Spider Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Spider - Essay Example To date, 40,000 species of spiders have been recorded. It has been said that there might be thousands more which have yet to be discovered. These types have been found in all parts of the world except for Antarctica. According to Carl Alexander, author of’ Spiders, volume 8 (1929)’, the kingdom of spiders is Animalia, the phylum is Arthropoda, the class is Arachnida, and the order is Araneae. (8) According to James H. Emerton, author of ‘The common spiders of United States (1961)’, the most interesting types are mouse spider and black widow spider. Mouse spider is discovered first in Australia, is not harmful to human, and its bite is dry. The black widow spider is found around the world, has a large body, and excretes poison secretion that is harmful to human nerve (25). The scientific name given to the black widow spider is ‘Latrodectus Hesperuses’. This spider is mostly found in the United States, mainly, North America. The spider got its na me from the fact that the female spiders usually eat the male spiders after mating. This characteristic of the female black widow spider makes a male spider to approach the female carefully and gradually. In order to mate, the male spider would vibrate the female spider’s web in a certain way so that the female recognizes it and allows it to mate with her. The male spiders are not as venomous as the females as their main purpose is to mate; hence, they spend their entire lifetime searching for mates and even stop feeding. The female black widow spider have been known to be quite venomous, however, it is not life threatening as it secretes only a small amount of poison when bites. The body structure of a female black widow spider and a male are very different. The females have a shiny black body which is relatively longer. Moreover, there is a red marking just below the abdomen. The females are poisonous than the males. The males, however, are almost half the size of females. They have longer and leaner legs and most of them have red and yellow marks at the back. Both males and females body is parted in two. Their jaws are strong which support poisonous fangs. They have a hard, long exoskeleton. According to Donald M. Tuttle and Edward W. Baker, authors of ‘Spider mites of the United States’, spiders have about six holes underneath their abdomen called eyes. The silk goes out from these holes to expose to the air, then, it converts to thread. Spider’s female form its web from an extremely thin elastic silky thread. They use the glands that are in the lower part of their abdomen to form the web (34). According to Maggie Daley, author of ‘Illinois insects and spiders’, spiders have eight legs, eight eyes, and they do not have wings or chewing organs. Moreover, their bodies consist of two parts, the chest and the external part. The chest part is consists of the head with the brain and eyes, the stomach, legs and the mouth. T he external part consists of lungs, heart, liver, reproductive organs and the glands that play important role in producing the silk. (14) The black widow spider is further categorized into three main types, the Northern Black widow Spider, the Western Black Widow Spider and the Southern black Widow Spider. The Northern black widow is mostly found in the north east parts of USA and south east Canada. The Western Black Widow is mainly found in the western parts of USA, Canada and some parts of Mexico. Furthermore, the

Land law coursework Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Land law coursework - Essay Example The law in general can take various forms like land law, property law, criminal law, constitutional law and administrative law among others. The rule of law, as is has been perceived, is always better for the society compared to the law of any individual. It is observed in the case that Teresa has won a huge sum in the lottery. She decides to make certain investment with the amount that she has own. With that intention, she purchases a Splendour House at the middle of the town. The house that Teresa has purchased was in the sole name of James. As it is said in the case that house was duly transferred to Teresa’s name in the month of August of 2009 and was also registered in her name. Therefore, as it applies from the course of events that it is a mere straight forward case in favour of the new owner, Teresa. But that is not the case. There are three different parties involved those have interest with the Splendour House and they claim to have certain rights upon the house. Roberta is the step mother of James. Though step mother, it seems from the case that she has stable relationship with James, the previous owner of the Splendour House. Roberta has been an independent and wealthy lady by herself. Her relationship with the house is that she often comes to the house to stay as and when she feels that she needs a break from her husband, Edward, as they are not having the best of the relations. Her interest of the house is also guided by the fact that she had contributed almost 25 % of the purchase price at the time of the purchase of the house by James. Also, it is clarified that an express trust was drawn up for her interest. Now the question is that whether Roberta still holds her right even after the house is sold to Teresa. Though, Roberta helped James while the purchase of the house but the fact is that the house was in the sole name of James. There is no legal document

Concepts of health promotion

