santiago nasar el muerte essays

santiago nasar el muerte expositions Crnica de una muerte anunciada Gabriel Garcia Mrquez naci el 6 de marzo de 1928 en Colombia, hijo de Gabriel Eligio Garcia, uno de 16 hijos. Cuando l period nis Mrquez Iguarn y Tranquilina Iguarn Corts. Despus de terminar la secundaria empez an escribir una novela La casa. Fue a Cartagena Bogot para estudiar los Derechos y Ciencias Polã ­ticas de la Universidad Nacional de Publica. Pero el dejo su estudias del derecho y empez en el periodismo. Sus ideales izquierdistas le causo problemas con el dictador Laureano Gmez y el general Gustavo Rojas Pinilla, los problemas que tuvieron puso en el exilio a Mxico y Espaxico cuando estuvo en exilio. William Faulkner, el escritor norteamericano, fue usado por su ingenio como inspiracin de Gabriel Garcia Mrquez. En 1982 l recibi el Nobel de Literatura y fue permitido a regresar a su paã ­s, perdonado por el gobierno colombiana. Los obras de Gabriel Garcia Mrquez child; La hojarasca (1955), El coronel no tiene quien le escriba(1961), La mala hora(1962), Los funerales de la M am Grande(1962), Cien andida Erndira y su abuela desalmada(1972), Cuando time feliz e indocumentado(1973), El oton Carlota(1977), Crnica de una muerte anunciada(1981) El olor de la guayaba(1982), El love en los tiempos del clera(1985), El general en su labertino(1989), Doce cuentos peregrinos(1992), Del love y otros demonios(1994), Noticia de un secuestro(1996. Crnica de una muerte anunciada el lo que vamos a tratar. Esta tale... <!

Marketing Plan For Persil Cleaner Planet Plan Marketing Essay

Showcasing Plan For Persil Cleaner Planet Plan Marketing Essay With the ongoing new activity of the Persil Cleaner Planet Plan being chief in the organizations mind http://www.persil.com/CleanerPlanet.aspx the fundamental destinations of the arrangement are to be the point of convergence of this promoting plan. The advancement of another item which is earth well disposed, kind on skin, yet intense on stains will empower the accomplishment of these goals. With the constant presentation of re-usable nappy plans all through the world it tends to be seen that there is a potential market for an item that can address the issues of purchasers. So as to diminish the carbon impression using re-usable nappies an item must be presented that can wash at low temperatures. Past research has demonstrated that so as to profit by the utilization of re-usable nappies contrasted with dispensable ones certain variables must be considered when washing for example low temperature, full burden and so on. The principle motivation behind this new item will be the washing of re-usable nappies and garments at as lower calm as could be expected under the circumstances. To guarantee accomplishment in accomplishing the destinations explicit promoting techniques will be utilized in the advertising plan process these are division, focusing on and the showcasing blend, all of which will build up the items potential. Cleaner Planet Plan Strategies Division To set up the objective market for the new item the utilization of segment division will be received. This will empower the organization to arrive at explicit buyers and help to comprehend their requirements. A variable of segment division to consider is Generation X as they could end up being a potential objective market for the item, in spite of the fact that getting the message across to them will be troublesome and should be done by means of verbal. Focusing on The item is to be for the most part focused on unexperienced parents; the ongoing time of increased birth rates will make huge chances, while additionally focusing on existing customers who care about the earth and the effect of a dangerous atmospheric devation. With the underlying utilization of infiltration estimating the new item will be available to those buyers who wish to transform from their present image to an all the more ecologically cordial one and will pull in guardians excited about utilizing re-usable nappies yet worried about the underlying cost, as this can frequently be very costly. Showcasing blend 4Ps The four systems of the showcasing blend will be utilized to arrive at the organizations destinations. Item In utilizing the idea of advantage building figure 1(LearnMarketing.net, 2009) as conceived by Philip Kotler the organization can start to get a general image of the item and its advantages. Figure 1 http://www.learnmarketing.net/totalproduct1.jpg The new item is to be named Persil Nature, an ecologically neighborly, non-organic, hypo-allergenic washing powder with included Aloe Vera. It is to be produced using plant and mineral based fixings that are biodegradable. Persil Natures center capacity is to empower the washing of re-usable nappies and garments at a temperature of 15c or better still virus water. It will be bundled in a biodegradable cardboard box with a draw out pouring spout. Inclination is to be given to cardboard as contradict to plastic as the open doors for reusing from home are far more noteworthy. It will be accessible in pack sizes of 850g, 2.38kg and 4.25kg. The naming will have the commonplace Persil marking and will show a top tips area with counsel on the most ideal methods of washing, drying and so forth to additionally advance the ecological issues. There will likewise be data to guide customers to the companys Cleaner Planet Plan site. It will return with a cash ensure if buyers are not so much happy with the item. Cost The infiltration evaluating technique will be utilized to urge buyers to utilize the item. A starting cost will be utilized in the initial not many long stretches of the starting of the new item. This underlying cost will be in accordance with other organic items in the organizations run. The cost will at that point be expanded in accordance with other comparable items available, with uncommon consideration been paid to the organizations close contenders. Table 1 beneath shows the initial and expanded costs for each pack size: Table 1 Pack size Starting cost Expanded cost 850g  £3.49  £4.49 2.38kg  £6.99  £7.99 4.25kg  £10.99  £11.99 The cost will continually be evaluated so as to accomplish the most extreme capability of the item and systems set up where significant. Advancement A wide assortment of promoting efforts will be embraced to arrive at the objective market. The utilization of TV, radio and the web will assist with elevating the item to a more extensive crowd. Notices will be put in papers and magazines and special flyers will likewise be utilized. The organization will work in association with neighborhood chambers, medical clinics; through maternity specialists and nurseries to advance re-usable nappy plans and furthermore the new item. Organization will likewise occur with re-usable nappy organizations, with cash off coupons being set on nappy items and the other way around. Spot The item should be in the correct spot at the perfect time. This procedure should be painstakingly arranged as awful planning can significantly affect whether another item succeeds or flops in the realm of quick moving shopper merchandise. Circulation will be made through retailers as there is a solid market nearness as of now there and they can have a progressively close to home relationship with shoppers.

Genetic and Environmental Influences on Intelligence

Genetic and Environmental Influences on Intelligence Theories Cognitive Psychology Print Genetic and Environmental Influences on Intelligence By Kendra Cherry facebook twitter Kendra Cherry, MS, is an author, educational consultant, and speaker focused on helping students learn about psychology. Learn about our editorial policy Kendra Cherry Updated on October 07, 2019 Michael H / Digital Vision / Getty Images More in Theories Cognitive Psychology Behavioral Psychology Developmental Psychology Personality Psychology Social Psychology Biological Psychology Psychosocial Psychology What role do genetic and environmental influences play in determining intelligence? This question has been one of the most controversial topics throughout the history of psychology and remains a hot topic of debate to this day. In addition to disagreements about the basic nature of intelligence, psychologists have spent a great amount of time and energy debating the various influences on individual intelligence. The debate focuses on one of the major questions in psychology: Which is more importantâ€"nature or nurture? Do Genetics or Intelligence Play a Bigger Role in Determining Intelligence? Today, psychologists recognize that both genetics and the environment play a role in determining intelligence. It now becomes a matter of determining exactly how much of an influence each factor has. Twin studies suggest that between 40 and 80% of the variance in IQ is linked to genetics. This research suggests that genetics may play a larger role than environmental factors in determining individual IQ. One important thing to note about the genetics of intelligence is that it is not controlled by a single intelligence gene. Instead, it is the result of complex interactions between many genes. Next, it is important to note that genetics and the environment interact to determine exactly how inherited genes are expressed. For example, if a person has tall parents, it is likely that the individual will also grow to be tall. However, the exact height the person reaches can be influenced by environmental factors such as nutrition and disease. A child may be born with genes for brightness, but if that child grows up in a deprived environment where he is malnourished and lacks access to educational opportunities, he may not score well on measures of IQ. Evidence of Genetic Influences on Intelligence Twin studies suggest that identical twins IQs are more similar than those of fraternal twins (Plomin Spinath, 2004).Siblings reared together in the same home have IQs that are more similar than those of adopted children raised together in the same environment (McGue others, 1993). In addition to inherited characteristics, other biological factors such as maternal age, prenatal exposure to harmful substances, and prenatal malnutrition may also influence intelligence. Evidence of Environmental Influences on Intelligence Identical twins reared apart have IQs that are less similar than identical twins reared in the same environment (McGue others, 1993).School attendance has an impact on IQ scores (Ceci, 2001).Children who are breastfed during the first three to five months of life score higher on IQ tests at age 6 than same-age children who were not breastfed (Kramer others, 2008). So what are some of the environmental influences that can account for variances in intelligence? Factors such as family, education, enriched social environments, and peer groups have all been linked to differences in IQ. For example, studies have found that first-born children tend to have higher IQs than later-born siblings. Why? Many experts believe that this is because first-born children receive more attention from parents. Research also suggests that parents expect older children to perform better on a variety of tasks, whereas later-born siblings face lesser task-focused expectations. Is Your IQ Score Above Average?

List of All Elements Considered to Be Metals

Most elements are metals. This group includes the alkali metals, alkaline earth metals, transition metals, basic metals, lanthanides (rare earth elements), and actinides. Although separate on the periodic table, the lanthanides and actinides are really specific types of transition metals. Heres a list of all the elements on the periodic table that are metals. Alkali Metals The alkali metals are in group IA on the far left side of the periodic table. They are highly reactive elements, distinctive because of their 1 oxidation state and generally low density compared with other metals. Because they are so reactive, these elements are found in compounds. Only hydrogen is found free in nature as a pure element, and that is as diatomic hydrogen gas. Hydrogen in its metallic state (usually considered a nonmetal)​LithiumSodiumPotassiumRubidiumCesiumFrancium Alkaline Earth Metals The alkaline earth metals are found in group IIA of the periodic table, which is the second column of elements. All of the alkaline earth metal atoms have a 2 oxidation state. Like the alkali metals, these elements are found in compounds rather than pure form. The alkaline earths are reactive but less so than the alkali metals. Group IIA metals are hard and shiny and usually malleable and ductile. BerylliumMagnesiumCalciumStrontiumBariumRadium Basic Metals The basic metals display the characteristics people generally associate with the term metal. They conduct heat and electricity, have a metallic luster, and tend to be dense, malleable, and ductile. However, these elements start to display some nonmetallic characteristics. For example, one allotrope of tin behaves more as a nonmetal. While most metals are hard, lead and gallium are examples of elements that are soft. These elements tend to have lower melting and boiling points than the transition metals (with some exceptions). AluminumGalliumIndiumTinThalliumLeadBismuthNihonium: probably a basic metalFlerovium:  probably a basic metalMoscovium: probably a basic metalLivermorium: probably a basic metalTennessine: in the halogen group but may behave more like a metalloid or metal Transition Metals The transition metals are characterized by having partially filled d or f electron subshells. Since the shell is incompletely filled, these elements display multiple oxidation states and often produce colored complexes. Some transition metals occur in pure or native form, such as gold, copper, and silver. The lanthanides and actinides are found  only in compounds in nature. ScandiumTitaniumVanadiumChromiumManganeseIronCobaltNickelCopperZincYttriumZirconiumNiobiumMolybdenumTechnetiumRutheniumRhodiumPalladiumSilverCadmiumLanthanumHafniumTantalumTungstenRheniumOsmiumIridiumPlatinumGoldMercuryActiniumRutherfordiumDubniumSeaborgiumBohriumHassiumMeitneriumDarmstadtiumRoentgeniumCoperniciumCeriumPraseodymiumNeodymiumPromethiumSamariumEuropiumGadoliniumTerbiumDysprosiumHolmiumErbiumThuliumYtterbiumLutetiumThoriumProtactiniumUraniumNeptuniumPlutoniumAmericiumCuriumBerkeliumCaliforniumEinsteiniumFermiumMendeleviumNobeliumLawrencium More About Metals In general, metals are located on the left-hand side of the periodic table, decreasing in metallic character moving up and to the right. Depending on conditions, elements belonging to the metalloid group may behave like metals. In addition, even nonmetals may be metals. For example, in certain situations, you may find metallic oxygen or metallic carbon.

