Ronnie Steel’s Drug Addiction

From the list of selected books, the one that stuck out to me the greatest was Ronnie Steele’s, â€Å"My Own Worst Enemy: A Memoir of Addiction. † This book observes the parallels between addiction and self-image. This book takes the reader into the mind of Ronnie Steele and analyzed how he not only coped with his addiction but how the addiction made him who he was. The reason why I enjoyed this book over many other autobiographies that I have read before is that Ronnie allows the reader to dive deep into the realms of his life. By reading this autobiography I could tell that Ronnie poured out every inch of his heart and soul into the pages. In order for the reader to gain a deeper understanding about his troubling addictions, Ronnie sacrificed his privacy and intimate lifestyle relationships. As I finished reading this book I began searching some feedback on the net, positive and negative. Many of the positive comments on this book exclaims how this autobiography helped them cope with the extremities and hardships of addiction in the present day world. The negative feedback, though, focused on how Ronnie’s stories seemed lavish and fabricated. Many of the people who wrote the negative comments focused not on the mission of the book; however, they focused on the satirical writing style and how the story related to present day extremities. Ronnie concludes his autobiography by stating that his biggest plight for this book is that he hopes it will influence someone to stop drinking, smoking, cheating, and lying. This book explores the differences between succumbing and overcoming an addiction. The protagonist, Ronnie Steele, dives into the realms of testament as he attempts to shield current addicts and future human beings who are interested in drinking and smoking from the same trials and tribulations that he went through. Throughout the book Ronnie consistently mentions how he was the sole cause of his substance abuse. He tells the reader that he felt like he couldn’t control his urge for alcohol, thus forcing him to continue to do it. Ronnie mentions how alcohol was not the only thing he was addicted to; lying, cheating, and smoking was a part of his addiction. Through months and months of dealing with his addiction, Ronnie finally was forced to go through treatment. He gives a detailed account of his road to recovery and how it was difficult yet necessary for his well-being and the future well-being for his family. Ronnie’s partner, Sarah, was a very good woman for seeing him through his recovery and treatment as he dealt with his addiction. The thing that surprised me about this autobiography was how Ronnie identified one of the sources for his addiction: early childhood problems. Being a psychology major, I know that many psychological abnormalities, such as addiction, can be explained by environmental factors. Ronnie gives a detailed account of how abuse was a huge and vital part of his childhood. The theory that is evident in this book is the on addiction. Addiction is described as using a drug in a way for which it is not attended for, that will lead to long or short term harm to the user or others, and the result in the user no longer being able to be responsible for his/her thoughts, feelings, or behavior. DSM-IV classifies addiction and drug abuse as a maladaptive pattern of substance use leading to clinically significant impairment or distress. There are currently five different models that covers addiction: medical model, psychodynamic model, social model, moral model, and bio-psycho-social model. The model that seems to cover the key experiences in this book is the psychodynamic model. This model explains how drug abuse and addiction is a symptom of underlying psychological problems and is used as a maladaptive psychological coping strategy. I came up with the conclusion that this model fits with the essence of this book because Ronnie uses drugs to resolve his internal conflict with the person who abused him in early childhood. From reading this book and exploring Ronnie Steele’s online blogs I can include a few different things about drugs and society. I can conclude that drugs are a big part of society’s coping mechanism. From the information that I know from being a Psychology major and the information I received from reading this book and blog, many addictions are triggered by drug abuse from use of drugs to cope with past and present day problems. In this autobiography, the main character uses drugs as an outlet to forget his past; with addiction, though, comes rehabilitation. I can also conclude, from this autobiography, that rehabilitation in America works. I can conclude this because Ronnie had fought a great fight with addiction to alcohol and through the encouragement of his partner and his rehabilitation he overcame it. It was a difficult battle and struggle for Ronnie but the fact that he overcame his addiction and uses his book as a catalyst for help for other addicts is amazing and inspiring to me. In all, I believe I made a great choice in selecting this book out of the many novels on the list. This autobiography explores not only the recovery from addiction, but also the road to recovery. I love how Ronnie is so open with his testament and how he wants his book to inspire others. I believe this book is a great read and I really appreciated this being on the list.

