Wednesday, May 6, 2020
Snow Falling on Cedars Free Essays
How is the concept of the conflicting perspectives represented in the texts you have studied? In your answer refer to Snow Falling on Cedars and ONE related text of your choosing A conflicting perspective is a point of view of either one or more people that is generally subjective which presents a form of opposition in opinion. The novel, ââ¬ËSnow falling On Cedarsââ¬â¢ composed by David Guterson in 1995 and the film ââ¬ËCrashââ¬â¢ composed by Paul Haggis in 2005 represents the concept of conflicting perspectives in different ways. Both the film and the novel convey the ideas of the social, judicial and interpersonal concepts in their texts through their characters and experiences such as Ishmael Chambers in Snow falling On Cedars and Jean from ââ¬ËCrashââ¬â¢. We will write a custom essay sample on Snow Falling on Cedars or any similar topic only for you Order Now In ââ¬ËSnow Falling On Cedarsââ¬â¢ Guterson addresses the idea of conflicting perspectives through a court case and then relates other peopleââ¬â¢s perspectives to the core plot of the novel while ââ¬ËCrashââ¬â¢ tells several different stories and then melds them together. Therefore through each composerââ¬â¢s use of sub plots, setting in the strawberry fields and techniques, the concept of conflicting perspectives is represented. The novel, Snow Falling on Cedars is a crime fiction novel which reveals a story about an investigation and trial into the death of a local islander on San Piedro. The book in itself characterises many sub plots such as the relationship between Ishmael Chambers and Hatsue Imada as well as the main plot of the murder trial. Guterson uses setting as a technique in order to reinforce his representation of conflicting perspectives in the novel. One of the main conflicting perspectives which are represented in ââ¬Å"snow Falling on Cedarsâ⬠is the concept of racial heritage due to World War II. This is political conflict which in turn causes distress in the everyday life of the characters within the book. The racial hatred between the Japanese and the Americans fuels many of the conflicts which occur in the book including the prejudice and urged conviction of Kabuo and also separating those in society who have different opinions. The war seems to change peoplesââ¬â¢ perspectives on everything and Guterson represents a latent mistrust of the different. This can be seen in the novel as the repercussions of the attack on Pearl Harbour cause minor abuse of residential Japanese ââ¬Ëtraitorsââ¬â¢ who are being arrested ââ¬Ëin Hawaii and other places- and the FBIââ¬â¢s in on itâ⬠. Guterson represents the conflicting perspectives through the personalities of Arthur and Ishmael chambers who through their newspaper voiced reason and unbiased information over the war ââ¬ËLet us rememberâ⬠¦ hat prejudice and hatred are never right and never to be accepted by a just society (Arthur) and this caused great criticism from the fellow islanders. ââ¬Å"Seems like your favouring the Japs Artâ⬠. This can be contrasted with the characters of Etta Heine who sold off the land promised to the Miyamotoââ¬â¢s while they were in internment camp and also the boatman Dale Middleton who comments to Ishma el ââ¬Ësuckers all look alikeââ¬â¢ referring to the Miyamotoââ¬â¢s. The use of the strawberry fields within the novel highlights Gutersonââ¬â¢s representation of the concept of conflicting perspectives. The fields are a superficial union of all the islanders with growers, pickers and packers working off the farm and the rest of the island attending the Strawberry Festival in town each year. The strawberry field represents one of the main themes in the film which is the idea that not everything is as it seems. The fields are symbols of richness and fertility and hold a sense of beauty in the fruit it produces however, at the same time the fields are cold and bitter to work on which becomes symbolic of the characters on the island. In ââ¬ËSnow Falling On Cedarsââ¬â¢ there is a sub plot which revolves around the relationship of two islanders and this relationships represents the concepts of conflicting perspectives. The relationship between Ishmael Chambers and Hatsue Imada becomes highly significant as not only is the responder able to see the conflicting perspectives between Ishmael and Hatsue but also the conflicting perspectives which occur within Ishmael later in the book. Ishmael loves Hatsue and the loss of the relationship between them results in the hatred of Hatsue and a loss of compassion from Ishmael. They both have different perspectives on their relationship and therefore it was destined to fail, not only because of the racial differences but also because she doesnââ¬â¢t love Ishmael. This revelation is revealed to the responder through the hidden scene in the cedar tree. ââ¬ËIt came as an enormous shock to her, this knowledge, and at the same time it was something she had always known, something until now hiddenââ¬â¢. This quote also becomes quite significant as the relationship between Ishmael and Hatsue was kept a secret with their love filled meetings kept within a hollowed out cedar tree in the forest. Ultimately the idea that the relationship was kept a secret damned it because in order for their relationship to continue they need to be open about it but the relationship can