Analytical Essay Sample on the Story #8220;All My Sons#8221; by Arthur Miller

Analytical Essay Sample on the Story #8220;All My Sons#8221; by Arthur Miller In the story All My Sons by Arthur Miller, there are many symbols that influence the characters’ actions and other events. Symbols such as the tree in the yard and the date November 25th represent the remembrance of Larry Keller. The downed tree also hints to the letter at the end of the story. Other symbols stand for past events in the characters’ lives and give the reader a view into the important father-son relationship between Joe and Chris Keller. One of the major symbols in the play was the tree in the yard. The tree was important to the Kellers because it was planted on the day that their son, Larry, disappeared. The importance can be seen when the tree was knocked over. The Kellers and their neighbors saw the fallen tree and remembered Larry. Also, the fallen tree hints to the revelation of Larry’s suicide letter. Another symbol that pertained to Larry was the date November 25th. After Larry went missing, the family started to work on a horoscope for Larry in order to determine if it was his favorable day. This was important to Kate Keller because she believed that her son could not possibly have died on his favorable day. Chris Keller wanting to marry Ann also represents the idea of Larry. Certain people in the family tried to persuade Chris not to marry Ann because Larry had been engaged to Ann. Also, Joe told Chris not to marry Ann because his mother would be greatly upset because she saw Chris’s marrying A nn as the recognition that Larry had actually died. Another symbol that was significant is the title, â€Å"All My Sons.† This saying was viewed differently through the eyes of Joe and Chris Keller. Chris viewed all of the other soldiers as his brothers, making them all (the Kellers and the soldiers) a large family. This view is different from the view of his father, Joe, who only recognizes his offspring .as his â€Å"sons.† A perfect example of Joe’s view influencing his actions is Joe telling Steve to send out the cracked heads. Joe’s narrow-mindedness did not allow him to realize that men would actually die from using the bad heads. Joe’s view can also be seen when he validates his actions by saying that he had done it for his family. Chris took offense to his father’s comments because Chris saw all the soldiers as his brothers. In the story, All My Sons, symbols play an important role and influence some characters’ actions. Th tree, â€Å"November 25th†, and Chris’s marrying Ann all have to do with Larry Keller, and the title shows the differences between Joe and Chris Keller. It also shows the reader a good view of the strange relationship between Chris and his father.

