Super Predators Essays - Criminology, Forensic Psychology, Crime

Super Predators What is the "super predator"? They are young hypercriminals who are committing acts of violence of unprecedented coldness and brutality. This newest phenomenon in the world of crime is perhaps the most dangerous challenge facing society and law enforcement ever. While psychopaths are not new, this breed of super criminal exceeds the scope of psychopathic behaviour. They are younger, more brutal, and completely unafraid of the law. While current research on the super predator is scarce, I will attempt to give an indication as to the reasons a child could become just such a monster. Violent teenage criminals have become increasingly vicious. John DiIulio, Professor of Politics and Public Affairs at Princeton University, says, The difference between the juvenile criminals of the 1950s and those of the 1970s and early 1980s was the difference between the Sharks and the Jets of West Side Story and the Bloods and the Crips. It is not inconceivable that the demographic surge of the next ten years will bring with it young criminals who make the Bloods and the Crips look tame." (Bennett, DiIulio, & Walters, 1996, p. 17). They are what Professor DiIulio and others call urban "super predators"; young people, often from broken homes or so called dysfunctional families, who commit murder, rape, robbery, kidnapping, and other violent acts. These emotionally damaged young people, often are the products of sexual or physical abuse. They live in an aimless and violent present; have no sense of the past and no hope for the future; they commit unspeakably brutal crimes against other people, often to gratify whatever urges or desires drive them at the moment and their utter lack of remorse is shocking. Studies reveal that the major cause of violent crime is not poverty but family breakdown, specifically the absence of a father in the household. Today, one-fourth of all the children in North America live in fatherless homes. This adds up to 19 million children without fathers. In comparison to children who live in two parent homes, these children will be twice as likely to drop out of school, twice as likely to have children out of wedlock, and they stand more than three times the chance of ending up in poverty, and almost ten times more likely to commit violent crime and ending up in prison. The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, reported that the rise in violent crime over the past 30 years runs directly parallel to the rise in fatherless families. In the United States, according to the Heritage Foundation, the rate for juvenile crime is closely linked to the percentage of children raised in single-parent families. While it has long been thought that poverty is the primary cause of crime, the facts simply do not support this view. Juvenile criminal behaviour has its roots in habitual deprivation of parental love and affection going back to early infancy. A father's attention to his son has enormous positive effects on the child's emotional and social development. A young boy abandoned by his father is deprived of a deep sense of personal security. In a well-functioning family the presence of the father embodies authority and paternal authority is critical to the prevention of psychopathology and delinquency. In addition to the problem of single parent homes, is the problem of the children whose behavioural problems are linked to their mothers' drug use during pregnancy. Children reaching their teenage years could result in a potentially aggressive population. Drug use has more than doubled among 12 to 17year olds since 1991. "The overwhelming common factor that can be isolated in determining whether young people will be criminal in their behaviour is moral poverty". (Worsham, James-Blakely, and Stephen, 1997, p 24) According to the recently published "Body Count: Moral Poverty . . . and How to Win America' s War Against Crime and Drugs," a new generation of "super-predators, " untouched by any moral inclinations, will hit America's streets in the next decade. John DiIulio, the Brookings Institute fellow who co-wrote the book with William Bennett and John Walters, calls it a "multivariate phenomenon, " meaning that child abuse, the high number of available high-tech guns, alcoholism and many other factors feed the problem. University of Pennsylvania professor Mavin Wolfgang says, "6 percent to 7 percent of the boys in an age group will be chronic offenders, meaning they are arrested five or more times before the age of 18." If that holds true, because there will be 500,000 more boys ages 14 to 17 in the year 2000 than there were in 1995,

Zitkala-Sa’s Influence on the Fight Against Native American Maltreatment Professor Ramos Blog

Zitkala-Sa’s Influence on the Fight Against Native American Maltreatment Although the maltreatment and oppression of Native Americans is not to the same extent as before, it is still a prevalent issue in modern times. Timeless writing enables people to experience and further understand the context of the issues the Native Americans are fighting against. Going back to the 1800’s where settlers have come and conquered Native American land, people such as Gertrude Simmons Bonnin (also known as Zitkala-Sa) helped stand up for Native American rights and fight against the oppression. As a young girl, Zitkala-Sa was taken from her tribe and sent to a â€Å"assimilative boarding school system† where she became educated and used her education to help Native Americans (Hafen 199). She was a very active member of the Indian Service, the Society of American Indians, and the National Council of American Indians. Through her work and her writings, she was able to express the pain and confusion that Native Americans experienced during the times dealing with the assimilation. Her work, Impressions of an Indian Childhood recounts her personal experience growing up watching the pain and sorrow from her mother as she still grieves the loss of a child and husband from the war. As well as her recount on the bribery and confusion on being taken away from her tribe to attend a boarding school. Zitkala-Sa also wrote a short story called The Soft-Hearted Sioux told from a boy’s perspective. The narrator is, again, taken from his home to attend an assimilative school and comes back years later to his father ill and dying. Having lost touch with his tribal roots, he is untrusting of the medicine-men and in return, the medicine men are untrusting of him and his faith in God and belief in Christianity. The tribe abandons him and he struggles to hunt for food for his starving parents. He ends up stealing meat from a white mans farm and kills the white man as he is desperately trying to make it home to save his father from starvation. He returns home to his father already dead. He is sent to die and ultimately, questions his beliefs as he is confused and torn between the culture he grew up in and the culture forced upon him. Zitkala-Sa’s Impressions of an Indian Childhood and The Soft-Hearted Sioux both embody the still relevant cultural conflict of Native Americans being taken away at a young age to become more Americanized, questioning their beliefs and culture, and being distrusted by their tribe. During the 1800’s it was common for young Native American children to be taken from their homes and brought to boarding schools in order to educate them formally and culturally. Zitkala-Sa describes her experience being taken away at eight years old in Impressions of an Indian Childhood. Zitkala-Sa explains how they would bribe the young children into believing that going away was something they wanted to do. They played on the idea of a fantasy for a child even using the term â€Å"iron horse† instead of train (659). She recalls the â€Å"lure of the red apples in the boarding school† as well (Hefan 212). To a child who is innocent and especially one from a tribe who is unable to experience luxuries of countless apples or riding a train, given the opportunity was tempting. This is where the confusion between the rift of cultures begins for the Native Americans growing up in this time period. Although Zitkala-Sa begged to be able to go and when her mother finally caved (against her will), as soon as she was taken from her mother the excitement vanished. Instead, she felt feelings of regret and sadness. She explains how she was â€Å"trembling with fear and distrust of the palefaces† and explains how their â€Å"first step, parting [her] from [her] mother, was taken† (660). She was initially excited to go to a new place of endless red apples but when she was taken away from her tribe she realizes the truth of what was happening. She was taken from her mother and was alone with the â€Å"palefaces† who she cannot trust. She was unfamiliar with their language or culture, which further makes her feel alone, scared and lost between the two cultures. Furthermore, the assimilation that was forced upon the Native Americans caused them to question their beliefs and disassociate with their culture. She describes how her older brother had already spent couple of years in the boarding school and when he came back, their mother was influenced to â€Å"take a farther step from her native living† (658). Their mother slowly started to adapt and change their home into a more â€Å"Americanized† version of a home, replacing â€Å"buffalo skin to the white man’s canvas† (658). Although her mother was never taken as a child and forced to assimilate into American culture, she still conformed to the American culture through the knowledge that her son would bring back from the boarding school. In The Soft-Hearted Sioux Zitkala-Sa uses this short story to further emphasize how they were made to question their beliefs and disassociate from their culture. The narrator of the story explains how he was taken from his home for ten years where he was taught to believe in Christianity and instead of growing up to be the traditional â€Å"warrior, huntsman, and husband† from the Sioux tribe, he was taught that those parts of his culture were wrong (661). In essence, forcing him to disassociate with his Sioux tribe culture. Another instance where Zitkala-Sa exemplifies this issue is when the narrator kicks the medicine-man out of their home because he believes it will â€Å"ensnare† his fathers soul (662). Medicine-men are an important part of the Native American culture and beliefs, where they come and help heal the sick. The narrator has a change of belief in his culture believing the medicine-man is a entity of evil that will damn him fathers soul from Heaven. The narrators change of beliefs comes from the forced education of the Christian religion and being convinced that his culture is wrong and evil, causing a drift between the elders in his tribe (such as the medicine-man and his parents) and himself. Adopting aspects of the American culture and leaving behind their old Native American culture caused tension and distrust between Native Americans. Zitkala-Sa and her husband opted to stick with their religious beliefs. This resulted in their son Ohiya being â€Å"turned away from a Christmas party social on the basis of his Catholicism† (Hefan 201). This lack of trust and tension between the Native Americans came to light as more of them began to gear away from their traditional beliefs and accept and incorporate the new American traditions that were taught to them. This topic is also discussed in The Soft-Hearted Sioux when the narrator tries to preach the word of God to his tribe. The medicine-man recognizes him and convinces everyone that he is a â€Å"traitor to his people† so that night, the tribe abandons the narrator and his family (663). A clear divide arises as the narrator is viewed as untrustworthy and a traitor to his tribe as he has fallen victim to the white mans teachings. The story ends with the narrator awaiting his sentence of death and he questions whether he will see â€Å"the loving Jesus† or his â€Å"warrior father† greeting him when he dies (665). This brings forth a personal cultural conflict as well between deciding what the people of the tribe expect and what has been taught at the boarding schools. The narrator begins to question his beliefs between both cultures and he is torn between them. Although a majority of the assimilation occurred many years ago, the issue of oppression for Native Americans is still prevalent today and writings such as those of Zitkala-Sa provide context for the continuing fight for their rights. According to Barbra Perry and Linda Robyn, their study of the Chippewa’s tribe of Northern Wisconsin show â€Å"Native Americans across the country continue to experience myriad and interrelated forms of economic, political, and social oppression† (590). Although many of the issues regarding Native Americans have advanced a significant amount, there are still more issues to be addressed such as the violence geared toward them in certain areas as well fighting for their treaty rights. This can be seen between 1960 and 1980 when the government tried to take away the Chippewa’s right to fish (592). The government would try to restrict them from being able to fish by doing a treaty abrogation. This was a huge set back considering they are dependent on fishing â€Å"financially† and â€Å"culturally† as their â€Å"cultural forms and religion and diet, and the entire culture is based around it† (592). This oppression not only strips them of their financial needs to live but also of their culture, similar to the experiences Zitkala-Sa expresses through her forced assimilation into a more â€Å"Americanized† person. Although it is it not common to hear, in present times, of Native American children being forcefully taken away and stripped of their culture, their culture is still vulnerable and being taken away with other forms of oppression and assimilation. In conclusion, Native Americans have dealt with and still are dealing with very traumatic oppression. It is important that people like Zitkala-Sa have written of their experiences because their writings are still relevant in present time issues and bring forth context needed to understand the fight that Native Americans are still fighting. Hafen, P. Jane. â€Å"‘Help Indians Help Themselves.’† American Indian Quarterly, vol. 37, no. 3, Summer 2013, pp. 198–218. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1353/aiq.2013.0041. â€Å"Miss Robertsons Scholars at the Mission School at Mus-Ko-Gee Indian Territory.† Photographs Western History, digital.denverlibrary.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15330coll22/id/24093. Perry, Barbara, and Linda Robyn. â€Å"Putting Anti-Indian Violence in Context: The Case of the Great Lakes Chippewas of Wisconsin.† American Indian Quarterly, vol. 29, no. 3/4, Summer/Fall2005 2005, pp. 590–625. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1353/aiq.2005.0102. Simmons Bonnin, Gertrude. â€Å"Impressions of An Indian Childhood.† The Norton Anthology of American Literature, by Robert S. Levine, 9th ed., W. W. Norton Company, 2017, pp. 655–660. Simmons Bonnin, Gertrude. â€Å"The Soft-Hearted Sioux.† The Norton Anthology of American Literature, by Robert S. Levine, 9th ed., W. W. Norton Company, 2017, pp. 660–665.

