My Experience of Immigrant Assimilation: Narrative Essay

My story begins from starting with a place where I got lost in myself, and I was searching for my own identity and a place to call home. ‘Nepantla’ is a Nahuatl word meaning ‘tierra entre medio’ or in-between spaces. Nepantla is the idea of the liminal space, and finding places between different identities – the transformation and confusion from one world to another. The major question for me was who I am between two different identities, especially, and the key was to find my character in a different world. Immigration made me have immense confusion in terms of who I am between the two cultures and which culture to stick to. I was constantly trying to keep my old morals in a different country, therefore, I had to develop my own way of culture in order to adapt. At first, I realized an exceptional culture stun while subsiding into another country. This procedure of cultural assimilation created two precise issues with matter to personality for me. I had, firstly, to preserve, and secondly, to maintain my culture, but not lose it. I needed to find myself in my new language, new home, new people, new country, and new life. Social and cultural transformations in my character were distressing, which brought up issues with confidence and mental wellness for me.

By moving to the United States, my well-being started to be corrupt. I began to develop high anxiety and low self-esteem in this new environment, which caused an eating disorder for me. Cultural adaptation and acculturation have a huge impact on biological adaptation and can change a person’s mental and physical tremendously. This is called a culture-bound syndrome, which is a combination of somatic and psychiatric symptoms that can lead to an actual disease in a specific new culture, society, and region (Lock & Nguyen, 2018). Maybe you feel adapted to a place, but your mind is not. Consequently, I had to develop my mind and body to adapt to my new nature. Personally, due to the significant stress that I was having, I became overweight and I was diagnosed with bulimia nervosa and binge eating. My eating disorder was the perception of my own body image, where at one point I couldn’t even recognize myself. This is not only because I was new to the environment, but the separation made everything more extreme. The capacity to conquer separation and keep up a feeling of social pride is essential to effective cultural assimilation.

Nevertheless, I found a way to overcome my negative feelings associated with the process of acculturation. After the emergence of being in-between space, not knowing who I am, and having both mental and health problems, I chose to either ‘fight or flight’. Culture shock is a reason for my identity confusion type of experience in terms of Nepantla, and the cause of the culture-bound syndrome. The point of ‘flight or fight’ is when a person is situated in an unfamiliar position. “The ‘flight’ approach is being afraid, stepping back, and seeing how things work before taking the plunge and joining in. The second preference, the ‘fight’ approach, is to join and contribute. A substitute to fight or flight is the flex method, in which the migrant uses a combination of productive fight or flight behaviors” (Lisha, 2010). I chose to fight for myself. Consequently, by way of a social adjustment to this new condition, I accepted the flight strategy to manage all the new things around me. I would, above all else, see how things are jumping on and how different individuals manage them, and afterward, I would process the target perception and my abstract decisions before I took the last actions. As an example to my field notes, it took a while for me to love myself and take care of my health, then when I was 17 I decided to change my lifestyle; this is when running became my therapy. I focused on my mind and body and overcame my depression and confusion by running. Therefore, I was able to find myself again, maintain my ideal weight, and overcome my low self-esteem. While, I still tend to feel that my current experience is reflective of the concept of Nepantla, due to the fact that I still sometimes feel I don’t belong here.

In correlation to my field notes, immigration had changed my well-being and my lifestyle. Acculturation is the process by which an individual moves to another place, which is not theirs, and wants to generate a new life. It was not easy to live with the confusion of own identity, having an eating disorder, depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem as a culture-bound syndrome. I believe cultural adaptation is a biological concept, in terms of adaptation to new alterations, structures, and people. It was not easy to maintain my well-being. It took a while for me to start taking care of myself and my own body, but I did it. Personally, the cultural change created a behavioral and psychological change for me to adapt myself to my surroundings. Yet I had to either fight or run away and give my life up.

In conclusion, I have discussed how my time of immigration and adaptation to the new culture caused my identity confusion in terms of Nepantla, diverse worldviews, a culturally-bound syndrome, and how I chose to either fight or flight. Personally, acculturation played an important role in my life and changed me completely. During this time, my mind and body gradually scattered throughout the new situation. Every immigrant might experience and overcome acculturation differently. Some may not even have any difficulties. Cultural adjustment has some particular points of interest over natural adjustment.

Essay on Adaptation Theory and Fairy Tale Studies

The level of adaptations from foregoing existing source material (hypotext) as a function of transforming the culture which was originating through the intertexts of narrative, myths, folk tales, poetry, fiction, dramas, and films across a broad spectrum of culture and languages. Adaptation theory is always the challenge faced by a theory that changes the hypotext material to hypertext by considering the characters, narratives, signs, and motifs which cause unique difficulties in adaptation theory that have not been acknowledged by the theory itself. Adaptation theory used fairy tales as examples to show the versions such as ‘Cinderella’. If we talk about the problem or gap that adaptation theory cannot able to cover or try to overcome is the idea of fidelity to the original source material, which was impractical for adaptation to be truthful to the original source and includes interpretative points. Although, somewhere the hypertext (new form) does not able to present the actual form hypotext and shows the inability of adaptation to explain allusion which itself is presented as vital in theorizing fairy tale adaptation.Further, the process of adaptation act as a circular or rounded dance in which the history, stories of heroes, legends, and mysteries were retold over time.

In analyzing the ‘Cinderella’ adaptation theory I was forced to think about that why there is so much reversion or duplicates of Cinderella. According to ‘why fairy tale stick’ the publishing industry are the central reason. All companies in a competitive market want control over the memetic fame of Cinderella. The smallest scale companies sell old versions or basic messages to readers( Zipes,116). Perhaps, the audience’s expectation arises and wants something different which was fulfilled by the most famous text Disney’s Cinderella contaminated with the Perrault, Grimm, and Disney versions that basic belief in motifs of stepmother violence over stepchild.

Considering all the concepts, styles, and other adaptations it was proof that there was no crystal source of original material that adapted from proceeding works. The transformation of one medium to another is always a complex set including the various intertexts performed by the source text. For instance ‘There are numerous straight musical versions of the fairy tale Cinderella; on film, these include, for instance, Disney’s Cinderella (Geronimi/Jackson/Luske 1950) and The Slipper and the Rose (Forbes 1976, scored by Richard M. and Robert B.Sherman). Among the made-for-television adaptations, one should muster Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella (Nelson 1957, Dubin 1965 and Iscove 1997, which in turn was revised as a stage musical in 2013) and Cindy(Graham 1978), while the stage adaptation range from Mr. Cinder (1929; Vivian Ellis’ ( Gordon and Jubin,4).

There are many reasons why adaptation theory could not able to work very well. The most considered fallacy idea about the process of adaptation of changing one form to another is a kind of myth that adapted material should be trustworthy to its hypotext. Moreover, the interpretation always is given by the adaptation theory which includes the qualified interpretation of original (source) text and somewhere that was ignored by adaptation, the interpretation which gives great help to artistic work. According to Linda Hutcheon ‘Adapters relate stories in different ways. They use the same tools that storytellers have always used: they actualize or concretize ideas, they make simplifying selections, but also amplify and extrapolate; they make analogies; they critique or show their respect, and so on (Gordon and Jubin,6). The factor of interpretation deals with the mold of text from one language to another and every adaptation includes a new cultural involvement which was allotment from the original text.

Furthermore, as varieties of adaptation theory and taxonomy depends upon the premise that Gerard Genette’s term ‘hypertext’ can ultimately be located in a single source text or ‘hypotext'( Blankier,109 ).clearly explain the connection of hypotext with the source which helps the coming hypertext to get idea from the previous sources where hypotext always work as idiolect model like ‘Visualized network of adaptations of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice’. The fairy tale adaptation network does not consolidate as compared to Austen’s network. No doubt, Charles Perrault’s (1697 text) become the main source for the rest of the hypertext as ‘Katherine Kingsley, Once upon a dream’ which was highly influenced by Charles Perrault’s but choose another version as a romantic film. Same as the other hypertext of Disney’s Film ‘Cinderella and Ever After’ which is based on Perrault’s text but centralized on feminist discourse. These examples describe that the new text adapted from the old textual source of Perrault’s but the matter of concern is that the setting of Perrault’s itself had no clear source from where he gets adapted and just had an unwritten or verbal tradition of folk and fairy tale. So, there is no normative model for adaptation and allusion are two categories that itself not fit together and represent problems for theorizing fairy tale adaptations. (Blankier,110).

