Thursday, December 26, 2019

As Detailed In The “Historical Timeline History Of...

As detailed in the â€Å"Historical Timeline: History of Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide (PAS)†, the topic of Euthanasia and Physician-assisted Suicide has been around since the 5th century B.C. when ancient Greeks and Romans seemed to support Euthanasia before Christianity. Then, there was a transition in history where the consensus on the matter was that the Church and Common Law prohibited suicide and assisted suicide. The 18th century is where this topic became more prevalent where writers tried to start challenging the Church on their view, and in 1870 a man named Samuel Williams started to campaign for people to use morphine and other drugs for Euthanasia (â€Å"Historical Timeline: History of Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted†¦show more content†¦PAS patients are terminally ill and formally ask for a prescription for a fatal dose of medicine that will end their lives when they want. Euthanasia is usually when a physician does something that will deli berately kill their patient with or without consent, and usually with a lethal dose of medicine (â€Å"What’s the Difference Between Physician-Assisted Suicide (PAS) and Euthanasia?†). Euthanasia can be looked as a â€Å"mercy killing† to a suffering patient but the drawback with this process is that the goal is death (Cahill 107). Upon further examination of Mr. Michaels case if they decide to sedate him until he passes then it will be a form of active euthanasia with the final goal being death. If at the beginning of the case he was in the right state of mind they gave him the means of choosing when to end his life, it would have been physician-assisted suicide. As soon as his seizures became more frequent there is the question of the soundness of his mental state as he even began to question his intellectual deterioration. Was he mentally coherent when he suggested that he wanted to â€Å"sleep and not wake up†? The internist did insist that Mr. Michael go see a psychiatrist. The psychiatrist did say that he was not clinically depressed, but it is extremely possible that he went into the appointment knowing he had to act a certain way to get the diagnoses that he is not clinically depressed. There is also the factor that he would not be injectingShow MoreRelatedThe Ethical Dilemmas Of Euthanasia Essay 1638 Words   |  7 PagesThe Ethical Dilemmas of Euthanasia in Canada with the Legalization of Physician-Assisted Suicide This systematic analysis of the professional literature will explore the ethical dilemmas that Canadian medical professionals face while considering euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide, the latter of which was made legal in Canada on June 17, 2016 (Chochinov and Frazee, 2016). This paper will discusses the conflicts that healthcare professionals are faced with when looking at the quality of lifeRead MoreLgbt19540 Words   |  79 Pagessexually and/or emotionally attracted to men. The word gay can be used to refer generally to lesbian, gay and bisexual people but many women prefer to be called lesbian. Most gay people dont like to be referred to as homosexual because of the negative historical associations with the word and because the word gay better reflects their identity. Bisexual A bisexual person is someone who is romantically, sexually and/or emotionally attracted to people of both sexes. Transgender or Trans Is an umbrellaRead MoreMedicare Policy Analysis447966 Words   |  1792 Pagesor other12 wise impose any limit or condition on the coverage under 13 the plan with respect to an individual or dependent based 14 on any of the following: health status, medical condition, 15 claims experience, receipt of health care, medical history, 16 genetic information, evidence of insurability, disability, or 17 source of injury (including conditions arising out of acts 18 of domestic violence) or any similar factors. 19 SEC. 212. GUARANTEED ISSUE AND RENEWAL FOR IN- 20 SURED

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

The Role of Friar Lawrence in William Shakespeares Romeo...