Concepts of health promotion Before we discuss how different concepts and theories can be used to promote health, nurses need to know what the term health promotion means. An authoritative definition of health promotion comes from the W.H.O which defines it as the process of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve their health. (W.H.O 1986). Health education is considered the core component of health promotion. Until the mid 1980s the term health education was most widely used to describe the work of practitioners such as nurses and doctors in promoting health. Health promotion is putting education into action. With evidence based information, the patient is more likely to comply with a treatment regime if she understands the regime, the reasoning behind it and is given the tools to achieve it. (McDonald et al 1999). Models are useful tools in Health promotion because it helps to visualize and to test theories. It helps to lend support for or against theories, explaining phenomena and plan possibilities for interventions. Beattie 1991 is a model that offers a structural analysis of the health promotion repertoire of approaches and this model will be the framework of this essay bringing in psychosocial models. His typology argues that there are 4 strategies for health promotion. Health persuasion by health care professionals, legislative action, personal counselling and community development. The Legislative Action part of Beatties model are interventions led by professionals but intended to protect communities such as lobbying for a ban on tobacco advertising. The nurse is in the role of custodian knowing what will improve the peoples health and to protect the population by making healthier choices more available. Staying in the legislative perspective, the nurse as a health educator or promoter must also always adhere to the NMC code of conduct. This code dictates accountability and advocacy for vulnerable clients and in this essay it is emphasised that a person with health behaviour is a vulnerable. Other aspects of legislation that we are duty bound to is the European policy framework, the Health 21 targets. This was introduced to achieve full health potential for all people in the region and this world health document emphasises the date and time when damaging health behaviour have to be eradicated. Another legislation is the Patient Charter which involves the patien t in their health education/promotion plan. It is vital for the nurse to work out where the patient is with regards to changing the behaviour and therefore work at the patients pace. In order to demonstrate a clear knowledge of health education and promotion, a scenario will be applied. Mrs Smith (pseudonym name) in compliance with the NMC (2008) on confidentiality, a 55 year old housewife who has been admitted in the casualty department after an episode of severe chest pain and a degree of dyspnoea which has already lasted for 2 hours. She has been otherwise well, but at 110kg and 54 she is clearly overweight. She has been a smoker for 30 year. Her initial assessment shows that the pain is not cardiac and a working diagnosis of acute reflux oesophagitis is made. Routine screening has shown that she has a random blood sugar of 18mmol/L.Although there are several health issues highlighted in this case, this essay will focus on Mrs Smiths predisposition to Type 2 diabetes mellitus due to her obesity. Factors including weight loss and how much she is in control over her blood sugar levels in the long term (Stratton et al 2000) can determine the eventual outcome. The refore, the main health promotion activity relating to her is giving her advice on weight reduction to improve her diabetic control (Terry et al 2003). In order to work out the stage of change Mrs Smith is in, the nurse has to carry out personal counselling with the patient. This is another strategy of Beatties model. Here Beattie focuses on the patients personal development and to encourage the patient to have the skills and confidence to take more control over their health. Personal counselling focuses on the clients specific needs and normally works on one to one basis and the nurse acts as a counsellor to discuss and negotiate client needs. Decisions are made based on the clients wishes. The client needs to be assessed by Maslows hierarchy of needs. Abraham Maslows model indicates that basic, low-level needs such as safety must be satisfied before higher-level needs such as self-fulfilment are achieved. While a person is motivated to fulfil these basal desires, they continue to move toward growth, and eventually self-actualization. An interview is done at this stage of Beattie using a client centred approach. The patient needs t o be physically and psychologically comfortable in order to assess how motivated they are and what stage of change they are at. It is the nurses role to persuade or encourage people to adopt healthier lifestyles here, educating the patient with evidence based information to give them full understanding of their unhealthy behaviour and the results of it. Therefore advice and information from the nurse is the main features in Beatties health persuasion strategy. A relevant model to this part of Beattie is the work of Prochaska and DiClemente (1984, 1986) in developing the stage of change model. This framework can be used to describe the different phases that individuals progress through during health related behaviour change. It focuses on the individuals readiness to change or attempt to change towards healthy behaviours and encourages change in addictive behaviours. Although the model can be used in addictive behaviours, it can be used to show that most people go through a number of stages when trying to change behaviours. The model is important in showing that any transition we make is not final but part of an ongoing cycle. The model shows 5 stages the patient goes through. They can start from the pre-contemplation stage where the patient has not yet considered changing their lifestyle, possibly from the lack of awareness of any risks in their health