Research Portfolio Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Research Portfolio - Essay Example This signifies that for a similar product or service, if a firm contracts with the vendor for a specific volume because of rate fluctuations, then they will be paying extra. The customs duty structure is openly related to such rates that will have more impact (Taylor, 2004). Cash loss also enhances thereby damaging the working capital needs. In essence, this openly plunges the productivity of a business. Research Questions/Topics Some of the research questions that this paper seeks to answer include the causes, as well as effects of the global financial crisis (Evans & Lyons, 2003). Such a topic is extremely important as the global financial crisis are considered to have been brought about by miscalculations in the foreign exchange market. Another research topic is the assessment of changing patterns of global comparative advantage along with its policy implications. The third question includes how major world exporters and importers are dealing with the issues affecting foreign exch ange market. It would be interesting to know how major economies in the world are trying to deal with these issues affecting foreign exchange (Evans & Lyons, 2003). Fourthly, another question includes factors leading to the exchange rate volatility in major world economies. Finally, the fifth question would be how the issues affecting the foreign exchange market affect trade, productivity and employment. Data Required This study will incorporate nations such as the United States, United Kingdom, China, Germany, Brazil and other key world traders. The paper selected these nations because they are the ones who are always on the media discussing the issues in the foreign exchange market. Also, major companies will also be incorporated in this study, such as car exporting firms and food importing firms among others and the sample size will be nearly 50 respondents. The study will take place over two months, and some of the variables that will be studied in the survey include causes, as well as effects of the issues in the foreign exchange market, who are being affected and what is being done to deal with these issues. Proposed Methodology The study on foreign-exchange intervention is all about empirical research. The paper includes a wide range of experimental techniques and strategies. The various methodologies presented diverse types of problems about which anybody evaluating this paper’s results should be mindful. It is vital to include both primary and secondary sources effectively to come up with the information of the topic (Lothian & Dijk, 2006). Primary information could be gathered from business managers or owners of the business while secondary data could be gathered from already published sources of this topic. The overarching issue, which confronted this empirical survey, was the simultaneous determination of bureaucrat intervention, as well as exchange-rate changes. Since the study lacked an adequate amount of high frequency sources, I generall y did not apply standard numerical techniques to this issue. Question 2 Overview Market structure indicators like the number of banks, as well as banking concentration, usually have been regarded as the main determinants of business rivalry in the banking sector. However, critics argue that these variables have no important impact on market power (Angelini & Cetorelli, 2003). Firm rivalry in the ba

Are Children Born with an Innate Ability to Acquire Language

Are Children Born with an Innate Ability to Acquire Language Humans ability to use language is essential and many believe it to be the sole ability that seperates us from all other mammals (Chomsky, 2006 ; Crrystal, 1997 ; Hocket, 1960. The importance for humans to be able to acquire language from a young age is unquestionable, but how we acquire it is under huge debate amongst psychologists and psycholinguists. Nativists such as Chomsky (1959) believe language has an innate basis and this is how we acquire it so quickly and at such a young age, whilst behaviourists believe we acquire language like any other learned behaviour (Skinner, 1957). Another theory in this debate is the social pragmatic theory which states that children create constructions of languages which develop over time (Tomasello, 2003). This essay aims to explore the theories that exist within this debate and therefore examine the support and evidence for each in order to assess if children are in fact born with an innate ability to acquire language. Immitation Perhaps the most simplest theory existing within this debate is the idea that children learn language by imitating adults and modelling their speech based on what they hear others saying. Adults also use child directed speech and therefore talk differently to and around children compared to how they talk around other adults (Cook and Newson, 2007). Many psychologists have also said that this theory is too simplistic to account for language acquisition (Bloom, Hood, and Lightbow 1974, Clark and Clark 1977, Chomsky 1986, and Dale 1976). This theory cannot be ignored though as imitation has been proven to help children