A Game of Thrones Chapter Sixtyeight

There was a door ahead of her, tiny with distance, but even from afar, she saw that it was painted red. She walked faster, and her bare feet left bloody footprints on the stone. â€Å"You don’t want to wake the dragon, do you?† She saw sunlight on the Dothraki sea, the living plain, rich with the smells of earth and death. Wind stirred the grasses, and they rippled like water. Drogo held her in strong arms, and his hand stroked her sex and opened her and woke that sweet wetness that was his alone, and the stars smiled down on them, stars in a daylight sky. â€Å"Home,† she whispered as he entered her and filled her with his seed, but suddenly the stars were gone, and across the blue sky swept the great wings, and the world took flame. † . . . don’t want to wake the dragon, do you?† Ser Jorah’s face was drawn and sorrowful. â€Å"Rhaegar was the last dragon,† he told her. He warmed translucent hands over a glowing brazier where stone eggs smouldered red as coals. One moment he was there and the next he was fading, his flesh colorless, less substantial than the wind. â€Å"The last dragon,† he whispered, thin as a wisp, and was gone. She felt the dark behind her, and the red door seemed farther away than ever. † . . . don’t want to wake the dragon, do you?† Viserys stood before her, screaming. â€Å"The dragon does not beg, slut. You do not command the dragon. I am the dragon, and I will be crowned.† The molten gold trickled down his face like wax, burning deep channels in his flesh. â€Å"I am the dragon and I will be crowned!† he shrieked, and his fingers snapped like snakes, biting at her nipples, pinching, twisting, even as his eyes burst and ran like jelly down seared and blackened cheeks. † . . . don’t want to wake the dragon . . . â€Å" The red door was so far ahead of her, and she could feel the icy breath behind, sweeping up on her. If it caught her she would die a death that was more than death, howling forever alone in the darkness. She began to run. † . . . don’t want to wake the dragon . . . â€Å" She could feel the heat inside her, a terrible burning in her womb. Her son was tall and proud, with Drogo’s copper skin and her own silver-gold hair, violet eyes shaped like almonds. And he smiled for her and began to lift his hand toward hers, but when he opened his mouth the fire poured out. She saw his heart burning through his chest, and in an instant he was gone, consumed like a moth by a candle, turned to ash. She wept for her child, the promise of a sweet mouth on her breast, but her tears turned to steam as they touched her skin. † . . . want to wake the dragon . . . â€Å" Ghosts lined the hallway, dressed in the faded raiment of kings. In their hands were swords of pale fire. They had hair of silver and hair of gold and hair of platinum white, and their eyes were opal and amethyst, tourmaline and jade. â€Å"Faster,† they cried, â€Å"faster, faster.† She raced, her feet melting the stone wherever they touched. â€Å"Faster!† the ghosts cried as one, and she screamed and threw herself forward. A great knife of pain ripped down her back, and she felt her skin tear open and smelled the stench of burning blood and saw the shadow of wings. And Daenerys Targaryen flew. † . . . wake the dragon . . . â€Å" The door loomed before her, the red door, so close, so close, the hall was a blur around her, the cold receding behind. And now the stone was gone and she flew across the Dothraki sea, high and higher, the green rippling beneath, and all that lived and breathed fled in terror from the shadow of her wings. She could smell home, she could see it, there, just beyond that door, green fields and great stone houses and arms to keep her warm, there. She threw open the door. † . . . the dragon . . . â€Å" And saw her brother Rhaegar, mounted on a stallion as black as his armor. Fire glimmered red through the narrow eye slit of his helm. â€Å"The last dragon,† Ser Jorah’s voice whispered faintly. â€Å"The last, the last.† Dany lifted his polished black visor. The face within was her own. After that, for a long time, there was only the pain, the fire within her, and the whisperings of stars. She woke to the taste of ashes. â€Å"No,† she moaned, â€Å"no, please.† â€Å"Khaleesi?† Jhiqui hovered over her, a frightened doe. The tent was drenched in shadow, still and close. Flakes of ash drifted upward from a brazier, and Dany followed them with her eyes through the smoke hole above. Flying, she thought. I had wings, I was flying. But it was only a dream. â€Å"Help me,† she whispered, struggling to rise. â€Å"Bring me . . . † Her voice was raw as a wound, and she could not think what she wanted. Why did she hurt so much? It was as if her body had been torn to pieces and remade from the scraps. â€Å"I want . . . â€Å" â€Å"Yes, Khaleesi.† Quick as that Jhiqui was gone, bolting from the tent, shouting. Dany needed . . . something . . . someone . . . what? It was important, she knew. It was the only thing in the world that mattered. She rolled onto her side and got an elbow under her, fighting the blanket tangled about her legs. It was so hard to move. The world swam dizzily. I have to . . . They found her on the carpet, crawling toward her dragon eggs. Ser Jorah Mormont lifted her in his arms and carried her back to her sleeping silks, while she struggled feebly against him. Over his shoulder she saw her three handmaids, Jhogo with his little wisp of mustache, and the flat broad face of Mirri Maz Duur. â€Å"I must,† she tried to tell them, â€Å"I have to . . . â€Å" † . . . sleep, Princess,† Ser Jorah said. â€Å"No,† Dany said. â€Å"Please. Please.† â€Å"Yes.† He covered her with silk, though she was burning. â€Å"Sleep and grow strong again, Khaleesi. Come back to us.† And then Mirri Maz Duur was there, the maegi, tipping a cup against her lips. She tasted sour milk, and something else, something thick and bitter. Warm liquid ran down her chin. Somehow she swallowed. The tent grew dimmer, and sleep took her again. This time she did not dream. She floated, serene and at peace, on a black sea that knew no shore. After a time—a night, a day, a year, she could not say—she woke again. The tent was dark, its silken walls flapping like wings when the wind gusted outside. This time Dany did not attempt to rise. â€Å"Irri,† she called, â€Å"Jhiqui. Doreah.† They were there at once. â€Å"My throat is dry,† she said, â€Å"so dry,† and they brought her water. It was warm and flat, yet Dany drank it eagerly, and sent Jhiqui for more. Irri dampened a soft cloth and stroked her brow. â€Å"I have been sick,† Dany said. The Dothraki girl nodded. â€Å"How long?† The cloth was soothing, but Irri seemed so sad, it frightened her. â€Å"Long,† she whispered. When Jhiqui returned with more water, Mirri Maz Duur came with her, eyes heavy from sleep. â€Å"Drink,† she said, lifting Dany’s head to the cup once more, but this time it was only wine. Sweet, sweet wine. Dany drank, and lay back, listening to the soft sound of her own br eathing. She could feel the heaviness in her limbs, as sleep crept in to fill her up once more. â€Å"Bring me . . . † she murmured, her voice slurred and drowsy. â€Å"Bring . . . I want to hold . . . â€Å" â€Å"Yes?† the maegi asked. â€Å"What is it you wish, Khaleesi?† â€Å"Bring me . . . egg . . . dragon’s egg . . . please . . . † Her lashes turned to lead, and she was too weary to hold them up. When she woke the third time, a shaft of golden sunlight was pouring through the smoke hole of the tent, and her arms were wrapped around a dragon’s egg. It was the pale one, its scales the color of butter cream, veined with whorls of gold and bronze, and Dany could feel the heat of it. Beneath her bedsilks, a fine sheen of perspiration covered her bare skin. Dragondew, she thought. Her fingers trailed lightly across the surface of the shell, tracing the wisps of gold, and deep in the stone she felt something twist and stretch in response. It did not frighten her. All her fear was gone, burned away. Dany touched her brow. Under the film of sweat, her skin was cool to the touch, her fever gone. She made herself sit. There was a moment of dizziness, and the deep ache between her thighs. Yet she felt strong. Her maids came running at the sound of her voice. â€Å"Water,† she told them, â€Å"a flagon of water, cold as you can find it. And fruit, I think. Dates.† â€Å"As you say, Khaleesi.† â€Å"I want Ser Jorah,† she said, standing. Jhiqui brought a sandsilk robe and draped it over her shoulders. â€Å"And a warm bath, and Mirri Maz Duur, and . . . † Memory came back to her all at once, and she faltered. â€Å"Khal Drogo,† she forced herself to say, watching their faces with dread. â€Å"Is hemdash?† â€Å"The khal lives,† Irri answered quietly . . . yet Dany saw a darkness in her eyes when she said the words, and no sooner had she spoken than she rushed away to fetch water. She turned to Doreah. â€Å"Tell me.† â€Å"I . . . I shall bring Ser Jorah,† the Lysene girl said, bowing her head and fleeing the tent. Jhiqui would have run as well, but Dany caught her by the wrist and held her captive. â€Å"What is it? I must know. Drogo . . . and my child.† Why had she not remembered the child until now? â€Å"My son . . . Rhaego . . . where is he? I want him.† Her handmaid lowered her eyes. â€Å"The boy . . . he did not live, Khaleesi.† Her voice was a frightened whisper. Dany released her wrist. My son is dead, she thought as Jhiqui left the tent. She had known somehow. She had known since she woke the first time to Jhiqui’s tears. No, she had known before she woke. Her dream came back to her, sudden and vivid, and she remembered the tall man with the copper skin and long silver-gold braid, bursting into flame. She should weep, she knew, yet her eyes were dry as ash. She had wept in her dream, and the tears had turned to steam on her cheeks. All the grief has been burned out of me, she told herself. She felt sad, and yet . . . she could feel Rhaego receding from her, as if he had never been. Ser Jorah and Mirri Maz Duur entered a few moments later, and found Dany standing over the other dragon’s eggs, the two still in their chest. It seemed to her that they felt as hot as the one she had slept with, which was passing strange. â€Å"Ser Jorah, come here,† she said. She took his hand and placed it on the black egg with the scarlet swirls. â€Å"What do you feel?† â€Å"Shell, hard as rock.† The knight was wary. â€Å"Scales.† â€Å"Heat?† â€Å"No. Cold stone.† He took his hand away. â€Å"Princess, are you well? Should you be up, weak as you are?† â€Å"Weak? I am strong, Jorah.† To please him, she reclined on a pile of cushions. â€Å"Tell me how my child died.† â€Å"He never lived, my princess. The women say . . . † He faltered, and Dany saw how the flesh hung loose on him, and the way he limped when he moved. â€Å"Tell me. Tell me what the women say.† He turned his face away. His eyes were haunted. â€Å"They say the child was . . . â€Å" She waited, but Ser Jorah could not say it. His face grew dark with shame. He looked half a corpse himself. â€Å"Monstrous,† Mirri Maz Duur finished for him. The knight was a powerful man, yet Dany understood in that moment that the maegi was stronger, and crueler, and infinitely more dangerous. â€Å"Twisted. I drew him forth myself. He was scaled like a lizard, blind, with the stub of a tail and small leather wings like the wings of a bat. When I touched him, the flesh sloughed off the bone, and inside he was full of graveworms and the stink of corruption. He had been dead for years.† Darkness, Dany thought. The terrible darkness sweeping up behind to devour her. If she looked back she was lost. â€Å"My son was alive and strong when Ser Jorah carried me into this tent,† she said. â€Å"I could feel him kicking, fighting to be born.† â€Å"That may be as it may be,† answered Mirri Maz Duur, â€Å"yet the creature that came forth from your womb was as I said. Death was in that tent, Khaleesi.† â€Å"Only shadows,† Ser Jorah husked, but Dany could hear the doubt in his voice. â€Å"I saw, maegi. I saw you, alone, dancing with the shadows. â€Å" â€Å"The grave casts long shadows, Iron Lord,† Mirri said. â€Å"Long and dark, and in the end no light can hold them back.† Ser Jorah had killed her son, Dany knew. He had done what he did for love and loyalty, yet he had carried her into a place no living man should go and fed her baby to the darkness. He knew it too; the grey face, the hollow eyes, the limp. â€Å"The shadows have touched you too, Ser Jorah,† she told him. The knight made no reply. Dany turned to the godswife. â€Å"You warned me that only death could pay for life. I thought you meant the horse.† â€Å"No,† Mirri Maz Duur said. â€Å"That was a lie you told yourself. You knew the price.† Had she? Had she? If I look back I am lost. â€Å"The price was paid,† Dany said. â€Å"The horse, my child, Quaro and Qotho, Haggo and Cohollo. The price was paid and paid and paid.† She rose from her cushions. â€Å"Where is Khal Drogo? Show him to me, godswife, maegi, bloodmage, whatever you are. Show me Khal Drogo. Show me what I bought with my son’s life.† â€Å"As you command, Khaleesi,† the old woman said. â€Å"Come, I will take you to him.† Dany was weaker than she knew. Ser Jorah slipped an arm around her and helped her stand. â€Å"Time enough for this later, my princess,† he said quietly. â€Å"I would see him now, Ser Jorah.† After the dimness of the tent, the world outside was blinding bright. The sun burned like molten gold, and the land was seared and empty. Her handmaids waited with fruit and wine and water, and Jhogo moved close to help Ser Jorah support her. Aggo and Rakharo stood behind. The glare of sun on sand made it hard to see more, until Dany raised her hand to shade her eyes. She saw the ashes of a fire, a few score horses milling listlessly and searching for a bite of grass, a scattering of tents and bedrolls. A small crowd of children had gathered to watch her, and beyond she glimpsed women going about their work, and withered old men staring at the flat blue sky with tired eyes, swatting feebly at bloodflies. A count might show a hundred people, no more. Where the other forty thousand had made their camp, only the wind and dust lived now. â€Å"Drogo’s khalasar is gone,† she said. â€Å"A khal who cannot ride is no khal,† said Jhogo. â€Å"The Dothraki follow only the strong,† Ser Jorah said. â€Å"I am sorry, my princess. There was no way to hold them. Ko Pono left first, naming himself Khal Pono, and many followed him. Jhaqo was not long to do the same. The rest slipped away night by night, in large bands and small. There are a dozen new khalasars on the Dothraki sea, where once there was only Drogo’s.† â€Å"The old remain,† said Aggo. â€Å"The frightened, the weak, and the sick. And we who swore. We remain.