Symbolism, Themes, and Metaphors in Moby Dick by Herman Melville - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 7 Words: 2041 Downloads: 4 Date added: 2019/05/08 Category Literature Essay Level High school Topics: Moby Dick Essay Did you like this example? The novel Moby Dick written by Herman Melville is very ambiguous and is full of symbolism, themes, and metaphors. The characters of the book resonate from the Bible and the novel begins with a Biblical quote from the book of Job. Moby Dick explains the relationship between human beings and others, the value of life, and a whaling lore. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Symbolism, Themes, and Metaphors in Moby Dick by Herman Melville" essay for you Create order The novel is told by Ishmael who divulges of a journey on the Pequod ship with Captain Ahab. Captain Ahab is the main protagonist of the story and is pursuing a whale; Moby Dick. Ishmael is on the quest to find the real meaning of life and thus follows life at sea. The whale, Moby Dick a great deal of chaos among the ship and is chased by several other ships when he is seen. Moby Dick is a novel that is rich in ironic themes. The purpose of this paper is to analyze some of the themes and characters from this novel. Defiance is a theme that can be found pervasively in Moby Dick. Father Mapple, a former whale man and current preacher, prepares the reader to consider the theme of defiance through his sermon derived from Jonah and the Whale in Chapter 9. Jonah was called on by God to preach in Nineveh. Instead, he attempts to run away to another country where God does not rule. As Jonah tries to escape, his punishments become harsher and harsher. It later occurs to Jonah that God is everywhere. When Jonah is swallowed by a whale, he prays to God in its belly. He submits to preaching in Nineveh and only then does God bring Jonah to safety. Jonah later comes to learn that for one to follow God, one must lay aside their vanity and wishes to follow the will of God. Father Mapple states that for one to obey God, he should first disobey himself. The telling of Jonahs preaching is parallel to Ishmaels eventual whaling story where he is the lone survivor of the Pequods ship. Captain Ahab is an ungodly man who shows defiance by fighting against Gods will and the rules of nature. After Starbucks suggested that it was blasphemous to seek revenge on Moby Dick for attacking him, Ahab states that he would even hit the sun if it insulted him, further illustrating his egotistic character. He wears his defiance proudly and does not worship or acknowledge any superior forces. The whale, Moby Dick is used symbolically to represent the regime that Ahab is fighting against. The leadership and experiences of Father Mapple implies that God himself is the pilot of the ships, further suggesting that the White Whale may be God in disguise. Ahab thinks of himself as equal to God and is obsessed with getting more recognition than he deserves. However, by defying God and its superior power, Ahab condemns himself to death. Contrary to the theme of defiance, the theme of friendship is also prevalent in Moby Dick. This theme can be found through the friendship of Ishmael and Queequeg. Although the two are different in culture, religious tradition, and race, they manage to be unlikely friends. The author uses words such as Christian/Heathen, savage/civilized and Black/White to further illustrate the differences between the two characters. As time goes by, the two become close and accept that diversity has its own positive possibilities. Queequeg and Ishmael continue to grow as they embrace change. They both recognize that by appreciating the similarities and differences of other cultures, they can learn a lot from each other. Furthermore, their respect for each others differences can be found when Queequeg attends services at Whalemans Chapel, even though he is not a Christian. Later in the story, Ishmael offers a sacrifice to Yojo, Queequegs idol and they both bond through sharing a tobacco pipe. This comradeship is again experienced by the crew of the ship. Ishmael insinuates comradeship by working with the other mates. Stubb is among the exception of friendship on the ship. His role with Fleece, who is a black cook is intended to create humor but comes across as more of a lack of brotherhood. Ahab again, does not have an interest in friendship but fortunately comes across Pip who starts to get close to him. The friendship of Ishmael and Queequeg is later proven to be beneficial to Ishmael, as Queequeg indirectly saves his life through his coffin that floats on the surface of the water after the Pequod sinks. This provides Ishmael with a life buoy until the Rachel comes to his rescue. The actions of the novel take place in a ship, therefore, the theme of duty is paramount. Father Mapple has a duty to God as a shepherd of peoples hearts. After Ahabs first disagreement with Starbuck concerning the mission of the ship, the crew regards Ahab as their overall leader. Later on during the voyage, the two confront each other again regarding the duties of the ship. Starbuck is a loyal servant to his authorities. He believes he has a duty to God, his employer, and to the captain of the ship. When Starbuck notices that oil is leaking from the barrels of the ship, he informs Ahab. Although it is expected that the captain of the ship stop the ship and concentrate on the safety of the whale oil, Ahab does not care about anything except his pursuit of Moby Dick. Ahabs only duty is to himself and his mission. Starbuck reminds the captain of the interests of the owner and their duties, but Ahab does not care. He believes he can follow his own goals by defying everything that comes across his path. Ahab points a firearm towards the firstmate and declares that the Pequod has only one captain. Although Starbuck has an opportunity to kill Ahab, he is overcome with his obligations towards God