Wicca Essays - Wicca, Modern Paganism, Contemporary Witchcraft

Wicca Religion The many mysteries and complexities of the religion of Wicca originate from the Celts, the druids of Britain and the mysteries of the Cauldron of Cerridwen of Cerridwen and teachings of the transformation hidden in the story of Taliesin. The oldest know European Wiccan practices actually originate form the ancient regions in and around Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece and Italy. In most any case this culture predates the Celtic tradition by at least a thousand years. In the Celtic lands the druids taught what they called " Mystery tradition", which was a blend of indigenous belief and foreign influences. Many people today believe that the druid cult was the surviving remnant of an earlier Indo-European priesthood, where the practices originate, Old European is a region encompassing Italy and Greece and also reaching into Czechoslovakia, southern Poland and the western Ukraine. These places are considered to be where the foundation of the ancient Wiccan mysteries were created. The history of the believers in this religion when in the middle of the first century BC the Celts were caught between the expansion of the Roman Empire along the Rhine and Danube and the Germanic invaders form the south. By the end of the century the Celts had lost their command on the continent and were later held by the Romans who moved on to invade and Britain, eventually their culture was transformed by centuries of roman occupation and the Roman Catholic Church. The ancient pagan traditions were driven into an underground society where they survived within the old religion of Wicca. The history of the old religion goes back as far as the hunter-gathers emergence into an agricultural community. The root of Wicca as an religion date back as far as the Ice Age, when the human were painting and carving pictures on cave walls. When the hunter-gather, forest-dwelling humans began to emerge into an agriculture society they brought with them the "Ancient Deity" forms of the wilderness. The Stag-Horned God of the forest was transformed into the Goat-God of the pasture. The God of the forest then becomes the God of the harvest. The early ancestors of Wiccans' worshipped the great Goddess, who is personified as the mysteries of women. As the Great Goddess, she reflected the mysterious and powerful nature of women to bleed for days without growing weak and to give birth to another human being. Not only was this power a mystery to early men, it was also a mystery to women themselves. Out of the need to understand these abilities, the women isolated themselves from men and formed female societies. When the word "Wicca" first became known to the public, it was used to refer to the old pre-Christian European religion. The meaning today has changed to fit the view of the Neo-Pagan and New Age concepts. In reality Wicca is a nature religion concentrating on the energies that flowed over the earth. Legend tells us that great Gods who watched over their followers during the daily course of food gathering and preparation and delivered them safely from the fall of humankind. 1484, was the persecution stage of the witches which turned into an uncontrollable epidemic. In the first year 41 people were killed and burned in Como, Italy. In 1510, 140 witches were burned at Brescia and 300 more at Como, Italy 3 years later. At Valcanoia 70 people were burned and the inquisitor claimed to have another 5,000 under suspension Germany saw over 6,000 executions and northern figure about 50,000. In England, 1951, the last of the laws against witchcraft were repealed by parliament, soon after a revival of the cult arose in the Great British. During the 1950's and 60's Wicca grew and expanded parts of Europe and into the United States and Australia. Many Wiccan and Neo-Pagans magazines were established, there for creating a network for the Pagan community. Two of the earliest most successful periodicals were "Green Egg" and Circle Network News " which are still important publications today. "The Wiccan Pagan Press Alliance (WPPA)" now servers as a network and support system for writers and magazines in the Pagan community. The basic teachings of the old Wiccan ways are based on the ways of nature and humankind's understanding of spirituality as revealed in the sense of a healthy community. The philosophy teaches common courtesy and respect for others so that the essence of our spirituality can be discovered. All different forms of life are respected, and everything is of equal importance. The only difference is things are on different levels of evolution,

buy custom History of Solar Power in the United States essay