behaviour. Identifying this stage is important because it allows the nurse to realise th at the patient may not be ready to undergo any change. This may mean the healthcare worker should focus on other issues. Once the patient is aware of the problems, she can then proceed to the contemplation stage. At this stage the patient is aware of the benefits of changing but is not ready to do so and needs information and support to help make that decision. It is the nurses role to provide the patient with evidence based information to encourage them to change. For some, this stage may last only a short period whilst some may never progress beyond this stage. A nurse must work at the patients pace and only move on when the patient is ready to proceed to the next stage. When the change seems possible and worthwhile to the patient, they may be ready to change, perhaps seeking for some extra support. At this stage, the patient should be motivated and ready for the stage of making the change. The patient should be given a clear goal along with a realistic plan and support at this st age. The early days of change needs the patient to have positive decisions to do things differently. If the patient manages to make the change of her lifestyle with the nurses support then the patient falls into the final stage of the model Maintenance. At this stage the patient is to have moved into a healthier lifestyle and sustained her new behaviour. In order to analyse how effective this strategy is for the patient, the progress needs to be reviewed and assessed. This stages of change model is different to other concepts in that it is about how peoples behaviour change and not why people do not change. The advantage of this model is that if any patient relapses back to previous stages, it is not considered to be a failure because she can go backwards and forwards through the cycles of change. The patient would still be aware of the benefits of changing and nurses only have to focus on small things to encourage them to proceed to the next stage once again. This can be rewarding to the patient as there is identifiable progress. Most health behaviour models are related to self-efficacy where it involves how one person believes they are capable to attain certain goals by possibly having the feeling of self worth and being optimistic, resulting in motivation to change. Not only does self efficacy influence the challenges the patient chooses but it also affects how high standard they set their goals. Individuals with a strong self-efficacy select more challenging goals (DeVellis DeVellis, 2000 xClose DeVellis, B. M., DeVellis, R. F. (2000). Self-efficacy and health. In: A. Baum, T. A. Revenson, J. E. Singer (Eds.), Handbook of Health Psychology (pp. 235-247). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. ) than people with a weaker self efficacy. In relation to the case study, if Mrs Smith had a strong sense of self efficacy then she may result in adherence to a particular diet whereas if she had a weaker sense of self efficacy she will become discouraged and give up. Self efficacy is therefore directly related to the future behaviour and must be taken into account when assessing the patient. Continuing on to the next strategy of Beatties model, Community development is similar to personal counselling. The nurse tries to emancipate groups and communities so they recognize what they have in common and how social factors can influence their lives. Here patients should be given statutory support as well as voluntary support. In Mrs Smiths case, her health would more than likely be improved if she lost weight. Ideally she could aim for a BMI in the region of 24-25, but this is seldom achieved in practice, but it is none the less a goal. (NICE 2000). Staff in primary care or the integrated diabetic clinic will probably be responsible for producing a full evaluation and implementation of Mrs Smiths condition. A smoking cessation nurse could also be useful in helping Mrs Smith quit smoking improving her overall health. Offering the patient statutory support means she will further understand the whole regime and feel more comfortable, resulting in compliance. Voluntary support ca n also be offered to the patient. An example would be Weight Watchers for Mrs Smith to assist her with weight loss and maintenance, offering her various dieting products and services. The four paradigms for health promotion by Beattie is useful for health promoters because it identifies a clear framework for choosing a strategy, and it reminds them that the choice of these is influenced by social and political perspectives. However, as this model deals with information, education, legislation, psychological and social factors as strategies in achieving help, it has been criticised. Some argue that health has other dimensions not considered including physical, mental, spiritual and environmental that is essential for total health and well-being. Health behaviour models are there for nurses to use to motivate patients to change and make nurses aware of the barriers present. However, the nurse must always accept the work with the patient at their stage. By building a therapeutic relationship and working in partnership with the patient, it allows nurses to give the support the patient needs whilst enabling the client to make choices for themselves. The nurse needs to be aware of their communication skills such as using open questions, listening and encouraging, clarifying and summarizing and showing reflective listening. The goals set for the patient must be realistic, desirable and the nurse must help the patient to believe that they can achieve goals, praise and reinforce positive behaviour and provide emotional support. The nurse must continue to be accountable and continue using evidence based practice.

