Monday, September 30, 2019

The Investigation of the Controlled and the Automatic Processes Employing the Stroop Effect Experiment.

The investigation of the controlled and the automatic processes employing the Stroop effect experiment. Abstract The interference between the controlled and the automatic processes was observed in the Stroop effect type experiment using two different conditions. The original Stroop effect experiment concluded that the participants will find it more difficult to complete the reading task of the words related to colour meaning in comparison to the reading task of non-colour related words. The result of Stroop experiment supported the notion that control and automatic processes can obstruct each other in certain tasks.In the current experiment, the two conditions in reading task were modified to make them look more visually similar. The result indicated that despite of visual similarities, the automatic processes interfered with control processes due to the colour related properties of the words in Stroop condition. Introduction The large quantity of information we come across in our ev eryday life is staggering. It is very hard to understand how much of this information is taken in and how much of the information just pass by. It is up to cognitive processes to decide how much and to what extent the information is accepted for further processing.This selection process has been identified as attention. All of the above is indicating that our brain is not capable to process all the information available to us therefore attentional processes are required. Various theories were devised to clarify and explain the process of selection, such as a limited – capacity theory of Kahneman or bottleneck theory of attention by Broadbent (as cited in Edgar, 2007) However how much of this process are we aware of? Can we influence how much of the information is taken in or is it our subconscious which is in control?The attentional processes are divided between conscious – control processes and subconscious – automatic processes. Even though both processes oper ate in very different ways, they both can work simultaneously and both have their advantages and disadvantages. The control process is conscious, therefore easy to control, however it is using a large amount of the processing resources. Based on the experiments conducted by Schneider and Shiffrin (as cited in Edgar, 2007), it is assumed that automatic processed are not using up attentional resources as no conscious awareness is employed.The most famous experiment demonstrating the interference between the control and automatic processes was carried out by Stroop (1935). In the original Stroop experiment the participants were presented with a list of words printed in different coloured ink. In the first list, the words were names of colour printed in ink which never matched with the name of the colour – Stroop condition. Second list was containing a colour-neutral words. The participants were asked to read the name of the colour of the ink instead of the word itself. The findi ng was that in the colour-neutral words, the participants completed the task without difficulties.However, in the Stroop condition the participants found it more difficult as they were trying to prevent responding with the name of the colour rather than the colour of the ink. (as cited in Edgar, 2007) The experiment above is demonstrating one of the disadvantages of the automatic processes. Even though the automatic processes are not using up our precious attentional resources, they can interfere with the control processes as we are not able to just turn them off. To test this theory further a present experiment was created using both the Stroop condition model and the control condition.However, the Stroop condition was modified to include the colour-related words rather than the names of the colour. The words used were such as blood or carrot with strong relation to the certain colour. The words were printed in the colour ink not matching with the colour related to the word. Even t hough the control condition contained the non-related colour words, the words were visually very similar to the words in Stroop condition. The research hypothesis was that as in Stroop condition the participants will find it more difficult to read colour-related words. This is one-tailed hypothesis.The null hypothesis was that there wouldn’t be any difference in time taken to complete reading task of each list. Method Section Design The design employed in the experiment is a within-participants design. The independent variable was a reading task of the colour of the words printed on the list provided. The independent variable had two conditions, the Stroop condition and control condition. The Stroop condition contained the colour-related words printed in incompatible colour ink with the word and the control condition contained non-colour related words printed in various colour inks.The word list in the Stroop condition had 5 words repeatedly printed in incompatible ink with t he word. The words in the control list were matched to the word list in Stroop condition to contain the exact same number of letters of each matched word. The word order and well as the colour order was matched exactly in the both lists. The dependent variable was the time measure to complete the reading task of each list. The measurement was complete in seconds by the researcher using a stopwatch and it was recorded to the nearest second. The participants were given the task individually in order to limit any confounding variables.Participants The twenty participants joined in this experiment were current students at the Open University and their friends and family members. The age of the participants ranged from 18 to 69 and there were 12 females and 8 male participants. Materials The two visual stimuli were presented to each participant on A4 sheet paper in colour containing 30 words divided into two columns of 15 words. A stimuli for the Stroop condition contained 5 colours-rela ted words printed in incompatible ink with the word. The six colours used were red, yellow, green, orange, purple and blue.The words used in the Stroop condition were blood, lemon, grass, carrot, plum, sky. A stimuli for the control condition contained exact same number of word and same colours were used. The words matched with the Stroop condition. The words used have the exact same number of letters, they stared with the same first letters and they visually resembled the words in the Stroop condition. The words used in the control condition were blame, ledge, grade, carrer, plan, sty. Each word was repeated 6 times on each sheet. Both lists are included in Appendix 1.The standard instruction (included in Appendix 2) printed on A4 paper were read to the participants. The consent form (included in Appendix 3) was supplied to participants to sign. The data were recorded to the nearest second and logged on the response sheet. A stopwatch was employed to record reading time accurately. Procedure Each participant was approached and asked if they will be willing to take part in a cognitive psychology experiment with a focus on controlled and automatic processing of information. All participants were explained a basic of the experiment and asked to sign a consent form.All participants were tested individually. The age and sex of the participants were recorded prior to the start of the experiment. The full instructions were read to the participants and it was made sure that it was clear before proceeding. (Appendix 2: Instructions) All participants received the same instruction. Both lists were presented as A4 print out in coloured ink. Both lists were presented separately to the participants, only few seconds before asking the participant to read the colour of the words aloud. The first list to read was the Stroop condition list followed by a control condition list.With every other participants the order of the presentation of the list was switched around. Full expe riment took approximately minutes with each participant. The reading of each condition was recorded separately using an accurate stopwatch. The results were recorded on the response sheet. After the experiment the participants were informed about the hypothesis of experiment and explained the differences between the both conditions. Result The research hypothesis in this experiment was that participants will take longer to complete the Stroop condition.The time to read through the full list of each condition individually was recorded to the nearest second. As Table 1 is indicated, the mean response time of Stroop condition is 2. 65 seconds slower than the mean response in the control condition. The paired sample t-test was carried out using these data obtaining following result. The difference between these conditions is statically significant (t(19)=3. 933, p=0. 002, d=0. 44) Based on the information above the null hypothesis was rejected and the experimental hypothesis accepted. T able 1Mean and standard deviation of response time in secondsConditionMean response time (In seconds)Standard deviation Experiment (Stroop) condition23. 606. 533 Control condition 20. 955. 520 Discussion The result of the experiment above proved that despite of using colour-related words, rather than the name of the colour as per original Stroop experiment, the findings were similar. The participants found it more difficult to read the colour-related words printed in colour which didn’t match the visual perception of the certain word. The participants tried to avoid reading the colour of the word associated with particular word therefore this reading task took longer.Even though, the neutral words looked visual similar, and they were recorded in exact same colour order, the participants completed this reading task more quickly due to the lack of the meaning of the words and no relation to the specific colour. Therefore, in the control condition, only automatic processes were activated and there was no interference with the control processes and as a result the participants found this task easier. The control and automatic processes can interfere with each other doing certain tasks. Specifically, the automatic process of reading was interfering with controlled process of naming the colour of the ink.Nevertheless, the current experiment was conducted with only twenty participants. There is a possibility that if the experiment was conducted with much bigger sample the results may not be as conclusive. Especially , as further experiments indicated, the automatic processes can be influenced by individual strategies. To imply this notion to the Stroop experiment, it has been found that just by focusing on the first letter of each word, the automatic processes – the Stroop effect can be reduced. (as cited in Edgar, 2007) This would imply that automatic processes are not completely free and unconscious as previously suggested.In addition, the automatic a nd controlled processes are not completely fixed. For example, reading was controlled process before it was learned and became control process. This observation suggests that the relationship between the controlled and automatic processes is on continuum and can evolve with time. Gopher (1993) proposes that attentional skill can be learned to a certain extent depending on the situation or internal motivation. (as cited in Edgar, 2007) In conclusion, the result of the experiment is supporting the notion that the control processes can interfere with the automatic processes when trying to complete certain tasks.However, further experiments in this specific field would have to be conducted to determine the full extent of automatic responses and their relation to the control processes. References Edgard, G. (2007) Perception and attention, In D. Miell, A. Phoenix, & K. Thomas (Eds. ), Mapping Psychology (2nd ed. , pp. 3-50). Milton Keynes: The Open University Appendices: Appendix 1: Word lists containing experimental and control condition (not included) Appendix 2: Instructions (not included) Appendix 3: Consent Form (not included) Appendix 4: Raw data Appendix 5: SPSS print-out of t-test