Global marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Global marketing - Essay Example Free trade members lack common external tariff unlike in customs union meaning they have different customs and quotas. Free trade area is aimed at reducing barriers to easy exchange so that there is development of trade as a result of division of labour and specialization. Custom Union are normally characterized by generally imposing a common external-tariff on imports from countries who are not members (Sharan). Another characteristic of custom union is that there is no free movement labor among members as well as capital. Custom Union is mutual agreement among the participating neighboring countries to reduce or eliminate customs duty and remove trade barriers on mutual trade. Participants in Custom Union come up with a common external trade policy. In economic integration, Custom union is the third stage and is normally established through trade pacts. Common Market is a formed by countries in the same geographical area to enhance capital among it members and duty free labor movement. It is aimed at bringing economic integration and a common market to the involved member countries. Custom market is characterized by imposing common external tariff on imports from non-members. In Political Union, there is a consolidated and a larger group of countries that share an internationally acknowledged joint government. Political union can be established in a various ways such as; mixed unions incorporating union, and federative annexation. It is characterized by having a common currency and no trade barriers for the member countries. The key provisions of NAFTA which would challenge inclusion of Brazil and Chile is Prohibition of standards as free trade barrier, this is because some product from brazil and chile may not meet U.S. standards may be denied access to market. Another reason is that including Brazil and Chile may lead to changing standards to accommodate their needs whereas NAFTA does not require the United States to change

Mozart influence on Freemasonry and in the Impact on Social Change Research Paper

Mozart influence on Freemasonry and in the Impact on Social Change - Research Paper Example In this aristocracy, he longed to serve an aristocratic society that heavily underappreciated and even failed, most of the time, to appreciate him for who he was. The only place that he appears to have made significant change in the course of his life was Prague, where the society seems to worship him to date, as he seemed to inspire a sense of understanding amongst the people of Prague, who had an intense liking for him and his works. In relation to his life in Prague and the status, he managed to achieve in life, as well as in death, has seen him change the society in that the society there appreciated him by gaining an understanding of him and his struggles throughout his career in Austria, as well as appreciating aristocracy. With this in mind, his background plays a crucial role in comprehending how his influence on society came into being, especially to the people of Prague who respected him and were transformed by him, by virtue of understanding him, his past, and his struggle s. On his background, he was born as a child prodigy who was expected to carry forth the legend of his father, who repeatedly worked towards the success of his children. With this in mind, the people that understood him looked at him as a person under pressure to endure that he did not disappoint his father, in that he was even a born musical genius s and composer (â€Å"Let’s go Mozart† 4). This made his story heavily romanticized over time and to date has continued to shape society on its right by having people believe in his tragic. This is especially so I the concept of believing in oneself, where there are numerous analogies and legends, as well as myths that refer to the life of Mozart and aim at inspiring the society that one can make it in life (Gay, 1). In addition, scholars have even referred to the life of Mozart in relation to appreciation of music, by ensuring that certain societies that were

Survey Research4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Survey Research4 - Essay Example The quality of service is said to be the gap between customer expectations and the actual performance they receive. (Parasuraman et al, 1994; Tsang and Qu, 2000). When customers are pleased with the service they receive, they are likely to patronize the hotel again and again, which reduces advertising costs. In particular, previous studies have shown that the quality of service offered by front line personnel has a great impact on levels of customer satisfaction (Dunaway, 2002: McKenna, 2002). Furthermore, customer loyalty at hotels may be largely dependent on the quality of housekeeping services and the room itself. (Kandampully and Suhartanto, 2000; Parasuraman et al, 1991). These are some of the important elements that have been identified in the literature as contributing to customer perception of quality in service. In developing a survey instrument, McDowell(2006) points out that the method used must set out a comparison between the theory vs the reality, which is the need identified that is to be examined in the survey. In this case, the theory identifies two important elements that are crucial in customer perception of service. They are (a) the quality of front line services and (b) the room and housekeeping services. The need identified in this study is to examine how these elements may be applicable specifically in four star hotels. On the basis of this, the survey instrument is to be designed.(McDowell, 2006:30-54). In developing face validity for the questionnaire, it is necessary to address the following aspects – what is the need to test the items through the survey? Why do we need to ask these questions and how should they be asked? In this survey, the need that has been identified is that of testing perception of service quality in four-star hotels. The service quality is very important because four-star hotels are more expensive, therefore customers expect higher levels of service from these hotels. As a result, it is