only exist in secret. ââ¬Å"â⬠¦ we canââ¬â¢t go out, Ishmael. Weââ¬â¢re trapped inside this treeâ⬠. The end of the book gives Ishmael the opportunity for Ishmael to resolve many of the conflicting perspectives in the novel with the evidence he discovered at the light house which would clear Kabuoââ¬â¢s name. However, the personal cost to him is enormous and it takes away something in himself when he comes forward to resolve it. The use of the cedar trees within the novel becomes an important technique when considering the representation of the concepts of conflict in the novel. The cedar tree is a place where Ishmael and Hatsue are able to pursue their relationship because it offers them a place away from cultural values and rules and gives them the opportunity to pursue their feelings. The tree offers them a protection from the realities of the outside world. The tree, like the strawberry fields is a symbol of tenderness and beauty. The tree however is hollow and has something missing and this becomes symbolic of Hatsueââ¬â¢s and Ishmaelââ¬â¢s relationship because it signifies that it was never meant to be and that there was something missing from their relationship. It was hollow. The tree is symbolic of the twoââ¬â¢s love as this is the place where they lose their virginity to each other. However, moments after this takes place Hatsue asks Ishmael to pull out as she feels that their relationship is over. She does not love him. The cedar tree is as much of a symbol of Ishmaelââ¬â¢s love as it is of Hatsueââ¬â¢s love in cultural blood. The film, ââ¬ËCrashââ¬â¢ composed by Paul Haggis in 2005 represents the concept of conflicting perspectives. At the beginning of the film the responder watches several different characters in different sub plots creating several different stories which have no correlation to each other. As the film progresses the several different sub plots begin to meld into one and ultimately revolve around a single car crash. The film ââ¬ËCrashââ¬â¢ displays several different meanings of conflicting perspectives from the point of view of different characters and then displays how these perspectives can change when subjected to different experiences. This can be seen through the character of Jean who due to a car-jacking earlier in the film, has a conflicting perspective on race. This perspective becomes ironic in that she feel that ââ¬Ëwhitesââ¬â¢ are more superior and do not commit themselves to such abhorred acts as that of coloured people. However when she takes a fall within her own home and none of her ââ¬Ëwhiteââ¬â¢ friends come to help her, it is in fact her Hispanic maid Maria who helps her. The responder is able to see the change in Jeans perspective when she comments to her maid Maria ââ¬Å"youââ¬â¢re the best friend Iââ¬â¢ve gotâ⬠. This can be related to the character of Ishmael in ââ¬ËSnow Falling on Cedarsââ¬â¢ as he too changes his perspective towards the end of the novel when he discovers evidence which could change the course of his ex-lovers husbands court trial. The 12th chapter in ââ¬ËCrashââ¬â¢, Protect and Serve, captures the films essence of the representation of conflicting perspectives where two characters, Officer Ryan and Christine are forced into a situation where they are both forced to face their conflicting perspectives towards each other. In the beginning of the film, Officer Ryan assaults Christine, a black women based on his external conflict of racial prejudice. Scene 12 ââ¬Å"Protect and Serveâ⬠forces both characters to acknowledge their conflicting perspectives, giving them the opportunity to resolve this as Christine is trapped in her overturned car and Officer Ryan tries to free her. The scene uses several pan shots, non- dijectic and music sounds to create a surreal sense, as though the crash is a dream. This becomes important as the Haggis transforms the surreal sense to an immediate and high risk situation using mis-en-scene to create the emergency of the situation. As Officer Ryan reaches the car, the responder is able to see a series of shots which show the scene from not only Officer Ryanââ¬â¢s perspective, but also Christineââ¬â¢s. This scene forces Christine to face her internal conflicting view of Officer Ryan as an abuser screaming ââ¬Å"no, not you. Anyone but youâ⬠at him when she realises who he is. The idea that Christine is ultimately forced to face her internal conflicts by accepting Officer Ryan can also be seen in the novel Snow Falling on Cedars as Ishmael is forced to face his internal conflict in order to be able to present the evidence to save her husband, Kabuo from conviction. Overall the 1995 novel, ââ¬ËSnow Falling on Cedarsââ¬â¢ and the 2005 film, ââ¬ËCrashââ¬â¢ represents the concept of conflicting perspectives through the use of characters, setting and technique. The use of the characters Ishmael, Jean and Christine creates conflicting perspectives within themselves outlining how perspective are created and changed throughout the course of the text. Therefore In ââ¬ËSnow Falling on cedarsââ¬â¢ composed by David Guterson and ââ¬ËCrashââ¬â¢ composed by Paul Haggis the concept of conflicting perspectives is represented. How to cite Snow Falling on Cedars, Papers
Sunday, May 3, 2020
Surveying of Condom Distribution in High School free essay sample
