Chapter 30 The Pensieve

The door of the office opened. â€Å"Hello, Potter,† said Moody. â€Å"Come in, then.† Harry walked inside. He had been inside Dumbledore's office once before; it was a very beautiful, circular room, lined with pictures of previous headmasters and headmistresses of Hogwarts, all of whom were fast asleep, their chests rising and falling gently. Cornelius Fudge was standing beside Dumbledore's desk, wearing his usual pinstriped cloak and holding his lime-green bowler hat. â€Å"Harry!† said Fudge jovially, moving forward. â€Å"How are you?† â€Å"Fine,† Harry lied. â€Å"We were just talking about the night when Mr. Crouch turned up on the grounds,† said Fudge. â€Å"It was you who found him, was it not?† â€Å"Yes,† said Harry. Then, feeling it was pointless to pretend that he hadn't overheard what they had been saying, he added, â€Å"I didn't see Madame Maxime anywhere, though, and she'd have a job hiding, wouldn't she?† Dumbledore smiled at Harry behind Fudge's back, his eyes twinkling. â€Å"Yes, well,† said Fudge, looking embarrassed, â€Å"we're about to go for a short walk on the grounds, Harry, if you'll excuse us†¦perhaps if you just go back to your class -â€Å" â€Å"I wanted to talk to you. Professor,† Harry said quickly, looking at Dumbledore, who gave him a swift, searching look. â€Å"Wait here for me, Harry,† he said. â€Å"Our examination of the grounds will not take long.† They trooped out in silence past him and closed the door. After a minute or so, Harry heard the clunks of Moody's wooden leg growing fainter in the corridor below. He looked around. â€Å"Hello, Fawkes,† he said. Fawkes, Professor Dumbledore's phoenix, was standing on his golden perch beside the door. The size of a swan, with magnificent scarlet-and-gold plumage, he swished his long tail and blinked benignly at Harry. Harry sat down in a chair in front of Dumbledore's desk. For several minutes, he sat and watched the old headmasters and headmistresses snoozing in their frames, thinking about what he had just heard, and running his fingers over his scar. It had stopped hurting now. He felt much calmer, somehow, now that he was in Dumbledore's office, knowing he would shortly be telling him about the dream. Harry looked up at the walls behind the desk. The patched and ragged Sorting Hat was standing on a shelf. A glass case next to it held a magnificent silver sword with large rubies set into the hilt, which Harry recognized as the one he himself had pulled out of the Sorting Hat in his second year. The sword had once belonged to Godric Gryffindor, founder of Harry's House. He was gazing at it, remembering how it had come to his aid when he had thought all hope was lost, when he noticed a patch of silvery light, dancing and shimmering on the glass case. He looked around for the source of the light and saw a sliver of silver-white shining brightly from within a black cabinet behind him, whose door had not been closed properly. Harry hesitated, glanced at Fawkes, then got up, walked across the office, and pulled open the cabinet door. A shallow stone basin lay there, with odd carvings around the edge: runes and symbols that Harry did not recognize. The silvery light was coming from the basin's contents, which were like nothing Harry had ever seen before. He could not tell whether the substance was liquid or gas. It was a bright, whitish silver, and it was moving ceaselessly; the surface of it became ruffled like water beneath wind, and then, like clouds, separated and swirled smoothly. It looked like light made liquid – or like wind made solid – Harry couldn't make up his mind. He wanted to touch it, to find out what it felt like, but nearly four years' experience of the magical world told him that sticking his hand into a bowl full of some unknown substance was a very stupid thing to do. He therefore pulled his wand out of the inside of his robes, cast a nervous look around the office, looked back at the contents of the basin, and prodded them. The surface of the silvery stuff inside the basin began to swirl very fast. Harry bent closer, his head right inside the cabinet. The silvery substance had become transparent; it looked like glass. He looked down into it expecting to see the stone bottom of the basin – and saw instead an enormous room below the surface of the mysterious substance, a room into which he seemed to be looking through a circular window in the ceiling. The room was dimly lit; he thought it might even be underground, for there were no windows, merely torches in brackets such as the ones that illuminated the walls of Hogwarts. Lowering his face so that his nose was a mere inch away from the glassy substance, Harry saw that rows and rows of witches and wizards were seated around every wall on what seemed to be benches rising in levels. An empty chair stood in the very center of the room. There was something about the chair that gave Harry an ominous feeling. Chains encircled the arms of it, as though its occupants were usually tied to it. Where was this place? It surely wasn't Hogwarts; he had never seen a room like that here in the castle. Moreover, the crowd in the mysterious room at the bottom of the basin was comprised of adults, and Harry knew there were not nearly that many teachers at Hogwarts. They seemed, he thought, to be waiting for something; even though he could only see the tops of their hats, all of their faces seemed to be pointing in one direction, and none of them were talking to one another. The basin being circular, and the room he was observing square, Harry could not make out what was going on in the corners of it. He leaned even closer, tilting his head, trying to see†¦ The tip of his nose touched the strange substance into which he was staring. Dumbledore's office gave an almighty lurch – Harry was thrown forward and pitched headfirst into the substance inside the basin – But his head did not hit the stone bottom. He was falling through something icy-cold and black; it was like being sucked into a dark whirlpool – And suddenly, Harry found himself sitting on a bench at the end of the room inside the basin, a bench raised high above the others. He looked up at the high stone ceiling, expecting to see the circular window through which he had just been staring, but there was nothing there but dark, solid stone. Breathing hard and fast. Harry looked around him. Not one of the witches and wizards in the room (and there were at least two hundred of them) was looking at him. Not one of them seemed to have noticed that a fourteen-year-old boy had just dropped from the ceiling into their midst. Harry turned to the wizard next to him on the bench and uttered a loud cry of surprise that reverberated around the silent room. He was sitting right next to Albus Dumbledore. â€Å"Professor!† Harry said in a kind of strangled whisper. â€Å"I'm sorry – I didn't mean to – I was just looking at that basin in your cabinet – I – where are we?† But Dumbledore didn't move or speak. He ignored Harry completely. Like every other wizard on the benches, he was staring into the far corner of the room, where there was a door. Harry gazed, nonplussed, at Dumbledore, then around at the silently watchful crowd, then back at Dumbledore. And then it dawned on him†¦. Once before. Harry had found himself somewhere that nobody could see or hear him. That time, he had fallen through a page in an enchanted diary, right into somebody else's memory†¦and unless he was very much mistaken, something of the sort had happened again†¦ Harry raised his right hand, hesitated, and then waved it energetically in from of Dumbledore's face. Dumbledore did not blink, look around at Harry, or indeed move at all. And that, in Harry's opinion, settled the matter. Dumbledore wouldn't ignore him like that. He was inside a memory, and this was not the present-day Dumbledore. Yet it couldn't be that long ago†¦the Dumbledore sitting next to him now was silver-haired, just like the present-day Dumbledore. But what was this place? What were all these wizards waiting for? Harry looked around more carefully. The room, as he had suspected when observing it from above, was almost certainly underground – more of a dungeon than a room, he thought. There was a bleak and forbidding air about the place; there were no pictures on the walls, no decorations at all; just these serried rows of benches, rising in levels all around the room, all positioned so that they had a clear view of that chair with the chains on its arms. Before Harry could reach any conclusions about the place in which they were, he heard footsteps. The door in the corner of the dungeon opened and three people entered – or at least one man, flanked by two dementors. Harry's insides went cold. The dementors – tall, hooded creatures whose faces were concealed – were gliding slowly toward the chair in the center of the room, each grasping one of the man's arms with their dead and rotten-looking hands. The man between them looked as though he was about to faint, and Harry couldn't blame him†¦he knew the dementors could not touch him inside a memory, but he remembered their power only too well. The watching crowd recoiled slightly as the dementors placed the man in the chained chair and glided back out of the room. The door swung shut behind them. Harry looked down at the man now sitting in the chair and saw that it was Karkaroff. Unlike Dumbledore, Karkaroff looked much younger; his hair and goatee were black. He was not dressed in sleek furs, but in thin and ragged robes. He was shaking. Even as Harry watched, the chains on the arms of the chair glowed suddenly gold and snaked their way up Karkaroff's arms, binding him there. â€Å"Igor Karkaroff,† said a curt voice to Harry's left. Harry looked around and saw Mr. Crouch standing up in the middle of the bench beside him. Crouch's hair was dark, his face was much less lined, he looked fit and alert. â€Å"You have been brought from Azkaban to present evidence to the Ministry of Magic. You have given us to understand that you have important information for us.† Karkaroff straightened himself as best he could, tightly bound to the chair. â€Å"I have, sir,† he said, and although his voice was very scared, Harry could still hear the familiar unctuous note in it. â€Å"I wish to be of use to the Ministry. I wish to help. I – I know that the Ministry is trying to – to round up the last of the Dark Lords supporters. I am eager to assist in any way I can†¦.† There was a murmur around the benches. Some of the wizards and witches were surveying Karkaroff with interest, others with pronounced mistrust. Then Harry heard, quite distinctly, from Dumbledores other side, a familiar, growling voice saying, â€Å"Filth.† Harry leaned forward so that he could see past Dumbledore. Mad-Eye Moody was sitting there – except that there was a very noticeable difference in his appearance. He did not have his magical eye, but two normal ones. Both were looking down upon Karkaroff, and both were narrowed in intense dislike. â€Å"Crouch is going to let him out,† Moody breathed quietly to Dumbledore. â€Å"He's done a deal with him. Took me six months to track him down, and Crouch is going to let him go if he's got enough new names. Let's hear his information, I say, and throw him straight back to the dementors.† Dumbledore made a small noise of dissent through his long, crooked nose. â€Å"Ah, I was forgetting†¦you don't like the dementors, do you, Albus?† said Moody with a sardonic smile. â€Å"No,† said Dumbledore calmly, â€Å"I'm afraid I don't. I have long felt the Ministry is wrong to ally itself with such creatures.† â€Å"But for filth like this†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Moody said softly. â€Å"You say you have names for us, Karkaroff,† said Mr. Crouch. â€Å"Let us hear them, please.† â€Å"You must understand,† said Karkaroff hurriedly, â€Å"that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named operated always in the greatest secrecy†¦.He preferred that we – I mean to say, his supporters – and I regret now, very deeply, that I ever counted myself among them -â€Å" â€Å"Get on with it,† sneered Moody. â€Å"- we never knew the names of every one of our fellows – He alone knew exactly who we all were -â€Å" â€Å"Which was a wise move, wasn't it, as it prevented someone like you, Karkaroff, from turning all of them in,† muttered Moody. â€Å"Yet you say you have some names for us?