Metamorphosis Essays - Developmental Biology, Metamorphosis

Metamorphosis Metamorphosis: In biology, striking change of form or structure in an individual after hatching or birth. Hormones called molting and juvenile hormones, which are not species specific, apparently regulate the changes. These physical changes as well as those involving growth and differentiation are accompanied by alterations of the organism's physiology, biochemistry, and behavior. From animal development. Metamorphosis, the transformation of the larva into an adult, is a more or less complicated process depending on the degree of difference between the two forms. The transformation may be gradual, extend over a long period, and involve a number of intermediate stages; alternatively, the transformation may be achieved in one step. In the latter case, especially if the difference between the larva and adult is great, large parts of the body of the larva, including all the specifically larval organs, disintegrate (necrobiotic metamorphosis). Critical mass: ?n nuclear physics, the minimum amount of a given fissile material necessary to achieve a self-sustaining fission chain reaction under stated conditions. Its size depends on several factors, including the kind of fissile material used, its concentration and purity, and the composition and geometry of the surrounding reaction system. History & Philosophy. The study either of the historical process and its development or of the methods used by historians to understand their material. The term history may be employed in two quite different senses: it may mean (1) the events and actions that together make up the human past, or (2) the accounts given of that past and the modes of investigation whereby they are arrived at or constructed.

Chicomoztoc, the Mythical Place of Aztec Origins

Chicomoztoc, the Mythical Place of Aztec Origins Chicomoztoc (â€Å"The Place of the Seven Caves† or â€Å"The Cave of the Seven Niches†) is the mythological cave of emergence for the Aztec/Mexica, the Toltecs, and other groups of  Central Mexico and northern Mesoamerica. It is frequently depicted in Central Mexican codices, maps, and other written documents known as lienzos, as a subterranean hall surrounded by seven chambers. In the surviving depictions of Chicomoztoc, each chamber is labeled with a pictograph that names and illustrates a different Nahua lineage that emerged from that particular place in the cave. As with other caves illustrated in Mesoamerican art, the cave has some animal-like characteristics, such as teeth or fangs and eyes. More intricate renderings show the cave as a lion-like monster out of whose gaping mouth the original people emerge. A Shared Pan-Mesoamerican Mythology Emergence from a cave is a common thread found throughout ancient Mesoamerica and among groups living in the area today. Forms of this myth can be found as far north as the American Southwest among cultural groups such as the Ancestral Puebloan or Anasazi people. They and their modern descendants built sacred rooms in their communities known as kivas, where the entrance to the sipapu, the Puebloan place of origin, was marked in the center of the floor. One famous example of a pre-Aztec emergence place is the human-made cave under the Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacan. This cave differs from the Aztec account of emergence because it has only four chambers. Another constructed Chicomoztoc-like emergence shrine is found at the site of Acatzingo Viejo, in the State of Puebla, central Mexico. It more closely parallels the Aztec account due to its having seven chambers carved into the walls of a circular rock outcropping. Unfortunately, a modern road was cut directly through this feature, destroying one of the caves. Mythical Reality Many other places have been proposed as possible Chicomoztoc shrines, among which is the site of La Quemada, in Northwest Mexico. Most experts believe that Chicomoztoc was not necessarily a specific, physical place but, like Aztalan, a widespread idea among many Mesoamerican people of a mythical cave as a  place of emergence for both humans and gods, from which each group materialized and identified itself within their own sacred landscape. Updated by  K. Kris Hirst Sources Aguilar, Manuel, Miguel Medina Jaen, Tim M. Tucker, and James E. Brady, 2005, Constructing Mythic Space: The Significance of a Chicomoztoc Complex at Acatzingo Viejo. In the Maw of the Earth Monster: Mesoamerican Ritual Cave Use, edited by James E. Brady and Keith M. Prufer, 69-87. University of Texas Press, Austin Boone, Elizabeth Hill, 1991, Migration Histories As Ritual Performance. In To Change Place: Aztec Ceremonial Landscapes, edited by David Carrasco, pp. 121-151. University of Colorado Press, Boulder Boone, Elizabeth Hill, 1997, Prominent Scenes and Pivotal Events in the Mexican Pictorial Histories. In Cà ³dices y Documentos sobre Mà ©xico: Segundo Simposio, edited by Salvador Rueda Smithers, Constanza Vega Sosa, and Rodrigo Martà ­nez Baracs, pp. 407-424. vol. I. Instituto Nacional de Antropologà ­a E Historia, Mexico, D.F. Boone, Elizabeth Hill, 2000, Stories in Red and Black: Pictorial Histories of the Aztecs and Mixtecs. University of Texas, Austin. Carrasco, David, and Scott Sessions, 2007, Cave, City, and Eagles Next: An Interpretative Journey Through the Mapa de Cuauhtinchan No. 2. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque. Durn, Fray Diego, 1994, The Histories of The Indies of New Spain. Translated by Doris Heyden. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman. Hers, Marie-Areti, 2002, Chicomoztoc. A Myth Reviewed, in Arqueologà ­a Mexicana, vol 10, Num.56, pp: 88-89. Heyden, Doris, 1975, An Interpretation of the Cave Underneath the Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan, Mexico. American Antiquity 40:131-147. Heyden, Doris, 1981, The Eagle, The Cactus, The Rock: The Roots of Mexico-Tenochtitlans Foundation Myth and Symbol. BAR International Series No. 484. B.A.R., Oxford. Monaghan, John, 1994, The Covenants with Earth and Rain: Exchange, Sacrifice, and Revelation In Mixtec Sociality. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman. Taube, Karl A., 1986, The Teotihuacan Cave of Origin: The Iconography and Architecture of Emergence Mythology in Mesoamerica and the American Southwest. RES 12:51-82. Taube, Karl A., 1993, Aztec and Maya Myths. The Legendary Past. University of Texas Press, Austin. Weigland, Phil C., 2002, Creation Northern Style, in Arqueologà ­a Mexicana, vol 10, Num.56, pp: 86-87.