Animal Farm Quotes Essays

Animal Farm Quotes Essays Animal Farm Quotes Essay Animal Farm Quotes Essay Napoleons own creation. Why, then, asked somebody, had he spoken so strongly against it? Here Squealer looked very sly. That, he said, was Comrade Napoleons cunning. He had seemed to oppose the windmill, simply as a maneuver to get rid of Snowball, who WA s a dangerous character and a bad influence. 22 From now onwards Animal Farm would engage in trade with the neighbor g farms: not, of course, for any commercial purpose, but simply in order to obtain certain mat aerials which were urgently necessary. The needs of the windmill must override everything else 25 It was about this time that the pigs suddenly moved into the farmhouse and t k up their residence there. Again the animals seemed to remember that a resolution gag insist this had been passed in the early days, and again Squealer was able to convince them that this was 5 not the case. It was absolutely necessary, he said, that the pigs, who were the brains Of the farm, should have a quiet place to work in. It was also more suited to the digging itty of the Leader (for of late he had taken to speaking of Napoleon under the title of Leader) to live inn house than in a mere sty. Nevertheless, some of the animals were disturbed when t hey heard that he pigs not only took their meals in the kitchen and used the drawings a s a recreation room, but also slept in the beds 26 It says, No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets, she announced finally. Cue rigorously enough, Clover had not remembered that the Fourth Commandment mention Ned sheets; but as it was there on the wall, it must have done so. And Squealer, who happen d to be passing at this moment, attended by two or three dogs, was able to put the whole ma utter in its proper perspective 27 but it was cruel work, and the animals could not feel so hopeful about it as the eye had felt before. They were always cold, and usually hungry as well. Only Boxer and Cool ever never lost heart. Squealer made excellent speeches on the joy of service and the dignity of labor, but the other animals found more inspiration in Boxers strength and his universal inning cry of l will work harder! In January food fell short. The corn ration was drastically reduce d, and it was announced that an extra potato ration would be issued to make up for it. The n it was discovered that the greater part of the potato crop had been frosted in the cal MSP, which had not been covered thickly enough. The potatoes had become soft and disclose red, and only a fewer edible. For days at a time the animals had nothing to eat but chaff a ND mangles. Starvation s eemed to stare them in the face 28 When the hens heard this, they raised a terrible outcry. They had been Warner d earlier that this sacrifice might be necessary, but had not believed that it would really hap pen. They were just getting their clutches ready for the spring sitting and they protested that to take the eggs away now was murder. For the first time since the expulsion of Jones, there w as something resembling a rebellion. Led by three young Black Minor pullets, the hens m dad a determined effort to thwart Napoleons wishes. Their method was to fly up to the rafters and there lay their eggs, which smashed to pieces on the floor. Napoleon acted SW fitly and ruthlessly. He ordered the hens rations to be stopped, and decreed that any animal giving so much as a grain of corn to a hen should be punished by death. The dogs saw t o it that these orders were carried out. For five days the hens held out, then they capitulated and went back to their nesting boxes. Nine hens had died in the meantime. Their bodies were e buried in the orchard, and it was given out that they had died of acidosis. Whimper hear d nothing of this affair, and the eggs Were duly delivered, a grocers Van driving up to the farm once a week to take them 30 Suddenly, early in the spring, an alarming thing was discovered. Snowball was secretly frequenting the farm by night! 30 6 Comrades! cried Squealer, making little nervous skips, a most terrible thing h as been discovered. Snowball has sold himself to Frederick Of Pinched Farm, who is even now plotting to attack us and take our farm away from us! Snowball is to act as his guide when the attack begins. But there is worse than that. We had thought that Snowballs re billion was caused simply by his vanity and ambition. But we were wrong, comrades. Do you know what the real reason was? Snowball was in league with Jones from the very start! H e was Joneses secret agent all the time 31 Since Jones had left the farm, until today, no animal had killed another animal 33 If she herself had had any picture Of the future, it had been Of a society Of ann. malls set free from hunger and the whip, all equal, each working according to his capacity, t e strong protecting the weak, as she had protected the lost brood of ducklings with he r foreleg on the night of Majors speech. 34 Ifs no longer needed, comrade, said Squealer stiffly. Beasts of England was t he song of the Rebellion. But the Rebellion is now completed. The execution of the traitors the is afternoon was the final act. The enemy both external and internal has been defeated. In Beasts of England we expressed our longing for a better society in days to come. But the at society has now been established. Clearly this song has no longer any purpose. 34 A few days later, when the terror caused by the executions had died down, so me of the animals remembered ; or thought they remembered ; that the Sixth Com amendment decreed No animal shall kill any other animal. And though no one cared to m mention it in the hearing of the pigs or the dogs, it was felt that the killings which had taken plan CE did not square with this. Clover asked Benjamin to read her the Sixth Commandment, and when Benjamin, as usual, said that he refused to meddle in such matters, she fetch De Muriel. Muriel read the Commandment for her. It ran: No animal shall kill any other animal thou cause. Somehow or Other, the last two words h ad slipped out Of the animals memory y. But they saw now that the Commandment had not been violated; for clearly there was go d reason for killing the traitors who had leagued themselves with Snowball. 35 All relations with Boxwood had been broken off; insulting messages had been sent to Piloting. The pigeons had been told to avoid Pinched Farm and to alter the Eire slogan from Death to Frederick to Death to Piloting. At the same time Napoleon assure d the animals that the stories of an impending attack on Animal Farm were completely unit e, and that the tales about Fredericks cruelty to his own animals had been greatly exaggerate De. All these rumors had probably originated with Snowball and his agents. It now appear De that Snowball was not, after all, hiding on Pinched Farm, and in fact had never been there in his life: he was living ; in considerable luxury, so it was said ; at Boxwood, and had in r laity been a pensioner of Piloting for years past. 38 About this time there occurred a strange incident which hardly anyone was a blew to understand. One night at about twelve oclock there was a loud crash in the y rd, and the 7 animals rushed out of their stalls. It was a moonlit night. At the foot of the en d wall of the big barn, where the Seven Commandments were written, there lay a ladder brook en in two pieces. Squealer, temporarily stunned, was sprawling beside it, and near at hand there e lay a lantern, a paintbrush, and an overturned pot of white paint. The dogs immediately ma De a ring round Squealer, and escorted him back to the farmhouse as soon as he was able to walk. None of the animals could form any idea as to what this meant, except old Benjamin, who nodded his guzzle with a knowing air, and seemed to understand, but would say nothing . But a few days later Muriel, reading over the Seven Commandments to herself, noticed that t here was yet another of them which the animals had 42 Meanwhile life was hard. The winter was as cold as the last one had been, and food was even shorter. Once again all rations were reduced, except those of the pigs and the dogs.

