Organisational Behaviour Essay

I. Presentation An association is regularly characterized as a gathering of individuals who cooperate in a deliberately organized social unit for a common reason. The board alludes to the movement of controlling and sorting out individuals to achieve its objectives. In today’s progressively worldwide and serious condition the compelling administration of individuals is much increasingly critical to the effective execution of the work associations. In this way, the directors need to comprehend the primary effects on how individuals carry on in an association setting. Mullins (2008, p.4) characterized association conduct (OB) as ‘the study and comprehension of individual and gathering conduct, and examples of structure so as to help improve hierarchical execution and effectiveness’. It contains a blend of a wide range of speculations and approaches. Thusly, this article opens by quickly investigate various interrelated restrained to the investigation of authoritative conduct, before looking at the significance of four principle way to deal with the subject in today’s working environment. At last, it examines the reason for associations. II. Interrelated order to the investigation of authoritative conduct The investigation of conduct can be seen as far as three primary controls †brain science, human science and humanities. The commitment of every one of the three controls has assumed a significant job to considering authoritative conduct. Brain research is the science and craft of clarifying mental procedures and conduct. The primary focal point of consideration is on the people and investigates such ideas as recognition, inspiration, observation and perspectives. It is questionable that McKenna thinks about brain research as the key order in examining authoritative conduct. There are five key regions in Psychology that can affect on associations; these are: mental brain science, psychological brain research, improvement brain research, social brain science and character brain science. Mental perspectives are valuable to the functional applications, for example, work investigation, talking with models or determination, however it give too restricted view to comprehension of hierarchical conduct which ‘is not worry with the unpredictable detail of individual contrasts yet with the conduct and the executives individuals of people’ (Mullins, 2008, p. 7). Watson (2008) characterized humanism is more worry with the investigation of social conduct, connections among social gatherings and social orders. It centers around bunch elements, strife, work groups, force, correspondence and intergroup conduct. It is conceivable that Watson believed human science to be the key control in examining associations however he likewise puts accentuation on financial matters. The structuration mirrors the double impact that people make society and society makes people. Watson (2008, p. 30) presents six strands of thought applied to his system for investigation. He further presents six considerable territories applied to the six strands of however in a grid which are work, society and change; work associations; the changing association and the administration of work, occupations and society; work encounters, chances of implications; and strife challenge and obstruction in work. This control is important to the association. It assists chiefs with perceiving the connections between enormous scope social powers and the activities of person. Be that as it may, Mullins (2008, p. 7) contends that the investigation of hierarchical conduct can't be concentrated totally in single control. Albeit each order has a significant commitment, it just supports the investigation of subject. For sure, Mullins combines interrelated orders which are brain research with human science, human sciences that investigate culture and conduct factors; financial matters that endeavors to give a sane informative system to individual and hierarchical action; and political theory that is investigation of intensity and control among individual and gatherings; in his structure for examination of authoritative conduct. III. Four primary methodologies In Mullins’ system, the investigation of hierarchical conduct is worried about the conduct in seclusion, however with communication among the structure and activity of associations, the procedure of the executives and conduct of individuals that are influenced by outside condition. He applies various ways to deal with association: 1. Classicalâ 2. Human Relations 3. Frameworks 4. Possibility 1. Traditional Approach The traditional journalists thought about association as far as reason and formal structure with thoughtfulness regarding progressive system of the executives and specialized prerequisites of association. Frederick Taylor with the Scientific Management had a significant commitment to the Classical Approach. Taylor’s hypothesis depended on the mental control that is worried about the investigation of individuals’ conduct. He accepted that people carry on reasonably toward money related motivation. Specialist would be propelled by most elevated potential wages by doing most elevated evaluation of work. Moreover, his primary target is to discover progressively productive strategies and techniques for the assignment plan and control of work. Joined with preparing laborers, it was consistently conceivable to locate the one most ideal approach to play out each undertaking. It was reprimanded that since laborers inactively do rehashed task and paid by result, the less human methodology can cause a decrease in specialist assurance just as in expertise prerequisites, diminishing flexibility.Nevertheless,massive productioncompanies stilladopt somewhat Taylor’s hypothesis so as to keep up or increment efficiency. For instance, Mc Donald utilizes the installment strategy for Taylor’s hypothesis to propel and support the laborers. The human who work in drive-through eatery are prepared to do a set number of assignments in exactly. 2. Human Relations Approach Human Relations is an administrative methodology dependent on the thought of and the regard for the social elements at work and the conduct of representatives. Consideration is paid to the casual association and the fulfillment of individual’s needs through gatherings at work. Elton Mayo (1880-1949) led Hawthorne tests on associations to get to profitability. He moved away from logical convictions on cash and order towards significance of gathering having a place (social examination). The tests inspected impact of gathering piecework pay framework on profitability. The outcome is that laborers didn't really try to boost creation so as to get upgraded rewards however social weight made them produce at bunch standard level. Then again, the examination was initially proposed to inspect impacts of lighting on profitability. As a result, efficiency expanded paying little heed to lighting level was expected to workers’ getting consideration. The Hawthorne impact embraced in Human connection approach recommended that great oversight and condition increment fulfillment and different factors influence this, for example, structure, authority, and culture. In contrast to the traditional idea with thought of improving profitability, human connection approach ‘strove for a more noteworthy comprehension of people’s mental and social needs grinding away just as improving the procedure of the board. Be that as it may, Mullins (2008, p. 29) censured human relations as a ‘unitary casing of reference’ and distorted hypotheses. Indeed, even today the Hawthorne explore is as yet valuable for portraying the adjustments in conduct of people and gatherings, and made the way for additional tes ts by other sub-division of approach known as neo human connection. 3. Frameworks Approach The framework way to deal with the investigation of associations joins the differentiating position of the traditional methodology, which stressed the specialized necessities of association and its needs †‘organization without people’, and human relations approach, which accentuated the human achievements and social angles †‘people without organization’. This methodology motivates chiefs to see association as an open framework interfacing with condition and to see all out work yet not the entirety of independent parts. In Figure 2.5 (Boddy, 2008, p.60), the framework comprises of various interrelated subsystems, for example, individuals, force, innovation or business forms framework; which include unpredictability and communicate with one another and outside condition. It is expressed that any piece of an organization’s movement influences every single other part in light of the fact that there are territories cover between different subsyst ems. Hence, it is the errand of the executives to coordinate these interrelated subsystems and direct endeavors of individuals towards the accomplishment of hierarchical objectives. The framework approach, which is segments of interrelated subsystems, gives investigation of authoritative execution and adequacy while the socio-specialized methodology takesorganization as saw by the individual individuals and their translation of the work circumstance. In time of expanding globalization, innovative change has affected on the conduct of individuals and different parts, consequently the entire framework. It is important for chief to deal with the complete work and arrange the specialized change and the requirements of people. 4. Possibility Approach As indicated by Mullins (2008, p. 31), the possibility approach dismisses the possibility of ‘one best structure or structure’ or ‘optimum state’ for associations. The associations should be adaptable to adapt to change and directors need to change structure and procedures required. This methodology impacted numerous administration practices, for example, statistical surveying, PR or vital arranging, which stress reaction to outside conditions. Besides, it underscored that the training relies upon individuals deciphering occasions and supervisors have the option to have abstract decisions as much as judicious investigation. The possibility approach is pertinent to the executives and authoritative conduct. It gives a setting where to see enormous number of factors that influen