Case 3 Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

3 - Case Study Example Furthermore, the agent is under duty to avoid a conflict of interest between him and the principal. Thus, the agent should not indulge in negotiations from which he will benefit, at the expense of the principal (Harley, 2009). In our case, it is apparent that the appointed agents (Harris and Danzil) violated the laws guiding agency contracts, through engaging in negotiations that created a conflict of interest between them and the Principal (Investor). By establishing a corporation that was interested in the same transaction that they were undertaking for the principal, they violated the law of contracts (Harley, 2009). Since the corporation formed by the agents ended up negotiating and purchasing the business, then the principal, in our case, the Investor has a right to sue the agents for a breach of contract. The agents are then required to pay damages for the loss they caused to their principal (Harley, 2009). Therefore, the investor should terminate the contract between him and Harris, on the grounds of Harris breaching the contract, and seek legal redress for payment of damages by Harris and

The Vietnam War Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Vietnam War - Essay Example The public became more and more concerned about their future and started questioning about the merits and demerits of prolonging the war. More importantly, the American government instituted a draft to send the young men and women to war, the very same war that was being questioned for American involvement. Statistics of 1960s and 1970s indicate that around 0.125 million young American migrated to Canada and 55000 service men went off the radar. There were exemptions for the students in college and therefore, everyone of the age tried to put themselves to college in an attempt to avoid the draft (Klimke, 2010). However, they knew that as soon as their education ends, they would be standing in the same line in which the 38000 civilians and soldiers were standing and had lost their lives (the total deaths caused by the conflict were over 58000 but by the time, the draft was signed, the death toll stood somewhere near 38000). Furthermore, the rising inflation, unemployment, mounting fis cal deficits and other economic problems also forced the youth so register their protests. On top of it, with the ongoing events in the political arena, Johnson’s policies, Nixon’s Watergate scandal, appointment of President Ford, complete pardon to Nixon by Ford and others created an environment of complete distrust of politicians by the public. The result of all these appeared in the form of mass protests by students and nationwide student unrest (Gilbert, 2001). Historians agree to the fact that it was the student protests, which ignited the mass protests of Americans throughout the United States. Activists, celebrities and musicians like â€Å"Abbie Hoffmann, Timothy Leary, Allen Ginsberg, Jane Fonda, Jefferson Airplane and other soon joined the cause and the students protesting on the streets of New York, Washington, San Francisco, Los Angeles and others† (Klimke, 2010). Without any doubts, the United States paid a huge price for engaging itself into the Vi etnam War for over two decades. Despite his domestic policies of Great Society and other plans, President Johnson had to leave his post due to the immense pressure of the general public (Kissinger, 2003). President Nixon’s promise to the nation was the systematic withdrawal of troops from Vietnam; however, the same did not happen. In fact, during the Nixon era, both death and influx of soldiers and civilians remained high (Lawrence, 2010). The country lost more than 120 billion US dollars on the war during 1965-1973. This increased the fiscal deficit and diverted the attention of the federal government from many domestic plans and policies. Furthermore, the economic strains caused by the war played an important role in limiting the US government’s ability to cope up the economic recession of early 1970 caused by the oil crisis (Kissinger, 2003). The country also learned important lesson about the future military conflicts. They learned a lesson that they could not beat any enemy on their own land without any enough information about those enemies. Furthermore, Americans also learned the lesson that despite of them being a superpower, they cannot