Joint Venture Companies - issues with Intellectual property protection Essay

Joint Venture Companies - issues with Intellectual property protection and Technology Transfer - Essay Example In addition, around half do not perform to the expected strategic and financial prospects set by either of the individual investing companies. The creation of joint ventures is somewhat problematic because the individual companies are separate entities having diverse interests, the association with the business venture is intricate, and the staffing is an issue because the employees are drawn from each parent company. Nevertheless, they have their own merits such as reducing the risks, when entering new markets, and enabling each company to obtain skills they lacked in their workforce to set up the business. With this knowledge, the paper will be divided into two parts. Part A will look at the issues that foreign partners face when they enter a market where the intellectual property rights are normally protected in a poor manner. Part B will focus on the intellectual property rights in the Russian market with the example of one joint venture company. There is a lot of concern considering Intellectual property rights. However, before looking at the effects and impacts of intellectual property rights it is essential to have a clear aspect of what they really are. Intellectual property right is wide-ranging terms that is utilised to imply things such as trademarks, trade secrets, patents, copyrights and many more kinds of rights that are provided for by the law to guard originally developed things. In additions, it also includes the protection of the knowledge that has been created because of the invention. However, the knowledge can be shared, as it is not a physical thing. The reason is that the success of a society is dependent upon the sharing and using of that knowledge, without which development cannot occur. Nevertheless, this is a tricky affair because, when that knowledge becomes free for all, then it beats logic. It beats logic because the

Strategy Myths Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Strategy Myths - Essay Example e the demand of a product depends on many variables and ability that determine its ability to satisfy the customer needs (Stonehouse & Houston, 2012). For instance, the product design, product benefits, product quality and distribution strategies will affect the ability to attain success in the market. The success depends on product value to customers and not the price (Graham, 2005). 3. The third statement states that ‘I am a good cook so I should start a restaurant’. This is a myth because venturing in to any market requires careful scanning of the environment to identify the demand for the services, the resources available and competitive strength of the businessperson. In this case, management of the restaurant will require planning, resource allocation, and controlling the employees (Graham, 2005). 4. ‘The customer is always right’. This statement is true because customers complain for numerous reasons (Graham, 2005). The organisation must appreciate the customer complaints and use such information in improving the quality of the product and services. Customers complain for genuine reasons such as defective products, poor product quality, poor after sale services of poor customer relationships management in the organisation (Graham, 2005). 5. ‘I’ll just open my store, and people will stream in off the sidewalks and buy from me’. This is a strategy myth since consumer-buying demand is determined by several factors such as cultural factors, personal factors and psychological factors. Accordingly, the place of distribution must create customer convenience and conform to customer personality and attitudes (Graham, 2005). 6. ‘It’s a cool idea. Everyone will love this’. This is a strategy myth since reference groups like immediate family members, relatives, and social status in the society influences the consumer-purchasing pattern. Consumers seek to fulfill their psychological needs, love and belonging needs and self-esteem (Stonehouse &

How video game effect our live Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

How video game effect our live - Research Paper Example I went through different books, searched online for information and finally ended up with something I think is important from both sociological and cultural point of views. The topic I have chosen for my research project is ‘How video games affect our lives’. This research would be useful for all kinds of people, those who are addicted to video games, those who play video games occasionally and those who don’t play video games at all. The structure of my research project would be simple, clear and linear. Starting from a historical point of view, I would first describe some of the pioneers and early days of video games. Then I would move on to their development, an era in which video games started to gain some fame but only in the elite class of the society and they were a big attraction for the kids in that class (Weiss). Moving on to the invention of some video games of the late 20th century for example, Atari, Nintendo, Sega and home computer which were the only gaming devices at that time and many games such as Sonic, Mario bros, Contra 4, the helicopter and fighting jet games, Street fighter and tekken were introduced on these gaming stations. The modern 21st century video games have taken the level of video games to a next level. The inventions of Playstation and Xbox360 with PSP (playstation portable) have opened the doors for a totally new generation of games such as GTA, Call of Duty, Prince of Persia, Assassins and millions of other games. These games are both graphically and technologically advance and take the gamer inside the characters they are playing with and Now to increase the experience 3D games are being introduced (Rowlands). After the history and development, I would choose a social and psychological perspective of gaming. I would describe the affects that they have on our mind and body. Starting with the main affect, playing too many games has led our children to stick inside their homes and decreased their outdoor physical