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Chapter 23 The Yule Ball

Despite the very heavy load of homework that the fourth years had been given for the holidays. Harry was in no mood to work when term ended, and spent the week leading up to Christmas enjoying himself as fully as possible along with everyone else. Gryffindor Tower was hardly less crowded now than during term-time; it seemed to have shrunk slightly too, as its inhabitants were being so much rowdier than usual. Fred and George had had a great success with their Canary Creams, and for the first couple of days of the holidays, people kept bursting into feather all over the place. Before long, however, all the Gryffindors had learned to treat food anybody else offered them with extreme caution, in case it had a Canary Cream concealed in the center, and George confided to Harry that he and Fred were now working on developing something else. Harry made a mental note never to accept so much as a crisp from Fred and George in future. He still hadn't forgotten Dudley and the Ton-Tongue Toffee. Snow was falling thickly upon the castle and its grounds now. The pale blue Beauxbatons carriage looked like a large, chilly, frosted pumpkin next to the iced gingerbread house that was Hagrid's cabin, while the Durmstrang ship's portholes were glazed with ice, the rigging white with frost. The house-elves down in the kitchen were outdoing themselves with a series of rich, warming stews and savory puddings, and only Fleur Delacour seemed to be able to find anything to complain about. â€Å"It is too ‘eavy, all zis ‘Ogwarts food,† they heard her saying grumpily as they left the Great Hall behind her one evening (Ron skulking behind Harry, keen not to be spotted by Fleur). â€Å"I will not fit into my dress robes!† â€Å"Oooh there's a tragedy,† Hermione snapped as Fleur went out into the entrance hall. â€Å"She really thinks a lot of herself, that one, doesn't she?† â€Å"Hermione – who are you going to the ball with?† said Ron. He kept springing this question on her, hoping to startle her into a response by asking it when she least expected it. However, Hermione merely frowned and said, â€Å"I'm not telling you, you'll just make fun of me.† â€Å"You're joking, Weasley!† said Malfoy, behind them. â€Å"You're not telling me someone's asked that to the ball? Not the long-molared Mudblood?† Harry and Ron both whipped around, but Hermione said loudly, waving to somebody over Malfoy's shoulder, â€Å"Hello, Professor Moody!† Malfoy went pale and jumped backward, looking wildly around for Moody, but he was still up at the staff table, finishing his stew. â€Å"Twitchy little ferret, aren't you, Malfoy?† said Hermione scathingly, and she, Harry, and Ron went up the marble staircase laughing heartily. â€Å"Hermione,† said Ron, looking sideways at her, suddenly frowning, â€Å"your teeth†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"What about them?† she said. â€Å"Well, they're different†¦I've just noticed†¦.† â€Å"Of course they are – did you expect me to keep those fangs Malfoy gave me?† â€Å"No, I mean, they're different to how they were before he put that hex on you†¦.They're all†¦straight and – and normal-sized.† Hermione suddenly smiled very mischievously, and Harry noticed it too: It was a very different smile from the one he remembered. â€Å"Well†¦when I went up to Madam Pomfrey to get them shrunk, she held up a mirror and told me to stop her when they were back to how they normally were,† she said. â€Å"And I just†¦let her carry on a bit.† She smiled even more widely. â€Å"Mum and Dad won't be too pleased. I've been trying to persuade them to let me shrink them for ages, but they wanted me to carry on with my braces. You know, they're dentists, they just don't think teeth and magic should – look! Pigwidgeon's back!† Ron's tiny owl was twittering madly on the top of the icicle-laden banisters, a scroll of parchment tied to his leg. People passing him were pointing and laughing, and a group of third-year girls paused and said, â€Å"Oh look at the weeny owl! Isn't he cute?† Stupid little feathery git!† Ron hissed, hurrying up the stairs and snatching up Pigwidgeon. â€Å"You bring letters to the addressee! You don't hang around showing off!† Pigwidgeon hooted happily, his head protruding over Ron's fist. The third-year girls all looked very shocked. â€Å"Clear off!† Ron snapped at them, waving the fist holding Pigwidgeon, who hooted more happily than ever as he soared through the air. â€Å"Here – take it, Harry,† Ron added in an undertone as the third-year girls scuttled away looking scandalized. He pulled Sirius's reply off Pigwidgeons leg. Harry pocketed it, and they hurried back to Gryffindor Tower to read it. Everyone in the common room was much too busy in letting off more holiday steam to observe what anyone else was up to. Ron, Harry, and Hermione sat apart from everyone else by a dark window that was gradually filling up with snow, and Harry read out: Dear Harry, Congratulations on getting past the Horntail. Whoever put your name in that goblet shouldn't be feeling too happy right now! I was going to suggest a Conjunctivitus Curse, as a dragon's eyes are its weakest point – â€Å"That's what Krum did!† Hermione whispered – but your way was better, I'm impressed. Don't get complacent, though. Harry. You've only done one task; whoever put you in for the tournament's got plenty more opportunity if they're trying to hurt you. Keep your eyes open -particularly when the person we discussed is around and concentrate on keeping yourself out of trouble. Keep in touch, I still want to hear about anything unusual. Sirius â€Å"He sounds exactly like Moody,† said Harry quietly, tucking the letter away again inside his robes. â€Å"‘Constant vigilance!' You'd think I walk around with my eyes shut, banging off the walls†¦.† â€Å"But he's right, Harry,† said Hermione, â€Å"you have still got two tasks to do. You really ought to have a look at that egg, you know, and start working out what it means†¦.† â€Å"Hermione, he's got ages!† snapped Ron. â€Å"Want a game of chess, Harry?† â€Å"Yeah, okay,† said Harry. Then, spotting the look on Hermione's face, he said, â€Å"Come on, how'm I supposed to concentrate with all this noise going on? I won't even be able to hear the egg over this lot.† â€Å"Oh I suppose not,† she sighed, and she sat down to watch their chess match, which culminated in an exciting checkmate of Ron's, involving a couple of recklessly brave pawns and a very violent bishop. Harry awoke very suddenly on Christmas Day. Wondering what had caused his abrupt return to consciousness, he opened his eyes, and saw something with very large, round, green eyes staring back at him in the darkness, so close they were almost nose to nose. â€Å"Dobby!† Harry yelled, scrambling away from the elf so fast he almost fell out of bed. â€Å"Don't do that!† â€Å"Dobby is sorry, sir!† squeaked Dobby anxiously, jumping backward with his long fingers over his mouth. â€Å"Dobby is only wanting to wish Harry Potter ‘Merry Christmas' and bring him a present, Sir! Harry Potter did say Dobby could come and see him sometimes, sir!† It's okay,† said Harry, still breathing rather faster than usual, while his heart rate returned to normal. â€Å"Just – just prod me or something in future, all right, don't bend over me like that†¦.† Harry pulled back the curtains around his four-poster, took his glasses from his bedside table, and put them on. His yell had awoken Ron, Seamus, Dean, and Neville. All of them were peering through the gaps in their own hangings, heavy-eyed and tousle-haired. â€Å"Someone attacking you, Harry?† Seamus asked sleepily. â€Å"No, it's just Dobby,† Harry muttered. â€Å"Go back to sleep.† â€Å"Nah†¦presents!† said Seamus, spotting the large pile at the foot of his bed. Ron, Dean, and Neville decided that now they were awake they might as well get down to some present-opening too. Harry turned back to Dobby, who was now standing nervously next to Harry's bed, still looking worried that he had upset Harry. There was a Christmas bauble tied to the loop on top of his tea cozy. â€Å"Can Dobby give Harry Potter his present?† he squeaked tentatively. â€Å"‘Course you can,† said Harry. â€Å"Er†¦I've got something for you too.† It was a lie; he hadn't bought anything for Dobby at all, but he quickly opened his trunk and pulled out a particularly knobbly rolled-up pair of socks. They were his oldest and foulest, mustard yellow, and had once belonged to Uncle Vernon. The reason they were extra-knobbly was that Harry had been using them to cushion his Sneakoscope for over a year now. He pulled out the Sneako-scope and handed the socks to Dobby, saying, â€Å"Sorry, I forgot to wrap them†¦Ã¢â‚¬  But Dobby was utterly delighted. â€Å"Socks are Dobby's favorite, favorite clothes, sir!† he said, ripping off his odd ones and pulling on Uncle Vernon's. â€Å"I has seven now, sir†¦.But sir†¦Ã¢â‚¬  he said, his eyes widening, having pulled both socks up to their highest extent, so that they reached to the bottom of his shorts, â€Å"they has made a mistake in the shop, Harry Potter, they is giving you two the same!† â€Å"Ah, no, Harry, how come you didn't spot that?† said Ron, grinning over from his own bed, which was now strewn with wrapping paper. â€Å"Tell you what, Dobby – here you go – take these two, and you can mix them up properly. And here's your sweater.† He threw Dobby a pair of violet socks he had just unwrapped, and the hand-knitted sweater Mrs. Weasley had sent, Dobby looked quite overwhelmed. â€Å"Sir is very kind!† he squeaked, his eyes brimming with tears again, bowing deeply to Ron. â€Å"Dobby knew sir must be a great wizard, for he is Harry Potter's greatest friend, but Dobby did not know that he was also as generous of spirit, as noble, as selfless -â€Å" â€Å"They're only socks,† said Ron, who had gone slightly pink around the ears, though he looked rather pleased all the same. â€Å"Wow, Harry -† He had just opened Harry's present, a Chudley Cannon hat. â€Å"Cool!† He jammed it onto his head, where it clashed horribly with his hair. Dobby now handed Harry a small package, which turned out to be – socks. â€Å"Dobby is making them himself, sir!† the elf said happily. â€Å"He is buying the wool out of his wages, sir!† The left sock was bright red and had a pattern of broomsticks upon it; the right sock was green with a pattern of Snitches. â€Å"They're†¦they're really†¦well, thanks, Dobby,† said Harry, and he pulled them on, causing Dobby's eyes to leak with happiness again. â€Å"Dobby must go now, sir, we is already making Christmas dinner in the kitchens!† said Dobby, and he hurried out of the dormitory, waving good-bye to Ron and the others as he passed. Harry's other presents were much more satisfactory than Dobby's odd socks – with the obvious exception of the Dursleys', which consisted of a single tissue, an all-time low – Harry supposed they too were remember ing the Ton-Tongue Toffee. Hermione had given Harry a book called Quidditch Teams of Britain and Ireland; Ron, a bulging bag of Dungbombs; Sirius, a handy penknife with attachments to unlock any lock and undo any knot; and Hagrid, a vast box of sweets including all Harry's favorites: Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Chocolate Frogs, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, and Fizzing Whizbees. There was also, of course, Mrs. Weasley's usual package, including a new sweater (green, with a picture of a dragon on it – Harry supposed Charlie had told her all about the Horntail), and a large quantity of homemade mince pies. Harry and Ron met up with Hermione in the common room, and they went down to breakfast together. They spent most of the morning in Gryffindor Tower, where everyone was enjoying their presents, then returned to the Great Hall for a magnificent lunch, which included at least a hundred turkeys and Christmas puddings, and large piles of Cribbage's Wizarding Crackers. They went out onto the grounds in the afternoon; the snow was untouched except for the deep channels made by the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students on their way up to the castle. Hermione chose to watch Harry and the Weasleys' snowball fight rather than join in, and at five o'clock said she was going back upstairs to get ready for the ball. â€Å"What, you need three hours?† said Ron, looking at her incredulously and paying for his lapse in concentration when a large snowball, thrown by George, hit him hard on the side of the head. â€Å"Who're you going with?† he yelled after Hermione, but she just waved and disappeared up the stone steps into the castle. There was no Christmas tea today, as the ball included a feast, so at seven o'clock, when it had become hard to aim properly, the others abandoned their snowball fight and trooped back to the common room. The Fat Lady was sitting in her frame with her friend Violet from downstairs, both of them extremely tipsy, empty boxes of chocolate liqueurs littering the bottom other picture. â€Å"Lairy fights, that's the one!† she giggled when they gave the password, and she swung forward to let them inside. Harry, Ron, Seamus, Dean, and Neville changed into their dress robes up in their dormitory, all of them looking very self-conscious, but none as much as Ron, who surveyed himself in the long mirror in the corner with an appalled look on his face. There was just no getting around the fact that his robes looked more like a dress than anything else. In a desperate attempt to make them look more manly, he used a Severing Charm on the ruff and cuffs. It worked fairly well; at least he was now lace-free, although he hadn't done a very neat job, and the edges still looked depressingly frayed as the boys set off downstairs. â€Å"I still can't work out how you two got the best-looking girls in the year,† muttered Dean. â€Å"Animal magnetism,† said Ron gloomily, pulling stray threads out of his cuffs. The common room looked strange, full of people wearing different colors instead of the usual mass of black. Parvati was waiting for Harry at the foot of the stairs. She looked very pretty indeed, in robes of shocking pink, with her long dark plait braided with gold, and gold bracelets glimmering at her wrists. Harry was relieved to see that she wasn't giggling. â€Å"You – er – look nice,† he said awkwardly. â€Å"Thanks,† she said. â€Å"Padma's going to meet you in the entrance hall,† she added to Ron. â€Å"Right,† said Ron, looking around. â€Å"Where's Hermione?† Parvati shrugged. â€Å"Shall we go down then, Harry?† â€Å"Okay,† said Harry, wishing he could just stay in the common room. Fred winked at Harry as he passed him on the way out of the portrait hole. The entrance hall was packed with students too, all milling around waiting for eight o'clock, when the doors to the Great Hall would be thrown open. Those people who were meeting partners from different Houses were edging through the crowd trying to find one another. Parvati found her sister, Padma, and led her over to Harry and Ron. â€Å"Hi,† said Padma, who was looking just as pretty as Parvati in robes of bright turquoise. She didn't look too enthusiastic about having Ron as a partner, though; her dark eyes lingered on the frayed neck and sleeves of his dress robes as she looked him up and down. â€Å"Hi,† said Ron, not looking at her, but staring around at the crowd. â€Å"Oh no†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He bent his knees slightly to hide behind Harry, because Fleur Delacour was passing, looking stunning in robes of silver-gray satin, and accompanied by the Ravenclaw Quidditch captain, Roger Davies. When they had disappeared, Ron stood straight again and stared over the heads of the crowd. â€Å"Where is Hermione?† he said again. A group of Slytherins came up the steps from their dungeon common room. Malfoy was in front; he was wearing dress robes of black velvet with a high collar, which in Harry's opinion made him look like a vicar. Pansy Parkinson in very frilly robes of pale pink was clutching Malfoy's arm. Crabbe and Goyle were both wearing green; they resembled moss-colored boulders, and neither of them, Harry was pleased to see, had managed to find a partner. The oak front doors opened, and everyone turned to look as the Durmstrang students entered with Professor Karkaroff. Krum was at the front of the party, accompanied by a pretty girl in blue robes Harry didn't know. Over their heads he saw that an area of lawn right in front of the castle had been transformed into a sort of grotto full of fairy lights – meaning hundreds of actual living fairies were sitting in the rosebushes that had been conjured there, and fluttering over the statues of what seemed to be Father Christmas and his reindeer. Then Professor McGonagall's voice called, â€Å"Champions over here, please!† Parvati readjusted her bangles, beaming; she and Harry said, â€Å"See you in a minute† to Ron and Padma and walked forward, the chattering crowd parting to let them through. Professor McGonagall, who was wearing dress robes of red tartan and had arranged a rather ugly wreath of thistles around the brim other hat, told them to wait on one side of the doors while everyone else went inside; they were to enter the Great Hall in procession when the rest of the students had sat down. Fleur Delacour and Roger Davies stationed themselves nearest the doors; Davies looked so stunned by his good fortune in having Fleur for a partner that he could hardly take his eyes off her. Cedric and Cho were close to Harry too; he looked away from them so he wouldn't have to talk to them. His eyes fell instead on the girl next to Krum. His jaw dropped. It was Hermione. But she didn't look like Hermione at all. She had done something with her hair; it was no longer bushy but sleek and shiny, and twisted up into an elegant knot at the back of her head. She was wearing robes made of a floaty, periwinkle-blue material, and she was holding herself differently, somehow – or maybe it was merely the absence of the twenty or so books she usually had slung over her back. She was also smiling – rather nervously, it was true – but the reduction in the size of her front teeth was more noticeable than ever; Harry couldn't understand how he hadn't spotted it before. â€Å"Hi, Harry!† she said. â€Å"Hi, Parvati!† Parvati was gazing at Hermione in unflattering disbelief. She wasn't the only one either; when the doors to the Great Hall opened, Krum's fan club from the library stalked past, throwing Hermione looks of deepest loathing. Pansy Parkinson gaped at her as she walked by with Malfoy, and even he didn't seem to be able to find an insult to throw at her. Ron, however, walked right past Hermione without looking at her. Once everyone else was settled in the Hall, Professor McGonagall told the champions and their partners to get in line in pairs and to follow her. They did so, and everyone in the Great Hall applauded as they entered and started walking up toward a large round table at the top of the Hall, where the judges were sitting. The walls of the Hall had all been covered in sparkling silver frost, with hundreds of garlands of mistletoe and ivy crossing the starry black ceiling. The House tables had vanished; instead, there were about a hundred smaller, lantern-lit ones, each seating about a dozen people. Harry concentrated on not tripping over his feet. Parvati seemed to be enjoying herself; she was beaming around at everybody, steering Harry so forcefully that he felt as though he were a show dog she was putting through its paces. He caught sight of Ron and Padma as he neared the top table. Ron was watching Hermione pass with narrowed eyes. Padma was looking sulky. Dumbledore smiled happily as the champions approached the top table, but Karkaroff wore an expression remarkably like Ron's as he watched Krum and Hermione draw nearer. Ludo Bagman, tonight in robes of bright purple with large yellow stars, was clapping as enthusiastically as any of the students; and Madame Maxime, who had changed her usual uniform of black satin for a flowing gown of lavender silk, was applauding them politely. But Mr. Crouch, Harry suddenly realized, was not there. The fifth seat at the table was occupied by Percy Weasley. When the champions and their partners reached the table, Percy drew out the empty chair beside him, staring pointedly at Harry. Harry took the hint and sat down next to Percy, who was wearing brand-new, navy-blue dress robes and an expression of such smugness that Harry thought it ought to be fined. â€Å"I've been promoted,† Percy said before Harry could even ask, and from his tone, he might have been announcing his election as supreme ruler of the universe. â€Å"I'm now Mr. Crouch's personal assistant, and I'm here representing him.† â€Å"Why didn't he come?† Harry asked. He wasn't looking forward to being lectured on cauldron bottoms all through dinner. â€Å"I'm afraid to say Mr. Crouch isn't well, not well at all. Hasn't been right since the World Cup. Hardly surprising – overwork. He's not as young as he was – though still quite brilliant, of course, the mind remains as great as it ever was. But the World Cup was a fiasco for the whole Ministry, and then, Mr. Crouch suffered a huge personal shock with the misbehavior of that house-elf of his, Blinky, or whatever she was called. Naturally, he dismissed her immediately afterward, but – well, as I say, he's getting on, he needs looking after, and I think he's found a definite drop in his home comforts since she left. And then we had the tournament to arrange, and the aftermath of the Cup to deal with – that revolting Skeeter woman buzzing around – no, poor man, he's having a well earned, quiet Christmas. I'm just glad he knew he had someone he could rely upon to take his place.† Harry wanted very much to ask whether Mr. Crouch had stopped calling Percy â€Å"Weatherby† yet, but resisted the temptation. There was no food as yet on the glittering golden plates, but small menus were lying in front of each of them. Harry picked his up uncertainly and looked around – there were no waiters. Dumbledore, however, looked carefully down at his own menu, then said very clearly to his plate, â€Å"Pork chops!† And pork chops appeared. Getting the idea, the rest of the table placed their orders with their plates too. Harry glanced up at Hermione to see how she felt about this new and more complicated method of dining – surely it meant plenty of extra work for the house-elves? – but for once, Hermione didn't seem to be thinking about S.P.E.W. She was deep in talk with Viktor Krum and hardly seemed to notice what she was eating. It now occurred to Harry that he had never actually heard Krum speak before, but he was certainly talking now, and very enthusiastically at that. â€Å"Veil, ve have a castle also, not as big as this, nor as comfortable, I am thinking,† he was telling Hermione. â€Å"Ve have just four floors, and the fires are lit only for magical purposes. But ve have grounds larger even than these – though in vinter, ve have very little daylight, so ve are not enjoying them. But in summer ve are flying every day, over the lakes and the mountains -â€Å" â€Å"Now, now, Viktor!† said Karkaroff with a laugh that didn't reach his cold eyes, â€Å"don't go giving away anything else, now, or your charming friend will know exactly where to find us!† Dumbledore smiled, his eyes twinkling. â€Å"Igor, all this secrecy, one would almost think you didn't want visitors.† â€Å"Well, Dumbledore,† said Karkaroff, displaying his yellowing teeth to their fullest extent, â€Å"we are all protective of our private domains, are we not? Do we not jealously guard the halls of learning that have been entrusted to us? Are we not right to be proud that we alone know our school's secrets, and right to protect them?