The Acceptance of Digital Art Essay -- Art Technology Essays

The Acceptance of Digital Art Digital art has a fifty-year history of innovation and experimentation with new technology. The Pioneers of digital art were not artists but people who were exploring new visions through computers and the writing of computer programs. According to the Digital Art Museum, which is a joint venture between London Guildhall University and two independent art galleries, digital art can currently be classified according to three phases Phase I of digital art was from 1956-1986. The Paintbox Era, the second phase, lasted from 1986-1996. Art software became readily available and attracted more artists to the new media. Especially useful was the paint program and devices such as the scanner and film recorder. Phase III, 1996-2006, is called the Multimedia Era because of the increase in technology and Internet access allowing the digital media artist interactivity with many art forms. The widespread availability of computers and software has allowed the digital artist to create distinct ive works of art. Digital art is able to combine and transform more traditional types of art such as painting, sculpture, photography, animation and filmmaking. Digital technology allows the artist to create and manipulate color, images, and texture, instantly. Images can be made to appear, disappear and even combine or morph. The technological aspect of digital art often leads to questioning of whether or not it can be considered art. Digital art has been accepted and embraced by the commercial and entertainment industries for many years, but is finding it much harder to become part of the fine arts community. Digital art has many hurdles to overcome before it will be fully accepted by the mainstream tradit... ...ises the use of computer technology for creative expression but the main purpose is to create something aesthetically pleasing. If history is any example, then the acceptance of digital media art will be slow. Vincent Van Gogh was considered such a poor artist that he could not sell a painting in his lifetime. The Impressionists in general were laughed at and considered to be untalented artists and refused admission in the important galleries and exhibition of their times. Now these artworks sell for millions and are treasured in many museums. Photography has taken 150 years to achieve respectability in the fine art field. This art form faced many of the same problems as digital media art, ease of reproduction, use of new technology, and seeming lack of skill. With art, sometimes only time can tell what will be truly treasured by the next generations.

Quran and Science Essay

Islam and science describes the relationship between Muslim communities and science in general. From an Islamic standpoint, science, the study of nature, is considered to be linked to the concept of Tawhid (the Oneness of God), as are all other branches of knowledge.[1] In Islam, nature is not seen as a separate entity, but rather as an integral part of Islam’s holistic outlook on God, humanity, and the world. This link implies a sacred aspect to the pursuit of scientific knowledge by Muslims, as nature itself is viewed in the Qur’an as a compilation of signs pointing to the Divine.[2] It was with this understanding that the pursuit of science was tolerated in Islamic civilizations, specifically during the eighth to sixteenth centuries, prior to the colonization of the Muslim world.[3] According to theoretical physicist Jim Al-Khalili, the modern scientific method was pioneered by Islamic scientist Ibn Al-Haytham (known to the west as â€Å"Alhazen†) whose contributions are likened to those of Isaac Newton.[4] Alhazen helped shift the emphasis on abstract theorizing onto systematic and repeatable experimentation, followed by careful criticism of premises and inferences.[5] Robert Briffault, in The Making of Humanity, asserts that the very existence of science, as it is understood in the modern sense, is rooted in the scientific thought and knowledge that emerged in Islamic civilizations during this time.[6] Muslim scientists and scholars have subsequently developed a spectrum of viewpoints on the place of scientific learning within the context of Islam, none of which are universally accepted.[7] However, most maintain the view that the acquisition of knowledge and scientific pursuit in general is not in disaccord with Islamic thought and religious belief.[1][7] Physicist Taner Edis argues this is because some Muslims are reading into the metaphorical language of the Holy books what is not there, including recent scientific discoveries.[8] Overview The religion Islam has its own worldview system including beliefs about â€Å"ultimate reality, epistemology, ontology, ethics, purpose, etc.†[9] Muslims believe that the Qur’an is the final revelation of God for the guidance of humankind. Science is the pursuit of knowledge and understanding of the natural and social world following a systematic methodology based on evidence.