How relevant are the classical approaches to understanding society Essay

How relevant are the classical approaches to understanding society - Essay Example The essay will trace back to the classical approaches towards understanding of human beings with the Marxism, Functionalism and Interactivism theories and then will confer to the relevance of these theories for understanding the contemporary society. The roots of the phenomenon of this beginning traces back to our philosophers who first attempted to study the basic elements of our Universe and the nature. It was found that around 600 BC, a Greek named Thabes of Miletus (640-546 BC), became the first philosopher to speculate about the nature of the Universe in order to predict a solar Eclipse. (Lerner 2001: 20) It is amply clear that before the philosophical disposition towards the study of human beings started, philosophers were more delving into the mysteries of nature. It was only 200 years later that philosophers began to disperse their knowledge and skills in the study of the nature of human development and Plato’s philosophical statements regarding the human development was first significant contribution. But his derivations and statements of the many of the philosophers following him were indirect. For complete 2000 years, their major works were concern on physical, spatial, and temporal body, mind and soul. (Lerner 2001: 20) But his ideas presented before us not only the study of intricate human nature rather on nature or nurture issue. He said that it is not necessary for human beings to learn about their own nature, as it is inherent in them, in the form of their soul. Plato divided the soul into three parts desire, spiritual and rational whereas Aristotle looked at human beings as having only two souls: the philosophical/ theoretical and the rational. Even Giddins pinpointed to the fact that the systemic study of the human behavior and society only began during late 1700 and early 1800 after the world saw complete change in their social, economic and political set up at the aftermath of French revolution and Industrial revolution respectively

Vaccination Case Study Essay Example for Free

Vaccination Case Study Essay I. Introduction a.Thesis: Children should be vaccinated because vaccination protects them against sickness, reduces the spread of common ailments, and can protect individuals who cannot be vaccinated. b. Strategy: Ask a provoking/rhetorical question II.Protecting against sickness III.Reducing the spread of common ailments IV.Protecting individuals who can’t be vaccinated V.Conclusion a.Strategy: Recommendation Did you know that some childhood diseases, such as polio, whooping cough, and especially the measles, have nearly been eliminated in the United States due to the implementation of vaccination (â€Å"Lode Tot, Other Cases Prompt Call for Vaccinations† 1)? Unfortunately, these diseases and others like them are now making a comeback thanks to parents who are reluctant to have their children vaccinated. I believe children should be vaccinated because vaccination protects them against sickness, reduces the spread of common ailments, and can protect individuals who cannot be vaccinated. The first pressing reason to vaccinate children is to prevent them from contracting diseases. It can hardly be argued that immunizations fail to protect the majority of children from getting the infection the immunization was designed to prevent. In the 18th century, for example, hundreds of thousands of Americans were infected by a crippling condition called polio. Polio was a terrible infection that caused sufferers to lose the use of their legs. Many had to walk with braces or crutches. Some lost the ability to walk and had to be placed in wheelchairs, while others were so disabled they became unable to engage in any physical activity, or even died of the condition. Polio was so prevalent it even affected American president Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Schnell 2)! Thanks to vaccinations, today polio is all but unheard of in the USA, and in other countries that immunize against it. This example alone should show the desirability of immunization. Who would want to see a family member crippled to the point  of death from a preventable condition? In addition to protecting single individuals from illness, vaccinations protect entire communities, including both children and adults. One person who contracts an illness has the potential to transfer it to literally millions of others. For example, in Africa a single person contracted Ebola from eating contaminated game in the spring of 2014, and now sources say 1.4 million people could be infected within nine months of the first case (Mansbridge 1). Imagine of that single person could have been vaccinated! Hundreds of thousands of people might not have contracted the virus, and might have lived. At the very least, they would not have endured a horrible period of sickness. This means that when parents vaccinate their children, they are protecting everyone who would come into contact with them, even at a remove of hundreds or thousands of middle-men. Therefore, vaccinating can even protect people from future generations, because allowing contagious diseased to be transmitted also al lows them to persist through time. Vaccination also provides a useful service to a particularly vulnerable subset of the population: those individuals who, for one reason or another, cannot be vaccinated. When the population vaccinates regularly, few or no people can get an illness, and those who cannot take vaccines are never exposed to it. However, when people fail to vaccinate their children, the illnesses creep in, and those

Comparing The Elements of Style and Grace and Style Toward Clarity and Grace :: Compare Contrast Comparison

Comparing The Elements of Style and Grace and Style Toward Clarity and Grace Webster’s dictionary defines style as a particular or distinctive fashion, form or manner. This leaves much unsaid in context to the world of writing. Everyone looks at style differently because everyone has their own interpretation of what it is. The Elements of Style and Grace and Style Toward Clarity and Grace are two different books. Though these books have many differences, a lot of the ideas are the same; they are just written in different styles. I do not believe either one to be overly better than the other. They were both written at different times with different objectives in mind, and you have to take that for what it is worth. Writing is hardly ever done with just one sentence. It is a combination of sentences that all have to coincide with one another to reach a goal of clarity. "A series of clear sentences can still be confusing if we fail to design them to fit their context, to reflect a constant point of view, to emphasize our most important ideas. These sentences could all refer to the same set of conditions, but each leads us to understand the conditions from a different point of view," (Williams, 45). It is always a good idea to start out small; take a sentence and make is clear. This then needs to be applied to groups of sentences together to make the whole sample of writing clear. Strunk and White had a lot of good advice about how to make writing clear and concise. One good point made in the book was about dialogue. When there is dialogue in writing, it is extremely annoying not to know who is speaking. "In long dialogue passages containing no attributes, the reader may become lost and be compelled to go back and reread in order to puzzle the thing out," (Strunk and White, 76). When a person is trying to read an extensive piece, it can become such a hassle to have to look back a lot to see which character is saying what. Not only does it deter the reader, but it greatly damages the credibility of the author and the work that he or she produces. In my writing experience I have had sentences criticized on the basis of length. Teachers always told me that they were too long.

Black Family Essay

Visual media†¦ â€Å"The Coconuts† series on Afrotainment†¦ (South Africa)†¦Giving Blacks a false sense of who they’re meant to be. H. Games†¦video†¦board games†¦Quiet blacks with games, video, board games and try to impose responsibilities and the idea of working hard after given them all the freedom. I. Memory replacement†¦ when whites lift Blacks’ memories and replace them with a white identity. II. A. Black African†¦ A term that was/is seen as offensive, and characterized by grim or grotesque satire B. Dictionary definitions†¦ something bad, dirty, soiled, sinister, evil, etc†¦ C. Evidence of negative identity†¦ if you don’t speak of your race you will be fully accepted in the white world. D. Definition of â€Å"beauty†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ It’s all dependent on what the media/culture portrays as beauty. E. Silence towards Black identity†¦renders rewards†¦ rewarding by white community because you’re being submissive and the silence is shown as a symbol of equality. F. Current â€Å"New Face of Africa† series on Afrotainment†¦ Halle Berry, Tyra Banks Mr. Valerie, L. C Bolanga, Tofjne G. Self-mutilation†¦bleaching†¦ tattoos†¦ Blacks are the highest consumers who use these products in order to mold themselves into what the media portrays as beautiful. H. Kenneth Clark’s â€Å"doll test†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Black children were shown black and white dolls and asked a series of question pertaining to images. They picked the white dolls to describe pretty, smart, and the one they liked most. I. â€Å"Africans in Denial Syndrome†¦class discussion by Dr. King†¦ Africans denying their origins. J. African Symbols†¦ Kojo- Heavenly and all knowing. K. Corruption in and outside of Africa†¦ Foreign countries passing laws banning cultural habits in societies. L. African adornment†¦Kenyan Parliament†¦ No longer allowed to wear their attire. M. Devaluing â€Å"Culture†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Not recognizing African culture because most blacks don’t even identify themselves as Africans. N. Assimilation versus Absorption†¦Assimilation involves the integration of people’s identity into a different culture whereas absorption refers to taking in the culture and doing as those in the different culture do while retaining your own identity/culture. O. Pan-Africanism†¦ is the highest form of resistance to slavery. P. The â€Å"best† of what it means to be an African†¦is being the descendants of kings and queen. III.

Life and Music

Music is as diverse as the people listening to its many different genres. My wife and I are just two of the millions of people around the world who listen to music almost everyday. However, my wife and I have a lot of differences when it comes to music although I can say that we share the same passion for it ever since when we were still at a young age. For my part, learning music was at first an academic task because it was part of a class that I had to take during my earlier days in school. There was simply no chance for me to enjoy music as people should.When I was ten years old, I bought my first AM transistor from my classmate. It was the first time in my life when I got the chance to enjoy the music of the Beatles and other bands playing country music at the time. That moment in my life opened the windows of my imagination inasmuch as it sparked a great deal of musical interest on my part. From then on, I simply just could not have enough of music and I was stuck with the pleas ure of listening to tunes over the radio. My wife has a strong cultural influence coming from the Philippines because she, too, is a Filipino.I recall my wife telling me that she always watched â€Å"An Evening with Pilita Corales† together with her parents when she was still young. Pilita Corales is considered as the Queen of â€Å"Kundiman†Ã¢â‚¬â€traditional love songs written and sung in Filipino language—in the Philippines. If my wife was fond of watching that show way back then, I was fond of watching â€Å"Lawrence Welk† on the television together with my father and mother. Apparently, our differences in our earliest exposures to music hold one reason why my wife and I still have differences today in terms of music.It is interesting to know that despite the fact that my wife lived in a country that is perhaps one of the most culturally rich countries in the world, she enjoyed spending time in the playground than doing folk dances which often involv ed materials that were indigenously available. Those dances, as she recounted, were always played to the rhythm of local music which, at that time in her life, never seemed important to her. She was too young in fact that she found it more fun to play in the school’s playground than to spend some of her idle time listening to local music and performing local dances.I had the same experience when I was still as young as my wife during her childhood days. The only difference, perhaps, was that I was doubly busy or I had a tougher time at school for I did not only have to learn English but I also had to study music as part of the school curriculum. I had to catch up with my school work and so I barely had the time to realize the pleasure of listening to music and enjoying what it had to offer beyond sensory experience. Today, things have changed a lot—and for the better. Fortunately, my wife and I soon learned and appreciated music in our lives.In fact, my wife and I bega n to watch musical plays like â€Å"Annie†, â€Å"The Lion King†, â€Å"Blue Man Group†, â€Å"Tarzan†, â€Å"Mama Mia† and â€Å"Miss Saigon† soon after we got married. Perhaps it was the moment in our lives when we realized that we shared one thing in common after all—the love for music. Each time we are able to watch a musical play, we always love the live performance due to the outpouring emotions that one can feel before a stage of actors and actresses giving justice to a number of different melodies and rhythms that can not be easily heard beyond every performance night.Max Weber understood music as â€Å"a deeply meaningful part of a society’s culture† (Turley, 2001, p. 635), which is perhaps why sooner or later people will begin to realize the importance or the role of music in their lives, regardless of whether or not the music they are listening to is indigenous or foreign. That being the case, it is easy to se e why people can relate music; music touches our inner soul and reaches for the depths of our being that we oftentimes find difficult to express, let alone reach.For me, music helps us remember a lot of things simply because music holds memories. As I see it, music expresses feelings even if there are no words to it and it also raises our level of thinking about freedom. Howard Gardner even categorized our abilities to appreciate and even produce music as part of multiple human intelligences (Pfeifer & Scheier, 1999), which makes sense to say that it is crucial for human beings to have an ear for music. Doing so can broaden our mental horizons and enable us to appreciate life even more.While my wife enjoys listening to the music of the Monkees, Carpenters, Beatles and Michael Jackson as much as I do, I still try to go beyond the sheer pleasure of listening to their music. I teach art and I try to incorporate music into my profession. As much as possible, I try to play music whenever I have my art class so that my students will be able to express their feelings more whenever they hold their brushes and begin painting images with beautiful colors. The way I see it, music is so strong it can evoke our inner feelings and give us the inspiration to make stunning artworks.Because music can stir our emotions and our memories, music can push art students and artists to greater lengths. In general, music helps people unlock the rarely touched parts of their being (Grant, 2003, p. 173). I cannot imagine my life and my wife’s life without music as it has already been an integral part of who we are. Music helps my wife and I remember a lot of things about our past and our culture. It also helps us appreciate our lives and our marriage better each day without having the need to force ourselves to listen to music.