† â€Å"Oh I would never dream of assuming I know all Hogwarts' secrets, Igor,† said Dumbledore amicably. â€Å"Only this morning, for instance, I took a wrong turning on the way to the bathroom and found myself in a beautifully proportioned room I have never seen before, containing a really rather magnificent collection of chamber pots. When I went back to investigate more closely, I discovered that the room had vanished. But I must keep an eye out for it. Possibly it is only accessible at five-thirty in the morning. Or it may only appear at the quarter moon – or when the seeker has an exceptionally full bladder.† Harry snorted into his plate of goulash. Percy frowned, but Harry could have sworn Dumbledore had given him a very small wink. Meanwhile Fleur Delacour was criticizing the Hogwarts decorations to Roger Davies. â€Å"Zis is nothing,† she said dismissively, looking around at the sparkling walls of the Great Hall. â€Å"At ze Palace of Beauxbatons, we ‘ave ice sculptures all around ze dining chamber at Chreestmas. Zey do not melt, of course†¦zey are like ‘uge statues of diamond, glittering around ze place. And ze food is seemply superb. And we ‘ave choirs of wood nymphs, ‘oo serenade us as we eat. We ‘ave none of zis ugly armor in ze ‘alls, and eef a poltergeist ever entaired into Beauxbatons, ‘e would be expelled like zat.† She slapped her hand onto the table impatiently. Roger Davies was watching her talk with a very dazed look on his face, and he kept missing his mouth with his fork. Harry had the impression that Davies was too busy staring at Fleur to take in a word she was saying. â€Å"Absolutely right,† he said quickly, slapping his own hand down on the table in imitation of Fleur. â€Å"Like that. Yeah.† Harry looked around the Hall. Hagrid was sitting at one of the other staff tables; he was back in his horrible hairy brown suit and gazing up at the top table. Harry saw him give a small wave, and looking around, saw Madame Maxime return it, her opals glittering in the candlelight. Hermione was now teaching Krum to say her name properly; he kept calling her â€Å"Hermy-own.† â€Å"Her-my-oh-nee,† she said slowly and clearly. â€Å"Herm-own-ninny.† â€Å"Close enough,† she said, catching Harry's eye and grinning. When all the food had been consumed, Dumbledore stood up and asked the students to do the same. Then, with a wave of his wand, all the tables zoomed back along the walls leaving the floor clear, and then he conjured a raised platform into existence along the right wall. A set of drums, several guitars, a lute, a cello, and some bagpipes were set upon it. The Weird Sisters now trooped up onto the stage to wildly enthusiastic applause; they were all extremely hairy and dressed in black robes that had been artfully ripped and torn. They picked up their instruments, and Harry, who had been so interested in watching them that he had almost forgotten what was coming, suddenly realized that the lanterns on all the other tables had gone out, and that the other champions and their partners were standing up. â€Å"Come on!† Parvati hissed. â€Å"We're supposed to dance!† Harry tripped over his dress robes as he stood up. The Weird Sisters struck up a slow, mournful tune; Harry walked onto the brightly lit dance floor, carefully avoiding catching anyone's eye (he could see Seamus and Dean waving at him and sniggering), and next moment, Parvati had seized his hands, placed one around her waist, and was holding the other tightly in hers. It wasn't as bad as it could have been. Harry thought, revolving slowly on the spot (Parvati was steering). He kept his eyes fixed over the heads of the watching people, and very soon many of them too had come onto the dance floor, so that the champions were no longer the center of attention. Neville and Ginny were dancing nearby – he could see Ginny wincing frequently as Neville trod on her feet – and Dumbledore was waltzing with Madame Maxime. He was so dwarfed by her that the top of his pointed hat barely tickled her chin; however, she moved very gracefully for a woman so large. Mad-Eye Moody was doing an extremely ungainly two-step with Professor Sinistra, who was nervously avoiding his wooden leg. â€Å"Nice socks. Potter,† Moody growled as he passed, his magical eye staring through Harry's robes. â€Å"Oh – yeah, Dobby the house-elf knitted them for me,† said Harry, grinning. â€Å"He is so creepy!† Parvati whispered as Moody clunked away. â€Å"I don't think that eye should be allowed.† Harry heard the final, quavering note from the bagpipe with relief. The Weird Sisters stopped playing, applause filled the hall once more, and Harry let go of Parvati at once. â€Å"Let's sit down, shall we?† â€Å"Oh – but – this is a really good one!† Parvati said as the Weird Sisters struck up a new song, which was much faster. â€Å"No, I don't like it,† Harry lied, and he led her away from the dance floor, past Fred and Angelina, who were dancing so exhuberantly that people around them were backing away in fear of injury, and over to the table where Ron and Padma were sitting. â€Å"How's it going?† Harry asked Ron, sitting down and opening a bottle of butterbeer. Ron didn't answer. He was glaring at Hermione and Krum, who were dancing nearby. Padma was sitting with her arms and legs crossed, one foot jiggling in time to the music. Every now and then she threw a disgruntled look at Ron, who was completely ignoring her. Parvati sat down on Harry's other side, crossed her arms and legs too, and within minutes was asked to dance by a boy from Beauxbatons. â€Å"You don't mind, do you, Harry?† Parvati said. â€Å"What?† said Harry, who was now watching Cho and Cedric. â€Å"Oh never mind,† snapped Parvati, and she went off with the boy from Beauxbatons. When the song ended, she did not return. Hermione came over and sat down in Parvati's empty chair. She was a bit pink in the face from dancing. â€Å"Hi,† said Harry. Ron didn't say anything. â€Å"It's hot, isn't it?† said Hermione, fanning herself with her hand. â€Å"Viktor's just gone to get some drinks.† Ron gave her a withering look. â€Å"Viktor?† he said. â€Å"Hasn't he asked you to call him Vicky yet?† Hermione looked at him in surprise. â€Å"What's up with you?† she said. â€Å"If you don't know,† said Ron scathingly, â€Å"I'm not going to tell you.† Hermione stared at him, then at Harry, who shrugged. â€Å"Ron, what -?† â€Å"He's from Durmstrang!† spat Ron. â€Å"He's competing against Harry! Against Hogwarts! You – you're -† Ron was obviously casting around for words strong enough to describe Hermione's crime, â€Å"fraternizing with the enemy, that's what you're doing!† Hermione's mouth fell open. â€Å"Don't be so stupid!† she said after a moment. â€Å"The enemy! Honestly – who was the one who was all excited when they saw him arrive? Who was the one who wanted his autograph? Who's got a model of him up in their dormitory?† Ron chose to ignore this. â€Å"I s'pose he asked you to come with him while you were both in the library?† â€Å"Yes, he did,† said Hermione, the pink patches on her cheeks glowing more brightly. â€Å"So what?† â€Å"What happened – trying to get him to join spew, were you?† â€Å"No, I wasn't! If you really want to know, he – he said he'd been coming up to the library every day to try and talk to me, but he hadn't been able to pluck up the courage!† Hermione said this very quickly, and blushed so deeply that she was the same color as Parvati's robes. â€Å"Yeah, well – that's his story,† said Ron nastily. â€Å"And what's that supposed to mean?† â€Å"Obvious, isn't it? He's Karkaroff's student, isn't he? He knows who you hang around with†¦.He's just trying to get closer to Harry – get inside information on him – or get near enough to jinx him -â€Å" Hermione looked as though Ron had slapped her. When she spoke, her voice quivered. â€Å"For your information, he hasn't asked me one single thing about Harry, not one -â€Å" Ron changed tack at the speed of light. â€Å"Then he's hoping you'll help him find out what his egg means! I suppose you've been putting your heads together during those cozy little library sessions -â€Å" â€Å"I'd never help him work out that egg!† said Hermione, looking outraged. â€Å"Never. How could you say something like that – I want Harry to win the tournament. Harry knows that, don't you, Harry?† â€Å"You've got a funny way of showing it,† sneered Ron. â€Å"This whole tournament's supposed to be about getting to know foreign wizards and making friends with them!† said Hermione hotly. â€Å"No it isn't!† shouted Ron. â€Å"It's about winning!† People were starting to stare at them. â€Å"Ron,† said Harry quietly, â€Å"I haven't got a problem with Hermione coming with Krum -â€Å" But Ron ignored Harry too. â€Å"Why don't you go and find Vicky, he'll be wondering where you are,† said Ron. â€Å"Don't call him Vicky!† Hermione jumped to her feet and stormed off across the dance floor, disappearing into the crowd. Ron watched her go with a mixture of anger and satisfaction on his face. â€Å"Are you going to ask me to dance at all?† Padma asked him. â€Å"No,† said Ron, still glaring after Hermione. â€Å"Fine,† snapped Padma, and she got up and went to join Parvati and the Beauxbatons boy, who conjured up one of his friends to join them so fast that Harry could have sworn he had zoomed him there by a Summoning Charm. â€Å"Vare is Herm-own-ninny?† said a voice. Krum had just arrived at their table clutching two butterbeers. â€Å"No idea,† said Ron mulishly, looking up at him. â€Å"Lost her, have you?† Krum was looking surly again. â€Å"Veil, if you see her, tell her I haff drinks,† he said, and he slouched off. â€Å"Made friends with Viktor Krum, have you, Ron?† Percy had bustled over, rubbing his hands together and looking extremely pompous. â€Å"Excellent! That's the whole point, you know – international magical cooperation!† To Harry's displeasure, Percy now took Padma's vacated seat. The top table was now empty; Professor Dumbledore was dancing with Professor Sprout, Ludo Bagman with Professor McGonagall; Madame Maxime and Hagrid were cutting a wide path around the dance floor as they waltzed through the students, and Karkaroff was nowhere to be seen. When the next song ended, everybody applauded once more, and Harry saw Ludo Bagman kiss Professor McGonagall's hand and make his way back through the crowds, at which point Fred and George accosted him. â€Å"What do they think they're doing, annoying senior Ministry members?† Percy hissed, watching Fred and George suspiciously. â€Å"No respect†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Ludo Bagman shook off Fred and George fairly quickly, however, and, spotting Harry, waved and came over to their table. â€Å"I hope my brothers weren't bothering you, Mr. Bagman?† said Percy at once. â€Å"What? Oh not at all, not at all!† said Bagman. â€Å"No, they were just telling me a bit more about those fake wands of theirs. Wondering if I could advise them on the marketing. I've promised to put them in touch with a couple of contacts of mine at Zonko's Joke Shop†¦.† Percy didn't look happy about this at all, and Harry was prepared to bet he would be rushing to tell Mrs. Weasley about this the moment he got home. Apparently Fred and George's plans had grown even more ambitious lately, if they were hoping to sell to the public. Bagman opened his mouth to ask Harry something, but Percy diverted him. â€Å"How do you feel the tournament's going, Mr. Bagman? Our department's quite satisfied – the hitch with the Goblet of Fire† – he glanced at Harry – â€Å"was a little unfortunate, of course, but it seems to have gone very smoothly since, don't you think?† â€Å"Oh yes,† Bagman said cheerfully, â€Å"it's all been enormous fun. How's old Barty doing? Shame he couldn't come.† â€Å"Oh I'm sure Mr. Crouch will be up and about in no time,† said Percy importantly, â€Å"but in the meantime, I'm more than willing to take up the slack. Of course, it's not all attending balls† – he laughed airily – â€Å"oh no, I've had to deal with all sorts of things that have cropped up in his absence – you heard Ali Bashir was caught smuggling a consignment of flying carpets into the country? And then we've been trying to persuade the Transylvanians to sign the International Ban on Dueling. I've got a meeting with their Head of Magical Cooperation in the new year -â€Å" â€Å"Let's go for a walk,† Ron muttered to Harry, â€Å"get away from Percy†¦.† Pretending they wanted more drinks. Harry and Ron left the table, edged around the dance floor, and slipped out into the entrance hall. The front doors stood open, and the fluttering fairy lights in the rose garden winked and twinkled as they went down the front steps, where they found themselves surrounded by bushes; winding, ornamental paths; and large stone statues. Harry could hear splashing water, which sounded like a fountain. Here and there, people were sitting on carved benches. He and Ron set off along one of the winding paths through the rosebushes, but they had gone only a short way when they heard an unpleasantly familiar voice. â€Å"†¦don't see what there is to fuss about, Igor.† â€Å"Severus, you cannot pretend this isn't happening!† Karkaroffs voice sounded anxious and hushed, as though keen not to be overheard. â€Å"It's been getting clearer and clearer for months. I am becoming seriously concerned, I can't deny it -â€Å" â€Å"Then flee,† said Snape's voice curtly. â€Å"Flee – I will make your excuses. I, however, am remaining at Hogwarts.† Snape and Karkaroff came around the corner. Snape had his wand out and was blasting rosebushes apart, his expression most ill-natured. Squeals issued from many of the bushes, and dark shapes emerged from them. â€Å"Ten points from Ravenclaw, Fawcett!† Snape snarled as a girl ran past him. â€Å"And ten points from Hufflepuff too, Stebbins!† as a boy went rushing after her. â€Å"And what are you two doing?† he added, catching sight of Harry and Ron on the path ahead. Karkaroff, Harry saw, looked slightly discomposed to see them standing there. His hand went nervously to his goatee, and he began winding it around his finger. â€Å"We re walking,† Ron told Snape shortly. â€Å"Not against the law, is it?† â€Å"Keep walking, then!† Snape snarled, and he brushed past them, his long black cloak billowing out behind him. Karkaroff hurried away after Snape. Harry and Ron continued down the path. â€Å"What's got Karkaroff all worried?† Ron muttered. â€Å"And since when have he and Snape been on first-name terms?†said Harry slowly. They had reached a large stone reindeer now, over which they could see the sparkling jets of a tall fountain. The shadowy outlines of two enormous people were visible on a stone bench, watching the water in the moonlight. And then Harry heard Hagrid speak. â€Å"Momen' I saw yeh, I knew,† he was saying, in an oddly husky voice. Harry and Ron froze. This didn't sound like the sort of scene they ought to walk in on, somehow†¦.Harry looked around, back up the path, and saw Fleur Delacour and Roger Davies standing half-concealed in a rosebush nearby. He tapped Ron on the shoulder and jerked his head toward them, meaning that they could easily sneak off that way without being noticed (Fleur and Davies looked very busy to Harry), but Ron, eyes widening in horror at the sight of Fleur, shook his head vigorously, and pulled Harry deeper into the shadows behind the reindeer. â€Å"What did you know, ‘Agrid?† said Madame Maxime, a purr in her low voice. Harry definitely didn't want to listen to this; he knew Hagrid would hate to be overheard in a situation like this (he certainly would have) – if it had been possible he would have put his fingers in his ears and hummed loudly, but that wasn't really an option. Instead he tried to interest himself in a beetle crawling along the stone reindeer's back, but the beetle just wasn't interesting enough to block out Hagrid's next words. â€Å"I jus' knew†¦knew you were like me†¦.Was it yer mother or yer father?† â€Å"I – I don't know what you mean, ‘Agrid†¦.† â€Å"It was my mother,† said Hagrid quietly. â€Å"She was one o' the las' ones in Britain. ‘Course, I can' remember her too well†¦she left, see. When I was abou' three. She wasn' really the maternal sort. Well†¦it's not in their natures, is it? Dunno what happened to her†¦might be dead fer all I know†¦.† Madame Maxime didn't say anything. And Harry, in spite of himself, took his eyes off the beetle and looked over the top of the reindeer's antlers, listening†¦.He had never heard Hagrid talk about his childhood before. â€Å"Me dad was broken-hearted when she wen'. Tiny little bloke, my dad was. By the time I was six I could lift him up an' put him on top o' the dresser if he annoyed me. Used ter make him laugh†¦.†Hagrid's deep voice broke. Madame Maxime was listening, motionless, apparently staring at the silvery fountain. â€Å"Dad raised me†¦but he died, o' course, jus' after I started school. Sorta had ter make me own way after that. Dumbledore was a real help, mind. Very kind ter me, he was†¦.† Hagrid pulled out a large spotted silk handkerchief and blew his nose heavily. â€Å"So†¦anyway†¦enough abou' me. What about you? Which side you got it on?† But Madame Maxime had suddenly got to her feet. â€Å"It is chilly,† she said – but whatever the weather was doing, it was nowhere near as cold as her voice. â€Å"I think I will go in now.† â€Å"Eh?† said Hagrid blankly. â€Å"No, don go! I've – I've never met another one before!† â€Å"Anuzzer what, precisely?† said Madame Maxime, her tone icy. Harry could have told Hagrid it was best not to answer; he stood there in the shadows gritting his teeth, hoping against hope he wouldn't – but it was no good. â€Å"Another half-giant, o' course!† said Hagrid. â€Å"‘Ow dare you!† shrieked Madame Maxime. Her voice exploded through the peaceful night air like a foghorn; behind him. Harry heard Fleur and Roger fall out of their rosebush. â€Å"I ‘ave nevair been more insulted in my life! ‘Alf-giant? Moi? I ‘ave – I ‘ave big bones!† She stormed away; great multicolored swarms of fairies rose into the air as she passed, angrily pushing aside bushes. Hagrid was still sitting on the bench, staring after her. It was much too dark to make out his expression. Then, after about a minute, he stood up and strode away, not back to the castle, but off out into the dark grounds in the direction of his cabin. â€Å"C'mon,† Harry said, very quietly to Ron. â€Å"Let's go†¦.† But Ron didn't move. â€Å"What's up?† said Harry, looking at him. Ron looked around at Harry, his expression very serious indeed. â€Å"Did you know?† he whispered. â€Å"About Hagrid being half-giant?† â€Å"No,† Harry said, shrugging. â€Å"So what?† He knew immediately, from the look Ron was giving him, that he was once again revealing his ignorance of the wizarding world. Brought up by the Dursleys, there were many things that wizards took for granted that were revelations to Harry, but these surprises had become fewer with each successive year. Now, however, he could tell that most wizards would not have said â€Å"So what?† upon finding out that one of their friends had a giantess for a mother. â€Å"I'll explain inside,† said Ron quietly, â€Å"c'mon†¦.† Fleur and Roger Davies had disappeared, probably into a more private clump of bushes. Harry and Ron returned to the Great Hall. Parvati and Padma were now sitting at a distant table with a whole crowd of Beauxbatons boys, and Hermione was once more dancing with Krum. Harry and Ron sat down at a table far removed from the dance floor. â€Å"So?† Harry prompted Ron. â€Å"What's the problem with giants?† â€Å"Well, they're†¦they're†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Ron struggled for words. â€Å"†¦not very nice,† he finished lamely. â€Å"Who cares?† Harry said. â€Å"There's nothing wrong with Hagrid!† â€Å"I know there isn't, but†¦blimey, no wonder he keeps it quiet,† Ron said, shaking his head. â€Å"I always thought he'd got in the way of a bad Engorgement Charm when he was a kid or something. Didn't like to mention it†¦.† â€Å"But what's it matter if his mother was a giantess?† said Harry. â€Å"Well†¦no one who knows him will care, ‘cos they'll know he's not dangerous,† said Ron slowly. â€Å"But†¦Harry, they're just vicious, giants. It's like Hagrid said, it's in their natures, they're like trolls†¦they just like killing, everyone knows that. There aren't any left in Britain now, though.† â€Å"What happened to them?† â€Å"Well, they were dying out anyway, and then loads got themselves killed by Aurors. There're supposed to be giants abroad, though†¦.They hide out in mountains mostly†¦.† â€Å"I don't know who Maxime thinks she's kidding,† Harry said, watching Madame Maxime sitting alone at the judges' table, looking very somber. â€Å"If Hagrid's half-giant, she definitely is. Big bones†¦.the only thing that's got bigger bones than her is a dinosaur.† Harry and Ron spent the rest of the ball discussing giants in their corner, neither of them having any inclination to dance. Harry tried not to watch Cho and Cedric too much; it gave him a strong desire to kick something. When the Weird Sisters finished playing at midnight, everyone gave them a last, loud round of applause and started to wend their way into the entrance hall. Many people were expressing the wish that the ball could have gone on longer, but Harry was perfectly happy to be going to bed; as far as he was concerned, the evening hadn't been much fun. Out in the entrance hall, Harry and Ron saw Hermione saying good night to Krum before he went back to the Durmstrang ship. She gave Ron a very cold look and swept past him up the marble staircase without speaking. Harry and Ron followed her, but halfway up the staircase Harry heard someone calling him. â€Å"Hey-Harry!† It was Cedric Diggory. Harry could see Cho waiting for him in the entrance hall below. â€Å"Yeah?† said Harry coldly as Cedric ran up the stairs toward him. Cedric looked as though he didn't want to say whatever it was in front of Ron, who shrugged, looking bad-tempered, and continued to climb the stairs. â€Å"Listen†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Cedric lowered his voice as Ron disappeared. â€Å"I owe you one for telling me about the dragons. You know that golden egg? Does yours wail when you open it?† â€Å"Yeah,† said Harry. â€Å"Well†¦take a bath, okay?† â€Å"What?† â€Å"Take a bath, and – er – take the egg with you, and – er – just mull things over in the hot water. It'll help you think†¦.Trust me.† Harry stared at him. â€Å"Tell you what,† Cedric said, â€Å"use the prefects' bathroom. Fourth door to the left of that statue of Boris the Bewildered on the fifth floor. Password's ‘pine fresh.' Gotta go†¦want to say good night -â€Å" He grinned at Harry again and hurried back down the stairs to Cho. Harry walked back to Gryffindor Tower alone. That had been extremely strange advice. Why would a bath help him to work out what the wailing egg meant? Was Cedric pulling his leg? Was he trying to make Harry look like a fool, so Cho would like him even more by comparison? The Fat Lady and her friend Vi were snoozing in the picture over the portrait hole. Harry had to yell â€Å"Fairy lights!† before he woke them up, and when he did, they were extremely irritated. He climbed into the common room and found Ron and Hermione having a blazing row. Standing ten feet apart, they were bellowing at each other, each scarlet in the face. â€Å"Well, if you don't like it, you know what the solution is, don't you?† yelled Hermione; her hair was coming down out of its elegant bun now, and her face was screwed up in anger. â€Å"Oh yeah?† Ron yelled back. â€Å"What's that?† â€Å"Next time there's a ball, ask me before someone else does, and not as a last resort!† Ron mouthed soundlessly like a goldfish out of water as Hermione turned on her heel and stormed up the girls' staircase to bed. Ron turned to look at Harry. â€Å"Well,† he sputtered, looking thunderstruck, â€Å"well – that just proves – completely missed the point -â€Å" Harry didn't say anything. He liked being back on speaking terms with Ron too much to speak his mind right now – but he somehow thought that Hermione had gotten the point much better than Ron had.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Assessment of a magazine advertisement Assignment

