Saturday, July 27, 2019
Data Collection Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
Data Collection - Assignment Example It is worth mentioning that the various tools used in a qualitative research method are flexible and accordingly, help in finding out detailed information related to the research problem. Apart from this, inductive research method is also been followed in order to collect necessary and relevant data that denotes the approaches of Inmate Health Care and the problems underlying within the same (Northeastern University, n.d.). It is worth mentioning that the data relating to the contributory factors and the problems, which generate severe problems in smooth functioning of Inmate Health Care approach, has been collected. The data, which has been gathered from the use of secondary source, presented the contributory factors including the impact of economic recession and excessive treatment costs that created problems in effective functioning of the aforesaid approach. Apart from this, relevant data was also collected about the pervasiveness of varied chronic diseases that affect the healthcare of the inmates. The data revealed such chronic diseases to be sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), HIV and AIDS among others. In addition, the turbulent financial conditions are also a major problem, which impose adverse impact on the system of offering effective care to the inmates. Justifiably, the collected or researched data revealed that the prisoners often cannot afford the treatment cost and thus get released w ithout treatment (Miller, 2010). In relation to the above context, data has also been researched or collected about how the quality of inmate healthcare can be raised with the eradication of the above discussed problems. In this similar context, the data showcased that the introduction of information and technology might enhance the quality of the inmate healthcare system with evading the underlying problems by a considerable level, thereby diminishing the involved operational costs. From the
Friday, July 26, 2019
Effect of Stress on the Immune System Research Paper
Effect of Stress on the Immune System - Research Paper Example Increased stress could make the immune system weaker and could lead to death. Aging Immune System The immune system changes a lot during the aging process. The numbers of cells that are associated with the immune system reduce significantly. The remaining cells may not be able to handle all the immune related responsibilities leading to low immunity. The immune system is comprised of two systems; the Innate Immune system and the Acquired Immune system. Innate Immunity in Aging The innate or natural immune system is made by the bone marrow and the thymus. Scientists have consistently claimed that the size of the thymus reduces in size a personââ¬â¢s age. This is characterized by the loss of the thymus epithelia cells, which are important for the production of immune cells. This leads to a decrease in the number of T cells including the CD3+, CD4+ and CD8+ and the B cells. There is an increase in production of the Natural Killer Cells (NK) with the comprehensive cytotoxic function. The decline in especially the CD8+ leads to the vulnerability of bacterial and viral infections. CD95 cells become exhausted as people age and the remaining virgin CD95 cells are replaced by large clonal expansions of the CD28 cells, which lead to less proliferative capacity. Inflammatory cytokines, which are produced by the persistent viral and bacterial infections increase during the aging process. They increase the cases of inflammatory pathogenesis. In fact, most of the elderly have inflammations at some parts of their body.i Acquired Immunity in Aging Acquired immunity is the responsibility of the spleen and the lymph nodes. The spleen produces the B cells which are associated with the production of the antibodies. Aging has been found to alter the expression of the system responsible for the production of these cells. One, there is a decrease in the number of cells produced. Secondly, there is impaired induction f E47 and activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) which are i mportant for class switch recombination (CSR) leading to defects in production of secondary isotopes of IgG1, IgG2a, IgG3, IgE antibodies. Aging has also been associated with the overproduction of the Id2 which regulates the E47 negatively.ii Another theory of acquired immunity change in aging points out that the B cells produce antibodies but they have low affinity. Usually, aging leads to change in isotypes related to production of the various antibodies. At the same time, there are few naive B cells in the elderly people meaning that there not many antibodies that can be produced. The already recruited B cells do not have good memory making it a challenge for them to detect previous pathogens detected in the past. Low affinity and low production of the antibodies cannot detect the pathogens effectively showing that the immune system is weak. The body is therefore unable to respond to infections accordingly. iii Effect of Nutrition on Immunity in Aging The elderly people, especial ly those above sixty years, do not take nutrition seriously. According to Gorczynski and Terzioglu (2008),iv most elderly people lack important nutrients. They claim that most of these people have deficiencies in zinc, iron, Vitamin E, Vitamin B12, Vitamin C, Ubiquinone and selenium. Zinc is important in the activation of the immune system; iron plays a role in oxidative reaction immunity, vitamins are important in the modulation of cytokines and Ubiquinone influences the