acquire an accent (Blades, Cowie and Smith, 2003). Skinner Further support Evidence for the imitation theory comes from Skinner, who founded behaviourism, which claims that any behaviour is learnt from experience and subsequently there is no such thing as an innate ability; this includes the ability to acquire language. In 1957 he claimed that language acquisition was simply a matter of imitation, reinforcement and association therefore we learn language in the same way that Skinner showed how a rat can learn a path in a maze. Support for Skinner comes from Clarke-Stewart (1973) who found that children who experienced a vast amount of spoken languages from their parents had a larger vocabulary compared to those who experiences little spoken language. Chomsky Chomsky however disagrees with Skinner (Chapman and Routledge, 2005) and believed that children are born with an innate knowledge of the structure of language. He called this a language acquisition device (LAD) which is an innate mechanism only in humans which allows us to develop language. (HARTLEY). Chomsky argued that a poverty of the stimulus existed as the language in by which children are surrounded is not rich enough for children to successfully learn language and so they must be helped with the process of acquisition by some form of innate knowledge (HARTLEY). Chomsky (1959) pointed out that children cannot learn by imitation alone as they are able to produce sentences they may have never heard before and this is one of the major flaws of behaviourism. Children use grammar to construct these new sentences by using grammatical rules, this also means they can identify when they produce ungrammatical sentences and can prevent these mistakes from being produced again in the futur e (WHITNEY). Chomsky also noted that all languages have universal grammar or linguistic universals which all humans are programmed to understand and learn quickly early on in life. The theory of Universal Grammar says that all languages have the same basic foundation. As humans were not genetically programmed to speak a particular language so grammar allows us to learn the patterns of a particular language without actually being taught them (WHITNEY). If no one is born knowing a particular language, and were prepared to acquire language, then we must be born with the ability to acquire any language. This is reflected in children of a younger age as it is easier for them to learn a new language than it is for adults. However, this ability to acquire language rapidly must be taken advantage of before puberty, as after this critical period it is much harder for a child to learn how to talk correctly (HARTLEY). Support for Chomsky Like Chomsky, Jill and Peter de Villers (1978) showed that parents use child directed speech when talking to their children, and so if imitation were to be the answer to how we acquire language, children would talk using this motherese language. Support for language acquisition being innate can be taken from a longitudinal study conducted on a 9 year old deaf child called Simon. Researchers studied him from 2 years old and found that despite his parents teaching him incorrect grammar when it comes to in sign language, he was able to sign with correct grammar (http://www.nytimes.com/1992/09/01/health/linguists-debate-study-classifying-language-as-innate-human-skill.html). However, this study was only conducted using one child and therefore cannot be seen as representative of the whole population. Dionne, Dale, Bolvin and Plomin, 2003 (Mccartney and Phillips, 2006) conducted a study using same sex twins and found that when they correlated vocabulary and grammar ability, they were equally correlated at ages 2 and 3. This, they believe, suggests that there are genetic factors influencing these abilities and therefore there is a general innate language basis. If language does in fact have an innate basis then language disorders should be inheritable Criticism for Chomsky There are less extreme nativists than Chomsky who say that we are born with language biases allowing us to learn language. This is called the whole object assumption or fast mapping. The acquisition of names for entities belonging to different types and the effect of lexical contrast (Kipp and Shaffer YEAR). Bard and Sachs (1977) reported a study where a child had two deaf parents, despite being surrounded by speech from television and friends he was unable to acquire language until a speech therapist began to work with him around the age of 4. After this he was able to acquire language rather quickly showing there must be some form of innate knowledge that allowed him to acquire languages quickly, however he still needed to be taught how to use language. Gomez and Gerkhen, 1998 (Hoff and Shatz, 2009) reject the idea that language has innate properties. They say that many researchers assume that because language is so complex, it is unlearnable and therefore we must be born with a way of knowing how and when to generalise from the stimuli in which we encounter. Piaget, 1980 (Piaget, Piatelli-Palmarini and Chomsky, 1980) also said because language is complex we cannot assume it has a specific innate basis simply