Assessment of a magazine advertisement - Assignment Example The consistent general theme of the advertisement is to focus on the numerous changes that have been made to the latest edition of the game; the advertisement shows that the game is much better than its earlier editions. The advertisement covers all the major areas of the game and most importantly all the important things which a gamer would want to know. It is very in-depth and lures the gamers into buying the game. The leading title perfectly relates to the advertisement. â€Å"Now, many of those sound just fine. The series has long needed better menus, and some less "plastic" presentation would also be great. But tiny little updates and a roster change is what bums people out about Madden year in year out, so as a massive FIFA fan heres hoping theres some more substantial improvements yet to be announced.† (The New FIFA) The advertisement has been designed mainly for the gamers, it is also likely to intrigue all people who love sports, it brings out the important and exciting aspects of the new edition of the game. The advertisement has been really well crafted, the major changes have also been highlighted, these are some of the changes which every gamer would like to see. The advertisement does not ask the reader to do anything, its main job is to take the excitement level of the gamers to another level and lure them into buying the game. The text of the advertisement only focuses on the strengths of the game making the reader believe that it is the best football game that has ever been made. Hence, the main job of the advertisement is to force gamers into buying the new game. There are no competitive advertisements, Konami a Japanese company releases a game called Pro Evolution Soccer to compete with the FIFA series but nothing has been heard of the new game by Konami so there is no competition as of yet. This is a very fine investment, it is a great