Thursday, July 25, 2019
Godzilla Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
Godzilla - Essay Example Its signature weapon is its atomic breath that spews a stream of radioactive fire from his jaws whose color resembles the color of his dorsal fins. Godzilla can also emit short-range pulse atomic energy from his body called the pulse. The original Godzilla also has magnetic capability, which it uses against its metallic enemies. In addition to atomic-based powers, the original Godzilla is immune to injury and can heal itself fast. Its skin is impervious to any military arsenal weaponry making the monster virtually indestructible or invincible. It is also amphibious which can go to the deep of the oceans as well as roam the lands to wreak havoc. Of course, part of the story of the film is how to destroy Godzilla. Godzillaââ¬â¢s vulnerability, however, is hard to confirm and the origin of its alleged weaknesses are not thoroughly explained in its earlier films. There were instances where Godzilla manifested weakness against high voltage of electricity but in the same vein, it also q uite ironic that the monster is strengthened when struck by a lightning. Inversely, Godzilla showed that it freezes in chilling conditions but it can only suspend the movement of the monster. In one early film The Return of Godzilla, the monster showed vulnerability to cadmium but still not enough to kill the monster. In some earlier versions of Godzilla, such as ââ¬Å"Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla, the directors hint that Godzilla does have a vulnerable spot under his armpit, that makes him susceptible to attack. The metaphor is that it is similar to an ââ¬Å"Achilles Heel. This however, did not progress beyond this hint because it was not validated in the film that Godzilla died by a strike under its armpit. The new movie has not indicated if Godzilla has a new weakness or vulnerability. Instead, news had it that there will be three monsters in the film and one of them is Godzilla. The new movie of Godzilla will have three times the level of difficulty to kill because there are no w three monsters. As usual, the monsters will be wreaking havoc in cities and attacking the government with all its armaments. The original movie also used live models that measured 50 to 100 meters. Recently, there is confirmed news of a new installment of Godzilla. The first production shot will be on March of 2013 and the film will be shown on May 16, 2014. The film is not yet show but there are already records of what new Godzilla will be. According to the producers and creators of the new Godzilla, a fan will create the image of Godzilla. Its original producer Toho Co., Ltd. will not also produce it, rather by Legendary Pictures (Picard a). The new version will be in 3D compared to the two dimensional rendition of the original film. The original Godzilla used live models and the new Godzilla will instead use CGI (Computer Generated Image) to render the physical presence the monster and its effects. The setting will be in Vancouver, Canada and not in Tokyo like the original Godz illa version (Picard b). In addition, the new writer of the film is Frank Darabont who can clean up the original script written by Max Borenstein. With regard to casting, there is word that in Godzilla 2014 will cast Bryan Cranston (Argo, Total Recall, Get a Job) and
Wednesday, July 24, 2019
Global Environmental Change Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words
Global Environmental Change - Assignment Example (Tollefson, 2009, p. 29) The arctic holds an important place in the debatable issue of maintaining life on earth in a sustainable way. However, this discussion centres on the Arctic region itself and more precisely on depleting population of the arctic Polar Bears rather than the chain effect of the susceptible artic on the rest of the world. The last hundred years have witnessed an increase in global temperature by 0.6 degree centigrade. (Jenssen, 2006, p. 78) Moreover from 1976 the rate is even higher and unmatchable by any time encompassing past thousand years. The effect of such rise in temperature is most visible through the extent of ice melting in the high and mid altitude area. In less than fifty years the snow has decreased by 10%. (Jenssen, 2006, p. 78) For the survival of a species, the survival of its habitat and food source is of utmost importance. With the rise in global temperature the extent of ice will decline in the Arctic and so will its duration of frozen state, resulting in less area for the seals to stay and breed. Seals are the most important food source of the polar bear; so any effect on their population will directly reduce the food basket of the polar bears. It has also been observed that for large mammals any change in global temperature affects the juvenile survival rate. From this point of v iew both the seal and the bear are equally exposed to risk. Therefore the bear suffers from two sides - reduced present and future food source and reduced juvenile survival rate. Again the polar bear hunts on ground (solid ice). Any reduction of ice extent will leave the bear with smaller ground to catch seals. (Jenssen, 2006, p. 78) In front of global climatic change the arctic ice plate has also undergone changes in terms of thickness and has become fractured in many places. Furthermore the ocean now freezes in later part of the year and all these in a cumulative way are depleting the habitat of polar bear. (Oââ¬â¢Neill et al, 2008, p. 1650).
