Saturday, August 31, 2019

Spirit Bound Chapter Twenty-Three

I DIDN'T NEED THE BOND to find Lissa. The crowd tipped me off to where she–and Dimitri–were. My first thought was that some kind of stoning or medieval mobbing was going on. Then I realized that the people standing around were simply watching something. I pushed through them, heedless of the dirty looks I got, until I stood in the front row of the onlookers. What I found brought me to a halt. Lissa and Dimitri sat side by side on a bench while three Moroi and–yikes–Hans sat opposite them. Guardians stood scattered around them, tense and ready to jump in if things went bad, apparently. Before I even heard a word, I knew exactly what was going on. This was an interrogation, an investigation to determine what Dimitri was exactly. Under most circumstances, this would be a weird place for a formal investigation. It was, ironically, one of the courtyards Eddie and I had worked on, the one that stood in the shadow of the statue of the young queen. The Court's church stood nearby. This grassy area wasn't exactly holy ground, but it was close enough to the church that people could run to it in an emergency. Crucifixes didn't hurt Strigoi, but they couldn't cross over into a church, mosque, or any other sacred place. Between that and the morning sun, this was probably as safe a location and time as officials could muster up to question Dimitri. I recognized one of the Moroi questioners, Reece Tarus. He was related to Adrian on his mom's side but had also spoken in favor of the age decree. So I took an instant dislike to him, particularly considering the haughty tone he used toward Dimitri. â€Å"Do you find the sun blinding?† asked Reece. He had a clipboard in front of him and appeared to be going down a checklist. â€Å"No,† said Dimitri, voice smooth and controlled. His attention was totally on his questioners. He had no clue I was there, and I kind of liked it that way. I wanted to just gaze at him for a moment and admire his features. â€Å"What if you stare into the sun?† Dimitri hesitated, and I'm not sure anyone but me caught the sudden glint in his eyes–or knew what it meant. The question was stupid, and I think Dimitri–maybe, just maybe–wanted to laugh. With his normal skill, he maintained his composure. â€Å"Anyone would go blind staring into the sun long enough,† he replied. â€Å"I'd go through what anyone else here would.† Reece didn't seem to like the answer, but there was no fault in the logic. He pursed his lips together and moved on to the next question. â€Å"Does it scald your skin?† â€Å"Not at the moment.† Lissa glanced over at the crowd and noticed me. She couldn't feel me the way I could through our bond, but sometimes it seemed she had an uncanny sense of when I was around. I think she sensed my aura if I was close enough, since all spirit users claimed the field of light around shadow-kissed people was very distinct. She gave me a small smile before turning back to the questioning. Dimitri, ever vigilant, noticed her tiny movement. He looked over to see what had distracted her, caught sight of me, and faltered a little on Reece's next question, which was, â€Å"Have you noticed whether your eyes occasionally turn red?† â€Å"I†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Dimitri stared at me for several moments and then jerked his head back toward Reece. â€Å"I haven't been around many mirrors. But I think my guards would have noticed, and none of them have said anything.† Nearby, one of the guardians made a small noise. He barely managed to keep a straight face, but I think he too had wanted to snicker at the ridiculous line of questioning. I couldn't recall his name, but when I'd been at Court long ago, he and Dimitri had chatted and laughed quite a bit when together. If an old friend was starting to believe Dimitri was a dhampir again, then that had to be a good sign. The Moroi next to Reece glared around, trying to figure out where the noise had come from, but discovered nothing. The questioning continued, this time having to do with whether Dimitri would step into the church if they asked him to. â€Å"I can go right now,† he told them. â€Å"I'll go to services tomorrow if you want.† Reece made another note, no doubt wondering if he could get the priest to douse Dimitri in holy water. â€Å"This is all a distraction,† a familiar voice said in my ear. â€Å"Smoke and mirrors. That's what Aunt Tasha says.† Christian now stood beside me. â€Å"It needs to be done,† I murmured back. â€Å"They have to see that he isn't Strigoi anymore.† â€Å"Yeah, but they've barely signed the age law. The queen gave the go-ahead for this as soon as the Council's session let out because it's sensational and will make people pay attention to something new. It was how they finally got the hall cleared. ‘Hey, go look at the sideshow!'† I could almost hear Tasha saying that word for word. Regardless, there was truth to it. I felt conflicted. I wanted Dimitri to be free. I wanted him to be the way he used to be. Yet I didn't appreciate Tatiana doing this for her own political gain and not because she actually cared about what was right. This was possibly the most monumental thing to happen in our history. It needed to be treated as such. Dimitri's fate shouldn't be a convenient â€Å"sideshow† to distract everyone from an unfair law. Reece was now asking both Lissa and Dimitri to describe exactly what they'd experienced the night of the raid. I had a feeling this was something they'd recounted quite a bit. Although Dimitri had been the picture of nonthreatening composure so far, I still sensed that gray feel to him, the guilt and torment he felt over what he had done as a Strigoi. Yet, when he turned to listen to Lissa tell her version of the story, his face lit up with wonder. Awe. Worship. Jealousy flashed through me. His feelings weren't romantic, but it didn't matter. What mattered was that he had rejected me but regarded her as the greatest thing in the world. He'd told me never to talk to him again and sworn he'd do anything for her. Again I felt that petulant sense of being wronged. I refused to believe that he couldn't love me anymore. It wasn't possible, not after all he and I had been through together. Not after everything we'd felt for each other. â€Å"They sure seem close,† Christian noted, a suspicious note in his voice. I had no time to tell him his worries were unfounded because I wanted to hear what Dimitri had to say. The story of his change was hard for others to follow, largely because spirit was still so misunderstood. Reece got as much out of it as he could and then turned the questioning over to Hans. Hans, ever practical, had no need for extensive interrogation. He was a man of action, not words. Gripping a stake in his hand, he asked Dimitri to touch it. The standing guardians tensed, probably in case Dimitri tried to grab the stake and go on a rampage. Instead, Dimitri calmly reached out and held the top of the stake for a few moments. There was a collective intake of breath as everyone waited for him to scream in pain since Strigoi couldn't touch charmed silver. Instead, Dimitri looked bored. Then he astonished them all. Drawing his hand back, he held out the bottom of his muscled forearm toward Hans. With the sunny weather, Dimitri was wearing a T-shirt, leaving the skin there bare. â€Å"Cut me with it,† he told Hans. Hans arched an eyebrow. â€Å"Cutting you with this will hurt no matter what you are.† â€Å"It would be unbearable if I were a Strigoi,† Dimitri pointed out. His face was hard and determined. He was the Dimitri I'd seen in battle, the Dimitri who never backed down. â€Å"Do it. Don't go easy on me.† Hans didn't react at first. Clearly, this was an unexpected course of action. Decision finally flashed across his features, and he struck out, swiping the stake's point against Dimitri's skin. As Dimitri had requested, Hans didn't hold back. The point dug deep, and blood welled up. Several Moroi, not used to seeing blood (unless they were drinking it), gasped at the violence. As one, we all leaned forward. Dimitri's face showed he definitely felt pain, but charmed silver on a Strigoi wouldn't just hurt–it would burn. I'd cut a lot of Strigoi with stakes and heard them scream in agony. Dimitri grimaced and bit his lip as the blood flowed over his arm. I swear, there was pride in his eyes at his ability to stay strong through that. When it became obvious he wouldn't start flailing, Lissa reached toward him. I sensed her intentions; she wanted to heal him. â€Å"Wait,† said Hans. â€Å"A Strigoi would heal from this in minutes.† I had to give Hans credit. He'd worked two tests into one. Dimitri shot him a grateful look, and Hans gave a small nod of acknowledgment. Hans believed, I realized. Whatever his faults, Hans truly thought Dimitri was a dhampir again. I would love him forever for that, no matter how much filing he made me do. So, we all stood there watching poor Dimitri bleed. It was kind of sick, really, but the test worked. It was obvious to everyone that the cut wasn't going anywhere. Lissa was finally given leave to heal it, and that caused a bigger reaction among the crowd. Murmurs of wonder surrounded me, and those enraptured goddess-worshipping looks showed on people's faces. Reece glanced at the crowd. â€Å"Does anyone have any questions to add to ours?† No one spoke. They were all dumbfounded by the sights before them. Well, someone had to step forward. Literally. â€Å"I do,† I said, striding toward them. No, Rose, begged Lissa. Dimitri wore an equally displeased look. Actually, so did almost everyone sitting near him. When Reece's gaze fell on me, I had a feeling he was seeing me in the Council room all over again, calling Tatiana a sanctimonious bitch. I put my hands on my hips, not caring what they thought. This was my chance to force Dimitri to acknowledge me. â€Å"When you used to be Strigoi,† I began, making it clear that I believed that was in the past, â€Å"you were very well connected. You knew about the whereabouts of lots of Strigoi in Russia and the U.S., right?† Dimitri eyed me carefully, trying to figure out where I was going. â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"Do you still know them?† Lissa frowned. She thought I was going to inadvertently implicate Dimitri as still being in contact with other Strigoi. â€Å"Yes,† he said. â€Å"So long as none of them have moved.† The answer came more swiftly this time. I wasn't sure if he'd guessed my tactic or if he just trusted that my Rose-logic would go somewhere useful. â€Å"Would you share that information with the guardians?† I asked. â€Å"Would you tell us all the Strigoi hideouts so that we could strike out against them?† That got a reaction. Proactively seeking Strigoi was as hotly debated as the other issues going around right now, with strong opinions on all sides. I heard those opinions reiterated behind me in the crowd, some people saying I was suggesting suicide while others acknowledged we had a valuable tool. Dimitri's eyes lit up. It wasn't the adoring look he often gave Lissa, but I didn't care. It was similar to the ones we used to share, in those moments where we understood each other so perfectly, we didn't even need to vocalize what we were thinking. That connection flashed between us, as did his approval–and gratitude. â€Å"Yes,† he replied, voice strong and loud. â€Å"I can tell you everything I know about Strigoi plans and locations. I'd face them with you or stay behind–whichever you wanted.† Hans leaned forward in his chair, expression eager. â€Å"That could be invaluable.† More points for Hans. He was on the side of hitting out at Strigoi before they came to us. Reece flushed–or maybe he was just feeling the sun. In their efforts to see if Dimitri would burn up in the light, the Moroi were exposing themselves to discomfort. â€Å"Now hold on,† Reece exclaimed over the increasing noise. â€Å"That has never been a tactic we endorse. Besides, he could always lie–â€Å" His protests were cut off by a feminine scream. A small Moroi boy, no more than six, had suddenly broken from the crowd and run toward us. It was his mother who had screamed. I moved in to stop him, grabbing his arm. I wasn't afraid that Dimitri would hurt him, only that the boy's mother would have a heart attack. She came forward, face grateful. â€Å"I have questions,† the boy, obviously trying to be brave, said in a small voice. His mother reached for him, but I held up my hand. â€Å"Hang on a sec.