organise them into meaningful patterns. And coming to the poor memory it can arise when the fact make little sense to the people. The known information from the dyscalculic people was heard badly by themselves is that they cant remember what the teacher is saying about the mathematics. Even some simple tasks like counting and adding single digit numbers dyscalculic people show a kind of rigidity. Geary, Bow-Thomas and Yao in 1992 found that counting should do perfectly from left to right without skipping around. From all these we can find right thing from all these authors observations and description we should note very important thing here is that these people ( Dyscalculics) cant understand the conceptual things in mathematics. Coming to the normal people can understand quickly that objects can count in any order. Underlying processing deficits; It is one kind of the approach to study about developmental dyscalculia and this involves trying to see it as a consequence of cognitive deficits based on the understanding of the mathematical and arithmetic concepts. And all of these proposals have included. Weak phonetic representations An advantage of this approach is there is a possibility of finding exactly the co-morbidity between dyscalculia and dyslexia, as we can find that dyslexics known to suffer from these conditions. Geary and colleagues suggested that semantic memory difficulties are the main cause for the problems of developmental dyscalculics which they are experiencing in number facts. As well as the co-morbid reading difficulties frequently found with dyscalculia. It shows the evidence particularly the argument is based that dyscalculic people have the difficulties in learning and remembering arithmetic facts that this deficit occur by lacking of understanding of math concepts. Empirical evidence for a general semantic deficit in dyscalculic people is thin. In 2002 temple and Sherwood recognises that a group of dyscalculic people are suffering with arithmetical difficulties were slower at colour and object naming than controls. This comes to know their speed and accessibility is very low. However the authors argued a casual relationship between the arithmetical ability and the speed of access It shows that People may be slower especially dyscalculics while the time of processing information in 1997 Jordan and Montana showed that the dyscalculic people can do the mathematical calculation on being unlimited time but they cant perform like the normal people whereas normal people can do significantly in case of time limit In 1999 Mclean and Hitch compared the dyscalculia between the younger and the older people and found that the older people is performing the accuracy than the younger people in the time of solving the arithmetical and mathematical calculation. It reveals that the performance of the older people acquired due to the experienced things which they faced before in their daily life which is continuing from their early starting from the childhood. In 1989 Siegel and Ryan found that people with dyscalculia showing their weak performance only in the fields of arithmetic and mathematical fields such as counting and adding of numerical things but not in the fields of non-numeric. On the other hand that found the spatial working memory and some aspects of central executive function were poorer in the dyscalculic people. Moreover, in2002 temple and Sherwood tested dyscalculic people and controls on forward and backward digit span, word span and corsi blocks (a non-verbal test of working memory). This study reveals there is no difference between groups and no correlation between the working memory measures and arithmetic ability measures. SUBTYPING DYSCALCULIA; The study of developmental dyscalculia has evolved to its new division of approaching to identify dyscalculic subtypes according to the presence or absence of other disorders, in an attempt to highlight the underlying processes that are contributing to the co-morbidity of the disorders. One of the things that we should note is the important correlate of mathematic disability is reading disability. It is estimated that at about 40% who is suffering from the dyslexics also have dyscalculic problems with learning difficulties in mathematics. The one of the most common ways of dyscalculic sub typing is according to whether or not they have a co-morbid reading disability. The conditions that have been associated with dyscalculia are stated below. attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (Badian, 1983;Rosenberg, 1989; Shalev, Manor and Gross-Tsur, 1997); poor hand–eye co-ordination (Siegel and Feldman, 1983); poor memory for non-verbal material (Fletcher, 1985); poor social skills (Rourke, 1989) In 1993 shalev and gross-tsur examined a group of seven people with developmental dyscalculia and not responding to intervention. All the group of seven people were suffering from additional neurological conditions, up to dyslexia starting from petit mal seizures and is mentioned as ADHD. DEFICITS OF DYSCALCULIA; Phonological processing in dyslexia In the main case studies of dyslexia phonological processing takes an important role compare to other disorders like sensor motor disorder. This survey was again confirmed by the recent survey shows the 100 percent of samples for dyslexia was affected. This survey had an argument is that theory of phonological processing was the tautology compare it as an explanation. That phonology and the reading of the dyslexia are the two sides of the same coin. That means this awareness was explained more by the reading skill. If the phonological deficit was Leeds to a problem along with the phoneme awareness. The main problems of dyslexics of the phonological problems are rapid naming and the verbal short term memory. This is related to reading. In