Club Drugs Essay -- essays research papers

It’s 6 o’clock on a Saturday morning and while some teenagers are enjoying the extra hours of sleep, many are still bouncing around to the sounds of techno music. Thousands of teenagers and even some adults gather into clubs decorated with black lights, disco balls, and tons of smoke machines. Their hearts are pounding and their pulse is racing at the speed of light, all compliments of designer drugs known as club drugs (National Institute on Drug Abuse). Changing the molecular structure of an existing drug or drugs to create a new substance creates designer drugs (Kusinitz 151). The all night dance parties, known as raves, are about the wildest thing going from midnight till dawn, and often beyond. Just because these drugs may portray something that may sound like fun, the downfall of these drugs make you think twice before taking them at the club. Raves are becoming more popular than ever and these designer drugs are becoming even easier to get a hold of (Kusinitz 46). When asked, over 50 percent of high school seniors said they knew they could get ecstasy â€Å"fairly easily† or â€Å"very easily† if needed (National Institute on Drug Abuse). Since untrained amateurs commonly create designer drugs in underground laboratories, the drugs can be dangerous (Mass 16). Among all designer drugs, MDMA, or Ecstasy is the most commonly used (Kusinitz 47). Others include Ketamine known commonly as Special K or â€Å"K†, and LSD also known as acid. Ecstasy is used at the party and rave scene for it...

Alzheimer’s Disease Essay -- Alzheimers Disease Essays

Alzheimer’s Disease INTRODUCTION Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive degenerative disorder of insidious onset, characterized by memory loss, confusion, and a variety of cognitive disabilities. It is the major cause of dementia in the elderly and is characterized by the presence of neuropathologic lesions including: neurofibrillary tangles in the neuronal perikarya and in pyramidal neurons of the hippocampus, entorhinal cortex and neocortex, nucleus basalis of Meynert, and periaqueductal gray. Neuritic (senile) plaques often with a central or core deposition of amyloid within the plaque and in some cases with amyloid infiltration of blood vessel walls (amyloid angiopathy) and the adjacent perivascular neuropil; loss of neurons, most often in the hippocampus, neocortex, locus coeruleus, and nucleus basalis; and disturbance of acetylcholine transmitter activity marked by lowered levels of acetylcholine and choline acetyltransferase (4). ETIOLOGY Alzheimer’s disease may strike as early as age 40, but is most common after the age of 60. As the average life expectancy continues to increase so too does the incidence of AD. In its early stages it is difficult to distinguish from normal aging. However, whether AD is a specific qualitative disorder such as an infectious process, endogenous or exogenous toxic disorder or biochemical deficiency, or whether it is a quantitative disorder, in which an acceleration of the normal aging processes occur and dementia appears as neural reserves are exhausted, remains to be seen. New techniques of molecular genetics provide a promising new approach for understanding AD in view of the evidence that there is a familiar factor present in the disease (4). In several studies, over one thi... ...scular disease, Parkinson’s disease, hydrocephalus, amyotrophic lateral and multiple sclerosis, and dementia’s resulting from tumors and brain injuries. In light of all this, with an aging population, it is clear to see the need for further study in order to gain a better understanding of the cause and parameters of AD. Works Cited: 1) Guela and M. Mesulam (1989). Cortical Cholinergic Fibers in Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease: A Morphometric Study. Neuroscience, Vol.33, No.3: pp. 469-481. 2.)Guela, C., Tokuno, H., Hersh, L., and Mesulam, M., (1990). Human Striatal Cholinergic Neurons In Development, Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease. Brain Research, 508: pp.310-312. 3.) Nappi, G., Sinforiani, E., Martigonoi, E., Petraglia, F., Rossi, F., Genazzani, A. R. (1988). Aging Brain and Dementia’s: Changes in Central Opioids. European Neurology. 28: pp.217-220.