Causes Of The Civil War - 500 Words

Causes Of The Civil War Let me tell you what is coming. After the sacrifice of countless millions of treasure and hundreds of thousands of lives you may win Southern independence, but I doubt it. The North is determined to preserve this Union. They are not a fiery, impulsive people as you are, for they live in colder climates. But when they begin to move in a given direction, they move with the steady momentum and perseverance of a mighty avalanche, -Gov. Sam Houston-Texas (Speaking as Civil War becomes near). Economic Differences and Political differences are two of the things that were a cause of the Civil War. re many different causes of the Civil War, but the ones that had the biggest impact was Slavery, other political events/†¦show more content†¦This only helped widened the division between North and South. Over time, the abolitionists grew more blatant in their demands, and slave owners dug in, in response, which helped fuel regional tension that ultimately led to the American Civil War. T he reason the civil war started was because of the disagreement of slavery, and also the economical, and other political differences, between the North and the South. There were many different battles in the Civil War, where 620,000 people died. The number of people that died in this war is many more than any of the other wars. The weapons used in the Civil War played a big role by indicating the battles in the Civil War. The two armies in this war were the Union and The Confederate. The Union/ the North was against slavery and believed it was wrong. The Confederates/ the South was for slavery, because it was there way of life. The disagreements between their beliefs, and if it wasn’t for their disagreements then all of the people that died in this war would have lived. Slavery, other political differences, and economical differences between the North and South were a major cause of the Civil War. These things caused the division of the our country. The Civil War was the onl y hope for the fighting between the North and South and for our Country to become one nation once again. The last event that stopped the Civil War, was a meetingShow MoreRelatedThe Causes Of The Civil War1016 Words   |  5 Pages In 1861, a Civil War broke out in the United States when the South declared their independence from the Union.  There is a great amount of reasons that people can argue how the Civil War was started. However, what most people don’t understand, is that most of the events leading up to the Civil War were related to slavery.  Slavery was the core of the North and South’s conflict, which led to a very vicious feud.   The immediate cause of the war was slavery. Southern states, including the 11 statesRead MoreCauses of the Civil War951 Words   |  4 PagesCAUSE OF THE CIVIL WAR In 1860, the world s greatest nation was locked in Civil War. The war divided the country between the North and South. There were many factors that caused this war, but the main ones were the different interpretations of the Constitution by the North and South, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and the arrival of Lincoln in office. These factors were very crucial in the bringing upon of the destruction of the Union. They caused immediate war. In 1791, the tenth amendment wasRead MoreThe Causes Of The Civil War1409 Words   |  6 PagesThe causes of the Civil War were complex and have been controversial since the country began. Some causes include; states’ rights, economics, and slavery. The most recognizable and popular cause is slavery. The freeing of the slaves was an important moral issue at the time and one of the greatest causes of the civil war. It was only by carefully avoiding the moral issue involved in slavery that Northerners and Southerners could meet on any common ground. (Goldston, 79). The time came in which ourRead MoreThe Cause of the Civil War800 Words   |  4 Pages The Cause of the Civil War Generally, it is thought to be the South’s fault for causing the Civil War. Contrary to popular belief, the Civil War was mainly provoked by the North; through using the federal government to overtake the South, removing slavery which would destroy Southern economy, and creating the moral issue of slavery. The North was the primary reason for the start of a war that ripped our country apart. The North had full control over the federal government and used that to suppressRead MoreCivil War Causes1382 Words   |  6 Pages Causes of the Civil War John Brown’s Raid vs. Industrial Revolution John Brown’s Raid was a more influential cause to the civil war than the Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution caused incompability between the North and the South. The North relied on wage laborers with the new machine age economy while the South relied heavily on slaves. So, the North did not need slaves for their economyRead MoreCauses Of The Civil War1740 Words   |  7 PagesThe Civil War was not an event that erupted overnight or something that no one had seen coming. It was a result of long stemming conflicts. â€Å"The road to civil war was complex and multi-faceted† (Wells, 1). These conflicts kept creating a divide amongst the states in the nation. The divide finally became so great, that the United States split into the Confederacy (South) and the Union (North), and fighting erupted. â€Å" â€Å"The Civil War,† Randall Jimerson observes, â€Å"became a total war involving the entireRead MoreThe Causes Of The Civil War1238 Words   |à ‚  5 PagesGalindo Mr. Scheet AP U.S History 5 November 2017 Unit 4 Essay The initial causes of the Civil War have been previously discussed and analyzed by historians, but have remained one of the most controversial debates, due to its numerous causes that created the most devastating war in American history. The country had been avoiding the disputes that would later become the causes of the civil war for decades. The Mexican War is proof that the issue of slavery was put on hold by President James K. PolkRead MoreCause of the Civil War1296 Words   |  6 PagesHistory 11 12/17/2006 The root causes and precipitating events that led to the Civil War (1861-1865) The Civil War between northern and southern states was a consequence of contradictions of two social systems inside the country. At the basis of these contradictions was a question of slavery, completely determining economic and political interests of South. North strived to enforce Federal government power to protect their own economic stability. As a result the South wanted a separationRead MoreCauses of the Civil War1489 Words   |  6 PagesThe Causes Of The Civil War The Political War The North and South fought over politics, mainly the idea of slavery. Basically the South wanted and needed it and the North did not want it at all. The South was going to do anything they could to keep it. This was the issue that overshadowed all others. At this time the labor force in the South had about 4 million slaves. These slaves were very valuable to the slaveholding planter class. They were a huge investment to Southerners and if taken awayRead MoreThe Causes Of Civil War2004 Words   |  9 PagesGà ¶ksel What are the causes of Civil War? Do ethnic determinants play an important role? Why are certain parts of Africa characterized by ethnic conflict while other parts remain relatively calm? The conventional understanding on the causes of civil war especially within African countries, to a considerable degree, has being predominantly characterized to draw its root on ethnic divergences. However, such premise appear extremely difficult to be true, owing to the fact that civil war is a complex action

Religion S Function Free Essays

Freud had many views on the function on why we, as humans, make a big part Of our lives connected to religion. One reason he gives is because humans need a defense for the nature for which we cannot control. Freud believes that nature is cruel. We will write a custom essay sample on Religion S Function or any similar topic only for you Order Now Since we have absolutely no power over it, he believes we need protection, which would be the higher power. An example of this would be a natural disaster. This would include Hurricane Strain. Since people came together to help the victims of this uncontrollable event, one might say that there must be an explanation to why this horrible event happened. The explanation would be that God (or another higher power) has caused it so people would band together to help one another. I believe Freud is right when he says that religion defends against the cruel aspects of nature. People do come together when bad things happen and I believe that they think there must be an explanation for it and that’s why they re there to help. Without religion, they may not see the benefit in helping others. On the other had, do not believe that nature is entirely cruel. Nature also provides us with things that are essential to our survival. These things would include rain for our crops, sunlight for our bodies, and even the trees that provide us with oxygen. If nature were entirely cruel, it wouldn’t have done this. Another view that Freud had on the purpose of religion is to abject humans to live in a civilization. He believes that individual humans are a direct threat to civilizations, but humans as a whole consider it to be a benefit. To make a civilization work, there must be a leader recognized by the mass part of it. This leader pressures people to follow the rules, laws and other institutions. This leader would be the higher power. The rest, thus keeping the custom of the civilization going, adopted this coercion to the things civilians must follow. An example of this would be baptisms. Basically everyone in the Christian church has gotten baptized, but why? This rite of passage into any Christian church has been used since the beginning of its existence. The reason is because people have a learned feeling that if they don’t or don’t have their child baptized, salvation cannot be achieved. Of course, people were not born with this idea, but rather coerced into believing it. The function of baptisms are to give people the feeling of safety and also that they are involved in civilization. This â€Å"rule† of Christian civilization is the reason that millions of people are baptized and will continue to be. Freud is definitely right with this belief. Believe this because my family is a perfect example of this. I was baptized in the Catholic Church when I was a baby, yet I never go to church. My parents fell into the civilization rule made by the leader that is religion. They were brought up to believe the same belief that millions around the world believe-that it would bring salvation. I will probably do the same to my kids one day, since I now deem it as important A very important function of religion to Freud was that it made a moral code for humans to live by. This would include religious codes such as the Ten Commandments, the Noble Path of Buddha, the Five Pillars of Islam, or others. All of these represent a code that people should live by if they want to live a good life and be worthy enough for their higher power in the after life. Because of these codes, people don’t kill one another, or other bad things for the civilization, but instead try to live a good life. This good life would include, according to these codes, giving to others, believing in their God, or praying. These rules that religion forces people to live by make for a better civilization, according to Freud. These rules apply directly to human civilization n the way hat they connect to the government laws in which people live by. An example of the application of the rules into the real world is that in most countries, it is illegal to kill someone. There are serious consequences for murder. The connection between the law of a country and the law of a religion show how much religion has influenced outside civilization. The moral code that was used for religious purposed which were followed by most, had been converted into the law used by many governments today. I believe Freud was right In saying that a large part of the function of religion is to provide a moral code for people. Without it, there could be the possibility that people would be allowed to run around killing left and right. Civilization wouldn’t exist if this were true, because everyone would be dead. Although this is true, I also believe that even without the code, people would still find a way to maintain order. Onto think that chaos is only averted because of the moral codes, but because humans long for an orderly lifestyle. The drive for stable, maintained life styles is an evident characteristic of all humans. No one wants to be confused with his or her place in life all the time. It would cause psychological instability. One way or another, I believe that we would still have laws and regulations without religion. Peter Be rger is another major thinker that had his own beliefs about the functions that religion has. One belief he had was that society shapes people. Babies are born as a blank slate of a person. With no beliefs, thoughts, or feelings on any subject in the world, they learn the things that surround them. The society that they are born into has already existed for years and it shapes the way the new person can live. This creates conformity. Berger also says that a process called objectification happens; this is when people grow up in a society where they take it for granted as the right way for living compared to other societies. A great example of this would be the terrorist attacks on 9/11. As Americans, we were stricken with fear and hostility towards the people who we believed to be evil and criminal. Our society we live in does not, under any circumstance, stand for such horrible attack against our beloved country. The terrorists didn’t see it that way. The A-Qaeda found it to be the right thing to do. This directly shows objectification. Americans believed this act was of terror and were hurt deeply by it, while the terrorists didn’t. The efferent backgrounds that we grew up in compared to what they grew up in explain the differences in behavior. Berger was correct with his belief on objectification, because it is clear that people from different societies act different then others. Everyone is born the same way -? with no knowledge of anything but to eat and sleep. The society in which we grow up in makes the person. Adding to this, I also believe that societies change with new generations. New generations don’t only follow what their parents and grandparents did, but try to improve their life. This is shown by all the new technology We now live with. We always try to advance ourselves, but don’t stray too far away from what we know. Another important belief that Berger had about the purpose of religion was that it helped humans give meanings to things. People can perceive of their own experiences in a meaningful way. This is very important because it makes chaotic things have its own significance. Without religion, in Burger’s eyes, people would live with madness everywhere -? death, natural disasters and other tragedies. Berger uses the term cosmos, a notion of stability that links human experience to a divine order, offering a sense that our lives are tot mere combinations of random events but instead that our experiences are linked to some larger sacred plan. If a woman were to lose her sister to breast cancer, and then devote her life to raising money for research, she may vow that the death â€Å"meant something. † People give tragic accidents, like this one, a meaning. They reject the chaos nature of death by giving it a meaning that a divine power created it for a reason. Susan G. Someone was the dying sister of Nancy G. Brinier, who then went on to create the Susan G. Someone for the Cure. It has since risen more then $2 billion in a fight against areas cancer. The terrible death of her sister made Brinier help decrease breast cancer mortality in the U. S. Stories like this are heard all over the world because religion helps them find meaning in horrible events such as death. I most definitely believe this is the case in humanity. Without religion, life would be depressing. People die every day. Without the thought that it was â€Å"all in God’s plan†, I don’t think people would have a reason to live. Why would anyone want to if everyone just died them with them themselves eventually joining them? There are many things that we give meaning to, that we need o give meaning to, in order to survive this hard life. How to cite Religion S Function, Papers