† â€Å"They took Khal Drogo’s herds, Khaleesi,† Rakharo said. â€Å"We were too few to stop them. It is the right of the strong to take from the weak. They took many slaves as well, the khal’s and yours, yet they left some few.† â€Å"Eroeh?† asked Dany, remembering the frightened child she had saved outside the city of the Lamb Men. â€Å"Mago seized her, who is Khal Jhaqo’s bloodrider now,† said Jhogo. â€Å"He mounted her high and low and gave her to his khal, and Jhaqo gave her to his other bloodriders. They were six. When they were done with her, they cut her throat.† â€Å"It was her fate, Khaleesi,† said Aggo. If I look back I am lost. â€Å"It was a cruel fate,† Dany said, â€Å"yet not so cruel as Mago’s will be. I promise you that, by the old gods and the new, by the lamb god and the horse god and every god that lives. I swear it by the Mother of Mountains and the Womb of the World. Before I am done with them, Mago and Ko Jhaqo will plead for the mercy they showed Eroeh.† The Dothraki exchanged uncertain glances. â€Å"Khaleesi, † the handmaid Irri explained, as if to a child, â€Å"Jhaqo is a khal now, with twenty thousand riders at his back.† She lifted her head. â€Å"And I am Daenerys Stormhorn, Daenerys of House Targaryen, of the blood of Aegon the Conqueror and Maegor the Cruel and old Valyria before them. I am the dragon’s daughter, and I swear to you, these men will die screaming. Now bring me to Khal Drogo.† He was lying on the bare red earth, staring up at the sun. A dozen bloodflies had settled on his body, though he did not seem to feel them. Dany brushed them away and knelt beside him. His eyes were wide open but did not see, and she knew at once that he was blind. When she whispered his name, he did not seem to hear. The wound on his breast was as healed as it would ever be, the scar that covered it grey and red and hideous. â€Å"Why is he out here alone, in the sun?† she asked them. â€Å"He seems to like the warmth, Princess,† Ser Jorah said. â€Å"His eyes follow the sun, though he does not see it. He can walk after a fashion. He will go where you lead him, but no farther. He will eat if you put food in his mouth, drink if you dribble water on his lips.† Dany kissed her sun-and-stars gently on the brow, and stood to face Mirri Maz Duur. â€Å"Your spells are costly, maegi.† â€Å"He lives,† said Mirri Maz Duur. â€Å"You asked for life. You paid for life.† â€Å"This is not life, for one who was as Drogo was. His life was laughter, and meat roasting over a firepit, and a horse between his legs. His life was an arakh in his hand and his bells ringing in his hair as he rode to meet an enemy. His life was his bloodriders, and me, and the son I was to give him.† Mirri Maz Duur made no reply. â€Å"When will he be as he was?† Dany demanded. â€Å"When the sun rises in the west and sets in the east,† said Mirri Maz Duur. â€Å"When the seas go dry and mountains blow in the wind like leaves. When your womb quickens again, and you bear a living child. Then he will return, and not before.† Dany gestured at Ser Jorah and the others. â€Å"Leave us. I would speak with this maegi alone.† Mormont and the Dothraki withdrew. â€Å"You knew,† Dany said when they were gone. She ached, inside and out, but her fury gave her strength. â€Å"You knew what I was buying, and you knew the price, and yet you let me pay it.† â€Å"It was wrong of them to burn my temple,† the heavy, flat-nosed woman said placidly. â€Å"That angered the Great Shepherd.† â€Å"This was no god’s work,† Dany said coldly. If I look back I am lost. â€Å"You cheated me. You murdered my child within me.† â€Å"The stallion who mounts the world will burn no cities now. His khalasar shall trample no nations into dust.† â€Å"I spoke for you,† she said, anguished. â€Å"I saved you.† â€Å"Saved me?† The Lhazareen woman spat. â€Å"Three riders had taken me, not as a man takes a woman but from behind, as a dog takes a bitch. The fourth was in me when you rode past. How then did you save me? I saw my god’s house burn, where I had healed good men beyond counting. My home they burned as well, and in the street I saw piles of heads. I saw the head of a baker who made my bread. I saw the head of a boy I had saved from deadeye fever, only three moons past. I heard children crying as the riders drove them off with their whips. Tell me again what you saved.† â€Å"Your life.† Mirri Maz Duur laughed cruelly. â€Å"Look to your khal and see what life is worth, when all the rest is gone.† Dany called out for the men of her khas and bid them take Mirri Maz Duur and bind her hand and foot, but the maegi smiled at her as they carried her off, as if they shared a secret. A word, and Dany could have her head off . . . yet then what would she have? A head? If life was worthless, what was death? They led Khal Drogo back to her tent, and Dany commanded them to fill a tub, and this time there was no blood in the water. She bathed him herself, washing the dirt and the dust from his arms and chest, cleaning his face with a soft cloth, soaping his long black hair and combing the knots and tangles from it till it shone again as she remembered. It was well past dark before she was done, and Dany was exhausted. She stopped for drink and food, but it was all she could do to nibble at a fig and keep down a mouthful of water. Sleep would have been a release, but she had slept enough . . . too long, in truth. She owed this night to Drogo, for all the nights that had been, and yet might be. The memory of their first ride was with her when she led him out into the darkness, for the Dothraki believed that all things of importance in a man’s life must be done beneath the open sky. She told herself that there were powers stronger than hatred, and spells older and truer than any the maegi had learned in Asshai. The night was black and moonless, but overhead a million stars burned bright. She took that for an omen. No soft blanket of grass welcomed them here, only the hard dusty ground, bare and strewn with stones. No trees stirred in the wind, and there was no stream to soothe her fears with the gentle music of water. Dany told herself that the stars would be enough. â€Å"Remember, Drogo,† she whispered. â€Å"Remember our first ride together, the day we wed. Remember the night we made Rhaego, with the khalasar all around us and your eyes on my face. Remember how cool and clean the water was in the Womb of the World. Remember, my sun-and-stars. Remember, and come back to me.† The birth had left her too raw and torn to take him inside of her, as she would have wanted, but Doreah had taught her other ways. Dany used her hands, her mouth, her breasts. She raked him with her nails and covered him with kisses and whispered and prayed and told him stories, and by the end she had bathed him with her tears. Yet Drogo did not feel, or speak, or rise. And when the bleak dawn broke over an empty horizon, Dany knew that he was truly lost to her. â€Å"When the sun rises in the west and sets in the east,† she said sadly. â€Å"When the seas go dry and mountains blow in the wind like leaves. When my womb quickens again, and I bear a living child. Then you will return, my sun-and-stars, and not before.† Never, the darkness cried, never never never. Inside the tent Dany found a cushion, soft silk stuffed with feathers. She clutched it to her breasts as she walked back out to Drogo, to her sun-and-stars. If I look back I am lost. It hurt even to walk, and she wanted to sleep, to sleep and not to dream. She knelt, kissed Drogo on the lips, and pressed the cushion down across his face. A Game of Thrones Chapter Sixtyeight There was a door ahead of her, tiny with distance, but even from afar, she saw that it was painted red. She walked faster, and her bare feet left bloody footprints on the stone. â€Å"You don’t want to wake the dragon, do you?† She saw sunlight on the Dothraki sea, the living plain, rich with the smells of earth and death. Wind stirred the grasses, and they rippled like water. Drogo held her in strong arms, and his hand stroked her sex and opened her and woke that sweet wetness that was his alone, and the stars smiled down on them, stars in a daylight sky. â€Å"Home,† she whispered as he entered her and filled her with his seed, but suddenly the stars were gone, and across the blue sky swept the great wings, and the world took flame. † . . . don’t want to wake the dragon, do you?† Ser Jorah’s face was drawn and sorrowful. â€Å"Rhaegar was the last dragon,† he told her. He warmed translucent hands over a glowing brazier where stone eggs smouldered red as coals. One moment he was there and the next he was fading, his flesh colorless, less substantial than the wind. â€Å"The last dragon,† he whispered, thin as a wisp, and was gone. She felt the dark behind her, and the red door seemed farther away than ever. † . . . don’t want to wake the dragon, do you?† Viserys stood before her, screaming. â€Å"The dragon does not beg, slut. You do not command the dragon. I am the dragon, and I will be crowned.† The molten gold trickled down his face like wax, burning deep channels in his flesh. â€Å"I am the dragon and I will be crowned!† he shrieked, and his fingers snapped like snakes, biting at her nipples, pinching, twisting, even as his eyes burst and ran like jelly down seared and blackened cheeks. † . . . don’t want to wake the dragon . . . â€Å" The red door was so far ahead of her, and she could feel the icy breath behind, sweeping up on her. If it caught her she would die a death that was more than death, howling forever alone in the darkness. She began to run. † . . . don’t want to wake the dragon . . . â€Å" She could feel the heat inside her, a terrible burning in her womb. Her son was tall and proud, with Drogo’s copper skin and her own silver-gold hair, violet eyes shaped like almonds. And he smiled for her and began to lift his hand toward hers, but when he opened his mouth the fire poured out. She saw his heart burning through his chest, and in an instant he was gone, consumed like a moth by a candle, turned to ash. She wept for her child, the promise of a sweet mouth on her breast, but her tears turned to steam as they touched her skin. † . . . want to wake the dragon . . . â€Å" Ghosts lined the hallway, dressed in the faded raiment of kings. In their hands were swords of pale fire. They had hair of silver and hair of gold and hair of platinum white, and their eyes were opal and amethyst, tourmaline and jade. â€Å"Faster,† they cried, â€Å"faster, faster.† She raced, her feet melting the stone wherever they touched. â€Å"Faster!† the ghosts cried as one, and she screamed and threw herself forward. A great knife of pain ripped down her back, and she felt her skin tear open and smelled the stench of burning blood and saw the shadow of wings. And Daenerys Targaryen flew. † . . . wake the dragon . . . â€Å" The door loomed before her, the red door, so close, so close, the hall was a blur around her, the cold receding behind. And now the stone was gone and she flew across the Dothraki sea, high and higher, the green rippling beneath, and all that lived and breathed fled in terror from the shadow of her wings. She could smell home, she could see it, there, just beyond that door, green fields and great stone houses and arms to keep her warm, there. She threw open the door. † . . . the dragon . . . â€Å" And saw her brother Rhaegar, mounted on a stallion as black as his armor. Fire glimmered red through the narrow eye slit of his helm. â€Å"The last dragon,† Ser Jorah’s voice whispered faintly. â€Å"The last, the last.† Dany lifted his polished black visor. The face within was her own. After that, for a long time, there was only the pain, the fire within her, and the whisperings of stars. She woke to the taste of ashes. â€Å"No,† she moaned, â€Å"no, please.† â€Å"Khaleesi?† Jhiqui hovered over her, a frightened doe. The tent was drenched in shadow, still and close. Flakes of ash drifted upward from a brazier, and Dany followed them with her eyes through the smoke hole above. Flying, she thought. I had wings, I was flying. But it was only a dream. â€Å"Help me,† she whispered, struggling to rise. â€Å"Bring me . . . † Her voice was raw as a wound, and she could not think what she wanted. Why did she hurt so much? It was as if her body had been torn to pieces and remade from the scraps. â€Å"I want . . . â€Å" â€Å"Yes, Khaleesi.† Quick as that Jhiqui was gone, bolting from the tent, shouting. Dany needed . . . something . . . someone . . . what? It was important, she knew. It was the only thing in the world that mattered. She rolled onto her side and got an elbow under her, fighting the blanket tangled about her legs. It was so hard to move. The world swam dizzily. I have to . . . They found her on the carpet, crawling toward her dragon eggs. Ser Jorah Mormont lifted her in his arms and carried her back to her sleeping silks, while she struggled feebly against him. Over his shoulder she saw her three handmaids, Jhogo with his little wisp of mustache, and the flat broad face of Mirri Maz Duur. â€Å"I must,† she tried to tell them, â€Å"I have to . . . â€Å" † . . . sleep, Princess,† Ser Jorah said. â€Å"No,† Dany said. â€Å"Please. Please.† â€Å"Yes.† He covered her with silk, though she was burning. â€Å"Sleep and grow strong again, Khaleesi. Come back to us.† And then Mirri Maz Duur was there, the maegi, tipping a cup against her lips. She tasted sour milk, and something else, something thick and bitter. Warm liquid ran down her chin. Somehow she swallowed. The tent grew dimmer, and sleep took her again. This time she did not dream. She floated, serene and at peace, on a black sea that knew no shore. After a time—a night, a day, a year, she could not say—she woke again. The tent was dark, its silken walls flapping like wings when the wind gusted outside. This time Dany did not attempt to rise. â€Å"Irri,† she called, â€Å"Jhiqui. Doreah.† They were there at once. â€Å"My throat is dry,† she said, â€Å"so dry,† and they brought her water. It was warm and flat, yet Dany drank it eagerly, and sent Jhiqui for more. Irri dampened a soft cloth and stroked her brow. â€Å"I have been sick,† Dany said. The Dothraki girl nodded. â€Å"How long?† The cloth was soothing, but Irri seemed so sad, it frightened her. â€Å"Long,† she whispered. When Jhiqui returned with more water, Mirri Maz Duur came with her, eyes heavy from sleep. â€Å"Drink,† she said, lifting Dany’s head to the cup once more, but this time it was only wine. Sweet, sweet wine. Dany drank, and lay back, listening to the soft sound of her own br eathing. She could feel the heaviness in her limbs, as sleep crept in to fill her up once more. â€Å"Bring me . . . † she murmured, her voice slurred and drowsy. â€Å"Bring . . . I want to hold . . . â€Å" â€Å"Yes?† the maegi asked. â€Å"What is it you wish, Khaleesi?