Asses the Claim that the Countries Using thr Euro Constitute an Essay
Asses the Claim that the Countries Using thr Euro Constitute an Optimal Currency Area - Essay Example This paper approves that Euro was considered as a stable currency before the late 2000s when economic crisis started to happen. The current sovereign crisis wherein many European countries are finding it relatively difficult to pay off their obligations on time therefore has created strong doubts over the sovereign debt crisis. Greece specially faced critical challenges in terms of paying off its debts and resultantly this has created strong pressure on Euro to decline against US Dollar in international market. This has also suggested that the Euro may not be an optimal currency region if it continues to perform in its current form. This suggests the absence of physical restrictions to travel and facilitate the free movement of the labor across the borders. It also requires the low cultural barriers as well as the institutional arrangements make it relatively easier for the labor to move freely. Labor mobility therefore is considered as a hedge against the adverse shocks when exchange rates are fixed or cannot be adjusted easily. It has been observed that the labor mobility within Euro area is relatively low as compared to the countries like US and Japan. This report makes a conclusion that Euro has to fulfill four important criteria before it can form into one of the cohesive and efficient single currency areas in the world. Apart from free capital mobility all other criteria suggest that the countries in the region may not be ready and hence countries comprising of the region where Euro is the single currency may not be constituted as an optimal currency area.... two models are based upon the concepts of stationary expectations as well as the International Risk Sharing.( Kenen, 1969) One of the key attribute of an optimal currency region therefore is based on the fact that it is often larger than a single country. The creation of Euro has been considered as an engineered attempt to provide a case study to test the theory of how to create an optimal currency region as individual countries in the region may not have been sufficient enough to form an optimal currency area. History of Euro Euro is the single currency in Eurozone comprising of the 17 of the 27 countries in the European Union area. Officially launched in late 1990s, over the period of time, Euro has become one of the most dominating currencies in the world. At the start of Euro as a currency, it was widely expected that the Euro will replace US Dollar as the most traded currency in the world. Backed up by the economic powers of the European economic powers in order to ensure that r egion is served by a single currency.( Richard; & Wyplosz, 2004.) Euro is officially administrated by the European Central Bank and the Eurosystem whereas the ECB has the sole responsibility to set the setting up the monetary policy for the region whereas the Eurosystem has the mandate of printing and minting currency notes as well as coins. Euro and Optimal Currency Area As discussed above, Euro was considered as a stable currency before the late 2000s when economic crisis started to happen. The current sovereign crisis wherein many European countries are finding it relatively difficult to pay off their obligations on time therefore has created strong doubts over the sovereign debt crisis. Greece specially faced critical challenges in terms of paying off its debts and resultantly this has
Tuesday, July 23, 2019
The Relationship Between Trade Openness and FDI Literature review
The Relationship Between Trade Openness and FDI - Literature review Example This review of literature is directed at finding the measures leading to increased foreign direct investment (FDI) for a country. Although there is a whole range of factors that cause an increase in the foreign direct investment in a country, yet one of the most significant factors has been found to be the countryââ¬â¢s openness towards trade. Openness as a concept, has been defined in a number of ways by the researchers in the past. A comprehensive definition of openness is presented below: (t)he concept of openness, applied to trade policy, could be synonymous with the idea of neutrality. Neutrality means that incentives are neutral between saving a unit of foreign exchange through import substitution and earning a unit of foreign exchange through exports. Clearly, a highly export oriented economy may not be neutral in this sense, particularly if it shifts incentives in favor of export production through instruments such as export subsidies. It is also possible for a regime to b e neutral on average, and yet intervene in specific