Friday, September 27, 2019

Summary and reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Summary and reflection - Essay Example rt posting as it is emphasized that the success of this company was due to their decision to hire a professional consultant to learn how to achieve their objectives most efficiently. Success is measured by the company’s ability to achieve retail distribution of their products as a direct result of the mommy bloggers who had reviewed them. The article then begins to provide the benefits of working directly with blogging. To begin with, customers are able to test the products and help define the target market. By distributing sample products among the bloggers, companies are able to take advantage of impromptu focus groups and promotional opportunities while also giving the bloggers something to talk about rather than simply trying to insert an advertisement. This leads the author to write about some of the things to avoid when marketing to bloggers. Although it may seem second nature to hide one’s true intentions, the author suggests it is best to be up front and honest with them and the bloggers will help you form online relationships. Another important point is to avoid sending out mass emails that are inappropriately targeted or lie regarding your activity, which can be easily traced. One strong way of getting your news out to bloggers is to host a blogging event with giveaways that provide women with a mean s of meeting each other as well as giving them a reason to talk about your products or services. The information in the article really makes it clear how the internet is forcing us to return to a more honest means of dealing with each other. It recommends working with the so-called Mommy blogs as a means of gaining instant access to the consumers most likely making the purchasing decisions, which seems like a great idea. However, once you’ve lied to them or made them angry with you in some way, you risk losing as much or more of the targeted audience. It’s also important to remember that it’s very easy for these bloggers to check your