Alice Walker: The Welcome Table Essay

Through literature we are able to learn about different meanings and other human experiences. â€Å"Literature influences each individual differently† (Clugston, 2010). In Alice Walker’s short story The Welcome Table, it allowed the readers to read and learn about how, and what life was like for an elderly black lady during the 1960s. During these times blacks were discriminated against and the cruel treatment that they endured as human beings was unnatural and unheard of to us in this day and time. In this short story by Ms. Walker, it portrays to the readers how during this time period the African Americans were treated. The reason that this story caught my attention was due to the fact that the elderly lady that is portrayed in the story was so cruelly discriminated against for entering a white church. As you read this story, one cannot help but be intrigued by how the story speaks about the elderly lady and how she has lived her life and had been treated her whole life. Alice Walker starts the story off with the woman getting ready to attend church and the clothes that she is dressed in, you knew she had no money. â€Å"The old woman stood with eyes uplifted in her Sunday~GO~TO~ meeting clothes: high shoes polished about the tops and toes, a long rusty dress adorned with an old corsage, long corsage, long withered, and the remnants of an elegant silk scarf as headrag stained with grease from the any oily ponytails underneath.† (Walker,1967) This poor lady had lived a hard life and it showed on her face and body, so you could tell she knew suffering. The story tells us that this old lady stumbles into an all white church from the freezing cold. The poor white people just stared at her in pure disbelief as though she had committed a crime for entering their church. In the reading it stated â€Å"And so they gazed nakedly upon their own fear transferred; a fear of the black and the old, a terror of the unknown as well as of the deeply known.† (Clugston, 2010) This shows from the sentence, the way the congregation looked at the elderly lady, they were afraid of African-Americans at this time period for no reason that they could even fully understand. They meaning the white community did not like blacks and they were treated unjustly at all times and any cost. The way that the black people were treated back in the 1960s and even before the 1960s, the African-American people were not treated or respected like the white people. To read a story like this, helps me to understand the struggle and pain that the woman endured, as it was told by the narrator or persona of the reading. Some of the people felt as if the beginning of the end of worshipping of the Holy Church and as an invasion of their privacy. Many felt also as if they had lost their privacy now that she had entered their place of Holy Worship. As, I bring this to a close we have to remember that no matter whom or where we are in the world today, we should not pass judgment on another person just because of how they dress, their ethnic background, or where they may live. The story portrayed an elderly black lady who was forgetful and showed her struggle through her eyes and body still walked down the road about a half mile to this church to worship the lord. Even though she was thrown from the church, she did not stop singing and talking to her God. To me, this shows us that no matter our struggle we should never stop believing in what we believe just because someone else does not want us to. Reference Clugston, R.W. (2010). Journey in literature. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu Walker, Alice, (1967). The Welcome Table. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/ehost/delivery?isd=72e76da8-5292-49 Retrieved 1/16/2013 Walker, Alice, (1967). The Welcome Table. Literary Cavalcade; Feb 2003;55-5; Proquest Central, Retrieved 1/16/2013

The Ren And The Coyote

The Ren And The Coyote Coyote and the Hen Once upon a time in a Mayan village in Mexico, a hen was up in the branches of a tree, and a coyote came up to him "I've brought some good news for you. Do you want to hear it?" asked the coyote. "Do you really have some good news?" the hen asked. The coyote answered: "It's about the two of us. Hear this, the coyote and the hen have made peace. Now we're going to be friends and you can come down from the tree." Hen was suspicious and was sure this was another one of Coyotes awful tricks. All the Hens know coyote would love to eat them as a snack. The hen kept asking if it was true what the coyote was saying, "Where was the peace treaty approved, Coyote?" The coyote answered, "Over there by the hunting grounds on the other side of the mountain.English: Coyote (canis latrans) with typical throa...