† I smiled down at him. â€Å"What do you want to ask? Go ahead.† Behind him, fear flashed over his mother's face, and she cast an anxious look at Dimitri. â€Å"I won't let anything happen to him,† I whispered, though she had no way of knowing I could back that up. Nonetheless, she stayed where she was. Reece rolled his eyes. â€Å"This is ridic–â€Å" â€Å"If you're Strigoi,† the boy interrupted loudly, â€Å"then why don't you have horns? My friend Jeffrey said Strigoi have horns.† Dimitri's eyes fell not on the boy but on me for a moment. Again, that spark of knowing shot between us. Then, face smooth and serious, Dimitri turned to the boy and answered, â€Å"Strigoi don't have horns. And even if they did, it wouldn't matter because I'm not Strigoi.† â€Å"Strigoi have red eyes,† I explained. â€Å"Do his eyes look red?† The boy leaned forward. â€Å"No. They're brown.† â€Å"What else do you know about Strigoi?† I asked. â€Å"They have fangs like us,† the boy replied. â€Å"Do you have fangs?† I asked Dimitri in a singsong voice. I had a feeling this was already-covered territory, but it took on a new feel when asked from a child's perspective. Dimitri smiled–a full, wonderful smile that caught me off guard. Those kinds of smiles were so rare from him. Even when happy or amused, he usually only gave half smiles. This was genuine, showing all his teeth, which were as flat as those of any human or dhampir. No fangs. The boy looked impressed. â€Å"Okay, Jonathan,† said his mother anxiously. â€Å"You asked. Let's go now.† â€Å"Strigoi are super strong,† continued Jonathan, who possibly aspired to be a future lawyer. â€Å"Nothing can hurt them.† I didn't bother correcting him, for fear he'd want to see a stake shoved through Dimitri's heart. In fact, it was kind of amazing that Reece hadn't already requested that. Jonathan fixed Dimitri with a piercing gaze. â€Å"Are you super strong? Can you be hurt?† â€Å"Of course I can,† replied Dimitri. â€Å"I'm strong, but all sorts of things can still hurt me.† And then, being Rose Hathaway, I said something I really shouldn't have to the boy. â€Å"You should go punch him and find out.† Jonathan's mother screamed again, but he was a fast little bastard, eluding her grasp. He ran up to Dimitri before anyone could stop him–well, I could have–and pounded his tiny fist against Dimitri's knee. Then, with the same reflexes that allowed him to dodge enemy attacks, Dimitri immediately feinted falling backward, as though Jonathan had knocked him over. Clutching his knee, Dimitri groaned as though he were in terrible pain. Several people laughed, and by then, one of the other guardians had caught hold of Jonathan and returned him to his near-hysterical mother. As he was being dragged away, Jonathan glanced over his shoulder at Dimitri. â€Å"He doesn't seem very strong to me. I don't think he's a Strigoi.† This caused more laughter, and the third Moroi interrogator, who'd been quiet, snorted and rose from his seat. â€Å"I've seen all I need to. I don't think he should walk around unguarded, but he's no Strigoi. Give him a real place to stay and just keep guards on him until further decisions are made.† Reece shot up. â€Å"But–â€Å" The other man waved him off. â€Å"Don't waste any more time. It's hot, and I want to go to bed. I'm not saying I understand what happened, but this is the least of our problems right now, not with half the Council wanting to rip the other half's heads off over the age decree. If anything, what we've seen today is a good thing–miraculous, even. It could alter the way we've lived. I'll report back to Her Majesty.† And like that, the group began dispersing, but there was wonder on some of their faces. They too were beginning to realize that if what had happened to Dimitri was real, then everything we'd ever known about Strigoi was about to change. The guardians stayed with Dimitri, of course, as he and Lissa rose. I immediately moved toward them, eager to bask in our victory. When he'd been â€Å"knocked over† by Jonathan's tiny punch, Dimitri had given me a small smile, and my heart had leapt. I'd known then that I'd been right. He did still have feelings for me. But now, in the blink of an eye, that rapport was gone. Seeing me walk toward them, Dimitri's face grew cold and guarded again. Rose, said Lissa through the bond. Go away now. Leave him alone. â€Å"The hell I will,† I said, both answering her aloud and addressing him. â€Å"I just furthered your case.† â€Å"We were doing fine without you,† said Dimitri stiffly. â€Å"Oh yeah?† I couldn't believe what I was hearing. â€Å"You seemed pretty grateful a couple minutes ago when I thought up the idea of you helping us against Strigoi.† Dimitri turned to Lissa. His voice was low, but it carried to me. â€Å"I don't want to see her.† â€Å"You have to!† I exclaimed. A few of the departing people paused to see what the racket was about. â€Å"You can't ignore me.† â€Å"Make her go away,† Dimitri growled. â€Å"I'm not–â€Å" ROSE! Lissa shouted in my head, shutting me up. Those piercing jade eyes stared me down. Do you want to help him or not? Standing here and yelling at him is going to make him even more upset! Is that what you want? Do you want people to see that? See him get mad and yell back at you just so you don't feel invisible? They need to see him calm. They need to see him†¦ normal. It's true–you did just help. But if you don't walk away right now, you could ruin everything. I stared at them both aghast, my heart pounding. Her words had all been in my mind, but Lissa might as well have strode up to me and chewed me out aloud. My temper shot up even more. I wanted to go rant at both of them, but the truth of her words penetrated through my anger. Starting a scene would not help Dimitri. Was it fair that they were sending me away? Was it fair that the two of them were teaming up and ignoring what I'd just done? No. But I wasn't going to let my hurt pride screw up what I'd just achieved. People had to accept Dimitri. I shot them both looks that made my feelings clear and then stormed away. Lissa's feelings immediately changed to sympathy through the bond, but I blocked them out. I didn't want to hear it. I'd barely cleared the church's grounds when I ran into Daniella Ivashkov. Sweat was starting to smudge her beautifully applied makeup, making me think she'd been out here for a while watching the Dimitri-spectacle too. She appeared to have a couple friends with her, but they kept their distance and chatted amongst themselves when she stopped in front of me. Swallowing my anger, I reminded myself she'd done nothing to piss me off. I forced a smile. â€Å"Hi, Lady Ivashkov.† â€Å"Daniella,† she said kindly. â€Å"No titles.† â€Å"Sorry. It's still a weird thing.† She nodded toward where Dimitri and Lissa were departing with his guards. â€Å"I saw you there, just now. You helped his case, I think. Poor Reece was pretty flustered.† I recalled that Reece was related to her. â€Å"Oh†¦ I'm sorry. I didn't mean to–â€Å" â€Å"Don't apologize. Reece is my uncle, but in this case, I believe in what Vasilisa and Mr. Belikov are saying.† Despite how angry Dimitri had just made me, my gut instinct resented the dropping of his â€Å"guardian† title. Yet I could forgive her, considering her attitude. â€Å"You†¦ you believe Lissa healed him? That Strigoi can be restored?† I was realizing there were lots of people who believed. The crowd had just demonstrated as much, and Lissa was still building her following of devotees. Somehow, my line of thinking always tended to assume all royals were against me. Daniella's smile turned wry. â€Å"My own son is a spirit user. Since accepting that, I've had to accept a lot of other things I didn't believe were possible.† â€Å"I suppose you would,† I admitted. Beyond her, I noticed a Moroi man standing near some trees. His eyes occasionally fell on us, and I could have sworn I'd seen him before. Daniella's next words turned my attention back to her. â€Å"Speaking of Adrian†¦ he was looking for you earlier. It's short notice now, but some of Nathan's relatives are having a late cocktail party in about an hour, and Adrian wanted you to go.† Another party. Was that all anyone ever did here at Court? Massacres, miracles†¦ it didn't matter. Everything was cause for a party, I thought bitterly. I'd probably been with Ambrose and Rhonda when Adrian went searching. It was interesting. In passing on the invitation, Daniella was also saying that she wanted me to go. Unfortunately, I had a hard time being as open to it. Nathan's family meant the Ivashkovs, and they wouldn't be so friendly. â€Å"Will the queen be there?† I asked suspiciously. â€Å"No, she has other engagements.† â€Å"Are you sure? No unexpected visits?† She laughed. â€Å"No, I'm certain of it. Rumor has it that you two being in the same room together†¦ isn't such a good idea.† I could only imagine the stories going around about my Council performance, particularly since Adrian's father had been there to witness it. â€Å"No, not after that ruling. What she did†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The anger I'd felt earlier began to blaze again. â€Å"It was unforgivable.† That weird guy by the tree was still waiting around. Why? Daniella didn't confirm or deny my statement, and I wondered where she stood on the issue. â€Å"She's still quite fond of you.† I scoffed. â€Å"I have a hard time believing that.† Usually, people who yelled at you in public weren't too â€Å"fond† of you, and even Tatiana's cool composure had cracked near the end of our spat. â€Å"It's true. This will blow over, and there might even be a chance for you to be assigned to Vasilisa.† â€Å"You can't be serious,† I exclaimed. I should have known better. Daniella Ivashkov didn't really seem like the joking type, but I really did believe I'd crossed the line with Tatiana. â€Å"After everything that's happened, they don't want to waste good guardians. Besides, she doesn't want there to be animosity between you.† â€Å"Yeah? Well, I don't want her bribery! If she thinks putting Dimitri out there and dangling a royal job is going to change my mind, she's wrong. She's a lying, scheming–â€Å" I stopped abruptly. My voice had gone loud enough that Daniella's nearby friends were now staring. And I really didn't want to say the names I thought Tatiana deserved in front of Daniella. â€Å"Sorry,† I said. I attempted civility. â€Å"Tell Adrian I'll come to the party†¦ but do you really want me to go? After I crashed the ceremony the other night? And after, um, other things I've done?† She shook her head. â€Å"What happened at the ceremony is as much Adrian's fault as it is yours. It's done, and Tatiana let it go. This party's a much more lighthearted event, and if he wants you there, then I want him to be happy.† â€Å"I'll go shower and change now and meet him at your place in an hour.† She was tactful enough to ignore my earlier outburst. â€Å"Wonderful. I know he'll be happy to hear that.† I declined to tell her that I was actually happy about the thought of flaunting myself in front of some Ivashkovs in the hopes that it would get back to Tatiana. I no longer believed for an instant that she accepted what was going on with Adrian and me or that she would let my outburst blow over. And truthfully, I did want to see him. We hadn't had much time to talk recently. After Daniella and her friends left, I figured it was time to get to the bottom of things. I headed straight over to the Moroi who'd been lurking around, hands on my hips. â€Å"Okay,† I demanded. â€Å"Who are you, and what do you want?† He was only a few years older than me and didn't seem at all fazed by my tough-girl attitude. He crooked me a smile, and I again pondered where I'd seen him. â€Å"I've got a message for you,† he said. â€Å"And some gifts.† He handed over a tote bag. I looked inside and found a laptop, some cords, and several pieces of paper. I stared up at him in disbelief. â€Å"What's this?† â€Å"Something you need to get a move on–and not let anyone else know about. The note will explain everything.† â€Å"Don't play spy movie with me! I'm not doing anything until you–† His face clicked. I'd seen him back at St. Vladimir's, around the time of my graduation–always hovering in the background. I groaned, suddenly understanding the secretive nature–and cocky attitude. â€Å"You work for Abe.†