The Role of Friar Lawrence in William Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet When we first meet Friar Lawrence (à Ã¢â‚¬  Ãƒ Ã¢â‚¬  Ãƒ Ã‚ ·), he appears to be picking flowers and herbs. He shows us he has a deeper understanding of the characteristics of herbs and how everything has a good and bad side: Ââ€Å"Within the infant rind of this weak flower Poison hath residence and medecine power.† This also relates to the families of Romeo and Juliet. It dramatically hints about the bad things to come such as the death of one of the family members. The audience develops the idea of Friar Lawrence acting as a father to Romeo: Ââ€Å"Good morrow, father.† The noun ‘fatherÂ’ indicates how close the relationship†¦show more content†¦He is hoping that everything turns out well during the marriage but without knowing it, is hinting about something depressing: Ââ€Å"That after-hours with sorrow chides us not.† This creates dramatic irony that gives the audience a feeling of tension because Friar Lawrence foreshadows Romeo and JulietÂ’s death: Ââ€Å"These violent delights have violent ends.† This also gives the audience a feeling of uneasiness because of the prologue already informing us about the tragic death. At this point, Friar Lawrence appears guilty. He should never have agreed to marry Romeo and Juliet in secret. Moving onto Act III, Scene 3, we see a closer and more confidant relationship with Romeo and the Friar: Ââ€Å"Father, what news? What is the PrinceÂ’s doom?† Romeo confesses all his problems to Friar Lawrence for example the killing of Tybalt. We also see that Friar Lawrence seems to lose his calm veneer during Romeos banishment. He is under more pressure and appears to be more stressed and agitated. He gives short sharp bursts of language, which creates a tense atmosphere on stage: Ââ€Å"Hark, how they knock! – WhoÂ’s there? – Romeo, arise; Thou wilt be taken.† The nurse also ironically hints at the death of Romeo and Juliet without noticing it: †Ah sir! Ah sir! DeathÂ’s the end of all.† To an audience, this creates dramatic irony. Later on in the sameShow MoreRelatedThe Role of Friar Lawrence in William Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet992 Words   |  4 PagesThe Role of Friar Lawrence in William Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet Romeo and Juliet is one of Shakespeares tragedies, which tells the story of two lovers who belong to two feuding families, the Montagues and the Capulets. Romeo is a Montague who is in love with Rosaline. He finds out that the Capulets are having a feast and Rosaline will be there. Romeo goes, and meets Juliet. Little does he know that Juliets father wants her to marry Paris. Juliet is against thisRead MoreSecondary Characters in Romeo and Juliet818 Words   |  4 Pageshave a noteworthy impact on the story. In William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, a secondary character, Friar Lawrence, plays a vital role throughout the play. The play takes place in Verona and focuses on Romeo and Juliet, two star-crossed lovers from two feuding families; the Montagues and the Capulets. The extremely violent feud between these families has been ongoing for generations, extending out to even the serving men of both houses. Romeo and Juliet must profess their love in secret becauseRead MoreThe Responsiblity the Adults Hold1216 Words   |  5 Pagesportrayed in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet where two young star crossed lovers die for the sake of each other’s love. While the failure of an adult’s role to their children’s lives seems inconceivable, the Capulets, the Nurse, and Friar Lawrence al l fail and bear responsibility in the demise of Romeo and Juliet. The parents of Juliet, Capulet and Lady Capulet, are one of many who contributed to evitable end of her daughter. The father opted for a sudden decision of marriage of Juliet and theRead MoreThe Role of Authority in William Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet888 Words   |  4 PagesThe Role of Authority in William Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet This play was written by William Shakespeare in the late 16th century. It was intended to be performed to a live audience in the Elizabethan period. It was not proposed for a modern day audience. It the period it was written views such as religion, life, authority and much more so their views are much different to ours. There are three main types of authority. The state was one of those key figures. Read More Responsibility for the Deaths of Romeo and Juliet in William Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet1449 Words   |  6 Pages Taking Responsibility for the Deaths of Romeo and Juliet in William Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet Romeo and Juliet, the star crossed lovers, the perfect sadly losing there lives for their great love of each other. The tragic death has many characters to blame, but it is impossible to pinpoint the full responsibility on one individual character. Many of the characters in Romeo and Juliet blame each other, for example, the Prince blames the two families and feud forRead MoreRomeo And Juliet Analysis1052 Words   |  5 Pagessomeones life. In William Shakespeares play, Romeo and Juliet, two teens from rival families fall in love, and keep their love a secret from their families and friends, in fear of what would come if someone found out. While Romeo and Juliet are keeping their love a secret, they consult Friar to marry them, and later to find a plan to keep Romeo and Juliet together after Romeo gets exiled. Despite Romeo and Juliet fully entrusting Friar Lawrence to keep them together, Friar Lawrence did not think hisRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Romeo And Juliet975 Words   |  4 Pages(II.VI.9-10). Friar Lawrence aforementioned those magnificent words, in William Shakespeare’s arguably most popular play â€Å"Romeo and Juliet†. Lawerence’s parts a monk who completes tasks such as confessions and marriages in the community. Friar Lawrence can be recognized as being knowledgeable beyond b elief but sometimes gets carried away. Friar Lawrence, a man of many qualities displays wisdom, meddling, and affability. Friar Lawrence exhibits wisdom on a day-to-day basis. He tells Romeo that he continuesRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Romeo And Juliet987 Words   |  4 Pages William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is centered around the tragic story of two â€Å"star-cross’d lovers†. A tragedy is a dramatic story that chronicles the downfall or death of a tragic hero. Tragedies usually depict the causes of a tragic hero’s downfall, which are most commonly a tragic choice or a tragic flaw. There is often some sort of greater power at play in tragedies, like fate. A key aspect of tragedies is both fate and free will leading to the downfall of a tragic hero. In William Shakespeare’sRead MoreLiterary Analysis Of Romeo And Juliet1733 Words   |  7 PagesIn the tragic play of Romeo and Juliet, a distinguished play written by a world-renowned playwright, William Shakespeare, during the Elizabethan era, shows an ill-fated couples tragic demise. Shakespeare creates compl ex characters, such as Romeo, with layered personalities and characteristics through his use of language techniques to create invoking issues and dilemmas, such as who held responsibility for the wedded lover’s death; consequently engaging the audience in issues of high interest resultingRead MoreWilliam Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet Essay1240 Words   |  5 PagesWilliam Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet In this essay I will examine the role that Friar Lawrence plays in Romeo and Juliet. The play of Romeo and Juliet was written during 1594 – 1596 but was set 100 years earlier. It is a tragic love story which was based on a poem called, ‘The Tragicall Hystory of Romeus and Juliet’ (1562). Although there is a big time gap from when it was written and now, it doesn’t affect the way we see the story today. Things that happen in the