The Lightning Thief and References to Greek Mythology

'The Lightning Thief' and References to Greek Mythology Rick Riordans The Lightning Thief (the primary volume of Riordans Percy Jackson and the Olympians arrangement) specifies numerous names natural from Greek folklore. Here youll find additional data on the unequivocal legendary references and some increasingly unpretentious fanciful suggestions. The request for the rundown underneath endeavors to follow the succession of notices in the book just as Riordans different references to Greek folklore. The Book Series The Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series comprise of five books by writer Rick Riordan. The primary book, The Lightning Thief, centers around Percy Jackson, who is going to get kicked out of life experience school for the subsequent time. Legendary beasts and divine beings are after him and he just has ten days to redress what they need from him. In the subsequent book, The Sea of Monsters, Percy discovers inconvenience at Camp Half-Blood where fanciful beasts are back. So as to spare the camp and shield it from being demolished, Percy needs to accumulate his friends.â The third book, The Titans Curse, has Percy and his companions hoping to perceive what befell the goddess Artemis, who disappeared and is accepted to have been kidnapped. They need to settle the secret and spare Artemis before the winter solstice. In the fourth book, The Battle of the Labyrinth, the war between the Olympians and Titan master Kronos develops more grounded as Camp Half-Blood turns out to be progressively powerless. Percy and his companions need to go on a mission in this experience. In the fifth and last portion of the arrangement, The Last Olympianâ focuses on the half-bloods planning for the war against the Titans. Realizing it is a daunting task, the rush is solid to see who will rule all the more impressive. About the Author Rick Riordan is generally known for the Percy Jackson and the Olympians arrangement yet has additionally composed the Kane Chronicles and the Heroes of Olympus. He is a #1 New York Times smash hit creator and has won various honors for the riddle arrangement for grown-ups known as Tres Navarre. Fanciful References KronosTitansZeus/JupiterTitanomachyFatesHadesMinotaurHerculesChironPegasusHeraApolloNymphsDionysusAphrodite/VenusPrometheusCentaurUnderworldHermesAresOracleNaiadsAthenaDemeterPoseidonLaurelHephaestusArtemisCerberusNemesisCyclopsTrojan WarCirceHydraPythonMaiaJasonMt. EtnaIliadGolden AgeGorgonsPanShower of GoldNemean LionZephyrChimeraIrisCupidArachneArachneAresArtemisAphrodite/VenusApolloAsphodel FieldsAthenaCentaurCerberusCharonChimeraChironCirceCupidCyclopsDemeterDionysusElysian FieldsEtnaFatesGolden AgeGorgonsHeraHadesHarpiesHeraHephaestusHerculesHermesHydraIliadIrisJasonJupiter/ZeusKronosLaurelLotusOracleMaiaMinotaur9 MusesMt. EtnaNaiadsNemean LionNemesisNereidNymphsPanPegasusPersephonePoseidonPrometheusPythonShower of GoldSisyphusTitanomachyTitansTrojan WarUnderworldUnderworld Judges - MinosVenus/AphroditeZephyrZeus/JupiterLotusNereidCharonAsphodel FieldsElysian FieldsDemeter9 MusesHarpiesAndromedaAntaeusBulls of ColchisCadmusCalypsoDryadsEurytionGanymedeGeryonGraeaeJanusLaistrygo nians Mt. OthrysPeleusPolyphemus

Agile Methodologies

Agile Methodologies A Lightweight Agile Software Development Methodology Home›Technology Posts›A Lightweight Agile Software Development Methodology Technology PostsIntroduction The software development methods are usually perceived to be composed of various practices set for software development whose creation is attributed to practitioners who are experienced. In these methods, there is a clear prove of their break from the traditional methods in which the emphasis has been an approach based on rationalized engineering (Qumer Henderson, 2006) based on which the problems are claimed to be specifiable on full basis. This article provides a comprehensive methodology of agile software development through an approach which comprehensively handles various stages. The first stage offers a comprehensive overview of the introduction to the SDLC. The second section provides the agile software development methodology followed with the Scrum methodology.SDLCSoftware Development Life Cycle (SDLC) is basically a systems development structured approach whose onset is the system developing planning phase right through the system support once there is implementation and the system is functional. This process involves various steps together with tasks that can be followed by the system developers in ensuring that the system is built in a faster rate through utilizing minimal costs together with ensuring that the chances of risks are minimized as much as possible. The steps that are involved in the System Development Lifecycle are summarized below:Preliminary investigation: This is the project investigation initial step with the objective which is usually geared towards identification of the system that is required, what is to be included as the broad scope, the time, the costs together with other resources that are required. After the collection of information which is broad and tentative, there is the decision making which determines whether the system development process is going to procee d or not.Feasibility study: This step is highlighted as critical with an aim of ensuring that the organization will be benefited by the computer system. This stage usually involves the investigation of the economic, social and technical feasibility by the technical team which is followed by preparation of a report of feasibility study. In this report, there is a recommendation to the management on whether or not to undertake the project. Therefore this feasibility study acts as a basis through which the way forward is determined coupled with providing information that is sufficient through which the decision is to be qualified.The design of the system: This stage is actually aimed at development of the whole architectural process high level design, which is inclusive of the software, hardware, procedures as well as the interfaces. This step will require sufficiency in the details degree in order to ensure that the management is able to make a decision on whether the requirements of the user are to be met and if this requirement s of the user is to be met, it is also at this step where the evaluation will be done to establish if the process is in accordance with the plan and strategies of the company. The various techniques and tools that can be used and which ensure high design level are; project planning and scheduling, high level flowcharts software together with the high level diagrams of data flow.Detailed design: This is the stage which involves drawing the details for the software. This will involve producing each detail of the procedure of the software, together with the controls and the databases. This stage will have various outcomes which will include; flowcharts of the software that are detailed, data flow diagrams that are detailed, relationship diagram of the entity for the design of the database and pseudocode that are structured, report and screen design together with a document containing detailed specification of the program.Development: This phase is actually marked as the most intensive in the project and it is at this stage that a maximum number of people are involved directly with the project. This is the step which involves writing and testing of the programs, together with the documentation of the procedures and preparation of a system document. This phase may also involve commencement of the user personnel training.Implementation: This is what is also commonly referred to as the phase of deployment or installation phase. This phase involve installation and deployment of the system that has been newly built. This step can involve use of various techniques to ensure that the system that is existing (may be a manual or computerized