[10] It is a system of acquiring knowledge based on empiricism, experimentation, and methodological naturalism, as well as to the organized body of knowledge humans have gained by such research. Scientists maintain that scientific investigation must adhere to the scientific method, a process for evaluating empirical knowledge that explains observable events in nature as results of natural causes, rejecting supernatural notions. Islam, like all religions, believes in the supernatural that is accessible or interacts with Man in this life. One of the most important features of Science is the precise quantitative prediction. In this aspect it differs from many religious texts where physical phenomena are depicted in a very qualitative way, often by the use of words carrying several meanings. History Classical Islamic science Science in medieval Islam, Islamic cosmology, Astronomy in medieval Islam, Mathematics in medieval Islam, Physics in medieval Islam, and Medicine in medieval Islam  In the history of science, Islamic science refers to the science developed under Islamic civilization between the 8th and 16th centuries,[11] during what is known as the Islamic Golden Age.[ It is also known as Arabic science since the majority of texts during this period were written in Arabic, the lingua franca of Islamic civilization. Despite these terms, not all scientists during this period were Muslim or Arab, as there were a number of notable non-Arab scientists (most notably Persians), as well as some non-Muslim scientists, who contributed to scientific studies in the Islamic world. A number of modern scholars such as Fielding H. Garrison,[13] Abdus Salam and Hossein Nasr consider modern science and the scientific method to have been greatly inspired by Muslim scientists who introduced a modern  empirical, experimental and quantitative approach to scientific inquiry. Some scholars, notably Donald Routledge Hill, Ahmad Y Hassan,[14] Abdus Salam,[15] and George Saliba,[16] have referred to their achievements as a Muslim scientific revolution,[17] though this does not contradict the traditional view of the Scientific Revolution which is still supported by most scholars.[18][19][20] It is believed that it was the empirical attitude of the Qur’an and Sunnah which inspired medieval Muslim scientists, in particular Alhazen (965-1037),[21][22] to develop the scientific method.[23][24][25] It is also known that certain advances made by medieval Muslim astronomers, geographers and mathematicians was motivated by problems presented in Islamic scripture, such as Al-Khwarizmi’s (c. 780-850) development of algebra in order to solve the Islamic inheritance laws,[26] and developments in astronomy, geography, spherical geometry and spherical trigonometry in order to determine the direction of the Qibla, the times of Salah prayers, and the dates of the Islamic calendar.[27] The increased use of dissection in Islamic medicine during the 12th and 13th centuries was influenced by the writings of the Islamic theologian, Al-Ghazali, who encouraged the study of anatomy and use of dissections as a method of gaining knowledge of God’s creation.[28] In al-Bukhari’s and Muslim’s collection of sahih hadith it is said: â€Å"There is no disease that Allah has created, except that He also has created its treatment.† (Bukhari 7-71:582). This culminated in the work of Ibn al-Nafis (1213–1288), who discovered the pulmonary circulation in 1242 and used his discovery as evidence for the orthodox Islamic doctrine of bodily resurrection.[29] Ibn al-Nafis also used Islamic scripture as justification for his rejection of wine as self-medication.[30] Criticisms against alchemy and astrology were also motivated by religion, as orthodox Islamic theologians viewed the beliefs of alchemists and astrologers as being superstitious.[31] Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (1149–1209), in dealing with his conception of physics and the physical world in his Matalib, discusses Islamic cosmology, criticizes the Aristotelian notion of the Earth’s centrality within the  universe, and â€Å"explores the notion of the existence of a multiverse in the context of his commentary,† based on the Qur’anic verse, â€Å"All praise belongs to God, Lord of the Worlds.† He raises the question of whether the term â€Å"worlds† in this verse refers to â€Å"multiple worlds within this single universe or cosmos, or to many other universes or a multiverse beyond this known universe.† On the basis of this verse, he argues that God has created more than â€Å"a thousand thousand worlds (alfa alfi ‘awalim) beyond this world such that each one of those worlds be bigger and more massive than this world as well as having the like of what this world has.†[32] Ali KuÅŸÃ §u’s (1403–1474) support for the Earth’s rotation and his rejection of Aristotelian cosmology (which advocates a stationary Earth) was motivated by religious opposition to Aristotle by orthodox Islamic theologians, such as Al-Ghazali.