Tuesday, December 10, 2019

Essay on Kant, and Causal Laws Analysis Essay Example For Students

Essay on Kant, and Causal Laws Analysis Essay In the Second Analogy, Kant also explains what makes it possible to infer the objective succession from the subjective succession. He argues that objective succession must stand under a causal rule. The subjective order of perceptions is always successive, but we cannot immediately infer objective succession from the subjective succession. To make this inference possible the objects states must be subject to a rule that determines them as successive. Kant mentions this requirement in the following paragraph. â€Å"must therefore consist in the order of the manifold of appearance in accordance with which the apprehension of one thing (that which happens) follows that of the other (which precedes it) in accordance with a rule. Only thereby can I be justified in saying of the appearance itself, and not merely of my apprehension, that a sequence is to be encountered in it.† (A193/B238) Then, he characterizes this rule as something that always and necessarily follows. Also, this rule must make the progress from a given time to the determinately following one possible, and necessarily relate every perception to something else in general that precedes. Accordingly, the successive states of an object must include a relation of condition to conditioned, i.e. , that of the causal dependence of successive states on a cause6; consequently, the rule is a causal rule. Kant explains the argument for the claim that we can have knowledge about objective succession if the successive states of the object stands under a causal rule in the following passage. â€Å"In accordance with such a rule there must therefore lie in that which in general precedes an occurrence the condition for a rule, in accordance with which this occurrence always and . .. David Hume. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Lewis White Beck (1978). Essays on Kant and Hume. Yale University Press. Arthur Melnick (1973). Kants Analogies of Experience. Chicago,University of Chicago Press. Gerd Buchdahl (1969). Metaphysics and the Philosophy of Science. Oxford, Basil Blackwell. Graham Bird (1973). Kants Theory of Knowledge. New York, Humanities Press. Henry E. Allison (2004). Kants Transcendental Idealism. Yale University Press. Henry E. Allison (1981). Transcendental Schematism and The Problem of the Synthetic A Priori. Dialectica 35 (1):57-83. Immanuel Kant, Prolegomena and metaphysical foundations of natural science. Immanuel Kant (2007). Critique of pure reason. In Elizabeth Schmidt Radcliffe, Richard McCarty, Fritz Allhoff Anand Vaidya (eds.), Late Modern Philosophy: Essential Readings with Commentary. Blackwell Pub. Ltd..