system) is replaced and transformed into a databases of a new system. This is followed by conducting of final test on the system to ensure that the higher management and the users are satisfied.Maintenance: At this phase, the users use the system in the organization. The commencement of th is step is implemented after the system deployment has been completed until the retirement of the system. After the system has been deployed, it is usually used on continuous basis until the management makes the decision of retiring the solution. This can be after several years. The reason for this phase being referred to as maintenance is because it is during this phase that is characterized by frequent changes in the requirements of the users and the policies of the company together with the system having to be introduced to these changes. At times, there may be a few problems or bugs in the system which may be discovered and raise the need for fixation, together with sometimes new procedures and technologies having to be introduced.The review of the post implementation is where the maintenance usually starts; a phase during which the system performance audit is usually done, and as soon as there has been deployment, there is implementation of the audit. The main purpose of this s tep is actually to ensure that the system standards are in accordance with all the requirements coupled with meeting the user’s expectations. The problems are usually fixed as soon as their discovery. After the review of the post implementation, what follows is the commencement of the use of the software. This is usually characterized by regular IT audit which will be carried out during the useful life of the system in order to make an evaluation of its performance. This is what is commonly referred to as the system monitoring. In case of any requirement of this system use at any time during the lifetime of the system, this will call for the repetition of the SDLC cycle.During the application system SDLC, there are various risks which are likely to be experienced. These risks are inclusive of the adoption of application system in the SDLC that are not appropriate, control that is not adequate to the process of the SDLC, the possibility of the application system not being able to m eet the objectives and requirements of the user, the problem of management support, project management that is not adequate, architecture and technology incorporation that is not appropriate, variation in the scope, overruns in costs and time, application system with quality that is not adequate, lack of sufficient attention to the controls and security, failure to meet the criteria of performance, together with lack of adequate adherence to the SDLC that is chosen. Other risks that may arise during the SDLC are failure to fully focus on the other processes and applications interdependencies together with lack of sufficient planning for the cutover and conversion of the data.During the feasibility study, there are various participants that are usually involved. These will be inclusive of the team to conduct the feasibility study, the steering committee, the programmer, the engineers to be involved with quality assurance, the support staff and auditors in the IT.AGILE SOFTWARE DEVELO PMENT METHODOLOGY In the agile development methodology, iterations are usually embraced. This will be enhanced by small teams working together with the stakeholders in the process of defining the concepts proof, quick prototypes or other visual methods through which the problem to be solved is going to be described. The requirements for the iterations are defined by the team coupled with the development of the code together with definition and running the tests scripts that are integrated. This is followed by the verification of the results by the users. Briefly, this is what this methodology revolves about. Earlier in the process of development, there is verification which ensures that the requirements are fine-tuned by the stakeholders at the stage at which they can still be easily changed.The simple set of rules and practices are incorporated through which transparency, adaptation and inspection is encompassed in the Scrum, with these requirements being inherent in the control em pirical process. In project management, this process is iterative incremental which is used in software development involving inspection and adaptation on frequent basis, following the methodology of Agile software development. Through the leadership philosophy in Agile software development, teamwork is encouraged together with accountability and self-organization; the best practices on the engineers set through which high quality software rapid delivery is allowed together with being a business approach through which the development is aligned with the needs of the customer and goals of the company.Adopting the agile process requires the development team being with the soft skills, which are also referred to as the people- skills. More values are usually placed on the talented individuals’ interaction over the tools and process. The proscriptive methodology key themes are the tools and the process. In the agile methods, the team members are required to poses communication skills that are appropriate in order to enable there to be collaboration in a situation of the team and the customers together with having talent and friendly approach through which it can be possible to relate well with others (Cockburn Highsmith, 2001). The traits of the agile team member are listed by Pressman (2004) to be inclusive of; common focus, competence, ability of decision making, collaboration, respect and mutual trust together with the ability of solving fuzzy problems. This provides an important move away from the skills that are technical using the prescriptive methodology for any team member.Two agile software methodologies are used. The methodologies are based on the philosophy of agile and are Scrum and XP. Based on the particulars, these methods usually differ, but however, the iterative approach that has been highlighted above is usually shared.XPThe term XP is usually used to denote Extreme Programming. The concentration of the XP is based on the development and not on the software projects managerial aspect. The commencement of the XP project is usually marked by the planning phase release, which is usually followed by various iterations; with each of the iterations concluding with the testing of the user acceptance. Once there are enough features in the product through which the users can be satisfied, the iteration is terminated by the team followed afterwards by the software release.The user stories are usually written to the users with an aim of describing the need that is going to be fulfilled by the software (Henrik, 2007). Through the user stories, it is possible for the team to make an estimation of the resources and time that is required to enhance building and definition of the user acceptance tests. Actually, the representative or the user is usually marked as part of the team of XP, therefore giving them the ability to add the details to the requirement in the process of building the software. Through this process, it is possible f or the evolution of the requirements based on the fact that the developers and the users are able to make a clear definition of the look of the product.In order for the release plan to be created, the development tasks are broken by the team into iterations. The iteration plan is defined by the release plan, through which the development is driven for iteration. At the iteration end, the acceptance tests are performed by the users against the user stories. In case the bugs are found, the nest iteration incorporates the bugs as a step. Theoretically, the iterative testing of the user acceptance can result in the software release. In case of the decision by the user that there has been delivery of enough stories, a choice can be made by the team to have the project terminated before the implementation of the entire user stories that were planned originally.The simplified XP version is shown in the figure below. In full XP’s many plans are included in the release planning, acceptance testing and iteration.There are various XP rules and concepts that are usually market as important in this methodology. At least once every day, the changes must be integrated in the development base line by the development teams. This results to what is usually referred to as the concept of continuous integration. There is also the concept of project velocity which offers measurement of the progress of the work in the project. Through metric which is marked as important, the updates scheduling is enhanced together with driving the release planning. Another concept is that of pair programming based on which, it is clearly highlighted that the release of the production is created by two people whose work is based on one computer. The proposition of the XP is that through the working together of two coders, it will be possible to enhance satisfaction of the user stories at a rate that is similar to individual