Besides, taxonomies are also one of the troubles causing terms in which adaptation is hard to understand. The main reason that scholars do not ground the common terminology such as ‘reversion, modern-day revision, parody, reworking and so on’. These terms itself they are not functionally the same. On that basis, Jack Zipes proposed a basic system of classification process of Duplication and Revision which was used to describe the function of terminology. The term duplicates are the same as the previous source but revision, on the other hand, is generating something new. Revision expresses the author’s idea, argument, and creative thinking about the original tale and just molded to meet the reader’s pre-planned ideas. On that basis, Zipes put his arguments that ‘these two categories form an ongoing dialectic which forms the foundation of a fairy tale as both a canonical and continuously analog genre, First literary then all media encompassing’.( Blankier,112). But, still, Zipe’s model of textuality does not work for specific fairy tale its work for all fairy tale adaptations not for particular adaptors to generate new work.

Nonetheless, to present a crystal clear picture of lack of specificity textual and meta-textual are the third glass lenses that give the best way to differentiate the adaptations. The text of James Marshell’s Cinderella, Roberto innocent’s Cinderella, and Julies Kistler’s Cinderella at the fire Crackers ball they all were duplicates of Perrault’s text at the textual level they were the same but when we look at the meta-textual level they were extremely different such as Julie Kistler’s work give texture and interiority to their adapted characters to make them more unique as compare to hypertext material and James Marshell’s adapted the original source by cartoonish description. So, here the duplicate status of Zipes does not support at all because Kistler’s Cinderella could not be adapted exactly from the hypertext. In the end, these taxonomies just help to understand the fairy tale adaptation in an easy and malleable way that work as a positive method to originate the large body texts(Blankie,112).

Secondary approach, Zipes taxonomies’ somewhere fail to support adaptation theory then he used another theory method ‘memetic theory’. Zipes link the evolution of fairy tale with a biological paradigm in which genes are transformed from one generation to another through heredity but adopt other changes during mobility same as in the literary fairy world memetic theory is survive through the unique cultural system. As in biology, the genes are responsible for change similarly in fairy adaptation culture passed through texts but texts themselves remain in the same place. But, the memetic theory has no meaningful shreds of evidence in both the field’s biological and fairy tale adaptation. On the other hand, Gary R. Bortolotti and Linda Hutcheon tried an exclusive method to classify the connection of adaptation in literature and biology as compared to the ideas of Zipes. They used narrative and link the sources text with ancestors, narrative with the replicator, and mode of narrative as vehicle and explain the main goal of adaption through the interaction of the author with other environmental factors, new culture, productive thinking, and unreliable thinking about fidelity which also the core issue of adaptation theory(Blankier,114-115).

All the above taxonomies’ are based on the links and transformation of the hypertext to hypertext source which considered a ‘simple transformation’ but Thomas Leitch introduced another grammatical system for adaption from literature to film or we can say textual to visual. He holds the unique strategies to invent a huge type of new texts like ‘Celebrations, Adjustments, Neoclassic imitation, Colonization, Analogue, and Parody. The Leitch approaches are specific yet fluid enough to describe the multitudinous adaptation that announces their relationship to a source text of ‘Cinderella'(Blankier,117-119 ). Further, fairy tale films can catch the intentions of the audience because it provides tales on big projectors through which people can visualize themselves according to their own rules and desires. But somewhere, Fairy tale films lost the mental ability to construct their own image of tale characters due to which the actual version of the tales was disoriented.

To summarize, the fairy tale adaptation is a debated concept that came under the target of many authors, filmmakers, historical storytellers, etc. So, there are some reasons why adaptation theory and fairy tales were not as successful as I already mentioned above as canonical hypertext, fidelity, allusion, and a variety of interpretations. The adaptation of old texts and presentation in various forms is the best way to preserve the historical stories but the limitation of the adaptation theory workout by giving faithfulness to the hypertext and straight or single interpretation of the text. Nonetheless, Disney’s adaptation generates awareness among the spectators at a different level by providing a visual picture of the characters a match the modern era.

Work Cited

  1. Blankier, Margot. Adapting and transforming ‘Cinderella’: Fairy Tale Adaptation and the limits of existing Adaptation Theory. Interdisciplinary Humanities, pp.108-123.
  2. Gordon and Jubin. ‘Telling the tale’: Adaptation as interpretation. Studies in Musical Theatre.Vol 9. no.1 .2015. pp3-11. Intellect Ltd Editorial English language. doi; 10.1386/smt9.13-2.
  3. Zipes, Jack. Why fairy Tales Stick: The Evolution and Relevance of a Genre. Tylor and Francis Group .2006.

Saguaro Cactus Adaptations: Critical Essay

Need and Significance of Saguaro removal services

Saguaro removal service in Phoenix is high in demand. Cactus species are available in all sizes and forms and are quite prickly to be removed from client lands and properties. If you are in need of paid and skilled specialists to effectively remove the Saguaro from land then you may reach out to Az cactus executive specialists that are highly trained in providing Saguaro removal facilities to clients. These facilities are provided to species of cactus that are prickly, tall, and pear-sized. If you are in the market seeking an efficient paid executive to do the job well then it is advised to stay away from sharp cactus thorns that may become dangerous for shoes and fingers for members at home. Az Cactus executives are equipped in providing the finest facilities and free estimates at competitive prices to clients. Saguaro is certain plant species that are quite tough to remove as they pose a high risk of injury and danger which include Barrel Cactus and Prickly Pear Cactus plan, you may require executives to get rid of your property of these plant species. Various plants should be handled by professionals when it comes to residential areas and commercial businesses.

Role of Saguaro Cactus Removal Executives

If you are dealing with Saguaro cacti in your lawn areas and are seeking the appropriate specialists then you may reach out to the Saguaro removal service in Phoenix which is aimed at providing the removal facilities to take care of all your problems. Saguaro species tend to grow speedily into massive plants that require paid and executive aid in dealing effectively with it, it is essential to make use of professional competencies to deal with massive plant removal. The paid and executive approach to dealing with the problem is to make use of the apparatus, training, and knowledge to perform the safe removal of the cactus Saguaro. Therefore you may rely on the ease of competencies of these executives. Aiming to deal with the problem alone without competencies can be an extremely difficult task. Ensure to make security and safety your top priority by attempting to provide species removal with the aid of reputable executives.

Consequences to consider

• Costly Repairment

When dealing with the removal of a Saguaro, you must consider making use of precautionary measures in dealing with it effectively, it is advised not to take the task as an alternative since the Saguaro can grow in enormous sizes and forms and when they fall, they can cause dangerous consequences. These cacti can hurt individuals and pets, motors, and structures if not dealt with carefully. The Saguaro cactus can fall in the backyard and can demand repair and maintenance at the residence which can be costly and unhealthy.

• Risk of diseases

If the cactus is not dealt with carefully and treated on time, then a lot of diseases, infections, and germs can be formed in pets and family members due to becoming in contact with the Saguaro. If you have a sick species of Saguaro cacti growing in the residential lawn then it may fall becoming prickly and dangerous for your members, therefore you should be careful in dealing with removal measures beforehand. The Saguaro cactus removal facilities provided by az cactus are extremely skilled and affordable that deal with dangerous cacti on residences so that they do not negatively affect your residences exposing your loved ones to infections.

• Cactus removal tactics

Customer service is also a priority with the az cactus executives in the provision of quality cactus removal facilities, these experts are willing to provide the finest results and removal tactics to ensure clients comply and be secure from the adverse effects of cactus. You may seek removal experts and receive the prompt to get the efficient and secure removal resources demanded by you on your availability.

How Did the Inuit Adapt to Their Climate: Analytical Essay

The Inuits of the Arctic have been able to adapt to the extreme cold as well as the seafood diet. The Inuit people enjoy the benefit of a range of genetic adaptations to their climatic conditions and diet that help them to survive in harsh environments. The region has been considered to play a key role in the climatic adjustments of the Inuits by generating heat from the various forms of body fats. The scientists have been able to follow up on the very first natural selection research in Inuits in order to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the origins of the adaptations. The paper explores the various perspectives of their adaptations from the physical anthropology point of view.

Scientists have been able to trace the study on natural selection among the Inuits, in an attempt to understand the beginning of such adaptations. In conducting the research, data on genomics tracing back to approximately 200 Greenland Inuits was compared to about 1000 compelling pieces of evidence which confer some unique adaptive characteristics of this population which is said to be ancient hominid DNA and genomes projects from Denisovans and Neanderthals. The results provided more related to the group that is popularly referred to as the Denisovans. It has been found that the DNA sequence of the Inuit matches perfectly with the Denisovan genome, and it happens to be very differentiated from the present-day human sequences. However, we cannot do away with the possibility that the variant was introduced from another different archaic group whose genomes have not yet been sampled. It was evident that the variant is present albeit in very low frequencies in Eurasia, but exhibits high frequencies in the Native American populations as well as Inuits. However, it has been consistently absent in Africa. A gene that is said to affect the human body’s response to cold is called TBX15. This gene is associated with some traits that are related to the distribution of the body fats. The archaic variant is likely to have been beneficial to the current humans during the expansion throughout Beringia into America to Siberia.