Tuesday, December 3, 2019

Scientific Management free essay sample

Prior to the development of scientific management, works were performed by skilled craftsmen who had learned their jobs by apprenticeships and they made their own decisions about how their job was to be carried out. Scientific management changed skilled crafts to a series of simplified jobs that could be performed by unskilled workers who could be trained to perform the task, Taylor developed this theory as he worked his way up from a labourer to a manager in a US steelworks company. He realised the worker in his company were not efficient, hence he wanted to improve the workers’ productivity. Talyor stated that inefficiency is caused by both labour and management. He had observed, that workers purposely operate below their capacity and at the slowest rate that would not be punished, which is called soldiering. Managers were incompetence and irrational. Managers lacked information and knowledge about work process, worker’s abilities and the time which is required to complete the tasks. We will write a custom essay sample on Scientific Management or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Time management is done by guesswork. Taylor portrayed managers as ignorant, arbitrary, selfish and blind to their own real interest. Rose, Rational Workmen and Incompetent Managers, 1978) Taylor’s scientific management can be divided into three broad areas. The first is improving the organisational structure and routine. The second is the measurement of work and the design of task. The third is on the selection and motivation of workers (Rose, Rational Workmen and Incompetent Managers, 1978). Taylor started â€Å"Functional Foremanship† to improve the company organisational structure and routine. Workers are more likely to be less productive when supervised by a manager who is ignorant about the work process. Hence, Taylor recommended that 8 foremen are required to supervise the workers, because one foreman will not be able to be expert in all the work process. Taylor’s functional foremanship is separated into planning and operation. The four position Taylor named for planning foremen are route clerk, who determines the sequence of operations; instruction card clerk, who gives out detailed instructions about the work; time and cost clerk, who determines the time table, materials and cost of labour for a job and disciplinarian, who handles problems with discipline and absenteeism. managementstudyguide, 2008) The operations foremen are those in charge of the on-the-job-performance. They are the gang boss, who sets up the equipment; speed boss, who is responsible for maintaining a proper speed of work; repair boss, who is responsible for the repairs and maintenance of machines; and inspector, who is responsible for maintaining the quality of production. (managementstudyguide, 2008) Ta ylor developed work-study. It is the scientific study of a task to find the ‘one best way’ to perform that task . It focuses on the methods used in the task, the time taken to finish the task, the tools used, the level of fatigue. Time study was characterized by the use of a stopwatch to time a worker’s sequence of motions, to determine the time to perform the job. This technique is based on the study of an average worker having reasonable skill and ability. Motion study, observe the movement to perform a job. The purpose of motion study is to eliminate useless motions and determine the best way of doing the job. Motion study increases efficiency and productivity of workers by cutting down useless motions. Taylor designed workplace experiments to determine optimal performance level. He picked ten to fifteen men who have reasonable skills in the job and observe them and notice the elements of the sequence of operations they employed. Using a stopwatch, he timed each element for each worker. Identifying and eliminating useless operations that do not have contribution to the task. He then select the quickest methods discovered in each element and fit them into a sequence and teach the other workers this sequence, forbidding any differences. Lastly, add up the times for each element and include allowance for resting, this will be the â€Å"quickest and best† method for the job. Since, it is the â€Å"best way† all the workers have to practise it. (Rose, Rational Workmen and Incompetent Managers, 1978) Designing of tools to suit the work process is important to increase work productivity. Materials, weight, length of the tool are taken into consideration of designing a better tool. Taylor experiments with shovel design until he had a design that would allow workers to shovel for several hours straight. Worker will get tired after working for long hours and productivity will decrease. Hence, study could determine the number of hours or maximum amount of work a worker can do in a day before fatigue sets in. Lastly is labour selection and motivation. Taylor said that every task should be performed by a ‘first class man’ for a specific task. â€Å"First-class† men should be given â€Å"a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work†. (Rose 1978: 36) â€Å"First-class† man can be both born and trained. Workers should go for training and development courses so that they are always performing their work as efficiently as possible, Taylor believed that all workers work for extrinsic reasons and are motivated by money. Therefore he promoted the idea of â€Å"a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work†. Work is pair according to the productivity of each workers rather than a set wage. If a