this we can understand that phonological awareness and the rapid naming deficits are the relatively independent. Phonology does not reduce to the awareness of naming and memory. Some of the aspects for the phonology dyslexics remain to be investigated. ADHD: Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder is presented in the childrens. This is to cause the neurodevelopment disorder. This also most studied part for the people. ADHD public health dimensions are received relatively little interest. According to the survey of epidemiologic the distribution of ADHD around the population by the age, sex, and race and according to the socio economic status. The origins of the risk factors are preventable. In this scenario we are going to discuss few of the independent concepts those having independent case of definition for ADHD. Summarizing the epidemiologic data regarding prevalence. In the literature key gaps were identified and ended with few suggestions for the epidemiogic research. Magnocellular deficit Due to the perceptual deficits of the dyslexia reliability is the one of the problem. With this performance Macarthur proposed the theory. This is one of the heterogeneity dyslexic samples. Mainly the magnocellular is made link with the cerebella dysfunction. These measures are become very hard to incorporate into the routine assessment of the reading. Cerebella hypothesis applied to the dyslexia. Those agree the phenotype. It is the research of phenotypes. With that we can clearly as showed the symptom complex. Auditory deficits; Auditory deficit is defined as the deficiency in one or more behavioural phenomena listed below for suppose deficit in. Auditory discrimination Auditory performance with degraded signals Auditory performance with competing acoustic signals Sound localization and lateralization These mechanisms lead to nonverbal as well as verbal signals and may affect many areas of function. Including speech and language and auditory deficit can delay the maturation in the development of the important auditory centres within the brain. The deficits are related to maturity differences in the developing stages of the brain. And usually auditory deficits represents more static types of problems and these deficits can be caused by tumours, trauma, degenerative disorders, viral infections, surgical compromise, lead poisoning, lack of oxygen auditory deprivation, and so forth. Prevalence of auditory deficits is estimated to be between 2 and 3% and we can observe more in males is often co-exists with other disabilities. And they include speech and language disorders or delays, learning disabilities or dyslexia, attention deficit disorders with or without hyperactivity. Dieted by the reminder of the hypothesis. Learning memory deficits in children; Children having learning disabilities such as dyslexia and dyscalculia. These are tending to may experience the core skills of the reading, writing and the arithmetic operations. These problems are raised at the first days of school. Even if we pass an instruction it needs to

Death of a Salesman Symbolism

Death of a Salesman Symbolism Arthur Miller is a well renowned playwright who can control the emotions of the readers in the way they want to feel. His play the Death Of a Salesman, he begins with symbols and ends with symbols, where the primarily focuses on Willy Loman, who desperately tries hard to become successful in his imminent failure. Using symbols, Miller portrays a tragic but realistic view of Fifties. Arthur Miller is an interesting writer who reflects his life in his plays. He was born in1915 in New York City. His father was a successful businessman who later lost his wealth. His marriage also affected his life as well as his writing. He then started to focus more on female characters in his writings. He also had worked with many types of working class people who bring him close to his characters in his plays. So, many of his works are from past experiences. (Arthur Miller. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 22 July 2004. Web. 10 Aug. 2004. .) Death of A Salesman is a play which reflects Willy Loman, an aging salesman who was pretty much happy and used to get satisfaction from his two sons at one time. Miller uses symbolism, which reflects his conflicting personality. Biff Loman and Happy Loman, his two sons represent the two sides of his personality. Biff which is capable of sincere compassion and Happy who receives consolation through women represents two sides of Willy Loman, but Willy favors Biff more than Happy. That sounds good but thats the main reason for conflicting between Biff and Willy. He wants to do anything for Biff to be successful. Biffs high ambitions are clearly represented by The University of Virginias emblem in his shoes. Those ambitions he had before Biff and Willy drifted apart. The reason for confliction between the father-son relationships is that part of the play when Willy has the flashback of the hotel when Biff finds his dad with other woman. For this reason Biff no longer hopes to be successf ul like his father. Moreover, another symbol that represents Willys betrayal and disloyalty towards his wife was the stockings which were actually meant for his wife Linda which he gives to his mistress. As a result whenever he sees his wife mending her old stockings, he feels guilty of what he has done. These stockings also represent Lindas humbleness towards Willy for which she trusted more than anyone in her life. In fact, to understand the conflict between the family, Miller skillfully uses these symbols in his play Death of a Salesman. The next symbol in Millers play Death of a Salesman is money. Money is important to everyone since it is the foundation that supports people. It brings happiness as well as adverse unhappiness and