because we acquire it quickly and early on in life. Bloom and Markson (YEAR) pointed out that the focus of most language acquisition research is based on parents teaching children speech. This research is mainly conducted within western cultures, however this is not universal as in some cultures parents dont help their children to learn words, therefore they learn from overheard speech. However these children still develop a good vocabulary. Locke, 1995 believed that all knowledge that rationalists said was innate can actually be learnt through experience. At birth our mind is a tabula rosa on which sensations can influence and determine our future behaviour. Research has been conducted regarding the critical period that Chomsky referred to regarding optimal acquisition of language. Research has shown that if children have not acquired language before puberty then they are not likely to ever fully acquire it, regardless of any innate mechanisms they may hold. If the language acquisition advice truely existed, like Chomsky believed it to, then surely this critical period would not exist, or at least we should be able to acquire language at any age (Hayes, YEAR). Lenneberg Lenneburg (1967) believed in a critical period for language acquisition but that that said that a child must experience spoken language frequently during this critical period in order for language to be fully acquired. After this critical period prior to puberty, the child undergoes several changes which makes it increasingly harder for the child to acquire language. This is also supported by the fact that it is harder for adults to learn a language than it is for children. Social Pragmatic Theory Tomasello (2003) looked away from a specifically innate theory of language acquisition and instead created a construction based approach to how children acquire language; developing from simple to more complex constructions. Bruner (1983) said that almost all language a child acquires is done so through a routine of interaction with adults or more complex speakers than themselves. A child will first learn to understand a persons intentions by sharing goals and therefore enabling the child to know what is going on and why it is happening. This then facilitates joint attention between the child and adult allowing them to both focus on the same object or cultural routine. A cultural routine is an activity or event which occurs frequently in the childs everyday life and so the child is able to predict successfully the shared goals existing in that activity (Tomasello 2008). An experiment conducted by Baldwin 1991, 1993 (Bates and Tomasello, 2001) showed that children are capable of monitoring an adults attentional focus and know that a label refers to an object that the speaker is attending to, even if this object was hidden. At around 16 months children were unable to identify any object, but around 19 months they successfully chose the object the adult was attending to despite this object being hidden from sight. Despite this Atkinson (1982) and Gleitmen et al (1984) believed that the social pragmatic view of how children may acquire language is vague and subsequently does not produce testable theories of language.

The issues of the poet :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Issues   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The question is: What do you think the grandmother meant when she said to the Misfit, â€Å"Why you’re one of my babies. You’re one of my own children!† Why do you think the Misfit killed her when she said that? Since the question is two parts, I’ll answer it in two parts.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The grandmother said that the Misfit was one of her children in an attempt to console him into thinking that she was not someone that he wanted to kill. The reason that she says that has some symbolic underlying tones. She symbolizes Jesus, saving His flock from the perils of life, while the Misfit represents Lucifer, out to undermine the very fabric of our belief system.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The devil, in most cases, is purely an anecdotal figure; there simply for us to gauge the deeds of the good against. In this case, we see that the devil, easily represented by an escape convict, showing all that could go wrong with a person. The convict, however, goes through all theses motions showing almost no emotion; as if he has no humanly response to any stressful situation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Misfit killed the grandmother in a mute fit of rage. In his mind he was thinking, â€Å"How do she get tha gall ta say she’s my ma? She ain’t got no right ta do it.† He then promptly killed her for her indiscretions. This simple act is brought about by a complex set of circumstances. The need of the devil to immediately extinguish all resistance to his cause; control the little man and you shall control the masses.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The fact that the Misfit killed the grandmother in cold blood is not true. The Misfit was full of inner emotion when he consummated the act, seemingly showing no outward signs of fear or nervousness.