† â€Å"Bring me . . . egg . . . dragon’s egg . . . please . . . † Her lashes turned to lead, and she was too weary to hold them up. When she woke the third time, a shaft of golden sunlight was pouring through the smoke hole of the tent, and her arms were wrapped around a dragon’s egg. It was the pale one, its scales the color of butter cream, veined with whorls of gold and bronze, and Dany could feel the heat of it. Beneath her bedsilks, a fine sheen of perspiration covered her bare skin. Dragondew, she thought. Her fingers trailed lightly across the surface of the shell, tracing the wisps of gold, and deep in the stone she felt something twist and stretch in response. It did not frighten her. All her fear was gone, burned away. Dany touched her brow. Under the film of sweat, her skin was cool to the touch, her fever gone. She made herself sit. There was a moment of dizziness, and the deep ache between her thighs. Yet she felt strong. Her maids came running at the sound of her voice. â€Å"Water,† she told them, â€Å"a flagon of water, cold as you can find it. And fruit, I think. Dates.† â€Å"As you say, Khaleesi.† â€Å"I want Ser Jorah,† she said, standing. Jhiqui brought a sandsilk robe and draped it over her shoulders. â€Å"And a warm bath, and Mirri Maz Duur, and . . . † Memory came back to her all at once, and she faltered. â€Å"Khal Drogo,† she forced herself to say, watching their faces with dread. â€Å"Is hemdash?† â€Å"The khal lives,† Irri answered quietly . . . yet Dany saw a darkness in her eyes when she said the words, and no sooner had she spoken than she rushed away to fetch water. She turned to Doreah. â€Å"Tell me.† â€Å"I . . . I shall bring Ser Jorah,† the Lysene girl said, bowing her head and fleeing the tent. Jhiqui would have run as well, but Dany caught her by the wrist and held her captive. â€Å"What is it? I must know. Drogo . . . and my child.† Why had she not remembered the child until now? â€Å"My son . . . Rhaego . . . where is he? I want him.† Her handmaid lowered her eyes. â€Å"The boy . . . he did not live, Khaleesi.† Her voice was a frightened whisper. Dany released her wrist. My son is dead, she thought as Jhiqui left the tent. She had known somehow. She had known since she woke the first time to Jhiqui’s tears. No, she had known before she woke. Her dream came back to her, sudden and vivid, and she remembered the tall man with the copper skin and long silver-gold braid, bursting into flame. She should weep, she knew, yet her eyes were dry as ash. She had wept in her dream, and the tears had turned to steam on her cheeks. All the grief has been burned out of me, she told herself. She felt sad, and yet . . . she could feel Rhaego receding from her, as if he had never been. Ser Jorah and Mirri Maz Duur entered a few moments later, and found Dany standing over the other dragon’s eggs, the two still in their chest. It seemed to her that they felt as hot as the one she had slept with, which was passing strange. â€Å"Ser Jorah, come here,† she said. She took his hand and placed it on the black egg with the scarlet swirls. â€Å"What do you feel?† â€Å"Shell, hard as rock.† The knight was wary. â€Å"Scales.† â€Å"Heat?† â€Å"No. Cold stone.† He took his hand away. â€Å"Princess, are you well? Should you be up, weak as you are?† â€Å"Weak? I am strong, Jorah.† To please him, she reclined on a pile of cushions. â€Å"Tell me how my child died.† â€Å"He never lived, my princess. The women say . . . † He faltered, and Dany saw how the flesh hung loose on him, and the way he limped when he moved. â€Å"Tell me. Tell me what the women say.† He turned his face away. His eyes were haunted. â€Å"They say the child was . . . â€Å" She waited, but Ser Jorah could not say it. His face grew dark with shame. He looked half a corpse himself. â€Å"Monstrous,† Mirri Maz Duur finished for him. The knight was a powerful man, yet Dany understood in that moment that the maegi was stronger, and crueler, and infinitely more dangerous. â€Å"Twisted. I drew him forth myself. He was scaled like a lizard, blind, with the stub of a tail and small leather wings like the wings of a bat. When I touched him, the flesh sloughed off the bone, and inside he was full of graveworms and the stink of corruption. He had been dead for years.† Darkness, Dany thought. The terrible darkness sweeping up behind to devour her. If she looked back she was lost. â€Å"My son was alive and strong when Ser Jorah carried me into this tent,† she said. â€Å"I could feel him kicking, fighting to be born.† â€Å"That may be as it may be,† answered Mirri Maz Duur, â€Å"yet the creature that came forth from your womb was as I said. Death was in that tent, Khaleesi.† â€Å"Only shadows,† Ser Jorah husked, but Dany could hear the doubt in his voice. â€Å"I saw, maegi. I saw you, alone, dancing with the shadows. â€Å" â€Å"The grave casts long shadows, Iron Lord,† Mirri said. â€Å"Long and dark, and in the end no light can hold them back.† Ser Jorah had killed her son, Dany knew. He had done what he did for love and loyalty, yet he had carried her into a place no living man should go and fed her baby to the darkness. He knew it too; the grey face, the hollow eyes, the limp. â€Å"The shadows have touched you too, Ser Jorah,† she told him. The knight made no reply. Dany turned to the godswife. â€Å"You warned me that only death could pay for life. I thought you meant the horse.† â€Å"No,† Mirri Maz Duur said. â€Å"That was a lie you told yourself. You knew the price.† Had she? Had she? If I look back I am lost. â€Å"The price was paid,† Dany said. â€Å"The horse, my child, Quaro and Qotho, Haggo and Cohollo. The price was paid and paid and paid.† She rose from her cushions. â€Å"Where is Khal Drogo? Show him to me, godswife, maegi, bloodmage, whatever you are. Show me Khal Drogo. Show me what I bought with my son’s life.† â€Å"As you command, Khaleesi,† the old woman said. â€Å"Come, I will take you to him.† Dany was weaker than she knew. Ser Jorah slipped an arm around her and helped her stand. â€Å"Time enough for this later, my princess,† he said quietly. â€Å"I would see him now, Ser Jorah.† After the dimness of the tent, the world outside was blinding bright. The sun burned like molten gold, and the land was seared and empty. Her handmaids waited with fruit and wine and water, and Jhogo moved close to help Ser Jorah support her. Aggo and Rakharo stood behind. The glare of sun on sand made it hard to see more, until Dany raised her hand to shade her eyes. She saw the ashes of a fire, a few score horses milling listlessly and searching for a bite of grass, a scattering of tents and bedrolls. A small crowd of children had gathered to watch her, and beyond she glimpsed women going about their work, and withered old men staring at the flat blue sky with tired eyes, swatting feebly at bloodflies. A count might show a hundred people, no more. Where the other forty thousand had made their camp, only the wind and dust lived now. â€Å"Drogo’s khalasar is gone,† she said. â€Å"A khal who cannot ride is no khal,† said Jhogo. â€Å"The Dothraki follow only the strong,† Ser Jorah said. â€Å"I am sorry, my princess. There was no way to hold them. Ko Pono left first, naming himself Khal Pono, and many followed him. Jhaqo was not long to do the same. The rest slipped away night by night, in large bands and small. There are a dozen new khalasars on the Dothraki sea, where once there was only Drogo’s.† â€Å"The old remain,† said Aggo. â€Å"The frightened, the weak, and the sick. And we who swore. We remain.† â€Å"They took Khal Drogo’s herds, Khaleesi,† Rakharo said. â€Å"We were too few to stop them. It is the right of the strong to take from the weak. They took many slaves as well, the khal’s and yours, yet they left some few.† â€Å"Eroeh?† asked Dany, remembering the frightened child she had saved outside the city of the Lamb Men. â€Å"Mago seized her, who is Khal Jhaqo’s bloodrider now,† said Jhogo. â€Å"He mounted her high and low and gave her to his khal, and Jhaqo gave her to his other bloodriders. They were six. When they were done with her, they cut her throat.† â€Å"It was her fate, Khaleesi,† said Aggo. If I look back I am lost. â€Å"It was a cruel fate,† Dany said, â€Å"yet not so cruel as Mago’s will be. I promise you that, by the old gods and the new, by the lamb god and the horse god and every god that lives. I swear it by the Mother of Mountains and the Womb of the World. Before I am done with them, Mago and Ko Jhaqo will plead for the mercy they showed Eroeh.† The Dothraki exchanged uncertain glances. â€Å"Khaleesi, † the handmaid Irri explained, as if to a child, â€Å"Jhaqo is a khal now, with twenty thousand riders at his back.† She lifted her head. â€Å"And I am Daenerys Stormhorn, Daenerys of House Targaryen, of the blood of Aegon the Conqueror and Maegor the Cruel and old Valyria before them. I am the dragon’s daughter, and I swear to you, these men will die screaming. Now bring me to Khal Drogo.† He was lying on the bare red earth, staring up at the sun. A dozen bloodflies had settled on his body, though he did not seem to feel them. Dany brushed them away and knelt beside him. His eyes were wide open but did not see, and she knew at once that he was blind. When she whispered his name, he did not seem to hear. The wound on his breast was as healed as it would ever be, the scar that covered it grey and red and hideous. â€Å"Why is he out here alone, in the sun?† she asked them. â€Å"He seems to like the warmth, Princess,† Ser Jorah said. â€Å"His eyes follow the sun, though he does not see it. He can walk after a fashion. He will go where you lead him, but no farther. He will eat if you put food in his mouth, drink if you dribble water on his lips.† Dany kissed her sun-and-stars gently on the brow, and stood to face Mirri Maz Duur. â€Å"Your spells are costly, maegi.† â€Å"He lives,† said Mirri Maz Duur. â€Å"You asked for life. You paid for life.† â€Å"This is not life, for one who was as Drogo was. His life was laughter, and meat roasting over a firepit, and a horse between his legs. His life was an arakh in his hand and his bells ringing in his hair as he rode to meet an enemy. His life was his bloodriders, and me, and the son I was to give him.† Mirri Maz Duur made no reply. â€Å"When will he be as he was?† Dany demanded. â€Å"When the sun rises in the west and sets in the east,† said Mirri Maz Duur. â€Å"When the seas go dry and mountains blow in the wind like leaves. When your womb quickens again, and you bear a living child. Then he will return, and not before.† Dany gestured at Ser Jorah and the others. â€Å"Leave us. I would speak with this maegi alone.† Mormont and the Dothraki withdrew. â€Å"You knew,† Dany said when they were gone. She ached, inside and out, but her fury gave her strength. â€Å"You knew what I was buying, and you knew the price, and yet you let me pay it.† â€Å"It was wrong of them to burn my temple,† the heavy, flat-nosed woman said placidly. â€Å"That angered the Great Shepherd.† â€Å"This was no god’s work,† Dany said coldly. If I look back I am lost. â€Å"You cheated me. You murdered my child within me.† â€Å"The stallion who mounts the world will burn no cities now. His khalasar shall trample no nations into dust.† â€Å"I spoke for you,† she said, anguished. â€Å"I saved you.† â€Å"Saved me?† The Lhazareen woman spat. â€Å"Three riders had taken me, not as a man takes a woman but from behind, as a dog takes a bitch. The fourth was in me when you rode past. How then did you save me? I saw my god’s house burn, where I had healed good men beyond counting. My home they burned as well, and in the street I saw piles of heads. I saw the head of a baker who made my bread. I saw the head of a boy I had saved from deadeye fever, only three moons past. I heard children crying as the riders drove them off with their whips. Tell me again what you saved.† â€Å"Your life.† Mirri Maz Duur laughed cruelly. â€Å"Look to your khal and see what life is worth, when all the rest is gone.† Dany called out for the men of her khas and bid them take Mirri Maz Duur and bind her hand and foot, but the maegi smiled at her as they carried her off, as if they shared a secret. A word, and Dany could have her head off . . . yet then what would she have? A head? If life was worthless, what was death? They led Khal Drogo back to her tent, and Dany commanded them to fill a tub, and this time there was no blood in the water. She bathed him herself, washing the dirt and the dust from his arms and chest, cleaning his face with a soft cloth, soaping his long black hair and combing the knots and tangles from it till it shone again as she remembered. It was well past dark before she was done, and Dany was exhausted. She stopped for drink and food, but it was all she could do to nibble at a fig and keep down a mouthful of water. Sleep would have been a release, but she had slept enough . . . too long, in truth. She owed this night to Drogo, for all the nights that had been, and yet might be. The memory of their first ride was with her when she led him out into the darkness, for the Dothraki believed that all things of importance in a man’s life must be done beneath the open sky. She told herself that there were powers stronger than hatred, and spells older and truer than any the maegi had learned in Asshai. The night was black and moonless, but overhead a million stars burned bright. She took that for an omen. No soft blanket of grass welcomed them here, only the hard dusty ground, bare and strewn with stones. No trees stirred in the wind, and there was no stream to soothe her fears with the gentle music of water. Dany told herself that the stars would be enough. â€Å"Remember, Drogo,† she whispered. â€Å"Remember our first ride together, the day we wed. Remember the night we made Rhaego, with the khalasar all around us and your eyes on my face. Remember how cool and clean the water was in the Womb of the World. Remember, my sun-and-stars. Remember, and come back to me.† The birth had left her too raw and torn to take him inside of her, as she would have wanted, but Doreah had taught her other ways. Dany used her hands, her mouth, her breasts. She raked him with her nails and covered him with kisses and whispered and prayed and told him stories, and by the end she had bathed him with her tears. Yet Drogo did not feel, or speak, or rise. And when the bleak dawn broke over an empty horizon, Dany knew that he was truly lost to her. â€Å"When the sun rises in the west and sets in the east,† she said sadly. â€Å"When the seas go dry and mountains blow in the wind like leaves. When my womb quickens again, and I bear a living child. Then you will return, my sun-and-stars, and not before.† Never, the darkness cried, never never never. Inside the tent Dany found a cushion, soft silk stuffed with feathers. She clutched it to her breasts as she walked back out to Drogo, to her sun-and-stars. If I look back I am lost. It hurt even to walk, and she wanted to sleep, to sleep and not to dream. She knelt, kissed Drogo on the lips, and pressed the cushion down across his face.