Death Of A Salesman by Arthur Miller Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Death Of A Salesman by Arthur Miller - Essay Example Broken and delusional, he goes home to his family, trying to make sense out of his life (Whitalec 144). The challenge for Willy is that he does not know how to do anything else but sales. Although he attempts to find a job with his neighbor Charlie, he is unsuccessful. Eventually, he decides that the best thing for him to do is commit suicide; at least his family will have the insurance money when he is gone. 2 Symbolism There are a variety of symbols that Miller uses to advance the story. The title itself is a symbol of the dying breed of traveling salesman, as well as a foreshadowing that Willy will eventually take his life. In the beginning of the story, Willy likes to do gardening at night and there is a great emphasis on planting seeds. Seeds are a symbol of growth and these are also the seeds of the many pleasant memories that Willy has about Ben and about his â€Å"past and barren present condition† (Ali 1). The seeds are also a symbol for the wealth that Willy wants an d his need to put food on the table for his family. Planting seeds can also be about telling someone bits of wisdom. Willy felt that he was not able to help his son Biff in a way that would have helped him become someone in the world. From Willy’s perspective, Biff is not doing enough with his life and this is because Willy was not able to â€Å"cultivate and nurture† (Sparknotes 3) his son. Willy feels that if he could have planted the seeds of ambition within his son, that he would have done more with his life. The American Dream is a symbol that runs consistently through the story and it is a symbol of what Willy feels he cannot have, no matter what he does. Part of the American Dream is to have money and for Willy, the diamond mine that his brother was working with was about wealth. Diamonds present a symbol of wealth that is tangible to Willy and he sees diamonds as a way to validate his labor. Diamonds are also a symbol of a legacy that he could pass down to his sons (Sparknotes). Unfortunately, the American Dream has not meant wealth for Willy and at the end of the story he kills himself so that his family can receive the insurance money for his death. Stockings are often sold by salesman and Willy seems to be obsessed with making sure that his wife has new stockings all the time. These stockings are also a symbol of infidelity when Biff finds out that his father is having an affair and has given a pair of new stockings to his mistress. Also, new stockings for his wife provide Willy with the idea that he has taken care of at least one of his wife’s needs (Sparknotes). Willy lives in New York hoping that he will one day be able to move ahead in life. He yearns to leave the city and go to Africa with Ben (though Ben is now dead) or he would like to go to the American West. These symbols show Willy as someone who really wants more out of life but he does not know how to do this for himself; instead, he lives his dreams of wealth throug h hallucinations of his brother Ben. He had the change to go with Ben at one point in his life, but he did not do it because he was afraid. He allowed his home to restrict his movement. His home is actually another symbol of his restricted living. He does not have a space at home that is totally his and it is met with many financial problems that continue to keep him restricted (Witelec 1). The issue of acceptance is another theme that also acts

Maos policy of Politics in Command set the agenda for the Chinese Essay

Maos policy of Politics in Command set the agenda for the Chinese economy for the last half of the 20th century in China. Do you agree with the statement Wh - Essay Example In the first half of the twentieth century state policy eliminated private industry and commerce resulting to a high degree of centralized and unified planned economy. But despite this the party-state showed symptoms of incapacity in terms of confronting modernization and economic growth. Aiko Ikeo (1997) cited an example: In the early stages of the creation of New China, the method of ‘three persons’ food eaten by five’ was carried out, in an effort to assist the unemployed. During the First Five-year Plan, unemployment was basically eliminated, but because of the lower level of productive forces, in order to guarantee universal employment and individual entitlement to rations, only low-wage policies could work†¦ The parity pattern of low wages, high employment and low consumption cause universal overstaffing, inefficiency and low benefits. (p. 166) By 1960 Mao Zedong launched the self-reliance model anchored on the guiding thought of â€Å"politics in command†. This theory stressed the replacement of personal desire for material and economic interests with noble political sentiments and selfless devoted spirit. This guiding thought replaced the equalitarian thought of equal wealth distribution policy in the 1950s. (Ikeo, p. 166) The basic theme of this campaign was the proper relationship between politics and business, with the basic goal of ensuring that politics is placed at the fore. More importantly, this introduced a decentralization drive which sought to give the party more control over the economy. This was achieved by having the provincial party committees supervise economic enterprises and perform a coordinating role. (Bailey 2001, p. 170) In an effort to achieve greater party control, the influence of central planning ministries was reduced. The ‘politics in command’ policy was implemented, in effect abolishing the previous equalitarian thoughts of equal