Reflection on Platos Allegory of the Cave Reflection free essay sample

Reflection on Platos Allegory of the Cave The Allegory of the Cave starts off as a story told by Socrates to Glaucon. In this story, a group of people live in a cave underground. They are bound and unable to move or turn their heads, and so can only look straight in front of them. Before them is a wall and behind them a fire burns. Others in the cave pass before the fire holding objects which cast shadows on the wall. Later, a prisoner is released and taken to the outside world. At first he recoils from the bright light, but he gradually adjusts until he sees the outside world Just as if he had lived his whole life above ground instead of in a cave. After being set free, I wouldnt return to the cave. Platos Allegory of the Cave is a symbol for the contrasts between ideas and what we perceive as reality. We will write a custom essay sample on Reflection on Platos Allegory of the Cave Reflection or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The prisoners in the cave are as ignorant of the truth as Glaucon was, if he relied solely on what he saw. The prisoners, having lived their whole life in the cave, would ook upon the shadows they saw and recognize them as reality. In the same way, Glaucon and others like him believed what they saw and experienced was in fact the reality of the Universe. Conversely, Plato believed that the truth of the Universe was hidden and that the way to discover it was not through observation of the surrounding world but through logic and reasoning. Most people prefer to remain in chains and to see only shadows of the truth. Only the few and the wise are illing to free themselves from the shackles and look the truth in the face, even if it is blinding at first. The Theory of Forms typically refers to the belief expressed by Socrates in some of Platos dialogues, that the material world as it seems to us is not the real world, but only an image or copy of the real world. Just like the people in the cave, what we perceive as truth, what we were led to believe all our lives could be but a fraction or an imitation of what is actually real.

Robber Baron and Business Men Essays

Robber Baron and Business Men Essays Robber Baron and Business Men Essay Robber Baron and Business Men Essay During this Gilded Age business men have been creating large business organizations known as trusts, this ingenuity of these entrepreneurs has been earning them the title Captains of Industry yet their ruthlessness in the building of their industries and wealth at the expense of their competitors has been earning some of these men the title of Robber Barons. I personally believe that these business men have negatively affected the people around them, making them titled as Robber Barons. I chose to talk about documents A, D, E because they show / describe the Robber Barons the best. In document A it shows the picture named Puck. In this picture it shows the workers on the bottom, putting all this work into holding up this company up, or in the picture the ship and the owners or the business men do nothing but make all the money. This truly shows that the owners should be counted as Robber Barons mostly because they arent helping anyone but themselves by making other people to do their Job, and not paying them even close to what he could pay them. In document D it demonstrates the picture The Great Race for the Western Stakes 1870. In this comment these two men are competing to build off the railroad, but the difference is, Vanderbilt, the person on the left of this picture, with the two R. Ors is very successful and rich and Just not giving anyone else the chance to have any success, while the one to the right Just wants to try and expand his R. R company, but Vanderbilt, isnt letting that happen. In document E this cartoon is titled The Trust Giants Point of View. This document shows Rockefeller looking down upon the Whitehorse, making a point that hes bigger and better than everyone with his oil industry. All three document show these men showing that they are Robber Barons by how badly they treat society and how they look down on everyone else. I believe that this Gilded Age has been negatively affected by the actions of these business men mostly to the fact that they are taking advantage of something they should be privileged to have. These men have showed no remorse for people who are not as privileged or even people coming from poverty and the middle class, they will do anything to make as much money as they possibly can, making it unfair for anyone else. Robber Baron and Business Men By reincarnations

The Bakufu Ruled Japan for Nearly 700 Years

The Bakufu Ruled Japan for Nearly 700 Years The bakufu was  the military government of Japan between 1192 and 1868, headed by the shogun. Prior to 1192,  the bakufu- also known as shogonate- was responsible only for warfare and policing and was firmly subordinate to the imperial court. Over the centuries, however, the bakufus powers expanded, and it became, effectively, the ruler of Japan for nearly 700 years. Kamakura Period Saurai protecting royal carriage durring the Burning of the Sanjo Palace. Corbis / VCG  / Getty Images Beginning with the Kamakura bakufu in 1192, shoguns ruled Japan while emperors  were mere figureheads.The key figure in the period, which lasted until 1333, was  Minamoto Yoritomo, who ruled from 1192 to 1199 from his family seat at Kamakura, about 30 miles south of Tokyo. During this time, Japanese warlords claimed power from the hereditary monarchy and their scholar-courtiers, giving the samurai warriors- and their lords- ultimate control of the country. Society, too, changed radically, and a new  feudal system  emerged. The Ashikaga Shogonate After years of civil strife, precipitated by the invasion of the Mongols in the late 1200s,  Ashikaga Takauji  overthrew the Kamakura bakufu and  established his own shogunate in Kyoto in 1336.  The Ashikaga bakufu-   or shogonate- ruled  Japan until 1573. Ahsikaga Takauji. æâ€" ¥Ã¦Å" ¬Ã¨ ªÅ¾: ä ¸ Ã¦ËœÅ½ / Public domain /   Wikimedia Commons   However, it was not a strong central governing force, and in fact, the Ashikaga bakufu witnessed the rise of powerful daimyo  all around the country. These regional lords reigned over their domains with very little interference from the  bakufu in Kyoto. Tokugawa Shoguns Toward the end of the Ashikaga bakufu,  and for years thereafter, Japan suffered through nearly 100 years of civil war, fueled mainly by the increasing power of the daimyo. Indeed, the civil war was sparked by the ruling bakufus struggle to bring the warring  daimyo back under central control. Tokugawa Ieyasu. KanÃ…  TanyÃ… « / Public domain / Wikimedia Common In 1603, however, Tokugawa Ieyasu completed this task and established the Tokugawa shogunate- or bakufu- which would rule in the emperors name for 265 years. Life in Tokugawa Japan was peaceful but heavily controlled by the shogunal government, but after a century of chaotic warfare, the peace was a much-needed respite. Fall of the Bakufu When U.S.Commodore Matthew Perry  steamed into Edo Bay (Tokyo Bay) in 1853 and demanded that  Tokugawa Japan  allow foreign powers access to trade, he unwittingly sparked a chain of events that led to Japans rise as a modern imperial power and the fall of the bakufu. Japans political elites realized that the U.S. and other countries were ahead of Japan in terms of military technology and felt threatened by western imperialism. After all, powerful  Qing China  had been brought to its knees by Britain just 14 years earlier in the  First Opium War  and would soon lose the Second Opium War as well. Meiji Restoration Rather than suffer a similar fate, some of Japans elites sought to close the doors even tighter against foreign influence, but the more foresighted began to plan a modernization drive. They felt that it was important to have a strong emperor at the center of Japans political organization to project Japanese power and fend off Western imperialism. As a result, in 1868, the Meiji Restoration extinguished the bakufus authority and returned political power to the emperor. And, nearly 700 years of Japanese rule by the bakufu  came to a sudden end.

Systems and Operations Management Recommendations Essay

Systems and Operations Management Recommendations - Essay Example 4-7). Operations management involves various manufacturing processes such as supervising, designing, and managing so that the business functions can come under redesign for the production of goods and services. Operations management also makes sure that minimum resources come under utilization in the process of production so that it can become efficient and the business strategies come under effective implementation. Besides, the operations management administers the inputs (particularly in the form of materials, labor, and energy) that come under conversion to output (in the shape of outcome that is goods and services) in an effective and efficient manner (Kumar and Suresh, 2009, pp. 9-11). On the other hand, Systems management is the overall administration and management of the organizations information technology distributed systems. ... This company established its business operations in the early decade of 1960 in Sydney, Australia with the core service provider of photocopying. With the success in the photocopying business, Lachlan (the founder) expanded its business operations and started out as Atokowaâ„ ¢ printing and they reproduced copies for different organizations (Lord Ashcroft International Business School, 2012). Today, Atokowaâ„ ¢ Advantage deals and trade a wide range of stationery and office supplies to individuals and businesses (which are the two distinct types of customers they cater). From their widespread businesses, they now own several retail outlets from where they deliver stationery and office supplies directly to organizations. Additionally they also carry out customized printing upon request for different enterprises. Atokowa also prints brochures, flyers, letterheads, business cards, memo slips, and various other products (Lord Ashcroft International Business School, 2012). With the success and growth of the business, the vision came to cognizance to become the one-stop shop for stationery and office supplies. However, with the passage of time, the vision broadened and the focus towards technology was driven. Atokowa widened their focus and initiated the trading of Commodore 64 and the IBM PC 5100 (one of the technological advancements at that time). Moreover, the company continued their interest in technology and provided a range of information technology products in their retail outlets for their customers (Lord Ashcroft International Business School, 2012). Systems and Operations Management Analysis and Evaluation The systems and operations management analysis and evaluation comes under practice that