stress. Similarly, in the play, money is the main theme that causes many conflicts between the characters. If Willy had money than it would have been easier for him to fulfill such basic necessities in his family. He could have brought a new car, moved to another place to live or buy a new house, pay for the refrigerator and other household things. Biff could have gone to University if Willy had enough money. Nevertheless, he has to borrow $50 each week from Charlie, hoping to keep it secret from his wife, Linda. For this reason, Willy eventually had to suicide hoping his insurance will give his family $20000. Money brings big arguments in the family as well as in the business. Willy and Linda kept on arguing about the broken refrigerator, a commission of two hundred and twelve dollars, pay ments for the refrigerator, remaining twenty one dollars for the roof, and carburetor for the Chevrolet. Naturally, if one cannot find anyone to shout upon, then they go for their children. Whatever Biff was doing in his life, Willy was not happy with him. Biff just earned couple of dollars an hour, not realizing that he is borrowing money from Charley. In addition to that, Biff also enjoyed his job, but Willy tried to force him to live the life of a Salesman. Willy even asks Biff to borrow fifteen thousand dollars with Oliver but Biff fails to do that. Still, Lomans dont have any money. Nonetheless, if money was a minor thing in life, everyone could live a descent life and enjoy life at fullest. It could also have saved the life of a Salesman, who was trying to help his family. Death of a Salesman is a play full of symbolism and themes that are intertwined with one another throughout the entire play. In addition to symbolism, Miller contrasted Willy as being influenced by the American Dream. Everyone becomes jealous of others success. One wants more than other has and thats the same that has happened to Willy Loman. A false sense of illusion is created, which leads to disillusionment and volatility. (http://www.writework.com/essay2/arthur-miller-s-definition-tragic-hero-death-salesman) Due to societys ambitions and pressure people get dissatisfied and begin to want more to fulfill their thirst. Due to this, people feel one must provide more to their family and improve the lifestyle and performance of the family. In that process one feels pressured and burdened to outperform others. Willys dream was to have a happy family and make his two talented sons follow the path of a salesman. However, from the play, Willy got absorbed by wiliness, by his dreams, and t hrough the societys pressure. He becomes a man without an ambition, like a snake any poison. Willy still remembers Bens mantra The jungle is full of diamonds (Miller), where jungle represents life and diamonds represents wealth. Willy regrets of not going with Ben to Africa. He realizes that if he doesnt earn something quick then he will be a failure in his life. He still has faith in his American Dream, which has influenced his life badly. Willys name Loman (Low- man) it itself signifies that he is not destined to become successful in his life and his traits are inherited by his two sons too. In conclusion, Arthur Miller skillfully uses symbols in Death of a Salesman to contrast between the characters themselves, the society and the Lomans family relationship. Willy Loman stands as an important character in the play by being a common man with a tragic story in fifties.

The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli Essay examples -- Papers Leader Lead

The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli The Prince by Niccolà ² Machiavelli was written in the year 1513 A.C.E. in Italy during a time in which his views were greatly detested by others. They were so hated that he was exiled from his own country for writing them. When hearing this, one must ask oneself, what kinds of views did Machiavelli have so that his own country would cast him out? His ideas, though written very complexly, were very simple. One must gain success and to do so, any means were justifiable. He wrote his ideas in a lengthy letter to prince of Italy, Lorenzo de’ Medici. He gave him advice that was supported by history and what he thought were the precise makings of an excellent leader. That advice was both excellent and awful. In the document, The Prince, Machiavelli writes about many characteristics that a good prince should have. The five main characteristics are as followed: (1) A price must have no other thought in mind than war and how to pursue it (Machiavelli, 279), (2) a price must be liberal, rather than generous (Machiavelli, 282), (3) a good prince should be ...

Personal Narrative- My Dream Essay examples -- Personal Narrative Writ

Personal Narrative- My Dream I picture myself center stage in the most enormous and fantastically beautiful theater in the world. Its walls and ceilings are covered in impeccable Victorian paintings of angels in the sky. A single ray of light shines down upon my face, shining through the still, silent darkness, and all attention is on me and me alone. The theater is a packed house; however, my audience is not that of human beings, but rather the angels from the paintings on the walls come alive, sitting intently in the rows of plush seats. Their warmth encompasses my body, and I know at that moment that it is time to begin. I open my mouth. From deep inside my soul a melody flows out of my chest, off of my tongue, and finally caresses my lips with the sweetest touch, and my song fills the air with a boldness like that of the glory of the angels. The sound of my song is that of unfathomable wonder, a voice as sweet and smooth as the face of a child. I sing and sing and sing my heart out, and I wonder and wonder and wonder in awe of the sound that is coming from my mouth and my...