Sodium Thiosulphate Coursework Essay Example for Free

Sodium Thiosulphate Coursework Essay We must produce a piece of coursework investigating the rates of reaction, and the effect different changes have on them. The rate of reaction is the rate of loss of a reactant or the rate of formation of a product during a chemical reaction. It is measured by dividing 1 by the time taken for the reaction to take place. There is five factors which affect the rate of a reaction, according to the collision theory of reacting particles: temperature, concentration (of solution), pressure (in gases), surface are (of solid reactants), and catalysts. I have chosen to investigate the effect temperature and concentration have on a reaction. This is because they are the most practical to investigate it would take longer to prepare a solid in powdered and unpowdered form, and it is difficult to get accurate readings due to the inevitabilities of human errors, and as gas is mostly colourless it is difficult to gauge a reaction changing the pressure, and if a substance is added to give the gas colour, it may influence the outcome of the experiment. Similarly the use of a catalyst complicates things, and if used incorrectly could alter the outcome of the experiment. Experiment 1 Changing the concentration 5 cm3 of HCl (at concentration 1 mol./dm3) and 15 cm3 of sodium thiosulphate (at varying concentrations 10 to 35 g/dm3) are poured out into two measuring cylinders and then poured into a conical flask, which is placed on top of a board marked with letter X. The stopwatch will now be started. When the mixture has turned sufficiently cloudy so that the letter X can no longer be seen the stopwatch will be stopped and the time will be recorded. The experiment is repeated with all the concentrations. The whole procedure is then repeated. Experiment 2 Changing the temperature 5 cm of HCl (at concentration 1 mol./dm3) and 15 cm of sodium thiosulphate (at varying concentrations 10 to 35 g/dm3) are poured out into two measuring cylinders. A beaker is half filled with hot water from a tap. The water is placed on top of a Bunsen on a blue flame and the two measuring placed inside the water bath. The water is heated to the necessary temperature (30?C to 70?C) then the two measuring cylinders are taken out and the contents of both are poured into a conical cylinder. The time it takes for the X to disappear is timed and recorded. The experiment is repeated using all the temperatures. The entire procedure is the repeated. Repeat results and averages will be taken to improve the credibility of the findings, and present solid grounding for the final conclusion. The repeat results will help to iron out any anomalies and the average will give a good summary of the results of the experiment. However if one set of results is entirely different to the other, a third experiment will be performed to replace the anomalous set of results. Safety A pair of goggles will be worn during the heating part of the experiment in order to protect the eyes. An apron will also be worn to protect the skin and clothing. When handling hot beakers and measuring cylinders a pair of tongs will be used. A gauze and heatproof mat will be used while heating to avoid any damage to the equipment. Fair Test In order for my findings to be valid the experiment must be a fair one. I will use the same standard each time for judging when the X has disappeared. I will make sure that the measuring cylinders for the HCl and thiosulphate will not be mixed up. The amount of HCl will be 5 cm3 each time, and the amount of thiosulphate will be fixed at 15 cm3. During the heating stage of the experiment, a blue flame will be used throughout. Also the same Bunsen burner and gas tap will be used to maintain continuity. All of these precautions will make my final results more reliable and keep anomalies at a minimum so thus make the entire investigation more successful. Prediction I predict that as the temperature is increased the rate of reaction will increase. I also predict that as the concentration of the sodium thiosulphate increases the rate of reaction will increase. This means that both graphs drawn up in my analysis will have positive correlation, and will probably be curved as the increase in rate of reaction will not be exactly the same as the concentrationtemperature is increased. This can be justified by relating to the collision theory. When the temperature is increased the particles will have more energy and thus move faster. Therefore they will collide more often and with more energy. Particles with more energy are more likely to overcome the activation energy barrier to reaction and thus react successfully. If solutions of reacting particles are made more concentrated there are more particles per unit volume. Collisions between reacting particles are therefore more likely to occur. All this can be understood better with full understanding of t he collision theory itself: For a reaction to occur particles have to collide with each other. Only a small percent result in a reaction. This is due to the energy barrier to overcome. Only particles with enough energy to overcome the barrier will react after colliding. The minimum energy that a particle must have to overcome the barrier is called the activation energy, or Ea. The size of this activation energy is different for different reactions. If the frequency of collisions is increased the rate of reaction will increase. However the percent of successful collisions remains the same. An increase in the frequency of collisions can be achieved by increasing the concentration, pressure, or surface area. Concentration If the concentration of a solution is increased there are more reactant particles per unit volume. This increases the probability of reactant particles colliding with each other. Pressure If the pressure is increased the particles in the gas are pushed closer. This increases the concentration and thus the rate of reaction. Surface Area If a solid is powdered then there is a greater surface area available for a reaction, compared to the same mass of unpowdered solid. Only particles on the surface of the solid will be able to undergo collisions with the particles in a solution or gas. The particles in a gas undergo random collisions in which energy is transferred between the colliding particles. As a result there will be particles with differing energies. Maxwell-Boltzmann energy distribution curves show the distribution of the energies of the particles in a gas. The main points to note about the curves are: 1. There are no particles with zero energy. 