and his own family. His values lead him to reconsider taking Ahabs life and to serve him instead. Starbuck feels that he has a duty towards himself, God, and to common decency. Obsession is another theme that is found present in Moby Dick. Ahabs obsession to kill Moby Dick can be seen countless times throughout the novel. Ahabs characteristics, his preparation and determination, and the prospect of revenge on Moby Dick is what leads to the eventual demise of Ahab. Ahabs perspective of the White Whale as a mysterious force of evil, further drives Ahabs obsession to conquer this evil by destroying the physical being of the whale. Ahab believes that by killing Moby Dick, he will be eradicated of evil and pits himself and humanity in an epic timeless struggle against the White Whale. It is not typical in whaling industries for captains to frequently risk themselves in pursuit of a whale, but Ahab challenges the White Whale despite everything. During the ritual that binds the crew together, Ahab proclaims God hunt us all, if we do not hunt Moby Dick to his death! He sees the White Whale as evidence of evil forces persecuting him instead of interpreting the loss of his leg as a consequence of his occupation. On his death bed, Ahab uses his last breath to curse the whale and its fate. The theme of Death reveals itself at the end of Moby Dick but the foreshadowing of death can be found throughout the novel. When Ishmael first goes to the inn, he notices an oil painting, which is later determined to be a depiction of a whale attacking a ship. This painting is a foreshadowing of death as later events reveal the Pequod in a terrible storm under attack by a whale. Furthermore, the inns owners name is Coffin which portrays the theme of death at the beginning and at the end of the novel. Ahab is familiar and comfortable with the theme of death as he realistically knows that the mission can either end in a victory, or the deaths of many of his crew members. Another occurrence of the theme of death are the prophecies of death heard throughout the voyage.Elijah anticipates a bad ending before the ship starts sailing. Gabriel foresees that Ahab will die underneath the sea. Fedellah tells Ahab the prophecy of his elaborate death, but Ahab thinks that it is unlikely that his death will happen at sea. He is foretold that he will be dismembered by a whale, but he proclaims he will be both the prophet and fulfiller of Moby Dicks destiny. All the predictions of Parsee anticipated death were fulfilled in ways that were not expected. Another central theme to the novel is the limits of knowledge that a man can possess. The uncertainty of the crew about their fates and the crews doubt about their religious fate are parallel in a sense that there are limits to the knowledge that a can have. A prime example of the limits of knowledge is that each ship on sea must rely on encounters with other ships to get news and information. Captain Ahab only desires gams with ships whose captains have information about Moby Dick. When passing a ship with no information, Ahab ignores the boats. Throughout the novel, Ishmael uses every subject he can to try and understand the important nature of the whale. He uses various systems of knowledge such as art and taxonomy but these detailed systems fail to give enough account to whaling. The various approaches used by Ishmael create a need for him to assert authority as a narrator with many references. However, by showing that a man is limited to information such as the depths of the ocean, this thereby proves that the knowledge of a human being is limited. The ways of Moby Dick cannot be predicted just like the ways of God cannot be predicted by man. Therefore, trying to interpret these ways like Ahab would not provide significant results. Lastly, race is another central theme that can be found in Moby Dick. At first sight, the Pequod can be viewed as place where equality thrives and there is fellowship among the races. The men on the Pequod consists of all kinds of men from all other the world that seem to get along. Although Ishmael is uneasy when he meets Queequeg for the first time, he comes to find out that he is better a sober cannibal than a drunken Christian as a shipmate. The work that the Pequod does creates equality among the crew because crew members are promoted based on the work that they have done and their skills. However, this is ironic to the actual fundamentals of whaling because the work of whaling can be found as characterizations of the American and European territorial expansion. Furthermore, the captain and mates in Moby Dick are all white while the harpooners are non-white. The white crew members on the ship are more dependent on other white crew members, while non-white crew members are involv ed in carrying out difficult jobs. The non-white characters subordination to the white characters can be exemplified by a scene in which Ahab is walking over Pip symbolizing his value as that of a slave. In another scene, Flask stands on Daggo, an African harpooner to beat the other mates. The novel ends with the death of all the characters apart from Ishmael who survives to tell the story. From the story, it is important to note the Ishmael is very obedient and he enacts his duty towards the captain and towards God. He is very respectful and it can be implied that God allowed him to survive because he acknowledged Him, unlike Captain Ahab who stated that he had no duty towards the rest of the crew or towards God. The theme of defiance, race, limits of knowledge, obsession, and death can all be found throughout the novel of Moby Dick. Moby Dick ultimately wins at the end of the novel by destroying all the ships. Ahab, who is the captain, is seen pinned to a harpoon line and is dragged by the whale underneath the water leading to his eventual demise. It is only Ishmael, the one telling the story, who survives and lives to tell the tales of the voyage.