Blood Promise Chapter Thirteen

The next day was Easter. Everyone was up and around, getting ready to go to church. The whole house smelled delicious, filled with the scents of Olena's baking. My stomach rumbled, and I wondered if I could wait until this afternoon for the huge dinner she'd prepared. Even though I wasn't always sure about God, I'd gone to church a lot in my life. Mostly, it was a courtesy to others, a way of being polite and social. Dimitri had gone because he found peace there, and I wondered if going today might offer me some insight on what I should do. I felt a little shabby accompanying the others. They'd dressed up, but I didn't have anything other than jeans and casual shirts. Viktoria, noticing my dismay, lent me a lacy white blouse that was a little tight but still looked good. Once I was settled with the family into a pew, I looked around, wondering how Dimitri could have taken solace in the Academy's tiny chapel when he'd grown up with this place. It was huge. It could have held four chapels. The ceilings were higher and more elaborate, and gold decorations and icons of saints seemed to cover every surface. It was overwhelming, dazzling to the eye. Sweet incense hung heavy in the air, so much so that I could actually see the smoke. There were a lot of people there, human and dhampir, and I was surprised to even spot some Moroi. Apparently, the Moroi visiting town were pious enough to come to church, despite whatever sordid activities they might be engaging in. And speaking of Moroi†¦ â€Å"Abe isn't here,† I said to Viktoria, glancing around. She was on my left; Olena sat on my right. While he hadn't struck me as the religious type, I'd kind of expected him to follow me here. I hoped that maybe his absence meant he'd left Baia. I was still unnerved by our last encounter. â€Å"Did he leave town?† â€Å"I think he's Muslim,† Viktoria explained. â€Å"But last I knew, he's still around. Karolina saw him this morning.† Damn Zmey. He hadn't left. What was it he'd said? A good friend or a bad enemy. When I said nothing, Viktoria gave me a concerned look. â€Å"He's never really done anything bad when he's around. He usually has meetings and then disappears. I meant it before when I said I didn't think he'd hurt you, but now you're worrying me. Are you in some kind of trouble?† Excellent question. â€Å"I don't know. He just seems interested in me, that's all. I can't figure out why.† Her frown deepened. â€Å"We won't let anything happen to you,† she said fiercely. I smiled, both at her concern and because of her resemblance to Dimitri in that moment. â€Å"Thanks. There are some people back home who might be looking for me, and I think that Abe is just†¦ checking up on me.† That was a nice way of describing someone who was either going to drag me back to the U.S. kicking and screaming-or just make me vanish for good. Viktoria seemed to sense I was softening the truth. â€Å"Well, I mean it. I won't let him hurt you.† The service started, cutting off our conversation. While the priest's chanting was beautiful, it meant even less to me than church services usually did. It was all in Russian, like at the funeral, and no one was going to bother translating it for me today. It didn't matter. Still taking in the beauty of my surroundings, I found my mind wandering. To the left of the altar, a golden-haired angel looked at me from a four-foot-tall icon. An unexpected memory came to me. Dimitri had once gotten permission for me to accompany him on a quick weekend trip to Idaho to meet with some other guardians. Idaho wasn't any place I was keen on going, but I welcomed the time with him, and he'd convinced school officials that it was a â€Å"learning experience.† That had been shortly after Mason's death, and after the shock wave that tragedy had sent through the school, I think they would have allowed me anything, to be honest. Unfortunately, there was little that was leisurely or romantic about the trip. Dimitri had a job to do, and he had to do it quickly. So we made the best time we could, stopping only when absolutely necessary. Considering our last road trip had involved us stumbling onto a Moroi massacre, this one being uneventful was probably for the best. As usual, he wouldn't let me drive, despite my claims that I could get us there in half the time. Or maybe that was why he wouldn't let me drive. We stopped at one point to get gas and scrounge some food from the station's store. We were up in the mountains somewhere, in a tiny town that rivaled St. Vladimir's for remote location. I could see mountains on clear days at school, but it was a totally different experience being in them. They surrounded us and were so close it seemed like you could just jump over and land on one. Dimitri was finishing up with the car. Holding my sub sandwich, I walked around to the back of the gas station