EDLE 639 - Assignment 3 Modules 3 to 6 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

EDLE 639 - Assignment 3 Modules 3 to 6 - Essay Example Their skills is what the organisation needs to prosper; therefore, if a worker is allowed to work towards his/her vision with the firm, then the firm will also stand to gain. Some of the issues, which educational leaders face to ensure the survival of their organisation, include the assessment gap, the teaching gap and the leadership gap (Kent, 2005). Reasonable individuals differ on the details of 21st century knowledge, but the ordinary themes, which emerge comprise of communication, creativity, teamwork, problem solving and critical thinking. Even though, it is hard to hear an educational leader support lower principles for communication or disapproving teamwork, there is a big gap between reality and rhetoric (Robinson, Ward & Timperley, 2003). Also, it is vital for any educator to master the way of leading their students as education is meant for forming leaders in various fields of life. Module 4 Promoting and supporting school leader and teacher professional learning is vital to a country’s attempts to drive fairness and excellence for every young Australian (Dunn, 1981). In this manner, AITSL, in union with stakeholders from numerous school education systems and sectors, aids energetically to young Australians attaining the goals set in the Melbourne Declaration as effective learners, creative and confident individuals, as well as active and informed citizens (Dunn, 1981). Some of the vital factors, which this charter should address, include the significance of learning in enhancing the professional skills, practice, as well as engagement of all school leaders and teachers to achieve progress in student outcomes. The charter also needs to find a way of articulating the expectations, which all school leaders and teachers vigorously take part in professional learning all through their careers (Hatcher, 2008). The charter needs to describe the traits of a high quality specialised learning culture and successful specialised learning, to help school l eaders, teachers, as well as those who help them to get the most from their learning. The other factors that the charter should consider include occupational competence in teaching, teacher education and occupational competence and the linkage between settings of preparation and practice (Hatcher, 2008). These are the major factors that affect teacher education. Module 5 One the critical success factors for effective governance is developing an all encompassing, as well as conceptually effective framework, centered on the most significant strategic factors that are supported by a strategic vision, in addition to a planning process of maybe five years. Schools should be aware of this in order to practice effective governance (Abbey, 2005). The second factor includes dispersed and diverse leadership, which taps into the experience and expertise of each individual. It also cultivates deep ownership of real strategic change among vital stakeholders. Elevated leadership improves the numb er of individuals concerned with policy making. It also enhances people who are open to fresh ideas, and; hence, are more likely to produce more new ideas. The other factor is learning to lead in wider networks through which firm limits give way to partnerships and teams and there are common resources, as well as strategies to attain common results. To aid teaching in all ages, settings and stages, schools need new management