The Bluest Eye Essays - The Bluest Eye, Pecola, Beauty, Blue Eyes

The Bluest Eye Essays - The Bluest Eye, Pecola, Beauty, Blue Eyes The Bluest Eye Beauty is something that a lot of people in life strive for, because everyone has fitted in their mind what exactly beauty is. People know that it can help you out in life. But what most people dont know is that, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Meaning that beauty should not be characterized by what people are told it is, beauty is different for everyone, what is beautiful for you may be ugly to someone else. The characters in Toni Morrisons The Bluest Eye are confronted with the ideal of beauty and strive for it whether they know it or not. The two characters that I think were followed the ideal of beauty in Toni Morisons story are Pauline and Pecola. In Toni Morrisons story and in real life, beauty is described by people as having blond hair, blue eyes , perfect figure, etc. Its been said that if you have good looks, you can make it in life with just looks alone. People only strive for becoming beautiful because they want attention. As is the case in Toni Morrisons story. The characters in her story think that they are ugly, by others opinions of them, and want to become beautiful so they will be recognized and be the center of attention. But the harder both characters try, the worse things get. Pauline strived for beauty because she wanted to attention and wanted to be beautiful. Pauline seemed to have just worse case of bad luck, when she was a child she stepped on a nail and she was left with a limp forever. The wound left her with a crooked, archless foot that flopped when she walked (110). She tried to put that behind her but she lost three middle teeth, not all the same time but slowly. It wasnt because her teeth were rotten the tooth just fell out. I was sitting back in my seat, and I taken a big bite of that candy, and it pulled a tooth right out of my mouth. I could of cried. I had good teeth, not a rotten one in my head. I dont believe I ever did get over that (123). After trying so hard to become beautiful and things going bad the harder she tried, she just gave up. Pecola strived for beauty throughout the whole book, she knew that people though she was an ugly child. So she thought if she had blue eyes, things would be different and she would be recognized and become beautiful. Pecola, being a child, did not know that her wish was just not possible. But she was a kid and didnt know any better. She figured that if she had blue eyes like Maurine Pie, she would be popular and beautiful. Pecola asked Soaphead Church for blue eyes, and he told he would. Although Pecola never really got blue eyes, she thought she did and it was enough to fulfill her needs. In Conclusion, the characters did not achieve the beauty they desired. Pauline gave up on her quest to become beautiful, the harder she tired the worse things got. Pecola did not really get her blue eyes, although she thought she got them and that was fulfilling for her. If the characters had not worried about becoming beautiful, I think they would have been better of in the end.