to get a better view. Whatever civilization the gas station offered disappeared as soon as I cleared it. Endless snowy pines stretched out before me, and all was still and quiet, save for the distant sound of the highway behind me. My heart ached over what had happened to Mason, and I was still having nightmares about the Strigoi who'd held us captive. That pain was a long way from disappearing, but something about this peaceful setting soothed me for a moment. Looking down at the unbroken, foot-high snow, a crazy thought suddenly came to me. I let myself go, falling back-first to the ground. The thick snow embraced me, and I rested there a moment, taking comfort in lying down. Then I moved my legs and arms back and forth, carving out new hollows in the snow. When I finished, I didn't get up right away. I simply continued lounging, staring up at the blue, blue sky. â€Å"What,† asked Dimitri, â€Å"are you doing? Aside from getting your sandwich cold.† His shadow fell over me, and I looked up at his tall form. In spite of the cold, the sun was out, and its rays backlit his hair. He could have been an angel himself, I thought. â€Å"I'm making a snow angel,† I replied. â€Å"Don't you know what that is?† â€Å"Yes, I know. But why? You must be freezing.† I had on a heavy winter coat, hat, gloves, and all the other requisite cold-weather accessories. He was right about the sandwich. â€Å"Not so much, actually. My face is a little, I guess.† He shook his head and gave me a wry smile. â€Å"You'll be cold when you're in the car and all that snow starts melting.† â€Å"I think you're more worried about the car than about me.† He laughed. â€Å"I'm more worried about you getting hypothermia.† â€Å"In this? This is nothing.† I patted the ground beside me. â€Å"Come on. You make one too, and then we can go.† He continued looking down at me. â€Å"So I can freeze too?† â€Å"So you can have fun. So you can leave your mark on Idaho. Besides, it shouldn't bother you at all, right? Don't you have some sort of super cold resistance from Siberia?† He sighed, a smile still on his lips. It was enough to warm me even in this weather. â€Å"There you go again, convinced Siberia is like Antarctica. I'm from the southern part. The weather's almost the same as here.† â€Å"You're making excuses,† I told him. â€Å"Unless you want to drag me back to the car, you're going to have to make an angel too.† Dimitri studied me for several heavy moments, and I thought he might actually haul me away. His face was still light and open, though, and his expression was filled with a fondness that made my heart race. Then, without warning, he flopped into the snow beside me, lying there quietly. â€Å"Okay,† I said when he did nothing more. â€Å"Now you have to move your arms and legs.† â€Å"I know how to make a snow angel.† â€Å"Then do it! Otherwise, you're more like a chalk outline at a police crime scene.† He laughed again, and the sound was rich and warm in the still air. Finally, after a little more coaxing on my part, he moved his arms and legs too, making an angel of his own. When he finished, I expected him to jump up and demand we get back on the road, but instead, he stayed there too, watching the sky and the mountains. â€Å"Pretty, huh?† I asked. My breath made frosty clouds in the air. â€Å"I guess in some ways, it's not that different from the ski resort's view†¦ but I don't know. I feel different about it all today.† â€Å"Life's like that,† he said. â€Å"As we grow and change, sometimes things we've experienced before take on new meaning. It'll happen for the rest of your life.† I started to tease him about his tendency to always deliver these profound life lessons, but it occurred to me then that he was right. When I'd first begun falling for Dimitri, the feelings had been all-consuming. I'd never felt anything like it before. I'd been convinced there was no possible way I could love him more. But now, after what I'd witnessed with Mason and the Strigoi, things were different. I did love Dimitri more intensely. I loved him in a different way, in a deeper way. Something about seeing how fragile life was made me appreciate him more. It had made me realize how much he meant to me and how sad I'd be if I ever lost him. â€Å"You think it'd be nice to have a cabin up there?† I asked, pointing to a nearby peak. â€Å"Out in the woods where no one could find you?† â€Å"I would think it was nice. I think you'd be bored.† I tried to imagine being stuck in the wilderness with him. Small room, fireplace, bed†¦ I didn't think it'd be that boring. â€Å"It wouldn't be so bad if we had cable. And Internet.† And body heat. â€Å"Oh, Rose.† He didn't laugh, but I could tell he was smiling again. â€Å"I don't think you'd ever be happy someplace quiet. You always need something to do.† â€Å"Are you saying I have a short attention span?