† said Mr. Crouch. â€Å"I – I do,† said Karkaroff breathlessly. â€Å"And these were important supporters, mark you. People I saw with my own eyes doing his bidding. I give this information as a sign that I fully and totally renounce him, and am filled with a remorse so deep I can barely -â€Å" â€Å"These names are?† said Mr. Crouch sharply. Karkaroff drew a deep breath. â€Å"There was Antonin Dolohov,† he said. â€Å"I – I saw him torture countless Muggles and – and non-supporters of the Dark Lord.† â€Å"And helped him do it,† murmured Moody. â€Å"We have already apprehended Dolohov,† said Crouch. â€Å"He was caught shortly after yourself.† â€Å"Indeed?† said Karkaroff, his eyes widening. â€Å"I – I am delighted to hear it!† But he didn't look it. Harry could tell that this news had come as a real blow to him. One of his names was worthless. â€Å"Any others?† said Crouch coldly. â€Å"Why, yes†¦there was Rosier,† said Karkaroff hurriedly. â€Å"Evan Rosier.† â€Å"Rosier is dead,† said Crouch. â€Å"He was caught shortly after you were too. He preferred to fight rather than come quietly and was killed in the struggle.† â€Å"Took a bit of me with him, though,† whispered Moody to Harry's right. Harry looked around at him once more, and saw him indicating the large chunk out of his nose to Dumbledore. â€Å"No – no more than Rosier deserved!† said Karkaroff, a real note of panic in his voice now. Harry could see that he was starting to worry that none of his information would be of any use to the Ministry. Karkaroff's eyes darted toward the door in the corner, behind which the dementors undoubtedly still stood, waiting. â€Å"Any more?† said Crouch. â€Å"Yes!† said Karkaroff. â€Å"There was Travers – he helped murder the McKinnons! Mulciber – he specialized in the Imperius Curse, forced countless people to do horrific things! Rookwood, who was a spy, and passed He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named useful information from inside the Ministry itself!† Harry could tell that, this time, Karkaroff had struck gold. The watching crowd was all murmuring together. â€Å"Rookwood?† said Mr. Crouch, nodding to a witch sitting in front of him, who began scribbling upon her piece of parchment. â€Å"Augustus Rookwood of the Department of Mysteries?† â€Å"The very same,† said Karkaroff eagerly. â€Å"I believe he used a network of well-placed wizards, both inside the Ministry and out, to collect information -â€Å" â€Å"But Travers and Mulciber we have,† said Mr. Crouch. â€Å"Very well, Karkaroff, if that is all, you will be returned to Azkaban while we decide -â€Å" â€Å"Not yet!† cried Karkaroff, looking quite desperate. â€Å"Wait, I have more!† Harry could see him sweating in the torchlight, his white skin contrasting strongly with the black of his hair and beard. â€Å"Snape!† he shouted. â€Å"Severus Snape!† â€Å"Snape has been cleared by this council,† said Crouch disdainfully. â€Å"He has been vouched for by Albus Dumbledore.† â€Å"No!† shouted Karkaroff, straining at the chains that bound him to the chair. â€Å"I assure you! Severus Snape is a Death Eater!† Dumbledore had gotten to his feet. â€Å"I have given evidence already on this matter,† he said calmly. â€Å"Severus Snape was indeed a Death Eater. However, he rejoined our side before Lord Voldemort's downfall and turned spy for us, at great personal risk. He is now no more a Death Eater than I am.† Harry turned to look at Mad-Eye Moody. He was wearing a look of deep skepticism behind Dumbledore's back. â€Å"Very well, Karkaroff,† Crouch said coldly, â€Å"you have been of assistance. I shall review your case. You will return to Azkaban in the meantime†¦.† Mr. Crouch's voice faded. Harry looked around; the dungeon was dissolving as though it were made of smoke; everything was fading; he could see only his own body – all else was swirling darkness†¦. And then, the dungeon returned. Harry was sitting in a different seat, still on the highest bench, but now to the left side of Mr. Crouch. The atmosphere seemed quite different: relaxed, even cheerful. The witches and wizards all around the walls were talking to one another, almost as though they were at some sort of sporting event. Harry noticed a witch halfway up the rows of benches opposite. She had short blonde hair, was wearing magenta robes, and was sucking the end of an acid-green quill. It was, unmistakably, a younger Rita Skeeter. Harry looked around; Dumbledore was sitting beside him again, wearing different robes. Mr. Crouch looked more tired and somehow fiercer, gaunter†¦.Harry understood. It was a different memory, a different day†¦a different trial. The door in the corner opened, and Ludo Bagman walked into the room. This was not, however, a Ludo Bagman gone to seed, but a Ludo Bagman who was clearly at the height of his Quidditch-playing fitness. His nose wasn't broken now; he was tall and lean and muscular. Bagman looked nervous as he sat down in the chained chair, but it did not bind him there as it had bound Karkaroff, and Bagman, perhaps taking heart from this, glanced around at the watching crowd, waved at a couple of them, and managed a small smile. â€Å"Ludo Bagman, you have been brought here in front of the Council of Magical Law to answer charges relating to the activities of the Death Eaters,† said Mr. Crouch. â€Å"We have heard the evidence against you, and are about to reach our verdict. Do you have anything to add to your testimony before we pronounce judgment?† Harry couldn't believe his ears. Ludo Bagman, a Death Eater? â€Å"Only,† said Bagman, smiling awkwardly, â€Å"well – I know I've been a bit of an idiot -â€Å" One or two wizards and witches in the surrounding seats smiled indulgently. Mr. Crouch did not appear to share their feelings. He was staring down at Ludo Bagman with an expression of the utmost severity and dislike. â€Å"You never spoke a truer word, boy,† someone muttered dryly to Dumbledore behind Harry. He looked around and saw Moody sitting there again. â€Å"If I didn't know he'd always been dim, I'd have said some of those Bludgers had permanently affected his brain†¦.† â€Å"Ludovic Bagman, you were caught passing information to Lord Voldemort's supporters,† said Mr. Crouch. â€Å"For this, I suggest a term of imprisonment in Azkaban lasting no less than -â€Å" But there was an angry outcry from the surrounding benches. Several of the witches and wizards around the walls stood up, shaking their heads, and even their fists, at Mr. Crouch. â€Å"But I've told you, I had no idea!† Bagman called earnestly over the crowd's babble, his round blue eyes widening. â€Å"None at all! Old Rookwood was a friend of my dad's†¦never crossed my mind he was in with You-Know-Who! I thought I was collecting information for our side! And Rookwood kept talking about getting me a job in the Ministry later on†¦once my Quidditch days are over, you know†¦I mean, I can't keep getting hit by Bludgers for the rest of my life, can I?† There were titters from the crowd. â€Å"It will be put to the vote,† said Mr. Crouch coldly. He turned to the right-hand side of the dungeon. â€Å"The jury will please raise their hands†¦those in favor of imprisonment†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Harry looked toward the right-hand side of the dungeon. Not one person raised their hand. Many of the witches and wizards around the walls began to clap. One of the witches on the jury stood up. â€Å"Yes?† barked Crouch. â€Å"We'd just like to congratulate Mr. Bagman on his splendid performance for England in the Quidditch match against Turkey last Saturday,† the witch said breathlessly. Mr. Crouch looked furious. The dungeon was ringing with applause now. Bagman got to his feet and bowed, beaming. â€Å"Despicable,† Mr. Crouch spat at Dumbledore, sitting down as Bagman walked out of the dungeon. â€Å"Rookwood get him a job indeed†¦.The day Ludo Bagman joins us will be a sad day indeed for the Ministry†¦.† And the dungeon dissolved again. When it had returned, Harry looked around. He and Dumbledore were still sitting beside Mr. Crouch, but the atmosphere could not have been more different. There was total silence, broken only by the dry sobs of a frail, wispy-looking witch in the seat next to Mr. Crouch. She was clutching a handkerchief to her mouth with trembling hands. Harry looked up at Crouch and saw that he looked gaunter and grayer than ever before. A nerve was twitching in his temple. â€Å"Bring them in,† he said, and his voice echoed through the silent dungeon. The door in the corner opened yet again. Six dementors entered this time, flanking a group of four people. Harry saw the people in the crowd turn to look up at Mr. Crouch. A few of them whispered to one another. The dementors placed each of the four people in the four chairs with chained arms that now stood on the dungeon floor. There was a thickset man who stared blankly up at Crouch; a thinner and more nervous-looking man, whose eyes were darting around the crowd; a woman with thick, shining dark hair and heavily hooded eyes, who was sitting in the chained chair as though it were a throne; and a boy in his late teens, who looked nothing short of petrified. He was shivering, his straw-colored hair all over his face, his freckled skin milk-white. The wispy little witch beside Crouch began to rock backward and forward in her seat, whimpering into her handkerchief. Crouch stood up. He looked down upon the four in front of him, and there was pure hatred in his face. â€Å"You have been brought here before the Council of Magical Law,† he said clearly, â€Å"so that we may pass judgment on you, for a crime so heinous -â€Å" â€Å"Father,† said the boy with the straw-colored hair. â€Å"Father†¦please†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"- that we have rarely heard the like of it within this court,† said Crouch, speaking more loudly, drowning out his son's voice. â€Å"We have heard the evidence against you. The four of you stand accused of capturing an Auror – Frank Longbottom – and subjecting him to the Cruciatus Curse, believing him to have knowledge of the present whereabouts of your exiled master, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named -â€Å" â€Å"Father, I didn't!† shrieked the boy in chains below. â€Å"I didn't, I swear it. Father, don't send me back to the dementors -â€Å" â€Å"You are further accused,† bellowed Mr. Crouch, â€Å"of using the Cruciatus Curse on Frank Longbottom's wife, when he would not give you information. You planned to restore He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named to power, and to resume the lives of violence you presumably led while he was strong. I now ask the jury -â€Å" â€Å"Mother!† screamed the boy below, and the wispy little witch beside Crouch began to sob, rocking backward and forward. â€Å"Mother, stop him. Mother, I didn't do it, it wasn't me!† â€Å"I now ask the jury,† shouted Mr. Crouch, â€Å"to raise their hands if they believe, as I do, that these crimes deserve a life sentence in Azkaban!† In unison, the witches and wizards along the right-hand side of the dungeon raised their hands. The crowd around the walls began to clap as it had for Bagman, their faces full of savage triumph. The boy began to scream. â€Å"No! Mother, no! I didn't do it, I didn't do it, I didn't know! Don't send me there, don't let him!† The dementors were gliding back into the room. The boys' three companions rose quietly from their seats; the woman with the heavy-lidded eyes looked up at Crouch and called, â€Å"The Dark Lord will rise again, Crouch! Throw us into Azkaban; we will wait! He will rise again and will come for us, he will reward us beyond any of his other supporters! We alone were faithful! We alone tried to find him!† But the boy was trying to fight off the dementors, even though Harry could see their cold, draining power starting to affect him. The crowd was jeering, some of them on their feet, as the woman swept out of the dungeon, and the boy continued to struggle. â€Å"I'm your son!† he screamed up at Crouch. â€Å"I'm your son!† â€Å"You are no son of mine!† bellowed Mr. Crouch, his eyes bulging suddenly. â€Å"I have no son!† The wispy witch beside him gave a great gasp and slumped in her seat. She had fainted. Crouch appeared not to have noticed. â€Å"Take them away!† Crouch roared at the dementors, spit flying from his mouth. â€Å"Take them away, and may they rot there!† â€Å"Father! Father, I wasn't involved! No! No! Father, please!