Human Behaviors in Budgeting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Human Behaviors in Budgeting - Essay Example A budget can deliver a criterion where employees are encouraged to achieve their targets under certain conditions. Conversely, budget can also inspire disorganization and conflict between employees or managers. If people are dynamically involved in developing budget, then it can be used as a device to support managers in handling their branches effectively. Budget can be a useful device for motivating people but if budget is developed from top level and enforces a threat for employees it can be resisted and will cause harm to the organization (Drury, 2007). Objectives of Budgeting Through budget, organizations can regulate the actions of different divisions. An effective budgetary system can act as a comprehensive control system for organization if there are certain implied or apparent links between budgetary processes and organizational rewards (Flamholtz, 1983). Budgeting comprises of creating specific targets, implementing strategies to accomplish the targets, and occasionally mat ch actual status with the targets. The targets can be general business objectives and particular goals for the individual divisions within organization. Budget provides a way for business by drawing the strategies of the operations in financial expressions. Budget helps organizations to direct activities and decreases the negative results (Warren & Et. Al., 2011). Though budgets are usually related with profit, they also play significant parts in operating several divisions of government. For instance, budgets are useful tools for managing finance for education and ration in rural areas. Budgets are also used in non-profit organizations such as public hospitals and cathedrals among others. Budget comprises of three activities which are planning, directing and controlling. Before planning the budget, it is important for organizations to forecast the amount of budget. The forecasting is often developed by considering the conclusions of past outcomes. Several statistical approaches are used for forecasting budget. The planning phase is comprised of forming specific objectives for future actions. It is a part of management process. Directing is the activity for satisfying the planned actions and controlling is periodically judging the progress of activities with the planned actions (Warren, 2008). Human Behavior in Budgeting Budget can have substantial effect on human behaviour. Budget can stimulate managers for developing their performance; adversely it can also de-motivate from putting extra effort and flatten the self-esteem of managers (Kimmel & Et. Al., 2010). The behavioural problems or dysfunctional consequences can arise from budgeting in three conditions which are: 1. The goal of budget is unattainable 2. The goal of budget is too simple to accomplish 3. The goal of budget disagrees with the goals of employees Unattainable goals: Employees will be de-motivated if performance expectations set by the managers are impractical or unattainable. An aggressive a nd achievable goal can probably motivate employees to accomplish the organizational objectives. Thus, employees should be engaged in

Effective support strategies for learners Essay -- essays research pap

Effective classrooms have a positive and purposeful atmosphere, where students and teachers feel valued, and work together in a supportive and safe environment. The effective classroom is one where students learn, and teachers help them to do so without spending much of their time managing 'problem' or 'difficult' behaviour. However, this is not an easy task, and at one time or another teachers may experience difficulty in maintaining a harmonious working environment. The main focus of this chapter is to explore ways of establishing and sustaining a purposeful, working atmosphere in the classroom. Behaviour management and maintaining discipline is clearly a concern for teachers when seeking to establish themselves in a new school context or with a new class, even for those who have plenty of successful experience. For short-term supply teachers, the challenge is increased by the number of different classes they may encounter on a daily or weekly basis. There is no shortage of advice in relation to behaviour management and there are marked differences of opinion across the teaching profession about behaviour and discipline in schools. What is certain is that there is no 'right' way to manage all situations. The learning climate you create is crucial. Students are affected not only by the physical environment which surrounds them, but also by your own expectations and attitudes. Remember that small things matter. ICT must become an integral and natural part of the learning pro...

Pacific Theatre in World War II

On 1 September 1939 the country of Germany led by Adolf Hitler invaded Poland using blitzkrieg tactics or in other words â€Å"lightning war†. As Germany is capturing Europe one country at a time Japan is doing the same except with Asia and Japan is also preparing for the attack of the United States naval base on the island of Oahu called Pearl Harbor. The attack on Pearl Harbor caused the United States to declare war on Japan, break isolationism and get deeply involved in World War II.On 7 December 1941 at 7:30 am army privates George Elliot and Joseph Lockard were operating in a radar station when they noticed a large amounts of aircraft incoming but they did not sound the alarm because there was supposed to be a group of B-17 bombers due to Pearl Harbor (Michael 10). At 8:00 am the words â€Å"Tora Tora Tora† sounded over Japanese radios meaning that the Japanese have achieved complete surprise on the Americans and that the attack was a go and the dive bombers starte d to drop their deadly payloads on the American airfields, aiming specifically for United States war planes (Michael 11).As the Japanese attacked the airfields they also simultaneously attacked the harbor with more dive bombers and torpedo planes equipped with torpedoes specially made for the shallow waters of the harbor (Michael 12). During all of the chaos a dive bomber dropped its deadly payload on to the USS Arizona, with a single bomb hit to the magazine, the whole bow of the ship was severed from the rest and 1,000 men died instantly (Michael 12). At 8:45 am even more Japanese torpedo planes and dive bombers attacked the harbor targeting repair yards and any other ships that the pilots saw.The attack was planned months before 7 December, the Japanese built a model of the actual harbor to help prepare for the attack and they practiced on it until each and every pilot knew exactly which target to hit and how to hit it and until they could achieve an 80% hit rate on the American ships (Michael 47). The task force the Japanese used consisted of 6 aircraft carriers each equipped with hundreds of planes and 20 other ships including battleships, heavy cruisers, destroyers and a few submarines (Michael 49).The attack killed 2,388 Americans and injured another 2,000, the attack destroyed 21 ships out of 92 total in the harbor, nearly 300 American aircraft were destroyed and only 29 Japanese aircraft were destroyed (Reid 219). The Americans were infuriated with the attack, they felt as if they were vulnerable and they wanted the United States government to declare war on Japan. On 8 December 1941 President Franklin D. Roosevelt makes a speech to congress asking them to declare a state of war on Japan. Later that day with a vote of 388 to 1 the United States is at war with Japan.The industry skyrocketed as the United States prepares for war; everything from food to weapons is rationed and made in a method called mass production. On 9 December 1941 Germany and Italy declare war on the United States. The United States is now deeply involved in World War II, but the United States has a difficult decision to make whether or not they should concentrate their forces over in Europe to fight the Italians and Germans or concentrate their forces in the Pacific and get revenge on the Japanese and avenge Pearl Harbor.On 8 April 1942 Lieutenant Colonel James H. Doolittle launched an air attack consisting of B-25 medium range bombers. The attack was designed to inflict damage on Tokyo and to destroy the Japanese morale and avenge Pearl Harbor. The plan was for 16 B-25s to be launched off the coast of Japan and their mission was to bomb the city of Tokyo and land on American air bases in China. Most of the 16 B-25s, each with a five-man crew, attacked the Tokyo area, with a few hitting Nagoya (â€Å"The Doolittle Raid†).However none of the planes made it to China and most of the crews were captured, but this attack was considered a success because it deeply embarrassed the Japanese High Command and it greatly boosted the morale of the Americans, this attack would lead to the desire of the Japanese to completely destroy the American aircraft carriers and would lead to the Japanese defeat in Midway a month later. The Battle of Midway was fought over and near the tiny United States’ mid-pacific base at the Midway island atoll.The objective of the Japanese was to draw out and destroy the Unites States aircraft carrier striking forces which had embarrassed the Japanese in the Doolittle Raid. The Japanese’s plan was to soften up the defenses on Midway, invade it, capture the island and hope that the United States would come out with their aircraft carriers in order to take back the island and the Japanese would the quickly destroy them and have a decisive victory.However, the United States had brilliant code breakers and knew exactly when, where and how the Japanese were going to strike so the Americans were waiting. On 7 June 1942, the Japanese with a force of 4 aircraft carriers, 2 battleships, 15 support ships and 248 carrier based aircraft started the attack. Starting with bombing the American base the Japanese weren’t able to soften up the American defenses well enough because the Americans had knew in advance that Japanese were coming so they built up their defenses and brought in additional reinforcements.As the Japanese were focusing their attacks on the island, the American aircraft carrier strike force consisting of 3 carriers, 7 heavy cruisers, 1 anti-aircraft cruiser, 15 destroyers, 233 carrier based aircraft and 16 submarines attacked the Japanese forces. After 4 days of bitter combat, the Americans had only lost 1 carrier, 1 destroyer, 150 aircraft, and 307 sailors and airmen, while on the Japanese side, they had lost 4 carriers, 1 cruiser, all of their aircraft, and 3,057 sailors and airmen (â€Å"Battle of Midway†).The Battle of Midway was a huge success in American c ode breaking and proving that the use of the aircraft carrier would definitely be a vital resource in the Pacific Theater (â€Å"Battle of Midway†). Three months later the Americans pressed forward setting their eyes on a near Australia called Guadalcanal. This battle would be the first allied offensive on the Empire of Japan. On 7 August 1942 American forces landed on the islands of Guadalcanal, Tulagi, and Florida in the southern Solomon Islands with the objective of denying their use by the Japanese to threaten the supply and communication routes between the US, Australia, and New Zealand.The Allies also intended to use Guadalcanal and Tulagi as bases to support a campaign to eventually capture or neutralize the major Japanese base at Rabal on New Britain (â€Å"Battle of Guadalcanal†). Powerful United States naval forces had supported the landings. Surprised by the Allied offensive, the Japanese made several attempts between August and November 1942 to retake Hende rson Field. Three major land battles, seven large navalbattles, and continual, almost daily aerial battles culminated in the decisive Naval Battle of Guadalcanal in early November 1942, in which the last Japanese attempt to bombard Henderson Field from the sea and land with enough troops to retake it was defeated. In December 1942, the Japanese abandoned further efforts to retake Guadalcanal and evacuated their remaining forces by 7 February 1943 in the face of an offensive by the US Army's XIV Corps, securing the island to the Allies.The Americans originally started with a strength of 60,000 men and lost 7,100 while the Japanese forces were almost completely wiped out, starting out with only 36,200 they had lost 32,000 (â€Å"Battle of Guadalcanal†). The Guadalcanal campaign was a significant strategic combined arms victory by Allied forces over the Japanese in the Pacific theatre The Battle of the Philippines was the American campaign that lasted from 1944-1945 and the obje ctive was to completely expel the Imperial Japanese Forces occupying this long chain of islands that was captured by the Japanese during the first half of 1942.The Battle of the Philippines started on 20 October 1944 with the amphibious landings on the eastern Philippine island of Leyte. The operation would last through the end of the war in august of 1945. During this campaign the Japanese showed how desperate they were in not giving up when they started utilizing kamikaze attacks where they would purposely fly planes equipped with explosives into the American forces. This campaign was very successful however, because the Americans had driven out the Japanese and liberated the Philippines.The Battle of Iwo Jima fought on 19 February through 26 March 1945 was a major battle in which the United States Armed Forces fought for and captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Japanese Empire. The American invasion had the goal of capturing the entire island, including its three airfields, t o provide a staging area for attacks on the Japanese main islands. This five-week battle comprised some of the fiercest and bloodiest fighting of the War in the Pacific of World War II.After the heavy losses incurred in the battle, the strategic value of the island became controversial. It was useless to the Army as a staging base and useless to the Navy as a fleet base; however it was of limited use by the United States Army Air Force only for emergency landing of planes coming back from missions over Japan. The Japanese positions on the island were heavily fortified, with a large network of bunkers, hidden artillery positions in the mountains, and nearly 11 miles of underground tunnels.This invasion was the first American attack on Japanese home territory, and the Japanese soldiers and marines defended their positions tenaciously with no thought of surrender. The Americans had a force of 70,000 marines and had high losses of 6,821 killed and 19,217 wounded. The Japanese, however h ad a smaller force of 22,060 soldiers and lost 18,844, but they had nearly 3,000 in hiding until long past the end of the war and because of their extensive network or tunnels and bunkers they were able to inflict heavy damage on the Americans (â€Å"Battle of Iwo Jima).Later in the summer of 1944 the United States had set their eyes on the largest island in the Marianas, Guam. There was a major strategic advantage of Guam because of its very large size and its location to the Japanese mainland mad it ideal for the American forces to establish airfields for B-29 Superfortress long range bombers. Guam, ringed by reefs, cliffs, and heavy surf, presents a formidable challenge for an attacker. But despite the obstacles, on July 21, the Americans landed on both sides of the Orote peninsula on the western side of Guam, planning to cut off the airfield.By nightfall the Americans had established beachheads about 2,000 meters deep, Japanese counter-attacks were made throughout the first few days of the battle, mostly at night, using infiltration tactics. Several times they penetrated the American defenses and were driven back with heavy loss of men and equipment. Rain and thick jungle made conditions difficult for the Americans, but after an engagement at Mount Barrigada from August 2 to August 4, the Japanese line collapsed; the rest of the battle was a pursuit to the north.As in other battles of the Pacific War, the Japanese refused to surrender, and almost all were killed. On August 10, after 3 long weeks of bloody and ferocious fighting, organized Japanese resistance ended, and Guam was declared secure. The Battle of Okinawa was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific Theatre. The 82-day-long battle lasted from early April until mid-June 1945. After a long campaign of island hopping, the Allies were approaching Japan,  and planned to use Okinawa, a large island only 340 mi away from mainland Japan, as a base for air operations on the planned invasion of Ja panese mainland.Okinawa provided a fleet anchorage, troop staging areas, and airfields in close proximity to Japan. The U. S. cleared the surrounding waters of mines in Operation Zebra, occupied Okinawa, and set up the United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands, a form of military government, after the battle. The Americans started out with 183,000 men and by the end of the battle 12,000 were killed and 38,000 were wounded.The Japanese started out with 160,000 men and more than 110,000 were killed and 7,000 were captured (â€Å"The Battle of Okinawa†). While the Pacific war rages, the United States had conducted many air raids on Japan during World War II, causing extensive destruction to the country's cities and killing anywhere from 241,000 to 900,000 people. From June 1944 until January 1945, B-29s stationed in India staged through bases in China to make a series of raids on Japan, but this effort proved unsuccessful.The strategic bombing campaign was greatly expanded from November 1944 when bases in the Mariana Islands became available as a result of the Mariana Islands Campaign. The air raids concentrated mainly on industrial facilities but the fire bombings were concentrated on the civilian population since most of the homes were made from paper and wood (â€Å"Skies on fire†). With the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 the United States was ultimately forces to break isolationism and get very involve in World War II.From the Doolittle raid in 1942 to the massive bombing campaigns in 1945, from the battle of Midway to the invasion of Okinawa, the United States was very involved in the Pacific theatre and the loss of life was very high. Along with the Pacific Theatre the United States also had a very high death toll in the European Theatre but not as high of one as in the Pacific. Had the Japanese not have attacked Pearl Harbor, the turn out of the war could have been so much different and the United States probably would not have gotten involved until late in the war like they did in World War I