Distinguish between the processes of erosion and weathering in an area undergoing glaciation

Erosion is defined as the removal and transport of earth materials by natural agents and can be split into two main categories. Abrasion (or corrasion) is the glacier's use of angular debris, held by the ice, to scrape away at the underlying rock. Evidence of this in an area undergoing glaciation are scratches on rock known as striations. Plucking involves the glacier freezing on to blocks of rock and pulling them away. Meltwater will assist in this plucking process: pressure builds up behind a protrusion of rock and so causes melting. The meltwater penetrates any cracks and freezes around the rock (regelation) which is then pulled out by the glacier. Weathering is similar to erosion in that it includes the breakup of rocks, just not the transportation of the materials formed as does erosion. The specific definition of weathering is the breakup of rock due to exposure to the atmosphere. The weathering of a rock by freeze-thaw action (or frost shattering) may break up rock in periglacial conditions before glaciers advance. At the early stage of corrie formation freeze-thaw action and possibly chemical weathering will weather rock beneath the accumulating patch of snow (the process of nivation). During glaciation, meltwater will give rise to freeze-thaw action at the base of the glacier. Examine the impact of glacially eroded landforms on human activity â€Å"The impact of glaciation on human activity has been considerable both in lowland and highland areas. † (David Jones and Lawrence Kimpton 2000). This question focuses on how human activity has been affected by glacial erosion. The most recent glacial period began approximately 30,000 years ago and ended 10,000 years ago. At its peak 29% of the Earth's surface was covered by ice in comparison to 10% covered today. Sea level fell by at least 100 m and the beach was as much as 150 km further east along the Atlantic coast, thus forming land bridges between North America and Asia, which allowed for the migration of animals and humans to previously glaciated areas. Glacial eroded landforms include the features horns (pyramid shaped peaks), arites (knife shaped ridges), cirques (a bowl shaped depression found in mountains), erratics (boulders), valleys, tunnels and lakes. These landforms have affected human activity in various ways, including tourism, communications, farming and settlement and industry. Many upland areas that experienced the effects of prolonged glacial erosion during the Pleistocene have become important centres of tourism. Highland areas both those glaciated in the past and those with glaciers remaining today, are major areas of tourism because of the spectacular scenery and their suitability for winter sports. The Cirque-arete-trough landscape attracts hill walkers, scramblers, climbers, mountaineers, photographers, botanists, skiiers, snowboarders, hang gliders, painting, canoeing, sailing etc. In Britain, the Highlands of Scotland have become an important centre for summer holidays and winter skiing, whilst the National Parks of Snowdonia, the Lake District and Peak District are visited by millions of tourists each year. Areas such as the Lake District are increasingly popular for short weekend breaks. The attractions of these areas for tourism owe much to the effects of glaciation. The sharply defined peaks, deep U-shaped troughs and numerous lakes are all impressive landform features and provide these uplands with their attractive scenery. The rugged landscape appeals to many weekend hill walkers and mountaineers. The lakes which provide a range of activities -sailing, canoeing, swimming- and possess their own pleasant climates have become important centres of tourism. Large scale winter tourism is promoted in the Alps and similar locations by the existence of permanent snowfields and the heavy winter snowfall. Aviemore is one of the largest winter tourism centres in Britain with several ski runs on the upper slopes of the Cairngorms. Communications are also affected by glacially eroded landforms. Glaciated valleys offer natural routeways through high mountain landscapes and lower areas e. g. the Mohawk Gap that leads to New York. Settlement and Industry can hug the glacial trough floor, which often provide transport routeways. Many aspects of transport and communications -by land, sea and waterways -have been affected to a considerable degree by glacial action. In many upland areas, glacial breaches and troughs often form the only routeways suitable for communication by land. This situation is exemplified in the Highlands of Scotland where communications links by land north, and west of the Glen More are extremely difficult. Much of the land surface lies over 1000 metres above sea level, and consists of rugged mountains with steep, precipitous slope and badly drained moorlands. The presence of numerous lochs and fjords, hemmed in between high mountains, has effectively prevented any significant north-south routes being developed, even along the coast. Glacial