† â€Å"I think. Harry, it is time to return to my office,† said a quiet voice in Harry's ear. Harry started. He looked around. Then he looked on his other side. There was an Albus Dumbledore sitting on his right, watching Crouch's son being dragged away by the dementors – and there was an Albus Dumbledore on his left, looking right at him. â€Å"Come,† said the Dumbledore on his left, and he put his hand under Harry's elbow. Harry felt himself rising into the air; the dungeon dissolved around him; for a moment, all was blackness, and then he felt as though he had done a slow-motion somersault, suddenly landing flat on his feet, in what seemed like the dazzling light of Dumbledore's sunlit office. The stone basin was shimmering in the cabinet in front of him, and Albus Dumbledore was standing beside him. â€Å"Professor,† Harry gasped, â€Å"I know I shouldn't've – I didn't mean – the cabinet door was sort of open and -â€Å" â€Å"I quite understand,† said Dumbledore. He lifted the basin, carried it over to his desk, placed it upon the polished top, and sat down in the chair behind it. He motioned for Harry to sit down opposite him. Harry did so, staring at the stone basin. The contents had returned to their original, silvery-white state, swirling and rippling beneath his gaze. â€Å"What is it?† Harry asked shakily. â€Å"This? It is called a Pensieve,† said Dumbledore. â€Å"I sometimes find, and I am sure you know the feeling, that I simply have too many thoughts and memories crammed into my mind.† â€Å"Er,† said Harry, who couldn't truthfully say that he had ever felt anything of the sort. â€Å"At these times,† said Dumbledore, indicating the stone basin, â€Å"I use the Pensieve. One simply siphons the excess thoughts from one's mind, pours them into the basin, and examines them at one's leisure. It becomes easier to spot patterns and links, you understand, when they are in this form.† â€Å"You mean†¦that stuff's your thoughts?† Harry said, staring at the swirling white substance in the basin. â€Å"Certainly,† said Dumbledore. â€Å"Let me show you.† Dumbledore drew his wand out of the inside of his robes and placed the tip into his own silvery hair, near his temple. When he took the wand away, hair seemed to be clinging to it – but then Harry saw that it was in fact a glistening strand of the same strange silvery-white substance that filled the Pensieve. Dumbledore added this fresh thought to the basin, and Harry, astonished, saw his own face swimming around the surface of the bowl. Dumbledore placed his long hands on either side of the Pensieve and swirled it, rather as a gold prospector would pan for fragments of gold†¦.and Harry saw his own face change smoothly into Snape's, who opened his mouth and spoke to the ceiling, his voice echoing slightly. â€Å"It's coming back†¦Karkaroff's too†¦stronger and clearer than ever†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"A connection I could have made without assistance,† Dumbledore sighed, â€Å"but never mind.† He peered over the top of his half-moon spectacles at Harry, who was gaping at Snape's face, which was continuing to swirl around the bowl. â€Å"I was using the Pensieve when Mr. Fudge arrived for our meeting and put it away rather hastily. Undoubtedly I did not fasten the cabinet door properly. Naturally, it would have attracted your attention.† â€Å"I'm sorry,† Harry mumbled. Dumbledore shook his head. â€Å"Curiosity is not a sin,† he said. â€Å"But we should exercise caution with our curiosity†¦yes, indeed†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Frowning slightly, he prodded the thoughts within the basin with the tip of his wand. Instantly, a figure rose out of it, a plump, scowling girl of about sixteen, who began to revolve slowly, with her feet still in the basin. She took no notice whatsoever of Harry or Professor Dumbledore. When she spoke, her voice echoed as Snape's had done, as though it were coming from the depths of the stone basin. â€Å"He put a hex on me, Professor Dumbledore, and I was only teasing him, sir, I only said I'd seen him kissing Florence behind the greenhouses last Thursday†¦.† â€Å"But why. Bertha,† said Dumbledore sadly, looking up at the now silently revolving girl, â€Å"why did you have to follow him in the first place?† â€Å"Bertha?† Harry whispered, looking up at her. â€Å"Is that – was that Bertha Jorkins?† â€Å"Yes,† said Dumbledore, prodding the thoughts in the basin again; Bertha sank back into them, and they became silvery and opaque once more. â€Å"That was Bertha as I remember her at school.† The silvery light from the Pensieve illuminated Dumbledore's face, and it struck Harry suddenly how very old he was looking. He knew, of course, that Dumbledore was getting on in years, but somehow he never really thought of Dumbledore as an old man. â€Å"So, Harry,† said Dumbledore quietly. â€Å"Before you got lost in my thoughts, you wanted to tell me something.† â€Å"Yes,† said Harry. â€Å"Professor – I was in Divination just now, and – er – I fell asleep.† He hesitated here, wondering if a reprimand was coming, but Dumbledore merely said, â€Å"Quite understandable. Continue.† â€Å"Well, I had a dream,† said Harry. â€Å"A dream about Lord Voldemort. He was torturing Wormtail†¦you know who Wormtail-â€Å" â€Å"I do know,† said Dumbledore promptly. â€Å"Please continue.† â€Å"Voldemort got a letter from an owl. He said something like, Wormtail's blunder had been repaired. He said someone was dead. Then he said, Wormtail wouldn't be fed to the snake – there was a snake beside his chair. He said – he said he'd be feeding me to it, instead. Then he did the Cruciatus Curse on Wormtail – and my scar hurt,† Harry said. â€Å"It woke me up, it hurt so badly.† Dumbledore merely looked at him. â€Å"Er – that's all,† said Harry. â€Å"I see,† said Dumbledore quietly. â€Å"I see. Now, has your scar hurt at any other time this year, excepting the time it woke you up over the summer?† â€Å"No, I – how did you know it woke me up over the summer?† said Harry, astonished. â€Å"You are not Sirius's only correspondent,† said Dumbledore. â€Å"I have also been in contact with him ever since he left Hogwarts last year. It was I who suggested the mountainside cave as the safest place for him to stay.† Dumbledore got up and began walking up and down behind his desk. Every now and then, he placed his wand tip to his temple, removed another shining silver thought, and added it to the Pensieve. The thoughts inside began to swirl so fast that Harry couldn't make out anything clearly: It was merely a blur of color. â€Å"Professor?† he said quietly, after a couple of minutes. Dumbledore stopped pacing and looked at Harry. â€Å"My apologies,† he said quietly. He sat back down at his desk. â€Å"D'you – d'you know why my scar's hurting me?† Dumbledore looked very intently at Harry for a moment, and then said, â€Å"I have a theory, no more than that†¦.It is my belief that your scar hurts both when Lord Voldemort is near you, and when he is feeling a particularly strong surge of hatred.† â€Å"But†¦why?† â€Å"Because you and he are connected by the curse that failed,† said Dumbledore. â€Å"That is no ordinary scar.† â€Å"So you think†¦that dream†¦did it really happen?† â€Å"It is possible,† said Dumbledore. â€Å"I would say – probable. Harry – did you see Voldemort?† â€Å"No,† said Harry. â€Å"Just the back of his chair. But – there wouldn't have been anything to see, would there? I mean, he hasn't got a body, has he? But†¦but then how could he have held the wand?† Harry said slowly. â€Å"How indeed?† muttered Dumbledore. â€Å"How indeed†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Neither Dumbledore nor Harry spoke for a while. Dumbledore was gazing across the room, and, every now and then, placing his wand tip to his temple and adding another shining silver thought to the seething mass within the Pensieve. â€Å"Professor,† Harry said at last, â€Å"do you think he's getting stronger?† â€Å"Voldemort?† said Dumbledore, looking at Harry over the Pensieve. It was the characteristic, piercing look Dumbledore had given him on other occasions, and always made Harry feel as though Dumbledore were seeing right through him in a way that even Moody's magical eye could not. â€Å"Once again. Harry, I can only give you my suspicions.† Dumbledore sighed again, and he looked older, and wearier, than ever. â€Å"The years of Voldemort's ascent to power,† he said, â€Å"were marked with disappearances. Bertha Jorkins has vanished without a trace in the place where Voldemort was certainly known to be last. Mr. Crouch too has disappeared†¦within these very grounds. And there was a third disappearance, one which the Ministry, I regret to say, do not consider of any importance, for it concerns a Muggle. His name was Frank Bryce, he lived in the village where Voldemort's father grew up, and he has not been seen since last August. You see, I read the Muggle newspapers, unlike most of my Ministry friends.† Dumbledore looked very seriously at Harry. â€Å"These disappearances seem to me to be linked. The Ministry disagrees – as you may have heard, while waiting outside my office.† Harry nodded. Silence fell between them again, Dumbledore extracting thoughts every now and then. Harry felt as though he ought to go, but his curiosity held him in his chair. â€Å"Professor?† he said again. â€Å"Yes, Harry?† said Dumbledore. â€Å"Er†¦could I ask you about†¦that court thing I was in†¦in the Pensieve?† â€Å"You could,† said Dumbledore heavily. â€Å"I attended it many times, but some trials come back to me more clearly than others†¦particularly now†¦.† â€Å"You know – you know the trial you found me in? The one with Crouch's son? Well†¦.were they talking about Neville's parents?† Dumbledore gave Harry a very sharp look. † Has Neville never told you why he has been brought up by his grandmother?† he said. Harry shook his head, wondering, as he did so, how he could have failed to ask Neville this, in almost four years of knowing him. â€Å"Yes, they were talking about Neville's parents,† said Dumbledore. â€Å"His father, Frank, was an Auror just like Professor Moody. He and his wife were tortured for information about Voldemort's whereabouts after he lost his powers, as you heard.† â€Å"So they're dead?† said Harry quietly. â€Å"No,† said Dumbledore, his voice full of a bitterness Harry had never heard there before. â€Å"They are insane. They are both in St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. I believe Neville visits them, with his grandmother, during the holidays. They do not recognize him.† Harry sat there, horror-struck. He had never known†¦never, in four years, bothered to find out†¦ â€Å"The Longbottoms were very popular,† said Dumbledore. â€Å"The attacks on them came after Voldemort's fall from power, just when everyone thought they were safe. Those attacks caused a wave of fury such as I have never known. The Ministry was under great pressure to catch those who had done it. Unfortunately, the Longbottoms' evidence was – given their condition – none too reliable.† â€Å"Then Mr. Crouch's son might not have been involved?† said Harry slowly. Dumbledore shook his head. â€Å"As to that, I have no idea.† Harry sat in silence once more, watching the contents of the Pensieve swirl. There were two more questions he was burning to ask†¦but they concerned the guilt of living people†¦. â€Å"Er,† he said, â€Å"Mr. Bagman†¦.† â€Å"†¦has never been accused of any Dark activity since,† said Dumbledore calmly. â€Å"Right,† said Harry hastily, staring at the contents of the Pensieve again, which were swirling more slowly now that Dumbledore had stopped adding thoughts. â€Å"And†¦er†¦Ã¢â‚¬  But the Pensieve seemed to be asking his question for him. Snape's face was swimming on the surface again. Dumbledore glanced down into it, and then up at Harry. â€Å"No more has Professor Snape,† he said. Harry looked into Dumbledore's light blue eyes, and the thing he really wanted to know spilled out of his mouth before he could stop it. â€Å"What made you think he'd really stopped supporting Voldemort, Professor?† Dumbledore held Harry's gaze for a few seconds, and then said, â€Å"That, Harry, is a matter between Professor Snape and myself.† Harry knew that the interview was over; Dumbledore did not look angry, yet there was a finality in his tone that told Harry it was time to go. He stood up, and so did Dumbledore. â€Å"Harry,† he said as Harry reached the door. â€Å"Please do not speak about Neville's parents to anybody else. He has the right to let people know, when he is ready.† â€Å"Yes, Professor,† said Harry, turning to go. â€Å"And-â€Å" Harry looked back. Dumbledore was standing over the Pensieve, his face lit from beneath by its silvery spots of light, looking older than ever. He stared at Harry for a moment, and then said, â€Å"Good luck with the third task.†