Lab report for sheep facility Essay

Lab report for sheep facility Essay Lab report for sheep facility Essay ANS 41L Long Report about Sheep Industry The sheep facility we visited was started in 1880. It is a commercial sheep farm, which only has no purebred sheep. There are about 1300 ewes and 37 rams. Most of the sheep are crossbred with Rambouillet and Dorset genetic. All of them are white face sheep. The crossbred they have is to improve meat quality. Also, the way to choose ram is according to EPD value. Comparing the data we collect from the producer to the America Sheep Industry Association Survey 2010 data, we can find that some values are quit similar. For example, ASI 2010 survey shows that percentage of lamb born per ewe is 158.65%ï ¼Å'and percentage of lamb wean is 145.80%. This sheep farm we visited have a 140% lambing and weaning percentage. There are still many differences. The breed this sheep farm has are only white face breeds. According to ASI 2010 survey, it show that producer on average keep 13.3% Suffolk and 9.5% Rambouillet in their flock. Suffolk is black face sheep. However, this producer keeps none of black face sheep. The producer gives reasons for why they have white face sheep instead of black face sheep. White face breed have longer longevity and better wool. They have relative less problems. So it is easier for them to keep white face sheep on the farm. The farm also does better in some aspects compare to the average data collect by ASI (ASI, 2010). For example, their culling percentage is 10%, which is much lower than 19.42% from the ASI survey. Their lambing season is different from common sheep industry. They have spring and fall two lambing seasons. The breeding times matched to these two laming time are May and October. The advantage for having these two lambing seasons is that there will be more and better forage after the lamb coming out. Most of the sheep are fall lambing. According to Cruces’s article, there are three different seasonal breeding: spring, fall and winter (Cruces, 2001). However, spring may be a bette r season for lambing than fall because it follows the sheep’s breeding and lambing time. Higher lamb crop will be expected in spring than fall (Cruces, 2001). Also, fall lambing will have more heat stress to deal with. However, this producer did not mention how he solves this problem. This farm did not use AI for breeding. AI is not common used by sheep industry. Although, AI can use frozen ram semen, which may benefic in reproduction, it is still too costly because the producer said that AI in sheep needs surgical procedure (Cruces, 2001). Castration and tail docking time are similar to common sheep industry. This farm does these procures early on one to two days age. Cruces stated that these procedures should be done by 7 to 10 day of age, the early the better (Cruces, 2001). The producer sated that it is less painful and faster recovery if the procedures are done at very early age. There are two aspects impressing me very much: grain-growing work with sheep rising and elec trical recording system. One third of the total area is used to grow grain, depending on the seasons. The rest of the acres are pastures for sheep. The producer use sheep to clean up the field after the grain harvest. Sheep can clean up the left over, as well as the weeds. It is a very clever system because the sheep and grain production benefit each other. They can spend less time, money and energy. Also, the electronic microchip recording system amazed me. The ear tagging not only contains the number to show the identification of the sheep but also records the data of the sheep. When the producer scans the ear tagging, it will show the information of that sheep. It is a very convenient way to track each sheep, and the data is very easy to assess. However, the operation is still facing many challenging. As the

Boston matrix analysis for BHP Billiton Group The WritePass Journal

Boston matrix analysis for BHP Billiton Group Abstract Boston matrix analysis for BHP Billiton Group . This aspect prompted the company to follow a question mark strategy because despite its low market share, the provision of various natural resources took place in a high growing market (Schemerhorn, 2013). However, at the end of 2012, the corporation gradually started expanding its share prices by representing an adequate price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio. This means that the group has focused on following a star strategy in its main segments. Yet, it is challenging to estimate the market price for each product due to the extensive diversity of the company’s products (Grant, 2013). Another challenge associated with the quantification of returns is the categorisation of returns in different currencies. As previously indicated, BHP Billiton Group placed importance on location when it comes to making investments. In the United States, the corporation has been extensively concerned to adhere to a star strategy on the Boston matrix by distributing crude petroleum (BHP Billiton Ltd., 2013). It is essential to note that the company relies on its current strength of occupying a leading position in global commodities prices that are related to the health of the international economy. This suggests the potential of the corporation to predominantly follow a star strategy, which would guarantee it a better position compared to other organisations operating in the same industry sector (Grant, 2013). Nonetheless, the company is unable to predict currency assessments, which may lead to the adoption of a cash cow or a question mark strategy according to the Boston matrix. It has been indicated that certain flaws in the global economy negatively affect the performance of the corporation in the sen se of decreasing its market share in certain segments. For instance, such flaws may lead to a reduced demand for commodities, which may directly reflect in lower prices and reduced profitability of the company. The diverse portfolio of assets provided by BHP Billiton Group has assumed a solid market position of the company in its major segments. It is important to note that the corporation occupies a leading position in the trade of uranium in Australia after Olympic Dam Mine as well as of other natural assets, such as silver and copper (BHP Billiton Ltd., 2013). This places the company at a quite favourable position regarding its trade activities and thus it is more likely to adopt a star strategy in its home country. The fact that the corporation is a leading producer of nickel globally is indicative of the high market share it has in different segments and in different locations across the world (Stern and Deimler, 2006). As a result of the application of the Boston matrix analysis to the performance of BHP Billiton Group, it can be suggested that the company has the potential to make a substantial impact on the global delivery of natural assets. Its position as a star in most of its seg ments and in most locations shows solid management and leadership practices present at the organisation. It is important to note that the major purpose of the Boston matrix analysis is to help BHP Billiton Group decide which of its business units should be kept as well as in which areas it can invest further (Grant, 2013). There are different strategies to be applied considering that the organisation is in the position of a cash cow on the Boston matrix. One of these strategies is to hold in order to maintain its sales or market share (Schermerhorn, 2013). Another strategy that can be utilised is to defend its position regardless of the challenges the company faces with regards to its market share and projected market growth (Kotler, 2006). BHP Billiton Group can also implement a strategy, which is identified as ‘milk’, implying that the company is expected to use the cash it generated in the fiscal year to return to its position as a star on the matrix from the period of 2011 to 2012 (BHP Billiton Ltd., 2013). The fact that the company is at the position of a cash cow means that its profitability ratios have significantly declined. For instance, the organisation’s net profit margin, operating profit margin, ROE and ROA deteriorated in the period from 2011 to 2012 and from 2012 to 2013. It can be suggested that the company should seriously rethink its position in the market so as to try its best to restore its star position from the past (Schermerhorn, 2013). The application of the Boston matrix analysis to BHP Billiton Group’s performance yields significant conclusions about the company’s challenges and opportunities that can be addressed. Conclusion This paper has provided an analysis of BHP Billiton Group’s financial performance based on the Boston matrix. It has been indicated that the organisation is currently at the position of a cash cow on the matrix considering its high market share and low growing market (Kotler, 2006). Certain strategies have been provided so that the organisation can implement them in order to improve its position and return to the status of a star, which represents an ideal combination of a high market share and fast growing market (Grant, 2013). References BHP Billiton Ltd. (2013). Stock Analysis on Net [online]. Available at: stock-analysis-on.net/NYSE/Company/BHP-Billiton-Ltd/Financial-Statement/Income-Statement [Accessed: 14 August 2014]. Grant, R. M. (2013). Contemporary Strategy Analysis. New York: Wiley. Kotler, P. (2006). Marketing Management. New York: Pearson Education. Schermerhorn, J. R. (2013). Exploring Management. New York: Wiley. Stern, C. W. and Deimler, M. S. (2006). The Boston Consulting Group on Strategy: Classic Concepts and New Perspectives. New York: Wiley.

Poems Read at Inauguration Ceremonies for US Presidents

Poems Read at Inauguration Ceremonies for US Presidents Poetry seems so natural an inclusion in public ceremony that you might be surprised to learn that it was nearly 200 years after the very first Presidential oath of office was taken by George Washington before a poet was included in the official inauguration proceedings. There are a couple of 19th-century poems historically associated with Presidential inaugurations in the archives of the Library of Congress, but neither was actually read during the swearing-in ceremony: â€Å"An Ode in Honor of the Inauguration of Buchanan Breckinridge, President and Vice President of the United States† by Col W. Emmons, printed on broadside in 1857.â€Å"An Inaugural Poem, Dedicated to Abraham Lincoln, of Illinois, and Andrew Johnson, of Tennessee,† from The Chronicle Junior, an inauguration program that was actually printed on a press in a wagon during Lincoln’s inaugural parade in 1865. The Introduction of Poetry in the Presidential Inauguration Robert Frost was the first poet invited to be part of the official swearing-in of an American president when John F. Kennedy took office in 1961. Frost actually wrote a new poem for the occasion, a fact that seems slightly odd considering his stated aversion to writing poems on commission. It was a not-terribly-good poem called â€Å"Dedication† that he intended as a preface to the older poem Kennedy had originally requested, but on Inauguration Day, circumstances intervened – the glare of bright sunlight off new snow, his faint typescript and the wind ruffling his pages and his white hair made it impossible for Frost to read the new poem, so he gave up the attempt and went directly into reciting Kennedy’s request without the preamble. â€Å"The Gift Outright† outlines the story of American independence in its 16 lines, in a triumphant, patriotic tone that brings to mind the 19th-century doctrine of manifest destiny and domination of the continent. As usual, Frost’s poem is aimed at a target less conventional than it first appears. â€Å"The land was ours before we were the land’s,† but we became Americans not by conquering this place, but by surrendering to it. We ourselves, the people of America, are the gift of the poem’s title, and â€Å"The deed of gift was many deeds of war.† At Kennedy’s request, Frost changed one word in the last line of the poem, to strengthen the certainty of its prediction for America’s future â€Å"Such as she was, such as she would become† became â€Å"Such as she was, such as she will become.† You can watch NBC News coverage of the entire 1961 inauguration ceremony at Hulu.com  if you’re willing to sit through ads inserted at 7- to 10-minute intervals in the hour-long video – Frost’s recitation is in the middle, immediately before Kennedy’s oath of office. The next president who included a poet in the proceedings surrounding his inauguration was Jimmy Carter in 1977, but the poem didn’t make it into the actual swearing-in ceremony. James Dickey read his poem â€Å"The Strength of Fields† at the Kennedy Center gala after Carter’s inauguration. It was another 16 years before poetry entered again into the official inauguration ceremony. That was in 1993, when Maya Angelou wrote and read â€Å"On the Pulse of Morning† for Bill Clinton’s first inauguration, her reading here on YouTube. Clinton also included a poet in his 1997 inaugural ceremony – Miller Williams contributed â€Å"Of History and Hope† that year. The tradition of presidential inauguration poems seems now to have settled in with Democratic presidents. Elizabeth Alexander was commissioned as inaugural poet for Barack Obama’s first inauguration in 2009. She wrote â€Å"Praise Song for the Day, Praise Song for Struggle† for the occasion, and her recitation is preserved on YouTube. For Obama’s second inauguration ceremony in 2013, Richard Blanco  was asked to submit three poems to the White House, which selected â€Å"One Today† for him to read following the President’s inaugural address. Blanco’s performance at the podium is also posted on YouTube.