[33][34] According to many historians, science in Islamic civilization flourished during the Middle Ages, but began declining at some time around the 14th[35] to 16th[11] centuries. At least some scholars blame this on the â€Å"rise of a clerical faction which froze this same science and withered its progress.†[36] Examples of conflicts with prevailing interpretations of Islam and science – or at least the fruits of science – thereafter include the demolition of Taqi al-Din’s great Istanbul observatory of Taqi al-Din in Galata, â€Å"comparable in its technical equipment and its specialist personnel with that of his celebrated contemporary, the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe.† But while Brahe’s observatory â€Å"opened the way to a vast new development of astronomical science,† Taqi al-Din’s was demolished by a squad of Janissaries, â€Å"by order of the sultan, on the recommendation of the Chief Mufti,† sometime after 1577 AD.[36][37] Arrival of modern science in Islamic world At the beginning of the nineteenth century, modern science arrived in the Muslim world but it wasn’t the science itself that affected Muslim scholars. Rather, it â€Å"was the transfer of various philosophical currents entangled with science that had a profound effect on the minds of Muslim scientists and intellectuals. Schools like Positivism and Darwinism penetrated the Muslim world and dominated its academic circles and had a noticeable impact on some Islamic theological doctrines.† There were different responses to this among the Muslim scholars:[38] These reactions, in words of Professor Mehdi Golshani, were the following: â€Å" 1. Some rejected modern science as corrupt foreign thought, considering it incompatible with Islamic teachings, and in their view, the only remedy for the stagnancy of Islamic societies would be the strict following of Islamic teachings.[38] 2. Other thinkers in the Muslim world saw science as the only source of real enlightenment and advocated the complete adoption of modern science. In their view, the only remedy for the stagnation of Muslim societies would be the mastery of modern science and the replacement of the religious worldview by the scientific worldview. 3. The majority of faithful Muslim scientists tried to adapt Islam to the findings of modern science; they can be categorized in the following subgroups: (a) Some Muslim thinkers attempted to justify modern science on religious grounds. Their motivation was to encourage Muslim societies to acquire modern knowledge and to safeguard their societies from the criticism of Orientalists and Muslim intellectuals. (b) Others tried to show that all important scientific discoveries had been predicted in the Qur’an and Islamic tradition and appealed to modern science to explain various aspects of faith. (c) Yet other scholars advocated a re-interpretation of Islam. In their view, one must try to construct a new theology that can establish a viable relation between Islam and modern science. The Indian scholar, Sayyid Ahmad Khan, sought a theology of nature through which one could re-interpret the basic principles of Islam in the light of modern science. (d) Then there were some Muslim scholars who believed that empirical science had reached the same conclusions that prophets had been advocating several thousand years ago. The revelation had only the privilege of prophecy. 4. Finally, some Muslim philosophers separated the findings of modern science from its philosophical attachments. Thus, while they praised the attempts of Western scientists for the discovery of the secrets of nature, they warned against various empiricist and materialistic interpretations of scientific findings. Scientific knowledge can reveal certain aspects of the physical world, but it should not be identified with the alpha and omega of knowledge. Rather, it has to be integrated into a metaphysical framework—consistent with the Muslim worldview—in which higher levels of knowledge are recognized and the role of science in bringing us closer to God is fulfilled.[9] † Compatibility of Islam and the development of science Whether Islamic culture has promoted or hindered scientific advancement is disputed. Islamists such as Sayyid Qutb argue that since â€Å"Islam appointed† Muslims â€Å"as representatives of God and made them responsible for learning all the sciences,†[39] science cannot but prosper in a society of true Muslims. Many â€Å"classical and modern [sources] agree that the Qur’an condones, even encourages the acquisition of science and scientific knowledge, and urges humans to reflect on the natural phenomena as signs of God’s creation.† Some scientific instruments produced in classical times in the Islamic world were inscribed with Qur’anic citations. Many Muslims agree that doing science is an act of religious merit, even a collective duty of the Muslim community.[40] Others claim traditional interpretations of Islam are not compatible with the development of science. Author Rodney Stark, argues that Islam’s lag behind the West in scientific advancement after (roughly) 1500 AD was due to opposition by traditional ulema to efforts to formulate systematic explanation of natural phenomenon with â€Å"natural laws.