buy custom History of Solar Power in the United States essay Solar power is seen as one of the renewable energy that would reduce the United States, overdependence on oil as a source of energy. The technology of harnessing energy has grown over the years, with the use of photovoltaic in generating electricity and solar thermal for heating water. The latest technology, which is still under development, is the use of CSP systems to generate electricity. The United States is advancing in the use of this technology, and currently it is the leading in the generation of power using CSP technology. This paper will discuss the history of solar power in the United States, the technologies used in the production of power using CSP, and the benefits of using this technology. The paper will also explore the barriers to large-scale production of CSP power and possible intervention, and discuss the future for CSP in the United States. History of Solar Power in the United States In 1970s, there was there was a first environmental regulation in the United States, but first, there was a Clean Air Act, that researched on air pollution and emission standards for automobiles. During this time, the Council on Environmental Quality was set up by the NEPA to carry out a national environmental impact assessment for projects funded by the federal government (Cohen 103). These developments led to the creation of limits to emissions from industrial plants, fuels and electric utilities. In 1074, there was an embargo that shook the US, which depended more on oil for energy; this made the United States to think of alternative ways of meeting its energy demands. In 1977, the power behind CSP emerged with the development of the DoE, which was put in control of the federal energy agencies. More research was carried out by the DoE and other research groups on energy activities, which led to the development of policies and incentives for renewable energy resources such as CSP (Cohen 123). California led the nation in pushing for renewable energy resources, it used the DoE research and the attractive incentives provided by the PURPA to build SEGS; a 354 MW plant using a trough design was installed in Majove Desert (Cohen 147). This gave way to the construction of other CSP projects in California, and today, California has the first 80 MW plant, and this plant has remained the largest CSP in the United States. The CSP Technology CSP is a technique that is used for generating electricity using heat from the sun, this is a technology that is expanding quickly and is commercially viable. It requires a strong and direct solar radiation, which is used as a centralized source of power for many utilities, and produces more power in the late afternoon when the demand is high. The CSP technology uses mirrors to focus the sunlight on a heat transfer medium, the heat transfer medium is then heated to produce steam to power and engine or a generator that generates electricity (White 219). This technology has a potential of producing close to 300MW and supply approximately 100 megawatts; however, this value depends on the type CSP used. An effective CSP requires approximately 5.5 kWh/m2 of solar radiation per day; in California, the average solar radiation for an effective CSP ranges from 6.75-8.25 kWh/m2/ day, and its best performance is realized in flat and arid locations. The worlds best performance of CSP is realized in Australia, Sahara Desert and the U.S Southwest. The largest CSP in the United States was built in the 1980s and 1990s, in California desert, and today they are among the largest and most powerful solar generating systems around the globe. The United States has a number of plants, which have been operating since 1980s, and are located in the Southwest (Johnson 142). The United States is planning to install many more of CSP systems, and others are in construction states. Types of CSP Systems CSP has different technologies of power production, however, they all involve concentrating sunlight at a focal point located at a tube with a heat transfer material, the material is usually molten salt or synthetic oil. The synthetic material is usually pulled together and stored in a unit, and later used to produce steam to power conventional generators. All systems have arrays of mirrors for concentrating the sunlight. Parabolic Trough Parabolic troughs are long, curved mirror pivoted to focus sunlight on tubes with a heat transfer medium, which is generally water or oil, and the steam produced after heating the heat transfer medium is directed o move a power generating turbine. The parabolic troughs are installed in a way that allows they to track the suns path, and this increases the amount of heat reaching the heat transfer material (Price 261). The parabolic trough CSP system is the most developed system, and it has been in use in the United States ever since. The maximum capacity size for this system ranges from 150MW to 250MW, the power within this range can power close to 44,000 homes; however, today, the largest parabolic trough CSP plant is 80 MW. Solar Power Towers In this technology, flat mirrors are used to focus sunlight on a central receiver containing a heat transfer fluid, which is often molten salt that can keep thermal energy for a long time. Solar power towers, unlike parabolic dishes, they concentrate heat energy at higher temperature, and this makes to have a higher efficiency when it is compared to parabolic dish CSP systems. This system had 10 MW facility, which operated between 1996 and 1999 in California, this system had a storage tank could store electricity for 3 hours after a sunshine (Price 124). In 2009, a 20MW power tower was put online in Spain; this is largest power tower demonstration plant. Dish System In this system, mirrors are organized in a parabolic shape, which is like the shape of a satellite dish. The mirrors focus the heat on a central receiver that is mounted above the dish center. The receiver has a Stirling engine, which