Managing capability of Ford Motor Company Coursework - 1

Managing capability of Ford Motor Company - Coursework Example The paper tells that capabilities of an organization can be segregated into two deliverables including threshold capabilities and capabilities for gaining competitive advantage. These capabilities are driven by tangible and intangible resources that constitute of threshold and unique resources. Moreover, competencies are also a critical aspect of capabilities which entail core and threshold competencies. A complete amalgamation of these aspects and a well-organized organizational outlook can facilitate companies to manage capability for gaining the sustainable competitive advantage. Ford Motor Company has emerged as one of the major sustainable companies in the automobile industry which make utmost use of its resources and capabilities to derive competitive advantages. The company has focused on providing exceptional values to its customers all over the world. It has a unique combination of power and technology that makes its every vehicle a special one. A few of the very well known brands of Ford are Fiesta, Focus, and Fusion. Mobility Muse started Ford Motor Company in the year of 1903 with the investment of US$28,000. It used to manufacture classic elegant vehicles but now with the advancement of technology and in keeping with evolving trends, it is presently manufacturing high-tech business class vehicles. It also helps newer drivers all over the world to become safer drivers. In terms of its distinct capabilities, from the handling of vehicles to the elegant exterior finish and superior luxury interior, in every single aspect, Ford has been mostly able to meet the expectations of the national as well as global markets. It also manufactures trucks and utility vehicles. It always focuses to create a strong business periphery to serve the world better. In this endeavor, it has been taking initiatives for the betterment of the society by way of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

Should countries control the internet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Should countries control the internet - Essay Example Along with the effects of internet addiction on children, it also affects the privacy of the users of the internet in terms of hackers’ attacks. Although information technology professionals have been taking special measures to stop network-based unauthorized access to the personal computers of people, the issue of hacking has not resolved as yet. In this regard, some control should be there at the government level on the use of internet. In this paper, we will discuss a few harms associated with the free use of internet to conclude whether countries should control the use of internet or not. Uncontrolled use of internet affects academic progress of children as it shifts their attention and focus away from studies to the pornographic material available on the internet. These days, there is hardly any restriction policy that can prevent children from accessing negative content. The growing age of children is very critical for their proper mental, social, and physical development. Children are usually very eager to know about sex, therefore, they mostly use internet to get information about it. Therefore, it has become the need of today for the governments to have some control on the use of internet so that children are not exposed to harmful stuff. Information security has always been one of the main issues for people and organizations adopting the use of information technology. With the rapid pace of technological advancements taking place in the field of computer sciences and information technology, ensuring information security is also becoming more and more difficult due to more organized intrusion attempts and data retrieval attempts by hackers. Although many new measures have been introduced to make information security reliable and more protected, but they have been unable to resolve the information security issue. Therefore, it is essential to design a reliable system that can minimize the chances of unauthorized

Analysis of the Number of Explanations for the Significant Growth in Research Paper

Analysis of the Number of Explanations for the Significant Growth in Female Imprisonment - Research Paper Example Crime has forever been a major problem for society at large. It has presented itself as a challenge to every authority and government in the world. Since historical times, sociologists and criminologists have been the principal contributors to crime research, which has led to an extensive research literature on the general topic of the role of incentives in the determination of criminal behavior. In this regard, a notable feature is an increase in crime among women. With approximately 52% of the population of UK being formed by women (in 2005 there were 30.7 million females compared with 29.5 million males in the UK population), male offenders outnumbered female offenders by more than four to one in 2006. Despite this fact, the irony is that today more women are locked up in England and Wales than in any EEA nation other than Ukraine and Spain. The number of women serving custodial sentences has increased substantially. Recent statistics indicate an increase of 30% in the female pris on population during 2001. Furthermore, various studies demonstrate a 15% increment in the number of women incarcerated between 2001 and 2002, compared to an increase of 6% for men3. This might lead one to believe that women are becoming more prone to committing crimes or according to Box (1983);4 there is a serious problem with the system that was so far seen to be lenient in prosecuting women offenders. Crime in Switzerland is also becoming a cause of major concern with a 27% climb in the rate of female crime, in the past five years5. With the support of well-documented theoretical explanations for women’s crime as well as accounts of early contributions portraying women as sexual beings the focus on women has been in the context of their supposed inferiority to men. This has, in turn, led to explanations that revolve around the sex role socialization, as well as the emergence of the women’s movement.  Ã‚  

Impact of burnout in the nursing field Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Impact of burnout in the nursing field - Essay Example They render service that will determine the patient’s safety and wellbeing. Burnout experienced by nurses would threaten, not only the patient’s safety, but also decrease the quality of care rendered. There is an ongoing shortage of nurses in the United States that contributes to the incidence of nursing burnout and impacts the over-all health care delivery system. As the functionality of a reduced nursing staff will decline should the prevailing working conditions continue. The major shortage today is escalating just as when patients are needing more complex care and demand for services are seldom unmet (Joint Commission on Accrediation of Healthcare Organizations, 2002). The opportunities in employment for registered nurses have been projected to be higher than any other discipline. Yet, a major shortage is still seen in the near future. This is caused by the deficiency in the number of nursing faculty and colleges and universities that are unable to take advantage of the unusually high number of qualified applicants due to financial constraints. There is a need for the government to step in to review policies and increase public subsidies (Aiken, Cheung, & Olds, 2009). The Causes There are several causes that contribute to the incidence of nursing burnout. One is the current nursing shortage has a high impact on the nursing profession. The nursing profession has always been regarded as stress-filled having to deal with manual labor, human suffering, rotating work shifts and various interpersonal relationships (Jennings, 2008). As the nurse is always on the frontline of patient interaction, they are the direct recipient of stress from situations of death and illness. The present inability to produce sufficient amount of registered nurses due to the limitations in school admissions compounds the situation. The population of aging nurse practitioners is now slowly being led to nursing burnout to compensate the inadequate staffing in hospitals (Bar tels, 2001). Another cause for nursing burnout is the stress that is made complex by work, marriage and children. Work life is seldom independent from family life and this dependency is where conflict sometimes arises. This situation is predominantly felt by female nurses as they would have juggle the roles in their life like wife, daughter, mother and friend aside from being a nurse that should provide the best possible care for their patients. It’s Implication to the Nursing Field Due to the reduced number of nursing practitioners it is now a common practice to go on twelve hour shifts to allow them a 3-day work week thus giving more opportunity for work-life balance. Studies conducted by University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing claim that hospital nurses working on ten hour shifts or more are more prone to experience burnout and job dissatisfaction (Penn Nursing Science, 2012). There is an organizational need for nurses to go on overtime, rotating shifts or consecutive days lead to fatigue that eventually affects their job performance. The exhaustion and low energy that overwhelms the nurse that in turn affects the quality of care they render to the patients. The demand for acute care service is increasing in hospitals and thus need optimal nursing care. The reality of having fewer nurses to respond to this need is a precarious situation for patients and hospitals. The combination of very few nurses and nursing support personnel plus the paper work and other administrative duty

Telecom - Verizon Wireless, Sprint, and At&T Case Study

Telecom - Verizon Wireless, Sprint, and At&T - Case Study Example The main objective of purchasing is to preserve the excellence and worth of a company’s goods, to reduce cash tied-ups in register, to sustain the flow of outputs and support the organization’s aggressive position. Purchasing involves development and evaluation of the products’ specifications, reception and processing of requisitions, promotion and evaluation of bids, examination of goods, suitable storage place and release. Thus, it can be said that purchasing is one of the important decisions which needs prior assessment of various factors. The purchasing or buying cycle consists of five major steps1. Purchasing Cycle Source: 1 The buying cycle model according to Weele talks about five factors namely awareness of needs, assessment of alternatives, alleviation of risk, decision and last but not the least achievement of results. With the increasing effects of globalisation and changing business scenario, cellular services have become part and parcel of human life . Increasing need for cellular services has brought quite a few companies into the market. Verizon Wireless, Sprint Wireless and AT&T are three of the popular companies of United States that have successfully catered the need of the customers for certain years. The success of these companies lies on the fact that they could impressively hit the requirement of the prospective customers. The companies came up with foray of alternatives which had been the second stage of the buying cycle model. Verizon wireless provides wireless voice and data products along with services of broadband data. Video services and network accesses are also available to the customers of the company2. Sprint Wireless also provides data and voices services in wireless segment to its customers. Moreover, it provides wireless network with both CDMA and iDEN networks for the customers of United States3. AT&T also provides certain other benefits like WI-FI services, the facility of U-verse which is primarily requi red to send SMS along with high speed broadband and video services. Moreover, the wireless 4G facility and high speed downlink packet access are also provided by AT&T4. The next stage of the buying cycle is the alleviation of risk. While considering the risks, the existing and the prospective customers of any cellular service basically considers the factor of network connectivity. In this context, it can be said that AT&T and Verizon Wireless have higher market penetration in terms of network connectivity in comparison with Sprint. Verizon is also way ahead when compared to two other companies with respect to other add-on services like Bluetooth. The next step of the buying cycle i.e. decision is the most important. The trend of the market depicts that Verizon having better services, also leads in the market share which ultimately depicts that customers have decided to be with the services of the company. In order to ensure long term sustainability, Verizon Wireless needs to ensure that the customers (both existing and the prospective) achieve their desired objectives. The other two companies, on the other hand, need to ensure that they provide services in such a way that they can attain greater market share in due process. Positioning Positioning is an effort to influence the customer perception for a brand or product in relation to its competitive brands. Positioning is one of significant tools of marketing to highlight a brand

Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 29

Leadership - Essay Example Although I believe anyone of us could have been a leader, a disinterested examination of my group member’s personality profiles would most likely have found Jessica to be the most likely choice for a leader. Mariam is quite shy, and at times slow or reluctant to voice her opinion or give direct instructions; however, she is very helpful and when approached with a direct issue she quickly overcomes her reclusive nature and can be quite brilliant in problem solving. Xtang is more or less like Mariam; however like her, he would rather take a passive part and follow instructions rather than give them and he rarely initiates actions. He takes any responsibility given to him seriously and spends a lot of time working on the finer details; as a result, he usually finds anything the rest of the team missed. Mitch is very helpful and cool, he is polite and even crisis and looming deadlines do not seem to have any effect on his cool. He is not averse to instructing others on what to do, but he is not very confident in himself this often to his being reluctant to take the initiative. On the other hand, I am a reserved person, and I much rather have someone take charge as I work from the background since being in the middle of things tends to make me a bit anxious and more likely to second-guess myself and others. Finally, there is Jessica; she is the epitome of a leader in that she is highly organized and more aggressive than any of us are. She enjoys  initiating actions and authority seems to come naturally to her, even when she is instructing someone she ensures they are aware of why their task is necessary making it look more like a suggestion than instruction. When we went to the food bank for instance, she made our schedule, and she was very helpful to the other volunteers, she seemed to have internalized all the required information, and we looked up to her whenever confusion in the schedule

Telecom - Verizon Wireless, Sprint, and At&T Case Study

Telecom - Verizon Wireless, Sprint, and At&T - Case Study Example The main objective of purchasing is to preserve the excellence and worth of a company’s goods, to reduce cash tied-ups in register, to sustain the flow of outputs and support the organization’s aggressive position. Purchasing involves development and evaluation of the products’ specifications, reception and processing of requisitions, promotion and evaluation of bids, examination of goods, suitable storage place and release. Thus, it can be said that purchasing is one of the important decisions which needs prior assessment of various factors. The purchasing or buying cycle consists of five major steps1. Purchasing Cycle Source: 1 The buying cycle model according to Weele talks about five factors namely awareness of needs, assessment of alternatives, alleviation of risk, decision and last but not the least achievement of results. With the increasing effects of globalisation and changing business scenario, cellular services have become part and parcel of human life . Increasing need for cellular services has brought quite a few companies into the market. Verizon Wireless, Sprint Wireless and AT&T are three of the popular companies of United States that have successfully catered the need of the customers for certain years. The success of these companies lies on the fact that they could impressively hit the requirement of the prospective customers. The companies came up with foray of alternatives which had been the second stage of the buying cycle model. Verizon wireless provides wireless voice and data products along with services of broadband data. Video services and network accesses are also available to the customers of the company2. Sprint Wireless also provides data and voices services in wireless segment to its customers. Moreover, it provides wireless network with both CDMA and iDEN networks for the customers of United States3. AT&T also provides certain other benefits like WI-FI services, the facility of U-verse which is primarily requi red to send SMS along with high speed broadband and video services. Moreover, the wireless 4G facility and high speed downlink packet access are also provided by AT&T4. The next stage of the buying cycle is the alleviation of risk. While considering the risks, the existing and the prospective customers of any cellular service basically considers the factor of network connectivity. In this context, it can be said that AT&T and Verizon Wireless have higher market penetration in terms of network connectivity in comparison with Sprint. Verizon is also way ahead when compared to two other companies with respect to other add-on services like Bluetooth. The next step of the buying cycle i.e. decision is the most important. The trend of the market depicts that Verizon having better services, also leads in the market share which ultimately depicts that customers have decided to be with the services of the company. In order to ensure long term sustainability, Verizon Wireless needs to ensure that the customers (both existing and the prospective) achieve their desired objectives. The other two companies, on the other hand, need to ensure that they provide services in such a way that they can attain greater market share in due process. Positioning Positioning is an effort to influence the customer perception for a brand or product in relation to its competitive brands. Positioning is one of significant tools of marketing to highlight a brand

The price of diamonds is too high Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The price of diamonds is too high - Essay Example Before the 19th century, diamond minerals were known to be rare as it was found in India and Brazil. During 1870 large mines for diamond deposits were discovered in South Africa at place near orange. Such became a threat to the few diamond producers despite the large supply thus made the commodity a luxury instead of a commodity. At the year 1888, a body was formed known as De Beers Consolidated mines in South Africa by suppliers in order to secure a high market for diamond prices. Initially, diamond cartel controlled successfully the supply worldwide regulation done at mine output and purchase of the exclusive right to mining nations across Africa. At the onset of 20th century, DE beers dominated around 90 percent trade for diamond internationally. In 1930, there was a decline in the diamond demand, causing the son of De beers to initiate an advertising agency that incorporated an advertising strategy to target young men in order to purchase a ring for engagement in order to become a form of acceptance during courtship declaration. Through such strategy, diamond price rose, unlike other minerals. Currently, the cartel dominates in approximately two thirds of the diamond (Diamond, 1971). According to pricing theory consideration, is on economic activity due to creation and transfer of value. That covers the trading of goods and services on economic agents that are distinctive. Such explains the high cost of the diamond in comparison with water .this depends on the utility of particular purpose and purchasing power of goods that the object possesses. Such is known as the value exchange and uses in value. Minerals such as diamond derive its value due to scarcity nature and labour intensity required to extract such minerals. The labour involved forms a basic unit the exchange process of value of goods. That will be of great significance to determine overall prices. Thus, the nominal price according to Bagweel & Riordan (1991) has a

Sweden and Canada Immigration Comparison Essay Example for Free

Sweden and Canada Immigration Comparison Essay This paper describes the context of Canadian immigration and immigrants` labour market outcomes, and explores trends in both over time. Fortunately, there is a wealth of research regarding the question of why earnings have declined among immigrants to Canada. Employment outcomes of immigrants to Canada have been much less studied. In this latter case we are restricted to providing basic facts, and hypotheses regarding the causes of the SwedishCanadian differences mentioned above. This paper outlines potential causes of the observed gap in outcomes, to the extent that they are known, and asks what the implications might be for the Swedish experience. Of course, Canadian outcomes are in part a function of the institutional setting. As will be seen, it is likely that much of the difference in economic outcomes between the two countries is related to differences in immigration programs and policies. The paper ends with a discussion and summary of the range of possible drivers of Sweden`s current immigration outcomes. Institutional Background Canada’s immigration system is quite complex, and is becoming increasingly so. With a federal governance structure – a federal government and provinces there is substantial heterogeneity in the opinions and goals of the various actors involved in national discussions. This implies that the nation’s aggregate set of policies and programs are not always internally consistent. Indeed, there are many stresses between the sometimes complementary, but frequently competing, humanitarian, social, cultural, and economic goals of immigration policy. And there is frequently a lack of coordination, and sometimes disagreement, across levels of government and various actors within civil society regarding such issues as settlement services. With respect to highly skilled immigrants, for example, the federal government is responsible for the admission of health professionals, but provincial governments operate the healthcare systems and are responsible for the certification of those same professionals. Potentially useful for Sweden is a comparison of the alternative routes taken by Canada and the United States. Of particular interest are the differences in immigration levels, and the associated need to manage the immigration system, along with the active measures that may be beneficial for a smaller nation seeking economic benefit from immigration. Modern immigration policies 1 and practices in North America date from the 1960s. Both Canada and the U. S. moved away from selection based mainly on source region, with most immigrants coming from Europe, to a more modern approach that resulted in large scale immigration from the developing world. But Canada took a very different path than the United States. As seen in figure 1, it consciously chose a significantly higher immigration rate, and it also developed a much more highly managed system. The U. S. receives a greater number of immigrants because it is a much larger nation, but on a per-capita basis, immigration is much higher in Canada. We believe these two features almost always go together in developed economies: the higher the rate of immigration, the greater is the need for structured government management.

The Progressive Era Essay example -- essays research papers

Industrialization led to the rise of big businesses at the expense of the worker. Factory laborers faced long hours, low wages, and unsanitary conditions. The large corporations protected themselves by allying with political parties. The parties, in turn, were controlled by party leaders, rather than by the members. Many people felt that all power rested with the politicians and businessmen. Reformers known as Progressives attempted to undo the problems caused by industrialization. The Progressive movement sought to end the influence of large corporations, provide more rights and benefits to workers, and end the control possessed by party leaders. At the national level, Progressivism centered on defeating the power of large businesses. The Progressive Era was a period in American history in which improving working conditions, exposing corruption, improving the way of life, expanding democracy, and making reforms were the objectives at hand. With the emergence of the Progressive Era two important figures gradually emerged as well. One of the mentioned figures, President Theodore Roosevelt, succeeded to the Presidency when President McKinley was assassinated in 1901, helped the Progressive movement greatly. Another figure, although a Democrat is Woodrow Wilson who much like Roosevelt still pushed for progressive reforms. Each of the mentioned figures did their share in re-establishing a â€Å"fair† government that would work for the people and not for the large corporations and mon...

Hypercholesterolemia :: Diseases, Disorders

In the simplest terms, hypercholesterolemia may be any excessive amount of cholesterol in the blood. The clinical definition however, as outlined by the University of Maryland Medical Center [UMMC] (2010), considers a total cholesterol level of 240 mg/dL or higher to be high cholesterol. Within this total is the level of high-density lipoproteins (HDL or â€Å"good† cholesterol) and low-density lipoproteins (LDL or â€Å"bad† cholesterol). Below 40 mg/dL is considered poor for HDL, while an optimal level of 60 mg/dL or above is more desirable. A LDL level of 160-189 mg/dL is considered high, and the optimal level is 100-129 mg/dL. In addition to LDL and HDL cholesterols, a third type of fatty material, collectively known as triglycerides, may be found within the blood. A triglyceride level above 200 mg/dL is high, but the desirable level is below 150mg/dL. Generally, as triglyceride levels rise, HDL cholesterol falls (UMMC, 2010). Tortora & Derrickson (2009) further illuminates the distinction between LDL and HDL cholesterols and why these differences incur such conflicting effects in the body. LDLs convey about 75% of the total cholesterol in blood and deliver it throughout the body to cells so that they may repair cell membranes and create steroid hormones and bile salts (p. 991). However, when their number exceeds what is necessary, LDLs leave cholesterol in and around the smooth muscle fibers in arteries (p. 991). Thus, LDLs have earned a â€Å"bad† reputation. In contrast, HDLs remove excess cholesterol from body cells and blood and transport it to the liver for subsequent elimination, preventing its accumulation in the blood (p. 991). Thus, their â€Å"good† reputation is safe. It is important to remember though that both LDL and HDL cholesterols, as well as triglycerides, are essential in certain amounts, and LDLs and HDLs together make up the total cholesterol level used in the dia gnosis of high cholesterol. According to the UMMC (2010), there are usually no symptoms of high cholesterol, especially in the early stages of the condition. The only way to diagnose an individual with high cholesterol is with a blood test, and doctors recommend that patients fast beforehand so that results only reflect usable HDL and LDL levels (â€Å"How to get†, 2012). Since too much cholesterol circulating within the blood can create sticky deposits called plaque along the artery walls, a diagnosis of hypercholesterolemia may have very real health significance for the patient.