working by two coders, together with guaranteeing quality that is much high er.In the XP methodology, the user story enhances description of the problems which the system being built will be able to solve. The writing of these stories must be done by the user and the length should be about three sentences. The solution is usually not described in the user story but technical language is usually used.ScrumThe origin of the Scrum software development is traced out of the rapid community of prototyping based on the fact that there was need for a methodology through which there would be support to the environment not only characterized with inadequacy but also being exposed to rapid changes during the development (Schwaber, 2004). In the scrum methodology, there are both the development and management processes.Scrum management: At each of the Scrum project center, there is a work backlog which requires to be done. During the release phase of planning, there is characterization of the backlog as being populated coupled with defining the release scope. After the completion of the high level design and project scope by the team, the development process is divided into sprints; which are short iteration series. With each of the sprints, the aim is implementation of blog items which are fixed in number. There is identification of the backlog items by the team members before each sprint. At each sprint end, there is review of the sprint with an aim of articulating the lessons that are learned together with checking the progress.During the sprint, there is a daily meeting by the team which is referred to as the scrum. The work that is to be done that day is described by each of the team members, the previous day progress together with any blocks that may require clearing. In order for the meeting to be kept short, conducting of the scrum must be when everyone is in the room. Once there has been implementation of enough backlogs to an extent that there is conviction in the team that there is justification of the release being put into production , the development is closed by the management. Integration testing is performed by the team, followed by documentation together with the training which is required for the release of the product.Scrum development: In the process of Scrum development, the concentration will actually be on the sprints management. Before the commencement of each sprint, there is planning by the team, coupled with identification of the backlog items and teams assignment to these items. Each of the backlog items is developed, wrapped, reviewed together with being adjusted by the teams.During the development, the changes that are necessary are determined by the team to ensure that the backlog item is implemented. This is followed by writing the code, testing it and documenting the changes. The review is characterized by the team demonstrating the new features, assessing the risk and adding new backlog items, the data is finally consolidated by the team from the review in order for the changes that are nec essary to be updated.Following each sprint, the progress is demonstrated by the entire team from the spring followed by reviewing the progress of the backlog. The remaining backlog is then reviewed by the team followed by the adding, removing and reprioritizing the necessary items in order for new information to be accounted for.The scrum methodology incorporates various concepts. One of such concepts is the burndown chart. The updating of this chart is done on daily basis and through this updating; it is possible to show the work that remains within the sprint. The burndown chart enhances tracking of the progress of the sprint together with deciding when the removal of the items from the sprint backlog will be necessary and next sprint deferring. There is also the product backlog which provides the requirements complete list; which is inclusive of the enhancement requests, the bugs and the performance improvements that the product release does not currently contain. In addition the re is the ScrumMaster who is the person that has the responsibility of managing the project of Scrum. The ScrumMaster sometimes refers to the certified person, enhanced through training in order to take the ScrumMaster. This process also involves the sprint backlog which contains the items list which is allocated to the sprint although it is not yet complete. The common practice does not provide for a sprint item taking two days before completion. Through the sprint backlog, the team is able to make a prediction of the level of effort that is needed for the completion of the Splint.The agile software development has the positive and the negative sides. Through the agile process, the unpredictable world challenge is addressed through a reliance on the creativity instead of the process. As Erickson et al (2005) note, the agile software development is geared at change and feedback and the development of the methodology is aimed at embracing rather than rejecting the rate of change whic h is higher. Leanness and flexibility is what Conboy and Fitzgerald (2004) uses in the description of the agile development methodology. This methodology is also noted by Conboy and Fitzgerald (2004) as enhancing high quality development of software by the small teams through the use of constant enhancement and testing principle on the basis of change and rapid feedback. Sighting the agile software development as having some negative sides, Schwaber (1995) insists on the need for conductive improvement within the team. Schwaber (1995) adds that although an adaptation of iterative process is suggested by many methodologies, there is lack of clear and specific procedure through which such activities can be conducted. Other shortcomings that have been identified are lack of effective involvement of the customer and difference in the personality among the individuals resulting in barriers in formation of a team that is effective. In addition, it is difficult to prioritize on the require ments for the systems that are large and which have many stakeholders (Sommerville, 2004).SCRUM METHODOLOGYThe onset of the Scrum process is marked with the creation of the product backlog. The backlog is usually a system requirement expressed as a product backlog items prioritized list. The software development team is then handed over the prioritized list in order for them to develop the time line for the product development which is actually negotiable. After the approval of the product backlog by both the client and the developers, the next step marks the onset to the process creating the Sprint Backlog.Basically, a sprint is work iteration, with a period which is usually 15 days, and during this period, there is implementation of the product functionality increment. The work for the Sprint is usually defined by the sprint backlog where there is the movement of the backlog items into the spring from the product backlog; based on the priorities of the owner. At the onset of the s print, there is a one day meeting for sprint planning. This is followed by a sprint review meeting at the end of the sprint, after which the retrogressive meeting follows.The next stage involves the sprint planning meeting which triggers negotiation between the owner of the product and the team about what is going to be done by the team in the next sprint. After every fifteen days, the release of the intermediate product gives the clients and team a product development perspective. The release usually provides a transition of a possibly shippable product increase, from the teams that are involved with the development to the customers for routine use. The release is typically done when the product has resulted from the sprints with enough value through which the deployment costs can be outweighed.Conclusion From the argument approach that is developed in this paper, it is clear that the tailoring of a scrum is usually done to a specific environment, therefore it may not be easy to ar gue over the practice that can be perceived as the best. The approaches used will always differ. This article has provided an evaluation to the methodology of agile software development. It has also highlighted the various pros and cons of agile software development which needs to be addressed. In light to these cons, there is need for the agile teams to be equipped with appropriate information level which can help them in making decisions that are rational and informed to enhance optimal business value development. In addition, there is need to ensure that refining and updating is done on the guiding vision model in accordance with the requirements.Scrum has been highlighted as an incremental framework that is iterative, for the product development of application. The sprints are the work cycles which the development is structured into, with these iterations being highlighted to be not more than a month old each, and occurrences being on their own pause. This article is proving tha t agile is the latest approach which has replaced the previous waterfall approach and in the future, it will also evolve and change.