Childrens Learning And Development Unit Children And Young People Essay

Childrens Learning And Development Unit Children And Young People Essay There are three prime areas of Learning and development, these prime areas begin to develop from a base of secure, loving relationships and children learn and develop well in enabling environments, in which their experiences respond to their individual needs. Children have a different way of learning and develop their learning at different rates. The three prime areas of learning and development are as follows: Communication and language development- this involves giving children opportunities to experience a rich language environment, and to develop their confidence in speaking and listening. Physical development-involves encouraging children to be active in their play and learning. Children should be given the opportunity to move around and develop their motor skills. Personal, social and emotional development- this area of development helps children to develop an awareness of themselves, to form positive relationships, develop respect for others. It supports children in managing their feelings, and behaviour and to develop a sense of their self-esteem. The specific areas of learning develop out of the prime areas of development and identify specific skills to be developed. The four specific areas of learning and development are as follows: Literacy development-children must be given access to a wide range of reading materials to develop an interest in books and understanding of written print. This encourages children to begin to link sounds and letters and they begin to read and write. Mathematics- is all about providing opportunities for children to develop and improve their skills in counting, understanding and using numbers through early rhymes and songs, calculating, simple addition and subtraction, and developing an understanding of shapes, spaces, through exploring and categorising objects. Understanding the world-involve guiding children to make sense of their different communities; children will also be given the opportunity to learn about the world around them. Expressions, arts and design- involves enabling children to explore and investigate a wide range of and media and materials and discover how they work, as well as providing opportunities and encouragement for sharing their thoughts, ideas and feelings through a variety of activities in art, music, role play and design and technology. ((Open Study College Early Years Level 3 pgs. 75,76) Planning to meet childrens development needs is important when planning activities, because all children develop at their own rate in their own time. According to (The Department for Education March 2012) Practitioners must consider the individual needs, interests, and stage of development of each child in their care, and must use this information to plan a challenging and enjoyable experience for each child in all of the areas of learning and development. Each child is view as a unique person with their individual needs: a unique child will have their own personality, characteristics and interest. When a child is born they can sense love from their parent, and carers, this will make them feel safe and secure in their environment. when planning for an activity in your setting, practitioners should consider the age group that the activity is for an if it is suitable for all the children involved, you also need to take in consideration other needs such as disability or special needs, for example, if the setting that has a child with hearing problems, then the practitioner should consider planning visual activities for that child to be involved and take part. Practitioners should look at what skills and knowledge the children are demonstrating and build upon this. This will ensure that the individual needs of the child are being met. Practitioners must respond to each childs emerging needs and interests, guiding their development through warm, and giving them a positive interaction. Within the early years settings practitioners working with the youngest children especially need to focus on the three prime areas of development, which are the basis for successful learning in the other four specific areas. For children whose home language is not English, practitioners need to take reasonable steps to provide opportunities for children to develop and use their home language in play and learning; they must work in partnership with their parents in order to support their language development at home too. Each area of learning and development must be achieved through planned, purposeful play and through a mix of adult-led and child-initiated activity. Play is vital for childrens development, building their confidence as they learn to explore, to think about problems, and relate to others. It is important that practitioners plan effectively because every child is unique and has different abilities, learning skills, attention and education backgrounds, each child needs individual support and planning. It is recommended that the practitioners follow a cycle of planning, observation and assessment of each of their key children. Through observing, practitioners can gather a lot of information about a childs knowledge, skills and abilities, through assessment a practitioner will look at findings from their observations and use them to plan further activities for that child. In my previous nursery (x) where I worked we had to plan daily activities, I had to support childrens learning experiences through play, we had to plan activities to suit the individual needs of the children, the indoor and outdoor environment was used as part of play, observation, discussions with parents on the interests of the child, we also carried out a one to one talk with children for their own id eas to help us with further planning. Practitioners need to form a base of secure, loving relationship and a positive environment with young babies and children in order to support the learning and development of the seven areas of learning. Communication and language development is divided into three aspects: Listening and attention- Practitioners can build positive relationships thorough being physically close, maintaining eye contact, sing songs and rhymes during every day routines, practitioners can support childrens learning by listening to children and taking account of what they say in your responses to them, share rhymes, books and stories for many cultures. Play games which involve listening for a signal such as Simon say and use ready steady go. Understanding- Practitioners should look at the baby and say their name and wait for their response. Prompt childrens thinking and discussion through involvement in their play. Show children a photograph of an activity such as hand washing helps to reinforce understanding. Speaking -Practitioners should model language to babies, speaking clearly to them and using appropriate body language and gestures. When babies try to say a word, repeat it back so they can hear the name of the object clearly. When children begin to talk, practitioners should be partners in conversation, modelling the correct use of language. Personal, Social and Emotional Development is also divided into three aspects: Making relationships- Practitioners can support children in making relationships by encouraging children to play with a variety of friends from all backgrounds so that everybody is being involved. Self-confidence and self-awareness- Practitioners should organise the environment for children to access different resources and materials to promote their independent choice making. Managing feelings and behaviour- Practitioners need to find out from the parents as much as they can about the individual children before they start the setting so that the routines they follow are familiar and comforting. Practitioners need to set clear rules and boundaries for children to follow in managing appropriate behaviour. Physical development is divided into two aspects: Moving and handling- practitioners should help babies to become aware of their own babies through touch and movement. Treat mealtimes as an opportunity to help children