translates heat energy to mechanical power through cold fluid compression; the fluid can either be synthetic oil or water. The fluid is heated and allowed to expand through a turbine or a piston to produce mechanicl power, which is converted to electricity using an alternator or a generator (Price 169). This system can be utilized to produce electricity in large scale by arranging many dishes in a large array. The newest system that uses this technology has 31.5% energy conversion efficiency, which is the highest efficiency of CSP technology plants. However, this system has a smaller production capacity, which ranges from 0.003 to 0.025 MW. Recently, this system has been approved in California for construction. Linear Fresnel System This system is among the new CSP technologies. This system resembles the parabolic trough system; however, it utilizes multiple flat mirrors arranged in rows to focus sunlight on a set of tubes, which increases the heat of the fluid inside the tubes. When this system is compared to the systems that use curved mirrors, it is less expensive; the flat mirrors are less expensive to manufacture. However, this system is less efficient when it is compared to other CSP systems. Generation CSP systems generates power during daytime, this is the time when electricity demand is high. The heat transfer process used in generation ensures a stability time of 15 to 30 minutes; this time is enough for the system to endure a passing cloud. The systems are affected by extended cloud cover and night, when the sun is not shining; therefore, they need thermal storage and supplemental fuels (White 284). Most of CSP systems are supplemented with natural gas for them to provide baseload power all the time. Most plants that use natural gas use steam engines in power generation and since the CSP also use steam engines in power generation; the two systems are easily hybridized. CSP systems can also be made to meet baseload demand using thermal storage technology; this storage can help the CSP system to operate for 70 percent of 365 days without fuel backups (Price 302). The thermal storage technology is a great improvement of the CSP system, which can only run for 15-30 percent of 365 d ays when it is generating without storage. Production Capacity In 2008, the solar power produces only 0.09 percent of energy supplied in the United States; however, the production capacity is growing. Today, the United States have 429 MW installed CSP capacity, which makes it the leader in CSP generation, and the nation is still developing more generating plants, which totals to 7,000 MW. By 2020, the United States is sure of powering 2 million homes using CSP; this is from the projects that are under development. CSP Projects under Development in the United States California has 34 projects, which are planned to produce 9,183 MW; this is a potential capacity that includes 1600 MW to be produced from Stirling engine systems, 177 MW produced using Linear Fresnel System, 747 MW to be produced using power tower systems, and 8 projects with a potential of 4228 MW that are still in review process. The Mojave Desert has some CSP projects that are planned for construction; there is one project of 553 MW potentials that are still under construction since 2009. In 2007, there was a 25 year agreement between Pacific Gas and Electric and Solel to purchase power. In Florida, there is a hybrid of parabolic trough and gas systems with a potential capacity of 75 MW solar power. This power is projected to power Martin county and 11,000 homes will benefit from this project. Florida Power and Light and Lauren Engineers have an agreement of power purchase and this would benefit the nation. Costs of CSP The construction of a CSP plant takes approximately two years, it requires concrete, plastic, copper and steel. The cost of construction is about 80% of the plants total cost, this is higher when it is compared to a fossil fuel plant. However, unlike natural gas or coal power plants, CSP plants have zero fuel cost, the operational costs are 30 percent less when they are compared to those of gas and natural gas plants (U.S. Department of Energy 412). An installed CSP plant generates power for decades; in 1984, the first CSP plant was installed and this plant still generates power efficiently. These power plants might be expensive to construct but the benefits are huge and like the CSP plants, these benefits last for decades. The Benefits of CSP Economic Benefits The United States average price of electricity generated from Coal and natural gas costs 6 and 9 cents/kWh respectively, and the cost of CSP electricity is 14-16 cents/ kWh. This shows that CSP is expensive when it is compared to Coal and natural gas, however, during peak demand, the CSP becomes more cost effective; this means that those who use the CSP generated power save a lot during this time, remember that the peak demand is during afternoon, and this is when generating using CSP is high (Sioshansi and Denholm 176). According to research, as the industry mature, the cost of building CSP system would come down, and the prices of power generated using these system would reduce to about 5 cents/ kWh. The economic benefits of producing power using the CSP system might not be realized soon because the high cost of product of construction, however, if a nation continues to