Analysis Of Montag s The Lilies - 5496 Words

Montag tries to enlighten his wife to society’s intellectual apathy; however, she is unable to come to a similar realization. Montag is forced to seek help from a retired English professor named Faber. This marks the onset of the third phase. Montag starts to take command of his own destiny. His former lifestyle is now left behind and he recognizes the significance of his relationship with Faber because they are the only ones fighting against society. While on his way to visit Faber, Bradbury uses two biblical allusions that signify the importance of having a philosophical faith. Montag stresses to himself that he must â€Å"consider the Lilies† (Bradbury 74). This reference to the Lilies of the Field correlates with a bible passage (Mathew 6:28) and suggests that God will take care of everything and that one must not worry. Montag excessively recites this bible passage in his head while on the train going to visit Faber. He uses the passage to calm his nerves a nd remind himself that everything will work out and to have faith in himself and Faber. Another bible reference, to the Book of Job, comes after the meeting between Faber and Montag. Through the Green bullet in Montag’s ear that allows Faber to communicate with him, Faber simply says â€Å"The Book of Job,† reminding Montag that he must have faith because the journey ahead will be arduous and self sacrificing. Montag is reborn and becomes a new person while reviving Faber, causing him to feel more alive than he hasShow MoreRelatedCritical Analysis Of Fahrenheit 4511266 Words   |  6 PagesTo begin, in Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury incorporated: a censorship aspect intended for the book, social commentary, and the social critical analysis which relates to conflicts in our world today. To continue, censorship can be considered a â€Å"threat† to society, for example, Bradbury uses the concept of the overuse of media and how it can affect the world and the peop le around you. Furthermore, Bradbury’s key focus was to satirize the excessive use of television and the media as a news and entertainment

What the In-Crowd Wont Tell You About Tcnj Application Essay Topics

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Spirit Bound Chapter Sixteen Free Essays

I DIDN’T HAVE A PRECISE count of how many Strigoi were with Dimitri’s group. So much of what I’d seen through Lissa had been blurred with confusion and terror. The guardians, knowing we were expected, had simply had to make a best guess about how many to send. We will write a custom essay sample on Spirit Bound Chapter Sixteen or any similar topic only for you Order Now Hans had hoped overwhelming force would make up for us losing the element of surprise. He’d dispatched as many guardians as he could reasonably clear from the Court. Admittedly, the Court was protected by wards, but it still couldn’t be left entirely undefended. Having the new grads there had helped. Most of them had been left behind, allowing the seasoned guardians to go on our hunting party. That left us with forty or so. It was as unusual as large groups of Strigoi banding together. Guardians were usually sent out in pairs, maybe groups of three at most, with Moroi families. This large of a force had the potential to bring about a battle rivaling that of the Academy attack. Knowing that sneaking through the dark wouldn’t work, Hans stopped our convoy a little ways from the warehouse the Strigoi were holed up at. The building was situated on a service road cutting off from the highway. It was an industrial area, hardly a deserted path in the woods, but all the businesses and factories were shut down this late at night. I stepped out of the SUV, letting the warm evening wrap around me. It was humid, and the moisture in the air felt especially oppressive when I was already smothered with fear. Standing beside the road, I felt no nausea. Dimitri hadn’t posted Strigoi this far, which meant our arrival was still–kind of–a surprise. Hans walked over to me, and I gave him the best estimate I could on the situation, based on my limited information. â€Å"But you can find Vasilisa?† he asked. I nodded. â€Å"As soon as I’m in the building, the bond will lead me straight to her.† He turned, staring off into the night as cars sped by on the nearby highway. â€Å"If they’re already waiting outside, they’ll smell and hear us long before we see them.† Passing headlights briefly illuminated his face, which was lined in thought. â€Å"You said there are three layers of Strigoi?† â€Å"As far as I could tell. There are some on Lissa and Christian, then some outside.† I paused, trying to think what Dimitri would do in this situation. Surely I knew him well enough, even as a Strigoi, to calculate his strategy. â€Å"Then another layer inside the building–before you get to the storage room.† I didn’t know this for certain, but I didn’t tell Hans. The assumption was made on my own instincts, drawn from what I would do and what I thought Dimitri would do. I figured it would be best if Hans planned for three waves of Strigoi. And that’s exactly what he did. â€Å"Then we go in with three groups. You’ll lead the group going in for the extraction. Another team will accompany yours and eventually split off. They’ll fight whoever’s right inside, letting your group head for the captives.† It sounded so†¦ militaristic. Extraction. Captives. And me†¦ a team leader. It made sense with the bond, but always in the past, they’d simply used my knowledge and left me on the sidelines. Welcome to being a guardian, Rose. At school, we’d conducted all sorts of exercises, running as many different Strigoi scenarios as our instructors could dream up. Yet, as I stared up at the warehouse, all of those drills seemed like playacting, a game that could in no way measure up to what I was about to face. For half a second, the responsibility of it all seemed daunting, but I quickly shoved aside such concerns. This was what I had been trained to do, what I had been born to do. My own fears didn’t matter. They come first. Time to prove it. â€Å"What are we going to do since we can’t sneak up on them?† I asked. Hans had a point about the Strigoi detecting us in advance. An almost mischievous smile flickered on his face, and he explained his plan to the group while also dividing us into our teams. His approach tactic was bold and reckless. My kind of plan. And like that, we were off. An outsider analyzing us might have said we were on a suicide mission. Maybe we were. It honestly didn’t matter. The guardians wouldn’t abandon the last Dragomir. And I wouldn’t have abandoned Lissa even if there were a million Dragomirs. So, with sneaking having been ruled out, Hans opted for a full-on attack. Our group loaded back into the eight SUVs and tore off down the street at illegal speeds. We took up the entire width of the road, gambling on no oncoming traffic. Two SUVs led the charge side by side, then two rows of three. We shot to the end of the road, came to a halt with screeching tires at the front of the warehouse, and spilled out of our cars. If slow stealth wasn’t an option, we’d gain surprise by going fast and furious. Some of the Strigoi were indeed surprised. Clearly, they’d seen our approach, but it had happened so fast that they’d had only a little time to react. Of course, when you were as fast and deadly as Strigoi, a little time was all you needed. A group of them surged at us, and Hans’s â€Å"outside team† charged back, those guardians putting themselves between my