Surveying of Condom Distribution In High School Based on a survey of condoms in High School, I have decided to write about the results and presented as a survey report. A survey was conducted at the local high school to get some of the studentsââ¬â¢ opinions on condoms being distributed in school. The following report is the results from the survey. The following questions were asked; what would it solve by putting condoms in school? Has it ever been done before? And do you think it will help? The response to the young teens about putting condoms in the school would most definitely help with prevent sexually transmitted diseases that are being spread throughout the schools. The teens were also made aware of the risk of having sex with someone and they have had sex with someone else and contracted the disease, then so have you. Teens are beginning to have sex as early as the age of twelve. Many students are against condoms in school due to embarrassment, even though the embarrassing situation could help save their lives and so many others. This is the attitude that gets a lot of teens in trouble today. In the percentage rate males who were reported using condoms every time they had sexual intercourse increased greatly, from 37% to 50% and females showed no increase. Over the Unites States, School and school districts have been establishing condoms availability programs in response to fear of HIV, other transmitted diseases and pregnancy among teenagers. Over the year condoms in schools have become less powerful words. I feel that Parents need to get involved and help to promote condoms in school. Girls are raped everyday and their attackers are HIV positive or have an STD and it is because these young men are not being educated. Condoms may not sound nice but I think they would be good for schools to educate the young adults on sex education. One school tried a different method for distributing condoms. Condoms were placed around the school so if the students wanted a condom, they could take one. Itââ¬â¢s as if they should have had a sign up that says FREE TAKE ONEâ⬠. A can was placed by the basket asking the student to leave a quarter when taking a condom. This approach is not aiding in the program, instead its running the kids off. Is this really how we want to protect our kids? They need education, not just condoms thrown at them. I think that if you are trying to get students to use condoms why charge them? Programs that can help raise money to provide funding for condoms to be distributed in schools include car washes, garage sales, which requiring participation. Funding can come from many sources, but whatever you have to do to get funds to make the distribution of condoms in schools. Evaluation of the baseline survey of students grades 9-12 administrated in April 1992 before condom program began. In demographic information knowledge, attitude, and belief about sex, and other STDs ,pregnancy and contraception;specific sexual behavior, and condoms use. Separate versions of surveys for males and females were identical except for appropriate differences in sexual behavior. In demographic information knowledge, attitude and belief about sex, HIV, and other STDs, pregnancy and contraception; specific sexual behaviors, and condoms use. Separate versions of survey for males and females were identical except for appropriate differences in sexual behavior. There are certain ways that questions are asked to male and female such as ââ¬Å"How old were you the first time you had vaginal intercourse (put your penis in a girls vagina).? â⬠In the lifetime history of vaginal intercourse, as well as history intercourse during the year; for other sexual activity covered experience during the prior year. ANALYTIC APPROACH The switch to an active consent procedure abs the local controversy may have led to selective participation in the follow up of survey: as a result, the follow up sample may have differed from the baseline sample in characteristics that should not have made affected by the program, but that so many have related to outcomes of interest. So therefore to adjust the differences in response, we develop analysis weights threat assume the distribution of certain demographics and other weight that assumed the istribution of certain demographic and other characteristics of student in the school was the same for both years. We also assumed that given the extremely high response rate at baseline, the baseline respondents provided an adequate approximation of the true distribution of characteristics among students the school. Sexual behavior Results: There was no significant change between the baseline and the follow-up surveys in the percentage of males and females who had ever had vaginal inte rcourse or who had had vaginal intercourse during the percentage year. Among students who had engaged in vaginal intercourse at least once, there was no significant change in the reported numbers of times that either male or female had done so during the prior year. Condom use: The percentage of males reporting that they had used s condom of first virginal (not shown) increased from 46%to 50%. In addition, among males who had recently initiated vaginal intercourse, the percentage who reported condo use at first intercourse also increased from 65% at baseline to 80% at follow-up. Attitudes, Self Efficacy and Knowledge: Males agreed more at follow-up than baseline with the statement ââ¬Å"People my age should not be having vaginal intercourse. â⬠White females did not change their level of agreement. Both male and female were more likely at follow-up than at baseline to disagree that having condoms makes one more likely to have vaginal intercourse. Bibliography Retreived http. omgili. com/birth-condoms-control-distribution-schools Retreived http:gateway. nlm. nih. gov