Who Are the Rohingya of Myanmar (Burma)

The Rohingya are a Muslim minority population living mainly in the state of Arakan, in the country known as Myanmar (formerly Burma). Although approximately 800,000 Rohingya live in Myanmar, and although their ancestors have lived in the region for centuries, the current Burmese government does not recognize Rohingya people as citizens. People without a state, the Rohingya face harsh persecution in Myanmar, and in refugee camps in neighboring Bangladesh and Thailand as well. Arrival and History in Arakan The first Muslims to settle in Arakan were in the area by the 15th century CE. Many served in the court of the Buddhist King Narameikhla (Min Saw Mun), who ruled Arakan in the 1430s, and who welcomed Muslim advisers and courtiers into his capital. Arakan is on the western border of Burma, near what is now Bangladesh, and the later Arakanese kings modeled themselves after the Mughal emperors, even using Muslim titles for their military and court officials. In 1785, Buddhist Burmese from the south of the country conquered Arakan. They drove out or executed all of the Muslim Rohingya men they could find, and about 35,000 of Arakans people likely fled into Bengal, then part of the British Raj in India. Under the Rule of the British Raj In 1826, the British took control of Arakan after the First Anglo-Burmese War (1824–1826). They encouraged farmers from Bengal to move to the depopulated area of Arakan, including both Rohingyas originally from the area and native Bengalis. The sudden influx of immigrants from British India sparked a strong reaction from the mostly-Buddhist Rakhine people living in Arakan at the time, sowing the seeds of ethnic tension that remain to this day. When World War II broke out, Britain abandoned Arakan in the face of Japanese expansion into Southeast Asia. In the chaos of Britains withdrawal, both Muslim and Buddhist forces took the opportunity to inflict massacres on one another. Many Rohingya still looked to Britain for protection and served as spies behind Japanese lines for the Allied Powers. When the Japanese discovered this connection, they embarked on a hideous program of torture, rape, and murder against the Rohingyas in Arakan. Tens of thousands of Arakanese Rohingyas once again fled into Bengal. Between the end of World War II and General Ne Wins coup detat in 1962, the Rohingyas advocated for a separate Rohingya nation in Arakan. When the military junta took power in Yangon, however, it cracked down hard on Rohingyas, separatists and non-political people alike. It also denied Burmese citizenship to the Rohingya people, defining them instead as stateless Bengalis.   Modern Era Since that time, the Rohingya in Myanmar have lived in limbo.  Under recent leaders, they have faced increasing persecution and attacks, even in some cases from Buddhist monks.  Those who escape out to sea, as thousands have done, face an uncertain fate; the governments of Muslim nations around Southeast Asia including Malaysia and Indonesia have refused to accept them as refugees.  Some of those who turn up in Thailand have been victimized by human traffickers,  or even set adrift again on the sea by Thai military forces.  Australia has adamantly refused to accept any Rohingya on its shores, as well. In May of 2015, the Philippines pledged to create camps to house 3,000 of the Rohingya boat-people.  Working with the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR), the Philippines government continues to provide temporary shelter for Rohingya refugees and provide for their basic needs, while a more permanent solution is sought.  Over 1 million Rohingya refugees are in Bangladesh as of September 2018. Persecutions of Rohingya people in Myanmar continue to this day. Major crackdowns by the Burmese government including extrajudicial killings, gang rapes, arson, and infanticides were reported in 2016 and 2017. Hundreds of thousands of Rohingyas have fled the violence.   Worldwide criticism of the de facto Myanmar leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi has not abated the issue.   Sources Myanmar Rohingya: What You Need to Know About the Crisis. BBC News April 24, 2018. Print.Parnini, Syeda Naushin. The Crisis of the Rohingya as a Muslim Minority in Myanmar and Bilateral Relations with Bangladesh. Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs 33.2 (2013): 281-97. Print.Rahman, Utpala. The Rohingya Refugee: A Security Dilemma for Bangladesh. Journal of Immigrant Refugee Studies 8.2 (2010): 233-39. Print.Ullah, Akm Ahsan. Rohingya Refugees to Bangladesh: Historical Exclusions and Contemporary Marginalization. Journal of Immigrant Refugee Studies 9.2 (2011): 139-61. Print.

Domestic Pig Facts

The 600 breeds of the domestic pig (Sus scrofa domestica) on our planet today are descended from the wild boar, Sus scrofa, a process that occurred at least twice in different places between 9,000–10,000 years ago. Domesticated pigs are bred for human consumption. Pork and pork products make up the largest percentage of meat and poultry consumed in the world, representing over 40% of the worlds meat and poultry eaten in 2017.   Fast Facts: Domestic Pig Scientific Name: Sus scrofa domesticaCommon Name: Pig, hog, swineBasic Animal Group: MammalSize: 7–8 feet long, 3.7–4.7 feet highWeight: 600–1,000 pounds or moreLifespan: 6 to 10 years  Diet:  OmnivoreHabitat: Pastures, farms, and commercial buildings on all continents except AntarcticaPopulation: Estimated at two billion (nearly 1 billion are slaughtered each year)Conservation Status: Sus scrofa domestica has not been evaluated by the IUCN. Description There are over 600 different breeds of domestic pig (Sus scrofa domestica) extant in the world. The top five most recorded in North America are American Yorkshire, Duroc, Berkshire, Hampshire, and Landrace. The most commonly produced is the American Yorkshire, a version of the English Large White pig, developed in 1761 and first imported to the U.S. in 1830.   Yorkshires are white in color and quite muscular, with a high proportion of lean meat and low back fat. Its body is covered in fine hair, and they have long snouts and erect ears. Depending on the breed, adult pigs range from seven to eight feet in length and weigh between 600 and 1,000 pounds. There are many smaller pig breeds as well.   All domestic pigs belong to the family Suidae, order Artiodactyla, kingdom Animalia, class Mammalia, phylum Chordata.   Yorkshire pigs on an organic farm. Agnormark / iStock / Getty Images Plus Habitat and Distribution Domestic pigs are found on all continents of the world, excepting Antarctica. As of 2010, the largest producers of pigs include China (about 500 million each year), US (64 million), Brazil (40 million), Germany (27 million), Vietnam (27 million), and Spain (25 million). Pigs are kept in pens, in facilities, and in open farm fields and forests, and the farms range in size from facilities with tens of thousands of animals to subsistence farms of one or two. Diet and Behavior   Pigs are omnivores and they will eat anything, meat and plants both. The digestive system of pigs is such that it can also consume bulky foods with high levels of roughage. If kept in a well-fenced field they will eat all of the plants and grass, digging into the ground to consume the roots as well. Farmers put a ring into a pigs nose to keep it from digging up the plant roots.   Domestic pigs cannot be raised solely on pastures. Their diets need to be supplemented with vegetables, corn, or other crops, and they can be fed table scraps. A permanent pasture to keep pigs is one that stays planted to grass or legumes such alfalfa and clover, and/or perennial grasses such as orchard grass, timothy, and bromegrass.   Pigs grow well on large, open-air concrete platforms, in pens with a partial-solid floor area for resting and feeding and another area with a slatted floor so manure drops through and keeps the pen clean, or on pastures supplemented with grains. They require plenty of clean water every day. Pigs are gregarious and can be quite social: but males can be aggressive and farmers typically castrate them at an early age.   Free range pigs grazing in an organic ecological farm. RonyZmiri / iStock / Getty Images Plus Reproduction and Offspring Pigs have male and female sexes, and in most modern facilities, reproduction is controlled at all steps, inducing heat in females, artificial insemination, and weaning. Most breeds of pig reach puberty (come into heat) at 5 months, but sources recommend that females not be bred until 6 months of age.   Non-pregnant sows naturally come into heat every 21 days throughout the year, and the heat lasts between 8 and 36 hours. During that period, impregnation occurs either artificially, or by the farmer introducing a boar. Once impregnated, sows give birth after three months, three weeks and three days. Sows make a nest within 24 hours before giving birth, and farrowing usually lasts between 2 to 3 hours. Healthy sows give birth to between 10 and 13 piglets twice a year. Without coaxing, piglets immediately search for an available teat on their mother, starting to feed within an hour of their birth.  They subsist on mothers milk alone for 2–3 weeks, then begin taking solid food. They can continue to take some milk until about 7 weeks, but farmers can wean them as early as 4 weeks. Males pigs are typically castrated at 2–3 weeks of age. Curious pigs in Pig Breeding farm in swine business in tidy and clean indoor housing farm with pig mother feeding piglet. Chayakorn Lotongkum / iStock / Getty Images Plus Conservation Status In 2007, the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) listed over 742 specific breeds of domestic pig in the world. Of those, 137 were listed as extinct and 130 were listed as endangered. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) does not list Sus scrofa domestica at all but does include nine other (non-domesticated) Sus species in the listings as Vulnerable, Critically Endangered, Endangered, or Extinct (Indo-Chinese warty pig).  Ã‚   Sources Breeds of Livestock—Yorkshire Swine. Department of Animal Science, Oklahoma State University.  Chapter 4: The Pig. A Manual for the Primary Animal Health Care Worker. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2004.  Ã‚  Global Distribution of Pigs in 2010. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.Hasheider, Philip E. How to Raise Pigs: Everything You Need to Know. Voyageur Press, 2014.Frantz, Laurent, et al. The Evolution of Suidae. Annual Review of Animal Biosciences 4.1 (2016): 61–85. Print.Gilbert, Marius, et al. Global Pigs Distribution in 2010 (5 Minutes of Arc). Harvard Dataverse, 2018. Kittawornrat, Apisit, and Jeffrey J. Zimmerman. Toward a Better Understanding of Pig Behavior and Pig Welfare. Animal Health Research Reviews 12.1 (2011): 25–32. Print.Major Swine Breeds. Pork Checkoff.Pukite, John. A Field Guide to Pigs. Globe Pequot Press, 1999.