Friday, August 30, 2019

Is Wikipedia a reliable source of Knowledge? Essay

Knowledge is a justified true belief that are passed down from generation to generation. The ones who have passed down these knowledges and information are known as sources. However, not all sources are reliable nor are they all true. Wikipedia is a very worldly wide known website that is used to look up for informations on any matter. Even so, this website is also famous for its unreliable information that are given. So, I believe that wikipedia is an unreliable source with wrong facts of knowledge. For a knowledge to be true there should be facts and evidence that goes along with it. In our enormous world we rely on expert’s opinion to justify many of our knowledge claims, however, for wikipedia everyone seems to be an expert. Wikipedia, which is known for its information, relies on other who are not even experts to give opinions on certain knowledges. Wikipedia is not a reliable source especially since the actually sources will not be identified. WIthout knowing where the sources comes from we can not claim if the information or knowledge is true. Wikipedia is not perfect nor are newspaper articles or scholarly journals, each and everyone of them can make an error. But, the differences of newspaper articles and the scholarly journals from wikipedia are that we know where the source are from and the information are accurate on. For Wikipedia, even the stupidest and the most incomplete source can become a source that lets other believe it to be true. Wikipedia creates and spreads unproven and false information to society, like a plague. Also, one of many reason that wikipedia is an unreliable source is because the company of this website can agree and disagree with other people viewpoint. Administrators on Wikipedia have the power to delete or disallow comments or articles they disagree with and support the viewpoints they approve. In 2003, for example, an U. K. scientist William Connolley became a Web site administrator and subsequently wrote or rewrote more than 5,000 Wikipedia articles supporting the concept of climate change and global warming. More importantly, he used his authority to ban more than 2,000contributors with opposing viewpoints from making further contributions. In addition,in 2007, a new program called WikiScanner uncovered individuals with a clear conflict of interest that had written or edited some Wikipedia entries. Employees from organizations such as the CIA, the Democratic National Party and Diebold were editing Wikipedia entries in their employers’ favor. Addition, to the last paragraph, on Wikipedia accurate contributors can be silenced. Deletionists on Wikipedia often rely on the argument that a contribution comes from an â€Å"unreliable source,† and decided the editor if it is a reliable source. Last year, an incident, showed the degree to which editors at the very top of Wikipedia were willing to rely on false information as long as it suited their purpose. Wikipedia is not a website where it wishes for the consumers to use the right information, but rather to show them their side of viewpoint in certain topics. Lastly, another reason why wikipedia is an unreliable source is because it is also written on their website. Wikipedia has a page where it has been typed â€Å"We do not expect you to trust us. †onto the website. It adds that it is â€Å"not a primary source† and that â€Å"because some articles may contain errors,† you should â€Å"not use Wikipedia to make critical decisions. † Wikipedia is not a source where experts who written the information made a wrong, it is a website where someone who has no knowledge of certain information telling others about it as if they are a truth. Wikipedia is a well known informational website throughout the country, however, it is also known as an unreliable source. The sources that wikipedia uses aren’t from experts on certain knowledge but just regular people who has their own viewpoint to tell. I believe that wikipedia is not a reliable source because of it’s use of wrong editors, silencing accurate contributor, and the fact that it is written on their website. Knowledge and information should come from people who are an expert’s on certain topic and can prove that their claims are the truth, but for wikipedia it not one of those sources that should be used. Source:http://www. findingdulcinea. com/news/education/2010/march/The-Top-10-Rea.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

American Psychological Association

The American Psychological Association is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States. APA is the worlds largest association of psychologists, with more than 134,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students as its members. Our mission is to advance the creation, communication and application of psychological knowledge to benefit society and improve peoples lives. Our Work APA seeks to advance the creation, communication and application of psychological nowledge to benefit society and improve peoples lives. We do this by: Encouraging the development and application of psychology in the broadest manner. Promoting research in psychology, the improvement of research methods and conditions and the application of research findings. Improving the qualifications and usefulness of psychologists by establishing high standards of ethics, conduct, education and achievement. Increasing and disseminating psychological knowledge through meetings, professional contacts, reports, papers, discussions and publications. Strategic Plan Our strategic plan goals are to maximize the associations organizational effectiveness, expand psychologys role in advancing health and increase recognition of psychology as a science. Governance and Senior Staff Volunteer governance members play a key role in the direction and completion of APAs advocacy, publishing, member service and more. These groups include APAs: Council of Representatives, which has the sole authority to approve policy and appropriate the associations revenue. Board of Directors, elected by the membership, and which acts as the administrative agent of the Council of Representatives. APA president, elected annually by the membership to serve as the face of the association. Committees, boards and task forces, which focus on particular issues in the field. APAs daily operations are overseen by its senior staff at APA headquarters in Washington, D. C. Definition of Psychology Psychology is a diverse discipline, grounded in science, but with nearly boundless applications in everyday life. Some psychologists do basic research, developing theories and testing them through carefully honed research methods involving observation, experimentation and analysis. Other psychologists apply the disciplines scientific knowledge to help people, organizations and communities function better. As psychological research yields new information, whether its developing improved interventions to treat depression or studying how humans interact with machines, these findings become part of the disciplines body of knowledge and are applied in work with patients and clients, in schools, in corporate settings, within the Judicial system, even in professional sports. Psychology is a doctoral-level profession. Psychologists study both normal and abnormal functioning and treat patients with ental and emotional problems. They also study and encourage behaviors that build wellness and emotional resilience. Today, as the link between mind and body is well- recognized, more and more psychologists are teaming witn other health-care providers to provide whole-person health care for patients. APA History The American Psychological Association was founded in 1892 with 31 members and grew quickly after World War II.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Preventive car need assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Preventive car need assessment - Essay Example A general foot care is to be conducted. Feet must be examined for any sort of sores, circulation, or sensation problems. Diabetes may at times result in thickening ingrown. There may develop a feeling of numbness, or pins and needles in the feet. The patients must note down in their log if they feel any sort of sores, circulation, or sensation problems. Patients who are suffering from diabetes must be very regular with their physical exercise. The physical exercise may be of any type walking, jogging, swimming or gym at home. It is important that the patients note down the time of their physical activity in their logs. The effect of physical activity done by the patients will be monitored by their weight gain or loss because of the physical activity. Normally, everybody should have at least one check up for diabetes every year by their physician. An individual should follow a wellness plan if he/she is at risk for diabetes or has newly acquired diabetes or had diabetes for some time. A wellness plan must be developed which keeps a regular check on individual’s sugar, blood pressure, and blood fats. The doctor may want to examine his diabetic patient after every three months or so to check the progress. The patient may also see the doctor any time with in these three months if he feels that he is not well. It is important that when the patient comes to visit the doctor he brings with himself his log in which he had been making entries of his home test of blood sugar, cholesterol, blood pressure, exercise etc. A diabetic education packet must be provided to every patient so that they know how to deal with different aspects of diabetes, what is the best diet, what is the best range of blood pressure, blood sugar etc for them. For those patients who have developed the micro vascular disease, they must follow the A1C goal it will help them in the macrovascular risk reduction. For all those patients who have

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Develop a marketing plan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Develop a marketing plan - Assignment Example The company also expects to reach more consumers as well as tremendously diverse ideas via social media. Going online is a part of their mission to shift from traditional marketing into digital realm. Nike is American multinational organization that was started in 1957 by Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight. The company designs, develops, manufactures, marketing and sells goods and services such as footwear, equipment, apparel and accessories all over the world. Twenty years down the line, Nike has joined the top companies in the footwear market. This was not as a result on TV advertisement but from positive appraisals by athletes they sponsor (Cendrowski, n.pg). For instance, the company made approximately 919.80 million dollars after Olympic players was seen wearing Nike in 1984 Olympics. The company’s mission is to innovate and inspire athletes in the world every day. Besides maximizing its profits the company also focuses on establishing environments that offer a platform for consumers to contribute into the company. Moreover, the company wants to build strong emotional ties with its consumers. The company’s target market is an active online 17-year-old user who is likely to spend 20% more to buy shoes in comparison to his adult counterparts. This is based on the fact that a significant population of young men has given up television to online communities. The company also targets over 5 million runners and other athletes to use their digital devices in determining their performance (Cendrowski, n.pg). Product strategy: currently Nike offers several apparel, equipment and accessories online such as the Nike+ running sensor, a performance-tracking tool. Nike+ running sensor has enabled over 5 million runners to check their performances. The company plans to include its new sport device, fuel band, which is able to track the energy output of its users (Cendrowski, n.pg). Price strategy: the current prices are either influenced by