Tuesday, March 24, 2020
What is IT Infrastructure and What Are Its Components Essay Sample free essay sample
IT substructure is the shared engineering resources that provide the platform for the firmââ¬â¢s specific information system specifications. IT substructure includes hardware. package. and services that are shared across the full house. Major IT substructure constituents include computing machine hardware platforms. runing system platforms. endeavor package platforms. networking and telecommunications platforms. database direction package. Internet platforms. and confer withing services and systems planimeters. 2. What are the phases and engineering drivers of IT substructure development? The five phases of IT substructure development are: ( 1 ) the mainframe epoch. ( 2 ) the personal computing machine epoch. ( 3 ) the client/server epoch. ( 4 ) the endeavor calculating epoch. and ( 5 ) the cloud and nomadic calculating epoch. Mooreââ¬â¢s Law trades with the exponential addition in treating power and diminution in the cost of computing machine engineering. saying that every 18 months the power of microprocessors doubles and the monetary value of calculating falls in half. The Law of Mass Digital Storage trades with the exponential lessening in the cost of hive awaying informations. We will write a custom essay sample on What is IT Infrastructure and What Are Its Components? Essay Sample or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page saying that the figure of Ks of informations that can be stored on magnetic media for $ 1 approximately doubles every 15 months. Metcalfeââ¬â¢s Law helps demo that a networkââ¬â¢s value to participants grows exponentially as the web takes on more members. Besides driving detonating computing machine usage is the rapid diminution in costs of communicating and turning understanding in the engineering industry to utilize computer science and communications criterions. 3. What are the current tendencies in computing machine hardware platforms? Increasingly. computer science is taking topographic point on a nomadic digital platform. Grid calculating involves linking geographically distant computing machines into a individual web to make a computational grid that combines the calculating power of all the computing machines in the web. Virtualization organizes calculating resources so that their usage is non restricted by physical constellation or geographic location. In cloud calculating. houses and persons obtain calculating power and package as services over a web. including the Internet. instead than buying and put ining the hardware and package on their ain computing machines. A multicore processor is a microprocessor to which two or more processing nucleuss have been attached for enhanced public presentation. Green calculating includes patterns and engineerings for bring forthing. utilizing. and disposing of information engineering hardware to minimise negative impact on the environment. In autonomic computer science. computing machine systems have capablenesss for automatically configuring and mending themselves. Power-saving processors dramatically cut down power ingestion in nomadic digital devices. 4. Define and depict unfastened beginning package and Linux and explicate their concern benefits. Open beginning is produced and maintained by a planetary community of coders and is frequently downloaded for free. Linux is a powerful. resilien t unfastened beginning runing system that can run on multiple hardware platforms and is used widely to run Web waiters. Define Java and Ajax and explicate why they are of import. Java is an operating ââ¬âsystem ââ¬â and hardware- independent scheduling linguistic communication that is the taking synergistic scheduling environment for the web. Ajax is another Web development technique for making synergistic Web applications that prevents all of this incommodiousness. Define and depict Web services and the function played by XML Ajax and JavaScript is another Web development technique for making synergistic Web applications that prevents all of this incommodiousness Name and depict the three external beginnings for package. Mashups. Java. LinuxDefine and describe package mashups and apps.Mashups combine two different package services to make new package applications and services. Apps are little pieces of package that run on the Internet. on a computing machine. or on a nomadic phone and are by and large delivered over the cyberspace. 5. Name and depict the direction challenges posed by IT substructure. Covering with platform and substructure alteration. substructure direction and administration are the challenges posed by IT substructure. Explain how utilizing a competitory forces theoretical account and ciphering the TCO of engineering assets help houses make good substructure investings. TCO theoretical account can be used to analyse these direct and indirect costs to assist houses find the existent cost of specific engineering executions.