worker did not achieve enough in a day, he would not be deserved to be paid as much as other workers who were more productive. However, Taylor also recognised that workers may be motivated by other ways too, other than money. Taylor’s scientific management consisted of four principles. He replaced rule-of-thumb work methods based on scientific study of the tasks. Scientifically select, train and develop each employee rather than passively leaving them to train themselves. He provided instruction and each worker is being supervised. Works are divided equally between managers and workers, for managers to apply scientific management principle to plan work and for workers to perform the jobs. (Mindtools, 2011) Taylors methods and his views of the worker met with resistance from labour. In 1911 Taylorism suffered a setback when workers at Watertown Federal Arsenal went on strike. Workers did not accept Taylors methods readily. Although Taylor’s scientific management principles aimed to improve productivity and had a substantial impact in workforces, it also increased the monotony and rigidness of work. Flexibility, skill variety, task identity, freedom, feedbacks were all not included in scientific management. Tasks are repetitive and boring and hence workers are not motivates to do the job whole heartedly. Teamwork was neglected and not emphasized in scientific management. Complaints that Taylorism was dehumanizing led to an investigation by Unites States Congress. NetMBA, 2002) Workers are treated like machines. The allocation of work, specifying not only what to be done but how it is done and the exact time to complete the task, leaving no room for workers to excel, think, display their talent and express their opinions. .There is weaknesses and flaws in Taylor’s scientific management. The way Taylor determined the â€Å"quickest and best† method for the job is technically faulty. I t derived from a study of a group of workers who are skilled at the task. It is not an accurate representation of the whole labour, it is purposive not a random sample. Different workers have different capabilities and some are not as skilled as the studied workers, hence they may be outpaced. Taylor thought these workers may be â€Å"best men† at some other task, which is unlikely to happen in the real world. Taylor’s approach ignores the many difference between people. Everyone has different capabilities and weakness. There is no guarantee that a â€Å"best way† will suit everyone Money indeed is an important motivation at work for many people but it is not for everyone. Taylor overlooked that fact that people may work for other reasons other than financial rewards. Despite its controversy, scientific management changes the way work was done and forms of it are used today. There are some major factors of scientific management are currently implemented. However the full adaptation of scientific management is not possible as it will cause companies resistance to change. MacDonalds is one of the biggest users of scientific management. Taylor’s main objective was to create the best man for the job by dividing the labour and workers will be specialised in the task that they are doing. The method in which McDonalds create their hamburger is a form of deskilling and division of labour. For example they have simplified the job by firstly grilling the burger, putting in lettuce and tomatoes, adding sauce etc, putting onto rolls and then wrapping it up. This is a breakdown of the job and by having individuals do each task improves efficiency. Other process such as cooking times, drinks dispensers, French fries machines, and programmed cash registers ( (Huczynski, p. 434), are methods that are used to reduce time that is needed to complete the task and hence showing that aspects of Taylorism. Another example of scientific management being implemented is in supermarkets. Different employees have different roles, some scan products, handle queries, replenish stocks and hence this is all adapting some aspects of Taylor in terms of division of labour. Another sector that is using scientific management is call centres. Staffs were checked upon by their supervisors on whether they were giving an efficient and good service. This is the foundation of scientific management which replaced the old rule of thumb. Managers gain control over employees, by recording or listening to their conversations they are in. Piece rate system is adopted to motivate workers. Similarly in call centres staffs are given a basic wage and then commission for every sale and if they meet their daily or weekly targets they are given bonuses Although the whole principle of Taylorism is not practiced much today, scientific management did provide many significant contributions to the advancement of management practice. It introduced systematic selection and training procedures, it provided a way to study workplace efficiency, and it encouraged the idea of systematic organizational design. Work count: 1684 Bibliography Huczynski, A. (n. d. ). Organizational Behaviour. 434. managementstudyguide. (2008). managementstudyguide. Retrieved Feburary 20, 2013, from managementstudyguide: http://www. managementstudyguide. com/techniques_scientificmanagement. htm Mindtools. (2011). Mindtools. Retrieved Feburary 18, 2013, from Mindtools: http://www. mindtools. com/pages/article/newTMM_Taylor. htm NetMBA. (2002). Internet Centre for Management and Business Administration, Inc. Retrieved Feburary 19, 2013, from NetMBA. com: http://www. netmba. com/mgmt/scientific/ Rose. (1978). Rational Workmen and Incompetent Managers. 35.