An analysis of counselling and counselling skill as a therapeutic Essay - 1

An analysis of counselling and counselling skill as a therapeutic intervention in nursing an amputee patient - Essay Example Counselling skills involve the use of a range of specific skills by the counsellor to help the client. The core of counselling skills includes the skills of listening, reflecting and empathy (Corney, 1995.) There is no universally accepted single definition for counselling skills. Counselling skills differs from listening skills and counselling on the basis of the intentions of the user (Palmer & MacMahon, 1997). The intention is to enhance the performance of their functional role, as nurse, tutor, social worker etc., and in turn, the recipient will, perceive them in that functional role (Palmer & MacMahon, 1997) In other words, it can be said that a person using counselling skills is enhancing communication with someone without assuming a role as their counsellor (Palmer & MacMahon, 1997). The recipient perceives this as an action within a professional/caring role (Palmer S, MacMahon G, 1997) Not every one who uses counselling skills can be called a counsellor. A counsellor uses counselling skills as a distinct profession (Sutton & Stewart, 2002). Others might use counselling skills as part of their other skills. This might be only temporary (Sutton & Stewart, 2002.) There is a difference between counselling, advice, persuasion and undue influence. Advice involves telling a person what to do or not to do. Counselling involves telling a person what is possible, and not what to do (Sutton & Stewart, 2002.) Exerting undue influence or manipulation is done against a persons will, making the person feel uncomfortable or angry. Counselling on the other hand involves exploration of all the alternatives (Sutton & Stewart, 2002.) There is also a difference between counselling and other forms of helping. The primary difference is the way in which the counsellor actively listens. It also involves being aware of the client’s non-verbal communications, body posture, gestures etc. (Sutton & Stewart, 2002.) 1. Interpersonal skills-a competent