Researchers have also attempted to unveil the physiological role of the region, which is particularly important in establishing factors that help to determine fat metabolism, as well as the BMU index. There is some relationship between the archaic region and the gene expression of WARS2 and TBX15 in the various tissues such as the adipose tissues and the fibroblasts. This shows that the introduced variant is more likely to have altered the regulation of the genes, although the exact mechanism through which this happened is not precise. The variants enable the Inuits to adapt to the arctic climatic conditions, enabling them to survive and thrive. The genetic mutations among the Inuits recompense physiologically for the massive consumption of animal fat, mainly from whales and blubbery seals. The group’s lifestyle influences the genetic makeup and movement. The jaws are adapted to devouring meat, which was primarily consumed in its raw form before the community began using fire. The strong jaws are mainly adaptable to eating meat. The heavy fat deposits that are stored around the Inuits’ bodies come in handy during such harsh times when they have to survive on poor diets.

Furthermore, the coldness in the Arctic region requires that the body of the Inuits be able to manage the extremely low temperatures to keep the heart and vital body organs working. The TBX15 gene helps the Inuit’s body to have a balanced distribution of fats across the body for insulation against cold temperatures. The fats are harnessed from the diet, which includes the eating of sea seals. The varying genetic makeup of the Inuits is what makes them physically different from the rest of the human population in a manner that supports their survival in one of the harshest climatic conditions on Earth. Scientists studying the genetic adaptation of the Greenland Inuits revealed the exceptional genetic variants that are linked to fat metabolism. It is imperative to note that the group’s diet is mostly meat with high cholesterols that would cause heart diseases. However, the Inuits have undergone gene mutations to have a gene that allows the absorption of more fats without the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases.

The climate became colder during the period that is referred to as the little ice age (after about 1350). It is during this period that the Alaskan natives continued with their whaling activities. However, this was not the case in the high Arctic as the Inuits were forced to abandon their whaling and hunting sites as the whales disappeared from Canada and Greenland. As such, they were to survive on much poor diet and did not have more access to the essential raw materials for their architecture and tools which they had obtained from whaling. It is the changing climate that compelled them to work their way south, thus pushing them to the marginal niches along the tree line edges. The movement was informed by the need to survive the adverse climatic conditions, most importantly sustained access to food. All along, the movements came with adaptations, though not radical, to enable the Inuits to live in the changing environmental conditions. Nevertheless, the Inuits have maintained their heavy intake of meat throughout the migration, which asserts the consistency in their nutritional culture.

The study of the facial structure remains somewhat essential such that the skull remained the central anthropological locus when it comes to determining racial and anthropological traits. With this regard, Blumenbach in 1775 coined the term “Caucasian” while at the same time developing the racial typology anchored on the comparison of the skulls, and was made up of a renowned skull collection that comprised skulls from Labrador and Nain. In 1839, Morton classified races by cranial capacity, and phrenological features and determined that all the Native Americans were related, other than a group called the “Esquimaux.” Richard King, who is the English Ethnologist, took issue with the current anthropological arguments that the industrial arts and intellectual and physical nature of the Inuits were biological, and suggested opposite possibilities. The Inuit have a different anatomy from the rest of the communities because of their adaptation to their climatic conditions and lifestyle. The eyes are more circuitously set whereas the skin color is lighter, light brown, or yellowish or light brown. The Inuit have strong bones, which help them to hunt and kill large sea mammals. Whaling requires well-built bodies because of the strength and weight of the hunt. According to research, these are adaptations that enable the Inuits to manage their hunting lifestyle.

Unlike other groups of humans, it is estimated that the Inuits have a high cranial capacity to accommodate large brains and eyes, which help them to survive in areas with low light capacity. The eyes sockets are big to take into account the big size of the eyes. Scientists contend that the Inuits have huge eyeballs as an adaptive feature to enable them to see clearly in an environment where sunlight is scarce. Hunting of marine animals requires that the Inuits be well positioned to see the prey, hence the importance of the large crania and eyes. The size of the crania is relatively bigger than the other communities, especially those that live in the tropics and enjoy much sunlight. In Africa, the aspect of big eyeballs is a mission, and so is in Asia. Therefore, the unique environmental conditions in the Arctic influence the adaptive features that the Inuits have, which vary from the rest of the communities.

The above information provides more insight into quite a number of the recent scenarios of ancient marriages which may have led to some specific adaptive characteristics of the modern humans in the region. However, it is quite tricky from a research point of view when the Inuit stopped their territorial expansion. Some evidence suggests that they were still moving to a new territory south of Labrador at the time they started to interact with the European colonialists. Above all, the group has genetic and physical adaptations of its arctic environment, which enables it to survive in the harsh weather conditions of the Arctic region. The absorption and use of fats for insulating the body are one of the adaptive features of the Inuits’ heavy intake of meat that has high cholesterols. There also exist some controversies about some of the anthropological research above in an attempt to deconstruct the preexisting notions of the adaptations of the Inuit people of the Arctic. However, the Inuits have unique physical anthropological features that point out to their long-term adaptation to the arctic climate and lifestyle of eating much meat that is rich in fats.

Analysis of Dark Adaptation

Introduction

The purpose of this lab report is to reflect on an experiment carried out on 30/01/2020. The experiment’s objective “was to measure the minimum amount of luminance of a test spot required to produce a visual sensation which is the absolute intensity threshold (1/sensitivity) of the visual system to light in dark conditions as a function of time using the standard instrument for this purpose. By viewing the target extra-foveally, using part of the retina containing both cones and rods, both phases of dark adaptation will be measured.” 1

To establish the dark adaptation (DA) mechanism of the eye and to measure an individual dark adaptation capacity, Goldmann-Weekers Adaptometer was used, with the psychophysical method of limits adopted. This instrument shows that rods and cones recover at different rates as shown in the graphs below. The use of this experiment has been proven useful in the clinical diagnosis of various retinal disorders. 2

The ability to adapt to light and dark conditions is a crucial ability of the eye. Dark adaptation is a phenomenon that the eyes adjust to scotopic conditions, for example walking into a cinema and the eyes slowly adjusting to see in the dark. Dark adaptation is not a new concept, it has been the subject of many research studies and towards the end of the 19th century, it was considered a mechanism of the eyes and not the brain. Evidence of DA is that when one eye of a dark-adapted subject to bright light, there is a decrease in sensitivity of the exposed eye but not that of the shielded eye. Suggesting that a dual method of light and dark adaptation is present in the eye. 3

The duplex nature of our visual system is shown by the dark adaptation curve below (image 1). This theory indicates that the retina utilizes two photoreceptors types, rods, and cones. The first part of the curve shows a rapid reduction until 5-10 mins when the curve plateaus (cones), this represents the photopic thresholds. The rod-cone break is where there is an abrupt change in the slope, this is when the rods have become more sensitive than the cones. This is followed by the slow reduction in the second part of the curve which represents the skeptics’ threshold to around 30 mins where the curve again plateaus (rod).2

The spectrum of light adsorbed in rods, peaks about 500nm when light excites the rhodopsin molecule, it’s isomerized and the transduction process occurs. This then splits from rhodopsin to retinal and opsin. The physical effect is that it becomes lighter in color, known as visual pigment bleaching. In a process called visual pigment regeneration, retinal and opsin are converted back to rhodopin. For this process to happen so efficiently there is always a normal level of bleached molecules in the retina. To measure the visual pigment regeneration one must look to William Rushton’s research, who devised a procedure that concluded cones pigment can take 6 minutes to regenerate and rods up to thirty minutes. Rushton’s results also demonstrated that there is an important link between perception and physiology.

Sensitivity to light depends on the concentration of visual pigment

The speed at which sensitivity is adjusted to the dark depends on the regeneration of the visual pigment.4

Results

To create the dark adaptation curve, three individuals are exposed to a pre-adapting light in one eye for different durations, and the intensity of the light was kept constant. Then the light is turned off. The subject, now sitting in the dark, is exposed to a succession of dim light targets approximately 11o below fixation. The intensity of the test light is controlled by a neutral density filter. Pre-adaptation plays an important role in the regulation of the experiment and to verify that a bi-phasic curve is achieved and indicates the Duplex retina theory. (Kolb et al., 2011)6

  • Pre- Bleaching times
  • Shóna light adapted: 7 mins
  • Saroj light adapted: 6mins
  • Rita light adapted: 5mins
  • Shóna Hendrick
  • Blue=cones
  • Red= rods

Shóna was bleached for 7 minutes and a rod-cone break is seen at ~7 ½ minutes. This graph shows the rod threshold extending to 17mins. The graph does not start at 0 minutes as an error occurred in recording initially. Due to this, the results are not completely accurate for this trial.

  • Saroj Khatri
  • Blue=cones
  • Red= rods

As seen in the graph for Saroj, the first section(cones) shows a rapid threshold reduction followed by a plateau. Then the Cone-Rod break is noticed at approx 5 minutes and moves on to the second part of the graph(rod) where the reduction in rod thresholds extends to 26mins.