construct such plants, it would realize the benefits in a major way (Sioshansi and Denholm 179). For instance, the United States requires much power and its needs continues to increase as the population increases, as they are installing the CSP systems, their future costs of power generating are reducing because the nation will spend less of coal and natural gas power production (Kolb et al 197). The savings from the use of CSP would be used to fund other important developmental projects. The development of CSP systems has created employment opportunities in the United States. The construction of the systems requires different expertise such as the engineers, geologists and the unskilled labor, and after it has been installed it requires the administration to facilitate its operations, therefore, the Americans with the skills in the respective field are employed in the CSP plant (Sioshansi and Denholm 181). This is bound to increase with the other projects that have been planned for construction in California as well as other parts of the country that have CSP potential. Most of the CSP projects in the United States are constructed in areas that have less agricultural potential, and initially such areas such as Mojave Desert had little economic contribution to the nation, but now with the CSP projects, this region has a large economic contribution to the nation (Kolb et al 238). The energy produced from these projects has help residents around Mojave deserts and other citizen who use energy from this region to power their businesses; this has helped them extend their operation time, which has improved their earnings. The residents have also managed to put up businesses that use machines that depend on electricity for their operation. The companies producing CSP energy has managed to sign power purchase agreements such as the Florida Power and Light and Lauren Engineers, which help the company to sell its extra power and gain from the funds received. Environmental Benefits The CSP projects produce energy with no harmful gas emissions, this is as opposed to natural and coal based projects which emit green houses gases. The United States which consumes much power, and has had many problems with complying with the Kyoto protocol, has managed to produce more energy adding extra green house emissions to the environment. The nation is investing more in CSP projects, and if the country continues to produce more of CPS, it will reduce its dependence on coal and gas producing plants, and thus reducing the CO2 and other green houses to the environment. The construction of the projects does not require heavy digging of the ground, and this does not destruct the land, this is as opposed to coal and gas power production, which require heavy digging and installation of heavy machines that destructs the land. The Barriers to large-Scale Deployment of CSP Production The United States of America plans to produce power using CSP systems, but the projects are later converted to PV projects; recently, more than 2,500 MW that was planned for CSP projects was reconverted to PV projects (Kolb et al 292). This is because the CSP projects are costly to construct when they are compared to PV projects as well as the gas and coal power projects, and most countries such as the United States are shying away from deploying the CSP project for large-scale production. According to research, CSP projects can be made more efficient and produce more reliable power through dispatchability and storage, but this approach does not produce a more competitive power when it is compared to the oil-parabolic CSP hybrid systems (Johnson 216). Therefore, the nation is still afraid of investing in a technology that has high cost of construction, and the electricity produced is not competitive enough. The problem of high cost f electricity from CSP technology can be solved by i nvesting in research to find better ways to come up with the technology to reduce the production costs using gas or coal to supplement CSP systems. More research on advanced CSP concepts such as molten salts and solar trough, direct steam and Fresnel, and molten salts and solar tower; this approaches have a potential of reducing the CSP cost of power production (Johnson 231). If a more efficient technology is used and the cost of producing electricity lowered it will result in the development of the CSP technology The future prospects of CSP in the United States The United States has a potential of CSP production with the planned CSP projects and more in places that has a potential, and with the ongoing research to reduce the cost of energy produced using CSP systems, as well as its efficiency, CSP is expected to be a key player in the nations future. Solar energy is the biggest resource not only in America, but around the globe and if efforts are not made to commercialize it, then regions with the potential might not realize its importance (Johnson 163). The cost of construction of CSP system is very high; therefore, many private investors shy away from investing in such projects. The government of the United States should find a way to cut the construction costs to easy the investors investment costs (Hamilton 215). This can be done by giving incentives to those wishing to invest in CSP production; building infrastructure in areas of potential solar power production and