breaches across the major watersheds form the only realistic routeways. Only two railway lines traverse the region -from Dingwall to Kyle of Lochalsh via Glen Carron and from Fort William to Mallaig via Lochs Eil and Ailort. All of the road links between Glen More and the west coast rely on glacial breaches which connect westwards and eastwards facing troughs. Glaciated highlands with high snowfalls present hazards such as avalanches. As the pressure of development increases, as in skiing areas, the impact of avalanches on people and settlements becomes greater. They are caused when the snow pack is destabilised suddenly by a loss of cohesion between naturally forming layers in the snow. Glacially eroded areas can lead to a channelled avalanche by which the avalanche progresses down a gully. Avalanches can block roads and railways, cut off power supplies and telecommunications and under extreme conditions, destroy buildings and cause loss of life. Therefore, glacially eroded landforms have impacted human activity, leading to management programs. For example Juneau, in Alaska, has a high avalanche risk. Many houses and businesses lie in the direct path of known avalanche routes and thus the various management schemes as seen above were discussed, and some put in place to protect the now habituated area. However, avalanches only present problems to certain areas. Slopes, for avalanches to occur, are usually greater than 22 degrees but less than 60 degrees, beyond which point it is unlikely that any significant snow pack will build up. Avalanches also tend to occur more often in spring when the temperatures rise and the snow pack has been accumulating all winter. Prosperity can be gained from the industrial development available due to glacially eroded landforms. Glacially eroded landforms offer scope for HEP production, with their steep, deep valleys for storage and rock lips providing sites for dam construction. Hydroelectric power (HEP) is the most widely used renewable form of energy. Although globally it accounts for only 6 percent of all electricity generated, in some countries it provides much more. Norway, for example, produces 96 percent of its electricity from HEP. The scale of HEP schemes varies enormously. In some Alpine villages, small HEP generators supply the power for a single house or hotel. At the other extreme, large HEP stations feed directly into the UK national grid. The advantage of HEP is that running costs are very low and power is instantly available. The main disadvantages are that initial building costs are high, the visual impact might damage the scenic value of a landscape, and the demand for energy is often some distance away. The positive impact of this on human activity can however have some negative impacts. Some ecological damage is also caused if the migratory routes of fish, such as salmon, are blocked. Fish ladders are sometimes built to avoid this problem. Also, when water passes through HEP schemes, the effect of the vertical drop can be to increase the amount of dissolved oxygen and nitrogen in the water. This can be harmful to fish, causing gas bubble disease. HEP in Britain is mostly generated in the glaciated uplands of North Wales, Cumbria and the Scottish Highlands. This is, because, firstly, mountain areas receive the highest rainfall in Britain. For a successful scheme to operate there must be a, reliable supply of running water otherwise the turbines will not turn. Secondly the physical relief is favourable. Glacial troughs, steep stream gradients, hanging valleys and lakes provide the ideal conditions. If natural lakes do not occur, glaciated valleys are relatively cheap to dam because they tend to be narrow and steep sided. Water which is used for HEP is not wasted, it then carries on down the valley. If the valleys are dammed, and the shape of the glacial troughs makes this very straightforward, then the water can be collected and sent to cities in areas of the country where there is perhaps not as much rain as in the highland areas. Glaciers impact human activity here by provide drinking water direct in some areas: rivers like the Rhine and Rhone are fed from glaciers. There is a fear that they may dry up if global warming melts the Alpine glaciers. People in La Paz, Bolivia have water from nearby glacier as public supply. People in the Rhone valley channel glacial meltwater to irrigate their crops. Llyn Peris is a moraine dammed overdeepened ribbon lake, and provides water for Llanberis in N. Wales. Lake Vyrnwy in mid Wales occupies a glacial trough which was flooded in 1889 by building a dam across the valley. Glacially eroded landforms affect human activity both positively and negatively. Avalanches expose inhabitants of the area to great risk, however, they still choose to live there. The positives include tourism, an industry which at present day is thriving and the attractions of these areas owe much to the effects of glaciation. HEP power provides areas with renewable energy and areas with drinking water and natural routeways are provided by glacial erosion.