† â€Å"Not at all. I'm saying there's a fire in you that drives everything you do, that makes you need to better the world and those you love. To stand up for those you can't. It's one of the wonderful things about you.† â€Å"Only one, huh?† I spoke lightly, but his words had thrilled me. He'd meant what he said about thinking those were wonderful traits, and feeling his pride in me meant more than anything just then. â€Å"One of many,† he said. He sat up and looked down at me. â€Å"So, no peaceful cabin for you. Not until you're an old, old woman.† â€Å"What, like forty?† He shook his head in exasperation and stood up, not gracing my joke with a response. Still, he regarded me with the same affection I'd heard in his voice. There was admiration too, and I thought I could never be unhappy as long as Dimitri thought I was wonderful and beautiful. Leaning down, he extended his hand. â€Å"Time to go.† I took it, letting him help pull me up. Once standing, we held hands for a heartbeat longer than necessary. Then we let go and surveyed our work. Two perfect snow angels-one much, much taller than the other. Careful to step inside each outline, I leaned down and hacked out a horizontal line above each head. â€Å"What's that?† he asked, when I stood beside him again. â€Å"Halos,† I said with a grin. â€Å"For heavenly creatures like us.† â€Å"That might be a stretch.† We studied our angels for a few moments more, looking at where we had lain side by side in that sweet, quiet moment. I wished what I'd said was true, that we had truly left our mark on the mountain. But I knew that after the next snowfall, our angels would disappear into the whiteness and be nothing more than a memory. Dimitri touched my arm gently, and without another word, we turned around and headed back to the car. Compared to that memory of him and the way he'd looked at me out there on the mountain, I thought the angel looking back at me in church seemed pale and boring in comparison. No offense to her. The congregation was filing back to their seats after taking bread and wine. I'd stayed seated for that, but I did understand a few of the priest's words. Life. Death. Destroy. Eternal. I knew enough about all this to string together the meaning. I would have bet good money â€Å"resurrection† was in there too. I sighed, wishing it were truly that easy to vanquish death and bring back those we loved. Church ended, and I left with the Belikovs, feeling melancholy. As people passed each other near the entrance, I saw some eggs being exchanged. Viktoria had explained that it was a big tradition around here. A few people I didn't know gave some to me, and I felt a little bad that I had nothing to give in return. I also wondered how I was going to eat them all. They were decorated in various ways. Some were simply colored; others were elaborately designed. Everyone seemed chatty after church, and we all stood around outside it. Friends and family hugged and caught up on gossip. I stood near Viktoria, smiling and trying to follow the conversation that often took place in both English and Russian. â€Å"Viktoria!† We turned and saw Nikolai striding toward us. He gave us-by which I mean, he gave her-a brilliant smile. He'd dressed up for the holiday and looked amazing in a sage shirt and dark green tie. I eyed Viktoria, wondering if it had any effect on her. Nope. Her smile was polite, genuinely happy to see him, but there was nothing romantic there. Again, I wondered about her mystery â€Å"friend.† He had a couple of guys with him whom I'd met before. They greeted me too. Like the Belikovs, they seemed to think I was a permanent fixture around here. â€Å"Are you still going to Marina's party?† asked Nikolai. I'd nearly forgotten. That was the party he'd invited us to the first day I'd met him. Viktoria had accepted then, but to my surprise, she now shook her head. â€Å"We can't. We have family plans.† That was news to me. There was a possibility something had come up that I didn't know about yet, but I doubted it. I had a feeling she was lying, and being a loyal friend, I said nothing to contradict her. It was hard watching Nikolai's face fall, though. â€Å"Really? We're going to miss you.† She shrugged. â€Å"We'll all see each other at school.† He didn't seem pacified by that. â€Å"Yeah, but-â€Å" Nikolai's eyes suddenly lifted from her face and focused on something behind us. He frowned. Viktoria and I both glanced back, and I felt her mood shift too. Three guys were strolling toward my group. They were dhampirs as well. I didn't notice anything unusual about them-smirks aside-but other dhampirs and Moroi gathered outside the church took on expressions similar to those of my companions. Troubled. Worried. Uncomfortable. The three guys came to a stop by us, pushing their way into our circle. â€Å"I thought you might be here, Kolya,† said one. He spoke in perfect English, and it took me a moment to realize he was talking to Nikolai. I would never understand Russian nicknames. â€Å"I didn't know you were back,† replied Nikolai stiffly. Studying the two of them, I could see a distinct resemblance. They had the same bronze hair and lean build. Brothers, apparently. Nikolai's brother's gaze fell on me. He brightened. â€Å"And you must be the unpromised American girl.