  • Rita Jennings
  • Blue= Rod
  • Red= cones

Rita was bleached for 5 minutes and a rod-cone break is seen at approx. 5 ½-6 minutes, this is the first cure and phase one of the dark adaptation curve. The rod sensitivity increases and can be seen in the second part of the curve, phase 2 of the dark adaptation curve. This graph shows the rod threshold extending to 25mins which means the minimum ( absolute threshold) is at 10−5 cd/m2 after 25 minutes in the dark. (Kolb et al., 2011)

Discussion

The dark adaptation experiment gave insight into the importance of the photoreceptor cells and their regeneration. During this experiment, we learned how to measure a person’s ability to dark adapt. The resulting graphs from our experiment showed a short cone phase, confirming that the cones were not active in scotopic conditions. The rod-cone break is seen at roughly 5,7 ½, and 5 ½ minutes respectively on our graphs, as the rods become more sensitive than the cones.

Factors that affect dark adaptation include:

1. Intensity and duration of the pre-adapting light.

Shóna was bleached for the longest and Saroj and Rita had shorter bleaching times. The graphs prove the duration of the pre-adapting light affects the curve. The weaker the pre-adaptation light, the faster the recovery as seen through Saroj and Rita’s graphs. Weak or short pre-adaptation bleaching, can cause negligible photopigment bleaching and can raise the threshold, therefore decreasing the sensitivity, as per who the law is this?

2. Size and position of the retinal are used in measuring dark adaptation.

A small test spot with an eccentricity of 0o would reveal only a rod curve is obtained versus that of 2o which shows a normal DA curve.

The opposite is true with the size of the spot, as only a single cone break is found because these are the only photoreceptors found at the fovea. Increasing size incorporates the peripheral retina containing rods.

3. Wavelength distribution of the light used. For example, the shorter the wavelength the more obvious the rod-cone break is as rods are much more sensitive to short wavelengths once dark adapted.

In this experiment, only monochromatic light was used. To further investigate the hypothesis that the wavelength of light affects dark adaptation, other wavelengths need to be introduced into this experiment. 5

Both strengths and limitations were noted during this experiment:

  • Using and understanding the equipment posed a problem initially and therefore resulted in Shóna’s results being slightly inaccurate. The graph was restarted once we familiarised ourselves with the method. For this reason, we recommend a trial before commencing the real experiment.
  • Age must be taken into consideration as rod degeneration occurs in older patients before degeneration cones. This will inevitably affect the result of the curve and make the length of the test longer
  • Another restriction to this method of measuring DA is the time it takes. Each patient takes ~30mins and therefore it would not be realistic for this test to be carried out in daily optometric practice.
  • One strength is the graphing of the curve by the adaptometer, as immediately after ceasing the experiment it is possible to see results and estimate the rod-cone break.
  • Another advantage is that any abnormalities on the graph can be seen promptly and assist in diagnosing/ more accurate referral letters.

Recent studies have shown that the AdaptDx dark adaptometer is a more accurate and efficient way of measuring DA. AdaptDx is used more widely now as test time is < 6.5mins rather than >30mins when using Goldmann-Weekers. 7

Measuring and recording the DA curve has proven to be a diagnosing instrument for AMD, slow adaptation can indicate subclinical AMD at least 3 years before drusen are visible on the retina. 8

In conclusion, the DA curve recorded by Goldmann-Weekers Dark Adaptometer can be used to evaluate how a patient’s photoreceptors are functioning. It assesses night blindness, degenerative retinal diseases (eg: retinitis pigmentosa), hereditary cone degeneration, and rod monochromats. It is also frequently used to test for and diagnose AMD. 7

  1. Grainne Scanlon, Physiology of Vision 1 Lab Manual, 2019/20; Pg3-6.
  2. Chapter 3, Dark Adaptation(pg 37-43),Visual Perception, A Clinical Orientation, 4th edition,Steven H. Schwartz, ISBN: 978-0-07-160462-8
  3. Reuter, T. (2011). Fifty years of dark adaptation 1961-2011. Vision Research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.visres.2011.08.021
  4. Goldstein, E. Bruce. The Blackwell Handbook Of Sensation And Perception. 1st ed. John Wiley & Sons, 2008.
  5. M. Kalloniatis and C. Luu, Light and Dark Adaptation; 2007
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  7. Jackson GR, Scott IU, Kim IK, Quillen DA, Iannaccone A, Edwards JG. Diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of dark adaptometry for detection of age-related macular degeneration. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2014;55(3):1427–1431. Published 2014 Mar 10. doi:10.1167/iovs.13-13745
  8. AdaptDx Dark Adaptometer, 2019: AdaptDx® Dark Adaptometer

What Are the Potential Pitfalls of Community-Based Adaptation

Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are on the front line of climate change-related perturbations due to their small land masses located in areas prone to natural disasters and extreme weather events. Their exposure is exacerbated still further by factors such as a reliance on natural resources for subsistence and livelihoods, inadequate infrastructure, high population growth, and limited health, education, disaster response systems, and adaptive capacity. This entails challenges regarding freshwater availability, agricultural production, safe housing conditions, food security, and health.

Due to their vulnerability, SIDS is front and center of climate change adaptation projects. However, in the context of top-down approaches, a lot of the development gains from foreign aid fail to reach the communities that need it the most. In the field of adaptation, this observation has resulted in the advance of bottom-up approaches, such as community-based adaptation (CBA). The central tenet of CBA is that local communities should be the main actors in determining and prioritizing responses to climate change. Under the CBA framework, local individuals and community organizations take charge of their own adaptation processes, facilitated (but not directed) by donors and project implementers.

The dual aim of CBA is to empower communities to make their own adaptation decisions regarding their lives or their livelihoods, while also addressing underlying social, cultural, and political challenges. In theory, CBA accommodates the local knowledge, capabilities, priorities, and context of the community.

The community approach is increasingly touted as the panacea for climate change adaptation, particularly in SIDS. However, ‘community’ is too often posited as a homogenous, unified entity that is able and willing to take the lead in combatting a labyrinth of environmental problems. The reality is far more complex and it is important to be aware of the potential pitfalls of the community approach. This paper will examine three key factors that can influence the success or failure of community-based adaptation:

  • Power imbalances
  • Community ownership
  • Continuity beyond the project lifecycle

1. Power imbalances

1.1 The problem

It is well-documented that in the context of CBA in SIDS, human dimensions such as social dynamics and power imbalances within communities are the most common causes of project failure. Many are concerned that CBA tends to romanticize and oversimplify the concept of ‘community’, thereby not taking into account power imbalances and marginalization issues based on age, gender, and socio-economic position. The misconception of ‘community’ as a unified and harmonious whole ignores the fact that certain individuals or groups have different socio-political characteristics, including different degrees of control over (or access to) resources, decision-making, influence, and services such as education. This complex matrix of inequality means that some actors will be less articulate, outspoken, and influential in the context of adaptation projects. Their concerns are therefore less likely to be integrated into the project design if inclusion measures are not taken.

Political and social influence within a community is rarely distributed uniformly. If CBA does not actively seek to engineer equal representation, it can result in just a few elite or powerful members of the community having decision-making power within the project. This in turn can limit the number of people involved in and benefit from projects, and can also exclude women from information and decision-making due to traditional gender roles. If these dynamics are not given due consideration in CBA design, inequalities can often be exacerbated and elitism entrenched, thereby undermining two of the cornerstone principles of CBA: democracy and fairness.

In their study of CBA in Vanuatu, Buggy, and McNamara pointed to the rise of ‘elite capture’, whereby project benefits were ‘captured’ by certain people or groups in the community to the disadvantage of others. This phenomenon can be exacerbated by the influence of Western capitalist systems, for example when CBA projects offer financial rewards and individual economic gain.

In the context of adaptation projects, the poor management of intra-communal relations translates into disputes and a lack of community support and appreciation of adaptation projects.

1.2 The countermeasures

a. Understanding the community

First and foremost, it is recommended for CBA planners conduct a preliminary analysis of the socio-cultural-political dynamics of the community in question. Practitioners should avoid conceptualizing ‘community’ in a way that ignores the diversity of actors. Analysis should strive to identify not only sources of unity but also of division and intra-communal differences arising from gender, class, ethnicity, and resources. Recognizing difference also entails recognizing power. Existing social configurations cannot be wished away and so should instead be built into projects, to ensure that all those concerned can contribute to the formulation of adaptation strategies, while at the same time avoiding reinforcing existing inequalities. Once planners have established an understanding of local social dynamics, they can also use that knowledge to instigate change around governance and power, particularly in terms of land tenure, gender, control of natural resources, and representation within community forums.

b. Ensuring an inclusive approach

Enhanced inclusiveness and democracy are key to CBA approaches, supporting equal access both to decision-making forums and the benefits of projects. Planners must use mechanisms that facilitate the expression of multiple (and possibly divergent) perspectives, ensuring that participation is not limited to the inputs of a few ‘elites’. Indeed, the World Bank encourages participatory approaches to adapt existing power structures to ensure that the most disadvantaged are in fact, central contributors.