Based on Kolberg’s Scale

On Kohlberg’s scale, I consider myself to be on the conventional level, Level II. I can say that I still react to my family’s expectations. Not so much of my peers, because I’ve learned that everyone have their personal opinions to everything. Sometimes, even unsolicited advices are given, I don’t intend to be rude to them in any way, therefore, I take it as creative criticism. These things happen all the time. I do conform to the norms that I learned at home and in school, not so much from the church though because I have not been an active member for some time now. I do understand the moral norms and rules and how they must be followed. Growing up, family played a significant role in my life. I can truly say that I am who I am today because of them. I was taught that for as long as I live the right way, not hurting anyone along the way, and being thankful for what I have, I will be happy. There were times that I have made the wrong choices, but for the most part, I didn’t forget my parent’s teachings. For instance, getting in trouble with the law for fighting or being disruptive, I eventually grew out of it and learned that maybe violence is not the way to do things. For the most part, having a decent conversation or as simple as talking about the problem will eventually solve the misunderstanding and everything can end well. I don’t see myself on the third level only because I haven’t come to the point where I question why things are the way they are. I know the difference between right and wrong, and I definitely think that’s more important than looking for explanations.

Out of My League

How many people do you know that have broken up with someone and later wanted them back because they were jealous of their new girlfriend? Or perhaps, have you ever lacked the confidence to approach someone? Well the movie She’s out of my League is all about that. The movie is about a guy name Kirk who is played by Jay Baruchel. He is an average Joe who can't believe his luck. Although he's stuck in a seemingly dead-end job as an airport TSA security agent, against all odds, Molly which is played by Alice Eve, a successful and outrageously gorgeous babe, has fallen for him. Not only is Kirk stunned, but his friends, family and his ex-girlfriend, too. Now he has to figure out how to make the relationship work, even though he'd be the first to admit she's totally out of his league. She’s out of my League was a well-structured film in my opinion. This film was unified around a central theme. The theme of the film is that it is ridiculous to rate people based on looks and decide that you can't be with someone based on some rating of 1 to 10. In the beginning of the movie, Kirk is having a confrontation with is ex-girlfriend Marine. Marine had ended her relationship with Kirk for more than 2 year and she was extremely contemptuous of his continued romantic interests after his latest pursuit. The producers of this movie couldn’t have thought of a better way to open the movie. The plot and the events, conflicts, and characters that constitute it must be carefully selected and arranged so that their relationship to the theme is clear (Boggs, & Petrie, 2008). This was the most important scene of the movie because it leads the way for other events to happen naturally and logically. In this scene, the producers wanted to get the viewer to see two points. One point making it clear that Marine didn’t want to be in a relationship with Kirk and that it was over. Another point being that Kirk was really crush about the break up so his self-esteem is really low at this point. This also made an early impression of what type of person Kirk was called characterization thought appearance. He seems to be a fairly dorky and dumb type of person. Later in the movie, one morning while Kirk was at work, a beautiful woman name Molly arrives at the passenger terminal for her flight to New York. While she was proceeding through security, her striking looks attracted unwanted attention and harassment from several male employees. Kirk is the only employee to treat her courteously. I really like this part because Kirk was just being himself and Molly saw the him for the person that he really was. In this scene, the producers wanted us to believe that Kirk didn’t have a chance with Molly because it seems that she was out of his league. But, who would have thought that Molly would be the one to be coming on to Kirk. After Kirk finally hooks up with Molly, the successful and outrageously gorgeous babe, Marine finds herself jealous and wants Kirks back. The only reason that Molly has this sudden interest in Kirk again is because she feels upstaged by Molly’s looks. In this scene, it makes the saying, â€Å"a woman doesn’t want a man until someone else has him† a true statement. With those two senses that were mentioned, it gives you a lot to think about. One being that you really don’t appreciate something until it’s gone. In this movie Kirk was a type of person that needed to be with a person that would help and motivate him to achieve his goals. Marine wasn’t that type of person. When Molly came along, she really brought out the best in Kirk. As Kirk begins the better himself, Marine begins to see all the things that Kirk was capable of, but by this time it was too late. Personally, I really did find this movie meaningful. There were a lot of points that could have been taken from this movie. The two points that I retrieve from this movie is that it is ridiculous to rate a person based on looks and decide that you can't be with that someone based on some rating and it is true that you don’t see what you have until its gone.

Cultural Diversity in the Media Essay

The term drugs refer to anything, which is not prepared by organisms and is generally considered that drugs are not part of food we eat. Although drugs also refer to Medical ailments (pills, syrups, capsules etc) but here we are discussing recreational drugs which are: LSD, Shrooms, Alcohol, Caffeine, Catnip, Salvia, Cocaine, Crack, DXM, Ecstasy, Ephedrine, Heroin, Inhalants, GHB, Tobacco, Cannabis, Methamphetamine, Milk (artificially prepared), Peyote, Nutmeg, Oxycontin, Ketamine, Whiteboard Markers and so on. Drugs have its uses and abuses. But mostly, its uses are almost negligible when one starts introspection of the conditions of society caused by the abuses of Drugs. Societies are damaging because of evils of the alarming increase in the intake of drugs all over the world, which is followed by the increase in crime and decrease in national income. It has been surveyed that people portray abnormal, illegal and ruthless behaviors after intake of drugs. Alcohols being widely available in societies of west provide easy hand in the provision of drugs. In America alone, every third child is said to be tainted by the drugs. All teens see some type of drug use or abuse in school or in the media. â€Å"The nineteenth-century explosion of drug use had gotten out of hand. Wiliam Halsted invented nerve-block anesthesia with cocaine (1885) but developed such a craving for the drug that his friends had to put him aboard a schooner for several months so he could kick the habit. He did, but became addicted to morphine from the ship’s supplies. It was long a closely guarded secret at Johns Hopkins University that one of the institution’s founders was a junkie. Halsted’s student, James Leonard Corning, invented spinal anesthesia with cocaine. Every family has a vicious drunkard dad or uncle on the loose; mournful mamas swigged patent medicines by the gallon; kids raised on heroin cough syrup graduated to coca-filled soft drinks. † Increasing display of drugs as element of â€Å"Being cool†, â€Å"Easy money†, â€Å"Failure in love†, â€Å"Family problems†, â€Å"Peer Pressures† and â€Å"Complexes†, in movies is grasping the attraction of teens and young adults. â€Å"An estimated 66. 5 million Americans 12 years or older reported current use of a tobacco product in 2001. This number represents 29. 5 percent of the population. Youth cigarette use in 2001 was slightly below the rate for 2000, continuing a downward trend since 1999. † Rates of youth cigarette use were 14. 9 percent in 1999, 13. 4 percent in 2000, and 13. 0 percent in 2001. The annual number of new daily smokers age 12 to 17 decreased from 1. 1 million in 1997 to 747,000 in 2000. This translates into a reduction from 3,000 to 2,000 in the number of new youth smokers per day. † Some of the most important movies to display drugs as an inspiration for live life, business and culture are given with their detail account of criticism and background. 1. The Blow The Blow was released in 2001 was based on a true story. The story of George Jung, the man who established the American cocaine market in the 1970’s. It was directed by Ted Demme. The screenplay is by Nick Cassavetes and David McKenna. It is story of young man of middle class family struggling for a better place in society, which unfortunately do not turn out be very fruitful for the fate of the family. George then moved to California, where he starts his own business in which he finds both success and imprisonment. In prison, he meets a cellmate who introduces him into a partnership to the lucrative new market in cocaine. When George Jung released from jail he quickly becomes instrumental in establishing the exploding US market for cocaine in which he claimed that he handled about 85% of the supply in the 1970’s. Although it was a movie that could be presented as a masterpiece for the awareness of the society, the movie missed its attempt. The death of the hero was tragic but his appearance in the movie appealed the young generation to a great extent. â€Å"Blow outlines the lifestyle of a mega-rich smuggler — the border crossings, the ruthless negotiations, the sudden betrayals, the wild characters, the run-ins with the justice system, the inherent problems in dealing with massive amounts of cash, the temptations — and, ultimately, the tragedy of blowing all of your dreams for greed. † 2. Trainspotting This Academy Award nominated movies was produced in 1996. Denny boyle directed it. This movie was based on a novel â€Å"Trainspotting† by Irvine Welsh. The screenplay was adapted from Welsh’s novel by John Hodge. This movie begins with the narration by Renton, who is a rent boy, he tell others that they should choose to live traditional family life. After his narration he tells that his train of thoughts ends with â€Å"who needs reason when you’ve got heroin? † all of his friend were addicted to drugs. The movie rotates all about dirty drugs business and its dealings. The movies most critical part is when Renton leaves drug addiction he feels no purpose of life. He then also deals in selling the heroin. Later Renton realizes that his friends are no his friends at all and leave them for a better life. â€Å"Its release sparked controversy in some countries, including the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States, as to whether it promoted drug use or not. U. S. Senator, Bob Dole, decried its moral depravity and glorification of drug use during the 1996 U. S. presidential campaign, although he admitted that he had not actually seen the film. † 3. The basket ball diaries This movie was produced in 1995 and was directed by Scott Kalvert. It was written by Brian Goluboff. The movie is an autobiographical account of poet and rock musician Jim Carroll. The running time of movie was 105 minutes. As a member of an outwardly invincible high school basketball squad, Jim’s life centers around the basketball court and the court becomes an allegory for the world in his mind. It was biggest dream of Jim to become Star of basketball. He was Catholic high school student but later become drug addict due to bad company. Jim and his friends roam the streets of New York City as trivial thieves and revolts. Soon school expelled the Jim for he took drugs before game. Later Jim faces more trouble when his family throws him. This movie is a critical for most of its scene describing, â€Å"A youth (a mere school boy of age 13) is enjoying the drugs† and hence portrayed that it is not very offensive of a young boy or girl to take drugs in that age specially. â€Å"This movie contained incredibly dark and vulgar guided imagery which could quite possibly lead the impressionable into moral and value modification, poor coping skills, and dangerous decision-making. † 4. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas The movie Fear and Loating in Las Vegas was released on May 22, 1998. It was directed by Terry Gilliam. This film was based on Hunter S. Thompson’s 1971 novel Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream. Journalist Raoul Duke and attorney Dr. Gonzo travel from Los Angeles, California to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1971 to cover a motorcycle race for a sports magazine and enjoy a haphazardly planned vacation. Fueled by the massive amount of drugs they purchased with an advance from a magazine to cover a sporting event in Vegas; they set out in the Red Shark. Wreak havoc upon the citizens of Las Vegas. Encountering police, reporters, gamblers, racers, and hitchhikers; they search for some indefinable thing know only as the â€Å"American Dream† and find fear, loathing and hilarious adventures into the dementia of the modern American West. The movie is filled with violence and drugs series. It effected the audience to en extent that even an incident got attached to it. During shooting Gilliam was approached by a group of young men, one of which complimented him on the film in general, but said that his favorite scene was the andrenichrome scene. He said that he had used the drug and that Gilliam had captured the effects perfectly. Gilliam didn’t have the heart to tell the kid that it was made up, and went along with his story. 5. Dazed and confused Dazed and confused is a 1993 American film written and directed by Richard Linklater. The movie tells the stories of the last day of school in May 1976 in a Texas suburb. As the movie begins, the last day of school at a high school is beginning. The last day at Robert E. Lee High School proceeds with regular classes but the soon-to-be-senior class (Class of 1977) is more interested in getting ready for the annual hazing of the incoming freshman class, which will take place after school. The hazing is depicted as a ritualized event that has the support of the town, in the movie. Randall Pink Floyd was a football player who moves with simplistic grace among groups of greasers, nerds, stoners, and athletes alike. The coaches introduced a new policy for the upcoming 1976-77 school year in which athletes have to sign a written pledge that they will not use alcohol or illegal drugs. Pink refuses to sign the pledge sheet. The coach berates Randall Floyd for hanging out with â€Å"that other crowd† (referring to his stoner friends) and Floyd takes offense to it. â€Å"The movie conspicuously shows the much more relaxed attitudes toward both teenage alcohol consumption and driving with open beer containers at the time; Kramer can easily buy beer as the lawful Texas drinking age at the time was 18 and even that was lightly enforced. † References 1. http://www. thc-ministry. net/history-of-drugs. html 2. http://www. getsomeblow. com/index2. html 3. http://parentingteens. about. com/cs/drugsofabuse/a/druguse10_2. htm 4. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Trainspotting_(film) 5. ChildCare Action Project: Christian Analysis of American Culture (CAP) by Thomas A. Carder http://www. capalert. com/capreports/basketballdiaries/basketballdiaries. htm 6. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Fear_and_Loathing_in_Las_Vegas_%28film%29 7. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Dazed_and_Confused_(film)

