Donkey God

Definitions

Adjusting - A few tweaks and you’re on your way. Minor changes
to accommodate to minor changes, while most of your life and
circumstances remain the same.

Adapting - Something major has happened, and you won’t be able
to survive unless you make major changes within yourself, and
across most areas of your life.

Comparisons

When your teenager goes off to college v. when your teenager dies

When your department changes v. when your company endures a
hostile takeover

When your husband takes up fitness and moves a treadmill into
the living room v. when your husband takes a mistress and moves
her into your place at the lake

Example

ADJUSTING: A chameleon adjusts. When it finds itself on a green
leaf, it turns green. When it moves to a brown twig, it turns
brown. It’s a minor adjustment, changing the color of its skin.

ADAPTING: A tadpole adapts. In order to be able to live on dry
land, it must lose its tail and gills, grow legs and start using
lungs. It must learn to breathe air, not water.

ADJUSTING: Mary had an adjustment to make. She had moved across
town. She had to learn a new route to work, meet some new
neighbors, familiarize herself with the location of hospitals,
grocery stores and gas stations, and get used to an electric
stove instead of a gas stove.

ADAPTING: Letitia moved from the US to Russia. She had to learn
a new culture and a new language.

ADJUSTMENT REQUIRED: Ben got a divorce. Though he had not been
dating her, he had fallen back in love with his high school
sweetheart. When he divorced, he started dating his sweetheart,
remained in the same home, had custody of his two children, kept
the same job, the place at the lake, and maintained his strong
network of friendships.

ADAPTATION REQUIRED: Tina’s husband divorced her. He took most
of the couple’s assets and left her with all the debts, so she
was forced to file bankruptcy. Because of the social set they
moved in, she lost many friends. At the same time her last child
left for college, she got downsized, her mother died, and she
developed breast cancer.

ADJUSTING: You know you can do it. You just may not want to.

ADAPTING: You have a sense you don’t have what it takes to cope
with it.

Key Point

Understanding the changes that adaptation will require helps you
through the transition, which is often more like a
metamorphosis. It can feel like having to grow wings! When you
face a situation requiring ADJUSTING, you think, “Things have
changed.” When you face a situation requiring ADAPTING, you
think, “I will never be the same again.”

Benefits

Much more of you is required in an adaptation. Major life
changes will require you to leave major things behind, and learn
new ways, sometimes new ways of “being”. It can be as
challenging as learning to breathe air instead of water. An
adaptation requires strong emotional intelligence skills, which
can be learned.

Related distinctions

Your new in-laws speak with a heavy Southern drawl vs. Your new
in-laws speak only Russian

You have a new baby boy vs. your wife gives birth to quintuplets
You break your ankle in a car accident vs. You lose both your
legs in a car accident

Geographic profiling is an information management system and investigative methodology that evaluates the locations of connected serial crimes to determine the most probable area of offender residence.

It can be applied in cases of serial murder, rape, arson, robbery and bombings.

Background and History

The name most closely associated with geographical profiling is Kim Rossmo. Rossmo began studying geographical profiling as part of his PhD studies at Simon Fraser University (British Columbia, Canada).

He studied under professors Paul and Patricia Brentingham, who had developed a theoretical crime model which examined where crimes were most likely to happen, based on offender residence, workplace and leisure activity.

Put simply, the Brentingham model maintains that we all have an ‘activity space’ related to the areas in which we live, work and play and that this activity space produces a discernible pattern of movement around the city.

In relation to criminal activity, therefore, it follows that an offender has to know about a particular geographical area before he or she begins selecting crimes to commit; and where the offenders movement patterns intersect within this geographical area, will to a large extent determine where the crime takes place.

Kim Rossmo noted that the Brentingham model was examined primarily in relation to crime prevention and was interested in approaching the topic from the opposite perspective i.e. asking the question, what does the location of a crime say about where the offender might live?