Project management approaches for dynamic environments Essays

Project management approaches for dynamic environments Essays Project management approaches for dynamic environments Paper Project management approaches for dynamic environments Paper These projects are challenged by the rapid introduction of new unknowns as they progress. One might say they are more akin to stacking worms than stacking bricks. The difficulties posed by these projects are identified and the literature is reviewed for suitable approaches. ? 2008 Elsevier Ltd and MAMA. All rights reserved. Key. Fords: Project management; Dynamic 1. Introduction This paper sets out to investigate the nature of projects conducted in fast changing environments. Examples and theory are used to illustrate the nature and challenges of this category. Suitable management approaches are identified under the allowing headings: Planning, Experimentation, Lifestyle, Controls, Culture, Communication, and Leadership style. 2. The dynamic project category The paper closes with recommendations for further research. In this paper, control is taken to mean the mechanisms through which resources are managed to achieve objectives and is different to the MAMBO technique [2] which is strictly focused on bringing activities in line with a plan [3]. The term dynamic is taken to mean characterized by constant change [4]. In the project management context dynamism is taken to be a dimension of a project hat represents the extent to which a project is influenced by changes in the environment in which it is conducted. Corresponding author. Address: ITS Project Office, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, SLD 4072, Australia. Tell. : +61 7 33654935; fax: +61 401 E-mail add Reese: [emailprotected] Com (S. Collier). 0263-7863/$36. 00 2008 Elsevier Ltd and MAMA All rights reserved. DOI:1 0. 1 016/j. Sparkman. 2008. 04. 04 This paper argues that this is a non-binary dimension that applies in varying degrees to all projects, so strictly any given project is neither dynamic nor not dynamic. All projects have some agree of dynamism, so the dimension is not dichotomy. Therefore, the ideas in this paper may be applied in varying degrees to any project as deemed appropriate. For the sake of simplicity though, for the remainder of this paper, a dynamic project is taken to be one that is necessarily subject to hi gher than normal levels of change due to the environment in which it is conducted. The business environment is changing at an increasing pace [5-7]. Retell and Ziegfeld [8] went so far as to say we are in the midst of a technology explosion. They argued that 90% of our technical knowledge has been generated in he last 55 years, and that technical knowledge will continue to increase exponentially. Perrine and Tipping [9] reported the pace of technology is accelerating raising the stakes and risks for managing innovation, and requiring early warning and shorter response time. Change, in all forms of technology and business processes, can be regarded as increasingly pervasive and providing challenges even where high technology is not a core business, such as in mining [10]. Consider how the Australian Submarine project was challenged by developments in the IT industry between the sass design phase, and sea trials decades later [7]. This paper will now investigate dynamic projects from a theoretical point of view. Gray and Larson [1 1] argued that 356 S. Collier, C. M. J. Warren / International Journal of Project Management 27 (2009) 355-364 projects conducted in highly uncertain environments are a key unresolved project management issue and present the following challenges: planning for uncertain outcomes; balancing flexibility with reliability and accountability; balancing decision quality against decision speed; timing scope freeze during rapid change. Pick, Loch and De Meyer [12] describe a type of project hat encounters unknown unknowns and how it is best suited to what they called a learning strategy which involves scanning, problem solving and flexibility. They argue that this is distinct from projects conducted in well understood environments which are suited to instructions, and distinct from selections where the most fruitful initiative is chosen after a pool of trials. Turner and Cochran [131 espouse the goals and methods matrix that describes four different types of project according to how well defined the methods and goals are. Projects can have poorly defined oils (fire) or poorly defined methods (Water), or both (aid). Sheehan and Weidman [14] describe a type of project that involves high levels of uncertainty, using technologies together for the first time. They call these high tech [14]. They also describe a type of project that actually creates new technologies, called super high tech. Sheehan [1 5] describes how low technology projects are typically performed in construction, production and utilities, and high technology projects in the computer, aerospace and electronics industries. He offers building and bridge construction as examples f low technology projects. The key difference to Sheehan is the level of development work involved, in that low technology projects have little, and high technology projects have considerable levels and usually require prototyping. Sheehan and Weidman [14] argue that another key difference is the number of design cycles. In low technology projects they say there is typically only one cycle with a freeze before development, and with high technology there are at least two, typically three cycles. Operational work Coif [1 6] suggests that projects be placed on a spectrum of newness from operational to project. The idea has been adapted in Fig. 1 to illustrate the sliding scale of unknowns that applies to projects. Unknowns in this sense refer to any aspect of the project, including the methods to achieve it, the objective, and the environment it has to operate in. The guide to the project management body of knowledge (MAMBO) [2] describes progressive elaboration, where planning is developed in greater detail as the project progresses. Using progressive elaboration to fill knowledge gaps, it might be possible to move a project to the left in Fig. 1, thereby achieving the objective in a more predictable fashion. However, paid changes in the environment, including tools and methods, and attempts to innovate, act to push the project to the right, increasing unknowns. The two forces Of exploration and change act against each other continuously throughout the project. The challenge is to conduct exploration at a greater rate than the emergence of environmental change. It is also important to ensure that the amount of change created by the exploration and implementation is not counterproductive overall. An example of Project A in Fig. 1 might be a production line where there only variable is the color required. Project B might e a house construction where there are more unknowns at the start but most are resolved in the early stages. Project C might be a software development project for a new business. The clients business processes, and the technologies used in the project, change during the course of execution, thereby affecting the methods used and goals. Projects conducted in environments with higher levels of dynamism may be more likely to pose some of the attributes of Shiners [1 5] high technology or super high technology categories with uncertainty at the start, but also include even more challenging high levels of change along the way. In dynamic project environments, significant proportions of the methods and goals are changed by external forces out of the projects control. The effort to resolve unknowns at the start of the project is severely challenged by the introduction of additional unknowns along the way, because what is learned can become obsolete in less time Dynamic project Classic project Knows unknowns Progressive Elaboration/Exploration Environmental Changes Innovation Fig. 1. The race to resolve project unknowns. (2009) 355-364 Table 1 The dynamic project category Work type Description Established controls. Operational processes. Lower levels of unknowns Requires the creation of new controls, usually a project plan, for a significantly new body of work, usually only carried out once. May have high levels of unknowns at the start but most resolved early, and few new unknowns arise during execution Requires the creation of new controls that are changed regularly during execution. Has high levels of unk nowns at the start and a high rate of new unknowns throughout. Must resolve the unknowns at a faster rate than they appear, and in time for completion Classic project Dynamic than it takes to learn. Materials, methods and goals are always moving, making projects more akin to stacking arms than stacking bricks. Table 1 attempts to describe the difference between operational work, classic project work, and projects with a strong dynamic dimension. The rate of resolving unknowns is especially critical on these projects. As soon as one engages in adjustment of scope to suit an uncontrollable environment one runs the risk of resolution lag. The rate at which unknowns are resolved must not only be sufficient to deal with those that existed at the start, but also those that appear during execution. For instance, assuming linear production and resolution of unknowns, the resolution rate must at least be equal to the appearance rate, plus enough to resolve unknowns that existed at the start (I. E. Number at start divided by the duration). The appearance rate will be quite high in a highly dynamic environment. Furthermore, unknowns may appear in inconvenient bursts, and certainly after planning is complete. Therefore, the rate of unknown resolution is a particular hazard for projects conducted in dynamic environments. 