to use fingers, spoon and cup to feed themselves. Practitioners should plan activities where children can practise moving in different ways and at different speeds, balancing, target throwing, rolling, kicking and catching Health and self-care- practitioners should Plan to take account of the individual cultural and feeding needs of young babies in your group. Respond to how child communicates need for food, drinks, toileting and when uncomfortable. Encourage children to be active and energetic by organising lively games, since physical activity is important in maintaining good health and in guarding Against children becoming overweight or obese in later life. Literacy- Practitioners should provide a variety of books for all children according to their age and stage of development, it is also important to sit down with the child and spend time in reading stories aloud to them in circle time. Practitioners should support early writing skills. Also support children in recognising and writing their own name. Mathematics- practitioners can sing number rhymes s they dress or change babies e.g. one, two buckle my show. Sing counting songs and rhymes which help to develop understanding of number, such as two little dickey birds Children count reliably with numbers from one to 20, place them in order and say which number is one more or one less than a given number. Practitioners can provide shape sorters and jigsaws puzzles for older babies and toddlers to enable them to fit the correct shapes into the hole. Understanding the world- is divided into three aspects: People and communities: Practitioners need to celebrate and value cultural, religious and community events and experiences. Encourage children to talk about their own home and community life, and to find out about other childrens experiences. The world: Practitioners need to help children to find out about the environment by talking to people, examining photographs and simple maps and visiting local places. Technology: babies and young children use technology from a young age with action toys. They will learn how to operate the toys. A children grow older they should be given more complex toys such as wind ups or mechanical toys. Children are curious about the technology around them such as computers, televisions, cd players; practitioners should provide them with the opportunity to use this technology. Expressive Arts and Design-is divided into two aspects: Exploring and using media and materials -practitioners should sing songs and nursery rhymes with babies and can provide different musical instruments. Older children enjoy dancing to music; practitioners should encourage movement to the music. Being imaginative- Practitioners should provide a variety of role play materials and support childrens imaginative ideas. Help children communicate through their bodies by encouraging expressive movement linked to their imaginative ideas. This source of information has been taken from (Open Study College-Early Year Level 3 Pgs 81-90). (Development Matters in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). There are 3 characteristics of effective learning which help us to focus on and understand how children learn. The characteristics of effective learning are as follows: Playing and exploring this characteristics observes how children engage with their learning. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Finding out and exploring- through play children will find out about and explore the objects around them. Play is a key role for children to develop the understanding of different objects in the world around them, also the understanding of different cultures, and religions of others can be developed through play. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Using what they know in their play- play is a key role to promoting childrens learning and development. Free play is important for children as it gives children the opportunity to explore their own feelings, views and ideas. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Being willing to have a go- children will develop their self- confidence and will enjoy challenge and risk. Active learning this characteristic observes how children are motivated to learn. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Being involved and concentrating- will develop childrens ability to hold concentration in activities for longer periods and will help children maintain focus and attention on their activities. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Keeping trying-through trying out new experiences and activities, children will experience failure and disappointment. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Enjoying and achieving what they set out to do- succeeding and achieving new skills will build childrens self-confidence and pride in their own abilities. Creating and thinking critically this characteristics observes how children are thinking. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Having their own ideas- within play children will act out as role models and explore their own ideas. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ making links- once a child has discovered their own ideas and methods, they will be expected to try them out again. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Choosing ways to do things and finding new ways- children will develop strategy in their own learning. Children will think about what went well and how to change the activity when they approach it again. Practitioners can support childrens thinking by asking them open ended questions. According to (Tunja  on September 9, 2012) Playing and Exploring is when Children can represent their experiences through play and rehearse what they will be able to do without adult help later on. Play brings together ideas, feelings, relationships and the physical life of a child. Children who are encouraged to express themselves freely through play are likely to be more able to adapt and learn new skills in a school environment. Active Learning often occurs naturally during exploratory play. For example, where children are concentrating on something and keep trying until they succeed in their attempts. This might be something as simple as threading beads on a string or more complex such as assembling a construction toy with bolts and a spanner. Creativity and Critical Thinking is linked to active learning and can occur where children are able and have time to develop their own ideas. This helps them be able to make links between their different ideas. For example, this is often observed in schemas. Such as when children experiment with a theme like rotation. They might rotate themselves, whisk their milk with a straw and spin wheels linking how things move in circles or spirals. According to (Abbot and Moylett, 1999, Early Education Transformed )Educationalist Susan Isaacs states Children in their play can escape into real experiences or out of it and through doing this they learn about reflecting on life, getting a sense of control over their lives, developing self-esteem and feeling abhorred. Piaget  was a French speaking Swiss theorist who posited that children learn through actively constructing knowledge through  hands-on experience. He suggested that the adults role in helping the child learn was to provide appropriate materials for the child to interact and construct Jean piaget believed Children were often viewed simply as small versions of adults and little attention was  paid to  the many advances in intellectual abilities, language development, and physical growth. Conclusion Supporting childrens learning and development is implemented through the seven areas of learning they have been split in to the prime areas and specific areas. The characteristics of learning identify how children learn; the ways in which a child engages with other people and their environments is through playing and exploring, active learning and creating and thinking carefully. It is important that practitioners plan effectively because every child is unique and has different abilities, learning skills, attention and education backgrounds, each child needs individual support and planning.