CBA projects, therefore, require adequate consultation with all community members, improved gender equality in decision-making, and the establishment of a project committee. Structures such as committees should be open to all and representative of all community groups, rather than just the individuals that traditionally yield power. In her study of CBA in the Pacific Islands, McNamara highlights the importance of equitable modes of information transfer for those with low literacy and disabilities, including the use of video, images, and presentations.

c. Implementing conflict resolution mechanisms

Given the disparate actors involved in CBA approaches, projects require the integration of conflict resolution and mediation processes that actively facilitate an open process of debate in which any conflicting claims are subject to critical review.

External actors can also create opportunities for introspection and critical analysis by community members, through surveys or consultation, for example. Carefully considered engagement may help diffuse social frustrations and identify the need for change. Such processes may help empower local people to deal with challenging situations, conflicts, or injustices by encouraging them to articulate problems and reflect on their causes.

2. Community ownership

2.1 The problem

a. Persistence of top-down mechanisms

The fundamental principle of CBA is that projects are fully owned by the community. This means that initiatives should be based on communities’ priorities, needs, knowledge, and capacities, empowering them to cope independently with the impacts of climate change. CBA goes beyond simply being rolled out at the community level, and must instead be defined and driven by the community itself. However, there are numerous cases where initiatives under the guise of CBA are still inherently top-down, in that communities are consulted but projects are nonetheless formulated by externally-defined priorities and objectives. McNamara theorizes that such approaches create a fundamental barrier to local approval and ownership in CBA because they disregard contextual factors and result in poor alignment with community desires and cultural norms. For example, a project for self-composting toilets and using human waste as fertilizer failed to garner community support in Vanuatu because the ‘idea was not welcome’ and ‘people were not comfortable’. Community members ended up resenting the project, resulting in a lack of motivation to implement and maintain the initiative.

b. Poor communication

Lack of ownership is also associated with information flow. In the absence of regular meetings to report on progress, respect for projects declines. Likewise, failure to adapt communication language and style to the communities in question also tends to result in poor ownership.

c. Religious and spiritual factors

As Smith revealed in her study of adaptive responses in St. Vincent, religious values can also present a barrier to community ownership. This can be due to a sense of powerlessness in the face of God and the belief that God will protect them. Many interventions do not account for such views when planning activities, even though spiritual and religious factors often hold much sway over local decision-making processes.

d. Insufficient or slow generation of results

The insufficient or slow generation of results can also impede community ownership and may result in people returning to previous practices. Similarly, if results fail to cater to both climatic pressures and other more immediate needs, such as health, safety, or access to markets, it can be difficult for communities to prioritize adaptation projects. After all, climate change is often perceived as just one of many adversities.

e. Resistance to unfamiliar tools and techniques

Finally, there can be a reluctance to make use of new unknown technology or methods in the context of adaptation projects. Community members may feel skeptical of new techniques, or even unqualified to implement them. This requires project staff to work with community members to build the capacity and skills required for the project tasks. However, this has pitfalls of its own, because often project staff are unable to carry out tasks themselves, or are not available to support community members. This can result in a failure to promote self-sufficiency and a dependence on external skills.

2.1 The countermeasures

a. Creating structures for ongoing participation and information flow

There is widespread recognition of the importance of maintaining participatory processes throughout the project lifecycle. Local ownership is enhanced by project committees, regular meetings, reporting, and informing, all of which allow community members to provide input, ideas, and feedback. Projects should also allow all community members to provide hands-on support and assistance.

Furthermore, successful projects tend to be those that respond to direct requests from communities and that integrate local environmental knowledge.

b. Integrating local beliefs and cultural norms in project design

The integration of local realities and socio-cultural norms increases the likelihood of success. It is therefore crucial for planners to understand local culture, priorities, resources, knowledge, and livelihoods to ensure that activities are compatible, thereby helping avoid local resistance.

Regarding religious and spiritual barriers, project planners might consider working with spiritual leaders to disseminate information and mobilize community members.

c. Making capacity-building a central focus

The main aim of CBA is to prepare and support communities to lead their own adaptation and resilience strategies. A crucial enabling factor for success, therefore, is the integration of capacity-building and technical learning as a primary objective. To be able to manage environmental problems effectively, significant collective learning at the local level is required to develop new knowledge, insights, perspectives, and capacities. For example, building climate change awareness and knowledge tends to enhance the ability of community members to interpret the changes they experience in their daily lives, thereby fostering proactive responses and supporting disaster preparedness. Similarly, developing local management capacity and providing skills training have been linked to community mobilization.

However, to truly ensure ownership, it is essential that training be relevant to the culture and society in which projects are implemented, building on the capacities that already exist within communities.

d. Using systems-thinking

Projects should produce co-benefits beyond reducing exposure to climate risks, such as the protection and enhancement of livelihoods, income, and food security. Indeed, overlooking parallel vulnerabilities in adaptation can in fact perpetuate overall vulnerability, irrespective of the climate scenario. Therefore, CBA is far more likely to generate community ownership if activities are perceived as addressing other, more immediate problems, as well as climate-related concerns. Systems thinking also helps foresee any externalities to adaptation projects and can encourage recipients to act of their own volition due to the multiple perceived benefits.

3. Continuity beyond the project lifecycle

3.1 The problem

a. Poor future planning

Poor forward planning fails to factor in the intensification of climate impacts and population growth. This can result in adaptation initiatives focusing on reducing short-term vulnerability, but overlooking the potential for change; an issue that has been identified across most documented adaptation initiatives in SIDS. The lack of ‘future-proofing’ has been found to result in maladaptation, thereby jeopardizing long-term resilience and creating new vulnerabilities.

However, even for adaptation initiatives that do factor in the future, climate change impacts are unpredictable and therefore present a fundamental challenge for planning.

b. Reliance on external resources and skills

CBA is ‘based on the premise that local communities have the skills, experience, local knowledge, and networks to increase resilience and reduce vulnerability’. However, adaptation projects can often feature a built-in dependence on external resources and skills that compromise the sustainability of adaptation beyond the project lifecycle. The reliance on non-local materials and expertise undermines the community’s ability to deal with any emerging difficulties, due to the lack of local technical capacity and funds for costly imported equipment. This means that communities are unable to achieve self-sufficiency in the long run, particularly once funding and external support desist.

Project inadequacies such as this seem to be correlated with the top-down tendencies of CBA, where initiatives are designed and implemented by external actors (using external resources), rather than developed by the community.

c. Path dependency

The risk of path dependency is particularly associated with infrastructural developments, such as sea walls. Path-dependent trajectories are difficult to undo once implemented and tend to ignore the need for flexibility and adaptiveness in the context of an unpredictable climate future.

3.2 The countermeasures

a. Equipping community for self-sufficiency

Ensuring self-sufficiency is fundamental to forward planning and project continuity. Projects should seek to draw primarily upon existing local resources, knowledge, and skills, with donors and implementers acting as facilitators. Planners should ensure that communities are equipped with any additional skills, resources, and knowledge required for long-term self-sufficiency.

b. Integrating flexibility

Due to the unpredictable character of ecosystems in the context of climate change, CBA must be flexible and adaptive to surprise events and shifts. Furthermore, planners must understand that adaptive interventions are themselves potential drivers of unpredictable ecological change. Enhanced flexibility and adaptability can be achieved by establishing more diverse methodologies and goals for adaptation, as well as laying greater emphasis on monitoring ecological change in response to planned interventions.

Conclusion

Community-based approaches have the potential to deal with adaptation in an agile and holistic manner, empowering local communities in SIDS to take the lead in building up their resilience to climate change. However, ‘community’ is no panacea and project planners must factor potential pitfalls into the project design. Primary sources of project failure in SIDS are power imbalances, a lack of community ownership, and poor levels of continuity beyond the project lifespan. Planners can pre-empt these issues by designing projects in a way that

  • a). ensures the interests of all are represented and accounted for in project management structures;
  • b). fosters participation and information flow, responding directly to community requests, priorities, and contexts;
  • c). equips communities for self-sufficiency and allows for flexibility in case of unexpected changes.