As Dianne Skafte Essay

As Dianne Skafte stated in her book, â€Å"All the lives form the body of the Earth, and to that body all shall return†. The earth is viewed as the source of life with all the agricultural crops it gives to sustain the living. However, this very earth is also the home of the dead. People in different parts of the world plant their dead in the earth just like the seeds of their crops with the belief that their loved one will be born again as a new person, live in the body of an animal, or stay in the underworld. Otherwise, our ancients believed that the spirits who were returned to the earth become wise and that they gain the ability to turn into clairvoyants who can see the future and thus give guidance to those who are still living (Skafte 2000). This is the primary reason why necromancy was constantly used in the classical world. If a person decides to contact the dead, he or she will have the ability to know many hidden things. The act of necromancy falls under the umbrella of many different occult divination practices. The term was rooted from the ancient Greek language with the word ‘nekros’ meaning ‘corpse’ and ‘manteia’ or ‘prophesy’. Necromancy evolved through time and developed many different forms. Even though the Greeks may seem to be the civilization that is always connected to the act, summoning the dead was well-practiced by different civilizations around the world during these classical times like the Romans, Asians, Medieval Europeans, and Egyptians (Helium. com). The people living in the classical times look highly into their ‘necromaneias’ or the oracles of the dead. One famous act of necromancy was the one that happened in a hillside cave in Epiris where the famous legendary hero Odysseus was said to have summoned the dead at the place in order to get some guidance and information for his dangerous journey to home. Even though the Odyssey is only a fictional tale, Homer was able to base his writings from the actual practices of the many Greek necromancers that operate during their time (Donald Tyson’s Supernatural World. com). The place was also often connected to the worshipping of the goddess of the underworld, Persephone and the god of the dead, Hades. During the periods of medieval and renaissance times in ancient European history, the act of necromancy is considered as a normal part of the life of the people. There are other reasons why conjuring the dead is used. Wise-men ask for help from the spirits of the departed in order to seek for help in diagnosing the illnesses and giving cures to their patients. When it comes to families, they often seek for guidance from their dead loved ones and ask them to appear in their dreams. It was also believed that the souls of those who had already ‘crossed over to the other side’ have the rare ability in finding missing persons or even treasures that have long been lost. Spirits also help unearth some secret crimes that have been committed but were never given justice. The act of necromancy was so popularly used and believed in the ancient times that Catholic priests were even believed to have practiced the art centuries ago even though it was not openly discussed in their history books of their churches. Classical engravings also document some of the necromancy acts of famous philosophers and scholars of the time. Example of this is the one depicting John Dee, a 16th century mathematician with a famous necromancer. In the picture, the two were enveloped by a magic circle with signs of the zodiac and other symbols with a corpse in front of them. Another illustration was that of the Edward Kelly, an Elizabethan alchemist, and Paul Waring who are also protected by a magic circle while facing a corpse that has risen from the ground. All of these depictions were not fiction and were actual events. The use of the magical circle that shrouds both pictures mentioned serves as the protection of the humans from the forces of the spirit they have called that is mostly unhappy and unwilling to cooperate (Donald Tyson’s Supernatural World. com). During these times, scholars asking for the guidance and knowledge of the dead were not considered as an uncommon phenomenon. During the classical times, Nobilities or the Christian clergy were the literate members that compose high society. It is believed that either or both of these two groups were responsible for the spreading and practicing of the necromancy despite of the fact that is was strictly forbidden in Christianity. Access to necromancy is a kind of act that can only be accessible to those who belong to the scholars of Europe mainly because of reasons of accessibility, knowledge, and the procedures it use. Evidence to this fact is the number of confessions that a couple of Nobles and Clergy members expressed regarding their experience with the act. A closer look at the practices of necromancy also showed that the procedures are closely similar to Christian rites. In exorcism cases in Christianity, the spirits or demons were forces away through the use of the name of God, the Holy Spirit, or Jesus. This can be compared to the spells of necromancy which are similar to these rites in complete opposition (Necromancy. com). There are also examples of necromancy written in the Holy Bible. One of these