sectors. A good measure of trade policy would capture differences between neutral, inward oriented, and export-promoting regimes. (Harrison, 1996, p. 20). Trade openness has conventionally been scaled by different researchers in different ways, but in a vast majority of cases, trade openness has been measured by its contribution to the overall gross domestic product (GDP) of a country. Factors that have conventionally been employed for the measurement of trade openness include but are not limited to intensity of import trade, intensity of export trade, intensity of trade, intensity of adjusted trade, and the intensity of real trade (Squalli and Wilson, 2006, p. 22). Three models of adjusted trade intensity have conventionally been tried to measure the trade openness. One of them is adjusted trade intensity in which the outliers having high import for the re-rexport are handled with the modification of denominator. This measure was first proposed by Andersen (1994). The second of them is adjusted trade intensity accompanied with the alternative technique to tackle the outliers as initially proposed by Frankel (2000). The third of them is adjusted trade intensity. This is a modified form of the model originally proposed by Frankel (2000). The modification was suggested by Li et al (2004). The seven measures of openness were also cited by the famous economists Kumar and Kandzija (n.d., p. 13) in their article in which they analyzed the integration and trade theory to evaluate the perspectives of trade in Western Balkans. For the purpose of this research, intensity of trade, the three models of intensity of adjusted trade as discussed before, real trade intensity, real world trade intensity (RWTI) and composite trade intensity (CTI) will be used. They will be evaluated with a view to identifying the one that is the most accurate as a measure of openness. Of all the measures, three of the most commonly employed ar e trade intensity (TI), import trade intensity (M/GDP) and export trade intensity (X/GDP). Trade intensity is obtained by dividing the sum of import (X) and import (M) by the GDP. According to Alcala and Ciccone (2004), the estimate generated by TI upon income is affected by the non-tradable on productivity, and is thus, biased downwards. Thus, in their opinion, it is advisable to divide the nominal trade by the real GDP. The different measures of trade openness lay the basis for a technique to find out the extent to which a country is open to the global trade as well as to the consequential advantages of income growth. For instance, the higher a countryââ¬â¢s TI, the increased openness of its economy towards the advantages
Monday, July 22, 2019
John Paul Jones Essay Example for Free
John Paul Jones Essay John Paul Jones was an officer of the infant Continental Navy who took the War of Independence all the way to British soil and carried out surprise raids. Responding to Britains looting and burning of Colonial America, John Paul Jones damaged or destroyed strongholds and absconded with needed supplies. He is regarded as Americaââ¬â¢s greatest Revolutionary naval commander and the founder of Americaââ¬â¢s naval traditions. John Paul Jones was born in 1747 to an estate gardener in Scotland. His maritime career began at the early age of 13 when he started work as an apprentice to a ship owner. He was initially into the slaving trade that happened between England, America, West Indies and Africa. But soon, he started to hate the slaving trade. At the age of 21, he received his first chance to captain the brig when the captain and first mate succumbed to a fever. He soon became a successful merchant sailor (Blythe, 2006). In 1773 on the island of Tobago, he was forced to counter mutinous sailors fighting for more pay. In the act of defending himself, he killed one of sailors. Scared of legal punishment, he escaped to America and took the name John Paul Jones. This was the period when America was at odds with Britain over taxes and a revolution was brewing. Empathizing with the Americans, due to his familiarity with the highhandedness of the British at Scotland, Jones joined Americas quest for liberty. When the war broke out in 1775, Jones volunteered for service in the brand-new Continental Navy. America did not have any kind of naval power during the initial stages of the Revolutionary War. But soon, the Congress decided to convert merchant ships to ships of war and also began to build new naval ships. Jones was able to contribute his knowledge of ships and his naval experience towards the building of the American navy (Blythe, 2006). During the four years of his service in the navy during the American Revolution, he gave repeated and brilliant examples of naval warfare that was best suited