Characterisation in 2D Animations

Characterisation in 2D Animations The main problem that animation faces is that it is an overtly fake diegetic form. The viewer is presented with a constructed reality of drawings and paintings, which may represent the real world, but unlike photographic film, does not look like it. The challenge therefore is to create characters that may believably inhabit their particular diegetic reality. Animators have strived to find a way to resolve this issue through their character design and an awareness of how to deliver narrative information through their characters. This essay will illustrate the solutions that animators have found to make their audiences believe what is put in front of them. In 1914 Winsor McCay took up the (self-imposed) challenge of making dinosaurs live again via animation. The result was Gertie the Dinosaur a semi-live act with McCay performing onstage with the projected film behind him. Gertie herself was obviously an animated projection and to make her believable she had to have a strong individual character. McCay achieved this through his own interactions with the character of Gertie. He talks to her and asks her to perform tricks, which she obliges to do. We are also drawn attention to the fact that she is thirsty and she drains a lake. The performance would climax with her picking up McCay (as he exits the stage.) and bounding of the screen with him on his back. Through this series of call and response between the live action McCay and the animated Gertie, McCay creates the illusion of human understanding within the animated dinosaur. There is also at one point a look of glee in her face after a fight scene when she throws the defeated mammoth into a lake. Through the human interaction and the animation McCay has anthropomorphically endowed the animated creature with human emotions: he has made her believable to the audience by giving her recognizable human traits. In his book Understanding Animation Paul Wells recognizes that the use of attributing animated animal characters anthropomorphic characteristics has become a mainstay of character development. It will be discussed in further detail later in the essay. The basic principles of characterization as a narrative strategy in animation have been summed up by Wells. The character may be understood through its costume or construction, its ability to gesture or move and the associative aspects of its design. It is pertinent at this point to discuss these aspects of character design. Regardless of if an animated character is an animal or human, animators rarely try to completely reproduce natural form. As such the problem is that they are presenting viewers with unnatural looking beings. If the viewer is to accept the characters shown before them, the characters themselves must be presented as believable. This is why animators rely on exaggeration of individual features to suggest certain character types. Halas and Manvelldescribe this in their book the technique of film Animation. Characterization is achieved by the distortion of shapes and forms big eyes, big mouth, big nose, large head small body etc. What is stressed by animators is the gesturing parts of the body, particularly the features of the head. The eyes, nose, mouth and ears are all vital in creating the illusion of human emotion. There is a general rule of thumb with regards to which shapes go with what characters: kind gentle characters tend to have soft rounded faces with wide smiles and large rounded eyes. Porky Pig is a great example of this principle. He is the embodiment of the jolly fat man. Villains on the other hand are much more angular. They often have a rather sharp chin and small eyes and a crooked mouth that somehow lends itself to a wicked smile. They are often presented as grotesque, much like the Evil queen in Snow White and her incarnation as the old crone. These generalizations serve as visual shorthand for the viewer; they optimise the impact of the character through economy and allow the viewer to make connections and process narrative information about the characters more quickly. In the words of W ells, animation manages to compress a high degree of narrative information into a limited period of time through a process of condensation. This method of economy and condensation was born out of functionality as much as anything. Partially it was due to the fact that cartoons are usually very short. As such narrative information has to be delivered with great speed. Also when television became the dominant domain of the animated short, characters had to be easily recognizable on the small screen. Its much easier to do this by recognizing one or two strong individual characteristics than several small ones. Most importantly however the simpler that a character is to draw, the quicker they become to reproduce. They rely on caricature and stereotype to relay narrative information quickly and succinctly. Halas and Manvell go on in their book to describe the visual style of Tom and Jerry in terms of the aesthetic principles of animation: The drawing and coloring have an economy and a visual impact that matches the overwhelming vitality and sometimes the crudity of the action and characterization. This highlights the importance of economy. Extraneous details can confuse the situation and detract from overall characterization. What is needed is a just a couple of well-chosen details. In 1917 Max Fleischer invented the rotoscope. This device allowed animators to successfully mimic natural movement by blowing up still frames of photography and allowing the animator to copy them exactly. Max and his brother Dave were both inspired by the work of Winsor McCay and between them were instrumental in the development of both technological and character development of animation. The rotoscope worked by using a drawing board with a frosted glass center. One frame of photography at a time was shone onto the glass and the image was traced. It