Locke, Berkeley & Hume

Locke, Berkeley & Hume Enlightenment began with an unparalleled confidence in human reason. The new science's success in making clear the natural world through Locke, Berkeley, and Hume affected the efforts of philosophy in two ways. The first is by locating the basis of human knowledge in the human mind and its encounter with the physical world. Second is by directing philosophy's attention to an analysis of the mind that was capable of such cognitive success. John Locke set the tone for enlightenment by affirming the foundational principle of empiricism: There is nothing in the intellect that was not previously in the senses. Locke could not accept the Cartesian rationalist belief in innate ideas. According to Locke, all knowledge of the world must ultimately rest on man's sensory experience. The mind arrives at sound conclusions through reflection after sensation. In other words the mind combines and compounds sensory impressions or ideas into more complex concepts building it's conceptual understanding. There was skepticism in the empiricist position mainly from the rationalist orientation. Locke recognized there was no guarantee that all human ideas of things genuinely resembled the external objects they were suppose to represent. He also realized he could not reduce all complex ideas, such as substance, to sensations. He did know there were three factors in the process of human knowledge: the mind, the physical object, and the perception or idea in the mind that represents that object. Locke, however, attempted a partial solution to such problems. He did this by making the distinction between primary and secondary qualities. Primary qualities produce ideas that are simply consequences of the subject's perceptual apparatus. With focusing on the Primary qualities it is thought that science can gain reliable knowledge of the material world. Locke fought off skepticism with the argument that in the end both types of qualities must be regarded as experiences of the mind. Lockes Doctrine of Representation was therefore undefendable. According to Berkley's analysis all human experience is phenomenal, limited to appearances in the mind. One's perception of nature is one's mental experience of nature, making all sense data objects for the mind and not representations of material substances. In effect while Locke had reduced all mental contents to an ultimate basis in sensation, Berkeley now further reduced all sense data to mental contents. The distinction, by Locke, between qualities that belong to the mind and qualities that belong to matter could not be sustained. Berkeley sought to overcome the contemporary tendency toward atheistic Materialism which he felt arose without just cause with modern science. The empiricist correctly aims that all knowledge rests on experience. In the end, however, Berkeley pointed out that experience is nothing more than experience. All representations, mentally, of supposed substances, materially, are as a final result ideas in the mind presuming that the existence of a material world external to the mind as an unwarranted assumption. The idea is that to be does not mean to be a material substance; rather to be means to be perceived by a mind. Through this Berkeley held that the individual mind does not subjectively determine its experience of the world. The reason that different individuals continually percieve a similar world and that a reliable order inheres in that world is that the world and its order depend on a mind that transcends individual minds and is universal (God's mind). The universal mind produces sensory ideas in individual minds according to certain regularities such as the laws of nature. Berkeley strived to preserve the empiricist orientation and solve Lockes representation problems, while also preserving a spiritual foundation for human experience. Just as Berkeley followed Locke, so did David Hume of Berkeley. Hume drove the empiricist epistemological critique to its final extreme by using Berkeley's insight only turning it in a direction more characteristic of the modern mind. Being an empiricist who grounded all human knowledge in sense experience, Hume agreed with Lockes general idea, and too with Berkeley's criticism of Lockes theory of representation, but disagreed with Berkeley's idealist solution. Behind Hume's analysis is this thought: Human experience was indeed of the phenomenal only, of sense impressions, but there was no way to ascertain what was beyond the sense impressions, spiritual or otherwise. To start his analysis, Hume distinguished between sensory impressions and ideas. Sensory impressions being the basis of any knowledge coming with a force of liveliness and ideas being faint copies of those impressions. The question is then asked, What causes the sensory impression? Hume answered None. If the mind analyzes it's experience without preconception, it must recognize that in fact all its supposed knowledge is based on a continuous chaotic volley of discrete sensations, and that on these sensations the mind imposes an order of its own. The mind can't really know what causes the sensations because it never experiences cause as a sensation. What the mind does experience is simple impressions, through an association of ideas the mind assumes a causal relation that really has no basis in a sensory impression. Man can not assume to know what exists beyond the impressions in his mind that his knowledge is based on. Part of Hume's intention was to disprove the metaphysical claims of philosophical rationalism and its deductive logic. According to Hume, two kinds of propositions are possible. One view is based purely on sensation while the other purely on intellect. Propositions based on sensation are always with matters of concrete fact that can also be contingent. It is raining outside is a proposition based on sensation because it is concrete in that it is in fact raining out and contingent in the fact that it could be different outside like sunny, but it is not. In contrast to that a proposition based on intellect concerns relations between concepts that are always necessary like all squares have four equal sides. But the truths of pure reason are necessary only because they exist in a self contained system with no mandatory reference to the external world. Only logical definition makes them true by making explicit what is implicit in their own terms, and these can claim no necessary relation to the nature of things. So, the only truths of which pure reason is capable are redundant. Truth cannot be asserted by reason alone for the ultimate nature of things. For Hume, metaphysics was just an exalted form of mythology, of no relevance to the real world. A more disturbing consequence of Hume's analysis was its undermining of empirical science itself. The mind's logical progress from many particulars to a universal certainty could never be absolutely legitimated. Just because event B has always been seen to follow event A in the past, that does not mean it will always do so in the future. Any acceptance of that law is only an ingrained psychological persuasion, not a logical certainty. The causal necessity that is apparent in phenomena is the necessity only of conviction subjectively, of human imagination controlled by its regular association of ideas. It has no objective basis. The regularity of events can be perceived, however, there necessity can not. The result is nothing more than a subjective feeling brought on by the experience of apparent regularity. Science is possible, but of the phenomenal only, determined by human psychology. With Hume, the festering empiricist stress on sense perception was brought to its ultimate extreme, in which only the volley and chaos of those perceptions exist, and any order imposed on those perceptions was arbitrary, human, and without objective foundation. For Hume all human knowledge had to be regarded as opinion and he held that ideas were faint copies of sensory impressions instead of vice – versa. Not only was the human mind less than perfect, it could never claim access to the world's order, which could not be said to exist apart from the mind. Locke had retained a certain faith in the capacity of the human mind to grasp, however imperfectly, the general outlines of an external world by means of combining operations. With Berkeley, there had been no necessary material basis for experience, though the mind had retained a certain independent spiritual power derived from God's mind, and the world experienced by the mind derived its order from the same source. Word Count: 1374