Comparison a work of art Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Comparison a work of art - Term Paper Example Though the place portrayed is in shadow, it is not dark, on the contrary, it is light enough to see elegant detail, and it is the sunlight splashing on the water outside of the secluded shadow that is overly bright and impossible to make out. This all combines to show a place in nature as protective, walling you in, making you feel comfortable, and safe from the outside world. The second painting has nearly the opposite effect. The painting, rather than being in the position of someone who is in a secluded, shaded space, takes the perspective of one out in the beating sun. Here extremely bright light is shown to be the norm, with everything in the bright sun being visible and detailed, and things in the shadows being somewhat less. The ratio of shadow to sun is also inverted, as this painting portrays a miniscule amount of seclusion and protection in an open sea of defenselessness. The trees being the only point of shade of shelter in the entire field of view gives the viewer the impression that they are in an unimaginably vast place, and completely exposed. These two paintings both use light and shadow to give sense of protection or exposure, respectively, and in doing so give two completely different interpretations of nature, one as a secluded place that protects from the outside world, and the second that shows how exposed and vulnerable one can be in

The Lack of Resources for Education Essay Example for Free

The Lack of Resources for Education Essay It is always been said that one of the main barometer of success of a country is its people.   People that are always look forward in providing their own expertise and skills only for their mother country and always ready to enriched more only for the success of its local economy.   But this sometimes just goes on banners only and not happening in real sense.   The reason is that governments do not also give more priority to its people.   Government must always understand that people are the most important asset of the country and to be able to attain economic progress and development there should be initiatives that would somehow effectively help the people in achieving their goals.    One of the main factor that should start by government in education, it is one of the most important factor that the government should focus on.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Take for instance what the Koreans and now India has done so far in terms of their educational system.   What they actually did is that, they have upgraded their public school system and the government has provided enough budgets in order to uplift the standards and be able to compete with the private schools.   They even encourage students to perform their best, by giving scholarships and exchange student grants for those deserving students who really excel well in school.   Like in the case of India, now they are considered one of the most desirable employees in terms of Information technology, the main reason is that the government has supported all its Tertiary graduate students, most especially in IT to immediately take a Certification exam, in order for them to be well equipped and at the same time highly competitive in the IT Job Workforce. With their skills already being prepared and most especially the cost of labor is also not that high against their competitor country that makes them one of the most likable staffs in most industries.   In the side of Korea, what they did is that, they have sent scholars in other countries, provided a support for the studies of these extra ordinary intelligent students to further enriched their knowledge and skills in both Europe and the US.   And by the time they came back, they have further developed the skills and knowledge they gain from the abroad. That is also the reason what now they are considered already as the most â€Å"high tech† country in the world, developing their own products, from cell phone, high tech appliances, up to cost efficient cars, and a lot more.   That is not only popular in Asia but now has gained respect and popularity all over the world.   All of these success was not actually far different from the objective of every government in the world, what makes it different is that the government persevere and apply these objective into realization and has made a deep prioritization as well and not just something that can be seen in the banners and ads which are sometimes not that convincing for many people. Unfair Distribution of Workloads   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is very common nowadays that most schools are now becoming more commercialize and forgetting the main purpose or in other words defeating the main purpose that education must focus more on providing quality education.   Lack of education resource can also be attributed by the lack of professionals that are handling classes in schools.   This problem has also provided different reasons and one of the main reason most especially for developing and underdeveloped countries is that, the benefits and compensation is not enough for education professionals to accept the job offer.   There are even times that because of the problem being faced, they are even just hiring teachers that are not only qualified to teach because of lack of experience or somebody who does not have high educational attainment. With this result it became a perennial problem in the world right now since most of these highly qualified education professionals either shift from a more rewarding jibs, like in IT or Medical Profession, or for some upgrading their studies more in order to be hired abroad for better pay.   That is mostly the reason nowadays, and these has to be addressed primarily with the government , since it will create more and more difficult problems ahead and the educational system is one of the most important factor for the country’s progress.   The future of the next generation will be affected.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Like in Australia, the main reason that they faced in their educational system that drives teachers away are lack of funds and too much workloads assign for the teachers.   And in the country itself, has resulted on most survey that they would even push to change profession just to have a better career and to support well enough their families, since in Australia the cost of living is also a big drive for them to do it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Budget really is one of the main reasons why most schools are not really providing the right resource in all of its schools.   Like currently the annual budget for public education are receiving $1 billion less per year than if 1996, which means that there are tremendous challenge for the educational sector to be contented with the decrease of the budget which is not in line with the economic change like increase in most infrastructural and technological requirements as well as providing additional education professionals or even improving the current compensation packages of the teachers which would somehow help in enticing more highly qualified educational professionals to provide its service in public education.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   And what is more alarming is that in Australia alone as based on the research conducted, that the country in order to effectively manage its educational system $2.9 billion is needed in order to meet school needs.   (New Survey: Lack of Resources, Workload Driving New Teachers Away, 2007). Lack of Resources for Education a Dilemma for Supporting Public Education   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The competitiveness that private education has provided in the way they have implemented their system to its customers has generated big presence of challenge for public education which governments sometimes not been able to compete.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Considering in terms of statistical studies most especially in developing countries which are far different to highly developed countries, where the latter has focused on implementing better educational system through its political and government policies like having to include it in their local tax system has generated an effective and efficient process of providing quality education, whereas in the public education, that is being experienced in developing and underdeveloped countries, since the government has to settle for more foreign investment which gives additional earning for the government and be used for infrastructure and mostly economic development for the country. But the problem arises when these foreign investors will not be controlled by the government b y not affecting the local businesses and one of which is the influence of foreign investment in the educational system, like in terms of putting up privately own schools which are mostly pattern to foreign system, and this will eventually affects the current public school system in terms of standards of delivery where private schools are more of the real world approach, and since due to lack of research and development which will help the public education system to apply and implement what is in the global standard is not happening due to lack of support and budget given by the government.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Consider one good example is in Lagos, Nigeria, where most families would always strive hard in working their way just to send their children in private school.   This is because the government does not put more attention on the concern of most families, which are not only lack of financial capacity to send their children to private school.   In other words the government has left the problem, seems like unattended and the people has recognized it in a way that it is actually the same old problem every year.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   And what is not actually right is that before there were experiences that some of the public school has fees during enrollment of students.   This only means that even these public schools which are supposed to give all its free service for its people has defeats its purpose and instead they were forced to ask for even a small fees just to sustain the need of the schools to operate and continue its operations, like most importantly maintaining its teachers and be paid what is sometimes not enough compensation that these hard working teachers deserves. Not only that, the need for infrastructure improvements like additional classrooms and hiring more qualifies teachers are becoming a common problem every year, and with that the school has to continue its operation with problems continues to affect its way of delivery, like teachers teaching outside classrooms, lack of qualifies teachers to hire, over-load assignment for teachers, which definitely affects their teaching, just take for instance a class of 50 students, and every one in the class must need to be attended with, and the number of classes per day, is too much for them to handle most especially if the compensation is also the issue.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Actually the main concern of most underdeveloped countries started with the very lowest and initial requirement of education and that is the basic education and that is why countries like Africa, these problems continues to hit the country, and since this is the primary needed education, it becomes alarming because if children will not be given this basic education, they can already be considered uneducated in their entire life, most especially if children already reach adolescent age where primary and basic education are supposed to be not anymore their levels to achieve but due to lack of attention their age do not match the educational requirement, most children either being ashamed of themselves in going to school or sometimes do not anymore have the willingness to go to school instead do work for the family.   (Olore, T, 2005).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Actually in every country in the world the dilemma is really about economy versus education.   And for government to survive the economy must go first, it is like people primary and most important need is food and that is why we cannot argue by the fact that country have to prioritize economic growth before education.   And since most of the budget has been relied into continuous development of the economy it needs to allocate big budget for it and what is left is allocated to education and other priorities as well.  Ã‚   So for public education, they have to settle for what the government has given them. But it is all about educating the people as well, like take for instance the scenario, a country that is trying to keep its government to settle with what they only can provide, but does not educate its people how to control population.   It is like a conflict of interest, too much population means too much demand, and if the supply which is the budget is less, then that starts the problem.   That is why for government to survive in these challenging worlds.   It has to well educate its people about its main priorities and how they can achieve it and the country must provide a strict guideline in order to have it materialized.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   That is also why western developed countries have set most of their countries, they control the population and with that they can give enough benefits and resources for its people, unlike for most underdeveloped and few developing countries, having to prioritize population was always a failure and these has brought out a lot of problems in the economy. World Educational Statistics   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In order to see how the world has allocated resources for its educational system.   It will show has the different region has allocated in the educational needs of its respective countries.   This is just to provide trending on how public education is supported. (See Figure 1 to 4). The figures above are just to provide the trends in public education allocation for most countries around the world, since it can show how basically countries have allocated enough budgets to meet the resources needed by the local public schools.   And it only shows that most of the highly developed countries have provided more than enough in supporting their public education system while for less developed countries it has been a struggle as seen in the figures that were presented above.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In this paper it clearly shows that the need for resource allocation for most public education in the world is becoming a very alarming and these can only be addressed if government will have to do something about it, either realign its priority and have to allocate more budget in the educational sector or to find ways in soliciting support in other countries.   Another important action that needs to be addressed is the problem regarding population, because as studies shows, most underdeveloped and few of developing countries has impacted the education priority because of it’s over population, too much children were sent to schools which in the other hand government where not expecting.    Educating people on the real impact of over population most especially in the country side will be an added possibility of in addressing the problem.   And, in order to solve these issues government must not only allocate budget but also provide a meaningful process that will focus on providing better compensation package for qualified teachers since this is one of the main cause, second is to provide support on material and other needs in the delivery of education, and lastly is to help provide a continuous research and development program that will help these public school to compete above par with the private schools. Reference â€Å"New Survey: Lack of Resources, Workload Driving New Teachers Away.† Education Research Report. Retrieved February 2, 2007, from http://educationresearchreport.blogspot.com/2007/02/new-survey-lack-of-resources-workload.html Olore, T. (2005). â€Å"Lack of Resources Threaten UBE.† NEWSFrom AFRICA. Retrieved January 15, 2005, from http://www.newsfromafrica.org/newsfromafrica/articles/art_9114.html â€Å"World Education Statistics.† Retrieved n.d, from http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:ec5OkrDRxvgJ:www.princeton.edu/~ina/thematic_presentations/WorldEducationalStatistics.ppt+World+Education+Statisticshl=tlct=clnkcd=11gl=ph

throwing a football Essays -- essays research papers

Throwing a football   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When the football travels through the air for a long pass it always follows a curved path because the force of gravity influences the movement of the ball in the vertical direction. As the ball travels up, gravity slows it down until it stops briefly at its peak height; the ball then comes down, and gravity accelerates it until it hits the ground. Projectile motion is the path of any object that is launched or thrown and has an arched course (howstuffworks)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For the football to travel the most accurate and furthest distance, the ball must have the tightest spiral it can develop. â€Å"This will influence how the ball slows down in flight, because the ball is affected by air drag (howstuffworks).† A spiraling throw will have less air drag, will not slow down as much and will be able to stay in the air longer and go farther than a wobble throw. The velocity of the ball and the angle of the throw are the major factors that determine the path of the ball. Vectors are also involved in throwing a football because a vector is the direction in which you are throwing. Also when throwing on the running. For example the quarterback rolls out at a speed of 5m/s and after he twist his body to throw down field the vector is now at an angle of 75 degrees, so the quarterback must understand the speed he is running at in order to make an accurate throw (physics.unl.edu). Ø  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The football has ...