Monday, August 26, 2019

Th Ntur f Pristhd in th Church f nglnd Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Th Ntur f Pristhd in th Church f nglnd - Essay Example Th nly high prist in Gd's systm tdy is in hvn" Christins r prists f Gd. Th pristhd undr th lw ws vry hnrbl nd scrd ffic, Hb. 5:4, "nd n mn tkth this hnr unt himslf, but h tht is clld f Gd, s ws rn." It ws n ccunt f this hnr tht ths prud mn, Krh nd his cmpny, nvid rn; nd Gd ssrtd nd vindictd rn's right t it, by cusing his rd t bud. It ws n hnr which, bfr th giving f th lw, whn vry prticulr fmily ws wnt t ffr scrifics fr thmslvs, th firstbrn usd t clim, nd thrfr th birthright ws s much stmd nd vlud. Thrfr Jcb hd such dsir f hving th birthright f his brthr su, nd su's dspising f it is spkn f s grt instnc f his prfnnss. Prist in th Church f nglnd is sid t b chif mn mng his ppl, Lv. 21:4, "But h shll nt dfil himslf, bing chif mn mng his ppl, t prfn himslf." Bcus th ffic f th pristhd is s hnrbl, it is nticd s wickd cntmpt f it in svrl wickd kings, tht thy md f th mnst f th ppl prists. Pristhd is vry scrd ffic, nd tht bv ll thr ffics. Lv. 21:6, "Thy shll b hly unt thir Gd, nd nt prfn th nm f thir Gd, fr th ffrings f th Lrd md by fir, nd th brd f thir Gd, thy d ffr; thrfr thy shll b hly. Thy shll nt tk wif tht is whr, r prfn, nithr shll thy tk wmn put wy frm hr husbnd; fr h is hly unt his Gd. Thu shlt snctify him thrfr, fr h ffrth th brd f thy Gd, h shll b hly unt th: fr I, th Lrd, which snctify yu, m hly." Church f nglnd blivs tht... Th pristhd nw is n lngr cnfind t n fmily, t rn nd his sns, but ll th tru Isrl r prists. vry tru Christin hs wrk nd ffic tht is s scrd s tht f th prists ws undr th lw, nd vryn is dvncd t lik hnr, nd indd t grtr. But hw vry tru Christin is prist f Gd will ppr in th fllwing things. Undr th nglish Church ll wh hv "btind ccss t this grc in which w stnd" r prists f Gd (Owen, Dorothy, 2002). Ths wh nc wr nmis, whn rcncild t Gd, bcm His ministrs, thrugh Him wh lvs us nd hs frd us frm ur sins by his bld nd md us kingdm, prists t his Gd nd Fthr. N wndr tht clstil vics ris in pn f pris unt Him in th stirring wrds:"Wrthy rt thu t tk th scrll nd t pn its sls,Fr thu wst slin nd by thy bld didst rdm mn fr Gd Frm vry trib nd tngu nd ppl nd ntin, nd hst md thm kingdm nd prists t ur Gd" (Rv. 5:9, 10). Th trms "high prist" nd "chif prist" r fund but 123 tims in th Nw Tstmnt nd thus th pristhd is highly rspctd in nglish Church. Th Grk wrd fr prist is hirus, nd th trm "prist" is fund 33 tims in th Nw Tstmnt, whr it rfrs t th Lviticl prists 18 tims. f th 15 rmining ccurrncs, 8 rfr t Christ, 3 t Mlchizdk, 1 t th pgn prist f Jupitr, nd th thr 3 t th ntir mmbrship f th church f ur Lrd, wh r dsigntd s kingdm, vn prists. In n cs is th trm pplid t spcil ministry r cst in th cngrgtin f ur Lrd. N gspl prchr, bishp, r dcn ws vr rfrrd t s prist in ny distinctiv sns; n such individul ws prist by right f ffic (Best, 1995). S pwrful r th mbitins f mn, nd s wid sprd r th ids f scrdtl cst in th rlm f rligin tht it is virtully impssibl t limint th id f spcil clrgy frm th minds f mn s thy my mk cmplt rturn t pstlic simplicity in wrk nd wrship. Thr is n lmst univrsl id mng th "prists f Gd" tht thy my hir r cntrct with smn f suprir tlnt t pprch Gd in thir bhlf

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Re-organization of Government and contractors supporting Department of Term Paper

Re-organization of Government and contractors supporting Department of Defense efforts for Afghanistan and Iraq - Term Paper Example end, the paper will analyse the definition of private contractors, their legal status under international law and the risks and advantages involved in their use to supplement US military operations. In doing so the paper firstly discusses history of the development of private military companies and private security companies in the aftermath of the Cold war due to the downsizing of the military and how the proliferation of these companies has altered the infrastructure of contemporary military strategy, resulting in increased reliance on their services. The paper then considers the debate surrounding the use of such contractors with regard to the ambiguity of legal status under international law and parameters of their activity. In considering the debate, this paper further considers the common activities undertaken by such contractors and the central arguments of the military in justifying their use in practice. The paper further considers the possible implementation of a categorisation system to ensure that the use of private contractors remains adequately regulated whilst simultaneously providing a viable asset to US defense operations in Iraq and Afghanistan in light of the changing nature of warfare. The proliferation of private military companies and private security companies in the 1990s directly correlated to the downsizing of armed force supplies in the immediate aftermath of the Cold War. This resulted in a new political order in the international arena with novel conflict scenarios, thereby creating a demand for military manpower and expertise. The redefinition of these security strategies has left gaps in the core functions of the armed forces, which have been supplemented by alternative military service delivery via Private military companies (PMCs) and Private Security Companies (PSCs) to support US defense efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The US defense effort heavily relies on private contractors in Iraq in particular for multifarious

Human Sexuality Aspects Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Human Sexuality Aspects - Essay Example Human sexuality deals more with emotional responses as principles, standards, and duties. Movies as a media of communication, has an enormous effect in the manner in which it has shaped the way people relate and engage in sexual activities. Human sexuality directly or indirectly has influences in many areas of life that pertains to human beings. Human sexuality affects the society in numerous ways. For example, it influences persons in the sociocultural aspect. Different people have different cultures and share different views on sexual behaviors and what people perceives to be wrong in different parts of the world. Movies have played a played a major role in influencing the way people perceive sexual activities. For instance, most characters in movies engage in sexual activities before marriage, which is a forbidden practice among many religious groups. Though most persons will try their best to follow religious rules, they will also try their very best to keep secrets of how they engage in sexual activities. People do this in order to avoid critisims or even being punished. Moreover, sexual activities in movies in addition to beliefs of a person and their religious backgrounds as well as personal experiences and behaviors can have even a stronger influence in an individual or a group of people. Such influences from movies include influencing the way children are taught about sexuality by their parents. This is because children tend to emulate in behavior what they watch on movies. Often, young children look for guidance through media on what are both socially acceptable or not. The media tends to help shape the attitudes of children on what they like and what they do not. Movies show attractive cast people in the lead roles (Bancroft 7). Human sexuality also plays a major role in influencing the way people in the society behaves and communicates to each other. More often than not, human behavior is determined by the

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Effect of Investor Sentiment on Cross Sectional Stock Returns Case Study

Effect of Investor Sentiment on Cross Sectional Stock Returns - Case Study Example Competition among them leads to a balance in which prices equal the reasonably inexpensive value of expected cash flows, and in which the cross-section of predictable returns depends only on the cross-section of systematic risks. Even if some investors are irrational, classical theory argues, their strain are offset by arbitrageurs with no momentous impact on prices. In this paper, we present evidence that investor sentiment may have major effects on the cross-section of stock prices. Investment sentiments with in the stock market and the effect of investor emotions on stock returns are certainly the first issue that investors should consider. At the outset, investing is an act of faith, a willingness to postpone present consumption and save for the future. Investing for the long term is central to the achievement of optimal returns by investors. Unfortunately, the principle of investing for the long term-eschewing funds with high turnover portfolios and holding shares in soundly managed funds as investments for a lifetime- is honoured more in the breach than in the observance by most mutual fund managers and shareholders. (Arbel, 1983 44) The term second-hand information refers to information that has been collected from public sources and manipulated or simply reported again by a public news source. Prior research documents the existence of abnormal returns upon the announcement of secondhand information in the form of analysts' recommendations published in a variety of business periodicals. These abnormal returns generally are found to be short-lived. Explanations of the abnormal returns associated with second-hand information include the fact that the market may be inefficient; that second-hand information increases attention focused on the company; that it increases the volume of trading, putting price pressure on the company's stock; and that it provides new information about the company's future prospects or reduces uncertainty associated with previous reports about the company. The objective of this study is to provide additional evidence on the impact of secondhand information on stock prices. We examine a source of information heretofore untested in the finance literature: stock purchase recommendations contained in the widely read weekly business periodical Barron's. The different sources of information in Barron's allow us to examine additional explanations of the impact of second-hand information. We also explore the impact of firm size on the stock price reaction to the disclosure of second-hand information. Literature Review The results provide additional evidence that second-hand information has an impact on stock prices. Consistent with prior studies of other sources of second-hand information, the results show that Barron's recommendations have a substantial impact on stock

Friday, August 23, 2019

Power and Jurisdictional Authority Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Power and Jurisdictional Authority - Essay Example A ‘motion to reconsider’ may be filed with the existing court of record (in Nevada†¦there does not exist an Appellate or Intermediate Court) but, assuming the complaint that a litigant offers to the court post-trial (judicial finding) is new, as in â€Å"overlooked†, and part of the original ‘court record’, a ‘motion to reconsider is allowed in post-trial brief or ‘compelling new evidence’ with respect to a motion. If the company that I am litigating against conducts any business across state lines the potential to file the case in the 9th Federal District Court may be in order. This filing with the 9th District is allowable if the business in question conducts its particular business affairs beyond state boundaries. This ‘Interstate Business’ may be deemed as ‘Federal’ using the Commerce Act (Commerce Clause/Sherman Act) (U.S. vs Lopez) or any other associated â€Å"Interstate† activity. Federa l Magistrate Court (the first level of federal appeal) would not be an allowable Court for appeal because the sum of the amount being litigated-$1,000,000- is more than the ceiling price amount allowable by law for a Magistrate Court ($10,000.00). The 9th Federal District Court would be the proper venue of choice (if the case is considered federal) for this complaint. The â€Å"nature† of diversity jurisdiction is much more complicated than the cross-border civil matter implies (two people from different states in a car wreck). Diversity jurisdiction, according to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, insists that a Federal Court may be the venue of choice legally of this case; but not because two people from different states are involved. the Federal venue is limited with respect to State Laws of the competing states. A federal court might ‘house’ the proceedings but the federal rulings cannot extend beyond the parameters of the two state’s laws according to diversity