Indexes Are Used From E Commerce Websites - 1481 Words

Answer 1 Indexes are used by queries to find data quickly. Indexes are used to boost performance in a database. Finding an individual record or set of records most efficiently done by Index. Index key is the reference point where an index is an ordered arrangement of keys and pointers. Each key is appointed to the location of the data recognized by the key. For example: when we order any product from E-commerce websites like amazon, we will be assigned an order confirmation ID which gives the authority to track that particular information on the product till it reaches. If no index exists on a table, a table scan must be performed for each table referenced in a database query. The larger the table, the longer a table scan takes because a†¦show more content†¦Ã¯â€š § The primary key attribute cannot be discretionary which means it should not possess null values. ï‚ § The primary key cannot have repeating values which means the attribute may not have more than one value at a time for a given entity case is prohibited. This is known as the No Repeat Rule. ï‚ § Entities with compound primary keys cannot be split into multiple entities with simpler primary keys. This is called the Smallest Key Rule. As we know that a foreign key is an attribute that completes a relationship by identifying the parent entity. Let me explain how to identify the foreign keys that every dependent and subtype entity in the model must have a foreign key for each relationship in which it participates. Foreign keys are formed in dependent and subtype entities by migrating the entire primary key from the parent entity. If the primary key is composite, it may not be split. Foreign key attributes are not considered to be owned by the entities to which they migrate, because they are reflections of attributes in the parent entities. Thus, each attribute in an entity is either owned by that entity or belongs to a foreign key in that entity. If the primary key of a child entity contains all the attributes in a foreign key, the child entity is said to be identifier dependent on the parent entity, and the relationship is called an identifying relationship. If any attributes in a foreign key do not belong to the child s primary key,