Friday, March 6, 2020
How working with an editor helped me score a publishing deal
How working with an editor helped me score a publishing deal How Working with an Editor Helped me Score a Publishing Deal Leslie Heath recently secured a publishing contract for her novel "The Last Mayor's Son". She attributes a large part of her book's success to her editor. In this article, she shares glimpses into the editing process and her advice on how to maintain a good author-editor relationship.A good editor can take a mediocre story and help make it into something phenomenal, but that requires lots of communication, knowledge, and above all, a strong relationship between the author and editor.Important note: a good editor doesnââ¬â¢t actually change the storyà - they make suggestions that the author can accept or refuse. It is ultimately the authorââ¬â¢s responsibility to make any necessary revisions to the prose, storyline, or characters.Finding the right editorWhen working on my novel,à The Last Mayor's Son, I first tried finding an editorà on author forums and web searches - without much luck. I did begin to work with one individual, but that arrangement quickly fell apart for many reasons, some of which I should have seen coming. First, I figured out almost immediately that this "editor" was not a professional - despite the claims on his website. When I asked him about his cringeworthy grammar and punctuation, his response was that those things were not his concern. This might have been funny if it wasnââ¬â¢t so frustrating. Finally, I asked around for advice, and several people recommended Reedsy as the best place to find a genuinely professional editor.Reedsy's briefing process was simple, andà within no time, I had accepted an offer from one of their vetted editors, Maria Dââ¬â¢Marco. Initially, I asked her for an editorial assessment to point out flaws in the plot and give me a general idea of where to improve. I expected a short two- or three-page overview, but I got so much more. Maria gave me an in-depth, twenty-page written assessment plus notes in the manuscript. She not only showed me the areas that needed work but also highlighted pl aces where the story shined.How to facilitate a good author-editor relationshipThis is a good place to point out the most important aspect of the author-editor relationship: the author must be willing to accept constructive criticism. It is astounding how many authors ask for input, then get offended and angry when the editor or reader finds an error or suggests a change. I didnââ¬â¢t agree with every suggestion, but I used them as jumping-off points where I could improve my story. Also, this is where the author needs to have a plan for the story. There were several places where Maria suggested something that wouldnââ¬â¢t work for my idea of the storyline. Instead of getting upset at her feedback, I saw it as an arrow pointing to a problem. Clearly, my idea didn't get across in that passage, so I rewrote it to say what I wanted it to. A good author-editor relationship requiresà theà ability to accept constructive criticism. One instance of this is a scene where it necessary to the story for a character who is swimming in a lake to head for deeper waters. After reading this scene, Maria felt it was a bit random and that I needed to specify why this character dives deeper. She suggested the character notices something sinister in the shallow-end and therefore swims away. While this was intriguing, it didnââ¬â¢t fit the story. To fix the clarity problem, I added a few lines of dialogue at the end of the scene where the character explains that something brushed his leg, startling him into jumping toward deep water.The importance of editing for fantasy novelsFantasy stories can require more work than other types of fiction, especially when the author has to keep track of all the details about how the world works. The world I had created for "The Last Mayorââ¬â¢s Son"à has 3 moons which orbit in different directions and in different time schedules. This is an issue at one point in the story when two c haracters mustà wait until the slowest moon is full again before they can be freed from their temporary prison. A sharp editor is essential in these situations, as they can see inconsistencies that the author may not have noticed.Several months after Mariaââ¬â¢s initial assessment, I returned to Reedsy - and Maria - for a full developmental edit. I was eager to see what her reaction would be to the changes I had made. This time we got more into the nitty-gritty of each individual scene, and she also pointed out some bad grammatical habits I had fallen into. Specifically, she walked me through improving the flow and coherence of the final, epic battle scene, where the main character leaves his home to help defend aà forest village, he must face the enemy. While I had the major events of the battle already defined, Maria helped me organize them so the flow made sense and readers could easily follow what was happening. I would go more in-depth here, but I donââ¬â¢t want to give away the ending!Professional editing helped me score a publishing contractAfter more revisions and reworking those scenes, I started sending off queries to publishers and agents. Within a few short weeks, I received a request for a full manuscript, and then an offer for a contract with a small independent publisher. I have no doubt that Mariaââ¬â¢s help was instrumental in landing the deal because she helped strengthen the weakest parts of the book. And after working with a talented professional, I can say with confidence that a good editor is instrumental in creating a book people will want to read. A good editor is instrumental is to creating a book people will want to read. Just remember - know the story you are trying to tell, but keep your pen open to suggestion and you will find working with an editor to be a fruitful and happy process.The Last Mayors son is available from Class Act Books, and on Amazon in paperback andà Kindle.