† He claims that they believed such laws were blasphemous because they limit â€Å"Allah’s freedom to act† as He wishes, a principle enshired in aya 14:4: â€Å"Allah sendeth whom He will astray, and guideth whom He will,† which (they believed) applied to all of creation not just humanity.[41] Decline In the early twentieth century ulema forbade the learning of foreign languages and dissection of human bodies in the medical school in Iran.[42] In recent years, the lagging of the Muslim world in science is manifest in the disproportionately small amount of scientific output as measured by citations of articles published in internationally circulating science journals, annual expenditures on research and development, and numbers of research scientists and engineers.  Skepticism of science among some Muslims is reflected in issues such as resistance in Muslim northern Nigeria to polio inoculation, which some believe is â€Å"an imaginary thing created in the West or it is a ploy to get us to submit to this evil agenda.†[44] Scientific issues in the Qur’an and Hadith The belief that the Qur’an had prophesied scientific theories and discoveries has become a strong and widespread belief in the contemporary Islamic world; these prophecies are often offered as evidence of the divine origin of the Qur’an [45]; see scientific foreknowledge in sacred texts for further discussion of this issue. Taner Edis wrote An Illusion of Harmony: Science and Religion in Islam.[46] Edis worries that secularism in Turkey, one of the most westernized Muslim nations, is on its way out; he points out that Turkey rejects evolution by a large majority. To Edis, many Muslims appreciate technology and respect the role that science plays in its creation. As a result, he says there is a great deal of Islamic pseudoscience attempting to reconcile this respect with other respected religious beliefs. Edis maintains that the motivation to read modern scientific truths into holy books is also stronger for Muslims than Christians.[8] This is because, according to Edis, true criticism of the Qur’an is almost non-existent in the Muslim world. While Christianity is less prone to see its Holy Book as the direct word of God, fewer Muslims will compromise on this idea – causing them to believe that scientific truths simply must appear in the Qur’an. However, Edis opines that there are endless examples of scientific discoveries that could be read into the Bible or Qur’an if one would like to.[8] Edis qualifies that ‘Muslim thought’ certainly cannot be understood by looking at the Qur’an alone – cultural and political factors play large roles.[8] Russel Glasser (Skeptic on â€Å"The Atheist Experience† TV show with Matt Dillahunty and Jeff Dee) argues that interpreting the Qur’an like this is cherry picking and risks simply confirming the biases of the investigator.[47] Conception and inherited characteristics The most prominent of the ancient Greek thinkers who wrote on medicine were Hippocrates, Aristotle, and Galen. Hippocrates and Galen, in contrast with Aristotle, wrote that the contribution of females to children is equal to that of males, and the vehicle for it is a substance similar to the semen of males.[48] Basim Musallam writes that the ideas of these men were widespread  through the pre-modern Middle East: â€Å"Hippocrates, Aristotle, and Galen were as much a part of Middle Eastern Arabic culture as anything else in it.†[48] The sayings in the Qur’an and those attributed to Muhammad in the Hadith influenced generations of Muslim scientists by siding with Galen and Hippocrates. Basim Musallam writes: â€Å"†¦ the statements about parental contribution to generation in the hadith paralleled the Hippocratic writings, and the view of fetal development in the Qur’an agreed in detail with Galen’s scientific writings.†[48] He reports that the highly influential medieval Hanbali scholar Ibn Qayyim, in his book Kitab al-tibyan fi aqsam al-qur’an, cites the following statement of the prophet, when asked the question â€Å"from what is man created,†: â€Å" He is created of both, the semen of the man and the semen of the woman. The man’s semen is thick and forms the bones and the tendons. The woman’s semen is fine and forms the flesh and blood.[49] † Creation and evolution The Quran contains many verses describing creation of the universe; God created heavens and earth in six heavenly days[7:54] the earth was created in two days[41:9], and in two other days (into a total of four) God furnished the creation of the earth with mountains, rivers and fruit-gardens [41:10]. Then heavens and earth formed from one mass which had to be split [21:30], the seven heavens were created from smoke [41:11], forming layers, one above the other [67:3]. The angels inhabit the seventh heavens. The lowest heaven is adorned with lights [41:12], the sun and the moon (which follow a regular path) [71:16][14:33], the stars [37:6] and the constellations of the Zodiac.