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Management Accounting for Business Decisions Essay

Management Accounting for Business Decisions - Essay Example In the case of CoolSchool and Scrubs, differences in operations present the greatest challenges to the whole merger. The new company resulting from the merger will have new dynamics and set of accounting challenges which must be addressed in order to ensure success (Bierman 2010). CoolSchool supplies school uniforms at the beginning of the school year and the number of uniforms is based on the previous year’s enrollment. It is important to note that despite the merger, there will still be an important need to ensure that uniforms are supplied to the schools every year and on time. In addition, it is difficult for schools to provide the exact number of uniforms they shall need. In this respect, it becomes necessary for the company to continue its present production method which uses estimates from the previous year. However, this can be further improved to enhance accuracy. Since CoolSchool has supplied uniforms to schools for a number of years, it has records on the supply for every year. By using the record, the new merged company can extrapolate and estimate the enrolment rate in the coming year. Production of uniforms will then be based on the extrapolated figure which will be fairly accurate than using the enrolment for the previous years (Brush 20 08). Regarding hospital uniforms, the new company will easily predict the number based on the staff numbers previously used by Scrubs. Considering the accurate production in this regard, it is important that the new company produces a large amount of uniforms for 8 months. Producing large numbers of uniforms on a single occasion helps the company to enjoy the economies of scale associated with large scale production. In addition, hospitals will always require new uniforms and the company should not therefore worry about any excess inventory (Gleich 2010). Producing a large amount of hospital uniforms at one time will help the company in creating

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Flexibility development in the warehouse planning and design for Essay

Flexibility development in the warehouse planning and design for future - Essay Example Simple data warehousing (long-term storage of detailed data) may be useful for archival purposes to back up ad hoc databases from direct training or training management. However, the requirements of tomorrow's warehousing software involves the active participation of not a large amount of workers, rather a few number of man power is required along with an appropriate qualification and motivation to do the job. Such individuals would be well trained to make the software a success with ease in work. They would be active enough to participate in demand planning to anticipate market demand, supply planning to allocate the right amount of enterprise resources to meet consumer's demand and demand fulfilment to fill customer orders quickly and efficiently. This form of data is of little use for strategic training management. An analogy would be a collection of partially manufactured subassemblies and raw materials that require significant processing in order to become a final product usable by strategic training management. Because of the need to combine data across such categories as schools, time, and budget categories, the amount of disaggregated and descriptive data is likely to cause a scale problem today. By this we mean both the amount of storage space required to hold these data and the amount of time needed to combine and manipulate the data to make them useful for decision-making. This won't happen in future warehousing software. RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) Technology Systems would be involved in warehousing to great extent in the form of transceiver, transponder or in the form of a tag which by using throughout the supply chain, configure-to-order assemblers would closely coordinate the arrival of components for final assembly. Future warehouse management technologies would perform the function of finite scheduling and process sequencing of orders thereby managing all the constraints of the present warehousing that includes insufficient labour, physical space and value added processing. Many formerly custom-programmed features are now built into today's Warehouse Management Systems. Functionality often includes batch picking, zone selection, and velocity analysis as well as Web interface functions, E-commerce applications, inventory visibility productivity metrics, inventory cycle counting, labour management, and the ability to support multiple facilities from a single computer. The concept underlying today's Warehousing System software is to build an end-to-end, process-integrated logistics flow. In addition, there is a higher level of configurability. In the future, Warehousing Management System functionality will continue to broaden. For example, adding postponement and a visual-process modelling tool so that the warehouse management system will respond to change more easily. There will be an increasing focus on dynamic

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Ethical Issues related to the Physician Sunshine Act Coursework

Ethical Issues related to the Physician Sunshine Act - Coursework Example or design of clinical trials or development of medical devices should be encouraged since they help in the enhancement of the existing technology for the benefit of patients. By gaining the ability of accessing information regarding their physicians’ financial relationships with pharmaceutical companies, the public will be greatly informed regarding possible conflict of interest as well as protect them from potentially injurious doctor-industry relationships. In addition, patients will get a better grasp of when and whether associations with manufacturers manipulate the physician’s decisions (Twomey &Jennings, 2014). Exceptions such as gifts of less than $10, educational materials for patient distribution and product samples are important and serve to pass new products to the market in addition to assisting in education and research. Provision of free gifts or food makes the message being delivered more palatable as well as to be more favorably received by the

Monday, September 23, 2019

Hildren at play Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Hildren at play - Essay Example The paper outlines all the playground's changes and gives also a short survey consisting of six questions was given to twenty one children to know their attitudes towards their school playgrounds. Rules and restrictions such as no running or jumping off playground equipments, fighting, climbing, playing ball games near school buildings and so on, are induced to reduce the like hood of accidents and injury. Schools offering more sanitized play environments are of latest trend. According to Titman ‘manufactured provisions which claim to substitute for children’s loss to free access to the external environment has resulted in the creation of places which too often provide little more than amusement and diversion’. School grounds having been designed to reduce the likeliness of injuries/accidents has shown to be less stimulative in terms of what it offers to children and also failed to provide the environmental experience. In view of safety measures most of the school s have principally removed movable play equipments such as swings, see-saws, roundabouts which do not conform to the safety, standards and/or they have shown to be the cause of accidents and injury. Black Hill Primary School viewed from outside seems to have a small play ground raising the curiosity to see if the children’s thoughts mirrored mine. The school has ample equipments, with a playground quiet small enough for track events and ball games which has a basket ball/tennis/netball court, also a sand pit, slides, swings, monkey bars, ladders, bridges and a recently installed flying fox.

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Regional distinctions in 17th and 18 century colonial society Essay

Regional distinctions in 17th and 18 century colonial society - Essay Example Regional distinctions in 17th and 18 century colonial society There are major differences between the 17th and the 18th centuries, in various fronts. A similarity in the economic front between the centuries is that the economy was agriculture dependent. The labor force in the 7th century was mainly indentured servitude comprising of white servants while this changed in the 18th century to slave labor, with African who were imported. In the social stratification front, the Southern planters were on the top of social class with large crop farms and the small farmers with less land coming in second. The Europeans were at the top of the social cadre, with the Native Americans and the Africans following in that order. The wealthy whites could hire the poor Europeans for indentured servitude, while the Africans belonged predominantly to the slave class. Colonies were formed based on religious beliefs, with the growth in religious freedom being higher in the 18th century than it was in the 17th century. The regions of New England and the Middle coloni es were less economically prosperous compared to the Chesapeake Bay Colonies and the Lower South. Organization of the labor force was such that there was more freedom for laborers in the New England and the Middle colonies, as opposed to the other two regions. This labor force freedom was more in the 18th century more than in the 17th century. 2. How Tobacco cultivation shaped the maturation of colonial society in the Chesapeake 1620-1775. The introduction of tobacco as a stable crop occurred in 1613. The decision to cultivate Tobacco as a staple food shaped the maturation of the colonies by introducing slave labor to replace the indentured servitude that was being utilized before in cotton farming (Eric, 107). Tobacco became the basis of the southern economy, since the introduction of became more economical than the contraction of the white to work for a fixed period. This saw the enactment of slavery law of 1641, which allowed the farmers to own slaves. Social stratification was t he basis of production of indentured servants, since they would come from overpopulated European areas with poor people. The rich lived in spacious tracts of land, where they could hire the poor whites to work on their farms. However, servants were more economical to use since it was cheaper than the cost of obtaining slaves. Therefore, the labor force was made of more indenture servants and a few slaves. The demography had less indentured servants because they died more, creating an allowance to own more slaves who were overworked to death in some regions such as the Caribbean, while those on the American colonies were bred to perpetuate the slave population. The economy of the south later changed from depending more on tobacco to relying on cotton, rice and indigo (Eric, 92). Slaves replaced the indentured servants by the end of 17th century and early 18th century, as the indentured servants became more and more scarce. 3. Major differences in British North America, between17th an d 18th centuries. There are major differences observed in British North America, between the 17th and the 18th century. Accessibility of slave is one of such differences. While in the 17th century the accessibility of slaves was a tough task for the British colonialist in the North America, it became quite easy in the 18th century (Eric, 22). This changed the use of slaves where the most used Indian slaves in the 17th century were replaced by the African slaves who became the major source of labor in the 18th century. Another major difference between the centuries is the racial attitudes. In the 17th century, racial attitudes were more flexible as compared to the 18th century (Eric, 283). In the 17th century, the African slaves