group and the other going inside. The Moroi fire users had been assigned to the outside group, for fear of setting the building on fire if they went inside. My team moved around the battle, inevitably running into a few Strigoi who hadn’t fallen to the first team’s distraction. With well-practiced determination, I ignored the nausea sweeping through me from being this close to Strigoi. Hans had strictly ordered me not to stop unless any Strigoi were directly in my path, and he and another guardian were beside me to cover any threats that might come at me. He wanted nothing to delay me from leading them to Lissa and Christian. We fought our way into the warehouse, entering a dingy hall blocked by Strigoi. I’d been right in my guess that Dimitri would have layers of security. A bottleneck formed in the small space, and for a few moments things were chaotic. Lissa was so close. It was like she was calling to me, and I burned with impatience as I waited for the hall to clear. My team was in the back, letting the other group do the fighting. I saw Strigoi and guardians alike fall and tried not to let it distract me. Fight now, grieve later. Lissa and Christian. I had to focus on them. â€Å"There,† said Hans, tugging my arm. A gap had formed ahead of us. There were still plenty of Strigoi, but they were distracted enough that my companions and I slipped through. We took off down the hall, which opened into a large empty space that made up the warehouse’s heart. A few pieces of trash and debris were all that was left of the goods once stored here. Doors led off of the room, but now I didn’t need the bond to tell me where Lissa was. Three Strigoi stood guard outside a doorway. So. Four layers of security. Dimitri had one-upped me. It didn’t matter. My group had ten people. The Strigoi snarled, bracing in anticipation as we charged them. Through an unspoken signal, half of my group engaged them. The rest of us busted down the door. Despite my intense focus on reaching Lissa and Christian, one tiny thought had always been dancing in the back of my brain. Dimitri. I hadn’t seen Dimitri in any of the Strigoi we’d encountered. With my full attention on our attackers, I hadn’t slipped into Lissa’s head to verify the situation, but I felt totally confident that he was still inside the room. He would have stayed with her, knowing I would come. He would be waiting to face me. One of them dies tonight. Lissa or Dimitri. Having reached our goal, I no longer needed extra protection. Hans pulled out his stake on the first Strigoi he encountered, pushing past me and jumping into the fray. The rest of my group did likewise. We poured into the room, and if I thought there’d been chaos earlier, it was nothing compared to what we faced. All of us–guardians and Strigoi–just barely fit inside the room, which meant we were fighting in very, very close quarters. A female Strigoi–the one Dimitri had slapped earlier–came at me. I fought on autopilot, barely aware of my stake piercing her heart. In this room, full of shouting and death and colliding, there were only three people in the world that mattered to me now: Lissa, Christian, and Dimitri. I’d found him at last. Dimitri was with my two friends against the far wall. No one was fighting him. He stood with arms crossed, a king surveying his kingdom as his soldiers battled the enemy. His eyes fell on me, his expression amused and expectant. This was where it would end. We both knew it. I shoved my way through the crowd, dodging Strigoi. My colleagues pushed into the fray beside me, dispatching whom-ever stood in my way. I left them to their fight, moving toward my objective. All of this, everything happening, had led to this moment: the final showdown between Dimitri and me. â€Å"You’re beautiful in battle,† said Dimitri. His cold voice carried to me clearly, even above the roar of combat. â€Å"Like an avenging angel come to deliver the justice of heaven.† â€Å"Funny,† I said, shifting my hold on the stake. â€Å"That is kind of why I’m here.† â€Å"Angels fall, Rose.† I’d almost reached him. Through the bond, I felt a brief surge of pain from Lissa. A burning. No one was harming her yet, but when I saw her arms move out of the corner of my eye, I realized what had happened. Christian had done what she’d asked: He’d burned her ropes. I saw her move to untie him in return, and then my attention shifted back to Dimitri. If Lissa and Christian were free, then so much the better. It would make their escape easier, once we cleared out the Strigoi. If we cleared out the Strigoi. â€Å"You’ve gone to a lot of trouble to get me here,† I told Dimitri. â€Å"A lot of people are going to die–yours and mine.† He shrugged, unconcerned. I was almost there. In front of me, a guardian battled a bald Strigoi. That lack of hair was not attractive with his chalk white skin. I moved around them. â€Å"It doesn’t matter,† said Dimitri. He tensed as I approached. â€Å"None of them matter. If they die, then they obviously aren’t worthy.† â€Å"Prey and predator,† I murmured, recalling what he’d said to me while holding me prisoner. I’d reached him. No one stood between us now. This was different from our past fights, where we’d had lots of room to size each other up and plan our attacks. We were still crammed into the room, and in keeping our distance from the others, we’d closed the gap between us. That was a disadvantage for me. Strigoi outmatched guardians physically; extra room helped us compensate with more maneuverability. I didn’t need to maneuver quite yet, though. Dimitri was trying to wait me out, wanting me to make the first move. He kept a good position, though, one that blocked me from getting a clear shot on his heart. I could do some damage if I cut him elsewhere with the stake, but he would likely get a hit in on me that would be packed with power in this proximity. So I tried to wait him out as well. â€Å"All this death is because of you, you know,† he said. â€Å"If you’d let me awaken you†¦ let us be together†¦ well, none of this would have happened. We’d still be in Russia, in each other’s arms, and all of your friends here would be safe. None of them would have died. It’s your fault.† â€Å"And what about the people I’d have to kill in Russia?† I demanded. He’d shifted his weight a little. Was that an opening? â€Å"They wouldn’t be safe if I–â€Å" A crashing sound off to my left startled me. Christian, now freed, had just slammed his chair into a Strigoi engaged with a guardian. The Strigoi shrugged Christian off like a fly. Christian flew backward, slamming into a wall and landing on the floor with a slightly stunned look. In spite of myself, I spared him a glance and saw Lissa running to his side. And so help me, she had a stake in her hand. How she’d managed that, I had no idea. Maybe she’d picked it up from a fallen guardian. Maybe none of the Strigoi had thought to search her when she came in. After all, why on earth would a Moroi be carrying a stake? â€Å"Stop it! Stay out of the way!