to the forces of the colonies. He found that he was the only officer in the service who was capable of formulating effective plans for the improvement of the navy. He immediately began to shape his ideas into practical suggestions calculated to bring order out of the utterly chaotic conditions which existed in the government at Philadelphia. His knowledge of the rules and standards of the British navy helped him formulate the rules and standards for the American navy with due regard for the differing conditions in the colonies (Russell, 1927). The Congress, on November the 2d, voted one hundred thousand dollars for the purchase of four ships, and empowered the naval committee to engage officers and seamen. John Paul Jones first took over as second in command of the Alfred (Russell, 1927). In January, 1776, Commodore Ezek. Hopkins arrived in Philadelphia, and escorted by an eager throng of citizens, went down to the Delaware where lay eight ships of the new fleet. On his boarding the Alfred, Captain Saltonstall gave the signal and Lieutenant Jones pulled up to the masthead the first American naval flag. This was not the banner with thirteen stripes, but a rectangle of yellow silk bearing a picture of a rattlesnake and the legend ââ¬Å"Donââ¬â¢t Tread on Meâ⬠. Thus Jones came to be known widely as the ââ¬Å"Founder of the American Navyâ⬠(Koven, 1913). John Paul Jones was later put in charge of Providence, with 21 mounted guns. Jones soon captured 16 British vessels on a single cruise. While on Providence, Jones was ordered to do convoy duty for ships carrying supplies for the defense of New York. To do this, he had to pass through the widespread fleet of Lord Howe, which was blockading the Northern ports. He got himself chased several times, beat off the British frigate Cerberus which attacked him near Block Island, and saved the supply ship Hispaniola from threatened capture (Russell, 1927). Here it is important to note that John Paul Jones enjoyed being chased. He liked to linger until almost overhauled, and then tack and be off before the wind before the enemy had waked up. He was never overtaken and never boarded. For two reasons: he knew what to do, both by training and instinct; and he never took a ship which was not fast. He returned to Philadelphia from his successful convoy voyage three weeks after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Joseph Hewes who recruited him into the American Navy was satisfied that his find was a talented genius (Koven, 1913). According to Jonesââ¬â¢ Journal, he suggested to Hewes that he be sent to the west coast of Africa, to intercept and harass British trading ships. He desired an offensive naval war. Hewes gave Jones an unlimited order to Jones for a free-lance cruise to last six weeks or two or three months. Jones loaded stores at once and on August 21, 1776, aboard the little Providence, carrying only twelve long-four guns and seventy men, sailed for the Bermudas on the first extensive open-sea cruise ever undertaken by a lone American warship. He met with many saucy adventures. He had to escape from the British frigate Solebay with twenty guns. The next saucy incident occurred off Sable Island, after the Providence had turned northward. The British frigate Milford surprised him while his crew was fishing. Jones permitted the frigate to chase him for eight hours, the latter meantime wasting valuable shot and shell and then made his escape. The adventure aboard the Providence lasted six weeks and five days, and during this period, he took six brigantines, one ship, and one sloop and destroyed six schooners, one ship and one brigantine. Jones also demolished the fishing at the islands of Canso and Madame. He returned to Newport, Rhode Island, on October 7, laden with spoils and glory (Koven, 1913). On November 2 Jones again sailed for Newfoundland in the Alfred, it was with the hardy crew transferred from the Providence. However, he had to give this treasured ship to Captain Hacker and take the latter along. He faced trouble because of Captain Hacker who slipped back stealthily to Rhode Island just in time to be taken by the British. During this voyage, John Paul Jones faced a lot of treachery and disobedience. Even John Adams, who reflected the New England viewpoint, viewed Jones with suspicion as he was a British man. In the Alfred, when he sailed up to Isle Royale, Jones found that his plan to free the imprisoned Americans had been balked by the winter ice. But he also had some luck. He captured a sixteen gun privateer from Liverpool. On November 12, 1776 in American waters, the Alfred captured the H. M. S. Mellish, a 350-ton armed ship that was carrying a cargo of winter uniforms and other British supplies, along with 60 British soldiers, to