Important of cruise ships in my destination Essay

A cruise ship is a ship built for passengers,but mostly used for pleasure cruises.A cruise ship generally takes passengers on extended cruises with occasional calls in various places of interest.The cruise industry is the fastest-growing category in the leisure travel market; it plays an essential major role in the tourism sector. It is important for cruise ships to come to my destination/country because of the many benefits to be derived from such an endeavor.Cruise ship tourism generates revenue for my destination/country through tourists expending at (bars,restaurants,craft villages,shops,attractions,etc) per person head taxes and other fees.The foreign exchange from this benefit my destination/country gained greatly;it provides the government with well needed currency to support the country’s debt and to purchase goods and services from overseas.It increases the tax revenue of the government also.The taxes which are collected are used to improve the countries infrastructur e making my destination more seductive to future visitors.The cruise ship industry also produces employment for many workers at my destination.Persons are employed at the various ports where the ships dock.Jobs in restaurants,bars,hotels,entertainment facilities and more are also produced.They are also employed at tour companies,attractions, craft markets, and shops who sell to tourists.Security,transportation and farming jobs are also created.Accommodating cruise ships also allows for improvements to infrastructure such as port facilities; expansions to shipping ports allows for more greater ships to visit.Improvements are also done on public facilities.These improvements benefit my destination in the long run as they improve their overall standard and quality of life of the citizens living there.Cruise ship tourism also produces the possibility for  future stop over visitors.