Learning organization and human motivation Essay - 2

Learning organization and human motivation - Essay Example of Excellence, Tom Peters speaks of eight themes which the successful companies adopts and two of them focus on the optimisation of human capital – Autonomy & entrepreneurship through fostering innovation and nurturing champions and secondly productivity through people (Peters & Waterman 1982). Achieving innovation and continuous development through workforce involvement and commitment has become a challenge, which organizations seeking to excel, has to address as a top priority. Employee commitment is the most potent competitive driver an organisation can develop for pursuing its objectives and harnessing employee commitment involves creating an environment, which allows for autonomy and achievement. Flexibility among the workforce is critical for developing lean and effective organisational structures which is critical for organisational excellence (Peters & Waterman 1982) High performance work teams are the norm of today’s successful companies where the team members perform multitasks on highly flexible work agendas. Employee creativity is developed and nurtured by those organisations that recognise the potential for breakthrough products and process innovations. Such companies as 3M which is placed at the forefront of innovation, capitalises on its employee creativity and promotes it through policies as the â€Å"15% rule† allowing time for pursuing personal projects. The manager who wants commitment, flexibility and creativity from employe es is therefore advised to provide them with lots of learning opportunities. As per the management guru, Peter Senge, â€Å"If a seedling has no room to grow, it will never become a tree.† (Senge 1990) Providing a workplace environment, that promotes learning opportunities through innovation, creativity, participation and autonomy addresses the motivational needs of the employees. Motivational theories as Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs as well as Alderfer’s ERG Theory both identify people’s desire for growth and self

Strategic Management and Strategic Competitiveness Essay - 3

Strategic Management and Strategic Competitiveness - Essay Example Internet and telecommunications infrastructure are the major contributors of globalization as people from different can easily connect and interact. This global interconnection increases job opportunities, ideas and competitiveness in equal measure. In its expansion process, Disney targeted those countries whereby people were greatly aware of the company and the services it offered. Another strategic consideration was the stability of the economy and the disposable income, which the citizens of that country used on leisure. Trade policies, political and microeconomics stability also played a huge role in determining whether Disney opened a branch in that country. Globalization has led to the increase of the companies’ market and this has forced it to open many branches to cater for the high demand of its services. The company has opened up branches in UK, Spain, Italy, France, Japan and US. This new branches have led to the increase of the total revenue generated. In 2004, the company made a gross income of $2.5 billion (Krasniewicz & Disney, 2010). The emergence of new technology has led to the introduction of video editing software and 3D, which has led to the efficient production of the films. Global recession negatively affected the company. The Disney parks and resorts would suffer during winter as the rate of people going there reduced significantly. This led to the falling of its revenue resulting in a financial crisis. The company has been forced to increase its entrance ticket fee to counter with the reduced number of visitors. Industrial organization and resource based model impact on above-average returns The corporation needs to come up with measure that would help it get returns, which are above average. This would help ensure that it is not operating at a loss and that it can be able to sustain its operations. The resource-based model deals with how the corporation could use its internal resources to its advantage and avoid extra costs (Mon tgomery, 1995). The resources include the capital invested, the corporation’s workers, brand name and the patents. Once the corporation has identified its resources, the next step to take is to compare it with its competitors. This would help in identifying the area that the corporation is lagging behind and needs to improve on. The study would also help enable the company identify its unique resources as this gave them a competitive edge over their competitors. This competitive edge would make them reduce certain costs and thus maintain above average returns. The industrial organization approach is the examining of the relation of the boundary of the firm and the market it is operating on. It is hard to examine the market by mere observation and the corporation creates a situation that is similar to a perfect competition market. This makes the firm operate on limited information and assumes that there are many barriers hindering entry into the market. This would make the fir m gather information about the market as new entrant and in the process of doing this it identifies the measures it can take to enter the market. The research helps the firm identify its strengths and weaknesses and in the process, it can avoid overhead costs and losses. This overview is

Paper-11 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Paper-11 - Essay Example However, there is a recent paradigm shift in the perception and treatment of apotemnophilia, due to the increasing number of people who manage to get amputated in hospitals merely for this, or in cases where they fail, amputate themselves. If one could consider apotemnophilia in similar terms as gender identity crisis where transgender people feel trapped in the wrong body, the overtly sexual aspect attached to this condition could be warded off, so as to bring in a pragmatic approach to deal with it. Dr. Robert Smith, who had carried out a few controversial amputations on apotemnophiles who claimed to be happy with their changed physical selves, even considers it as a neurophysical disorder with biological roots. However, the ethical issues related to performing an amputation of a perfectly healthy limb of a patient have invited a lot of debate. It remains to be seen whether it can be seen as similar to sex reassignment surgeries. In the present circumstances in which people suffering from this disorder are taken into serious consideration, the incidence of amputations catering to apotemnophiles may increase drastically in the years to come. The after effects of such surgeries can be far reaching and unique. In the c ase of sex reassignment surgery, the patients may not have to undergo as much practical difficulties in life as in the case of an apotemnophile who would manage to get an amputation as s/he desires. Living without a limb calls for many related issues, and may leave the patients dependant on others for the rest of their lives. The fact that they would consider this situation desirable may make the issue complex, but one has to make sure whether they can be seen the better judges on the matter. If apotemnophilia happens to be a sexual disorder similar to pedophilia or necromancy, it has to be kept in check for the greater common

Creating Job Descriptions and Interview Questions Essay

Creating Job Descriptions and Interview Questions - Essay Example The HR Director would be the one who will oversee all HR related tasks within the organization as his decisions would be in line with how the organization views the entire dictum of recruiting, selecting, and eventually firing the employees. The HR Director would report to the top management about the steps that have been undertaken by the HR department and apprise them of the gradual and incremental shifts that have been coming about within the organization from time to time. He would also be reporting to the CEO of the company as regards to the fiscal measures and thus tell him how the company would meet its goals and objectives that are being seen through the eyes of the most prized resources within the organization, i.e. the employees themselves. The HR Director would also form up plans and later on execute them for best possible mileage of the organization. It would mean that the shortcomings with the HR domains are taken care of in a proactive way and the strengths are cashed u pon in an amiable manner as well. The HR Director would oversee the tasks of the HR manager and his team while finding solutions to keep them encouraged at all times (Sims, 2002). Overall, the HR Director will also play a significant role at liaising between the employees that are under his aegis, forming links of interaction and communication amongst them, and finding the reasons behind low employee morale. He will have a proactive eye on the falling standards of work conditions, and find a way to resolve the same. The HR Director will give his best within the HR domains on a regular basis and would be confident at all times. The HR Director would therefore play a very active role at forming serious links with the employees, and be present regularly at his office to set a personal example within the organization. 2. Create 10 questions that you can use to interview candidates for the position of HRM director at the company. The questions should include probes for additional informa tion and desired responses. 1. Are you at complete understanding with how the HR policies change because our organization is a proactive one and wants to move towards newer pastures with the passing times? Would you go an extra mile to learn something new, considering you are getting hired for the HR Director post? 2. Would you be able to work in the form of a team that achieves its objectives in accordance with the work realms of one another or are you someone who believes in one-man-show for the sake of displaying authority and control? What is the reason behind being one of the two? 3. How closely in touch are you with the technological facets and realms? Have you had any computer and IT courses of late that could make you a better choice for the post of HR Director at this organization? 4. This job requires you to visit outdoor locations and to travel far and wide. Are you open to such an offer because the hiring and selecting regimes require the aspirants to be interviewed firs t hand before the HR department decides to hire them or otherwise? 5. What would it take to make your mark on the organizational philosophy that has come about of age with the passage of time? Would you go out of your way to make sure that the organization is your top most priority in professional terms? 6. Would you be open to a salary cut if and when the need arises? In times of today, this is a serious undertaking on the part of the organization and you should be ready for it to happen

( No topic ) Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

( No topic ) - Lab Report Example Automata can be described as whimsical themed or mechanical device that is constructed to act as if by its own power. Sometimes they are referred to as mechanical toys or kinetic art. Automata are marvelous machines that use most of the mechanical processes which can be found in almost every modern machine. They are powered through the use of a hand crank that turns a drive shaft which may include cranks, cams, cam followers, ratchets, levers, linkages, pushrods or gears. These mechanical systems are used in power transmission to transmit the input of rotary motion into outputs of linear, rotary, reciprocal or oscillatory motion. All these combined inputs and outputs lead to a cause and effect relationship that is used to make the automaton to move. In modern times, the design and creation of automata is related to the same principle mechanics involved with the design of robotics. The relationships in the input and output motions is critical to the designer. The automata, as researched and done by Paul Spooner and as displayed in the Cabaret Mechanical Theatre, shows that from as early as 1960s, the idea of automata has been in existence and has been improved since then. The period 1860 to 1910 is known as the golden age of automata. During this period many small family based companies of Automata makers thrived. Contemporary automata continue in the footsteps of the earlier inventors rather than technological sophistication. These contemporary automata are represented by the works of the Cabaret Mechanical Theatre in U.K, Dug North and Chomick in the U.S. some mechanized toys developed during the 18th and 19th centuries are automata made with paper. Despite the relative simplicity of material. Paper automata require a high degree of technical