reducing or eliminating import duties on CSP construction materials. T his would help the CSP industries to produce power that is competitive in the market by offering lower prices. The government should also come up with a tariff that will increase the consumption of power produced, for instance, for those who consume CSP power during the time when the CSP plants are generating more power are charged less; this will increase the market for CSP (Hamilton 217). The increase in market will attract many investors to invest in CSP, and more regions with energy solar resources will be exploited giving the nation more clean and cheap energy. The United States should also invest more in research on efficient ways of CSP production and solar energy exploration; this will ensure that the solar resource is fully exploited in the United States. The future for solar energy in the United States is promising, but any further achievements will depend on the governments efforts to make it exploit and commercialize the resource. Conclusion CSP technology is a technology that utilizes a free energy resource, which is the sun, this technology has been proved to be viable in United States; there are several projects that are already generating and supplying energy. There are several projects, which are still under construction, others planned for construction, and there are some areas that are still unexploited; this shows its future potential in the United States. However, the low efficiency and cost of constructing the plants hinders its exploitation and production in large-scale. The hindrances can only be eliminated by doing more research on efficient and less costly techniques for CSP production. This technology should not be quickly assumed because of it costs, however, the government of the United States should provide incentives to investors in this industry to encourage them to exploit the CSP. Buy custom History of Solar Power in the United States essay

Effect of size and culture on Project Management method selection Essay

Effect of size and culture on Project Management method selection - Essay Example Any organization with personnel numbering 30 or more is seen as a large organization even if it is confined within only one office building (Terrien, 1963, p 3). ‘A learned, shared, compelling, interrelated set of symbols whose meanings provide a set of orientations for members of a society. These orientations, taken together, provide solutions to problems that all societies must solve of they are to remain viable.’ In every organisation, a different management style and culture exists. Culture is a way of life and it is defined as a collective phenomenon, as it is partly shared with people who live or lived within the same social environment, where it was learned. Culture critically affects not only the way an organization performs but also its willingness to adapt to change. Many organizations are held hostage by previous success which makes it management believe that what happened in the past will always work even in future. This brings about a conservative culture leading to stagnation due progressive inertia. Popularly referred to as the â€Å"comfort zone†, this kind of inertia leads to organizations becoming totally outpaced by their more dynamic competitors, or even growing completely obsolete (Mills, 1984, pp 11-12). In a research carried out for the American Navy, Terrien (1963) set out to prove that the size of a social group affects the ordering and relationships within that group. His research proved that efficiency levels in carrying out a given task by the group tended to go down with the increase in size of the group. The research sampled 32 units of the Crocker-Anglo National Bank. The findings were that the Bank had several positions which sounded like supervisory ones but were not. For example, there were company vice-presidents and their deputies who in actual sense supervised no one unless such duties were occasionally delegated to them (Terrien, 1963, p 5). This resulted in a

Executive Summary Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Executive Summary - Case Study Example As a result the value of per-gallon price which was decided at that time was founded later to be much lower than anticipated. Moreover Novo was not ready to change the price. So, when the price in BRL was converted into US$ Baker found that there is significant lowering in profitability. Furthermore when Baker decided to borrow an amount in BRL from a Brazilian bank it discovered that the interest rate was 26% which was much higher than the rate (8.26%) in US. Most of the US companies started to shift their unit outside US with the purpose of focusing more on economies of scale and increase the market share. As a result most of the adhesive giants decided to focus on international sourcing and manufacturing capabilities. But unlike these companies Baker was not that involved in international sales and quite obviously company was about to see some significant decline in its sales. The problem of exchange rate was created because of its changing nature. As the exchange rate of US$ and BRL keep changing value of the price of any product would also keep changing. So the value of price per-gallon of Baker adhesives also changed when it was converted into dollar. Again the problem regarding the interest rate charged by the Brazilian bank was much higher than the rate by any US bank. This was because the inflation rate in Brazil was much higher. Higher interest rate was actually set by the government of Brazil in order to control the high inflat ion rate. In the adhesives market competition is intense and profit margin is slim. As a result most of the company has focused on the international sourcing and manufacturing capabilities. Baker adhesives also need to focus on the international market in order to stay ahead in the competition. Focusing on international business would enable the company to focus on scale economies. Furthermore flexible production system and good chemist are crucial in the adhesives business. So