Astrocyte-Neuron Lactate Shuttle and Hemodynamic Brain Scans Essay

Astrocyte-Neuron Lactate Shuttle and Hemodynamic Brain Scans Hemodynamic brain scans such as Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) have been of immense utility in the neuroscience fields in illuminating the components and modulation of brain function. However, these hemodynamic brain scans have afforded utility without brain scientists truly understanding the mechanism by which they produce signals. Previously, it had been accepted without verification that the images produced by such techniques were direct results of neuronal activity. However, new techniques in studying brain function have revealed that when astrocyte activity is inhibited, hemodependent brain scans do not function (Halber 2008). Additionally, other studies have demonstrated that astrocytes display finely tuned responses to stimuli (Halber 2008) which are amenable to communication with each other in networks via calcium-wave propagation. In light of these new findings in regards to astrocyte function and communication, their influence on hemodynamic brain scans would offer much lucidity to our current understanding of neuropathology and neuromodulation. General Findings of Astrocytic Influence on Brain Scans Both PET and fMRI scans are hemodependent brain scans. However, the mechanism by which each works do differ from each other by which fundamental principle of blood flow they measure. In fMRI, a BOLD-signal (blood-oxygen-level-dependent) measurement is utilized which is then translated into working images. PET scans require a radioactive labeled tracer which accumulates in areas of activation. These active areas are then expressed in imaging techniques that interpret the level of activation. However,... ...arch 2009. doi:10.1016/j.tins.2008.11.005 Mo. (2008, June 20). Starring role in the brain for astrocytes [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://scienceblogs.com/neurophilosophy/2008/06/astrocytes_starring_role_in_the_brain.php Schummers, J., Yu, H., & Sur, M. (2008). Tuned responses of astrocytes and their influence on hemodynamic signals in the visual cortex. Science, 320, 1638-1643. doi: 10.1126/science.1156120 Segelken, R. (2004). CU laser microscopy technique settles brain chemistry debate, could aid studies of Alzheimer’s, stroke damage. Cornell Chronicle. Retrieved from http://www.news.cornell.edu/chronicle/04/7.1.04/astrocyte-neuron.html Vaishnavi S.N., Vlassenko A.G., Rundle M.M., Snyder A.Z., Mintun M.A., Raichle, M.E., (2010). Regional aerobic glycolysis in the human brain. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U SA. 107, 17757–17762. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1010459107