2. The curve does not touch the x-axis at the higher end, because there will always be some particles with very high energies. 3. The area under the curve is equal to the total number of particles in the system. 4. The peak of the curve indicates the most probable energy. The activation energy for a given reaction can be marked on the distribution curve. Only particles with energy equal or greater than the activation energy can react when a collision occurs. Although Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution curves are for the particles in a gas, the same distributions can be used for the particles in a liquid or solid. Effects of a temperature change The graph below shows Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution graphs for a fixed mass of gas at two temperatures T1 and T2, where T2 is roughly 10?C higher than T1. The total area under the curve remains the same, since there is no change in the number of particles present. A small increase in temperature causes significant changes to the distribution energies. At the higher temperature: 1. The peak is at a higher energy. 2. The peak is lower. 3. The peak is broader. 4. There is a large increase in the number of particles with higher energies. It is the final change that results increase in rate, even with a relatively small increase in temperature. A small increase in temperature greatly increases the number of particles with energy greater than the activation energy. The shaded areas on the energy distribution curves show this. Effect of a catalyst A catalyst works by providing an alternative reaction pathway that has lower activation energy. A catalyst does not alter the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution. Because a catalyst provides a reaction route of lower activation energy, however, a greater proportion of particles will have energy greater than the activation energy. Analysis In this experiment I have found that as the temperature and concentration is increased the time taken for the reaction to take place decreases. This means the rate of reaction increasers as it takes less time for a reaction to take place, so more take place per second. In the temperature experiment the time taken for a reaction to take place decreased by roughly 10 to 15 seconds for every 10?C increase in temperature, with the one anomaly being the 30?C reading. There is also a trend in the increase in rate of reaction as the temperature increases. The difference is always more or less 0.02 s-1, with the same exception. Using the graphs, with lines of best fit, I can draw a conclusion from my experiment. Firstly I can see that with the time graphs (that plot temperature and concentration against time taken for the reaction to take place) the graphs have negative correlation in both cases, meaning that as the temperatureconcentration increased the time taken for the reaction to take place decreases. The time graph for the temperature experiment has a much steeper curve than the one for the concentration experiment, meaning that the decrease in time taken for the reaction was far more rapid. Naturally, the above means that the both the graphs plotting rate against temperature and concentration have positive correlation as the temperature and concentration are increased so does the rate of reaction. This is because when the temperature is increased the particles will have more energy and thus move faster. Therefore they will collide more often and with more energy. Particles with more energy are more likely to overcome the activation energy barrier to reaction and thus react successfully, and when solutions of reacting particles are made more concentrated there are more particles per unit volume. Collisions between reacting particles are therefore more likely to occur. The graph for concentration shows that when the concentrations were relatively low (10, 15, 20 g/dm3), the increase of rate x1000 was also fairly small (increasing from 4.47 to 6.71 to 9.47). There was then a gradual increase in the difference, and between 30 and 35 g/dm3 the rate more than doubled from 17.90 to 37.56s-1. This shows that there are far more collisions at a concentration of 35 g/dm3 than at 30 g/dm3. The graph plotting time against the rate of reaction x1000 shows that the difference of rate between increasing temperatures (excluding the anomaly of 30?C) was pretty much regular, increasing in steps of 6-10 (9.17 to 15.37 to 24.28 to 31.67). However, once again there is a giant gap in the last temperature increase at 60?C the RoR x1000 is 31.67 s-1, and at 70?C it is 57.03 s-1. For this to fully make sense it is necessary to recap the collision theory briefly: For a reaction to occur particles have to collide with each other. Only a small percent result in a reaction. This is due to the energy barrier to overcome. Only particles with enough energy to overcome the barrier will react after colliding. The minimum energy that a particle must have to overcome the barrier is called the activation energy, or Ea. The size of this activation energy is different for different reactions. If the  frequency of collisions is increased the rate of reaction will increase. However the percent of successful collisions remains the same. An increase in the frequency of collisions can be achieved by increasing the concentration, pressure, or surface area.