Saturday, September 21, 2019

White Supremacy Essay Example for Free

White Supremacy Essay In the aftermath of the election victory of Barack Obama, white supremacists rushed to online discussion forums to vent anger and disbelief that voters had chosen an African-American candidate as the next president of the United States. The Anti-Defamation League, which monitors and exposes extremist activity and rhetoric, said anger among white supremacists and other right-wing extremists in response to Obamas victory, resulted in an avalanche of vitriolic ranting postings on racist Web sites. At one point, the chatter so overloaded the server of the most popular white supremacist internet forum, Stormfront, which was temporarily shutdown. The notion that racism is a violation of human rights is not a new one, as those who have experienced it effects would testify. The ground-breaking progress gained by the civil rights movement of the 1960s in the United States has steadily eroded over the past decade, and the issues and incidents of racism as well as anti-Semitism, homophobia, and violence against women are ones that need to be addressed with increasing urgency. While the courts are more and more frequently relying on civil rights laws to prosecute racially motivated violence, the common abuses of basic human rights are often overlooked. In fact, the encroachment of white supremacist ideologies into the social fabric of our politics, our institutions, and our laws means that intolerance 1. is becoming the rule of the day, and the overt violation of the persons and property of individuals and groups is not only easily accepted, but part of the status quo. America has moved into a new era of white supremacy. The new tactics used by white supremacists and far right organizations must be exposed so that we can work together to mitigate their effectiveness. This includes a discussion of the relationship between three converging and ever-growing factionsthe ultra-conservatives, religious fundamentalists, and the far right. In this context, racism cannot stand alone as the sole antagonist of human rights violations. The victims of white supremacist ideologies and politics include immigrants, gays and lesbians, Jews, and women, as well as people of color. From the ranks of homophobes, anti-abortionists, racists, anti-Semites, and those who are simply afraid of a fast-changing world, white supremacists find willing allies in their struggle to control Americas destiny. Hate groups cannot be dismissed as a more complex than the virulence of a few fringe fanatics. With the breathless way the media covers hate groups, it is sometimes easier to characterize them simply as misfits or extremists, rather than acknowledge them as part of the larger problem of widespread racism, anti-Semitism, and homophobia. FBI statistics report that 65 percent of Americas hate crimes are committed by whites against blacks. A good portion of such hate crimes are what we call move-in violence, when neighborhoods, schools, churches, or jobs are finally integrated 2. 30 years after the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Terror over the visibility of the lesbian and gay movement lays behind the numerous hate crimes against gays and lesbians (and their allies) the fastest-growing hate crime category in the country. Some of the haters, living on the United States borders, are petrified at the thought that brown hordes of Mexicans, Chinese, or Haitians may swarm over them if they cease their militant rhetoric and violence toward these immigrants. If they live near Native American reservations, the aim of their violence is to challenge the few remaining treaty rights granted native peoples. Other white supremacists want to save the white race by controlling the behavior of white womenthey attack interracial couples, lesbians, and feminists. They join the anti-abortion movement, believing they can prevent white women from getting legal abortions. Racist far right organizations have been quick to glorify anti-abortion violence, making it yet another hot issue to fuel the fires of the white revolution. Hate groups have decided that they are no longer willing to wait for the white revolution, the violent backlash against human rights movements. They want a fast solution before, as they put it, the white race is extinct. These fanatics are terrorists who use bombs, murder, arson, and assaults in their genocidal war. Some skinheadsfor example, the Fourth Reich Skins arrested a few years ago in Los Angeles or the Aryan National Front, convicted of murdering homeless people in Alabama are in the vanguard of this street-level violence. Meanwhile, older survivalists like Randy Weaver, who was acquitted of killing a federal marshall in an Idaho firefight in 1992, 3.are barricaded in mountain shelters with stockpiles of weapons, awaiting the final Armageddon. Impressionable, often alienated people, both young and old, are natural recruits for this movement. They bring new energy and a willingness to display their hatred aggressively. They also expand the influence of the white supremacist movement, into the anti-abortion movement, into the anti-gay movement, into the English only movement, opening new avenues for the expression of hate. In the 21st century, the image of organized hate is rapidly changing. It is no longer the exclusive domain of white men over 30. It is becoming younger, meaner and more violent. Many people join the movement as teenagers, including a remarkable number of young women. This new and dangerous increase accounts for nearly one-third of the membership of some hate groups. The increase in the number of women, coupled with a strategic thrust to reform the public image of hate groups, has expanded womens leadership. These new recruits do not fit the stereotypical image of wives on their husbands arms. In fact, many of them are college-educated, very sophisticated, and display skills usually found among the rarest of intellectuals in the movement. Of particular concern in this early 21st century is a continuing convergence of sections of the white supremacist movement with the radical Christian Right, as represented by Pat Robertson, and nationalist ultra-conservatives, as represented by the crackpot Tea Party members and conservative Republicans such as Rick Santorum. This alliance is between religious determinists who think that ones degree of Christianity determines one’s future, economic determinists who see themselves in a 4.war of the haves against the have-nots, and biological determinists for whom race is everything. All believe they are in battle to save Western civilization (white Europeans) from the ungodly and the unfit (people of color, gays and lesbians, and Jews). What many Americans fail to realize is that, increasingly, white people are being literally scared out of their wits by demagogues, who crystallize for them their fears of people of color, lesbians and gays, the government, the media, welfare mothers, immigrants, the economy, health care, and the list goes on. The fact that race relations in the United States are usually presented as a black/white model disguises the complexity of color, the brutality of class, and the importance of religion and sexual identity in the construction and practice of white supremacy. This simplistic model, which fails to convey many of the important aspects of white supremacy, cannot specifically explain how white supremacy influences American culture and politics. White supremacy is an ideology that manipulates US politics and affects all relations in American society. It is sustained by rigid ideological categories. The construction of racial categories, although varying greatly over time, has always been based on the economic, social, and political aspirations of people of European descent. Throughout European history, racial definitions have been based on lineage, characteristics, skin hue, and religion. At the present time, there are not safe places for the victims of this type of violence to turn. No homeless shelters, no womens shelters, and often not even 5. police departments offer them support. The first step in building these resources is to recognize the magnitude of the problem so that human rights activists can come together to offer help and support to those outside the majority rule. A concerted, prolonged effort to teach young people about the true impact of white supremacy and its prevalence in American society is fundamental to breaking the cycle. To ignore this issue is to build intolerance into the next generation. An understanding of the historical and institutional effects of racism and the other isms that dominate our culture and society is vital to understanding present bigotry and abuse. In conclusion, when we recognize that racism, homophobia, sexism, anti-Semitism, and xenophobia flow from the same spring, and that they permeate every aspect of the lives of all Americans, we can then take steps together to make the United States a place that respects and honors the dignity of all people. 6. A Childs Tale By Gloria A. Loftin Let me tell you a tale my child of blue and grey of a world gone wild Let me tell you a tale my child of men in hoods and capes of hearts full of rage and hate Let me tell you a tale my child of men of god of greed and wealth Let me tell you a tale my child of peace and hope for all the world Let me tell you a tale my childÃ'Ž