† I yelled at them, turning back to Dimitri. Letting those two distract me had cost me. Realizing Dimitri was about to attack, I managed to dodge without even seeing what he was doing. It turned out he’d been reaching for my neck, and my imprecise evasion had spared me the full damage. Still, his hand caught me on the shoulder, knocking me back almost as far as Christian had gone. Unlike my friend, though, I had years of training that had taught me to recover from something like that. I’d honed a lot of balance and recovery skills. I staggered only a little, then quickly regained my footing. I could only pray Christian and Lissa would listen to me and not do anything stupid. My attention had to stay on Dimitri, or I’d get myself killed. And if I died, Lissa and Christian died for sure. My impression while fighting our way inside had been that the guardians outnumbered the Strigoi, though that meant little sometimes. Still, I had to hope my colleagues would finish our foes off, leaving me to do what I had to do. Dimitri laughed at my dodge. â€Å"I’d be impressed if that wasn’t something a ten-year-old could do. Now your friends†¦ well, they’re also fighting at a ten-year-old level. And for Moroi? That’s actually pretty good.† â€Å"Yeah, well, we’ll see what your assessment is when I kill you,† I told him. I made a small feint to test how much he was paying attention. He sidestepped with hardly any notice at all, as graceful as a dancer. â€Å"You can’t, Rose. Haven’t you figured that out by now? Haven’t you seen it? You can’t defeat me. You can’t kill me. Even if you could, you can’t bring yourself to do it. You’ll hesitate. Again.† No, I wouldn’t. That’s what he didn’t realize. He’d made a mistake bringing Lissa here. She increased the stakes–no pun intended–on everything. She was here. She was real. Her life was on the line, and for that†¦ for that, I wouldn’t hesitate. Dimitri must have grown tired of waiting for me. He leapt out, hand again going for my neck. And again I evaded, letting my shoulder take the brunt of the hit. This time he held on to my shoulder. He jerked me toward him, triumph flaring in those red eyes. In the sort of space we were in, this was probably all he needed to kill me. He had what he wanted. Apparently, though, he wasn’t the only one who wanted me. Another Strigoi, maybe thinking he’d help Dimitri, pushed toward us and reached for me. Dimitri bared his fangs, giving the other Strigoi a look of pure hatred and fury. â€Å"Mine!† Dimitri hissed, hitting the other Strigoi in a way that he had clearly not expected. And that was my opening. Dimitri’s brief distraction had caused him to loosen his grip on me. That same close proximity which made him so lethal to me now made me just as dangerous. I was by his chest, by his heart, and I had my stake in hand. I’ll never be able to say for sure just how long the next series of events took. In some ways, it felt like only one heartbeat passed. At the same moment, it was as though we were frozen in time. Like the entire world had stopped. My stake was moving toward him, and as Dimitri’s eyes fell on me once more, I think he finally believed I would kill him. I was not hesitating. This was happening. My stake was there– And then it wasn’t. Something hit me hard on my right side, pushing me away from Dimitri and ruining my shot. I stumbled, barely avoiding hitting anyone. While I always tried to be vigilant regarding all things around me in a fight, I’d let my guard down in that direction. The Strigoi and guardians were on my left. The wall–and Lissa and Christian–were on my right. And it was Lissa and Christian who had shoved me out of the way. I think Dimitri was as astonished as I was. He was also equally astonished when Lissa came toward him with that stake in her hand. And like lightning through the bond, I read what she had very, very carefully kept from me the last day: She had managed to charm the stake with spirit. It was the reason she’d been so keyed up during her last stake-practice session with Grant and Serena. Knowing she had the tool she needed had fueled her desire to use it. Her hiding all of that information from me was a feat on par with charming the stake. Not that it mattered right now. Charmed stake or no, she couldn’t get near Dimitri. He knew it too, and his surprise immediately changed to delighted amusement–almost indulgent, like the way one watches a child do something adorable. Lissa’s attack was awkward. She wasn’t fast enough. She wasn’t strong enough. â€Å"No!† I screamed, leaping toward them, though pretty certain I wasn’t going to be fast enough either. Suddenly, a blazing wall of heat and flame appeared before me, and I barely had the presence of mind to back up. That fire had shot up from the floor, forming a ring around Dimitri that kept me from him. It was disorienting, but only for a moment. I knew Christian’s handiwork. â€Å"Stop it!† I didn’t know what to do, if I should attack Christian or leap into the fire. â€Å"You’ll burn us all alive!† The fire was fairly controlled–Christian had that much skill–but in a room this size, even a controlled fire was deadly. Even the other Strigoi backed away. The flames were closing in on Dimitri, growing tighter and tighter. I heard him scream, could see the look of agony, even through the fire. It began to consume his coat, and smoke poured out from the blaze. Some instinct told me I needed to stop this†¦ and yet, what did it matter? I’d come to kill him. Did it matter if someone else did it for me? And that’s when I noticed Lissa was still on the offensive. Dimitri was distracted, screaming as the flames wrapped around him. I was screaming too†¦ for him, for her†¦ it’s hard to say. Lissa’s arm shot through the flames, and again, pain surged through the bond–pain that dwarfed the earlier singe from Christian burning her ropes. Yet she kept going, ignoring the fiery agony. Her alignment was right. She had the stake aimed at the heart. The stake went in, piercing him. Well, kind of. Just like when she’d practiced with the pillow, she didn’t quite have the strength to get the stake where it needed to go. I felt her steel herself, felt her summon up every ounce of strength she had. Throwing her full weight into it, she shoved again, using both hands. The stake went in further. Still not enough. This delay would have cost her her life in a normal situation. This was not a normal situation. Dimitri had no means to block her, not with the fire slowly eating him. He did manage a small struggle that loosened the stake, undoing what little progress she’d made. Grimacing, she tried again, pushing the stake back to its former position. Still, it wasn’t enough. I came to my senses then, knowing I needed to stop this. Lissa was going to burn herself up if she kept trying to stake him. She lacked the skill. Either I needed to stake him or we just needed to let the fire finish him off. I moved forward. Lissa caught sight of me in her periphery and sent out a blast of compulsion at me. No! Let me do this! The command hit me hard, an invisible wall that made me come to a halt. I stood there dazed, both from the compulsion itself and the realization that she’d used it on me. It only took a moment for me to shake it off. She was too distracted to put her full power into the order, and I was pretty compulsion-resistant anyway. Yet, that slight delay had stopped me from reaching her. Lissa seized her last chance, knowing she’d get no other. One more time, fighting through the fire’s searing pain, she threw everything she had into shoving the stake all the way into Dimitri’s heart. Her strike was still awkward, still requiring a little more wiggling and pushing than the clean hit a trained guardian would make. Clumsy or not, the stake finally made it. It pierced his heart. And as it did, I felt magic flood our bond, the familiar magic I’d felt so many times when she performed a healing. Except†¦ this was a hundred times more powerful than anything I’d ever felt before. It froze me up as neatly as her compulsion had. I felt as though all of my nerves were exploding, like I’d just been struck by