3. Illustration Two examples are provided to help illustrate the challenges of projects conducted in dynamic environments. Two subunits Of a single parent organization were selected on the basis that they had contrasting levels of dynamism. Both sub units had a mix of project types, but each appeared to have a higher proportion of one type. One sub unit had a higher proportion of projects utilizing the instructions approach and the other more utilizing the learning approach. In this paper one will be referred to as the static environment and the other as the dynamic environment, as a means to represent the relative levels of dynamism in each. Following is a description of challenges encountered by the higher levels of change in the dynamic environment. Product lifespan: the average mean time to failure (MITT) was three to four years compared to several cascades in the static environment. This meant that in a 357 given year one third of the products had to be replaced. There was very little that could be called operational. At any given point more than half of the environment was either being replaced or being planned for replacement. This also presented the sign efficient risk that materials would expire before the fall product was fully operational. Rate of introduction of new materials: most materials had only become available in the last three or four years, and were completely unknown less than a decade previously. By contrast most materials used in the static environment had been well understood for several decades, centuries, or even millennium, and the implementation methods were well understood and tuned. Difficulty finding and managing skilled labor: change led to a perpetually low level of knowledge about the properties of new materials, and how they should be implemented (methods), and therefore difficulty finding qualified resources. A sign efficient amount of study and certification was required to stay qualified in using an endless stream of new materials. It was regarded as almost impossible to Stay qualified and perform effectively as a manager at the same time. Staff promoted to management had to quickly decide teens giving up their qualifications or giving up good management. If they chose to be an effective manager, they had to do so without completely understanding the work their staff performed. This made it more difficult to manage, understand issues, and gauge performance. Level of integration with customer industry: while some organizations can execute relatively vanilla products for a range of contrasting clients, projects in the dynamic environment required significant customization and understanding of the client business. Changing goals: because customers were also operating in an environment of uncertainty and change, their acquirement also had a tendency to change rapidly. Affect on planning: in the dynamic environment new events that compromised plans arose rapidly throughout project delivery. The quantity of change made detailed plans difficult to maintain. In the time it took to adjust the plan, additional changes would occur. Analysis and decision making had to be conducted more rapidly than the emergence of new changes. Plans with excessive detail were found to be misleading and abandoned in favor Of a higher level or rolling wave approach. Even in the static environment, there could be too many unknowns at the start to be solved by the deadline, so the rapid introduction of new unknowns in the dynamic environment was doubly challenging. Morale: in the dynamic environment, well before a product or service was produced, thoughts had turned to the next generation, making the current goal seem less valuable or important. This made it difficult to maintain quality focus, or celebrate end points for reward and recognition. This in turn affected job satisfaction, 358 S. Collier, C. MS. Warren / International Journal of Project Management 27 morale and motivation. Lower product quality meant that deployed products required regular changes to continue their usefulness, and reliability. By comparison the visible achievement of a building lasts decades after it is complete. Levels of interdependence: projects were often intertwined with other projects and an existing dynamic environment. A change in one project had significant impact on other projects. The highly integrated nature of the environment, combined with high rates of change, made forward planning very challenging. Dependency on business units with much lower levels of dynamism who therefore may not respond as quickly, or understand the challenges being faced. Reduced business compatibility when an organization alls too far behind best practice, and find it difficult to recruit staff familiar with their environment. Sometimes technology used on a previous project simply does not exist any more, and new ones have to be used; low material life-spans (low MATT) and life-cycles (period before manufacture ceases permanently). This means that most materials, and therefore products, have to be replaced within three to four years, with a next generation material/product. Next generation materials/products usually have differing properties to the original, and this has a flow on affect to dependent products. While standards may be used extensively, omen variations in properties are deemed necessary to achieve improvements. . Project management approaches for dynamic environ meets An industry with a strong public safety requirement may be attracted to the make static approach. This requirement can help justify funds to test and implement strategies, and this can mitigate the reliability disadvantages of early adoption; consider the medical and the aircraft construction industries as examples. Conversely t he IT industry cannot easily leverage public safety to justify costs, so it trades reliability for faster delivery, of new functionality, at lower costs. Jones argues that technology product lifestyles are now measured in months, compared to the car industry in years (about five), and in construction change in product technology is very limited and products such as steel girders and electrical cable may remain in the mature stage indefinitely Although the make static approach has merits, it also has limitations, and so other approaches are a necessary part of the mix. The intention here is to review literature to provide a broad overview of approaches that might be used to better deal with dynamic environments. Approaches were broken down as follows: Environment manipulation making dynamic static. Planning approaches for dynamic environments. Scope control for dynamic environments. Controlled experimentation. Lifestyle strategies. Management controls: input, behavior and output, diagnostic, belief, interactive and boundary. Culture and communication for dynamic environments. Categorization. Leaders IP style. 4. 1 . Environment manipulation make dynamic static The most obvious approach to deal with the challenges of a dynamic environment is to attempt to make it more static by resisting change. This could be achieved by: freezing objective and design. Rejecting change requests; reducing or delaying adoption of new (esp.. Unproven) technologies or techniques; extending the life of existing systems. In highly dynamic environments the benefits of the make static approach are countered by challenges such as: lost opportunity and productivity though delayed implementation of new approaches, materials or business objectives, that provide significant benefits, despite the challenges; reduced business competitiveness, especially when competing organizations offer, or make use of, new systems which are often more effective; 4. 2. Planning approaches for dynamic environments Project management, as defined by the bodies of knowledge, is focused mostly on a management-as-planning view of control and appears to be an appropriate approach for projects with clear goals and methods [13]. However, Slake and Howell [17] argue that for speedy projects, traditional project management is simply counterproductive; it creates self-inflicted problems that seriously undermine performance. The problem is that events arise at faster rates than is practical to re-plan Attempting detailed long term planning for these projects can waste time and resources, and lead to false expectations.