Plato vs Aristotle Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Plato vs Aristotle - Essay Example For Aristotle, appreciation of â€Å"goods† like friendship, pleasure, virtue and more is what only required to living well (Rasmussen and Uyl 171). Aristotle said, â€Å"†¦and if all were to strive towards what is noble and strain every nerve to do the noblest deeds, everything would be as it should be for the common weal, and every one would secure for himself the goods that are greatest, since virtue is the greatest of goods† (Aristotle 157). This is the reason that Aristotle would most likely to agree in order to propose the idea that a leader should not enhance his own power, but create an atmosphere where followers will be able to achieve their potential. This is what Aristotle believed to be the essential point in order to live in a moral environment. Leadership is more of appreciation rather than training, and so the value of intelligence or knowledge may not be of high priority, but of what the reality speaks, which should not only be primarily based on re asons alone. However, for Plato, leadership with strong political sense should be strongly under the influence of intelligence and not superior force. Intelligence according to Plato leads to the achievement of the knowledge of the moral truths and the appropriate direction of political power that will serve the interest of the people. At one point, Like Plato, Aristotle believed that the ethical virtues that will hinder man from corruptions are the necessary requirements of a leader, because these are essential, but complex rational, emotional and social skills (Garver 199). For Plato, based on his â€Å"The Republic† argued that self-interest should not affect the quality of leadership (Chambliss 488). It is for this reason that those leaders who are serving for the public should not engage in activities where there is a need to be actively involved in economic interests, because the danger will be to use political power and political decisions for own interests of the

Corporate Ethics & Corporate Social Responsibility Essay

Corporate Ethics & Corporate Social Responsibility - Essay Example 2000). According to the definition, companies should commit themselves to behave in an ethical way and should also ensure that they contribute towards economic development and also ensure that its workers, the local community and the society at large. Even though no direct reference to profitability is made, it can be understood from the words 'contribute to economic development' is indicative of the fact. This definition is nearly a decade old and the scope of CSR has taken a much bigger dimension with the passage of time. According to the publication, CSR, from peoples perceptions across the globe should have, to name a few, a concern for future generation, concern for the environment, transparency, a global outlook and partnerships with other organizations in furthering its obligations. For more clarity a more contemporary view is also given here. "CSR covers all aspects of corporate governance. It is about how companies conduct their business in an ethical way, taking account of their impact economically, socially, environmentally and in terms of human rights. This moves beyond traditional business stakeholders such as shareholders or local suppliers." (Corporate Social Responsibility: What is CSR 2006). What all this ultimately suggest is that CSR is gaining in scope and importance and will continue to do so in the future with newer and additional responsibilities being added. Stakeholders: For any organization to grow it has to see that its stakeholders are well looked after. It is easy to say, but a difficult thing to achieve. Stakeholders include everyone who is having a direct or indirect interest in the affairs of the organisation. It means that a diverse range of people with... The researcher also gives some concluding remarks on the topic. It is stated that global capitalism has no impact on the education sector in the UK. Corporate social responsibility will remain the same because a privatized sector will tend to behave in the same way across different sectors. It is profitability and free market enterprise that ultimately determines CSR. Primary and secondary education is necessary and compulsory to every citizen and hence it is better that it remain in the public sector. The researcher presents the view given by Friedman that education, especially primary education is compulsory. A privatized sector will not be able to give quality education at low prices or for free. The university level education can be privatized but under the following conditions. All universities have to be given autonomy as far as syllabus and teaching methodology are concerned. The UK has a long history of distinguished institutions and there would be no lack of experience in cr eating quality syllabus and methodology. State funding can remain, but there is no harm in allowing privately owned universities in the country. Such institutions should be registered as not-for profit societies. Initiatives can be taken up by philanthropic and visionary businessmen. Such organizations will have a greater sense of responsibility than organizations formed for profit. To conclude, the researcher states that whatever the outcome be, education should have quality and should be affordable to everyone at least in the early periods.

Jurisprudence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Jurisprudence - Essay Example In order for a society to gain such a reliable reputation, there needs to be a backbone, which in this case would be a code of law.† (2006: p 1) Man makes laws and crafts amendments in them according to the prevailing circumstances and situation. The basic motive behind devising the statutes of law was the prevention of crimes from the society. Since crime is a social phenomenon and exists in each and every culture of the world from the most primitive human tribes and clans to the modern contemporary society, no civilization can deny its subsistence at all. â€Å"Community disorganization†, according to Vedder, Koenig & Clark, â€Å"has been found to be related to several social problems, including crime and delinquency.† (1973: p 7). It is actually an act that disturbs and destroys the peace and harmony of a society. With increase in population of the world at large, the tribes and communities grew widely and developed into society. The crime rate also got its place along with the growth of civilization with an upward trend and increase. The need of rules and system was felt to preserve calm and harmony. Subsequently, social norms, folkways, mores and taboos came into being to bring regularity in society. Socio-cultural and political authorities were also established, to evade turbulence and control crimes in the prescribed manners prevailing in an area. There are two types of offences i.e. one which is against the law enforced by the state, called criminal acts, and the other that is against religious beliefs as well as existing norms that is called deviancy and immorality. Deviant behaviour and perversion refer to the breaking of the prevailing norms and values. Prostitution, incest, homosexuality, bestiality, buggery, exhibitionism, voyeurism and masochism etc are the examples of moral offenc es or perversion. The parliament of the Old Land, has decided to pass a bill in order to criminalize sexual intercourse

Structure in the human resource management Essay

Structure in the human resource management - Essay Example The features of the Human resource management thus include: demonstrating expertise at organizing the management, competence in the administration of personnel, specialization in the management of manpower and competence in industrial management. The human resource management docket is usually headed by a human resource manager. This paper examines human resource management with reference to the roles, the various careers inherent and further examines interviewing as an aspect of employment and recruitment. With the above features, it is evident that a number of people have made assumptions over the aspect of management and development of human resource. This explains why some organisations will have the entire human resource management as a subsidiary of human resource development (Gary, 1996). This perspective further explains that Human resource development is far much broader than the former and encompasses the development of careers, development of the entire organisation and training. There are a number of careers that are common to any form of human resource management. These careers include human resource assistance which is a generalised job field in human resource (Cynthia et al 1995). Other major careers include employment alongside placement and recruitment that are basically upheld through interviews headed by interviewers. Human resource management also calls for the need to have specialists in Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) that are also referred to as college recrui ters (Gary, 1996). For training, there is need to have specialists in both training and orientation. For the purpose of remuneration, there is need to have specialists preferably analysts that can handle issues to do with the compensation , payment of salaries which may call for the need to have salary administrators alongside administrators that can handle benefit claims. The roles of Human Resource Management. The roles of the human resource management as depicted in the above careers thus include: making vital decisions on matters concerning the type of staffing to be adopted in the organization. Decisions on this aspect are usually made with regard to hiring people to assume the implicated positions or using contractors that work independently (Gary, 1996). Other functions include the recruitment and training of the best people for a number of positions within the organization. With regard to the former, it is upon the human resource management to ensure that the people recruited are excellent at performing their duties. This implies that the human resource management also deals with the evaluation of the performance of the recruited employees (Raymond, 2000). The human resource management docket is also held with the responsibility of ensuring that the type of manpower hired meets the expected standards with reference to the regulations within the firm (Raymond, 2000). Other responsibilities that are to be upheld by the human resource management include; managing and coordinating the approach to the benefits of employees alongside the compensation and the management of employee's records and man power related polices. Some of these roles will differ with regard to the scale at which an organisation operates where small scale operators may opt to perform these duties by themselves while some large scale

PRATICAL WORKSHEETS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

PRATICAL WORKSHEETS - Essay Example The DNA samples collected from suspects have the similar size of bands of about 1000 to 1100bp. However, band size of about 800 to 900bp and 1300-1400bp were also seen in the samples 1 and 2. On the other hand, the DNA fingerprinting shows that suspect 3 DNA has base pair band size of about 600-700bp that is similar to the band size of the DNA attained from the crime sight. Thus, is it quite clear that the DNA samples from the crime sight and suspect 3 DNA samples are same and suspect 3 has interaction with the crime sight. 3. Tris-borate-EDTA and Tris acetate-EDTA are the basic buffing compounds that are used to characterize the DNA molecules. Tris acetate-EDTA is to characterize smaller molecules of DNA whereas Tris-borate-EDTA is taken to analyze the portions of DNA. In order to maintain the pH of the DNA fragments, DC voltages of about 4-10V per centimetre is applied. On the other hand, it also enhances the DNA fingerprinting by lowering the movement of portions of DNA. In this way, bands with enhanced visibility and broad view can be created. On the other hand, as the concentration of gel increases the movement of fragments also decreases. Molecular biologists use DNA electrophoresis and find it a better method to differentiate different DNA fragments, as different segments of the DNA molecule show different characteristic when charge is applied. The DNA matrix is first into a solution that has higher concentration of buffer and DC voltages are then passed. As the presence of phosphate groups makes the DNA molecules to have negative polarity, it attracts the positive terminal. The ratio of the mobility depends on the strand size of the DNA molecule. If the strand size of the DNA is smaller it will move easily and faster after applying electric current as compared to the longer stands DNA. In order to make the DNA samples more visible a florescent compound like ethidium bromide is added to make the