Friday, September 20, 2019

history and structure of the travel and tourism industry

history and structure of the travel and tourism industry Introduction Tourism is seen as one of the main industries in the world. The World Travel and Tourism Council (2001) indicated that tourism creates more than ten percent of the global economic output and 1 in 10 jobs worldwide. Tourism starts with the wealthy, with images of prestigious visits to seaside resorts and spas, Grand Tours and the activities of business enterprisers such as Thomas Cook (Towner, 1995). This paper describes the history and structure of the travel and tourism industry, the influence of local and national governments and international agencies, local and national economic policy, the effects of supply and demand on the travel and tourism industry and the positive and negative impacts of tourism. History Based on my perception, I would categorize the history of travel tourism industry in three different time bands as follows: Before 1945 1945-1979 1980 to current day Before 1945 In ancient times and approximately till the end of the 16th century people were living in agricultural communities was stationary, seldom moving from the local area and rural community. Even with the beginning of the industrial revolution, which was making a slow start in the 18th century in urban and factory development, a richer elite class alone enjoyed leisure and travel, while the workers worked in situ. Indeed as industrialization got under way leisure time or holidays where they existed tended to decrease (Lickorish, Jenkins, 1997) Prior to the 1950s, tourism was an industry which was inconsistent; hotels, transport operators, tour operators, travel agents, all tended to work separately. Hotels were mainly in the business to sell bed nights. Railways and airlines were in the business to sell seats, Travel agents, were selling travel and holidays however in each case they tended to work very much independently. Up until 1946, i.e. the period between the world wars, much of international travel was for the privileged, wealthy and elite groups in society. Thomas Cook introduced the first package tour in 1841, but in fact by that time the railways (The first passenger railway (Liverpool and Manchester) opened in 1830) themselves were offering excursion trips, for a traffic which they had not originally expected to carry. The first objective had been carriage of freight, and secondly the provision of faster transport for the current stagecoach travelers at far from cheap prices. The popularity of cheap excursion fares for special events was not expected (Lickorish, Jenkins, 1997) 1945-1979 If we look at the year 1945 as the year in which the development of the main growth in the tourism industry started, we can construct some general explanation concerning to the changes which one can differentiate in the tourism industry. From the mid-1950s onwards, mainly in the UK, the development of tour operators started changing the character of the industry from individual business activities to more integrated activities. Hotels, for example, were beginning to see customers as wanting a range of services rather than simply buying accommodation. So hotels began to develop shopping arcades and later to offer secretarial centers in order to increase the spend of guests within the hotel complex. Transport operators, particularly in the airline business, saw the sale of transport services as being integral to a much wider need. Airlines offered insurance and accommodation booking for travelers (Lickorish, Jenkins, 1997) From 1950 onwards a combination of factors, such as increase in free time availability, increase in paid holidays, improvement of package tours, and growth in air transport all combined to offer a wider possible holiday-taking market. This market was different regarding socioeconomic groups from the pre-1950 era. 1980 to current day By the 1980s several airlines were offering full travel services such as arrangements for holidays, medical services, hiring car, etc. By 1990 the formation of the tourism industry, especially in the United Kingdom and Europe, was effected by the development of a number of very big companies. In the USA, American anti-trust laws discouraged, if not prohibited, the development of large integrated companies. The experience of American in operational tour has been very different from Europe, mainly compared with the United Kingdom (Lickorish, Jenkins, 1997). Air travel improved even more rapidly. Nevertheless, this is only piece of the story, as nonscheduled traffic (charter services) increased considerably as well. Making up an estimated 18 per cent of total movement by the 1980s and 50 per cent or more on European routes, where the charter traffic took over the greater part of the holiday movement, as tour operators developed their own services (Lickorish, Jenkins, 1997) Future The tourism business is likely to make important help to global economic development in the twenty first century. The cultural trade and understanding that is brought about through tourism is causing a more peaceful and internationalized universal society. Besides contributing to the expansion and renovation of local economies and communities, tourism development is playing an important role in both enhancing education and improving the position of the tourism business aimed at nurturing the next generation of those ready to take on the tourism business. The Structure of Travel Tourism Industry This is the Leipers model: There are 5 key elements of a tourism system Departing Travelers Traveler Generating Region Transit Route Region Tourist Destination Region Returning Travelers The first is the tourist (the human component), the next 3 components are geographical and organizational and relate to transport, tourist activities and the tourism industry which offers services, goods and facilities for tourists. The last is self explanatory. And the environment: Economic, Technological, Physical, Political, Socio-cultural, legal, etc. There are some contemporary influences: Changing actions and motivations of markets Changing patterns of tourist flows Require for planned tourism expansion Force for sustainable tourism expansion Concern for social, cultural and economic impacts of tourism The influence of local and national governments and international agencies The position of government is an essential and multipart side of travel and tourism industry, involving policies. State involvement in the trade is a fairly recent practice for central government. In general the state recognizes that the duties of the public sector must cover such matters as health, safety, fair trading and consumer interests and infrastructure in transport such as roads, railways and ports. These are all matters of direct concern to the resident population. There is a mixed record in the provision of leisure facilities, environmental protection and conservation which includes responsibility for the unique cultural heritage, an important part of Europes visitor attractions (Lickorish, Jenkins, 1997). The state tourism agency, tourist board or government department will have an important role to play in advising on the strategy, offering opportunities to consult and cooperate with a dispersed private sector, and preparing a destination marketing strategy based on an identification of the appropriate markets and their needs and wishes (Lickorish, Jenkins, 1997). Based on periodic surveys of the government role by the WTO, the OECD and individual countries, the principal functions of a Ministry of Tourism or of agencies under government control can be summarized as: Research, statistics and planning. Marketing. Development of tourism resources. Regulation, including trade regulation. Training and education. Facilitation/liberalization. Local governments At the local level the regional or local authority has a role similar to that of the central government and in many ways a more comprehensive and important one. Indeed, in the early days of mass travel stimulated by the growth of the railway network, public sector intervention in tourism was solely at the local level. There were no national tourism organizations. The growth of large resorts, pioneered in Britain at the main seaside canters, encouraged the development of local tourism administrations to carry out the responsibilities of the host destination (Lickorish, Jenkins, 1997). International organizations There are a number of international bodies, both governmental and nongovernmental, with tourism interests. Government bodies reflect the national governments interest in, and political will regarding, tourism intervention. In the industrialized countries, the tourism priority tends to be low. Because of the wide range of tourism activity the number of organizations with some concern or responsibility is great, but coordination and often cooperation as at the national level is weak. Furthermore, consultation with industry and operating sectors is often inadequate, as the sectors voice is weak. The main sector industry bodies inevitably present the case of their own trade, sometimes as in modes of transport in a competitive situation. Thus the collective tourism approach is hard to organize and sustain, even when cooperation at the operating level is effective (Lickorish, Jenkins, 1997). United Nations World Tourism Organization The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO/OMT) is a specialized agency of the United ?Nations and the leading international organization in the field of tourism. It serves as a ?global forum for tourism policy issues and a practical source of tourism know-how (UNWTO 2007:1).? The World Tourism Organization plays a role in promoting the development of responsible, ?sustainable and universally accessible tourism, paying particular attention to the ?interests of developing countries?. The Organization encourages the implementation ?of the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism, with a view to ensuring that member ?countries, tourist destinations and businesses maximize the positive economic, ?social and cultural effects of tourism and fully reap its benefits, while minimizing its ?negative social and environmental impacts (www.wikipedia.org). The WTO has made efforts recently to strengthen its links with commercial and non-government partners through its system of affiliate membership which should help in the provision of practical guidance and as a basis for cooperative action (Lickorish, Jenkins, 1997). Impact of political change on the travel and tourism industry Tourism growth in many countries has not been this high, in particular those countries were faced with a range of political unstableness that have made happen to hold back development in tourism. The political aspects of tourism are interwoven with its economic consequences†¦tourism is not only a continuation of politics but an integral part of the worlds political economy. In short, tourism is, or can be, a tool used not only for economic but for political means (Edgell, 1990). IRAN Tourism in Iran before the accession of the theocracy was characterized by a significant numbers of visitors traveling to Iran for its diverse attractions, boasting cultural splendors and a diverse and beautiful landscape suitable for a range of activities. Tourism declined dramatically during the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s but has subsequently revived. Since the Iranian revolution in 1979, the majority of visitors to Iran have been religious pilgrims and businesspeople. Official figures do not distinguish between those traveling to Iran for business and those coming for pleasure, and they also include a large number of Diaspora Iranians returning to visit their families in Iran or making pilgrimages to holy Shia sites near Mashhad and elsewhere. Despite the international tensions, the government continues to project strong rises in visitor numbers and tourism revenue over the forecast period, and to talk of projects to build an additional 100 hotels, for example, to expand its currently limited stock. In the early 2000s the industry still faced serious limitations in infrastructure, communications, regulatory norms, and personnel training. In late 2003 there were about 640 hotels in Iran and around 63,000 beds. Officials state that Iran has in recent years earned about US$1bn a year from tourism. Iran currently ranks 68th in tourism revenues worldwide. Iran with attractive natural and historical sites is rated among the 10 most touristic countries in the world. Close to 1.8% of national employment is generated in the tourism sector which is slated to increase to 10% in the next five years. Weak advertising, unstable regional conditions, a poor public image in some parts of the world, and absence of efficient planning schemes in the tourism sector have all hindered the growth of (www.wikipedia.org). CHINA After Maos death, one of the most senior officials who had advocated private plots in the early 1960s, Deng Xiaoping, initiated gradual market reforms that abolished the communes and collectivized industries of Mao, replacing them with the free-market system. Dengs reforms vastly improved the standard of living of the Chinese people, the competitiveness of the Chinese economy, and caused China to become one of the fastest growing and most important economies in the world. It also led to one of the most rapid industrializations in world history. For this achievement he is sometimes known as The Venerated Deng. As a result of Dengs reforms, China is widely regarded as a returning superpower. Tourism in China has greatly expanded over the last few decades. The emergence of a newly rich middle class and an easing of restrictions on movement by the Chinese authorities are both fueling this travel boom. China has become one of the worlds most-watched and hottest outbound tourist markets. The world is on the cusp of a sustained Chinese outbound tourism boom. China is the worlds fourth largest country for inbound tourism. The number of overseas tourists was 55 million in 2007. Foreign exchange income was 41.9 billion U.S. dollars, the worlds fifth largest in 2007. The number of domestic tourists totaled 1.61 billion, with a total income of 777.1 billion yuan. According to the WTO, in 2020, China will become the largest tourist country and the fourth largest for overseas travel. In terms of total outbound travel spending, China is currently ranked fifth and is expected to be the fastest growing in the world from 2006 to 2015, jumping into the number two slot for total travel spending by 2015 (www.wikipedia.org). The effects of supply and demand on the travel and tourism industry Most studies modeling the demand for tourism have either used visitor arrivals or tourism earnings as a dependent variable (Narayan, 2002). Tourism demand is base on which all tourism related business decisions eventually rest. Companies and governments as a point incase, tour operators, hotels, airlines, and leisure facility providers are interested in the demand for their products by tourists. The accomplishment of many businesses depends completely on the status of tourism demand, and final management collapse is pretty often because of the collapse to meet market demand. Influencing Factors As we all experience the change around us the questions arises how these developments will have an impact on tourism demand. To name just a few categories: Economy (e.g. from BIP over exchange rates to perceived risk of loosing the job) Politics (e.g. the enlargement of the EU, taxation, environment) Crisis and threats (e.g. terrorism, epidemic diseases, earth quakes) Demographic Change (e.g. age structure, migration, educational level) Technology (e.g. transport, communication, information) In addition we have to take into account the influences coming from general changes in consumer attitudes and, finally, the tourism industry itself, of course influencing the demand side of tourism (e.g. standardization of products, information channels, (over) capacities and price strategies). All these factors are linked to each other (Lohmann 2004). How can these factors have an impact? Holiday demand is driven by needs, motives, and expectations, its realization depends on the individual economic situation and the freedom to travel. Thus: External factors may have an impact on tourism demand by affecting the ability to travel (freedom, time, money, fitness) and the motivation to do so. Consumer Behavior is not a reaction on a single factor but on the whole set of influencing external factors. In addition it is driven by internal factors (e.g. motives, abilities etc.). Thus, the impact of a change in a single external factor is limited Most of the external factors seem to be in favor for a sound development of tourism demand in Europe in the years to come. However, there are no signs for a general boom (Lohmann 2004). Supply While many tourism studies are focused on the demand side of tourism that is, the tourist, the supply side of the industry is often overlooked. Supply is seen as being modeled by five independent components: attractions, transportation, services, information and promotion. Most important component is the tourism attraction (Gunn, C. A. 1997). The supply of recreation and tourism is a complex combination of natural amenities, recreational sites, access, and private sector business activity which is influenced by an array of factors that act to provide opportunities that satisfy leisure-based travel demands. Measures of recreational site density that account for both physical/geographic size and population, or social capacity are used as key explanatory variables in models of tourism dependence (Marcouiller, Prey, 2004). The Positive and Negative Social and Environmental Impacts of Tourism The range impacts of Tourism include economic, socio-cultural and environmental impacts. Impacts could be negative and positive, but should never be undervalued. The conception of sustainability is factored into these tourism impacts, when the size of the impacts turns out to be large enough to intensely change socio-cultural, environmental and economic areas of a tourist destination. Socially tourism has a great influence on the host societies. Tourism can be both a source of international amity, peace and understanding and a destroyer and corrupter of indigenous cultures, a source of ecological destruction, an assault of peoples privacy, dignity, and authenticity. Here are possible positive effects of tourism: Developing positive attitudes towards each other Learning about each others culture and customs Reducing negative perceptions and stereotypes Developing friendships Developing pride, appreciation, understanding, respect, and tolerance for each others culture Increasing self-esteem of hosts and tourists Psychological satisfaction with interaction So, social contacts between tourists and local people may result in mutual appreciation, understanding, tolerance, awareness, learning, family bonding respect, and liking. Residents are educated about the outside world without leaving their homes, while their visitors significantly learn about a distinctive culture. Local communities are benefited through contribution by tourism to the improvement of the social infrastructure like schools, libraries, health care institutions, internet cafes, and so on. Besides, if local culture is the base for attracting tourists to the region, it helps to preserve the local traditions and handicrafts which maybe were on the link of the extinction. For example in Uzbekistan, particularly in such famous regions as Samarqand, Buhara, and Horezm tourists contribute significantly to the preservation of traditional handcrafting wood carving, hammered copper work, handmade silk and carpets, and of course to preservation and maintenance of architectural and historical monuments. Since Uzbekistan proclaimed its independence in 1991 many museums and monuments were renovated or opened to promote the national culture and traditions. Growing interest in this culture makes the local people proud of their way of life. On the other side tourism can increase tension, hostility, and suspicion. Claims of tourism as a vital force for peace are exaggerated. Indeed there is little evidence that tourism is drawing the world together (Robinson 1999). In this context economic and social impacts on the local community depend on how much of the incomes generated by tourists go to the host communities. In most all-inclusive package tours more than 80% of travelers fees go to the airlines, hotels and other international companies, not to local businessmen and workers. On the other hand large hotel chain restaurants often import food to satisfy foreign visitors and rarely employ local staff for senior management positions, preventing local farmers and workers from reaping the benefit of their presence. Tourism has the power to affect cultural change. Successful development of a resource can lead to numerous negative impacts. Among these are overdevelopment, assimilation, conflict, and artificial reconstruction. While presenting a culture to tourists may help preserve the culture, it can also dilute or even destroy it. The point is to promote tourism in the region so that it would both give incomes and create respect for the local tradition and culture. There are also both negative and positive impacts of tourism on the local ecology. Tourism often grows into mass-tourism. It leads to the over consumption, pollution, and lack of resources. However, from the ecological point of view tourism is often more acceptable and preferable than any other industrial production, as it is environmentally friendlier (Batir Mirbabayev, Malika Shagazatova, 2007). Conclusion Tourism is widely believed to be the most rapidly growing industry in both developing and developed countries, consider tourism as one means for creating new jobs and reducing unemployment in different regions (Balali, 2009). The history of tourism is one of lumpy expansion, periods of massive growth interrupted by periods of recessions and stagnation (Lickorish, Jenkins, 1997). International travel and tourism is the backbone of globalization and enriches the world in many ways: It promotes economic growth, increases trade, advances development, and creates higher disposable incomes. It also strengthens communities, and, by bringing together people from diverse regions and backgrounds, advances the goals of peace and global understanding. These benefits hold true for developing, emerging, and industrialized countries, and they provide a major platform on which other industries can build (Gross, 2007).