lightning. White light suddenly burst out around her, a light that dwarfed the fire’s brightness. It was like someone had dropped the sun into the middle of that room. I cried out, my hand rising instinctively to shield my eyes as I stepped backward. From the sounds in the room, everyone else was having a similar reaction. For a moment, it was as if there was no bond anymore. I felt nothing from Lissa–no pain, no magic. The bond was as colorless and empty as the white light filling the room. The power she’d used had over-flooded and overwhelmed our bond, numbing it. Then the light simply disappeared. No fade-out. Just†¦ gone in an eye blink. Like a switch had been flipped. There was silence in the room, save for a few murmurings of discomfort and confusion. That light must have been toxic to sensitive Strigoi eyes. It was hard enough for me. Starbursts danced in my sight. I couldn’t focus on anything as the afterimage of that brilliance burned across my vision. At last–with a little squinting–I could vaguely see again. The fire was gone, though black smudges on the wall and ceiling marked its presence, as did some lingering smoke. By my estimation, there should have been a lot more damage. I could spare no time for that miracle, though, because there was another one taking place in front of me. Not just a miracle. A fairy tale. Lissa and Dimitri were both on the floor. Their clothes were burned and singed. Angry red and pink patches marked her beautiful skin from where the fire had hit hardest. Her hands and wrists were particularly bad. I could see spots of blood where the flames had actually burned some of her skin away. Third-degree burns, if I was recalling my physiology classes correctly. Yet she seemed to feel no pain, nor did the burns affect her hands’ movement. She was stroking Dimitri’s hair. While she sat in some semblance of an upright position, he was in an ungainly sprawl. His head rested in her lap, and she was running her fingers through his hair in a gentle, repetitive motion–like one does to comfort a child or even an animal. Her face, even marred with the fire’s terrible damage, was radiant and filled with compassion. Dimitri had called me an avenging angel, but she was an angel of mercy as she gazed down at him and crooned soothing, nonsense words. With the state of his clothes and what I’d seen in the fire, I’d expected him to be burned to a crisp–some sort of blackened, skeletal nightmare. Yet when he shifted his head, giving me my first full view of his face, I saw that he was completely unharmed. No burns marked his skin–skin that was as warm and tanned as it had been the first day I’d met him. I caught only a glimpse of his eyes before he buried his face against Lissa’s knee. I saw endless depths of brown, the depths I’d fallen into so many times. No red rings. Dimitri†¦ was not a Strigoi. And he was weeping. How to cite Spirit Bound Chapter Sixteen, Essay examples

Unibomber Essays - Green Anarchists, Civil Disobedience, Nonviolence

Unibomber here's been some talk on this list lately about how we should distance environmentalism from the Unabomber, and foil attempts by the media to unite the two. Shouldn't we also look inward, and see if in any way a love of ature does or can lead to antipathy to humans? he relationship between environmentalism and violence had been on my mind prior to Ted Kaczynski's arrest, because I had been reading _MindHunter_, John Douglas's memoir of his career heading the FBI's serial crimes unit. In passing, Douglas mentions a number of cases in which the killers were ardent environmentalists or living back to nature. It was hard to know what, if anything, to make of this (or of the author's contention that an inordinate percentage of serial killers drive Volkwagen Beetles). atching the FBI take Kaczynski away as the prime suspect in the Unabomber case, I thought, of course, of Henry Thoreau. Both were Harvard graduates who chose to remove themselves from industrial America to go it alone in a simple wilderness retreat. Thoreau is America's most famous recluse -- isn't it likely that Kaczynski is familiar with Thoreau's writing, even that he was emulating him to a degree? If Kaczynski is the Unabomber, then an intellectual connection to Thoreau is even more possible. After all, Thoreau is the father of North American environmentalism, and the Unabomber is most definitely an environmentalist. In his manifesto, after an exceedingly long discussion of how technology had overwhelmed society and smothered persnal freedom, he writes, But as an ideology, in order to gain support, must have positive ideals well as a negative one; it must be FOR something as well as AGAINST something. The positive ideal that we propose is Nature. That is, WILD nature; those aspects of e unctioning of the Earth and its living things are independent of human management and free of human interference and control. Such sentiment would not be misplaced on the ASLE list. Of course, most of us would take issue when he wrote, In order to get our message before the public with some chance of making a lasting impression, we've had to kill people. There have been, as we know, strands of the environmental movement that have been too often linked to an anti-human mindset. Regardless of his renunciation of EarthFirst!, Dave Foreman did at one time oppose famine aid to Ethiopia, saying the best thing would be to just let nature seek its own balance, to let the people there just starve.... Up here in Canada, naturalist John Livingston, in his Governor General's Award-winning _Rogue Primate_, refers to AIDS dispassionately as a natural response to human overpopulation.... I think environmentalists are people who understand that humans are part of nature, and they seek to live accordingly. Unfortunately, it sometimes seems that we are impatient for the rest of humanity to figure this out, and pessimistic tht we as a species are smart enough to make it happen. Some environmentalists, I think, find other humans (the more, the less merry) as basically troublesome. All this led me back to Thoreau. Was there anything in his writing that could have led Kaczynski (if he is the Unabomber) -- and maybe all environmentalists astray? On first glance, of course, Thoreau can be seen to be radically pro-nature and anti-society. He looked around his America and saw a civilization in which everyone was so intent on business, trade, and industry, so intent on eking out a living, that they forgot how to live. _Walden_ is a back-to-the-land how-to book, a carefully-crafted naturalist's diary, a witty response to Ben Franklin-industriousness, and a philosophical treatise on self-reliance. A Ted Kaczynski could draw inspiration from it. But Thoreau does not renounce society in _Walden_; he takes a trip from it to experiment with isolation, to learn more about himself and his surroundings. When his experiment is completed, he moves back to Concord and announces, I left the woods for as good a reason as I went there. The publishers of my edition of _Walden_ put Civil Disobedience at the end. I wondered if Kaczynski (if he is the Unabomber) also united the two. In this essay Thoreau defends opposition to unjust governments and describes a night spent in jail for refusing to pay taxes, protesting the American war with Mexico. Thoreau argues that one who wishes to be true to himself may need to live outside of government. Again, a Ted Kaczynski could draw inspiration -- some environmentalists certainly have. Though Foreman left EarthFirst!, in Defending the Earth_