à What have been your experiences working with an editor? Do you have any additional tips for creating a good author-editor relationship?à Leave your thoughts, experiences, or any questions for Leslieà in the comments below.
Wednesday, February 19, 2020
Introduction to human resource Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
Introduction to human resource - Assignment Example 1. HR is responsible for recruiting and training employees. For this, they formulate and conduct different strategies of interviewing and testing the candidates. After that, HR recommends names for selection to the top management. 3. In order to facilitate the employees in their tasks and to enable them to achieve the assigned objectives, HR provide the employees with all resources they require with due approval of the top management. 4. HR helps the accountants prepare salary of individual workers. For this purpose, HR conducts attendance and maintains record of absentees so that the pay for unapproved absenteeism can be cut from the salary. Regarding their interaction with the HR professionals, the interviewees said that they listen to the HR professionals carefully and pay full heed to what they instruct because they visualize them as a link between them and the top management. My aunt said that HR professionalsââ¬â¢ instructions have to be respected because they come from the top management. My brother said it is advisable to try to maintain excellent terms with the HR professionals because their evaluation makes a difference. My friend said he maintains a formal interaction with the HR professionals. I agree to the statement of each of them regarding this matter. My aunt and friend perceived HR professionals as representatives of the top management while my brother perceived HR professionals as spies. I agree more to the response of my aunt and friend than my brother in this matter. HRM plays a very important function in any organization. Workforce is the most valuable asset of any organization. Being its managers, HR professionals assume prime importance in the organization. The central role of HR professionals in the organization interests me. I would best be able to serve the strategic role of HR because this involves special display of emotional intelligence (EI) on the part of the HR professional. By
Tuesday, February 4, 2020
Substance abuse among teens Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words
Substance abuse among teens - Article Example y get into substance abuse owing to peer pressure or just for the sake of pleasure, the long term consequences are extreme and thus, they must be educated on the issue which makes them direct stakeholders in the issue. Thus, both parents and their children as a family unit make an important stakeholder to the issue. For instance, if the child is indulged in the perils of substance abuse, it would be the family who will have to bear the brunt while the child is in rehab, also medical expenses would also be borne by the family. Thus, in any way, the family unit has the most stakes in the issue (Monty, Suzzane & Tracy 22-23). Similarly, the community of the teachers and instructors directly associated with these teenagers also has stakes in the issue since they will be ones looking after the well being of the community. Thus, as an institution these teachers, professors and instructors must also be directly engaged in a meaningful discussion since they understand the behavioral patterns of the issues well, which makes them stakeholders in the debate. On a macro level, the policy makers who are looking after the demand supply pattern of these drugs involved, and thus awareness over the issues is also significant for them. For instance, these policy makers have to be mindful of developing strategies over the age limit of legal availability of certain legalized drugs, similarly, of the level of taxation to be imposed on the purchase of such drugs. Thus, on a holistic level, advocates, community mobilzers, family units and other similar institutions stand to be significant stakeholders in this context. The study aims at addressing the gap in information specifically for the stakeholders identified. In other words, assessing substance abuse with a focus specifically on teenagers is the need of the time since the issue is now affecting stakeholders at a macro level. The paper will thus offer information for these stakeholders who are looking for figures and estimates in a
Sunday, January 26, 2020
Understanding Communication in Animals