Entry into Chinese and Indian Retail Markets Essay

Entry into Chinese and Indian Retail Markets - Essay Example International market situations happen to be multi level in their decision focus, with a hierarchy of decisions from country assessment and performance measurement decisions through to more traditional marketing mix allocations and programs.International market situations happen to be multi level in their decision focus, with a hierarchy of decisions from country assessment and performance measurement decisions through to more traditional marketing mix allocations and programs.For the purpose of this study, entry into Chinese and Indian retail markets is to be considered. In general for a superstore/ retail chain like Tesco, Asda, Walmart, Trust-Mart, Reliance etc. the marketing mix comprises;†¢ Product – this includes the quality levels, production costs, the packaging, the range of products and the product differentiation.  Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ Price – this includes appropriate pricing for the target markets, quality considerations depending upon the pricing and an attackin g pricing or a defensive pricing  Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ Place – depending upon the location of a superstore it is also called a convenience store, therefore the location is very important to reach to the targeted segments.  Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ Promotion – we are today living in a media-savvy world. The power of being seen in print or TV or being heard on the radio can make or break a brand. Integrating the promotion publicity campaign with the marketing mix is very crucial.†¢ People – interface between the retail store and the customers are the people manning the counters and providing technical support and after-sales services. Therefore a friendly, uniformed, well informed and well-behaved person at the counter can help in gaining widening the customer base. HR friendly policies help in attracting and retaining good human resources. Processes - how the retail store manages its front office, back office, system support, online services etc. will definitely help it in earning a good reputation amongst the customers. Physicals - this includes the premises, support vehicles, uniforms and the looks of corporate signature. Service - last, but certainly not the least, is the services part. In fact the retailing business has become more of service oriented now a days. Were all the functions and techniques of using a particular gadget/ equipment told to the customer before the purchase, how the customer felt after buying a new TV set, did it malfunction, did he feel any difficulty in switching it on and tuning it - are some of the issues which can only be known if the retail store has a good mechanism of taking feedback from its customers. China: A leading Economy China is the most populous country in the world; with 1.30756 billion people1 by the end of 2005 it has a share of 22% of the world's total. China's entry into the WTO on December 11, 2001 has ensured regular inflows of FDI. With its gross domestic product (GDP) growing at an annual rate of

Pornography and human sexual variation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Pornography and human sexual variation - Essay Example The philosophers behind the theories have also asked questions how, race social status, background and age affects the women in regards to their sexuality. Some of the books that try to explore this theory say that they can never be the female Viagra. This is because females have testosterone† (Ogas and Gaddam, 2011). The philosophy has four key points that it focuses on in trying to explain the difference between men and women in the society. These are gender difference, gender inequality, gender oppression and structural oppression (Crossman, 2013). Discussion In most cases when we hear of human sexual variation we only think of the two gender male and female. There is more to this variation ranging from interest to emotions. In addition to these, two other aspects like biological and spiritual aspects. The biological is obviously associated with the human reproductive system. For the woman stimulation of the body does not fire up the desire to have sex. The woman responds mo re to physical touch thus making her psychologically aroused (Ogas and Gaddam, 2011). The emotional and physical aspects are the main drive in determining how one sexual desire can be handled. It brings in other forces of attraction between male and female, which is considered normal. However when the interest focuses on same sex attraction hiccups begin. Experiments to explain social psychology started long time ago (Ogas and Gaddam, 2011). Internet porn has been comically quoted as bringing people together. This is because it does not matter what kind of dirty sexual thought you have. On the web, there will be someone to share with you (Ogas and Gaddam, 2011). Rule 34 exists secretly in Social media. Social... In most cases when we hear of human sexual variation we only think of the two gender male and female. There is more to this variation ranging from interest to emotions. In addition to these, two other aspects like biological and spiritual aspects. The biological is obviously associated with the human reproductive system. For the woman stimulation of the body does not fire up the desire to have sex. The woman responds more to physical touch thus making her psychologically aroused (Ogas and Gaddam, 2011). The emotional and physical aspects are the main drive in determining how one sexual desire can be handled. It brings in other forces of attraction between male and female, which is considered normal. However when the interest focuses on same sex attraction hiccups begin. Experiments to explain social psychology started long time ago (Ogas and Gaddam, 2011). Internet porn has been comically quoted as bringing people together. This is because it does not matter what kind of dirty sexual thought you have. On the web, there will be someone to share with you (Ogas and Gaddam, 2011). Rule 34 exists secretly in Social media. Social behavior when it comes to pornography has taken the greatest responsibility. From religious upbringing, human exposure at whatever degree is strongly bared (Ogas and Gaddam, 2011). The society does not condemn the relation between married couples because it is normal. However how they relate sexually it should not be made public. Currently these precautions are not highly considered.

Malham Field UK Essay Example for Free

Malham Field UK Essay Malham field is very vast piece of land situated the northern eastern of the England. It lies within the Yorkshire part of England. The region has wide variations of geographical features which contribute to the attractiveness of the region as centre of tourism attraction. The region has therefore been a region of great importance in the development of geographical learning and other linked course such as agricultures, tourism as well as fishing. (Raistrick, 1972) The geology The Malham field is a region famous of geological activities. One of the most famous geological activities in the sites lies with the presence of limestone features of their own uniqueness. The place is well known because of the wide variety of features, however, the site has is deeply significant in geological work through the understanding of limestone. Generally, Malham is speculated to be a region of useful limestone minerals. The region has been of unique shape which is attributed to the endowment of limestone. The presence of the limestone of the nature of KARST in this portion of land has led to the spectacular landscape. (O’Connor 1964): Due to the nature of limestone present, the region experiences underground drainage more often rather than surface drainage and run offs. Therefore, like in many other areas where KARST occurs, the underground drainage forms a main feature in the region. The presence of limestone in region makes it possible in the formation of different geographical feature. These physical geographical features formed in the region depend on the chemical properties of calcium carbonate. The rocks are readily dissolved by rainwater. As result of this kind of rock the cover the land, the reactions of the rock with rainwater leads to the formation of sinkholes. Usually, sinkholes which are salient features in the regions occur with surface water disappearing underground hence leaving behind dry valleys and stream less. The nature of the rock in the area also prevents ease formation of the soils. The rock has very high rate of dissolving which renders the processes of soils formation quite impossible. While soils are not easily formed on soluble rocks, then the place has vast lands with bare rocks. In addition to bare rocks, other common salient features in the regions includes crags and pavements Figure 1 The figure above shows the presence of several feature found in the region. Bare rock s and other features are clearly indicated. Scree slopes and crags are shown in the figure with varying ways. This figure was retrieve from http://www. malhamdale. com/geology. htm on 21 February, 2009 Landforms and soils The part of Malham has several features which are formed through different activities. There are two major activities which are involved in the formation of the various landforms in the region. Perhaps, there are three most distinct ways in which these features are attained. One of these is the glaciations process which is believed to have taken place during the era of ice ages. The place of Malham is said to have been covered with glaciers at about 15000 years ago. The sheet of ice that covered Malham glaciated leading to scoured and modified KARST landscape. This made the place to come to be referred to as GLACIOKARST landscape. The process led to the formation of limestone pavement with exposed rocks to the element of the environment. (Burek et al,1998) The figure 2 below shows an example of limestone pavement. Retrieved from http://www. malhamdale. com/cove. htm on 21 February, 2009 The figure above shows a Malham cove which is said to be an inspiration to numerous art and literature work. The Malham cove is a huge shaped cliff formed of limestone rock. The top of the cove is covered by classical limestone pavement. The high of the vertical face of the cliff is 260 feet. The cove is deeply eroded at the top. (Muir 1991) The other kind of features and landscapes can result through erosion and solution processes. Generally, these processes are likely to create feature of tourism attraction such as the Gordale Scar. This is a huge gorge that existed since the ice ages in which water melted forming a cavern that gradually collapsed resulting to waterfall and a gorge (Sweeting, 1972) Vegetation and drainage The Malham part has mostly underground drainage system. This is because the rock allows the formation of such systems more easily than any other drainage systems. Most of the rivers in this region remain as dry river bed due to percolation of the surface water from the surface. Most rivers become surface drainage systems only with heavy rainfall. Despite that the region has several underground water systems; the Malham tarn is salient feature within the region. While most of the drainage systems are naturally salty, the Malham Tarn system has been very significant in the provision of freshwater. The Malham tarn lake draws off its contents to the small stream of Malham water. This system of the Malham water enters to the limestone where it disappears at water sinks. The system continues with its course by adopting the common way of underground channel before it reappears at the Airehead Springs in the southern part of Malham. (Smith and Atkinson, 1977) Figure 3 Malham Tarn lake drainage system This is the famous largest freshwater lake in the United Kingdom Climate The region of Malham experiences four climatic seasons in a year. However, there has been some change in the recent times which is not only being experienced in this region but is a matter that is causing an alarm allover the world. The Malham region is being affected by the global warming process which is taking place in whole world. The winter season is portrayed to have the extreme of temperature increase, implying that there is the least frost and ground air at such a time. During the summer period, the amount of rainfall is more or less that received during the winter time. However, there has a tendency of drier summers and wetter winters in the past few decades. (Manley, 1979)