is that on Samuel, chapters 28 and 31 that tell the story of King Saul and his abhorrence to David. In the story, he began doubting his decision of bringing David into his court because of the latter’s charisma in people and good skills of being a warrior. The King regretted letting David enter his kingdom when he started to notice that the people were already choosing the young man’s side instead of his. During that time, the Philistines were also preparing to attack. Out of desperation, King Saul disguised and went to see a ‘seeress’ to help him contact the dead. It shall be noted that the king has given an order to persecute all seers, wizards, and others that deal with the supernatural thus the need for his disguise as a common man. After the woman was convinced that she never have punishment for the request, she went onto a trance and related a vision to King Saul. According to the vision, she saw gods ascending from the earth which all gathered to form a man who is covered by a long mantle. As Saul bowed to the ground, he then recognized the spirit that possessed the woman as his deceased prophet, Samuel. But the vision was not the end of it. Samuel chastised the king for his evil attacks of David and said the because of King Saul’s violation of his covenant with the Lord, he will die the next day. The following die, King Saul’s soldiers were slaughtered and he mortally wounded. Knowing his coming fate, he decided to fall upon his own sword (Skafte 2000). Another example of necromancy mentioned in the bible was in Aeschylus’ Persians. In here, the necromancy procedure consisted of Queen Atossa asking the Persian elders to call Darius from his grave. The Queen brought some garlands of milk and different offerings like milk, honey, water, and unmixed wine and oil. The elders followed the queen’s request and called upon the deceased King asking for powerful death gods like Hades to send his soul in the face of earth. When King Darius was successfully summoned, he narrated the beating of the ground and the effect of the cries of the ‘necromantic cries’ on dead people like him (Bremmer 2002). This literary description supports the ancient beliefs about the two questions that are usually mentioned by the souls called through necromancy. The first is about the experiences and unknown secrets of the deceased while they are still living and the second, who is depicted by this story, are the relating of the souls of the ephemeral and magical things they’ve learned upon ‘crossing over’. There are many risks in calling the dead. One of these is through the perspective of Christians who condemn the use of the act. According to this side, the acquiring of knowledge from the dead is prohibited because it was not information that God prohibited to be released. According Christianity laws, there are only two legitimate sources of information that the living can use. These are the things that are revealed by the Lord and those that gleaned through a natural kind of revelation. Simply said, using necromancy to know secrets from the dead is also equivalent to stealing forbidden information. Second, spirits are not beings that people can simply call and command. The art of necromancy is divided into two different phases, the first of which is the calling of the spirit and the second is compelling it to do the bid of the necromancer. Since the spirits of the dead aren’t actually always willing to be called and ordered, there is a great risk for the necromancer and his assistant to be attacked by the former if they’re magical barrier is not that strong (Necromancy 101. com). Moreover, acts of necromancy should have well-defined motives because otherwise it will be considered as works of darkness, simply for the selfish whims of the person who wants to ‘call’ and can also turn out to be dangerous for the health and reason of the necromancer and his assistant. In necromancy procedures of classical times, necromancers are forced to inflict pain on the spirits they call just to force the latter to follow them. As a result of these, the souls are usually very unhappy towards the individuals, heightening the probability of them to become violent.Thus, there is a great risk that comes along with the valuable secrets a spirit may expose (Spence 1960). Bibliography: Bremmer, Jan N. 2002. The rise and fall of the afterlife: The 1995 Read-Tuckwell Lectures at the University of Bristol. Routledge. DeWaay, Bob. 2006. The Dangers of Divination. http://www. deceptioninthechurch. com/dangersofdivination. html (accessed June 14, 2009). Necromancy. 2009. Necromancy in History. Necromancy: Encyclopedia II. http://www. experiencefestival. com/a/Necromancy_-Necromancy_in_history/id/1575928 (accessed June 14, 2009). Skafte, Dianne. 2000. When Oracles Speak. Quest Books. Spence, Lewis. 1960. Encyclopaedia of Occultism. New York: University Books. Townbridge, B. 2009. Necromancy explained. Helium. com. http://www. helium. com/items/246248-necromancy-explained (accessed June 14, 2009). Tyson, Donald. 2007. The Truth About Necromancy. Donald Tyson’s Supernatural World. http://www. donaldtyson. com/necro. html (accessed June 14, 2009). Wendell, Leilah. 1997. Necromancy 101. The Occult Library. http://www. realmagick. com/articles/17/1817. html (accessed June 14, 2009).