† It didn't surprise me that he knew who I was. After the memorial, most of the local dhampirs had left telling tales about the American girl who had fought battles against Strigoi but carried neither a promise mark nor a graduation mark. â€Å"I'm Rose,† I said. I didn't know what was up with these guys, but I certainly wasn't going to show any fear in front of them. The guy seemed to appreciate my confidence and shook my hand. â€Å"I'm Denis.† He gestured to his friends. â€Å"Artur and Lev.† â€Å"When did you come to town?† asked Nikolai, still not looking happy about this reunion. â€Å"Just this morning.† Denis turned to Viktoria. â€Å"I heard about your brother. I'm sorry.† Viktoria's expression was hard, but she nodded politely. â€Å"Thank you.† â€Å"Is it true he fell defending Moroi?† I didn't like the sneer in Denis's voice, but it was Karolina who voiced my angry thoughts. I hadn't noticed her approaching our group. She didn't look happy to see Denis at all. â€Å"He fell fighting Strigoi. He died a hero.† Denis shrugged, unaffected by the angry tone of her voice. â€Å"Still makes him dead. I'm sure the Moroi will sing his name for years to come.† â€Å"They will,† I replied. â€Å"He saved a whole group of them. And dhampirs too.† Denis's gaze fell back on me, his eyes thoughtful as he studied my face for a few seconds. â€Å"I heard you were there too. That both of you were sent into an impossible battle.† â€Å"It wasn't impossible. We won.† â€Å"Would Dimitri say that if he were alive?† Karolina crossed her arms over her chest. â€Å"If you're only here to start something, then you should leave. This is a church.† It was funny. Upon meeting her, I'd thought she seemed so gentle and kind, just an ordinary young mother working to support her family. But in this moment, she seemed more like Dimitri than ever. I could see that same strength within her, that fierceness that drove her to protect loved ones and stand up to her enemies. Not that these guys were her enemies, exactly. I honestly didn't yet understand who they were. â€Å"We're just talking,† said Denis. â€Å"I just want to understand what happened to your brother. Believe me, I think his death was a tragedy.† â€Å"He wouldn't have regretted it,† I told them. â€Å"He died fighting for what he believed in.† â€Å"Defending others who took him for granted.† â€Å"That's not true.† â€Å"Oh?† Denis gave me a lopsided smile. â€Å"Then why don't you work for the guardians? You've killed Strigoi but have no promise mark. Not even a graduation mark, I heard. Why aren't you out there throwing yourself in front of Moroi?† â€Å"Denis,† said Nikolai uneasily, â€Å"please just leave.† â€Å"I'm not talking to you, Kolya.† Denis's eyes were still on me. â€Å"I'm just trying to figure Rose out. She kills Strigoi but doesn't work for the guardians. She's clearly not like the rest of you soft people in this town. Maybe she's more like us.† â€Å"She's nothing like you,† Viktoria snapped back. I got it then, and a chill ran down my spine. These were the kind of dhampirs that Mark had been talking about. The true unpromised ones. The vigilantes who sought out Strigoi on their own, the ones who neither settled down nor answered to any guardians. They shouldn't have unnerved me, not really. In some ways, Denis was right. In the simplest terms, I really was like them. And yet†¦ there was an air about these guys that just rubbed me the wrong way. â€Å"Then why are you in Russia?† asked one of Denis's friends. I already couldn't remember his name. â€Å"This is a long trip for you. You wouldn't have come here without a good reason.† Viktoria was picking up her sister's anger. â€Å"She came to tell us about Dimka.† Denis eyed me. â€Å"I think she's here to hunt Strigoi. There are more in Russia to choose from than there are in the States.† â€Å"She wouldn't be in Baia if she was hunting Strigoi, you idiot,† returned Viktoria evenly. â€Å"She'd be in Vladivostok or Novosibirsk or somewhere like that.† Novosibirsk. The name was familiar. But where had I heard it? A moment later, the answer came to me. Sydney had mentioned it. Novosibirsk was the largest city in Siberia. Denis continued. â€Å"Maybe she's just passing through. Maybe she'll want to join us when we go to Novosibirsk tomorrow.† â€Å"For God's sake,† I exclaimed. â€Å"I'm right here. Stop talking about me like I'm not. And why would I want to go with you?† Denis's eyes gleamed with an intense, feverish light. â€Å"Good hunting there. Lots of Strigoi. Come with us, and you can help us go after them.