Gilgamesh Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Gilgamesh - Essay Example The Epic Hero stands as more than just the conquerer, but also as a role model and an ideal man, an allegory for the struggle to meet one’s truest potential. Every culture has their own version of the Epic Hero, who occupies a distinct place in the scheme of the society. Separate from his contemporaries, the Epic Hero straddles the line between man and god, unable to fully commit to one realm or another. He must separate himself from the common people, either by choice or by necessity, in order to undertake the tasks that must be completed. Gilgamesh epitomizes the Epic Hero. We see him as the beloved king, the indomitable ruler, occupying a station above all others that is simultaneously ruled over by fickle deities. He concerns himself with tasks beyond the scope of mortal possibilities, ridding the world of evil beings and challenging the permanence of death. The Epic of Gilgamesh is an epic in more than name — King Gilgamesh’s undertaking is ambitious almost to a fault and in his journey, he undergoes intense personal transformation from an irreverent, self-important child to a motivated, intuitive ruler. Motivated by his quest, the Epic Hero moves through the physical world as a sort of outsider whose actions and reactions come from a more direct relationship with the material and preternatural elements of his environment. The Epic Hero reflects the nature of his origin culture by demonstrating the ideal man, an icon that reflects the values and mores of the people. People relate to the Epic Hero because he represents the beliefs that they have been taught to accept and revere. This archetype has influenced more than fictional literature. Alexander the Great, for instance, was indeed a real historical figure, but he has taken on many of the elements of the Epic Hero demonstrated in the Epic of Gilgamesh. Much of the traditional narrative of Alexander reflects the power and prestige associated with the Epic Hero, but the metaphysical as pect of the legend carries other similarities. Alexander’s search for the water of life in later Islamic mythos mirrors that of Gilgamesh, and, like Gilgamesh, Alexander fails in his quest to become immortal (Jastrow). Similarly, themes of divine anger and details reminiscent of Gilgamesh appear extensively in Genesis — so much so that historians believe the Biblical flood story to be heavily influenced its Mesopotamian counterpart (Millard 13). Enraged by the sins of the world, the Semitic god decides to flood the world (Gen. 6.17). Noah, the pious man who assumes the role of the Epic Hero, delivers his family from danger by building a great ark at the insistence of the divine, demonstrating to the reader the importance of following god’s commandments. Although the Mesopotamian version does not incorporate the same level of moral implication, both flood stories demonstrate the continued involvement of the gods in the day-to-day survival of the world. Regardless of the era, deities play a distinct role in the epic narrative. They shape and define the path of the hero, alternately offering aid and raising barriers. Respect is demanded from all participating parties and, as demonstrated by the rampage of the Bull of Heaven, a lack of due respect results in disaster. Irreverence is punished harshly. The hero, who does not quite fit into the mortal realm, often