Acknowledging the potential investigative use of this research the Vancouver Police Department established the worlds first Geographic Profiling Section in 1995. Since it’s launch, Scotland Yard, The FBI, The New York Police Department and The Royal Canadian Mounted Police have all called upon the services of the geographic profiling section.

How Does Geographical Profiling Work?

Geographic profiling works on the premise that the location of a crime site can provide the police with vital information. It assesses and predicts the offender’s most likely place of residence, place of work, social venues and travel routes etc.

Geographic profiling consists of both quantitative (objective) scientific geographic techniques and qualitative (subjective) components e.g. a reconstruction and interpretation of the offender’s mental map.’

The primary geographic technique is a computerised system known as Criminal Geographic Targeting (CGT). Put simply, spatial data i.e. data relating to time, distance and movement to and from the crime scenes is analysed to produce a three-dimensional model known as a jeopardy surface.

The jeopardy surface contains height and colour probability codes which when superimposed onto a map of the area in which the serial crimes have been committed give an indication of the likelihood of offender residence or place of work.

Although the science underpinning geographic profiling can be difficult to comprehend, it’s easy to see how this approach can offer practical assistance in the course of a criminal investigation. As Rossmo points out:

‘By establishing the probability of the offender residing in various areas and displaying those results on a map, police efforts to apprehend criminals can be assisted. This information allows police departments to focus their investigative efforts, geographically prioritise suspects, and concentrate patrol efforts in those zones where the criminal predator is likely to be active’.

Geographical Profiling Process & Methodology

process:

A geographic profile would typically fit into a criminal investigation as follows:

A series of crimes is committed.

The crimes are investigated via traditional means.

Linking analysis conducted to ascertain which crimes are connected.

Psychological profile of the unknown subject conducted.

Geographical profile constructed.

New investigative strategies developed and pursued.

Methodology

In preparing a geographic profile, a number of operational procedures will be followed. These include:

Examination of the case file: Witness statements, autopsy reports & psychological profile (if available).

Inspection of the crime scene.

Meetings and discussions with lead investigators.

Visits to the crime sites when practical.

Analysis of local crime statistics and demographic data.

Study of street, zoning and rapid transit maps.

Overall analysis and report submission.

To find out more about geographic profiling and criminal profiling in general visit http://www.all-about-forensic-psychology.com/

It was my first visit back home in over a year. I’d been in
Minnesota for college, and returned home just long enough to
marry and move to North Carolina.

I returned with a year old baby, the wife of a medical student,
struggling to put food on the table, though at that time in life
materials things don’t matter much.

This town I returned to, I had hated. Why? Because we had moved
every 3 years, and it had been fine until this time, but it was
3 weeks before high school, and what kid would want to start a
new high school of 4,000 not knowing a soul? My Dad infuriated
me by acting like he’d done me a favor, and I made it clear to
him he had ruined my life. We dug into our positions. “Why did
you do this to me?” I bellowed. “You ought to appreciate it,” he
said, and told me why, but I didn’t listen. “You’ll appreciate
it some day,” he said, finding me beyond reason.

What did I hate? The size of the school, having to compete with
Ann-Margret (the movie star) if I wanted to sing in the musical,
their Chicago accents, and the crowning blow - my advisor dubbed
me “Sue” the first day and I never got rid of it. In fact my
favorite thing about going off to college was being able to
reclaim my name. If I hadn’t sunk into the victim position, I
might have been able to reclaim it sooner!

I hated the gray skies and the freezing winter wind, but I hated
spring worse. They released us at spring break to wander the
streets in wretched weather with dirty snow everywhere. My
family never got to go on a cruise like everyone else’s. But I
hated the summers worse because it was never hot enough to get a
tan. Not a happy camper, I gathered evidence to substantiate my
feelings.