Thursday, August 22, 2019

The Lesson of Easter Island Essay Example for Free

The Lesson of Easter Island Essay Bill Gaede once said, â€Å"Science is not about making predictions or performing experiments. Science is about explaining (Goodreads, 2012).† This paper will convey an explanation, based on scientific method, on how the people of Easter Island shattered their island leaving only a small percentage of people to live there. Easter Island is remotely located in the Pacific Ocean. The island is about 1,395 miles from the nearest populated island. When the European explorers reached the island in 1722 they found a desolate landscape with less than 2,000 people existing there. They noticed that the inhabitants lived in caves and had a very limited supply of crops. Who could miss the gigantic statues carved out of stone? This was evidence that there was refined civilization that once lived there. After searching the island and taking survey of what were still here, questions then arise. How did the people of this island transport these statues that stood 33 feet tall, and weighed up to 99 tons as far as 6.2 miles from where they were constructed in the quarries to the coastal sites where they were positioned? What happened to the people who once populated this island? Who were these people, culture, nationality and traditions? Last but not least, where were all the trees and vegetation that once occupied this island? The first hypothesis the researchers considered was the forest was lost because of climate change, but evidence quickly pointed to the hypothesis that the people had gradually destroyed their own island. Researchers predicted that the trees provided fuel wood, building material for houses and canoes, fruit to eat, fiber for clothing, and presumably logs to move the stone statues. Several anthropologists experimentally tested hypotheses by hiring groups of men to recreate the act of moving the statues from the quarries to the coastline. They used an abundant supply of tree trunks as rollers or sleds along with enormous quantities of rope. The only place to find the rope was from the fibrous inner bark of the Hauhau tree which is near extinction  today. With the trees gone, rain would have eroded the soil away. This was confirmed by the data from the lake bottoms. With the erosion taking place the islander’s agricultural land would have lowered yields of bananas, sugar cane, and sweet potatoes leading to starvation and population decline. As a result of the anthropologists and researchers experiments they were able to come to the conclusion that the islanders turned against one another. Confirmation supports such circumstances of environmental deprivation and culture decline. Study of 6,500 bones has shown at least 31 species of birds nested on Easter Island and served as food source. Today only one native bird species is left. Also as resources declined the islanders began keeping their main domesticated animals in fortresses with stone entrances designed to prevent theft. War fell upon the island and the proof was uncovered when the researchers unearthed weapons, skeletons, and skulls with head wounds. The entire world should be able to learn form the mistakes of the people of Easter Island. If we don’t preserve our environment by recycling, saving trees, and protecting land we will be forced to face the same doom as the islanders. Everyone want to urbanize their cities and towns but the community don’t take in account that if they cut down too many trees it can hurt the environment in more than one way. Natural resources are important and if we don’t protect them we may as well prepare for dooms day and only the strong will survive. References Goodreads. (2012, Fall). Quotes About Scientific Method. Retrieved from http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/scientific-method Withgott, J., Brennan, S. (2009). Essential Environment (3rd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Pearson Education.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

The Sino-Soviet Split Essay Example for Free

The Sino-Soviet Split Essay 1. The significance of the communist revolution in china 1949 The Chinese Revolution was among the first hot conflicts of the Cold War, and its ramifications were certainly among the most far-reaching. The most important long-term effect was to create a Communist state with the size and power to stand as a rival to the Soviet Union within the Communist world. The Soviets and Chinese were initially allies, but eventually split apart, and fought bloody border conflicts in the 1960s. The Sino-Soviet split forced many Communist states to choose sides, with China even invading pro-Soviet Vietnam in 1979. 2. Early Sino Soviet cooperation in the 1950’s The Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance or Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Alliance for short, is the treaty of alliance concluded between the Peoples Republic of China and the Soviet Union on February 14, 1950. It was based to a considerable extent on the prior Treaty of the same name that had been arranged between the Soviet Union and the Nationalist government in 1945 and it was the product of extended negotiations between Liu Shaoqi and Stalin. Mao travelled to the Soviet Union in order to sign the Treaty after its details had been concluded and this was the only time that he travelled outside China for the duration of his life. The Treaty dealt with a range of issues such as Soviet privileges in Xinjiang and Manchuria and one of its most important points was the provision of a $300 million loan from the Soviet Union to the Peoples Republic, which had suffered economically and logistically from over a decade of intense warfare. The treaty did not prevent relations between Beijing and Moscow from drastic deterioration in the late 1950s early 1960s, at the time of the Sino-Soviet split. In light of opening up China to the international market and the expiration of the Treaty, Deng Xiaoping wanted China not to negotiate with the Soviets unless they agreed to Chinas demands. Those were that the Soviets retreated from Afghanistan, removed their troops from Mongolia and Sino-Soviet borders and stopped supporting Vietnams invasion of Cambodia.[1] The treaty expired in 1979, which allowed China to attack Vietnam, a Soviet ally, in the Third Indochina War as a response to Vietnams invasion of Cambodia, as the treaty had prevented China from attacking Soviet allies. 3. Reasons for deteriorating Sino-Soviet relations from 1958 to 69 The Sino-Soviet split (1960–1969) was the worsening of political and ideological relations between the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) during the Cold War. In the 1960s, China and the Soviet Union were the two largest Communist states in the world. The doctrinal divergence derived from Chinese and Russian national interests, and from the rà ©gimes respective interpretations of Marxism: Maoism and Marxism–Leninism. In the 1950s and the 1960s, ideological debate between the Communist parties of Russia and China also concerned the possibility of peaceful coexistence with the capitalist West. Yet, to the Chinese public, Mao Zedong proposed a belligerent attitude towards capitalist countries, an initial rejection of peaceful coexistence, which he perceived as Marxist revisionism from the Soviet Union. Moreover, since 1956, China and the USSR had progressively diverged about Marxist ideology, and, by 1961, when the doctrinal differences proved intractable, the Communist Party of China formally denounced the Soviet variety of Communism as a product of Revisionist Traitors, i.e., the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, headed by Nikita Krushchev. The divide fractured the international Communist movement at the time and opened the way for the warming of relations between the United States and China in 1971. Relations between China and the Soviet Union remained tense well into the 1980s, and were not considered normalized until the visit of Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to Beijing in 1989.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Historical and Contemporary Theories of Sight

Historical and Contemporary Theories of Sight Introduction Sight is one of the most stimulant senses in our body. When we are born, assuming everything went well, we open our eyes to experience our world. But throughout our history, we theorized how we are able to see. What causes us to see? What phenomenon gives us this gift? Many great minds tried to figure out these questions, even though a lot of these people were wrong, it set a path for future scientist to base their work and try to find the correct answer. We come to know that light is the main component of sight; the eye is able to bend it and produce color and images. It is important to understand the past in order to understand the present. One of the first theories would be the Emission theory. Of course it’s been replaced, but it is a significant part of the history of optics At the time, a challenging theory was the â€Å"Intro-mission† approach. Both these theories helped led a path for scientist to understand the true understanding. It allowed many scholars to choose sides and try to prove the other wrong. Then came modern theorist, first being Hermann Von Helmholtz. And like many theories, it was challenged by Ewald Hering theory â€Å"opponent process†. Throughout the 1800’s, many scientists argued theories about color and sight. One of the biggest topics was the theory of color; many scientists came up with theories and team up with other scientist to try to figure out how color is created. In the 1900’s the Gestalt theory raised many questions by people who study the science of vision. This essay is to answer, how the human eye operates by analyzing past and modern theories about sight. It is important to know how our body works, especially one of the most important sense, sight. Historic Theories The Atomists In ancient Greek, many people believed in gods and supernatural powers, but then there were the Atomists. They were the first who were able to come up with neutral, non-religious ideas. Democritus, who lived between 460 B.C .E– 370 B.C.E, stated that the air between the eye and the object that is seen is â€Å"contracted and stamped† by the object and the eye that observed it. The air holds the various colures of the object and appears in the observing eye. Then there was Epicurus, (341 B.C.E -270 B.C.E), stated that particles flow from the object into the eye, but the body would not shrink because other particles will replace the empty space. Both of these theories are based on the same principle, the object can only be seen if it directly comes into contact with an observing eye. For Democritus, the essential part of vision is air. For Epicurus, the presence of particles is the most essential part. Democritus discoveries were pretty close to right. He stated that ther e were four basic colors, white, black, red and green. Democritus was right about two of the colors. Plato Another theorist, who lived around the same time as the Atomists, is Plato (427 B.C.E. – 347 B.C.E). Plato’s theory combines the intromission theory, like the Atomists, and the emission theory, which states that light hitting the eye is the cause of vision. Plato stated that a ray comes from the observing eye, so the light will only let the same ray to pass through. The inner light in the eye fuses with sunlight to form a â€Å"homogeneous body†, located directly with the eye. The object being observed lets of â€Å"Flame Particles†, similar to the concept by Epicures. If the object being observed is placed within the homogeneous body, the particle has the ability to enter the eye and soul, casing sight. Stated by Plato, colors come from the flame particles from an object. When compared to the ray, there are three different types of color. If the size of the object’s particle is equal to the size of the ray, then the object is transparent. If the pa rticles are bigger, then it is a dark color. If the particles are smaller, then it’s a light color. Aristotle Aristotle (384 B.C.E – 322 B.C.E), relied on his senses and put his faith in his results of his observations. Aristotle could not prove the theories of the Atomists and Plato, so he went against them and came up with his own theory. Aristotle strongly believed that light could not be solid because it was not fire or a physical object. So what is light? Aristotle observed that objects, such as fire, can produce light on its own. Light must not be a physical material, but an immaterial transparent particle. To Aristotle, the emission and intromission theory did not make sense. If our eyes produce casual rays, then we should be able to see at any situation. But we cannot see with our eyes closed or in a very dark place. Aristotle disagreed with Plato because he could not find an explanation how light can collide with sunlight. Aristotle’s theory of sight was considered advance for its time, sunlight is reflected by an object and then transmitted through a medium to the eye (which is basic knowledge for modern theories). The only way vision can occur, is when a medium is in between the eye and an object. If you put an object in front of your eyes, you most likely won’t be able to see it (or slightly see it) due to there not being a medium in between the eye and object. What is this medium? Aristotle believes that this medium must be transparent, so we can see through it and see the object. Color lies on the object and allows motion to the transparent medium. This allows light to be transmitted to your eye. Vision occurs when color and medium interact with each other. Aristotle was also interested by the anatomy of the eye. He concluded, after cutting eyes of animals that the eye consists of three coasts covering a humor. Euclid and Ptolemy Euclid theorized about the geometrical aspects of vision. Euclid came up with the emission theory, since it involved visual rays that derive from the eye. But unfortunately, he cannot explain why one can perceive things. However, he does describe the visual perspectives. Euclid’s optics theory is based on his seven posits. There are indefinite rays coming from the eyes The rays form a cone of which the vertex is located at the eye and the base is located at the limit of your vision. Things that fall on the cone becomes visible Objects seen at a larger angle appear larger Objects seen at a higher visual ray come out higher The further right an object is stricken by the visual ray, the more right the object is seen Objects seen under more angles are observed more clearly The first three rules help explain concepts of visual rays that comes from the eye like Plato theorized. Rules 4 – 6 explains how the size and position of an object is depended on the angle being observed. The last rule explains the clarity of an object; the further the object, the bigger the visual cone is. This causes less visual rays upon the object, causing a less clear image. One of the greatest followers of Euclid was Claudius Ptolemy. Ptolemy continued Euclid’s theory by adding psychological, physical and physiological to his theory. Ptolemy agreed with Euclid’s rules stating visual rays emerges from the eye is a shape of a cone. Ptolemy added that a visual ray has the same aspects as sunlight. The idea came from Plato’s teachings, which states that when both visual rays and sunlight hit, they will form a homogeneous body. Which means visual light must be a consistent body. Euclid mentioned that there are a medium in between the visual rays, which illustrates why someone cannot see clearly at certain times. Ptolemy disagreed with Euclid on that statement; Ptolemy stated that there is only a single visual ray emerging in the shape of a cone. It will be impossible to see an entire object at one time. He also argues that rays only illustrated the geometry of sight, not reality itself, like Euclid seem to think. Ptolemy also brought bac k Aristotle’s theory of color. Ptolemy added that color produces a modification in the visual cone; Aristotle only explained that color cannot affect the visual cone. In Aristotle situation, it is the transparent medium without the existence of an external light. But sadly, most of Ptolemy work is unclear due to the loss of Ptolemy work. Ptolemy created two geometrical assumptions to Euclid’s theories. First, the clarity of an observed object with the visual cone might vary depending on its position. An object located placed over the main axis is recognized more clearly than an object located in the perimeter of the visual cone. Second, the pinnacle of the visual cone is situating directly at the center of the cornea. Galen Galen, a scientist from the Roman Empire, studied the structure of the eye. Galen would dissect monkeys and oxen to study their anatomy. Galen was able to psychological and physical elements for his theory from these experiments. Pneuma, an optical spirit, travels along the optic nerves connecting the eye and the brain. While in the eye, pneuma meets with air surrounding the eye and changed to match its nature. Because of this, the air converts into an instrument of soul, and becomes perceptive. Galan adapted this theory from the Stoics, Galen also has his own ideas; these entire pneuma take place in the crystalline lens located in the middle of the eye. As a result, the lens is the vital appliance of vision. Impaired vision leads him to this conclusion. The cause of impaired vision falls between the lens and cornea; if removed, you are able to see again. Galen was able to almost fully understand the knowledge of the eye structure from his studies. Galen was able to locate the lens o f an eye and mentioned the existence of the retina, which allowed pneuma to travel through nerved and allows the soul to interact with the images grabbed by the eye. The cornea’s purpose was to be a protective layer for the inner parts of the eye. Modern theorist Young – Helmholtz Thomas Young and H.V. Helmholtz developed the trichromatic theory of color. The theory is based on the observation of the mixing of colors and states that we can create new colors by just mixing the three primary colors; blue, red and yellow. Through many experiments, Helmholtz and Young found out that the vision of color relies on three receptors located in the retina. Each receptor has different spectral sensitivities to wavelengths. The three cones wavelengths are short, medium and long. Each having a specific wavelength and peaks of light absorption; â€Å"long (560nm), medium (530nm), and short (420nm)†. The tree receptors are stimulated by light at different degrees and patters which will result in the formation of a color. Which allows us to determine what color would form if the lights from different wavelengths are combined due to the reaction of each receptor. One of the main supporting evidence for Young – Helmholtz’s trichromatic theory was a color ma tching experiment. This experiment found that a wavelength in one filed is paired by altering the amount of three different wavelengths to one another.