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

women and AIDS essays

women and AIDS essays Understanding the Issues of Women and HIV/AIDS Colgate University, Hamilton NY 13346 Infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) had emerged as a major health problem for women in the United States. Family physicians can play an important role in the detection and care of HIV-infected women. The epidemiology and natural history of HIV infection in women were reviewed. HIV infection is now a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among young women in the United States, particularly women of racial and ethnic minorities. Most cases of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in women occur as a result of injection-drug use or heterosexual transmission. Based on limited information, women and men appear to have similar AIDS-defining conditions. Gynecological problems are common n HIV-infected women. Pregnancy does not seem to be affected by early HIV infection, but women with advanced disease might be at increased risk for obstetric complications. More women need to be included in natural history studies and clinical drug trials. Early awareness o f HIV infection and better access to health care services are required to improve the treatment and survival of HIV-infected women. KEYWORDS: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Pregnancy, Zidovudine (AZT), Vaginal Candidasis, Transmission Methods of HIV/AIDS, Perinatal Transmission, Women and HIV "Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) has been declared the public health threat of the century " (1 cited in 2). The US Surgeon General has designated it as the nations number one health priority (2). AIDS is a disease that affects the immune system. The term immunodeficiency refers to the inability of the immune system to function properly, thus making the individual susceptible to a variety of infections not typically found in a healthy immune system (3). A syndrome is a group of symptoms or illnes...

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Why Water Is More Dense Than Ice

Why Water Is More Dense Than Ice Water is unusual in that its maximum density occurs as a liquid, rather than as a solid. This means ice floats on water. Density is the mass per unit volume of a material. For all substances, density changes with temperature. The mass of material does not change, but the volume or space that it occupies either increases or decreases with temperature. The vibration of molecules increases as temperature rises and they absorb more energy. For most substances, this increases the space between molecules, making warmer liquids less dense than cooler solids. Its All About Hydrogen Bonds However, this effect is offset in water by hydrogen bonding. In liquid water, hydrogen bonds connect each water  molecule to approximately 3.4 other water molecules. When water freezes into ice, it crystallizes into a rigid lattice that increases the space between molecules, with each  molecule hydrogen bonded to 4 other molecules.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

The Myth of Americanism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Myth of Americanism - Essay Example American values are a direct product of its body of creation stories encompassed by the culture. Americans believe in individuality, self-sufficiency (the idea of "rags to riches" or being a "self-made man") and the inherently optimistic (and perhaps unrealistic) "American Dream". Americans believe that anything is possible. Children grow up being told that they can have or achieve anything if they work hard enough. They are told that anyone can grow up to be president, and that that is part of what makes America great. This is perhaps the biggest mythological trope in American society-that in the "land of opportunity" anyone can get ahead if they are willing to work for it, and that all members of society begin on an even playing field. These three ideas, individuality, self-sufficiency, and the "American dream" or "Land of Opportunity" where anything is possible are closely linked, and stem from beliefs about the creation of America itself that directly mirror other creation storie s from around the world. Furthermore, these deeply held beliefs permeate the American psyche, coloring our perceptions of success and failure. The theme of individuality is especially present in the Gospel of John. This myth is very pertinent to modern American society as it is a version of creation with which most citizens will be familiar; many Americans actively believe in this creation myth, and thus it shapes American society closely. The Fourth Gospel of John is seen in Christian mythology to enhance the creation story of Genesis, inserting an explanation for the presence of Jesus Christ. The Creator has gone from a relatively impersonal, genderless, plural God (elohim is the Hebrew plural for "God") to a personified Jesus Christ. Jesus is a God, but he is also a man. This version of creation places him present at the very moment the world was made: "3. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. 4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men." (qtd in Leeming 35) Furthermore, the gospel states "6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 The same came for a wit ness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe." (qtd in Leeming 35) The inclusion of a mortal, John, in this revised version of creation further humanizes the myth. The impact this has had on modern Americans is most clear among Christians, for obvious reasons: the popular phrase "Jesus is my personal savior" emphasizes this individual, personal connection to divinity which is a hallmark not just of American Christians, but of the American tendency to personalize religion which is seen among everyone from modern Pagans who choose which deities to worship, to acculturated members of other faiths such as Judaism or Hinduism who participate in religious practice on a selective basis. Religion, like the rest of American life, is seen as a matter of individualized, personal choice. Self-sufficiency is central in the Hopi myth of the Sun and the Spider Woman. In this myth, the two collaborate to create the world, dividing themselves into various aspects of the divine to perform specific tasks. Upon creating people, Spider Woman says: "The woman of the clan shall build the house, and the family name shall descend through her. She shall be house builder and homemaker. She shall mold