Bibliography

  1. Berger, R., and J. Ensor. Introduction: Progress in Adaptation. 2014. In Community-based Adaptation to Climate Change: Emerging Lessons, 1-13. Rugby, UK: Practical Action Publisher
  2. Buggy, L., McNamara, K.E., The need to reinterpret ‘community’ for climate change adaptation: a case study of Pele Island, Vanuatu. 2016. Climate and Development, 8:3, 270-280, DOI: 10.108017565529.2015.1041445
  3. Catalano, A.S., Lyons-White, J., Mills, M.M., Knight, A.T., Learning from published project failures in conservation. 2019. Journal of Biological Conservation, 10.1016j.biocon.2019.108223
  4. Dodman, D., Mitlin, D., Challenges for community-based adaptation: discovering the potential for transformation. 2013. Journal of International Development, 25, 640-659 DOI: 10.1002jid.1772

Concept of Adaptation in Biology

Adaptation

Is a change or the process of change by which an organism or species becomes better suited to its environment. In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the population during that process. Thirdly, it is a phenotypic trait or adaptive trait, with a functional role in each individual organism, that is maintained and has evolved through natural selection.

Fish adaptation

Many structures in fish are adaptations for their aquatic lifestyle. For example, fish have a stream-lined body that reduces water resistance while swimming. Fish have gills for “breathing” oxygen in water and fins for propelling and steering their body through water.

Flight adaptation

Flight is birds’ most important adaptation. It takes them into an environment that most other animals can’t reach: the air. Their lives depend upon this special skill. It allows them to catch food, avoid enemies, find each other, and travel huge distances in super-quick time.

Adaptation of aquatic plants

-For example seaweed, an aquatic plant. It is adapted for underwater life. This plant has its own air bubble in each leaf that provides the necessary space for the exchange of oxygen from the water to the plant. It also helps keep the seaweed upright. The leaves of underwater aquatic plants are also softer than those of ground plants. This softness allows the plant to move easily with the waves without breaking.

Adaptation of desert plants

-The Cactus. These are plants adapted for the desert. There are many varieties of cacti. You will see that all of them have very thin leaves. In fact, they aren’t called needles anymore; they are called thorns. Look at this barrel cactus and you will see its many leaves in the form of thorns all over its stem. The stem is very thick, and this is where the plant stores its water. Because water is scarce in the desert, the plant soaks up and stores whatever water it can when it rains and then uses its water reserve when there is no water.

Adaptation of snake

-Snakes adapt to their environments in a variety of ways, including growing longer, relying on their sense of smell rather than sight, or adopting coloring that mimics that of more venomous snakes. Snakes also adapt physical characteristics that allow them to quickly move through their natural habit. Some snake adaptations took place relatively early in the snake’s evolution, but other adaptations are continuing to take place. One of a snake’s most useful abilities is the ability to smell with its tongue. Relying on its forked tongue, a snake can easily tell which direction their prey is in. This adaptation occurred to allow snakes to hunt during dusk and dawn when visibility is low.

Frog and adaptation

– include specialized legs, feet, skin, eyes, and body shape. Frogs primarily live in water, so many of their adaptations enhance their ability to live effectively in an aquatic environment. Frogs have long and powerful legs that allow them to jump and swim for long distances.

Adaptation of turtles

-Turtles spend most of their lives in water. They are adapted for aquatic life, with webbed feet or flippers and streamlined bodies. Sea turtles rarely leave the ocean, except to lay eggs in the sand. Freshwater turtles live in ponds and lakes, and they climb out of the water onto logs or rocks to bask in the warm sun.

Tortoises are land animals. Their feet are round and stumpy, adapted for walking on land. They also dig burrows with their strong forelimbs and slip underground when the sun gets too hot.

Adaptation of salmon

-The other highly notable adaptation in salmon is their gills. Atlantic Salmon have four sets of gills with specialized cells that allow them to migrate between salt and fresh water. The four sets also allow for the efficient dissolving of oxygen.

Adaptation of bat

-Bats have amazing adaptations, including being nocturnal to avoid predators and competition for food. To find food and fly safely, bats use echolocation where sound waves bounce off of objects. Bats have light bones and webbing that allows them to fly and cover during sleep

Adaptation of monkey

-Despite its lush vegetation and abundance of life, a jungle can be a harsh and inhospitable environment. Monkeys have adapted to thrive in jungles, developing physical characteristics, skill sets, and behavioral patterns designed specifically to help them survive in these dangerous habitats. Jungle monkeys have evolved structures and systems that allow them to conserve energy, locate food and locate each other in the jungle canopy.

How Do Adaptations Change the Meaning of the Story: Essay

Nowadays, the amount of adaptations such as films, TV programs, or TV series is increasing dramatically. To a certain degree, many classic movies or interactive works are based on nice novels or real events. ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ is adapted from Stephen King’s classic novel (Different Seasons) and it can be seen how successful it is in being adapted into a meaningful movie. However, adaptations are neither simply adding a new ending to the story nor altering the name of the protagonist or the place where the stories happened. Adaptations sometimes are more likely an X-RAY which could help us know clearly about the character relationship, story structure, and plot development in some cases and comprehend a story on an even pro-founder level. Recent phenomenon demonstrates that “the definition and practice of adaptation are changing with the evolution of new forms.”( [1] Philip Pullman, (The Golden Compass), film, radio and stage plays, board and computer games for the Wii, Play Station 3, and NintendoDS) Different directions of the adaptations, for instance, how the story is presented, the process of one story as well as the reproduction of the ending could change the meaning of the story.

A dilapidated boat, the vast, endless sea with beating spindrift, storms accompanied by the thunders…that’s what first heaved in my sight when I open the web of an adaptation of a short novel called “Boat” (Nam Le, 2008)which is adapted by Matt Huynh. In “Boat”, the writer, Nam Le, described a 13-day tragedy of a Vietnamese refugee ship in a detailed, news-reported language. To avoid political scams, Juan took her only son, the illegitimate child, to the refugee ship. Unexpectedly, the ship lost its way because of the storm. Her son did not suffer in the country. On the other hand, in the journey of fleeing and searching for hope, he died of a lack of water and medicine. In the end, the people on the boat saw the other side, but Juan had no soul.

Differing from Nam Le, Matt Huynh didn’t merely change the process or the ending of that story, what he has done is altering the presented form of that short novel an interactive graphic novel. Adding moving text, sound, graphics, and hyperlinks, makes the original novel more interactive. The engagement between the producer Matt Huynh and the participants is getting stronger and closer. Firstly, when you see these moving texts, it feels like you are in that shaking boat, swinging in that rough sea, with that vivid sound, what you feel is ethereal and helpless. Nothing is left on the sea, only yourself and the boat, which better embodies the hard background of this novel. Then, when you scroll the mouse according to the prompts on the web, you could see this novel is divided into several chapters which makes the linear story more layered. Adding to those graphic paintings, what impressed me most was her skinny father who was lying on the bed. The “black and white” images of ink paintings reflect the hardship of the environment at that time. From my perspective, it can be hardly illustrated just by words. It is these things: the moving texts, sound graphics, and hyperlinks that give our participants deeper feelings as well as change the meaning of the story. If we say that the original novel just shows the readers a sad story and feel guilty about the author’s life experience, however, this brand new presentation by Matt Huynh leads his follower: us, to feel the helplessness of the author. In this way, we realize that it is not easy to survive in a generation bombarded with wars. Surprisingly, he did not portray much about the war or something like that, but through the despair of people living at the bottom of society under the turbulent situation. Furthermore, what we have seen, is not only the suffering itself but also the endless sorrow, like a sorrowful pause. Therefore, this neoteric adaptation of the novel the interactive graphic novel endows the novel ”Boat” with a brand new soul, makes the novel less boring, gives readers interest, and changes the meaning of the story.

If we say that the interactive graphic novel is a new form adaptation in the information explosion era, then the adaptation of the film is the form we are most familiar with. The movie ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’, directed by Robert Mulligan, was adapted based on Harper Lee’s book of the same name. Another movie is called but how do these classic adaptation movies being so successful and so impressive until nowadays? How do these adaptions change the meaning of the story? The former makes some subtraction based on the novel:(1)In time, the movie adjust the timeline into a few days before and after the trial; (2)In the plot handling, to highlight the theme of the novel, the director change the main line into Tom Robinson’s trial.in some cases, this film maintains a much higher degree of drama which make some aspects more powerful and also changes the meaning of the story: “To punish evil and promote good should be one of the moral functions of the film. To oppose racial discrimination is an idea of social progress.” [2]’Horton Furt Film Drama Collection’United States Grove Publishing House, 1989.)It also reminds me of one most persuasive Korean movies SILENCE.

This Korean adaptation film (SILENCED) really changes the meaning of the story even the law of Korea. SILENCED was adapted from a novel based on a real event in Korea: an incident that happened in a school in Gwangju, a deaf-mute obstacle school, depicting a tragedy caused by sexual violence. According to the real event, more than a dozen people from the principal to the teacher participated in the sexual violence. Since 2000, they have sexually invaded more than 30 deaf children, who are only 7 to 20 years old. A lawyer accidentally learned about this from his friend who is a teacher at this deaf school. His friend was assassinated by the school during the process of collecting evidence. For the next seven years, the lawyer suffered from cancer but he took 3 deaf children and appealed countless times. In the end, although they found evidence, the principal was too powerful and did not receive the punishment they deserved. The true event was definitely a cothurnus because of the useless progress.