Impact Of Mobile Technology For Students Information Technology Essay

Impact Of Mobile Technology For Students Information Technology Essay In todays world mobile devices are used as not only for communication tool but also it is used as other purposes like instant mail, uploading photos, SMS and digital library. In 19th century mobile are introduced only for voice call but now there are many features are implemented in the mobile devices so they can communicate and gets entertainment with new mobile technology like games, internet, mp3 player and videos. People can use mobile devices with new technology and they can use their mobiles in this way. According to Hosny, Mobile devices are of many types such as cellular phone, ipods, PDAs, wireless data networks and Bluetooth devices which are presently in the market. There are many mobile technologies which are used in the mobile education which are very helpful to the university students. The technologies are Global System for Mobile communication (GSM), SMS, Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), 3G technologies, Bluetooth technologies and XML these are technologies which are used in the Mobile education. WAP, this technology is used in the mobile to connect the internet and access the internet. 3G technology provides high range of bandwidth so user can access the data very fast and efficiently. 3G phones provides in such way that mobile can be used as computer as we can see TV and read newspapers and digital books. XML language is a Meta language that communicates the data. It is used mainly to develop mobile applications. Introducing mobile technology like smart phones and e book readers in mobile devices helps the students a lot. Students can use their laptops in a particular environment like universities and classrooms but they can use their mobiles where ever they can. E books are those which are in digital form they can download and access the e books through their mobile devices. As these devices are portable and now a days most of the mobiles have Wi-Fi technology students can use their mobiles for personal use no one cannot use their mobiles without their permission. Students cant take laptops from one place to other every time. Students can use their mobiles for on-line bank transactions. Video streaming can also be accessed by using separate software in mobiles. Now implementation of new technology like Bluetooth they can share files from one mobile to other mobiles (Ling et al, 2002). With the new technologies that are implemented in the mobiles devices (blackberry and i-phone) are very useful for the university students. With Smartphone students can access e books that are very useful for education purpose and its time consuming. All the time students cant go the university library and access their computers. Students can store the course content information in their mobiles and retrieve the information about their course. When students are travelling in public transport if they want any information regarding student support services they cant open their laptops conveniently and cant access the internet but they can use their mobiles conveniently. As mobiles are light weight they can take with them anywhere. The main advantages of mobiles are they are not hyperlinked and they are network shared so people can access the data very easily. Students cant talk chat or video conference in flexibly because its private for them but students can chat with their mobiles mo re flexibly with their mobiles. Mobile learning is very useful to the university students because if students fail to attend a particular reason he can directly access the lecture in their mobiles but university must implement this technology so that students can benefit. Mobile learning helps the students to be flexibly in their learning. There is also disadvantage of mobile learning because university students cant to some practicals such as labs related to the electronics, VLSI labs, networking related labs. So students can start learning in mobile but not able to electronics and network related practicals. if they cant attend the university this shows negative impact on their studies and also people cant access more e books in mobile because of less memory (nor et al, 2006). Students who are using mobiles in high school stage can have negative impact on their studies and cant concentrate on their studies. High school students can misuse the mobile technology because they are very crazy about new technology mobiles. School students can easily addict to the games that are implemented with new technology (animated, bike racing etc) that will show a great negative impact on school students. School administrators should take care of not using mobile phone in their school because they cant concentrate on studies in the class room. Parents should take care of their children by not using mobile phones in nights if they addicted to mobile games they will not sleep in time and fell full stress when they get up in the morning. Mobile technology helps business people more compared to other category of people because business people travel more from one place to other place of business purposes. If there is no wireless networks in which they are travelling it is very difficult to access internet if they is also having laptops with them but there is no problem with the mobiles to access internet as mobiles are network share connectivity. Business people, if he is higher official in the organization if he cant give correct information related to business issues when is travelling this will lead to many problems in the organization but he can solve problems by new trend of mobile technology. According to the hosny and pagani all of them are mentioned about the positive impact of the mobile technology but there are many negative impacts of mobile technology. But people who are not aware of new technology cant use of mobile technology. If mobile phones are stolen all the sensitive information that can be taken that leads to many problems especially to business people. They mainly focused on advantages of mobile technology and they should have also focused on the disadvantages of the mobile technology (Hosny , 2007). 1.1 Draw Backs With the Mobile Technology for Students By using this, mobile phones emit microwave radiations to communicate with each other. By accessing internet in the mobiles there is scope virus threat which can affect the mobile devices and can lose the important data. Students can addict in using this technology which shows negative impact on their studies. While driving their vehicles people who are using mobile phones must be kept aside if they use those leads to accident sometimes. 1.2 Project Outline Research approach I follow to do my research is deductive approach. Qualitative method is used to study this research by conducting group of interviews to the people like university students, high school students and business people. I will collect the data by conducting In-depth interviews to university students and focused group interviews to high school students, common people and business people. I will select the university students because they can use the mobile technology more for education and entertainment purposes and high schools students because they are very crazy for use of mobile phones and business people because they use mobile phones for their business needs. I will collect the data from the different people how the mobile technology is used in their daily life. Qualitative method: I will conduct In-depth interviews to the university students and prepared some set of questionnaires which are yet be asked in the interview and I will use tape recorder as data collection instrument to collect the data from the university students. Data that I collected from the different people is answer to what is the impact of mobile technology on the students. Many university students have so many benefits of mobile technology and many students have some problems in using mobile technology. Implementation of mobile learning in the universities is a good idea to implement m-learning in the universities. Through m-learning, university students can listen to lecture class or tutor sessions through mobiles by using m-learning technology but students cant get the practical knowledge. With the introduction of GPS system in the mobile devices they can track any information about the university but it needs permission from the university but information can be acces sed for the particular student who is studying in that university. Many students use their mobiles only for entertainment and social networking websites and they could not be used as mobile education purposes. Students can lose their mobiles very easily and the important information can be lost with mobile it leads to many problems for the university students. Some students use their mobiles only for their daily life use but not for other purposes because they are not aware of new technology (Hosny, 2007). School students can use their mobile only for chatting, SMS and playing games with mobiles. Mobile technology cant be used for the education purpose because they cant concentrate on studies with the mobiles and they are diverted to entertainment purpose with those mobiles. I think school students use their mobiles only for playing games when they are free and not for any other purposes. Most of the students are not aware of the new technology and what software used in their mobiles. Common people who are using mobiles cant spend their day without the use of mobiles. Some common people who are working can listen to songs and play games in their mobiles when they are bored when they are travelling in public transport and some applications in their mobiles benefit a lot. Some of the old people can spend their day without the use of mobiles and by using mobiles they can have some impact on their health because of radiations from the mobile phones. There are many problems with this newly invented mobile technology because people are not aware of these new technologies and sometimes they can misuse these mobile technologies. Mobile battery should be manufactured in such way that battery should be charged so that users can use enjoy the applications in the mobile devices. Low effective battery cant give much life to the mobile devices. Security is main concern for every technology. If they dont provide more security, users cant buy mobiles which provide less security (Sattler et al, 2010). 1.2.1 Aim and Objectives Aim: The main aim of this paper is to do a proper research on the impact of mobile technology on the students daily life. Objectives: One of the objectives of this paper is to analyze the usage of mobile technology on the students. To find how mobile technology had impact on the people in the present world. To do a proper research on the mobile technology on all types of age people. Main concentration is how students are using the mobile technology whether they are having the good impact or bad impact on the students. 1.3 Research Questions Is mobile devices has the technology that supports mobile learning? How often do you use regularly students use mobile device (like using internet, MMS, SMS etc) for your course activities in class room in a day? 1.4 Deliverables: How Mobile technology has impact on the students Information which is gathered from the students need to be arranged in the structured format. Later on concentrating on each review proposed to do a research based on the opinions which matched mostly. Different types of method are concentrated on doing the research on the students. Suggestions are noted from the students on the impact of mobile technology. Previous researchers data related to the impact of mobile technology on the people need to be concentrated. 1.5Evaluation The new generation people are very much attracted to the web based resources, social networking and digital media. As the people are grown with the web especially students must be encouraged to use of mobile technology in their university campuses so that they can again diverse range of experience. Only some of the students are using new mobile technologies and other students are using only for making phone calls. Students who are not following the traditional process of learning mobile learning are very useful to those students. The main advantage of the mobile learning is students can access anywhere and at any time. Mobile technology is less cost effective compared to other technologies. Students can use SMS to answer there Quiz questions online with new SMS server is implemented in mobile devices this helps the students so that they can answer all the questions at any time instead of sitting at one place. But there are some problems with this as mobile devices have small keypad i t is difficult to type and they can enter wrong characters it leads to problems. People who are living in the rural areas can again many benefits by using mobile technology because in rural areas they cant have the broadband connection. People who earning less income and people who wants to save money they can use mobile technology as it is very cheap compared to other broadband technology. Compared to computers and laptops, mobiles have disadvantage because they have small screen resolution, less memory and battery life is low. This will show impact on mobile educational application which in turn affects the students. Mobile learning helps the students to be focused for long time, can raise their self confidence and can experience more learning on individual modules. 1.6 Research Methodology The procedure in which the information is collected and handled in the process of designing the desired system is the research methodology. The information set for the purpose of research can be generally categorized as: Qualitative research and Quantitative research. Qualitative research is defined as the research which aims to develop the understanding of how and why individuals and group of persons (social world) operate in a particular approach. Whereas the Quantitative research is defined as the research implicated or interested with the examining entities where the prevailed observations and measurements can make without prejudice and repeated by investigators. .