Substance Abuse

This issue troubles me every time, even when I try not to think about it, and turn my mind away from it. Addiction is not what Just happened, it takes time, creep in slowly without you knowing you getting addicted to it. Most times people don't know they getting addicted to something, I believe everybody is addicted to something, I sometimes call love addiction because when you love somebody you will always want to be with that person. My immediate elder brother started smoking cigarette at age 17, and start smoking marijuana at age 19, and still smoke till this day.People always say â€Å"am not addicted to smoking or drinking†, and usually follow this sentence, I only take a glass of wine before going to bed, or I only smoke to relax myself. My community is drowning from substance abuse, drugs and alcohol. â€Å"People abuse substances such as drugs, alcohol, and tobacco for varied and complicated reasons, but it is clear that our society pays a significant cost. The toll f or this abuse can be seen in our hospitals and emergency departments through direct damage to health by substance abuse and its link to physical trauma.Jails and prisons tally daily the throng connection between crime and drug dependence and abuse. Although use of some drugs such as cocaine has declined, use of other drugs such as heroin and â€Å"club drugs† has increased†(Reilly, 1989). Drugs has become a big part of our society, I was a auto-technician for a big car company that work with Bentley and Aerosols. I have to go into customers car to fix or diagnose the problem, 60% of the time I find or smell marijuana in the car. That is the rate this country is going, 1 out of 2 people smoke, at least cigarette.Many marijuana users believes smoking pot has no negative effects, scientific research indicates that marijuana use can cause many different health problems. This always contribute to our society negatively, it make kids act up, make parents not function as paren ts, and eventually make the society slowdown. All this are happening without the drug being legalize, marijuana is always the focus point because it is the gate way drug to other substance. 2 Drugs are one of, and most epidemics in my community.Too months ago in my building, Just got home from school on a snowing, and cold day, I saw a lot of people adhered in from of the elevator, and was wondering why, I decided to ask somebody what's happening, she said mike was shot (14 year old boy on my floor) by somebody who he sold drugs for. This is the same boy the brother served 4 years in Jail, and just got home 4 months ago for possession of drugs. I see them every time, him and his friends. Age range from 12 to 16, smoking and drinking, and some of them don't go home for days, they skip school.Their parents don't talk to them thinking they can direct their own life. I see these things in my neighborhood every time, and wish I can urn it around in a day. They said Rome wasn't built in a day, and that's true. I plan to write an anonymous letter to some of the parents and the building manager concerning drugs, and how it affects the community, kids growing up around them, and the building it safe. After doing drugs they get wild and break things, my building has so many holes on the walls from their craziness.This is not fair to people in the building paying more expensive rent than them, they deserve clean and noise free environment. My hallway is packed with people all day for no reason, hey lay on the floor most times, and you have to walk across them. The elevator and stairways is full of graffiti, and gang sign on the wall, police is always in the building which is not good or fair to the tenants. I know is not going to be easy, everybody react to the same thing differently. I plan on being polite, positive.This are good kids, they Just need somebody to care about them, it don't really bother me because I grow up in a neighborhood like this, am only concern abo ut other tenants who are not used to it. I grow up in a big family, in a rough neighborhood. Almost 20 boys in and out of my house every day, most of them thugs, and they are all gang member. 3 They should be a program in poor neighborhood for kids and adult to tell them about them about their neighborhood, and the values.People won't respect or care for what they don't know, parent should learn to see their kids and as their kids and not their friends or buddies. Gang members claim neighborhoods saying is for the red or for blue side, because they don't know the real value of the neighborhood and nobody tell them. Illegal drugs have been around â€Å"since the 19th century when Americans iris discovered new wonder drugs like morphine, heroin, and cocaine, our society has confronted the problem of drug abuse and addiction.When the 20th century began, the United States–grappling with its first drug epidemic–gradually instituted effective restrictions: at home through d omestic law enforcement and overseas by spearheading a world movement to limit opium and coca crops. By World War II, American drug use had become so rare; it was seen as a marginal social problem. The first epidemic was forgotten. During the sass, drugs eke marijuana, amphetamines, and psychedelics came on the scene, and a new generation embraced drugs.With the drug culture exploding, our government developed new laws and agencies to address the problem. In 1973, the U. S. Drug Enforcement Administration was created to enforce federal drug laws. In the sass, cocaine reappeared. Then, a decade later, crack appeared, spreading addiction and violence at epidemic levels. Today, the Idea's biggest challenge is the dramatic change in organized crime. While American criminals once controlled drug trafficking on U. S. Soil, today sophisticated ND powerful criminal groups headquartered in foreign countries control the drug trade in the United States†. DEAD, 13) This is the American so ciety we life in now, the earlier we do something the better it will be for everybody. You don't want your teenage kid sneaking out to go drink, smoke or do drugs, and thinking it's cool Just because she see her friends 4 or even her parent doing it. Some people say smoking or drinking is not bad but how you do it, or what you do it for. Drinking more than two times in a week is Just as bad a smoking, that's what I think, because for twice a week you will want to hang-out ore with boys/girls and get some more drink. Substance Abuse Impact of Psychiatric Disorders on Treatment Outcomes for Patients with Substance Abuse Daniel Painter Raritan Valley Community College Table of Contents Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. page 3 Abstract 1†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. page 4-5 Critique 1†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. page 5 Abstract 2†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢ € ¦page 6 Critique 2†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. page 6-7 Abstract 3†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦page 8 Critique 3†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. page 8 Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. page 9 IntroductionFor this research I selected the articles that concentrated on treatment outcomes for clients with addictions who also had a mental illness diagnoses (depression, anxiety, antisocial personality disorder, phobias). The first two research studies were conducted at different times but by the same researcher, Drar Charney, MD, and concentrate on outcomes of addiction treatment in patients with co-occurring disorders of anxiety and depression, or both at the same time. The last article by Wilson Compton, MD, focuses on drug dependence treatment outcomes in patient with a variety of mental llnesses. All three studies show similar results in predicting outcomes. Study #1 Abstract The first study that I selected, â€Å"Association Between Concurrent Depression And Anxiety And Six Month Outcome Of Addiction Treatment† conducted by Dara Charney, MD, et al, focuses the common problem of depressive or anxiety symptoms appearing together with drug abuse. The study was conducted for 6 months, used a sample of 326 patients that were assessed through semi structured interviews, ASI, BDI, and Symptom Checkli st 90 and then reassessed after 6 months.The objectives of the study were to assess rates of depression and anxiety in patients seeking addiction treatment and examine how the existence of concurrent psychiatric symptoms will influence treatment outcomes. The sample included 326 patients which was mixed population of adults with substance abuse disorder, who were predominantly white (93%) and male (64%) with a mean age of 41 years old. The sample included patients who were recruited upon entering treatment at the MUHC addictions unit.All patients were eligible for study – there were no exclusion criteria. 63% of patients had significant psychiatric symptoms at intake: 15% had depressive symptoms, 16% had anxiety symptoms and 32% presented with combined depressive and anxiety symptoms. During the six-month follow-up study, participants were offered standard treatment: outpatient detoxification, one or two 90-minute group therapy sessions per week, at least four 50-minute indiv idual therapy sessions and random urine drug screens throughout treatment.Follow up included even those participants who dropped out of the treatment (154 patients dropped out of treatment before 6 months mark) and all participants were asked about the outcome of treatment (abstinence status and duration of continuous abstinence), psychological distress and depressive symptoms. Results of the study revealed that those patients who were presented with few psychiatric symptoms on intake or presented with either depressive or anxiety symptoms on intake fared better than those who presented with depressive and anxiety symptoms together: 73% were still abstinent at 6 months.Critique of study #1 The study supported studied done earlier on the same subject and came up with similar results: patients with co-occurring depressive, anxiety symptoms and addictions fare worse at the end of the addiction treatment than those who do not present with co-occurring symptoms. There are several drawbac ks in the means this study employed. The sample was not representative of the community at large, because the majority of the participants were white males.It was not a random sample as well, because patients were recruited at the same facility. Half of the patients dropped out of treatment before the 6 month period, and were still evaluated at the end of the study regarding its objectives, which is not representative of treatment outcomes since they did not receive treatment. However, on the positive side, the study did include a large sample of patients and the outcomes were consistent with the outcomes of the similar studies. Study #2 AbstractThe second study that I selected, â€Å"The impact of depression on the outcome of addictions treatment† conducted also by Dara Charney, MD, Antonios Paraherakis, BSc, et al, focused on prevalence of depression among men and women who entered the outpatient program for substance use disorder treatment. The objectives of the study were to find out whether it was primary depression or substance-induced depression, presentation of specific features of depression and the impact of depression on treatment out comes. The research sample included 75 patients of the MGH addictions unit. 97% of the sample population was Caucasian, 61. 3% were male and 38. % were female, all of mean age of 40. 5 years old. Subjects were consecutively recruited upon entering treatment and no exclusion criteria were applied. At intake 22. 4% of patients exhibited primary depressive disorder, 8. 4% had substance-induced depressions. At 3 months follow up 93. 3% of patients were reinterviewed. Participants who dropped out of the outpatient treatment were also invited to participate in the interview (35% of the sample). The study concluded that patients, who in the beginning of the study presented with primary depressive disorder, had longer duration of abstinence and greater decreases in symptomatology.Patients with substance-induced depressi on almost completely stopped using their primary substance. Critique of study #2 One of the drawbacks of this study is a small sample size: only 75 patients participated. Sample population was not diverse either: the majority of participants were white males. The duration of the study makes the validity of the outcomes questionable, based on the recurring nature of depressive disorder. However, the results were consistent with the results of similar studies. Study #3 AbstractThe third study I selected, â€Å"The role of psychiatric disorders in predicting drug dependence treatment outcomes† conducted by Wilson Compton, MD, et al, examined what role co morbid psychiatric disorders played in the outcomes of treatment of drug-dependent subjects. The researchers used a sample of 401 subjects from a variety of facilities in the St. Louis area: public outpatient methadone clinics, two drug-free outpatient programs, two drug-free inpatient programs, an outpatient program for drug-ab using prostitutes, and a residential recovery shelter for women. The sample was diverse in that 61% were African Americans and 66% were men.The majority had graduated from high school, were unemployed and had never married. Alcohol dependence was the most common co-occurring psychiatric disorder with a prevalence of 63%. The subjects were interviewed upon admission into the study and then re-interviewed at follow-up 12 months later to determine their drug abuse status. The results of the study showed that several psychiatric disorders predicted worse outcomes at the follow-up. For instance, subjects with major depressive disorder showed using a larger number of substances and having more drug dependence diagnoses and symptoms.Subjects with alcohol dependence showed more dependent diagnoses. Outcomes predicted better abstinence results for women then for men. Critique of study #3 This is a thorough study conducted over a fairly long period of time (12 months at follow-up) that involv ed a large population sample (401 subjects) and was diverse in the facilities involved and demographically. It shows solid outcomes consistent with other research that focused on similar topics. Overall, the study is well designed and its outcomes have a high probability of being accurate.Conclusion In conclusion, I would like to say that all three research studies focused on drug abuse treatment outcomes for patients who have co-occurring mental disorder. The first two were done by the same researcher and consistently did not have a varied population sample (the majority of patients were male and white in study #1 and study #2) and were done over a period of time that was not long enough in the duration to accept the findings as truly valid, although, the results of these two studies were consistent with the results of similar studies.The last research study, however, employed a large enough and diverse enough population sample as well as long enough duration to validate the result s that were achieved. Overall, study #3 was designed best out of the three and the validity of its findings can be accepted as accurate with a good amount of confidence. Works Cited Charney, Dora, MD; Palacios-Biox, Jorge, MD, et al (2005). Association Between Concurrent Depression And Anxiety And Six-Month Outcome Of Addiction Treatment.Psychiatric Services, 56, 8. Charney, Dora, MD; Paraherakis, Antonios, BSc, et al (1998). The Impact Of Depression On the Outcome Of Addictions Treatment. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 15, 2, 123-130. Compton, Wilson, M; Cottler, Linda, Ph. D. et al (2003). The Role Of Psychiatric Disorders In Predicting Drug Dependence Treatment Outcomes. The Amercian Journal of Psychiatry, 160, 5. Substance Abuse Impact of Psychiatric Disorders on Treatment Outcomes for Patients with Substance Abuse Daniel Painter Raritan Valley Community College Table of Contents Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. page 3 Abstract 1†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. page 4-5 Critique 1†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. page 5 Abstract 2†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢ € ¦page 6 Critique 2†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. page 6-7 Abstract 3†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦page 8 Critique 3†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. page 8 Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. page 9 IntroductionFor this research I selected the articles that concentrated on treatment outcomes for clients with addictions who also had a mental illness diagnoses (depression, anxiety, antisocial personality disorder, phobias). The first two research studies were conducted at different times but by the same researcher, Drar Charney, MD, and concentrate on outcomes of addiction treatment in patients with co-occurring disorders of anxiety and depression, or both at the same time. The last article by Wilson Compton, MD, focuses on drug dependence treatment outcomes in patient with a variety of mental llnesses. All three studies show similar results in predicting outcomes. Study #1 Abstract The first study that I selected, â€Å"Association Between Concurrent Depression And Anxiety And Six Month Outcome Of Addiction Treatment† conducted by Dara Charney, MD, et al, focuses the common problem of depressive or anxiety symptoms appearing together with drug abuse. The study was conducted for 6 months, used a sample of 326 patients that were assessed through semi structured interviews, ASI, BDI, and Symptom Checkli st 90 and then reassessed after 6 months.The objectives of the study were to assess rates of depression and anxiety in patients seeking addiction treatment and examine how the existence of concurrent psychiatric symptoms will influence treatment outcomes. The sample included 326 patients which was mixed population of adults with substance abuse disorder, who were predominantly white (93%) and male (64%) with a mean age of 41 years old. The sample included patients who were recruited upon entering treatment at the MUHC addictions unit.All patients were eligible for study – there were no exclusion criteria. 63% of patients had significant psychiatric symptoms at intake: 15% had depressive symptoms, 16% had anxiety symptoms and 32% presented with combined depressive and anxiety symptoms. During the six-month follow-up study, participants were offered standard treatment: outpatient detoxification, one or two 90-minute group therapy sessions per week, at least four 50-minute indiv idual therapy sessions and random urine drug screens throughout treatment.Follow up included even those participants who dropped out of the treatment (154 patients dropped out of treatment before 6 months mark) and all participants were asked about the outcome of treatment (abstinence status and duration of continuous abstinence), psychological distress and depressive symptoms. Results of the study revealed that those patients who were presented with few psychiatric symptoms on intake or presented with either depressive or anxiety symptoms on intake fared better than those who presented with depressive and anxiety symptoms together: 73% were still abstinent at 6 months.Critique of study #1 The study supported studied done earlier on the same subject and came up with similar results: patients with co-occurring depressive, anxiety symptoms and addictions fare worse at the end of the addiction treatment than those who do not present with co-occurring symptoms. There are several drawbac ks in the means this study employed. The sample was not representative of the community at large, because the majority of the participants were white males.It was not a random sample as well, because patients were recruited at the same facility. Half of the patients dropped out of treatment before the 6 month period, and were still evaluated at the end of the study regarding its objectives, which is not representative of treatment outcomes since they did not receive treatment. However, on the positive side, the study did include a large sample of patients and the outcomes were consistent with the outcomes of the similar studies. Study #2 AbstractThe second study that I selected, â€Å"The impact of depression on the outcome of addictions treatment† conducted also by Dara Charney, MD, Antonios Paraherakis, BSc, et al, focused on prevalence of depression among men and women who entered the outpatient program for substance use disorder treatment. The objectives of the study were to find out whether it was primary depression or substance-induced depression, presentation of specific features of depression and the impact of depression on treatment out comes. The research sample included 75 patients of the MGH addictions unit. 97% of the sample population was Caucasian, 61. 3% were male and 38. % were female, all of mean age of 40. 5 years old. Subjects were consecutively recruited upon entering treatment and no exclusion criteria were applied. At intake 22. 4% of patients exhibited primary depressive disorder, 8. 4% had substance-induced depressions. At 3 months follow up 93. 3% of patients were reinterviewed. Participants who dropped out of the outpatient treatment were also invited to participate in the interview (35% of the sample). The study concluded that patients, who in the beginning of the study presented with primary depressive disorder, had longer duration of abstinence and greater decreases in symptomatology.Patients with substance-induced depressi on almost completely stopped using their primary substance. Critique of study #2 One of the drawbacks of this study is a small sample size: only 75 patients participated. Sample population was not diverse either: the majority of participants were white males. The duration of the study makes the validity of the outcomes questionable, based on the recurring nature of depressive disorder. However, the results were consistent with the results of similar studies. Study #3 AbstractThe third study I selected, â€Å"The role of psychiatric disorders in predicting drug dependence treatment outcomes† conducted by Wilson Compton, MD, et al, examined what role co morbid psychiatric disorders played in the outcomes of treatment of drug-dependent subjects. The researchers used a sample of 401 subjects from a variety of facilities in the St. Louis area: public outpatient methadone clinics, two drug-free outpatient programs, two drug-free inpatient programs, an outpatient program for drug-ab using prostitutes, and a residential recovery shelter for women. The sample was diverse in that 61% were African Americans and 66% were men.The majority had graduated from high school, were unemployed and had never married. Alcohol dependence was the most common co-occurring psychiatric disorder with a prevalence of 63%. The subjects were interviewed upon admission into the study and then re-interviewed at follow-up 12 months later to determine their drug abuse status. The results of the study showed that several psychiatric disorders predicted worse outcomes at the follow-up. For instance, subjects with major depressive disorder showed using a larger number of substances and having more drug dependence diagnoses and symptoms.Subjects with alcohol dependence showed more dependent diagnoses. Outcomes predicted better abstinence results for women then for men. Critique of study #3 This is a thorough study conducted over a fairly long period of time (12 months at follow-up) that involv ed a large population sample (401 subjects) and was diverse in the facilities involved and demographically. It shows solid outcomes consistent with other research that focused on similar topics. Overall, the study is well designed and its outcomes have a high probability of being accurate.Conclusion In conclusion, I would like to say that all three research studies focused on drug abuse treatment outcomes for patients who have co-occurring mental disorder. The first two were done by the same researcher and consistently did not have a varied population sample (the majority of patients were male and white in study #1 and study #2) and were done over a period of time that was not long enough in the duration to accept the findings as truly valid, although, the results of these two studies were consistent with the results of similar studies.The last research study, however, employed a large enough and diverse enough population sample as well as long enough duration to validate the result s that were achieved. Overall, study #3 was designed best out of the three and the validity of its findings can be accepted as accurate with a good amount of confidence. Works Cited Charney, Dora, MD; Palacios-Biox, Jorge, MD, et al (2005). Association Between Concurrent Depression And Anxiety And Six-Month Outcome Of Addiction Treatment.Psychiatric Services, 56, 8. Charney, Dora, MD; Paraherakis, Antonios, BSc, et al (1998). The Impact Of Depression On the Outcome Of Addictions Treatment. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 15, 2, 123-130. Compton, Wilson, M; Cottler, Linda, Ph. D. et al (2003). The Role Of Psychiatric Disorders In Predicting Drug Dependence Treatment Outcomes. The Amercian Journal of Psychiatry, 160, 5.