Fast forward to my return to this horrible place. Winnetka is
one of the affluent suburbs on the North Shore of Chicago. A
planned community nestled on the shores of Lake Michigan, with
more Frank Lloyd Wright houses than anywhere else in the nation,
it is astoundingly beautiful, a place you dream of living.

With my blinders off and my attitude corrected, I saw it from my
Dad’s point of view. He worked hard to give us the best he
could, and how proud he must’ve been to move us there. In fact I
remember it in his walk as he showed me around the first week
there. “It’s the best public high school in the nation,” he told
me, and the education I received got me into one of the best
liberal arts colleges in the nation.

The crime rate was so low we never locked our doors. Everything
was a short drive away, and there was always parking. There was
everything Chicago has to offer - the art museum where I spent
many a Saturday, recently voted best in the nation. Parks within
walking distance which they froze in the winter for skating.

As I drove through the village, the sun slanted through the
trees on either side of the wide road that arched overhead. “You
can’t tell me people don’t think about future generations,” my
Dad often said. “Someone planted all those trees who never lived
to see them.”

“This is the most beautiful place on earth,” I mused to myself,
astounded at my earlier perceptions and attitude. Could this
really be that “horrible place”? As a parent, I could only dream
of providing such for my own child some day. Most of all I was
stunned at what I had missed, in my retelling of this terrible
place. Once I had closed my mind, I hadn’t let any fact intrude.
I had had plenty of good times there - how could you not - but
in the retelling, you wouldn’t have known it.

I went over in my mind what I had then that I had no more - I
had taken for granted and devalued a lake in the back yard with
boating as well as beauty, nationally acclaimed museums and
cultural events, convenience, service people who knew you by
name, the best public education possible at the time, nice
people, and safety.

I had the inklings of a lesson … how your attitude effects your
perceptions and your thoughts affect your emotions. But it took
a few more rounds because moving is difficult. You wonder if
there will be friends, and all the unknowns.

My husband and I continued the family tradition of moving every
3 years. By the 2nd move it had finally sunk in that there’s
beauty everywhere, something to appreciate that you’ll miss like
hell when you leave and may never see again in your life, and
nice people everywhere. If they call you something you don’t
like, you “just say no,” and you get used to the weird accents.

When we left Durham and moved to Cincinnati, I missed the cozy
town, the ocean, and the lovely parks, but I gained a cul-de-sac
that was like a kibbutz for my only child, great restaurants,
and the opportunities of a big city. It was the gloomy snow belt
again, but there wasn’t mold in the back of the closets. It’s
always a tradeoff.

Back we went to Durham, then on to San Antonio, Texas. When we
got to San Antonio, I missed the colorful four seasons, and
getting anywhere in 5 minutes, but rejoiced in the sunshine, the
plethora of restaurants, and the muliticultural influence. The
first tornado warning scared me, and the rattlesnakes, scorpions
and tarantulas were unnerving, but I remembered how I’d adjusted
to the mold on the back of closets in Durham and the slugs on
the back porch, no less unnerving. I was learning to cope with
change, and handle transitions.

I realized the things I’d missed, and so learned to approach the
next move with optimism, to seek and find and appreciate the
good in it, and to enjoy it every day. In fact I’d immediately
start a mental list of “things I’m gonna miss a lot one day” to
stay focused on the positive, enhance my enjoyment, to bloom
where planted.

I should add that my mother complained the entire time she lived
in Winnetka, which is no doubt where I learned that attitude. I
was lucky to get the lesson in my face so young. Right now I’d
love to have had the life she had then, as far as the location
was concerned, but of course it wasn’t the place that pained
her, it was the pain inside her that made the place unbearable.
It was just easier to blame it on the place than to do the work
on the pain inside.

You see, moving doesn’t really solve anything if you’re
miserable, because you take you with you. It’s cleaning up the
place inside you that allows you to find the best wherever you
are and find the good wherever you are - and that, of course, it
figurative as well as literal.

P.S. I appreciate it, Dad.