What’s more, the adaptation film changed the ending of the story based on the real event, bringing a ray of light and hope to the audiences, and changing the meaning of the original story. In the adaptation, the children who were sexually assaulted were two girls(which is totally different from the real event of 30 children), and a brother, and the younger brother finally committed suicide. The atrocities of these deaf and dumb children are the principal and the vice principal, and another teacher. At the end of this adaptation, it added a brand new ending: the lawyer who deteriorated cancer was finally shot by a high-pressure water gun because of the protest, and the body and mind had reached the limit and fell to the ground. The perverted male teacher was pressed by the little boy on the track of his brother’s death, then died together. Compared with the real event, the ending of the adaptation gives the audience some spiritual comfort.

After this adaptation was shown to the public, this movie and the event behind have got the attention of the Korean people and leaders.“ SILENCED” has set off a “melting furnace heat” in South Korea, and then fermented into a” melting furnace effect”.After that, the case was re-examined and the people involved were re-sue. Additionally, the South Korean parliament has specifically passed the Furnace Law to strengthen the punishment for cases of sexual assault and minor sexual assault. I still remember that there was one touching line in the movie: “We fight all the way, not to change the world, but to prevent the world from changing us.”

This adaptation to a large extent changed the meaning of the story. From doing nothing because of the strong power of the principle, to revising and passing a series of bills, among which the ‘Special Law on Sexual Violence Crime Punishment Partially Amends the Law’That is one of the shallow aspects the movie would like to tell us. The reform of the judiciary, driven by the enthusiasm of a movie, sounds like a fantasy, but it has become a reality in South Korea. It can be seen how successful the adaptation is to change the meaning of the story even the world.

Above all, both new forms of adaptation and expansion of adaptation are acceptable, many adaptations have changed the meaning of the story through different means, sublimating the content and the theme of the original story. The former adaptation “Boat” helped the author create a new form of the interactive graphic novel from a first-person perspective making participants more immersive; The latter adaptation altered the data and ending based on a real event which brought several comforts to the public and promoted the codex of South Korea. These adaptations have changed the meaning of the story in two totally different ways.“A novel thus conceals an original core, a kernel of meaning or nucleus of events that can be delivered by an adaptation” [3]Nassim Winnie Balestrini, Adaptation, and American Studies: Designing for The Interactant: How Interactivity Impacts On Adaptation, Heidelberg, DE: Universitätsverlag Winter, 2011 Furthermore, adaptation should base on its intrinsic work, by expanding, adjusting, creating or breaking into a completely new expression type, that’s what the adaptation really wants to convey!

Analytical Essay on Adaptation Effects

In daily life, human beings meet different people every day so there is a need for individuals to identify and make a judgment of the people they encountered to interact with them. Much research suggested that faces are a major source of information about individuals and function as crucial communication cues for people to interact with others (Rhodes et al., 2015; Todorov, Mandisodza, Goren, & Hall, 2005). Faces also play a crucial role in shaping the way people perceive others (Little, Debruine, & Jones, 2005; Perrett et al., 2002; Rhodes, Jeffery, Watson, Clifford, & Nakayama, 2003; Webster, Kaping, Mizokami, & Duhamel, 2004).

Faces provide two different types of information which help the perceptions and judgments of people. The first type of information is stable across changes in appearance, which is the identity of a person. Faces provide cues for judgments of stable characteristics and thus identification of a person even though their expression changes or seeing them from different viewpoints. Webster and colleagues (2004) indicated that face perception is a fundamental process for determining the features of others, such as age, gender, and ethnicity. Thus, faces serve as a crucial cue for people to identify different people and interact with them. The second type of information provides cues for judgments of characteristics that vary over time, such as emotion and facial expression. People can make inferences about others’ traits and underlying characteristics from their facial features and emotion shown (Olivola & Todorov, 2010; Todorov et al., 2005; Webster et al., 2004).

Many studies have suggested that people draw trait inferences from the facial appearance of others quickly and spontaneously (Bar, Neta, & Linz, 2006; Rhodes et al., 2015; Todorov, Pakrashi, & Oosterhof, 2009). For example, Bar and colleagues (2006) suggested that trait inferences could be drawn rapidly within the first 39 milliseconds based on the available information shown on the faces. Also, Todorov and colleagues (2009) demonstrated that 33 milliseconds of exposure to faces is enough for people to draw a specific trait inference and make a snap judgment from a stranger’s face. Thus, it is believed that people can extract important facial features effectively and draw inferences from an unknown face within a short period of time. However, it is suggested that the automatically formed inferences leave little room for conscious judgmental processes to occur or change the already made inferences (Kahneman, 2003). According to Willis and Todorov (2006), there was a large correlation between the trait judgments made after 100 milliseconds of exposures of faces and those made when time constraints were absent. Therefore, people hardly change their impressions towards others once they are formed.

The attributions made by people from facial features may not always be correct (Olivola & Todorov, 2010; Rhodes et al., 2015), yet, they still influence people’s judgments and decisions. Todorov and colleagues (2005) suggested that people may go beyond the inferences provided by the facial features of a person and make a direct judgment of the characteristics of that person even though it may not be true. Some researchers have suggested that people tend to associate traits with underlying characteristics. For example, competence is related to the possession of skills and capabilities that enable one’s own goals to be achieved (Castelli, Carraro, Ghitti, & Pastore, 2009) while baby facades are perceived as kind and warm (McArthur & Apatow, 1984). Besides, inferences of trustworthiness could be derived from judging whether the expressions of faces are happy or angry (Oosterhof & Todorov, 2008). Happy faces are generally perceived to be more trustworthy while angry faces are normally perceived as untrustworthy. Nevertheless, it is noteworthy that these inferences made may not always be accurate (Olivola & Todorov, 2010; Rhodes et al., 2015). Olivola and Todorov (2010) proposed that the inferences formed from the emotional cues on a face may not be able to generalize properly to the personality dispositions of that person.

With regard to the spontaneous essence of the inferences made from the facial appearances, the inferences have a compelling influence on the social judgments and decisions that individuals make in daily life situations, such as hiring decisions (Langlois, et al., 2000), voting in political elections (Martin, 1978; Miller, Wattenberg, & Malanchuck, 1986) and finding romantic partners (Olivola et al., 2009). Martin (1978) suggested that the results of polling could be predicted from the competence judgments of the candidates. Miller and colleagues (1986) also proposed that competence is seen as a crucial characteristic of a political candidate. Moreover, it is found that people with a competent face have a higher chance to be elected in a poll than people who are baby-faced since the former are perceived to be more capable (Castelli et al., 2009; Olivola & Todorov, 2010; Todorov et al., 2005). For finding partners, Olivola and colleagues (2009) argued that the trait inferences drawn from the facial appearances of others exert influences on the choices of speed-dating participants. It was found that male users of an online dating site who seemed to be extraverted and open to new experiences were more likely to date successfully. As a result, even the inferences drawn are single-glance judgments since they can be made within a brief period of exposure, their impacts on the decisions of people in daily life are crucial and influential.

Although facial features may help people make quick judgments of others and the impacts are compelling, other mechanisms may influence the process of perceptions and judgments. One possible mechanism is that human visual perception is greatly influenced by visual adaptation. In fact, the appearance-based inferences drawn can be influenced strongly by the features of the faces encountered before because of the adaptation effect (Leopold, O’Toole, Vetter, & Blanz, 2001; Leopold, Rhodes, Müller, & Jeffery, 2005; Little et al., 2005; Webster & MacLeod, 2011). An adaptation effect occurs when individuals are first adapted to a face of a particular identity and then asked to judge another face of that characteristic; the new face will be seen as occurring in the opposite direction to the initial, adaptor face (Leopold, et al., 2001; Little et al., 2005; Loffler, Yourganov, Wilkinson, & Wilson, 2005). Thus, it is suggested that adaptation provides a method of testing perceptual processing, that is to study how people make perceptual judgments of others.