Monday, August 19, 2019

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne Essay examples -- The Boy

A world in which old men can be degraded and abused, a world in which people wearing dirty, unwashed, striped uniforms are not seen as being oppressed, a world in which a starving boy of identical age yet vastly different physique is seen as simply being unfortunate - such a world cannot exist. Or can it? In the world of Bruno, this is precisely the way the world is. John Boyne's book "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas" invites the readers to embark on an imaginative journey at two levels. At the first level, Boyne himself embarks upon an imaginative journey that explores a possible scenario in relation to Auschwitz. Bruno is a 9 year old boy growing up in a loving, but typically authoritarian German family in the 1930?s. His father is a senior military officer who is appointed Commandant of Auschwitz ? a promotion that requires upheaval from their comfortable home in Berlin to an austere home in the Polish countryside. The story explores Bruno?s difficulty in accepting and adapting to this change - especially the loss of his friends and grandparents. Boyne gives personality and family to the sort of person who today is generally demonised by western writings - the people who administered and controlled the death camps in which over 6 million Jews, Gypsies, homosexuals, and other deemed to be grossly inferior by Hitler and his cohorts. In so doing he encourages us to see a different world ? a world in which obedience is paramount and in which authority figures can never be questioned. He shows us the problem that surfaces when people who are trained to be obedient are confronted with orders that, if analysed and considered, can be clearly seen to be an affront to all human values and decency. People can happily obey ?The Fury? ... ... will inevitably become subsumed by the terrible process. Bruno's imaginative journey is a flight from reality. It is a classic example of the psychological "fight or flight" syndrome experienced by all animals (including humans) when they are confronted by something of which they are unsure or afraid - something which challenges their current reality. What Boyne does in this story is to use Bruno to show how either approach can be totally destructive: the critical lesson is that we must acknowledge reality and do what we can to remove the fences that would destroy not only ?us? but our entire world. All imaginative journeys lead to a revelation - both Bruno and the readers will come to realize that their imaginative journeys have transformed them and affected them in indescribable ways and we, the readers come to a realization as well about what is happening.

Gender Roles in Classical Greece Essay examples -- Term Papers Researc

Gender Roles in Classical Greece Missing Works Cited In Classical Greece, roles played by males and females in society were well-defined as well as very distinct from each other. Expectations to uphold these societal norms were strong, as a breakdown within the system could destroy the success of the oikos (the household) and the male’s reputation—two of the most important facets of Athenian life. The key to a thriving oikos and an unblemished reputation was a good wife who would efficiently and profitably run the household. It was the male’s role, however, to ensure excellent household management by molding a young woman into a good wife. Women were expected to enter the marriage as a symbolically empty vessel; in other words, a naà ¯ve, uneducated virgin of about 15 years who could be easily shaped by a husband twice her age. Through the instruction of her husband, the empty vessel would be filled with the necessary information to become a good wife who would maintain an orderly household and her husbandâ⠂¬â„¢s reputation, thereby fulfilling the Athenian female gender role for citizen women. In order for a young woman to be marriageable—unadulterated, inexperienced, and unknowing—she had to have been raised in an extremely sheltered environment, given little contact with the world beyond her father’s household. In Xenophon’s Oeconomicus, the husband, Ischomachos describes his new wife to Socrates: How Socrates . . . could she have known anything when I took her, since she came to me when she was not yet fifteen, and had lived previously under diligent supervision in order that she might see and hear as little as possible and ask the fewest possible questions (Oeconom... ...imately men were in command in all situations: Ischomachos’s wife says, â€Å"For my guarding and distribution of the indoor things would look somewhat ridiculous, I suppose, if it weren’t your concern to bring in something from outside (Oeconomicus, VII 39).† This suggests that even though the wife was the indoor household manager, she was still obeying her husband’s orders that were the driving force of her own agency within the oikos. Making the transition from living a naà ¯ve existence under the protection of the father to presiding over the oikos under the supervision of the husband was the essential social norm for youthful citizen Athenian women. It is unsurprising, then, that in a patriarchal society, the young female could only fulfill her societal role as manager of the oikos when her assumed empty vessel was filled by her husband with the proper knowledge.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Archetypes In Raising Arizona :: essays research papers

Raising Arizona   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the movie â€Å"Raising Arizona† a lot of Archetypes (a pattern consisting on literary elements found in all literature regards) are used throughout. Ethan and Joel Coen turned a serious subject like kidnapping, into a hysterical comedy. The use of archetypes are strong, the movie is basically one big archetype. The uses are archetypes are found within the language, plot, and character. When looking at the different archetypes they all seemed to fall under the category of characters. The three characters that are the strongest points of archetypes are Linard Smalls, Nathan Arizona, and H.I. McDonnough.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Linard Smalls has a rough edge to him. He is the evil guy of the story, or the biker â€Å"of the apocalypse.† The outfit he wears is tired and worn. It contains furs and leathers off all sorts of animals, and a hawk skull is worn around his neck. Along with the worn outfit he wears a layer of caked on dirt and debris that tell of where he has been. In introducing himself to Nathan Arizona he calls himself â€Å"a man hunter, or tracker of sorts. Some say even part hound dog.† â€Å"When some dink breaks out of the joint or skips bail I’m the one they call.† This evil bad guy is willing to turn good for a small price of fifty-thousand dollars. If Nathan Arizona wont pay, someone in the black market will. in the end Linard is killed by one of his own grenades. He lead to his own death.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Nathan (Huffhinds) Arizona is a funny character. Even while his son is missing â€Å"business is as usual at Unfinished Arizona.† While he is being interviewed in the beginning he isn’t even sure of which of his children where taken. When asked which child was taken his responds was â€Å"Nathan Jr. I think.† All through the movie it seems that all Nathan is concerned about is his business. When Linard offers to help he refuses his help and threatens him with the cops.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  H.I. McDonnough has the most going on. he is bad gone good, and then gone good to gone bad again. We start off in the beginning with his introducing himself. He is â€Å"a repeat offender† of the law. he robs convenient stores and somehow always manages to let himself be caught. When he is brought to jail he finds â€Å"a pretty desert flower† Ed (Edwina). The bad guy, H.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Ethical Issues in the Work Place

Latoya J Week 2 1/18/2012 Discussion 1 Analyze your current work (or School) environment through the lens of the content in Chapter 2 and determine the most significant ethical issue and its impact on overall productivity and moral. Explain your rationale. ? Although I have only been working at Saint Joseph’s University as temporary administrative assistant for a few short months, I have noticed one major discrepancy involving the registrars department of the university. The most significant ethical issue suffered by this particular department involves Lawrence Kohlberg’s social contract stage within the stages of moral development. Kohlberg states that in the social contract stage although employees understand that there are rules and regulations they must follow in the work place, sometimes employees will break those rules to satisfy ones’ own wants and needs. (Hellriegel, Slocum, 2010) In Saint Joseph’s University’s registrar’s office I constantly see employees take off days just to get rest knowing there is a lot of work to be done. This current week in particular one of the receptionist took the week off to have a week relaxation in their hometown. Unfortunately, this individual choose the most important week of the semester, the first week of a new semester. During this week students are not only visiting the registrar’s office with questions regarding things like classroom locations, teacher confirmations, registration errors and alterations, transcript requests, and graduation applications, they are also contacting us via telephone. Since there are only two receptionist her and myself, I was left to manage a lot of the traffic on my own. There is one other front office employee that orks in the registrar’s office who is not an assistant registrar so she was there to lend a helping hand at times, but she too has her own work to finish. Due to the absence of the other receptionist, the office was behind on completely transcripts in a timely manner that we received online through the National Clearinghouse. On Wednesday, January 18, 2012 we had a total of 40 missed calls accompanied by voicemails because the other phone line went unanswered during times when I was either with another student, on another call I could not put on hold, or the other front office employee was not able to answer it. This caused a bit of stress within myself and the others within the office. Students were coming in so fast I was unable to appoint them to the correct assistant registrar to help them solve some of their questions because their offices were also over loaded with students, or faculty in need of classroom assignment alterations. Although I tried my best to help everyone, those individuals who needs were not met because we were shorthanded could possibly view the office as being unorganized as whole, or unprepared. The registrar’s office need to enforce the importance of attendance at work, especially during the extremely busy times of the year. When one is slacks off on their job by being absent when their presence counts the most it makes it creates a ripple in the organization. In this particular case calls were left unanswered, students were forced to either come back to the office at a later time or leave their information in hopes of being contacted at a later time, and transcripts were not sent out as quickly as they normally are.