† â€Å"And how many of you will come back from this?† Karolina asked in a hard voice. â€Å"Where's Timosha? Where's Vasiliy? Your hunting party keeps getting smaller each time you return here. Which one of you will be next? Whose family will be the next to mourn?† â€Å"Easy for you to talk,† retorted the friend. Lev, I think his name was. â€Å"You stay here and do nothing while we go out and keep you safe.† Karolina gave him a disgusted look, and I recalled how she was dating a guardian. â€Å"You go out and rush into situations without thinking. If you want to keep us safe, then stay here and defend your families when they need it. If you want to go after Strigoi, go join the guardians and work with those who have some sense.† â€Å"The guardians don't hunt Strigoi!† cried Denis. â€Å"They sit and wait and cower before the Moroi.† The unfortunate part was, he had a point. But not entirely. â€Å"That's changing,† I said. â€Å"There's a movement to start taking the offensive against the Strigoi. There's also talk of the Moroi learning to fight with us. You could help be a part of that.† â€Å"Like you are?† he laughed. â€Å"You still haven't told us why you're here and not with them. You can say what you want to the rest of this group, but I know why you're here. I can see it in you.† The crazy, eerie look he gave me almost made me think that he could. â€Å"You know the only way to rid the world of evil is to do it on our own. To seek out the Strigoi ourselves and kill them, one by one.† â€Å"Without a plan,† finished Karolina. â€Å"Without any thought of the consequences.† â€Å"We're strong and we know how to fight. That's all we need to know when it comes to killing Strigoi.† And that was when I understood. I finally got what Mark had been trying to tell me. Denis was saying exactly what I had been thinking since I left St. Vladimir's. I'd run off without a plan, wanting to throw myself into danger because I felt I had a mission that only I could carry out. Only I could kill Dimitri. Only I could destroy the evil within him. I'd been giving no thought to how I'd pull it off-seeing as Dimitri had beat me more often than not in fights when he was still a dhampir. With a Strigoi's strength and speed now? The odds were definitely against me. Still, I hadn't cared. I'd been obsessed, convinced I had to do this. In my own head, what I had to do made sense, but now†¦ hearing those sentiments from Denis, it sounded crazy. Just as reckless as Mark had warned. Their motives might be good-just as mine were-but they were also suicidal. Without Dimitri, I honestly hadn't cared much about my own life. I'd never been afraid to risk it before, but now I realized there was a big difference between dying uselessly and dying for a reason. If I died trying to kill Dimitri because I had no strategy, then my life would have meant nothing. Just then, the priest walked over and said something to us in Russian. From his tone and expression, I think he was asking if everything was okay. He'd mingled with the rest of the congregation after the service. Being human, he probably didn't know all the dhampir politics afoot, but he could undoubtedly sense trouble. Denis offered him a simpering smile and gave what sounded like a polite explanation. The priest smiled in return, nodded, and wandered off when someone else called to him. â€Å"Enough,† said Karolina harshly, once the priest was out of earshot. â€Å"You need to go. Now.† Denis's body tensed, and mine responded, ready for a fight. I thought he might start something then and there. A few seconds later, he relaxed and turned to me. â€Å"Show them to me first.† â€Å"Show you what?† I asked. â€Å"The marks. Show me how many Strigoi you've killed.† I didn't respond right away, wondering if this was a trick. Everyone's eyes were on me. Turning slightly, I lifted the hair off the back of my neck and showed my tattoos. Little lightning-shaped molnija marks were there, along with the mark I'd gotten for the battle. From the sound of Denis's gasp, I was guessing he'd never seen that many kills before. I let my hair go and met his gaze levelly. â€Å"Anything else?† I asked. â€Å"You're wasting your time,† he said at last, gesturing to the people behind me. â€Å"With them. With this place. You should come with us to Novosibirsk. We'll help make your life worthwhile.† â€Å"I'm the only one who can make anything of my life.† I pointed down the street. â€Å"You were asked to leave. Now go.† I held my breath, still bracing for a fight. After several tense moments, the group retreated. Before turning around, Denis gave me one last piercing look. â€Å"This isn't what you want and you know it. When you change your mind, come find us at 83 Kasakova. We leave at sunrise tomorrow.† â€Å"You'll be leaving without me,† I said. Denis' smile sent another chill down my spine. â€Å"We'll see.†