Health Care Policy Free Essays

Currently, HIV infection among humans around the world is now considered as a pandemic. As of late, the United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS otherwise known as UNAIDS, together with the World Health Organization (WHO) was able to project that AIDS has claimed the lives of approximately 25 million people around the world since December 1, 1981. This current standing puts AIDS making it one of the most destructive pandemics that was ever recorded. We will write a custom essay sample on Health Care Policy or any similar topic only for you Order Now Prior to 2006, the pandemic has already claimed approximately 2.4–3.3 million lives. Twenty percent of which is more than 570,000 were children. It has been projected by leading organizations that 0.6% of the total population of the world is HIV positive. Based on projections, it has been estimated that approximately 1/3 of these deaths would be happening in sub-Saharan Africa which would potentially decrease economic growth and dramatically increase poverty. In addition to recent studies and projections, AIDS could potentially communicate a disease to more than 90 million people in Africa alone that can result in orphans going up to 18 million. There have staunch efforts in order to curb this disease. Several programs such as Information dissemination, legislation focused on curbing the sources of AIDS/HIVS in order to further prevent the spread of disease, research and development of potential cures and vaccinations, health improvement initiatives, and many other programs have been instituted as a means to cut the pandemic from its infectious rampage (UNAIDS, 2006). Governments around the world are aware that this pandemic is no longer an infection that they can simply ignore and would not hit their own countries. Because of this they have started to institute within their area of responsibility various governmental programs and policies that would be useful in stopping this pandemic from spreading in their country (Greener, 2002). This paper aims to present a comprehensive plan of action on creating a governmental policy that aims to curb the spread of HIV or otherwise known as AIDS on the nationwide scale. The objective of this paper is to present how the government and the people can utilize preventive measures by the means of a nationwide policy in order to make aware, prevent and alleviate HIV/AIDS infection and lower the impact of the disease on children, young people, adolescents and women (â€Å"Healthy People 2010,† 2007). Essentially, the policy against AIDS that would be adopted should focus on several aspects such as increasing awareness and effectiveness of a nation’s response towards the disease. This can be achieved by providing support and encouraging full participation directed towards the people that are afflicted by the disease. Under this proposed policy there is potentially more that can be achieved by being able to increase the advocacy on the causes and effects AIDS/HIV particularly to the group that would be most affected by the disease. The proposed policy would also lead to the development and further improvement of instituted policies to better supplement each other and become more effective. Secondly, the proposed policies should be able to usher in opportunities or added venues for counseling in order to assist in behavioral change as an onset of HIV/AIDS infection and affliction. This will be through allocation of more funds in order to provide efficient reproductive healthcare and support. The instituted policy should also provide venues for increased participation in coordination and development of initiatives that focus on alleviating sources of AIDS/HIV infection such as preventing further trafficking of women and children. This policy also involves provision of information that can lead to financial empowerment and therefore, reduce people who are more vulnerable. This can also be provided through the development of community based organizations that educate people on the scourge. These organizations can then be able to facilitate in the sharing of experiences and resources and prevent stigmatization (UNAIDS, 2006). With the ensuing implementation of this policy, new infections can be prevented by arranging seminars and giving information about the disease. This will prevent mother to child transmission through blood screening and educating mothers on the dangers of breastfeeding. The policy will also lead to increased support for children and families living with the disease. More care and support will also be given to people especially children made vulnerable by the disease. In order to implement an effective AIDS/HIV governmental policy, several elements have to be taken into careful consideration, acted upon in a staggered and balance manner, and evaluated periodically for effective monitoring and progression reports. The succeeding text will focus on the proposed elements of the policy against AIDS/HIV that will be explained comprehensively in the succeeding text. The first part of the initiative is focused on ensuring proper accordance to human rights. It is important that human rights among HIV victims and potential HIV carriers are maintained and still being given to them. It is important that human rights are promoted among each other, it is protected and respected. In addition, it is important that venues and measures are taken in order to ensure these rights and to decrease discrimination and combat stigma towards AIDS victims. Being able to prevent such alienation can promote harmoniously living between victims and their direct/indirect contacts (families, nurses, etc.) which would usher in potentially better medical and psychological assistance. This can actually support these victims and their families and lessen the amount of stress currently being carried by the victim and their families. In addition, policies grounded on discrimination and alienation of victims would only yield further unnecessary fear within the populace and would put much undue burden on the AIDS/HIV victims (Greener, 2002). This would also yield to potentially unnecessary programs and initiatives that could have been avoided if the current stigma and views towards AIDS/HIV was removed. In addition, it is important to create a policy that would institute gender equality and address current gender norms within a community that hampers and restricts the full implementation of gender equality. This policy would be highly effective if there is full support coming from men in all the facets of the program. By being able to imbibe gender equality, abuse and eventually HIV transmission would lessen with the community. The second item is to create proactive policies in order to continually institute or imbibe HIV/AIDS prevention ideologies and principles into leaders from all areas within society. This includes government officials, community leaders, NGO leaders, leaders of faith-based organizations, educational leaders, the media, and even trade unions (Xuequan, 2006). This can be achieved by instituting educational and advocacy methods such as seminars, treaties and organizational commitments towards the alleviation of HIV among their communities. By being able to create a sense of responsibility among leaders within these communities, there is a point of delineation wherein the burden of preventing HIV is decentralized from the government alone to include smaller organizations within the community. How to cite Health Care Policy, Papers