Friday, August 16, 2019

Barney: Responding Essay

1. Between the journal entries from September 10th and 11th, the rat has trapped the scientist by biting the rope while he was in the well, so he is either dead or alive at the bottom of the well. 2. Tayloe was fired because of poison trails leading up to Barney’s dish, and in the scientist’s point of view, Tayloe tried to kill the rat because he thought he was getting too smart. The scientist rationalized on this thinking that this was under the influence of alcohol, that the life on the island was too much for him, and that he lost his guinea pigs. 3. The real cause for the dismissal was because the rat tricked the scientist into firing him, by placing poison trails leading up to his dish. Barney needed to get rid of Tayloe for two reasons. The first is Tayloe said Barney was getting too smart, so he was worried he would try and kill him. The second is that Barney was already plotting to kill the scientist, and it would be much easier to do so with Tayloe gone. Foreshadowing of the surprise ending was â€Å"He denied it. Who else then? †This would make you think of who would have actually tried to poison Barney of the two of them, even though it was neither. 4. One sample of irony in the second last paragraph is â€Å"I have now replaced that section or rope and arranged some old sacking beneath it to prevent recurrence of the accident. † This is ironic because the scientist believed the rope was weathering because of the edge of the masonry, and in trying to fix the problem, he arranged sacking underneath the rope. But this will do no good, as the rat was biting the rope, and later gets him trapped in the well with the same strategy. In the same paragraph, another sample of irony is â€Å"Perhaps I should fix myself a sandwich as I may be down there longer than seems likely at the moment. † This is ironic because the scientist thinks he will be in the well longer than he hopes. But little does he know, he will be down there for the rest of his short life. In the final paragraph, third sample of irony is â€Å"I sprayned my wrist is why this is written so bad. †This is very ironic because this is the rat pretending to be the scientist so that nothing is fishy. But a sprained wrist doesn’t affect spelling, may just slur a few words. 5. ? 6. The story is written in journal form because it has to have time between each paragraph. For example, there has to be a gap between the second last and last journal entry, for the point of view to change (scientist to rat). 7. Well, the reultz of my experimentt argh complete. The ratt turned very very smart. The end.

Thursday, August 15, 2019

Orem’s Theory and Family Health Nursing Essay

In the presentation of a theoretical discussion on the concept of self care with particular considerations for family nursing practice, the concept of self-care is mainly known in Orem’s Self-Care Deficit Theory of nursing. Orem’s theory views the individual as a self-care agent with unique needs which will affect family health thereby providing support that health education and evaluation is the main role of nurses (Cody, 2006:308). Nurses according to Cody believes that family models complement the nursing models to provide a more holistic and comprehensive perspective of clients and their concerns (2006:308). Orem’s theory has therefore a clinical applicability at home in the growing demand for home-based health nursing services. The theory has provided that practice will be grounded in evidence–based clinical knowledge and skills within the framework of family, home and community concepts (Orem, 2001:2). Likewise, as self–care has been introduced and incorporated into the practice of community health a provision has included the provision of care to families and other healthcare givers while giving utmost concern to the individual needs of patients and clients. Ali analyzed distinct models presented in 1990 which included Orem’s theory and decided that Orem’s self-care theory should encourage nurses to anticipate the potential problems which include family circumstances in family health planning from which a care plan can be derived (Dolan and Holt, 2000:4). Such findings catapulted into evolution the support for Orem’s theory in the actual process of providing care for the patient and his family and the provision of a health continuum for everyone. Orem’s theory can be used to categorize, understand, predict and alter behavior of both sick and well individuals that is therapeutic in maintaining life and health and in the recovery from disease or injury, or in coping with their effects (Orem, 2001: 82). This presupposes that there is no limit on the provision of care while validating all perceptions that the family is included in the paradigm of care to promote self-care abilities of the patient. We cannot discount the involvement of the family that entirely affects the health status of the individual. A particular example in this case would point to a hospitalized vehicular accident patient where after hospital treatment and rehabilitation is ordered to complete his recovery at home. Completing the period of recovery at home necessitates his re-entry to his normal way of life prior to the accident. The family is therefore enhanced to effectively encourage the patient to attend to his self-care needs while staying on the sidelines yet supportively providing positive encouragement for the patient’s complete recovery. The effective role of nurses is providing family education for the benefit of adjustment to the temporary family role changes. Nurses at the same time bring to light the family models to compensate Orem’s nursing model and provide a more holistic approach to clients and their concerns (Cody, 2006: 308). In this time of cost containment, nurses in a given health care setting cannot lock horns with the Medicare illness models of home care that totally focuses on the individual patient alone (Harris, 2004: 131). Maintaining health is a priority and an ethical requirement for nurses that include the family particularly in home-based care provision, where the absence of one deems the effort â€Å"moot and academic†. The applicability of Orem’s theory in family health is therefore enhanced as community based nursing practice seeks to resolve the responsibility of the patient and family to be included in the nursing care plan (Harris, 2004:132). In the triage system, a problem-oriented approach encompasses assessment levels and Orem’s model can provide a framework for organized family nursing assessment, planning, intervention and evaluation (Dolan and Holt, 2000: 4). Using Orem’s model while negotiating a holistic approach where the family plays an important role is likewise seen in the above example where the family effectively participates in the planning of actions to help the patient effectively cope with his recovery while his self-integrity is maintained or even enhanced. The nurse must therefore include in her assessment the family’s perceptions toward the illness of a family member which is vital in the setting of goals as a means of promoting self-care to the ailing family member. This will pose as a challenge to the nurse as family members individual ideas may vary relative to the patient’s condition. It cannot be ignored that older members of the family may feel overly protected to the patient because of the existing relationship. This challenge can be overcome by the nurse as she effectively provides a choice of promoting Orem’s theory that each family member will comfortably take part with a concise goal of promoting human integrity of structure and functioning (Orem, 2001:522). Likewise, the individual needs of family members should also be looked into as the practice of activities are initiated and performed for the sick member to maintain life and health while promoting a sense of well-being for everyone (Orem, 2001: 43). The family thus plays an important and essential role for the individual patient, whether sick or well which thereby boosts the importance of Orem’s theory in the family health nursing practice. As a helping art for holistic care, family circumstances in family health planning should therefore be included as the derivatives in the formation of a care plan. The individual concepts of each family member will help identify goals while entertaining individual or group limitations that will affect in the implementation and evaluation. A family model is selected for use after the nurse gathers preliminary data about the family and identifies its unique and common patterns (Cody, 2006:308). As an example, Cody cited that a nurse can use Orem’s theory for a 9 year old child affected with ear infection and the mother’s treatment of the child while asserting that other family models will complement Orem’s model to enhance understanding of the family’s structure and functions (2006:308). Orem’s theory therefore provides a common language that enhance improved communication and consistency in the delivery of care while proposing that nurses play a key role in the achievement of self-care for which sophisticated communication skills, teaching skills and specialized knowledge and an awareness of the multiple factors affect the provision of care and enhances the role of the family in the value of health for everyone.