provided an accurate reference of movement and articulation so that on screen movement could be replicated with a lot more fluidity. By doing this animators were able to draw more complicated figures in a believable and convincing way. Richard Willams has drawn examples of some of these more complicated characters in his book the animators survival kit. The examples that will be discussed here are the representation of the young and old woman as drawn by Williams. By taking two examples of opposing but similar characters, we can see how the rotoscope paved the way for the development of characterization in animation. The young woman is characterized mainly be her curvaceous figure. She has a strong convex curve along her back and an hourglass figure that extenuates her breast, slim waist and shoulders. She stands upright and tall. She also has sleek long legs and flowing long hair. This form communicates her youth vitality and energy. The old woman by contrast has a much rounder concave curve of the back, which seems to curve round into her body giving her a rounded torso. The breast is also molded into this rounded torso that desexualizes her. Her hair is also shorter. She is hunched forward making her look tired and weary. The lower body is also rounded and she wears a long skirt to cover the legs. In contrast we see only the ankles and feet of the old woman and she is given short dumpy legs. These two examples s how the importance of form and shape in delivering character information. These two figures could represent the same character at different ages but the presentation of form provides us with completely different information about the characters. Williams also stresses the importance of movement to illustrate character. As stated earlier this art of animation was greatly enhanced by the development of the rotoscope. The way that a character moves can be fluid and smooth which would suggest grace or elegance. Alternatively movements can be jerky or plodding, which will in turn infer characteristics of weakness or foolishness. Again he uses examples to discuss and illustrate the main differences between the masculine and feminine walk. The feminine walk is smooth and elegant. She keeps her legs close together and as such the footsteps run straight along the line of action. As a result there is very little up and down body movement. The feminine walk seems to glide along the line of action. The masculine walk however is much more aggressive. The feet are kept well apart, far out from the line of action. The masculine walk is a full on stride, which makes the character as wide as possible. There is much more up and down movement on the body. This makes the walk much more kinetic and at the same time suggests power and strength. Much like the generalizations about character form, these conventions can be subverted to comic effect or to deliver more information. For example a Masculine walk may become a drunken walk if the feet are allowed to cross the line of action. (I.E. if the right foot passes across the center of the body and steps down on the left and vice versa.) Through these examples it is clear that the way that the animator makes the character move is vital to characterization. The Fleischer brothers were also responsible for two of the most beloved cartoon characters of the thirties: Popeye and Betty Boop. These two characters are archetypes of hero and heroine character traits. It seems only fitting therefore to discuss how these characters are so distinct, and the methods used to give them such strong individual identities. Popeye originally appeared in Comic strip form some years before his screen debut in 1933. During this time of American economic depression he was a figure of aspiration for the workingman. As a navy man he had a career that stood for American strength and pride; this also made him stand out as the champion of the just causes. As such he was the embodiment of the strong everyman in times of hardship. He is identified as a sailor by the uniform that he wears with style and pride. He embodies the macho sailor stereotype by striding along with a sailors walk, feet apart rocking from side to side. He also has the iconic tattoo of an anchor on his arm; this marks him out as a man who figuratively wears his heart on his sleeve. His physical appearance is defined by the exaggeration of his muscle; importantly however Popeyes strength comes from eating spinach. Although he is always strong and muscular, it is not until he eats the spinach that he has the strength needed to defeat Bluto. After he has eaten the spinach his forearms are inflated to appear three times the normal size. As Wells points out Popeyes masculinity is predominantly defined by the association between his own organic expansion and the strength of hard metal or machines. As his muscles grow they either transform shape into anvils or air brakes or we see moving pictures of locomotives or battleships on his form arms. Po peyes physical strength therefore is amplified by the imagery but he also associated with American mechanical or military strength. Popeye is remembered for his fights with Bluto but the important thing to bear in mind is that he is not a troublemaker and is usually a very amiable character. He has the characteristic rounded face of the jolly fat man. He walks around with a smile making jokes to himself and being generally full of life. There is also his voice that characterizes him as a salty old piece of seaweed. It is only when his girlfriend Olive Oil is put in jeopardy that he is called into fight; thus he is characterized as a rescuer rather than a man of violence. Betty Boop first appeared in 1930 in the cartoon Dizzy Dishes. Her Face and body defined her femininity; she has a large head with huge childish doe eyes and full red lips. She also has the typical hourglass figure with a full bust that shows of a lot of cleavage. She was also a dancer and her movement and walk were characterized mainly by the feminine swing of the hips. After the first cartoon her skirts got smaller and smaller and she became much more overtly sexualized. She was an embodiment of femininity or at least the male fantasy of femininity. The blend of sexual charge and childlike innocence that came through mainly from her eyes and her distinctive voice disturbed the censors. Her raunchiness was toned down after the Hayes code of 1934. Now that the development of human characterization has been addressed; it is important at this point to addresses the role of anthropomorphism again. The rise and success of the animation of Walt Disney, Chuck Jones and Tex Avery are prime examples of how the lending of human characteristics to animals and vice versa has created some of the must vivid and enduring icons of animation. Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck et al have become such fixed images in the popular psyche that it is important to understand what made these characters so memorable. When dealing with animals we must bear in mind the association that people already have with those particular beasts. Any given animal will have a mythology and literary tradition that comes with it; by being away of these traditions animators have been able to associate these ancient traditions with their own creations. For example foxes are sly and cunning; sharks are ferocious and unforgiving; horse and lions are heroic and noble creatures both ferocious yet majestic. When an animator is devising a character they tend to marry the preconceived ideas that people have about a particular beast with the traits they desire for their character. This is what wells calls associative relations and opens the form of animation into a narrative dialectic that requires an extra-textual understanding on behalf of the viewer. A good example of how the principle of associative relations works would be Kaa from The Jungle Book. The snake has a literary history that dates back to the story of Adam and Eve. It was the seductive yet untrustworthy snake that facilitated mans fall from paradise. The snake is sly; professing friendship but always has his own agenda. The snake glides along the flow in a smooth fluid motion, which is at once deadly and seductive. Kaa is attributed with these characteristics through legend and association. This is further illustrated by his ability of hypnotism, which is of course a human discipline. He talks to Mowgli and soothes him to sleep with soft words and hypnosis in order to eat him. In dealing with associations that are so deeply rooted in the common psyche the characters themselves become instantly memorable. Animal characteristics can also be applied to human characters. Heroes are often seen riding horses; the horse itself is a creature of nobility and heroism; and the tradition of the hero on horse back is one that has permeated every folklore around the globe. The human therefore basks in the reflective glory of its animal companion. The best way to summarize the use of anthropomorphism in characterization is to say that the human in the animal identifies the human character within. In turn the animal in the human illustrates and enriches the character of the human. Animators create artificial worlds and diegetic domains for characters to inhabit. As mentioned at the outset of this essay the problem is that the animated world we are presented with is so overtly fake that it is a challenge to make the characters believable. Animators exploit the fantasy element of their work; they draw attention to the fact that we are presented with talking pigs and indestructible heroes through comic exaggeration of their abilities and their follies. However what Animators do manage to do; is insert enough natural movement and recognizable human emotion into their creations that we except them fully as real believable characters within their own right. Bibliography Bordwell and Thompson. (2001) Film Art: An Introduction, New York: McGraw Hill. Canemaker, J. (ed.) (1988) Storytelling in Animation: The Art of the Animated Image Vol. 2, Los Angeles: AFI. Griffin, H. (2001) The Animators guide to 2D Computer Animation, Oxford: Focal Press, Halas, J and Manvell, R. (1968) The Technique of Film Animation, Norwich: Focal press Limited. Wells, P. (1998) Understanding Animation, New York: Routledge. Williams, R. (2001) The Animators Survival Kit, New York: Faber and Faber.

War of 1812 Essay -- essays research papers

The War of 1812   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The war of 1812, supposedly fought over neutral trading rights, was a very peculiar conflict indeed. Britain's trade restrictions, one of the main causes, were removed two days before the war started; the New Englanders, for whom the war was supposedly fought, opposed it; the most decisive battle, at New Orleans, was fought after the war ended.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  During the Napoleonic wars, Britain and France had disrupted US shipping, confiscated American goods, taking US seamen into the British navy, and both sides had blockaded each other's ports. This caused great annoyance to American traders, and Britain's abduction of American sailors especially caused great uproar and indignation at home. Many called for war, although it is interesting to note that it was southerners and westerners, the so-called war hawks led by Clay and Calhoun, who supported war who were least affected by Britain's actions. Some historians attribute this to their desire to take British Canada and Spanish Florida in the process of war. The Republican administration, traditionally supportive of France, finally declared war on Britain in 1812, ironically two days after Britain had lifted their trade embargo.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Two and a half years of fighting commenced, and when the peace treaty was eventually signed in Ghent, there was no mention whatsoever of neutral rights. The treaty gave neither si...