Epic of Gilgamesh Essay Example for Free

Epic of Gilgamesh Essay In the epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh ventures upon a quest seeking immortality as a result to peace and significance in life. In means of this journey, Gilgamesh undergoes a combination of grand adventure, of mortality and also of tragedy. He tries to reach immortality in unusual ways, each as unsuccessful as its predecessor. Gilgamesh suffers conflict due to being two-part god and one part man, in a preliterate time, when gods were seemingly to be replaced by mortals on the throne of the city-states. Gilgamesh tries first through his actions, but then undergoes a transformation which leads him to next attempt physical immortality. Through events of this process, Gilgamesh encounters whom is to be his counterpoint, his equal. Gilgamesh then learns, on his journey to immortality, the truth of a man who endures the wrath of a god, in which he has displeased, causing a stage of extermination of mankind. Gilgamesh gains mature knowledge among his quest. Uruk, his city, is his legacy and the key to his quest. The legends of the pursuit for immortality assembled in the Epic of Gilgamesh portray the conflict felt around Sumerian times. As urbanization swept Mesopotamia, the ethnic condition pivoted from an unsettled hunting society to that of a rural gathering society. Man found his relationship with the divine indefinite and insecure. From the gods, Gilgamesh possessed a perfect body, perfect beauty, restlessness and courage. From his father, Gilgamesh possessed mortality. This results in Gilgamesh having to face the ultimate conflict; conflict of the desires of the god and destiny of the man. Even the king, to whom all things were known, would have to confront commands of tragedy. Superior to all mortal, Gilgamesh finds no desirable match in love or in war. Intending to provide a companion, the gods create from Clay, Enkidu. â€Å"Enkidu, the ‘natural man’ reared with wild animals, and as swift as the gazelle† (Gilgamesh, 22). Gilgamesh and Enkidu seemed to equal out each other and quickly became partners. Gilgamesh was made by the gods so therefore has high self confidence, very smart, but extremely arrogant. He felt as if he had â€Å"supreme powers† and that nothing was impossible. Enkidu was raised by animals in the forest. He was brave, smart, and loyal to his new friend. Enkidu helped Gilgamesh discover his humble and kindhearted side by their newfound brotherhood. Even though the first time they met was a long brawl, the two became inseparable brothers. Not only have they fought against each other but they also fought against many other evils. This later concludes in Enkidu’s death and brings Gilgamesh into a sadness he thought he could only overcome if he was immortal. My hand’s strength, the sword in my belt, The shield before me† (Gilgamesh, 62), reveals the nature of Gilgamesh’s relationship with his soul mate, best friend, and loyal companion, Endiku. The gods in Gilgameshs epic are bestowed as being easily agitated and vindictive. Being two-thirds a god himself, Gilgamesh acts of defiance also speak to a bitter aspect of the gods among ancient Mesopotamians. The gods are depicted as being challenging to satisfy, sometimes penalizing without account or granting punishments that seem out of equivalence to violation. Both men face consequence by insulting Ishtar, but Gilgamesh is able to face his own mortality and Enkidu discover s great knowledge of the measure of life. Subsequently, the loss of Enkidu, Gilgamesh’s young brother and dear friend landed Gilgamesh in a pit of despair. His equal companion has been overtaken by mortality. On his journey in search of immortality, caused by this fear of death, brought him to Utnapishtim. The man who was blessed with everlasting life after surviving the great flood. Aroused by the outrageousness, Enlil, the god of air, felt, â€Å"In those days the world teemed, the people multiplied and the world bellowed like a wild bull†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"The uproar of mankind is intolerable and sleep is no longer possible by reason of the babel† (Gilgamesh, 70). As the advocate of destruction towards human kind, Enlil dominates with his weapon of storm. To his care, Anunnaki, gods of the underworld, cast upon rising waters by lightening. A great flood that will exterminate all mankind has been cursed upon Utnapishtim. â€Å"I looked at the face of the world and there was silence, all mankind was turned to clay† (Gilgamesh, 71). Similar to Noah’s ark, like doves, a swallow and a raven were released. After land was promised, fed to the gods are sacrifices made by Noah and Utnapishtim. In turn, everlasting blessings were cast upon themselves and their families. Utnapishtim challenged Gilgamesh’s commitment to immortality by ordering Gilgamesh to prevail against sleep for six days and seven nights. Gilgamesh fails this request. This journey underscores his humanity, which he did not truly learn a lesson until he first erred in the wrong direction. Therefore, the society, by writing the story of Gilgamesh, guarantees not only his immortality, but the immortality of the new order being established. The Sumerians were the beginning literate culture of Mesopotamia. They carried the gift of language and ideas. In a time when gods were replaced by mortals, Archaic Sumerian civilization was the age. From the oldest of the tablets from Gilgamesh, language relates back to the one of the Sumerians. Through Gilgamesh’s desperate seek to find immortality, he eventually comes back to the point at which he began; however, now he realizes that the beginning point was always the object of his quest.