An Examination of Two Sides of a Controversy

One that might make your hair rise, scream with all your might or run very fast is the sight of a human skull and skeleton during a full moon in an old abandoned house. This is the usual scene in a horror movie. Indeed, people fear seeing human remains. But skeletal remains can also cause conflict between museum owners, scientists and tribal groups.Authorities are usually torn between legal wrangling of these groups each one claiming the remains’ ownership. Nations of the world are also locked in debates over cultural property rights and intellectual property rights. The dispute between two great nations over great artifacts also has some repercussion on the economy of these two countries.Almost all schools and universities in the world maintain a museum basically for their activities in arts and sciences. In here, actual samples or replicas of the past are stored and lessons are becoming interesting if students can readily see what they read in the books. The more interesting the contents of the museums, the more famous they become. This generates sense of pride for the institution and sometimes become a source of revenues too.This is the reason why museums are trying to acquire interesting objects and when they become part of the museum, the real owner of the object finds it difficult to claim it. This becomes the source of conflict between museum administrator and Native Americans in the case of ancient artifacts. Archaeologists too are hard bent on keeping them because they are prized possessions and scientists can discover various things from studying the object and contribute to the enhancement of science.One afternoon of a windy Sunday, more than ten years ago, while seeing hydroplane race, along the shores of the Columbia River, two students found human skull that was washed into the shore. An almost complete skeleton was also found in the place. Study conducted on the remains has yielded information that the skull is already 9,400 years old. A c onflict ensued immediately among scientists, Native Americans including local authorities (Ainsworth 2000).In Honolulu, Hawaii, artifacts were borrowed from a museum but apparently, the group who borrowed failed to return the remains and refused to reveal the whereabouts of the Native Hawaiian artifacts. This led to the filing of contempt of court by the federal judge against four heads of a Hawaiian gang.The four are members of the group called Group Caring for the Ancestors of Hawaii. Members of the group claimed that the artifacts were removed from its original place by an archaeologist and illegally offered for sale to the Museum. Group members assert that they just return the artifacts to where they rightly belong (New York Times 2005).An archaeology student recovered bones, beads and pieces of shells in Dry Lake Cave at the southern tip of Owens Valley in 1950. She wrote her findings in her record notebook. More than 50 years later, while her artifacts together with her record s are lying inside a stockroom in Hershey Hall, three elders of the tribal group Timbisha Shoshone of Death Valley carefully inspect artifacts trying to see objects with cultural value, which they feel are rightfully theirs. The land of their ancestors includes the Dry Lake Cave (Lee 2002).Pauline Estevez, a tribal leader, who had an invitation to visit UCLA from the Fowler Museum of Cultural History, remarked, â€Å"It is our obligation as Indian people to safeguard our land and its wealth, Some of the artifacts here are part of our treasures which we think should not be kept by the museum or its collector because the land is their rightful owner† (Lee 2002).That is the reason why Estevez took the opportunity to yield to the invitation of the Fowler Museum of Cultural History. As an elder of a tribal group, she feels that what belongs to her land should be returned because they are part of their culture. The artifacts can be their ancestors or the treasures they brought with them which witnessed the birth of their tribe. They take pride in those artifacts and should also be seen by the younger generations as part of their identity.The Kennewick man who was found in the shore of the Columbian river was supposed to be returned to the five American Indian Tribes who jointly filed a claim so that they can possess and rebury the remains that they believe are theirs. The claim was under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990. The natives might have the same motive as those inhabitants of Death Valley. What belongs to them should be returned so that the remains of their ancestors can reunite with their land and the community where they once belong.The natives feel that their ancestors will be more peaceful going back to where they belong rather than to remain in the cold museum (Ainsworth 2000). That could be the same motive that prompts leaders of the Hawaiian group not to return the artifacts that were borrowed from the Hawaiian museum. They asserted that since those artifacts were taken illegally from their original burial place, they should be returned there so that the souls of their ancestor will really lie in peace.Meanwhile, a group of angry archaeologists who are interested in the Kennewick man want to study the remains. The finding of a 9,400 year old artifact naturally will interest them. They protested the move that will give the natives the right to the ownership of the Kennewick man. That started the legal battle between the archaeologists and the ConfederatedTribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (Ainsworth 2000). While the natives are fighting for the return of the remains so that it can once again be a part of the original community and peacefully lie there, the scientists are hoping that they can contribute significantly to the world of science if they can study the remains. They believe that they can learn from the past as a way of improving the future.Thomas spoke in a crowded Kroeber H all and states that the significant issue about the Kennewick remains are neither about religion nor science. According to him the issue is with regards to politics and not philosophy, about leadership and power. The question of who calls the shot when it comes to ancient American history.Is it the federal, the science community or the American Indian? Thomas is a vocal advocate of cooperative partnership between the American Indians and the scientists. He maintained that in a case like the Kennewick man, it’s a long and bitter fight, which can reach the Supreme Court. He believes that this case can be settled away from the premises of the court (Ainsworth 2000).