Understanding Communication in Animals Ever since the beginning of animal and human existence, there has been a continuous flow of information between individuals and groups. The term communication comes from Latin word commÃâ¦Ã «nicÃâà re to share and defines the process of giving information or of making emotions or ideas known to someone (MacMillanDictionary n.d.). Human communication has a very elaborated structure. A language is a complex communication system and it occurs when the speaker and the listener possess a representational process that is common and that ensures similar coding and decoding of signal meaning (Rendall et al. 2009) Even if animals might not have the ability to speak a language or utter various words, they have many other ways of expressing themselves. In animal communication, scent is probably the most common sense used by animals in order to mark their territory, to warn off or even scare intruders, to show their readiness to mate or even to attract the prey. In general, they use strong smelling urine for these purposes but some animals possess scent glands that produce persistent odours. Skunks are widely known for their anal scent glands that spray an oily liquid towards their enemy. The foul mist does not do any serious damage to the victim but it scares him off and it could linger on his body for a few days. Snakes and lizards use their tongues in order to collect the scent particles in the air then they analyze the information inside their mouths. Many insects, such as bees, ants and moths use pheromones to communicate, mostly for attracting males. Another source of scent utilized by some animals (for example: the rabbit, the hippopotamus, the vicuna) to make their presence be felt on different territories is excrements. The y try to mark their territory by dropping large heaps of feces so others would keep distance. The second sense that animals rely on to a great extent is hearing. In order to survive and succeed, animals guide themselves by the acoustic signals that they produce and receive. There is an ample variety of sounds that could be produced by animals, depending on size and species. Numerous acoustic signals that are transmitted by animals are not distinguished or noticed by humans because of the ultra-low sounds that canââ¬â¢t be perceived by human ear. The most vocal animals are birds that are well-known for their songs in different tonalities and cheerful chirping, especially in spring and summer. Whales, the largest of all mammals, are experts in the art of sound communication. They use various types of sounds, like whistles, clicks and pulsed calls for multiple purposes: echolocation, mate calling, and social interaction (Anon n.d.). Other animals that are often heard by humans are frogs and toads that have developed their vocal signals by using little bags of air as sound res onators which are situated on the sides of the head or in the throat. Elephants can produce a wide range of sounds, from rumbles to snorts and cries, going from very low frequencies to higher ones. When they are in danger or they are in a state of extreme excitement they use their trunks to deliver long resounding trumpeting. Their large ears allow them to have a great sensitivity to lower frequencies and also a better capacity in localizing sounds. A third sense that helps animals communicate is sight. Visual signals at animals are diverse and they can come in many forms of display, such as mimicry, body posture, and facial expressions. For example, male peacocks and lyre birds display their exquisite colorful feathers and bodies in order to attract females for mating, visual communication being used in their advantage. Body language is frequently used by dogs, cats, monkeys and other animals. An example would be the moment when two dogs meet for the first time and they start setting their hierarchical position through body postures. If one holds its tail between the legs it means that the dog is found in a submissive position, allowing the other, with raised tail, to exercise power and dominance. Dogs also make use of their tails by wagging them in order to show happiness, excitement or pleasure. In opposition, cats waving tail is a signal of anger and irritation. The non-human primates, the monkeys, use a lot of facial expres sions and body language to express their feelings. They flutter eyelids and raise eyebrows to denote pleasure, they hug to show friendship towards the other, and the males hit their chests in order to show superiority. The art of mimicry is a fascinating modality of visual communication between animals. Mimicry occurs when an animal copies the actions, the appearance or the sounds of another animal or even the surrounding itself in order to avoid predators and enemies and to get them confused. For example, the peacock butterfly has large eye-spots on its wings to give the predator the false impression that it represents something bigger than it actually is so that would scare him off. Another example is the elephant hawk moth caterpillar who inflates its snake-like- head when being attacked to create the illusion of being a bigger and scarier animal. Other type of visual communication is warning coloration which can be found at caterpillars, various insects, frogs and snakes, the bright colors representing a warning for the potential