Descriptive Essay About My Family - 1704 Words

I’m standing on the sidewalk with my sister outside of Pastabilities. She came to visit me over the weekend because our parents couldn’t come all the way out from California for parents weekend. We’re both very hungry and tired and a little on edge. A family is standing next to us. A mom, a dad, two younger siblings and a son who also goes to Syracuse. I’ve met the guy once or twice because he lives in the same hall but I don’t really know him that well. They have been waiting outside about the same amount of time as us, a solid thirty minutes so far, but the hostess told both of us the wait would be around two hours. The parents are debating about going somewhere else for dinner. The dad wants to go somewhere else for dinner because it†¦show more content†¦The parents were arguing, passive aggressively speaking, I don’t really know if what they were doing can qualify as arguing because their voices weren’t raised or anything . I related to the kid. Learning more about him through observing helped me empathize with him and in turn expand my perspective. My parents, along with most people’s parents fight all the time. It seems that every time we re out to dinner, or honestly going anywhere my parents start to argue. Similar to the parents I was watching, it’s that weird passive aggressive tone that makes it so unbearable. My perspective shifted. Instead of judging and assuming he has a perfect family, I felt for him. As the conversation went on, I related to him even more. I had been in that same situation and the last thing I would want is people around me judging me. My perspective is mainly shaped by my everyday observations of people. By this I mean my first impressions of people and those small thoughts and ideas pop into my head when I pass by people. These judgements, both good and bad, are the main part in shaping my perspective because they are how I get to know the world around me. I grow my perspective through these observations and my life experiences. They all relate to each other in one way or another. A majority of the small thoughts I have about people are based off ideas and stereotypes in society, or things I have learned growing up and living with my parents. I am similar toShow MoreRelatedDescriptive Essay About My Family1277 Words   |  6 Pagesyears old, my aunt was involved in a really severe car accident. The accident left her in a rehab for a couple of months so she could learn how to walk and do daily activities on her own again. I would always love to visit her every weekend. Being only five years old and not really knowing the main purpose of a hospital, I thought it was a fun and magical place. They had a colossal courtyard where my sisters, cousin, and me would play. They also had an indoor playground where other children my age couldRead MoreDescriptive Essay About My Family1063 Words   |  5 Pages8lbs. My mother likes to tell my sib lings and I that she had all of our names planned ever since she was a little girl. She ended up naming me Alexa Rae Odom. She says the she named me after the singer Billy Joel’s daughter, Alexa Ray Joel. My mother also like to tell me that I interrupted the poker game she was winning just before she went into labor. She says that we could used that money to pay the hospital bill. In my family, there are six members. My father, Anthony; my mother, Sheila; My oldestRead MoreDescriptive Essay About My Family1025 Words   |  5 PagesI was fascinated with New York because I knew that it was packed full of ads and delicious foods. So, my sweet, down-to-earth mom, my prissy half-sister, and I took a family vacation to New York to visit my aunt and uncle and to explore. My dad could not make the trip to New York because he could not take vacation time from his job. My aunt designed cereal boxes for major cereal companies, and my uncle was the producer for all Mercedes –Benz commercials and some Tic-tac commercials. Knowing I wouldRead MoreDescriptive Essay About My Family1232 Words   |  5 PagesMy wife and I moved from chicago about two years ago after we got married and moves to Austin, Texas. We were in the country part of texas. We’ve been married for about two years now. I really love her she means everything to me, we are very close we do ever ything together. My wife and I rode our bikes every morning to get exercise or at least be active most of the time. One morning my wife couldn’t ride with me because she had an appointment, so I decided to ride by myself. We would often ride pastRead MoreDescriptive Essay About My Family1137 Words   |  5 Pagesline to get on the go cart’s at Blackthorn Family Resort in the Catskills. My mom’s whole family went to this resort this year. It was only the second day but, I was so bored. â€Å"Finally! We get to do something fun!† Eamon yelled. Eamon is my cousin. He is a year younger than me but, we share the same birthday. I don’t want to be mean but he is a big scaredy cat. Although he is scared of everything he has a huge heart and is one of my favorite cousins on my mom’s side. Also, he is one of six justRead MoreDescriptive Essay About My Family1246 Words   |  5 Pageswas something about her that sparked as soon as we meet. That day we spent laughing, playing games, and planning our big summer expedition. We both loved to explore so we decided to explore the back part of the village with all the trees. It was a little eerie but it was a good spot to explore. We let the time that we would go out and explore and followed through with that. Today is that day and we are going to explore today. I got dressed, laced up my shoes, and then gulped down my waffles. I wasRead MoreDescriptive Essay About My Family893 Words   |  4 PagesGrowing up, I was always been recognized as the shy child. At family events , I would be too afraid to have a conversation with my own uncle, so instead I would hide by my parents and avoid communicating with anyone at all costs. My sister is the loud one, she has always been outgoing and I loved to utilize that as an excuse to not address or express my thoughts and opinions. My dad soon realized that I sincerely hated meeting new people, having conversations, and making friends. He would constantlyRead MoreDescriptive Essay About My Family969 Words   |  4 Pagessat there, on the couch, watching movies with my family. Everytime there was a part I didn t or couldn t see, I would shove my head in my mother s shirt, smelling her jasmine scented perfume until it gave me a headache. It was as if we were in our own family bubble, enjoying our time. Who knew anything could ve happened outside our bubble. Sunday morning, I woke up to the sound of the floor creaking as someone moved. I exited my room and as I opened my door, an avalanche of delicious smells showe redRead MoreDescriptive Essay About My Family1576 Words   |  7 PagesSpending quality time with family is one of my favorite childhood memories; spending time outdoors, playing ping pong, or watching a meaningful movie. Do you have any special memories with your family? My most meaningful family memory came from our vacation to Colorado back in 2004; yes, 2004. Although I don’t remember all of the events that transpired, I’m able to recall most of the memorable events that took place. It was a cool, misty morning in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, and I could distinctlyRead MoreDescriptive Essay About My Family864 Words   |  4 Pagesold me and my family moved from America to Europe. We wanted to start a new life away from the troubles we encountered in our town. We constantly had overdue bills, not enough food, or so little money we could barely get by. We didn’t know if we could live in this torture area much longer. We had plenty of euros. I think we had l ike 10,000 or something. We originally had family there who would send us the euros as gifts, then we became collectors. We all wanted to live in Paris, France. My Grandmama