Wednesday, August 14, 2019

The Great Barrier Reef Environmental Sciences Essay

When one speaks of the Great Barrier Reef, they tell of the most celebrated and largest coral reef in the universe. This eye-popping universe of works and carnal life is difficult to grok and is fantastic to see. The wide and shallow Continental shelf of northeasterly Australia provides an ideal base for growing. This reef is a aggregation of 280 barrier reefs, 300 coral keies and stone islands stretching for 1,250 stat mis along the seashore of Queensland, Australia and 160 stat mis offshore. It covers 135,000 square stat mi or approximately merely a small larger than the size of New Mexico. It is inhabited by 1000000s of unusual animals. A individual coral wall holds a broader representation of life than an full continent. It has solid rock that grows upward like a palace or sideways like a Fringilla montifringilla coppice making crevasses that look like mini-grand canons. There are 2000 different types of fish in great battalions of vivacious tropical colourss and angle that do n' t even look like fish. The stone is really coral that comes in all colourss, signifier, and gestures – plume dust storm and Christmas tree coral in ruddy, navy, and pink ; domes of encephalon coral that truly look like encephalons, plate coral that look like elephantine battercakes and staghorn coral that look like they should be on top of a cervid ‘s caput. There is black, pink and ruddy coral that is used in jewellery devising. In fact, there are about 350 different coral types. Coral may look to be lovely workss but they are animate beings – bantam rapacious animate beings. Even though they can non travel, they reproduce, communicate and grow. They begin life as unattached pinpoints called planulae. This pinpoint finds a good foundation, go for good affiliated and develops into a mature polyp. This polyp is merely a heavy tubing with a oral cavity at the top with a circle of tentacles. Despite the simpleness of this design, the coral polyp has persisted for over 400 million old ages. The ground for this success is its place – expression closely and you will see bantam small pores. Each pore is home to a polyp. This place is nil more than limestone that they have created themselves. The polyp takes Ca and carbonate from the saltwater and deposits it about them until they have a snug place. This secreting of limestone continues throughout their life and is deposited at the base of the place so that that the polyp is ever on top. As their place grows, the polyp splits into two, so four, and so eight with uninterrupted dividing until one person has become a settlement. As the size of the settlement grows it becomes a reef that contains 100s of 1000s of settlements with one million millions of polyps, all bound together by their limestone. Corals are invariably looking for more room and finally one type of coral with overtake another type of coral. When this occurs, the also-ran dies and their limestone place becomes the foundation for extra places of the winning coral. This changeless growing, decay and re-growth repetition infinitely as it has for the past 400 million old ages and hopefully for the following 400 million old ages. The Great Barrier Reef appears to be a flower garden with â€Å" petals † blowing in the â€Å" zephyr † of the ocean ‘s currents. The petals are really the tentacles that sit atop the settlement like bantam flowers. This â€Å" flower garden † is lead oning ; it is a deathly web of hold oning fingers coated with glue-like mucous secretion that traps plankton. The fingers of the polyp have tiny un-seeable stinging cells that stupefying its quarry. Then the fingers pass their gimmick from one to another until making the polyp ‘s oral cavity. Some big polyps are so powerful that they can trap little fish. Through a web of nervousnesss, each polyp, communicates with other settlement members. Touch a coral polyp and it will abjure into its rock place. Tap it harder and the full settlement may retreat. Large lone corals can even work together to upright itself if turned upside down during a storm. The tentacles will delve a hole in the sand until the coral Begins to lean ; so go on delving until it uprights itself. How does the polyp know which side should delve and which side should non delve ; is an unbelievable enigma. In order to maintain it self clean and from being buried, the settlement will clean it self by traveling the bantam cilia that cover their organic structures in concert causation deposit and sand to be moved the borders of the settlement. The coral besides secretes a thick bed of mucous secretion that traps soil and so is sloughed off in big sheets. This cleansing maneuver is besides good to other reef occupants as an extra protein rich nutrient beginning. The coral polyps and their places are merely the beginning of the Great Barrier Reef. There are eccentric oddnesss at each crevice and nook. Lionfish with their â€Å" mane † , butterfly fish, clownfish, barracudas, pediculosis pubiss, runt, sharks ; the list can travel on and on. The reef attracts 100s of species of animate beings to feed, engender, and slumber. Sea urchins walk on the tips of their spinal columns beckoning their other spinal columns like a unsighted adult male walking down the street with a cane. In fact, urchins do non hold eyes. The rainbow parrotfish eats the coral reef and passes the limestone out as white sand, which becomes the environing beaches. These eatened countries become places for sponges, worms and molluscs and destructive forces such as bore bits and parasites. The destructive forces create more holes and shortly the reef has become a elephantine piece of Swiss cheese with spreads and tunnels supplying legion mini-ecosystems and concealing topographic points for fish, moray eels, lobsters and sea stars. Some of the more interesting animate beings are the immense, spiked, poison-tipped sea star called the crown-of-thorns sea star, which eats unrecorded coral polyps, the dunce shark, beams, the elephantine clam, sea serpents and sea polo-necks. Despite all attempts by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, there are legion species that are on the endangered list – which include sea polo-necks, kyphosis giants, Triton Trumpet Shell and the Banded Sea Snake. Marine polo-necks are the earliest seamans of the oceans. They foremost emerged during the dinosaur age and have been swimming in the sea of all time since. Female polo-necks still climb the sandy beaches to put their eggs as their female parent ‘s did more than 150 million old ages ago. Turtlenecks have changed small since that dinosaur age – they still live their full life in the H2O except to put their eggs. Six of the universe ‘s seven species of marine polo-neck live in the Waterss within the Great Barrier Reef. Some species such as the dunce and green polo-neck are seen often, while others such as the Olive Ridley and leathery turtle are rarely seen. The most endangered is the level back sea polo-neck. The causes for hazard are: they lay fewer eggs than other polo-necks, marauders of foxes, warrigals and the Australian Monitor Lizard and vanishing nesting sites. Humpback whales come from the South-polar Waterss to the Great Barrier Reef from May to September to break up and to construct up strength over the winter before they return to the Antarctic in summer. The Great Barrier Reef is the baby's room for the kyphosis giant. Female kyphosis giants give birth to a calf that is 10 to 15 pess long at birth and weigh around 2,000 lbs. The female is pregnant for 12 months and so nurses her calf for another twelvemonth. She can give birth to a babe calf about one time every three old ages. Merely between 30,000 and 40,000 kyphosis giants remain in the universe. This is about one-third the Numberss of kyphosis giants that originally roamed the oceans. Hunting is non the lone ground that the kyphosis giant is endangered. The devastation of their home ground has contributes to their disappearing. For illustration, the giants feed on krill and logging is killing krill. Loging creates overflow of deposit and nitrates into the ocean. The Triton Sea Shell snail is now a rare discovery in the Great Barrier Reef and the Pacific Ocean. They are found at the deepness of 15 – 60 pess in the coral home ground. This snail is really of import to the reef ; it preys on the Crown of Thorns sea star which eats the reef ‘s coral. After turn uping its quarry, the cornet snail paralyses the sea star with an injection of paralytic salivary juices, and so drills through the sea star ‘s skeleton with dentitions to feed on the soft tissue indoors. The Triton Sea Shell is really rare because of the beauty and size of its shell and it is wanted by serious shell aggregators everyplace. Sea serpents occur in the tropical Waterss of the Great Barrier Reef. They inhabit shallow Waterss along seashores and around islands, river oral cavities, and can go up into rivers up to more than 100 stat mis from the sea. This snake provenders on fish, fish eggs, and crustaceans and molluscs. The Banded Sea Snake is egg-laying and is highly deadly. The Banded Sea Snake still must come up to breath air and has smooth scaly organic structures like land serpents. What makes the sea snake an first-class swimmer and frogman is their vertically flattened paddle-like tail. Sea serpents are exploited for their tegument, variety meats, and meat. The impact of this development on the Banded Sea Snake is difficult to find due to the deficiency of monitoring of commercial piscaries. Why is the Great Barrier Reef of import to worlds? The reef is called the rain forest of the ocean due to its biologically diverse ecosystems. It is 2nd merely to tropical rain woods in the figure of species it harbors. Although the Great Barrier reef merely occupy 20 % of the oceans coral reefs ( an country approximately the size of North Carolina ) , it is home to about one one-fourth of the planet ‘s aquatic species. Coral reefs offer of import income beginnings for their human neighbours through touristry and fishing, which provide both subsistence and trade. Recently, scientists have begun to detect that coral communities may incorporate valuable medical specialties that may one twenty-four hours take to interventions for malignant neoplastic disease and HIV. For coastal communities, the reef besides plays an of import function in protecting their coastlines from storms. I have spoken of how fantastic and of import the Great Barrier Reef is ; but, the reef is among the most susceptible to human impacts and is being damaged and destroyed with dismaying easiness. Practices such as over-fishing, the usage of dynamite or toxicant to capture fish and dropping boat ground tackles on corals has produced tremendous harm. Even an inadvertent touch from frogmans and snorkelers can significantly damage the delicate coral polyps. Pollution, silting from land-based building, and fertiliser overflow have led to damage to coral reefs worldwide by barricading the sunlight corals require for photosynthesis by their symbiotic algae. Rising sea temperatures from planetary heating can besides destruct corals. However, when a coral reef has been damaged from human effects, it may hold a more hard clip retrieving from natural catastrophes. Due to the reef ‘s sensitiveness to really little temperature lifts and to alterations in ocean acidification, the Great Barrier Reef is watched to supervise clime alterations. Australia ‘s most well-known Marine and environmental scientists say to be able to deliver the Earth ‘s coral reefs from widespread harm caused by adult male, the industrialised states will necessitate to cut planetary heating, C emanations and ocean acidification by 25 per centum by 2020 and by 80 to 90 by 2050. Coral decease and decoloring due to thermic injuries involved over 50 per centum of the Great Barrier Reef in 1998 and 2002, when the summer maximal H2O temperatures were increased by merely one to two grades centigrade. Bleaching is a mark of emphasis. Corals appear bleached when they expel the bantam workss that normally live in their tissues. High H2O temperatures and other environmental conditions stress corals and can do them to decolor ; but, they can last if the H2O temperature does n't remain elevated for an drawn-out period of clip. The reef experienced bleaching in 1998 and had n't recovered before decoloring occurred once more in 2002. The 2002 bleaching is the worst episode on record with harm to both on-shore and off-shore reefs. Airplanes were used the position the Great Barrier Reef bleaching and they discovered that about 60 per centum of the Marine park reef was heat-stressed. Fortunately, the harm by decoloring has non caused widespread decease of the coral. We mere ly need to look at other reefs around the universe to acquire a clear warning as to what happens when the temperature spikes becomes more legion and acute. Ocean acidification is speed uping and has already earnestly affected the growing and strength of corals on the Great Barrier Reef. Ocean acidification will impact all marine beings and this will upset the ecology of the universe ‘s oceans making a socio-economic influence on piscaries and other pelagic concerns. What sort of impact will the diminution of the Great Barrier Reef hold? The Australian economic system benefits significantly from the Great Barrier Reef ; it generates about $ 5.4 billion dollars every twelvemonth. The touristry industry produces $ 5.1 billion, recreational involvements make $ 153 million and commercial fishing turns out $ 139 million. The coral reef has already seen better yearss despite good direction by the Marine park. Loss of coral protections reduces biodiversity, finally upseting touristry, fishing and coastal protection. â€Å" We ‘ve seen the grounds with our ain eyes. Climate alteration is already impacting the Great Barrier Reef, † says Professor Terry Hughes of the James Cook University located in Queensland. What is being done to protect and continue the Great Barrier Reef? Because of its alone national and international significance, the Great Barrier Reef is listed under the World Heritage Convention. It meets all four of the natural heritage standards: biological diverseness, aesthetics and natural beauty, ecological and biological procedures, and geological admiration. To guarantee that the biological diverseness and construction of the Great Barrier Reef are maintained, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park has started a class that will enlarge the country and figure of â€Å" no-take † Marine safeties. The no-take zones will hold representation from all bioregions that are recognized in the park. Monitoring is important to track alterations, such as eruptions of crown-of-thorns sea star, locate coral bleaching, or diminutions in the position of inshore reefs. Keeping an oculus on H2O quality is done by supervising the H2O quality in the rivers that flow to the Great Barrier Ree f. Education is raising reef consciousness and taking to improved patterns in the agriculture – cane and banana husbandmans are modifying their usage of fertiliser to minimise run-off loss. The pattern of green cultivated land of harvests and rubbish blanketing ( go forthing the rubbish on the land as compost and non firing harvests ) is increasing, which reduces deposit and alimentary loss. The Great Barrier Reef is an astonishing portion of this universe and its disappearing would be a great loss to adult male and nature.