pillbugs and their preferred habitat conditions

pillbugs and their preferred habitat conditions Introduction To sufficiently grasp and understand the experiment on animal behavior, it is crucial to be knowledgeable of the organisms being observed, as well as the various types of animal behaviors present in nature. In this experiment the observed organism was the pillbug. Pillbugs, are also known as sowbugs or woodlice. They are classified as terrestrial isopods as they belong to the phylum Arthropoda, subphylum Crustacea, class Malacostraca, and order Isopoda. Morphologically they consist of three body parts which include the head, thorax, and abdomen. They have one prominent pair of antennae and one inconspicuous pair, simple eyes and seven pairs of legs. The thorax consists of seven separate segments and there are paired appendages, called uropods, that are located at the end of the pillbugs abdomen. The color of the pillbugs can vary from dark gray to white and they could have a pattern or not have one. With female pillbugs, leaf-like growths appear on the underside of the bugs at the ba se of some of the legs. These pouches are where the developing eggs and embryos are held. On the male pillbug, the copulatory organs are the result of modification in the form of elongation of the first two appendages on the abdomen. An immature isopod will molt four to five times. These young isopods resemble the mature form of the isopod, with the exception of their small size in comparison to that of the adults. The juveniles molt in two stages. The back half molts first and then two or three days later the front half molts. This different molting can cause the coloration between the two halves of the isopod to differ. Nutritionally isopods are omnivores or scavengers who feed on decaying or dead plants and animals. Because Isopods breathe with gills, they can only live in areas that have high humidity, such as under rocks and logs, in leaf litter or in crevices. Some species are nocturnal. Their predators consist of both vertebrates and invertebrates. Like other animals, isopods such as pillbugs exhibit their own interesting behaviors. When disturbed, some species will roll up into a ball. They walk fairly quickly, even walking over one another. Environmentally, isopods have both positive and negative effects. The positive impacts of isopods include, within their immediate surroundings, a minimal amount of soil improvements. Unfortunately, large populations of these isopods can eat and damage the plants in greenhouses and southern states. Some of these interactions and descriptions of these isopods is clear from just observing them. These isopods, as well as other animals, exhibit many types of response to sensory input, a response that is known as behavior. The study of an animals behavior is called ethology. Two simple categories for behaviors are learned and innate (inherited). The behaviors that an animal uses to place itself in its most favorable environment are known as orientation behaviors. When the animal is stimulated by such things as light, heat, moisture, sound, or chemicals, they often exhibit taxis, with is the animals movement toward or away from a stimulus. In contrast to this is kinesis, which is a random movement that does not lead to orientation with respect to a certain stimulus. Another type of animal behavior is called agnostic behavior. This type of behavior is exhibited when animals respond to one another with aggressive or submissive response. It is often the case that these agnostic behavioral displays are a method of asserting dominance. Animals also have specific rituals and sets of activities that are involved in finding, courting and mating with another member of its species. Such activities are known as mating behaviors. Pillbugs exhibit, even just when being observed, many of these behaviors. One, the agnostic behaviors, involves the larger isopods appearing to fight. Soil conditions have various pHs. Some plants grow best in acidic conditions, whereas some grow best in basic conditions. Most, however, grow best in areas where the pH ranges from 6.5 to 7.2, 7 being neutral. Hydrochloric acid, HCl, (0.1 M) has a pH of about 1.1 and Potassium Hydroxide, KOH, (0.1 M) has a pH of about 13.5. These two chemicals exhibit pHs at the extremes of the pH scale. Detritus, on which isopods feed, has a more acidic pH. When organic matter decays, H+ ions are produced, thus adding acid to the soil. The acidity limit for plants tends to be no lower than about 4.5 to 5.6 on the pH scale. The vapor pressure of a liquid refers to the concept that the process of evaporation, in a closed container, will proceed until the number of molecules returning to the liquid is equal to the number of molecules that are escaping. When this equilibrium, the vapor is called saturated and the pressure of that vapor, which is normally expressed in mmHg, is referred to as the saturate d vapor pressure. The vapor pressure of HCl is the about the same as water, which is approximately 20 mmHg at room temperature, 22 C. The vapor pressure of KOH is about 2 mmHg for a 45% KOH solution.5 The purpose of this experiment was to use pillbugs to examine animal behaviors, such as taxis, to examine habitat preferences, and determine whether these isopods prefer moist or dry habitats, dark or light habitats, and acidic or caustic environments. It is hypothesized that, given that pillbugs posses gills, for which moisture is needed to help function properly, the pillbugs would prefer moist over dry environments. In addition, it can be hypothesized that, given that the pillbugs live under rocks and feed on decaying organic material, which releases acid into the soil, they would prefer the dark rather than light conditions and the acidic over the caustic environment. Materials and Methods Water Pipet Filter Paper (2 pieces) Choice Chamber Scissors Soft Brush 10 Pillbugs Stopwatch To observe pill bugs and their preference for moist versus dry conditions, a choice chamber, consisting of two petri dishes connected to one another, was obtained and lined with filter paper. Two pieces of filter paper were cut to fit the chambers. One was then moistened, using a pipette, with a few drops of water. The second piece of circular filter paper was left dry. The moistened filter paper was placed at the bottom of one chamber, chamber 1, and the dry filter paper was placed at the bottom of the other, chamber 2. Then, using a soft brush, ten pillbugs were obtained from the stock of pillbugs, and then placed into the chambers. Also using a soft brush, five pill bugs were placed in the dry chamber while the remaining five were placed in the moist chamber and the chambers were closed. This pillbug count for each chamber was then recorded for time zero minutes. Using the stopwatch to track time, the count of pill bugs on each side of the choice chamber was then recorded every 30 seconds for ten minutes, and continued even when some may no longer have been moving or were all on one side. Notes were taken on the actions and interactions of the pill bugs throughout the ten minute period. Once ten minutes had elapsed, the pillbugs were returned to the stock culture. Black Paper White Filter Paper Choice Chamber 10 Pillbugs Soft Brush Scissors Stopwatch To determine the preference of pillbugs between light and dark habitats and conditions, a choice chamber with two connecting petri dishes was lined with two different types of paper. One piece of normal filter paper and one piece of black paper were both cut to fit the chambers. Next, the bottom of the inside of one dish, chamber 1, was covered with the unaltered, white filter paper and the other dish, chamber 2, was lined with the black paper. Then, using a soft brush, ten pillbugs were obtained from the pill bug stock culture, five of which were placed in the black-paper lined chamber and the remaining five were placed in the white paper lined chamber. The choice chamber was then closed. The initial pill bug count, 5 in each chamber was then recorded in the table. For a period of ten minutes, using a stopwatch to track time, the count of the pillbugs on each side of the choice chamber was recorded every thirty seconds. In addition, notes about the interactions of the pill bugs were taken throughout the ten minute period. The count continued to be taken, regardless of the lack of movement from the pillbugs or the concentration of all ten in one chamber. After the ten minutes had elapsed, the pillbugs were returned to the stock culture. White Filter Paper (2 pieces) 0.1 M HCl (Hydrochloric Acid) 0.1 M KOH (Potassium Hydroxide) Pipettes (1 or 2) Filter Paper (3 Pieces) 3 Choice Chamber 10 Pillbugs Scissors Stopwatch To determine the preference of pillbugs in terms of basic versus acidic conditions, a 3-choice chamber was set up. Three pieces of filter paper were cut to fit the chambers. Using a pipette, about four drops of 0.1 M HCl were placed in a circular pattern about the paper. Another piece of filter paper was sprinkled with 0.1 M KOH in the same manner as was done with the hydrochloric acid. The HCl and KOH were applied to the filter paper in such a way that the paper was not drenched in the chemical. One chamber, the one connected to two other chambers was lined with an unaltered piece of filter paper. One of the two remaining chambers, chamber 1, was lined at the bottom (inside bottom) with the acidic filter paper and the remaining chamber, chamber 3, was lined at the bottom with the basic filter paper. Using a soft brush, the ten pill bugs were all removed from the stock culture and placed in chamber 2, the middle chamber consisting of the unaltered paper. The chambers were then covere d and the pillbug count was recorded in the table for the initial time of 0 minutes. For the next ten minutes, the count of pillbugs in each of the three chambers was recorded every thirty minutes. The data continued to be collected even when they were no longer moving between sides or were all on one side. After the ten minutes had elapsed, the ten pillbugs were returned to the stock culture. Results Table 1: Number of Pillbugs in Wet vs. Dry Chambers at Various Times Time (min.) Number in Wet Chamber Number in Dry Chamber Other Notes 0 5 5 Begin moving instantly 0.5 2 8 Large number shifts together to one side 1 1 9 One more baby follows 1.5 3 7 Fighting between two larger isopods 2 5 5 Even out again 2.5 5 5 Move about but come back to even; one not moving 3 6 4 More to wet chamber 3.5 4 6 Back to Dry Chamber 4 5 5 Crawling on underside of paper 4.5 4 6 Fighting to get from one side to another 5 3 7 Large pillbug still not moving 5.5 6 4 Other pillbugs begin gathering around non-moving pillbug 6 7 3 Pillbugs piled on top of one another 6.5 5 5 Pillbug begins to move again 7 4 6 More to Dry Chamber 7.5 5 5 Back at even 8 6 4 Continual switch from chamber to chamber 8.5 7 3 Begin gathering at wet chamber 9 9 1 More join wet chamber 9.5 7 3 Crowded, a few go to dry chamber 10 9 1 Return to wet chamber Table 2: Number of Pillbugs in Lighter vs. Darker Colored Chambers at Various Times Time (min.) Number in Light Chamber Number in Dark Chamber Other Notes 0 5 5 Begin moving instantly 0.5 3 7 Move to dark side 1 2 8 More to dark side 1.5 2 8 Remain, no overall movement 2 2 8 No overall movement 2.5 3 7 Begin going to white side 3 3 7 No overall movement 3.5 4 6 Moving to lighter side 4 2 8 Move to dark side 4.5 5 5 Equalize again 5 3 7 Fighting to get to dark side 5.5 5 5 Equalize again 6 4 6 More to Dark side 6.5 7 3 Piling up to get to lighter side 7 7 3 No overall movement 7.5 8 2 More in lighter side 8 9 1 More in lighter side 8.5 7 3 Move to dark side 9 5 5 Equalize again 9.5 3 7 Move to darker side 10 4 6 Young follows adult to other side Table 3: Number of Pillbugs in Neutral, Acidic and Basic Chambers at Various Times Time (min.) Number in Neutral Chamber (Control) Number in Acidic Chamber Number in Basic Chamber Other Notes 0 10 0 0 Immediate Movement 0.5 2 5 3 Move to acidic 1 3 5 2 Stay around outside of chamber 1.5 6 2 2 Quickly out of acidic and into neutral area 2 4 3 3 More to basic area 2.5 5 2 3 Away from acidic area 3 2 3 5 More slowly moving to basic area 3.5 2 1 7 Movement to basic chamber 4 4 0 6 Pillbugs all out of Acidic area 4.5 1 1 8 Most in Basic area 5 1 4 5 Some return to acidic chamber 5.5 3 1 6 Slowly moving out of Acidic chamber and into neutral and basic chambers 6 4 1 5 Out of basic and into neutral 6.5 3 1 6 Back into basic area, around outside of filter paper 7 3 1 6 No overall movement 7.5 4 0 6 All gone from acidic area 8 3 0 7 More to basic area 8.5 4 0 6 Small shift 9 3 0 7 Reverse of shift 9.5 2 0 8 More to basic area more slowly than before test 10 1 0 9 More to basic area Figure 1: Fluctuation in Number of Pillbugs in Wet and Dry Chambers Figure 2: Fluctuation in Number of Pillbugs in Lighter and Darker Colored Chambers Figure 3: Fluctuation in Number of Pillbugs in Acidic, Neutral and Basic Chambers Discussion Table 4: Average Number of Pillbugs in Wet vs. in Dry Chambers Time (min.) Number in Wet Chamber Number in Dry Chamber Average # of Pillbugs in Wet Average # of Pillbugs in Dry 0 5 5 0.5 2 8 1 1 9 1.5 3 7 2 5 5 2.5 5 5 3 6 4 3.5 4 6 4 5 5 4.5 4 6 5 3 7 5.5 6 4 6 7 3 6.5 5 5 7 4 6 7.5 5 5 8 6 4 8.5 7 3 9 9 1 9.5 7 3 10 9 1 Total # of Pillbugs 108 102 5.143 4.857 Table 5: Average Number of Pillbugs in Lighter vs. Darker-Colored Chambers Time (min.) Number in Light Chamber Number in Dark Chamber Average # of Pillbugs in White (Light) Average # of Pillbugs in Dark 0 5 5 0.5 3 7 1 2 8 1.5 2 8 2 2 8 2.5 3 7 3 3 7 3.5 4 6 4 2 8 4.5 5 5 5 3 7 5.5 5 5 6 4 6 6.5 7 3 7 7 3 7.5 8 2 8 9 1 8.5 7 3 9 5 5 9.5 3 7 10 4 6 Total # of Pillbugs 93 117 4.429 5.571 Table 6: Average Number of Pillbugs in Neutral, Acidic and Basic Chambers Time (min.) Number in Neutral Chamber Number in Acidic Chamber Number in Basic Chamber Average # of Pillbugs in Neutral Chamber Average # of Pillbugs in Acidic Chamber Average # of Pillbugs in Basic Chamber 0 10 0 0 0.5 2 5 3 1 3 5 2 1.5 6 2 2 2 4 3 3 2.5 5 2 3 3 2 3 5 3.5 2 1 7 4 4 0 6 4.5 1 1 8 5 1 4 5 5.5 3 1 6 6 4 1 5 6.5 3 1 6 7 3 1 6 7.5 4 0 6 8 3 0 7 8.5 4 0 6 9 3 0 7 9.5 2 0 8 10 1 0 9 Total # of Pillbugs 70 30 110 3.33 1.429 5.238 Figure 4: Comparison of Average Number of Pillbugs in Wet Chamber vs. in Dry Chamber Figure 5: Comparison of Average Number of Pillbugs in Lighter-colored and Dark-colored Paper Figure 6: Comparison of Average Number of Pillbugs in Acidic, Neutral and Basic Chambers It was hypothesized that the isopods (pillbugs), given their possession of gills for respiration and that they live underneath rocks and logs, places where light is not in abundance, would prefer the wet chamber over the dry chamber and the dark chamber over the light chamber. It was also hypothesized that, considering that the pillbugs feed off of decaying organic material, which in the process of decaying increases the acidity of the soil, these isopods would prefer the acidic chamber (the one with HCl), over the caustic (with KOH) and neutral chambers. The data collected from preforming the experiment partially supports the hypothesis. The average number of pill bugs in each chamber, was calculated by summing the pillbug count for all twenty-one times in one chamber and then doing so for the next and then dividing these totals by the total number of pillbugs counted. In each case this number was 210. The results show, as seen in Table 4 and Figure 4, that the average number of pil lbugs in the moist chamber over ten minutes was about 5.143 while the average number in the dry chamber was about 4.857. This higher average for the moist chamber illustrates taxis with a movement toward the stimulus of moisture. The second portion of the hypothesis was also supported by the data collected. Table 5 and Figure 5 both show that the average number of pillbugs in the chamber with white filter paper was about 4.429, in comparison to the average number in the chamber with dark paper, which was about 5.571. These results are consistent with the known habitat of isopods such as pillbugs. The hypothesis for third portion the experiment, however, was not supported by the data collected. Table 6 and Figure 6 both show that the pillbugs actually prefer a basic environment, one with drops of KOH, over an environment with no chemical additives and the environment with the addition of drops of the strong acid HCl. The average for the number of pillbugs in the neutral environment w as about 3.33, for the acidic environment the average was 1.429 and for the caustic environment the average was about 5.238. These results could possibly be explained by the higher vapor pressure of HCl in comparison to that of the KOH. With a higher vapor pressure, the HCl would have vaporized more easily and quickly, thus getting into the gills of the pillbugs and causing them irritation. This irritation would explain their clear lack of fondness for the HCl permeated filter paper. The lack of pillbugs accumulating on the plain filter paper can possibly be explained by its complete lack of moisture, and that the antennae on the pillbugs would not sense any chemical or something of that nature, that would attract the pillbugs to that chamber. The interaction of the pillbugs inside the choice chambers is indicative of agnostic behavior, as seen in the fighting of the pillbugs. Human error, such as counting, would not play any, or any significant role, in the results of the experimen t. This experiment and the results obtained from it support most of the hypothesis, but conflict with and not support another portion. The results support the preference that pillbugs have for moist and dark environments, but suggests that pillbugs prefer more caustic environments to neutral and acidic environments. Citations