Art in south afric Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Art in south afric - Research Paper Example 2012, par. 3). 2) The South African design creative inspiration artwork; thus art is celebrated as a significant aspect of the cultural heritage. South Africa.info (2012, par. 2) argues that produced artifacts such as self-portraits that depicted the new world. Some of the paints had symbolic meanings and some of them had artistic vision; thus engaged the way people lived in South Africa during the colonial era (Peffer 2009, 79). 3) South African artists produced varied artifacts and many of artists emerged after the end of apartheid with fantastic features that became highly marketable across the globe. For, the artifact features become one their economic activities because some cultural groups especially the Zulu started designing beads that they sold to tourists (Peffer 2009, 79). This enabled them to generate income; hence they became well known for being an artistic society. 1) Some fork arts in South Africa have made progress into becoming high art in western style of designing modern artistic materials. For instance, some of the traditional fork artists such as Bonnie Ntshalintshali and Phutuma Seoka have made significant change on the way they design artifacts (South Africa.info. 2012, par. 3). These artists among others have nowadays become well known in producing distinctive artifacts features of western style (Museum of Modern Art and Hecker 2011, 34). 2) Art in a world of change due to cultural differences have significantly contributed to change in South Africa. This is because of globalization; thus many of the artists have nowadays started adopting the aesthetic dimensions of the western society (Shapiro 2008, 12). Most of the South African artists have now emerged with the artistic features that are of high demand. Even though globalization has created change, they still design traditional artifacts that are being sold within and outside their society. 3) Black

Democracies and Success in War Essay example -- Government War Democra

Democracies and Success in War Introduction Democratic governments have spread quickly around the world since the end of the Cold War and fall of the Soviet Union. Democracy has become one of the most desired regime types amongst states and is contributed to fostering wealth, stability, and even peace. Dan Reiter and Allan Stam argue that democracies are the most successful in war or military combat. In their book, Democracies at War, Stam and Reiter argue that after observing conflicts since the 1800’s, democratic governments tend to be more selective in choosing conflicts to participate in and democracies also have a propensity to win more often than authoritarian regimes. The purpose of this paper is to present a case study to test if democracies fight better wars. The paper will examine Stam and Reiter’s four propositions presented in their book and test the two propositions, political culture and political structure, that the authors suggest have a significant impact on democracies and the outcome of war. There are no previous intense case studies that have been performed over democracies and their success in wartime situations. Since only brief examples of case studies have been performed in previous literature, this paper will contribute to the discussion by presenting an intense case study on Israel during the Six Day War in 1967 and Yom Kippur War in 1979. For Stam and Reiter to be correct in their assessments over democracies high success rate in war, political culture and political structure must be found internally within Israel during the time period of these two conflicts. To be able to identify political structure and culture I have proposed a few variables that should be present wit... ...d freely choose to participate in both conflicts. However, the enormous threat by the Arab states, not only in these wars but since independence, were so overwhelming that Israelis had no choice but to fight or risk genocide thus giving merit to Desch’s argument. Democracy is winning out on all accounts and continues to grow, while authoritarian regimes, by choice or force, are dwindling on the world stage. Further research on Stam and Reiter’s claims should be tested, along with other arguments from democratic theorist. I suggest that an alternative case study be performed concerning a successful authoritarian regime to test claims of realist and institutionalist. A study of this nature coupled with research such as this paper presents can be compared and evaluated to obtain a firmer grasp on regime type and success in war.