Hair Artists :: Hair Stylists Dressers Personal Narrative Papers

Hair Artists Without them we'd all be bald. You either need, know one or perhaps are one. What am I talking about you ask? Hair artists. Only a few of us can envision a design on the head of someone and successfully accomplish it. Only a few of us could possibly do it on our own heads. It's a talent no matter what, a talent that is sometimes ignored and at times not thought too highly of. I call hairstylists hair artists because they share their art of creation and imitation for many people on a daily-basis. Ever since I can remember my father, Jack, had been cutting men and women's hair. He was a locally known barber/stylist and artist. My father had paintings all on the walls of different buildings around town and had three hanging up in a hallway of my elementary school. Just like him, I could draw and sketch. I can remember being in first grade, telling my whole class I was going to be an artist like my daddy when I grew up (like my father I gained notoriety also, at my elementary school for having won poster contests, designed doors for teachers and sketches at the requests of classmates). With his lifestyle being my goal as a youngster, I'd never considered the work he performed on his customer's heads as art. He would sculpt, through cutting and styling, and design people's hair (some asked for etchings and other images in their head), but I never had a second thought that it would be something I wanted to do in the future. I didn't think this form of sculpture was an art form. Th at is to say, until my study on hairstylists. Some called me talented when they found out I'd designed the different hairstyles on my. An exact statement was, "You are just multi-talented." This was from a co-worker who only saw the different styles I wore on my hair. I'd just walked in with a different hairstyle than I'd had the previous week. I just brushed it off saying, "Its easy anybody can do it." When my boyfriend watched me braid a few people's hair he bragged about it to his family members, saying I was very "talented." I later came to the realization that styling hair was an art form that required talent. This notion came about through my study and a series of interviews I had with a few hair artists.

The First World War (WWI) :: World War 1 I One

World War 1 World War 1 was called â€Å"The Great War†, â€Å"The war to end all wars†, and â€Å"The first modern war†. It had many causes and a few repercussions and I will describe them in detail. The most widely known reason for the start of World War1 was the assassination of the Arch Duke Ferdinad of Austria-Hungary in the Serbian capital of Sarajevo. The ArchDuke was there to talk to the Serbian leaders about peace in the Balkan Peninsula. After a Serbian was arrested for the assassination Austria-Hungary pulled out of the peace talks and declared war on Serbia. Germany who was allied with Austria-Hungary also declared war on Serbia. Russia who was allied with Serbia had to declare war on Germany and Austria-Hungary. When Germany invaded France and Belgium, Great Britain declared war on Germany. World War 1 had begun. As the German Chancellor, Bethmann-Hollweg said, â€Å"Once the dice are cast nothing can stop them.† Indeed once the dice were cast on World War 1 nothing stopped them until 22 million people had died. Besides the assassination of the archduke there were four other reasons for the start of WW1. 1. Militarism- the building of large armies. All the nations in Europe at that time were engaged in what today could only be called an arms race. As soon as one nation built a new weapon, all the others followed suit. 2. Alliance System- The building of alliances to strengthen the borders of a country. In theses alliances if one country went to war all the other countries in the alliance were forced to go to war also. 3. Imperialism- The practice of colonizing other lands by large European nations. 4.Nationalism- The feeling of Patriotism in a country that makes it compete with all other counties in the area in all areas. In my opinion WW1 was an unnecessary global conflict in which 22 million people needlessly lost their lives. I think that this conflict could have be prevented or stopped in 2 ways. One if the Serbian leaders had more closely guarded the car that carried Archduke Ferdinad. If the assassin had not been able to get near the car perhaps the

Is it Constitutional to Bare Arms? Essay -- History

Is it Constitutional to Bare Arms? â€Å"A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.† These are the words of the second amendment as written by our forefathers. The question weather it is constitutionally legal or not has been debated for many years. In order to understand the true meaning of the above statement one must look back at the history surrounding it. The Bill of Rights was written over two hundred years ago, and much has changed over that period of time. Therefore, one must examine the language of the text again keeping in mind when it was written. I believe that it is constitutionally legal for individual citizens who are cable of bearing arms have the right to do so. To support my claim lets look back to our history books and we can see that after the Revolutionary War the Framers of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights were very leery of a strong government. One of the Public Affairs Director for the Second Amendment Foundations, states, â€Å"The Framers of the Constitution disturbed the national government enough to create the Bill of Rights. Why would they turn around and put so much faith in the stat governments? The Framers more likely distrusted all levels of government. This would be more consistent than trusting some level and not others† (LaCourse) At the time when the constitution was written Founding fathers just came out from the Revolutionary War ...

Initial Teaching Assignment Essay

In my role as a tutor of support teaching and learning in schools my responsibilities include: promoting cognitive elaboration *Cognitive psychology is concerned with the various mental activities which result in the acquisition and processing of information by the learner. It’s theories involve a perception of the learner as a purposive individual in continuous interaction with his social and psychological environment.( l.b.curzon (2003). teaching in further education. 6th ed. london: continuum. 35.) Holding a good knowledge of outside agencies that maybe used when an issue is outside of my knowledge or expertise. These may include N.S.P.C.C, medical teams including GP’s, health visitors ect, councillors, learning support workers, banks, building societies and the student finance England information for funding or loan advice, police, fire services and social services. All of these outside agencies could be used for supporting my learners and for them to use in their role as a teaching assistant as they are working with children and young people. I work towards promoting social and emotional development, encouraging learners and rewarding them during tasks, discussions, production of work whilst developing into a responsible teaching assistants. Being reliable is paramount to learners giving them a sense of belonging and security that I would always be there to discuss any issues or concerns with them, especially if the issue is a delicate one. Showing my learners that I can promote equality by letting them have every opportunity to attend and participate in every aspect of the lesson is also giving them opportunity to express their own ideas and personality. I myself am always looking to learn and gaining skills from learners is another way of learning and promoting diversity. Every learner is different and giving them opportunity to share their ways and knowledge and including these skills to improve their learning and adding to their new career in a positive way encourages diversity. Understand own responsibility for maintaining a safe and supportive learning environment.

Physiology of the Menstrual Cycle

The menstrual cycle is a cyclic process in females that, on average, occurs every 28 days. The purpose of the menstrual cycle is to help prepare the body for potential fertilization, implantation, and, consequently, pregnancy. The happenings of the menstrual cycle are consequences of the simultaneously occurring ovarian cycle and uterine cycle. The ovarian cycle occurs in the ovaries and carries out the follicular phase, which spans the first 14 days of a new menstrual cycle. The result is ovulation.The uterine cycle works concurrently with the ovarian cycle and carries out the menstrual, proliferative, and secretory phases. Hormonally, gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) is released in the hypothalamus and travels to the anterior pituitary of the brain, thus increasing levels of follicule-stimulating hormone (FSH) and leutinizing hormone (LH). The brain acts directly on the follicle cells (in the follicular phase) and the corpus luteum (in the luteal phase) to stimulate a response .The result of hormonal secretions of the hypothalamus and anterior pituitary along with the ovarian and uterine cycle is menstruation. The overall cycle is regulated by the hormones that result from a release of GnRH from the brain. Negative feedback occurs in the early follicular phase and luteal phase of th ovarian cycle as GnRH is released, which causes an increase in FSH and LH levels in the anterior pituitary. In the early follicular phase, these hormones send signals through neurotransmitters that reach receptors on follicle cells and follicular development is enhanced.Simultaneously, plasma levels of estrogen increase and return to the brain to hinder continued LH and FSH secretion. At the end of the follicular phase, positive feedback occurs as high estrogen levels are passed back to the brain and estrogen continues to amount to high levels. In the luteal phase, the brain sends hormonal signals to the corpus luteum. As a result, levels of estrogen and progesterone are heigh tened and progesterone is fed back to the brain to maintain stable levels of LH and FSH.This demonstrates how brain function and hormonal regulation carry out essential, complex processes in the body, such as those of the menstrual cycle. The ovaries originally contain primordial follicles, which are made up of an oocyte (an immature egg) and a layer of follicle cells that envelops it. In the beginning stages of the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle, some of these follicles start to develop, becoming granulosa cells. A fluid-filled cavity called an antrum appears in the follicle and begins to increase in size only to eventually engulf the oocyte.The follicle is now called the Graafian follicle, which soon bursts, and the oocyte leaves the ovary and travels into the fallopian tube, spurring ovulation. The leftover Graafian follicle becomes what is called the corpus luteum. The corpus luteum (â€Å"yellow body†) is a gland that secretes estrogen and progesterone when the menstrual cycle is not in full swing. If fertilization of the oocyte ensues, the corpus luteum remains intact for a fair amount of time in order to regulate the release of estrogen and progesterone.If the oocyte fails to become fertilized, the corpus luteum will disintegrate relatively quickly. At the point of the follicle rupturing, there is a major spike in LH and FSH plasma levels. The uterine cycle is carried out in three phases. The menstrual phase begins on the first day of the menstrual cycle and corresponds with the follicular phase. It lasts about three to five days and sheds the uterine lining. During this phase is when actual menstruation occurs due to a decline in estrogen and progesterone plasma levels that occurred because the corpus luteum had fully deteriorated.The inner lining of the uterus, the endometrium, has blood vessels that now narrow and the endometrial tissue begins to die and shed from the uterus. As it sheds, blood vessels burst and blood and tissue are d ispelled from the vagina. The proliferative phase is next and allows the uterus to refurbish as blood vessels become engulfed again, allowing the uterine lining to thicken. It occurs around day five and lasts until day fourteen, when ovulation has happened. During the proliferative phase, estrogen levels peak.The next phase is the secretory phase, which creates a setting that readily allows for embryo development as glands become engorged due to increased blood flow and secrete fluids that contain glycogen that may act as a food source of glucose for a potential embryo. The secretory phase lasts about the last fourteen days of the menstrual cycle-at the same time as the luteal phase. By the end of this cycle, the corpus luteum has completely diminished and, because it can no longer act as a source of stimulation for estrogen and progesterone release, these two hormone levels drop and menstruation commences as the menstrual phase begins again.Works Cited Bowen, R. â€Å"Luteinizing and Follicle Stimulating Hormones. † Arbl. cvmbs. colostate. edu. 13 May 2004. Web. 09 Feb. 2011. . Cohen, Hilary. â€Å"Menstrual Cycle Home. † Endocrinology of the Menstrual Cycle. 2000. Web. 09 Feb. 2011. . Stanfield, Cindy L. , William J. Germann, Mary Jane. Niles, and Joseph G. Cannon. Principles of Human Physiology. San Francisco: Pearson/Benjamin Cummings, 2008. Print.