Streams of Silver 22. The Dragon of Darkness Free Essays

string(102) " the light of another room at the base of the stairs, and hear clearly the ruckus of several Duergar\." At the heart of the lower levels, in an immense cavern of uneven and twisting walls pocketed with deep shadows, and a ceiling too high for the light of the brightest fire to find, rested the present ruler of Mithril Hall, perched upon a solid pedestal of the purest mithril that rose from a high and wide mound of coins and jewelry, goblets and weapons, and countless other items pounded from the rough blocks of mithril by the skilled hands of dwarven craftsmen. Dark shapes surrounded the beast, huge dogs from its own world, obedient, long-lived, and hungry for the meat of human or elf, or anything else that would give them the pleasure of their gory sport before the kill. Shimmergloom was not now amused. We will write a custom essay sample on Streams of Silver 22. The Dragon of Darkness or any similar topic only for you Order Now Rumblings from above foretold of intruders, and a band of Duergar spoke of murdered kin in the tunnels and whispered rumors that a drow elf had been seen. The dragon was not of this world. It had come from the Plane of Shadows, a dark image of the lighted world, unknown to the dwellers here except in the less substantial stuff of their blackest nightmares. Shimmergloom had been of considerable standing there, old even then, and in high regard among its dragon kin that ruled the plane. But when the foolish and greedy dwarves that once inhabited these mines had delved into deep holes of sufficient darkness to open a gate to its plane, the dragon had been quick to come through. Now possessing a treasure tenfold beyond the greatest of its own plane, Shimmergloom had no intentions of returning. It would deal with the intruders. For the first time since the routing of Clan Battlehammer, the baying of the shadow hounds filled the tunnels, striking dread even into the hearts of their gray dwarf handlers. The dragon sent them west on their mission, up toward the tunnels around the entry hall in Keeper’s Dale, where the companions had first entered the complex. With their powerful maws and incredible stealth, the hounds were indeed a deadly force, but their mission now was not to catch and kill – only to herd. In the first fight for Mithril Hall, Shimmergloom alone had routed the miners in the lower caverns and in some of the huge chambers on the eastern end of the upper level. But final victory had escaped the dragon, for the end had come in the western corridors, too tight for its scaly bulk. The beast would not miss the glory again. It set its minions in motion, to drive whoever or whatever had come into the halls toward the only entrance that it had to the upper levels: Garumn’s Gorge. Shimmergloom stretched to the limit of its height and unfolded its leathery wings for the first time in nearly two hundred years, blackness flowing out under them as they extended to the sides. Those Duergar who had remained in the throne room fell to their knees at the sight of their rising lord, partly in respect, but mostly in fear. The dragon was gone, gliding down a secret tunnel at the back of the chamber, to where it had once known glory, the place its minions had named Shimmergloom’s Run in praise of their lord. A blur of indistinguishable darkness, it moved as silently as the cloud of blackness that followed. * * * Wulfgar worried just how low he would be crouching by the time they reached Garumn’s Gorge, for the tunnels became dwarven sized as they neared the eastern end of the upper level. Bruenor knew this as a good sign, the only tunnels in the complex with ceilings below the six foot mark were those of the deepest mines and those crafted for defense of the gorge. Faster than Bruenor had hoped, they came upon the secret door to a smaller tunnel breaking off to the left, a spot familiar to the dwarf even after his two-century absence. He ran his hand across the unremarkable wall beneath the torch and its telltale red sconce, searching for the brailed pattern that would lead his fingers to the precise spot. He found one triangle, then another, and followed their lines to the central point, the bottommost point in the valley between the peaks of the twin-mountains that they signified, the symbol of Dumathoin, the Keeper of Secrets Under the Mountain. Bruenor pushed with a single finger, and the wall fell away, opening yet another low tunnel. No light came from this one, but a hollow sound, like the wind across a rock face, greeted them. Bruenor winked at them knowingly and started right in, but slowed when he saw the runes and sculpted reliefs carved into the walls. All along the passage, on every surface, dwarven artisans had left their mark. Bruenor swelled with pride, despite his depression, when he saw the admiring expressions upon his friends’ faces. A few turns later they came upon a portcullis, lowered and rusted, and beyond it saw the wideness of another huge cavern. â€Å"Garumn’s Gorge,† Bruenor proclaimed, moving up to the iron bars. â€Å"‘Tis said ye can throw a torch off the rim and it’ll burn out afore ever it hits.† Four sets of eyes looked through the gate in wonder. If the journey through Mithril Hall had been a disappointment to them, for they had not yet seen the grander sights Bruenor had often told them of, the sight before them now made up for it. They had reached Garumn’s Gorge, though it seemed more a full-sized canyon than a gorge, spanning hundreds of feet across and stretching beyond the limits of their sight. They were above the floor of the chamber, with a stairway running down to the right on the other site of the portcullis. Straining to poke as much of their heads as they could through the bars, they could see the light of another room at the base of the stairs, and hear clearly the ruckus of several Duergar. You read "Streams of Silver 22. The Dragon of Darkness" in category "Essay examples" To the left, the wall arced around to the edge, though the chasm continued on beyond the bordering wall of the cavern. A single bridge spanned the break, an ancient work of stone fitted so perfectly that its slight arch could still support an army of the hugest mountain giants. Bruenor studied the bridge carefully, noting that something about its understructure did not seem quite right. He followed the line of a cable across the chasm, figuring it to continue under the stone flooring and connect to a large lever sticking up from a more recently constructed platform across the way. Two Duergar sentries milled about the lever, though their lax attitude spoke of countless days of boredom. â€Å"They’ve rigged the thing to fall!† Bruenor snorted. The others immediately understood what he was talking about. â€Å"Is there another way across, then?† Catti-brie asked. â€Å"Aye,† replied the dwarf. â€Å"A ledge to the south end of the gorge. But hours o’ walking, and the only way to it is through this cavern!† Wulfgar grasped the iron bars of the portcullis and tested them. They held fast, as he suspected. â€Å"We could not get through these bars, anyway,† he put in. â€Å"Unless you know where we might find their crank.† â€Å"Half a day’s walking,† Bruenor replied, as though the answer, perfectly logical to the mindset of a dwarf protecting his treasures, should have been obvious. â€Å"The other way.† â€Å"Fretful folk,† Regis said under his breath. Catching the remark, Bruenor growled and grabbed Regis by the collar, hoisting him from the ground and pressing their faces together. â€Å"Me people are a careful lot,† he snarled, his own frustration and confusion boiling out again in his misdirected rage. â€Å"We like to keep what’s our own to keep, especially from little thieves with little fingers and big mouths.† â€Å"Suren there’s another way in,† Catti-brie reasoned, quick to diffuse the confrontation. Bruenor dropped the halfling to the floor. â€Å"We can get to that room,† he replied, indicating the lighted area at the base of the stairs. â€Å"Then let’s be quick,† Catti-brie demanded. â€Å"If the noise of the cave-in called out alarms, the word might not have reached this far.† Bruenor led them back down the small tunnel swiftly, and back to the corridor behind the secret door. Around the next bend in the main corridor, its walls, too, showing the runes and sculpted reliefs of the dwarven craftsmen, Bruenor was again engulfed in the wonder of his heritage and quickly lost all thoughts of anger at Regis. He heard again in his mind the ringing of hammers in Garumn’s day, and the singing of common gatherings. If the foulness that they had found here, and the loss of Drizzt, had tempered his fervent desire to reclaim Mithril Hall, the vivid recollections that assaulted him as he moved along this corridor worked to refuel those fires. Perhaps he would return with his army, he thought. Perhaps the mithril would again ring out in the smithies of Clan Battlehammer. Thoughts of regaining his people’s glory suddenly rekindled, Bruenor looked around to his friends, tired, hungry, and grieving for the drow, and reminded himself that the mission before him now was to escape the complex and get them back to safety. A more intense glow ahead signaled the end of the tunnel. Bruenor slowed their pace and crept along to the exit cautiously. Again the companions found themselves on a stone balcony, overlooking yet another corridor, a huge passageway, nearly a chamber in itself, with a high ceiling and decorated walls. Torches burned every few feet along both sides, running parallel below them. A lump welled in Bruenor’s throat when he looked upon the carvings lining the opposite wall across the way, great sculpted bas reliefs of Garumn and Bangor, and of all the patriarchs of Clan Battlehammer. He wondered, and not for the first time, if his own bust would ever take its place alongside his ancestors’. â€Å"Half-a-dozen to ten, I make them,† Catti-brie whispered, more intent on the clamor rolling out of a partly opened door down to the left, the room they had seen from their perch in the chamber of the gorge. The companions were fully twenty feet above the floor of the larger corridor. To the right, a stairway descended to the floor, and beyond it the tunnel wound its way back into the great halls. â€Å"Side rooms where others might be hiding?† Wulfgar asked Bruenor. The dwarf shook his head. â€Å"One anteroom there be, and only one,† he answered. â€Å"But more rooms lay within the cavern of Garumn’s Gorge. Whether they be filled with gray ones or no, we cannot know. But no mind to them; we’re to get through this room, and through the door across its way to come to the gorge.† Wulfgar slapped his hammer into a fighting grip. â€Å"Then let us go,† he growled, starting for the stair. â€Å"What about the two in the cavern beyond?† asked Regis, staying the anxious warrior with his hand. â€Å"They’ll drop the bridge afore we ever make the gorge,† added Catti-brie. Bruenor scratched his beard, then looked to his daughter. â€Å"How well do ye shoot?† he asked her. Catti-brie held the magical bow out before her. â€Å"Well enough to take the likes of two sentries!† she answered. â€Å"Back to th’ other tunnel with ye,† said Bruenor. â€Å"At first sound of battle, take ’em out. And be fast, girl; the cowardly scum’re likely to drop the bridge at the first signs of trouble!† With a nod, she was gone. Wulfgar watched her disappear back down the corridor, not so determined to have this fight now, without knowing that Catti-brie would be safe behind him. â€Å"What if the gray ones have reinforcements near?† he asked Bruenor. â€Å"What of Catti-brie? She will be blocked from returning to us.† â€Å"No whinin’, boy!† Bruenor snapped, also uncomfortable with his decision to separate. â€Å"Y’er heart’s for her is me guess, though ye aren’t to admit it to yerself. Keep in yer head that Cat’s a fighter, trained by meself. The other tunnel’s safe enough, still secret from the gray ones by all the signs I could find. The girl’s battle-smart to taking care of herself! So put yer thoughts to the fight before ye. The best ye can do for her is to finish these gray-bearded dogs too quick for their kin to come!† It took some effort, but Wulfgar tore his eyes away from the corridor and refocused his gaze on the open door below, readying himself for the task at hand. Alone now, Catti-brie quietly trotted back the short distance down the corridor and disappeared through the secret door. * * * â€Å"Hold!† Sydney commanded Bok, and she, too, froze in her tracks, sensing that someone was just ahead. She crept forward, the golem on her heel, and peeked around the next turn in the tunnel, expecting that she had come up on the companions. There was only empty corridor in front of her. The secret door had closed. * * * Wulfgar took a deep breath and measured the odds. If Catti-brie’s estimate was correct, he and Bruenor would be outnumbered several times when they burst through the door. He knew that they had no options open before them. With another breath to steady himself, he started again down the stairs, Bruenor moving on his cue and Regis following tentatively behind. The barbarian never slowed his long strides, or turned from the straightest path to the door, yet the first sounds that they all heard were not the thumps of Aegis-fang or the barbarian’s customary war cry to Tempos, but the battle song of Bruenor Battlehammer. This was his homeland and his fight, and the dwarf placed the responsibility for the safety of his companions squarely upon his own shoulders. He dashed by Wulfgar when they reached the bottom of the stairs and crashed through the door, the mithril axe of his heroic namesake raised before him. â€Å"This one’s for me father!† he cried, splitting the shining helm of the closest Duergar with a single stroke. â€Å"This one’s for me father’s father!† he yelled, felling the second. â€Å"And this one’s for me father’s father’s father!