Afro Samurai

The manga series â€Å"Afro Samurai† follows the life of a black samurai named Afro, who is on a mission to avenge his father's death. After witnessing the death of his own father, Afro no longer lived a normal life. Instead, all he wanted to do was find and kill Justice, the man who killed his father and took the Number One Headband. Interestingly, the past that brought him pain and hatred had only given him the strength to carry on his life. As a kid, he killed anyone who stepped in his way of avenging his father's death.Even though Afro is brave and strong enough to continue the lonely and dangerous journey, he still faced trauma and painful flashbacks. Through â€Å"Afro Samurai†, we will be able to examine the psychological disorders and functions of memory by creating an outcome based on his childhood experiences. At a very young age, Afro had to helplessly witness Justice cut off his dad’s head. Tears fell down on his face as the head was rolling over to h im. Normally, if a child experiences such thing, he/she would’ve run away. However, Afro just stood there with his eyes wide open.It was too cruel and traumatic for him to even react with the situation. The feeling of fear, helplessness and anger had left a mental illness in Afro. Without shaking, he picked up the number 2 headband and his dad’s head. Carrying them in his bag, he set off to seek revenge from Justice. He went crazy and killed people cruelly even though he was just a kid. Based on what happened to Afro when he was young, I diagnose that he might suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD is an anxiety disorder caused by experiencing life- death situation, or witnessing out-of-control events.There are three types of PTSD symptoms: intrusive memory, avoidance/numbing, and increased anxiety or emotional arousal. Afro tended to show some symptoms that are related to avoidance and intrusive memory. While watching the first half of the second epis ode, I notice that Afro prefers not to talk. â€Å"Lemonade†, he replies shortly to the lady in the bar. Plus, he doesn’t join any conversation with Ninja Ninja who most of the time talks endlessly. Afro definitely has emotional numbing as if he doesn’t care about anything except revenge. Even though, his eyes are filled with sadness andanger, there is barely any facial expression shown when he is with his friend or when he kills people. On the other hand, Afro also experiences flashback in his sleep after he is saved from a life and death situation. His breath becomes heavier and faster as he dreams about the bad incidents that has happened after his father died such as being chased, humiliated, and beaten up. The flashback comes when the event tends to happen again. It might be impossible to cure Afro’s mental illness since his emotion is numb. However, in order to help him, I need to define what he desires the most.Since he only aims for avenging and k illing, it will be appropriate to change his thinking on his trauma and revenge. Cognitive therapy can help him reflect on the whole situation. With the help of a therapist, he will be able to replace his thoughts with more accurate and distressing thoughts. â€Å"What would you do after you kill Justice? †, â€Å"Where are you going to take your life after you success your mission? †, â€Å"Do you think it will be the end after you kill Justice? †, etc†¦ These questions can be asked to help Afro determine his real goal in life.The prognosis for Afro’s case depends upon the severity and length of time has suffered from PTSD. It will be difficult for Afro to recover since he was very aware when and how the incident happened. The treatment process can be continued for years. Afro will be more likely to have fewer traumas when he sleeps, and show more emotion. As a human-being, he should be able to live and feel like a normal person. He might be addicte d to seek revenge and kill people if he is not cured. Afro’s memory is mostly filled with his dad’s death.When he witnessed his dad died, his senses collected information and held those cruel details in sensory memory. From the sensory memory, the information was encoded and stored in working memory. Since the incident was too traumatic, it became flashbulb memory which was immediately stored in long-term memory. Better than anyone else, Afro knows that this memory can’t ever be forgotten and it will haunt him for the rest of his life. Even though, it hurt to remember, it was what taught him to be strong and to be cruel to whoever tried to harm him.He kills people without a blink in his eyes just like how Justice did to his dad. Afro had suffered so much in the past, but it doesn’t mean there is nothing bright in his memory. While he is unconscious after being poisoned and fell down from a cliff, he dreams about the little girl who had saved him in the pa st. The little girl with her teddy bear is probably the only light in his dark memory. This long-term memory is retrieved to working memory as the situation seemed to repeat. Afro tends to act gently to the lady who doesn’t only save him but also reminds him of that little girl.Maybe, after all, he is not a psycho killer. Painful memories tell him to be strong and give him the reason why he is alive. But, nice memories remind him that morality still exists in this shady world. After all, by watching â€Å"Afro Samurai†, I’m able to discover more about psychological disorder and function of memory. The movie helps me encode information deeper, store them better in my working memory, and retrieve them more affectively. It also shows me that pain perhaps is not there to destroy people, but to give them the strength to live on and do better.