predators. Their coloration pattern shows how dangerous or poisonous they can be and also if they have a dreadful taste. So, in general, animals learn how to avoid the danger in such cases. Even though it might not be as important as other senses, touch is used by some animals in order to communicate their feelings towards others. As humans make certain gestures like shaking hands, kissing or hugging when meeting someone, monkeys also hug as a sign of affection. In addition to humans, they have a special and unique greeting which consists in placing the hand in the each otherââ¬â¢s mouth as a sign of trust and friendliness between them. Cats are creatures that are avid after tactile communication with others of their kind or even with humans. They usually rub their bodies against each other, especially around the face area but also along their bodies, intertwining their tails. Some domestic and savage cats use each other as ââ¬Å"cushionsâ⬠, this behavior being some form of social bonding and affection. They love grooming each other and curl up together. Owner of over 1000 tiny receptors, the crocodile is very sensitive to any kind of presence or movement. These receptors are present around their jaw line and they can easily detect vibrations in the water and the location of their prey even when a small insect stops by to take a drink. Animal communication has always been fascinating to humans as we try to understand which are the similarities and differences between human language and animalsââ¬â¢ ways of expressing themselves. Karl von Frisch, a professor of zoology at the University of Munich, conducted some research on bee communication during around thirty years and he revealed some important principles that helped us understand more about animal communication(Benveniste 1953) First of all, we found out that there are some similarities between bee communication and human language. They are able to offer and to receive messages that contain real data, they can describe the location and the distance of a certain object and they can communicate all these by using various somatic movements. Therefore, it was demonstrated that bees own some kind of ââ¬Å"memoryâ⬠which enables them to store all the data and then transmit it to others. On the other hand, the differences between human language and bee communication are significant. Bees can only transmit the message through body language without being able to create sounds through vocal organs. Their communication can occur only during daylight, an element that permits visual perception while human communication is not limited by this factor. Another important difference between the two ââ¬Ëlanguagesââ¬â¢ is the fact that, unlike humans, bees canââ¬â¢t carry a dialogue therefore there is no exchange of linguistic information and no reply from the receiver of the message. Also, beesââ¬â¢ messages canââ¬â¢t be analyzed because they can only be seen as a general reference to a total content. But in humanââ¬â¢s speech, each utterance can be reduced to parts that could easily be combined according to some certain rules so there is a great variety in human language. So, we got to the conclusion that beeââ¬â¢s communication is not a language but a signal code because there is an invariability of the message, a unilaterality of transmission, an impossibility of separating the elements of the message and also fixity of the topic. Studies made on non-human primates showed that while humans acquire extra information about a speakerââ¬â¢s intentions, wishes, and beliefs during a dialogue, apes and monkeys appear to have no such abilities because there is no theory of mind. Their way of communicating might appear a bit chaotic when it is compared to human language. For example, when they encounter dangerous situations, they create some alarm vocalizations which are not structured but short and noisy. These sounds are ideally produced to capture the listenerââ¬â¢s attention as quick as possible in order to warn it about the potential dangers and to make it react really fast. To conclude, the lack of a real language in animal communication does not mean that there is no similarity between human language and animal communication. Humans will always make research about animal communication in order to get a better understanding of the way the non-human beings express themselves. Bibliography and References Anon, Whales make noise to communicate, locate food, and find each other. , p.http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/whalesounds.htm. Available at: http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/whalesounds.htm [Accessed January 15, 2014]. Benveniste, E., 1953. Animal Communication and Human Language: The Language of the Bees. Diogenes, 1(1), pp.1ââ¬â7. Available at: http://dio.sagepub.com/cgi/doi/10.1177/039219215300100101 [Accessed January 11, 2014]. MacMillanDictionary, No Title. Available at: http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/communication [Accessed January 14, 2014]. Rendall, D., Owren, M.J. Ryan, M.J., 2009. What do animal signals mean? Animal Behaviour, 78(2), pp.233ââ¬â240. Available at: http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0003347209002589 [Accessed January 11, 2014]. 1
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)