Adaptation effects have been found in the perceptions of different information about faces. For example, the perceptions of age (Schweinberger et al., 2010), gender (Bestelmeyer et al., 2008; Kovács, Zimmer, Harza, & Vidnyánszky, 2007; Webster et al., 2004), ethnicity (Jaquet, Rhodes, & Hayward, 2008; Ng, Boynton, & Fine, 2008; Rhodes, Watson, Jeffery, & Clifford, 2010), identity (Leopold et al., 2001; Jiang, Blanz, & O’Toole, 2006), eye spacing and gazing (Jenkins, Beaver, & Calder, 2006), and facial expression and emotion (Adams, Gray, Gerner, & Graf, 2010; Leopold et al., 2005; Little et al., 2005; Ng et al., 2008; Webster et al., 2004). Schweinberger and colleagues (2010) conducted a study that investigated the adaptation effects on age, the results indicated that adapting to a young or old face would make the test face appear older or younger respectively. In the research conducted by Webster and his colleagues (2004), the results showed that adapting to a male face makes an androgynous face (i.e., having both male and female features) appear more female-like while adapting to a female face makes an androgynous face appear more male-like. The findings of Rhodes and others (2010) showed that the adaptation effect could be found in judgments of ethnicity, suggesting that the thresholds for identifying the ethnicity of the faces that were adapted and unadapted were reduced by adapting to an average Asian or Caucasian face. Furthermore, in the study conducted by Leopold and others (2001) using a neutral face, which is generated by averaging a sample of faces, and an anti-face, which is a face having the appearance of a completely dissimilar human being, with negative values of identity strength of the original face, the results indicated that adaptation to an anti-face made the perception more biased toward the original face. These results thus suggested that adaptation to a previously seen face influences the judgment that people make when encountering a new face.

Additionally, it is suggested that the size of the adaptation effect depends on the perceptual dissimilarity between adaptors and test faces (Leopold et al., 2001). The larger the difference between the adaptors and the test faces, the more pronounced the adaption effect will be. Furthermore, the sustainability and vigorousness of adaptation effects are affected by the delay, which is the time period between an adaptation phase and a test phase (Strobach & Carbon, 2013). The differences in the period of delay can be large, delays can range from milliseconds (Leopold et al., 2001) to minutes (Kloth & Schweinberger, 2008), and some may even extend to days and weeks in specific laboratory research (Carbon & Ditye, 2011). According to Carbon and Ditye (2011), the study of the effects of delay in adaptation allows the experimenters to understand more about the delay features of adaptation effects. It also presents practical data concerning the decay of adaptation effects and hence the capabilities of the visual system in recalibration and readaptation. Other than the delay in adaptation, the time period during the adaptation phase, or adaptation duration, which represents the duration of time during which the adaptor is presented, also influences the degree of adaptation effects (Strobach, Ditye, & Carbon, 2011). The adaptation duration can moderate the robustness of the adaptation effects. It is suggested that a very brief exposure of 5 seconds to an adaptor is already enough to produce an adaptation effect (Leopold et al., 2001). Although a short period of time of exposure to the adaptor can cause the adaptation effect, it is suggested that a longer adaptation time would result in a slower decay of the effect, thus, a longer sustainability of the adaptation effect (Leopold et al., 2005; Strobach et al., 2011; Strobach & Carbon, 2013).

Other than studying the effects of delay and duration on adaptation effects, it is also important to study the transfer of adaptation effects. The study of adaptation transfer effects allows researchers to make deductions about the property of visual perception that is associated with particularly adapted stimuli (Strobach & Carbon, 2013). By studying adaptation transfer effects, inferences concerning the plasticity of the neuron coding system during visual processing may be drawn (Webster, 2011; Webster & MacLeod, 2011). It is proposed that the investigation of adaptation transfer effects can be done on gender, identity, and ethnicity (Strobach & Carbon, 2013).

More important, it is suggested that the adaptation effects of face, or face aftereffects (Leopold et al., 2001; Little et al., 2005; Webster et al., 2004), reflect changes in the feedbacks of neurons that are responsible for coding faces (Loffler et al., 2005; Winston et al., 2004). Face aftereffect cannot be illustrated by retinal adaptation, which is a low-level coding mechanism (Rhodes et al., 2015), since retinal adaptation is insensitive to the changes in the retinal location and the size of the stimuli between the adaptation stages and the test stages (Leopold et al., 2001, 2005; Rhodes et al., 2003). On the other hand, face aftereffect is sensitive to the variations in the retinal location and the size of the stimuli before and after adaptation (Leopold et al., 2001; Webster & MacLeod, 2011). Therefore, it is indicated that face aftereffect is a high-level perceptual judgment and reflects face-specific representation.

Adaptation effects are found for natural variations in faces and natural categorical judgments about faces (Webster et al., 2004; Webster & MacLeod, 2011). According to Webster and MacLeod (2011), the adaptation effect is essential for revealing the way that human perceptions of faces are influenced by the facial features that individuals encounter in their daily lives. Since adaptation to a previous face biases the perception of a new face by making the latter one perceived as less similar to the former one, it is believed that the adaptation effect may influence normal perceptions of faces and hence social judgments. To be specific, the social judgments of one’s characteristics such as expressions and attractiveness are determined by the faces that each encountered before (Webster & MacLeod, 2011). Consequently, face perceptions and thereby social judgments are profoundly influenced by the viewing context so that the same face can be interpreted differently depending on the previous face an individual has been exposed to.

Analysis of Sensory Adaptation

“Sensory adaptation refers to the fact that sensitivity to pro-longed stimulation tends to decline over time. According to the theory of natural selection, inherited characteristics that provide a survival advantage tend to spread throughout the population across generations. Why might sensory adaptation have evolved? What survival benefits might it confer to a small animal trying to avoid predators? To a predator trying to hunt prey?” What even is Sensory adaptation? “Sensation = bottom-up process (the output) brings information from the outside world into the body.” (Flowers, 2019) Let’s use this example. For this example, you walk into your room and notice a foul-smelling lunch pack you left the night before. If you don’t pick it up, it will be there the next day with the same strong smell. This is continuing until one day, you realize “hey this thing doesn’t smell so bad anymore’.

Sensory adaptation has occurred. More specifically, Smell Sensory Adaptation. Sensory adaptation occurs when you become used to the intensity and presence of a particular stimulus, that it Falls below the threshold for it to be felt anymore. Or Given in the article, “Sensory Adaptation”, Sensory adaptation is, “the process in which changes in the sensitivity of sensory receptors occur in relation to the stimulus.” (Sincero, 2013) You only feel changes when the intensity increases or decreases proportionately to the initial stimuli. For example, if 100 light bulbs are on, it takes about ten tonight’s out before you notice the difference. Sensory adaptation is important for life as we know it. You would constantly be irritated by the influx of new stimuli such as light, sound, and tactile pressure, if not for sensory adaptation, you would very well be dead by now. The Sensory has 2 types: Absolute threshold and Difference threshold.

The absolute threshold is the smallest level of energy required by an external stimulus to be detectable by the human senses, including vision, hearing, taste, smell, and touch. It is more precisely defined as the degree of intensity of a stimulus necessary to correctly detect that stimulus 50% of the time. Stimuli at or above the absolute threshold – those which can be detected – are called supraliminal. With sensory adaptation, we have 5 senses: Vision, Hearing, Taste, Smell, And Touch. Each one is used for a different purpose. Hearing Sensory Adaptation “Our ears adapt to the loud sound when it hits the small bones in the inner ear. The loud sound leads to the contraction of the inner ear marrow. This downturn causes the transmission of sound vibrations in the inner ear to be reduced or delayed. And with this, the audio vibrations follow. This auditory adaptation process, however, usually does not work very well with sudden or immediate loud sounds.” (Sincero,2013) For example, with shooting a shotgun without ear protection, or hearing will suddenly go faint. With the loud ringing from the gun taking over. Or with tv shows. At first, we will notice the sounds there, but every so slowly, our minds begin to get used to the sounds.

The only time we will notice the tv being on is when someone turns the tv off. Vision Sensory Adaptation The best way to describe the adaptation is with a person who has been in a dark room comes out into a brightly-lit area. Initially, the brightness might feel discomforting, but with time, the eyes adapt to changes in the size of the pupil, and the bright light does not hurt the eyes anymore despite the brightness being of the same intensity. Touch Sensory Adaptation Initially, if a person wears a watch or some necklaces, he will feel the skin accessory. However, within a few moments, the individual will not notice this sensation, as the skin begins sensory adaptation. Although, If the person were to change the position on the necklace very slightly, the touch sensation is activated again for a short time before the sensory adaptation is refuted. Taste Sensory Adaptation A meal is good or great only when the flavors are of different kinds. This kind of food excites the nerve cells and gets a strong response from the brain. However, if a person eats some food that is monotone in flavor, in a few minutes, the sense of taste loses its sensitivity, and the person may find it difficult to recognize the flavor even if it is strong, making the food unappetizing.

We mentioned Smell Sensory Adaptation above. But here is another example of it. Smell Sensory Adaptation People who are regular smokers do not seem to notice the odor of cigarette smoke, because constant exposure to this stimulus makes them get used to it. This odor can be quite distracting to any non-smoker in the vicinity. These are all considered Absolute thresholds. Whereas the Difference threshold is the smallest amount by which two sensory stimuli can differ for an individual to perceive them as different. So, how does this draw into the survival benefits of animals or even their prey? With hunting for animals, all of the senses are in action. They use hearing to tell how far or close an animal is. Their vision is used to help see how far an animal is as well as what they are (rabbit, mouse, snake, etc.)