Quebec for His Majestys army. Jones was elated to later learn that some of the clothing reached General George Washingtons army before the Battle of Trenton. He also had to face the British frigate Milford during his voyage. The frigate came up about nightfall. Jones lured the Milford to the chase and he tacked. The enemy followed his light, thus permitting his prizes to escape. The next morning he had to decide whether to fight the Milford. He accordingly signaled Lieutenant Saunders, in charge of the captured Liverpool ship, to drop back until he could discover the enemys force. Saunders obeyed, but stupidly dropped so far back that the frigate overtook and captured him. Jones, after exchanging a few shots with the Milford, made sail for Boston, where he arrived with only two days water and provisions left. Jones felt most hurt when he was superseded in the command of the Alfred by a man who had been his junior officer by eight numbers. In May, 1777, the Marine Committee sent Captain Jones to New Hampshire to take command of the French ship Amphitrite. Jones was to sail direct to France and report to Commissioners Silas Deane, Benjamin Franklin, and Arthur Lee, who would purchase a fine frigate for him and give him orders. But the French Captain was not informed of the command and hence he was willing to take Jones as a passenger but not as the commander. Jones returned to Boston to await a new suggestion as to what he should do. After a few more days of deliberation the marine committee gave Jones command of the Ranger. On the 14th of June Congress passed two notable resolutions: the first, adopted the stars and stripes as the national banner of the United States; the second appointed Paul Jones to the command of the Ranger. Benjamin Franklin, had been taken to France by Captain Lambert Wickes so Franklin could serve as Americas first foreign diplomat to seek desperately needed help from France. John Paul Jones met with Franklin and began a fruitful relationship with the diplomat, who had been impressed with Jones exploits aboard the Providence. Jones became the first American to attack a British port, although a number of his restless crew members, preferred to attack merchant ships for the loot and avoid attacking settlements or strongholds on shore. The Ranger brought the war to Whitehaven, the very place Jones had been when he first went to sea. Jones ordered some of his men to go ashore and destroy dozens of ships in the harbor and take weapons from them. But his men were not all obedient. Some of these men became insubordinate by helping themselves to distilled spirits in a nearby pub. Despite the failure to totally destruct, this was the first surprise attack on a British seaport since 1667. Jones had sent a clear message to the British authorities: the Americans fighting for independence were not to be trifled with and were willing to bring the battle to Britain. This was truly a turning point in the American Revolution. Jones had with him Lieutenant Wallingford, Midshipmen Arthur Green and Charles Hill, and twenty-nine men. The alarm caused by this raid was absurdly out of proportion to its actual accomplishments; but beneath the hysteria was a very real fear born of the realization that Englands long untouched shores had been violated by a daring enemy who might soon strike again. Whig newspapers attacked the government for having brought this upon the people. The raid had another serious effect. It enormously increased the insurance rates on British shipping, thereby adding another burden to the growing expense of the war. After the Whitehaven raid, Jones headed toward his birthplace of Kirkcudbright to locate Selkirk Castle, the home of the Earl of Selkirk. Jones believed by capturing the earl he could use him as a bargaining chip to gain release of American prisoners. This plan did not work out as the earl was away and his crew was keen on looting the castle. Upon meeting the dignified Lady Selkirk, Jones disallowed any violence and permitted his men to take only the family silver. Some time later, Jones wrote Lady Selkirk a long letter of apology, promising to buy back the silver and return it. After the war Jones did indeed return the silver as promised at considerable personal expense, which the earl announced in Edinburgh newspapers. The next day Jones crossed the Channel and came abreast of the Irish port of Carrickfergus. There some fishermen, whom he took on board, told him that the British war sloop, the Drake, which had been at anchor in the roadstead as a guardship, was coming out to look for him. This was welcome news to Jones. He had been itching for a fight with the English in their own waters, and here was an opportunity laid in his hand. Though already