† Bruenor’s ancestral line was long indeed. The gray dwarves never had a chance. Wulfgar had started his charge right after he realized Bruenor was rushing by him, but by the time he got into the room, three Duergar lay dead and the furious Bruenor was about to drop the fourth. Six others scrambled around trying to recover from the savage assault, and mostly trying to get out the other door and into the cavern of the gorge where they could regroup. Wulfgar hurled Aegis-fang – and took another, and Bruenor pounced upon his fifth victim before the gray dwarf got through the portal. Across the gorge, the two sentries heard the start of battle at the same time as Catti-brie, but not understanding what was happening, they hesitated. Catti-brie didn’t. A streak of silver flashed across the chasm, exploding into the chest of one of the sentries, its powerful magic blasting through his mithril armor and hurling him back ward into death. The second lunged immediately for the lever, but Catti-brie coolly completed her business. The second streaking arrow took him in the eye. The routed dwarves in the room below poured out into the cavern below her, and others from rooms beyond the first charged out to join them. Wulfgar and Bruenor would come through soon, too, Catti-brie knew, right into the midst of a ready host! Bruenor’s evaluation of Catti-brie had been on target. A fighter she was, and as willing to stand against the odds as any warrior alive. She buried any fears that she might have had for her friends and positioned herself to be of greatest assistance to them. Eyes and jaw steeled in determination, she took up Taulmaril and launched a barrage of death at the assembling host that put them into chaos and sent many of them scrambling for cover. Bruenor roared out, blood-spattered, his mithril axe red from kills, and still with a hundred great-great ancestors as yet unavenged. Wulfgar was right behind, consumed by the blood lust, singing to his war god, and swatting aside his smaller enemies as easily as he would part ferns on a forest path. Catti-brie’s barrage did not relent, arrow after streaking arrow finding its deadly mark. The warrior within her possessed her fully and her actions stayed on the edges of her conscious thoughts. Methodically, she called for another arrow, and the magical quiver of Anariel obliged. Taulmaril played its own song, and in the wake of its notes lay the scorched and blasted bodies of many Duergar. Regis hung back throughout the fight, knowing that he would be more trouble than use to his friends in the main fray, just adding one more body for them to protect when they already had all they could handle in looking out for themselves. He saw that Bruenor and Wulfgar had gained enough of an early advantage to claim victory, even against the many enemies that had come into the cavern to face them, so Regis worked to make sure their fallen opponents in the room were truly down and would not come sneaking up behind. Also, though, to make sure that any valuables these gray ones possessed were not wasted on corpses. He heard the heavy thump of a boot behind him. He dove aside and rolled to the corner just as Bok crashed through the doorway, oblivious to his presence. When Regis recovered his voice, he moved to yell a warning to his friends. But then Sydney entered the room. Two at a time fell before the sweeps of Wulfgar’s warhammer. Spurred by the snatches that he caught of the enraged dwarf’s battle cries, â€Å"†¦for me father’s father’s father’s father’s father’s father’s†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Wulfgar wore a grim smile as he moved through the Duergar’s disorganized ranks. Arrows burned lines of silver right beside him as they sought their victims, but he trusted enough in Catti-brie not to fear a stray shot. His muscles flexed in another crushing blow, even the Duergar’s shining armor offering no protection against his brute strength. But then arms stronger than his own caught him from behind. The few Duergar that remained before him did not recognize Bok as an ally. They fled in terror to the chasm bridge, hoping to cross and destroy the route of any pursuit behind them. Catti-brie cut them down. Regis didn’t make any sudden moves, knowing Sydney’s power from the encounter back in the oval room. Her bolt of energy had flattened both Bruenor and Wulfgar; the halfling shuddered to think what it could do to him. His only chance was the ruby pendant, he thought. If he could get Sydney caught in its hypnotizing spell, he might hold her long enough for his friends to return. Slowly, he moved his hand under his jacket, his eyes trained upon the mage, wary for the beginnings of any killing bolt. Sydney’s wand remained tucked into her belt. She had a trick of her own planned for the little one. She muttered a quick chant, then rolled her hand open to Regis and puffed gently, launching a filmy string in his direction. Regis understood the spell’s nature when the air around him was suddenly saturated with floating webs – sticky spiders’ webs. They clung to every part of him, slowing his movements, and filled the area around him. He had his hand around the magical pendant, but the web had him fully within its own grip. Pleased in the exercising of her power, Sydney turned to the door and the battle beyond. She preferred calling upon the powers within her, but understood the strength of these other enemies, and drew her wand. Bruenor finished the last of the gray dwarves facing him. He had taken many hits, some serious, and much of the blood covering him was his own. The rage within him that he had built over the course of centuries, though, blinded him to the pain. His blood lust was sated now, but only until he turned back toward the anteroom and saw Bok lifting Wulfgar high into the air and crushing the life out of him. Catti-brie saw it, too. Horrified, she tried to get a clear shot at the golem, but with Wulfgar’s desperate struggling, the combatants stumbled about too often for her to dare. â€Å"Help him!† she begged to Bruenor under her breath, as all that she could do was watch. Half of Wulfgar’s body was numbed under the incredible force of Bok’s magically strengthened arms. He did manage to squirm around and face his foe, though, and he put a hand in-the golem’s eye and pushed with all his strength, trying to divert some of the monster’s energy from the attack. Bok seemed not to notice. Wulfgar slammed Aegis-fang into the monster’s face with all the force he could muster under the tight circumstances, still a blow that would have felled a giant. Again Bok seemed not to notice. The arms closed relentlessly. A wave of dizziness swept through the barbarian. His fingers tingled with numbness. His hammer dropped to the ground. Bruenor was almost there, axe poised and ready to begin chopping. But as the dwarf passed the open door to the anteroom, a blinding flash of energy shot out at him. It struck his shield, luckily, and deflected up to the cavern ceiling, but the sheer force of it hurled Bruenor from his feet. He shook his head in disbelief and struggled to a sitting position. Catti-brie saw the bolt and remembered the similar blast that had dropped both Bruenor and Wulfgar back in the oval room. Instinctively, without the slightest hesitation or concern for her own safety, she was off, running back down the passageway, driven by the knowledge that if she couldn’t get to the mage, her friends didn’t have a chance. Bruenor was more prepared for the second bolt. He saw Sydney inside the anteroom lift the wand at him. He dove on his belly and threw his shield above his head, facing the mage. It held again against the blast, deflecting the energy harmlessly away, but Bruenor felt it weaken under the impact and knew that it would not withstand another. The stubborn survival instincts of the barbarian brought his drifting mind from the swoon and back into focus on the battle. He didn’t call for his hammer, knowing it to be of little use against the golem and doubting that he could have clasped it anyway. He summoned his own strength, wrapping his huge arms around Bok’s neck. His corded muscles tensed to their limits and ripped beyond as he struggled. No breath would come to him; Bruenor would not get there in time. He growled away the pain and the fear, grimaced through the sensations of numbness. And twisted with all his might. Regis at last managed to get his hand and the pendant out from under his jacket. â€Å"Wait, mage!† he cried at Sydney, not expecting her to listen, but only hoping to divert her attention long enough for her to glimpse the gemstone, and praying that Entreri had not informed her of its hypnotizing powers. Again the mistrust and secrecy of the evil party worked against them. Oblivious to the dangers of the halfling’s ruby, Sydney glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, more to ensure that her web still held him tightly than to listen to any words he might have to say. A sparkle of red-light caught her attention more fully than she had intended, and long moments passed before she would look away. In the main passage, Catti-brie crouched low and sped along as swiftly as she could. Then she heard the baying. The hunting shadow hounds filled the corridors with their excited cries, and filled Catti-brie with dread. The hounds were far behind, but her knees went weak as the unearthly sound descended upon her, echoing from wall to wall and encasing her in a dizzying jumble. She gritted her teeth against the assault and pressed on. Bruenor needed her, Wulfgar needed her. She would not fail them. She made the balcony and sprinted down the stairs, finding the door to the anteroom closed. Cursing the luck, for she had hoped to get a shot at the mage from a distance, she slung Taulmaril over her shoulder, drew her sword, and boldly, blindly, charged through. * * * Locked in a killing embrace, Wulfgar and Bok stumbled around the cavern, sometimes dangerously close to the gorge. The barbarian matched his muscle against Dendybar’s magical work; never before had he faced such a foe. Wildly, he jerked Bok’s massive head back and forth, breaking the monster’s ability to resist. Then he began turning it in one direction, driving on with every ounce of power that he had left to give. He couldn’t remember the last time he had found a breath; he no longer knew who he was, or where he was. His sheer stubbornness refused to yield. He heard the snap of bone, and couldn’t be sure if it had been his own spine or the golem’s neck. Bok never flinched, nor loosened its vicelike grip. The head turned easily now, and Wulfgar, driven on by the final darkness that began its descent upon him, tugged and turned in a final flurry of defiance. Skin ripped away. The blood-stuff of the wizard’s creation poured onto Wulfgar’s arms and chest, and the head tore free. Wulfgar, to his own amazement, thought that he had won. Bok seemed not to notice. * * * The beginnings of the ruby pendant’s hypnotizing spell shattered when the door crashed in, but Regis had played his part. By the time Sydney recognized the coming danger, Catti-brie was too close for her to cast her spells. Sydney’s gaze locked into a stunned, wide-eyed stare of confused protest. All of her dreams and future plans fell before her in that one instant. She tried to scream out a denial, certain that the gods of fate had a more important role planned for her in their scheme of the universe, convinced that they would not allow the shining star of her budding power to be extinguished before it ever came to its potential. But a thin, wooden wand is of little use in parrying a metal blade. Catti-brie saw nothing but her target, felt nothing in that instant but the necessity of her duty. Her sword snapped through the feeble wand and plunged home. She looked at Sydney’s face for the first time. Time itself seemed to halt. Sydney’s expression had not changed, her eyes and mouth still open in denial of this possibility. Catti-brie watched in helpless horror as the last flickers of hope and ambition faded from Sydney’s eyes. Warm blood gushed over Catti-brie’s arm. Sydney’s final gasp of breath seemed impossibly loud. And Sydney slid, ever so slowly, from the blade and into the realm of death. * * * A single, vicious cut from the mithril axe severed one of Bok’s arms, and Wulfgar fell free. He landed on one knee, barely on the edge of consciousness. His huge lungs reflexively sucked in a volume of revitalizing oxygen. Sensing the dwarf’s presence clearly, but without eyes to focus upon its target, the headless golem lunged confusedly at Bruenor and missed badly. Bruenor had no understanding of the magical forces that guided the monster, or kept it alive, and he had little desire to test his fighting skills against it. He saw another way. â€Å"Come on, ye filthy mold of orc-dung,† he teased, moving toward the gorge. In a more serious tone, he called to Wulfgar, â€Å"Get yer hammer ready, boy.† Bruenor had to repeat the request over and over, and by the time Wulfgar began to hear it, Bok had backed the dwarf right up to the ledge. Only half aware of his actions, Wulfgar found the warhammer returned to his hand. Bruenor stopped, his heels clear of the stone floor, a smile on his face that accepted death. The golem paused, too, somehow understanding that Bruenor had nowhere left to run. Bruenor dropped to the floor as Bok lunged forward, Aegis-fang slammed into its back, pushing it over the dwarf. The monster fell silently, with no ears to hear the sound of the air rushing past. Catti-brie was still standing motionless over the mage’s body when Wulfgar and Bruenor entered the anteroom. Sydney’s eyes and mouth remained open in silent denial, a futile attempt to belie the pool of blood that deepened around her body. Lines of tears wetted Catti-brie’s face. She had felled goblinoids and gray dwarves, once an ogre and a tundra yeti, but never before had she killed a human. Never before had she looked into eyes akin to her own and watched the light leave them. Never before had she understood the complexity of her victim, or even that the life she had taken existed outside the present field of battle. Wulfgar moved to her and embraced her in full sympathy while Bruenor cut the halfling free of the remaining strands of webbing. The dwarf had trained Catti-brie to fight and had reveled in her victories against orcs and the like, foul beasts that deserved death by all accounts. He had always hoped, though, that his beloved Catti-brie would be spared this experience. Again Mithril Hall loomed as the source of his friends’ suffering. Distant howls echoed from beyond the open door behind them. Catti-brie slid the sword into its sheath, not even thinking to wipe the blood from it, and steadied herself. â€Å"The pursuit is not ended,† she stated flatly. â€Å"It is past time we leave.† She led them from the room then, but left a part of herself, the pedestal of her innocence, behind. How to cite Streams of Silver 22. The Dragon of Darkness, Essay examples