informed of the Whitehaven raid, the Drakes captain had no suspicion of Joness presence, but on sighting the Ranger, he sent out a boat to reconnoitre. The midshipman in charge could not make her out because Jones kept his ships stern toward the boat, and he finally boarded her. He was astounded when informed he was the prisoner of the dreadful John Paul Jones. Instead of sinking the English ship, Jones decided to take her and carry her into a French port. Instantly he ordered his gunners to cease firing at the enemys hull and to aim instead at her sails and rigging. This was a favorite French tactic of the period, of which John Paul had doubtless been advised by the French officers back at Brest. The gunners took the hint and as their muzzles rose at the swell of the sea, they brought down the Drakes fore and main topsail yards in a heap. In a moment the ship was as helpless as a log. Jones boarded the enemy after a fight lasting an hour and four minutes. Jones lost only two killed and seven wounded. Raising the stars and stripes, he lured the Drake into deeper waters and bested her in a one-hour battle. The captured British ship, with its flag flying upside down beneath an American flag, was sailed into Brest, France, with 200 British prisoners aboard. While in France, Jones was given a ship for his personal use the Duc de Duras a merchant ship that Jones upgraded and renamed the Bonhomme Richard, which was Jones way of honoring Franklin and his famous Poor Richards Almanac. The battle between the Bonhomme Richard and the Serapis was to become among the most famous sea battles of all time. The seasoned skipper of the Serapis, Richard Pearson, knew his American enemy was close and was on the lookout. Just after 6:30 p. m. , the American commander, who had displayed a British Union Jack to cause confusion, suddenly took it down and sent up the Stars and Stripes before engaging the Serapis. Soon the two ships were locked in point-blank combat in what became known as the Battle of Flamborough Head. Hundreds of people gathered on the chalk cliffs of Flamborough Head to watch the battle, which lasted for nearly four hours with unremitting fury and was later regarded as one of the most desperate and sanguinary fights in naval history. Cannon fire boomed in both directions, ripping the ships apart piece by piece. As the citizens looked on, the two frigates became entangled together so tightly that the muzzles of the cannons from both ships at times were touching each other. Jones purposely positioned the Richard close to the swifter, copper-bottomed Serapis to deny the larger ship the advantage of its larger and more numerous cannons. Meanwhile, the Alliance, which was sailing with Jones and commanded by a Frenchman, engaged the Countess of Scarborough. Jones won that battle even though the other ships in his fleet were only marginally helpful. During the battle, Jones wisely ordered the release of all British prisoners in the Richards hold so they could man the pumps. This tactic freed his men to return to battle, where they emerged triumphant in a seemingly hopeless situation. This was the first time an American vessel had taken so powerful a British warship. Jones went back to France and was showered with honors. King Louis presented him with an inscribed sword that credited him for defending The Freedom of the Seas. Jones also was invested with the Order of Military Merit, allowing him to use the title Chevalier. King Louis even requested that a noted French sculptor cast a beautiful marble bust of Jones (Russell, 1927). The open French support garnered by John Paul Jones for the American Revolution was one of the main reasons that the American Revolution ended successfully on the side of the colonists. Jones returned to America in 1781, where he accounted for his actions at sea. His answers were so thorough that Congress approved a formal resolution thanking him for service to the cause. He was also cleared of any charges from his pre-war days in Tobago. Although Congress awarded him command of a new ship, the America, the war was ending and enthusiasm for an American navy was beginning to wane. But, even with the war over and the America out of his reach, Jones strongly urged Congress to establish a formal navy and create schools where junior officers could be taught. The principles he established provided the basis for todays U. S. Naval Academy. Bibliography: Blythe, Bob (2006). John Paul Jones (1747-1792). http://www. nps. gov/revwar/about_the_revolution/jp_jones. html Koven, De Reginald (1913). The Life and Letters of John Paul Jones Vol. 1. C. Scribners Sons, 1913 Russell, Phillips (1927). John Paul Jones: Man of Action. Brentanos, 1927.
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