Having friends brings you merits of life; it’s not worth living without a true friend free essay sample

Having friends brings you merits of life; it’s not worth living without a true friend. Do you agree or disagree? Use specific reasons and examples to sapport your answer. Besides love, friendship is a relationship that be honored for thousands of years. Terribly to image that how boring and worthless the life would be without a true friend. Having friends brings merits to people’s daily life, perhaps a real fellow is not a perfect one, she or he is someone who you can believe completely, share everything even secret and besides you whenever you need. Day by day, people grow up and make more more partnerships, among these companions, not all guys are good, there are some guys they call friends socially because they are in one environment, such as classmates, coworkers, †¦ on the other hand, some or even one special person that isn’t relative and not depend on sex, age or skin color but you trust fully to tell your secret and enlighten the confidence, is he or she your true friend? From tiny to big problems, you are more comfortable to chat with your pal than to keep stressfully yourself, and to respond your belief, an actual will listen to you carefully for hours and hold your story safely. We will write a custom essay sample on Having friends brings you merits of life; it’s not worth living without a true friend or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Actually, it’s not easy to discover who is your close buddy and it becomes more complicated to speak a very important secret to a not affined person without strong trust. As a duty, your buddy always finds the best way to help you and eternally be the first one to support you to get over the trouble. From the historical time, we are taught about Luu Binh – Duong Le friendship, or a famous triad friends: Luu Bi, Truong Phi, Quan Van Truong, they are not only renowned about their brave, heroic, they can also die for the other. All in one, life becomes more interesting meaningful to have an authentic friend. Reasonably, people experience plenty of emotions in their whole life such as happiness, sorrow, misery, fear, disappointment†¦ someone manages to overcome troubles alone without others’ helping, in different cases, someone can’t get over the difficulty themselves mentally and their close fellow, as their own problem, judiciously tries to find the most effective solution to escape. Therefore, how valuable life is to have someone to share with you hobby habit vice versa. It takes a long time to meet, to talk, to beside together to become close between two unrelated person so your pal does not only understand your interests, routine, moreover, he or she also happily shares these with you. Furthermore, your companion will warmly encourage and assuage when you are disappointed, beside you closely when you feel lonely, tell jokes when you’re sad, etc. Let’s image, for a girl student, how amazing compelling it is to go shopping, go to school or go on a trip with her buddy, not simply to share and enjoy the wonderful time, it’s a good chance for both of them to connect closely and remark an unforgettable moment. Even if asking yourself, when you fall in love with an opposite sex, who will you talk to in such complicated situation? So as a biggest gift that God gives to our life, a true fiend always makes our life worthwhile. In conclusion, having friends makes our life merry and having a true friends makes it more meaningful valuable.

Aqueous Solution Definition in Chemistry

Aqueous Solution Definition in Chemistry Aqueous solution definition: An aqueous solution is any solution in which water (H2O) is the solvent.  In a chemical equation, the symbol (aq) follows a species name to indicate it is in aqueous solution. For example, dissolving salt in water has the chemical reaction: NaCl(s) → Na(aq) Cl-(aq) Although water is often called the universal solvent, it dissolves only substances that are hydrophilic in nature. Examples of hydrophilic molecules include acids, bases, and many salts. Substances that are hydrophobic do not dissolve well in water and tend not to form aqueous solutions. Examples include many organic molecules, including fats and oils. When electrolytes (e.g., NaCl, KCl) dissolve in water, the ions allow the solution to conduct electricity. Nonelectrolytes like sugar also dissolve in water, but the molecule remains intact and the solution is not conductive. Aqueous Solution Examples Cola, saltwater, rain, acid solutions, base solutions, and salt solutions are examples of aqueous solutions.   Examples of solutions that are not aqueous solutions include any liquid that does not contain water. Vegetable oil, toluene, acetone, carbon tetrachloride, and solutions made using these solvents are not aqueous solutions. Similarly, if a mixture contains water but no solute dissolves in the water as a solvent, an aqueous solution is not formed. For example, mixing sand and water does not produce an aqueous solution.

Dui Bu Qi, Saying Sorry in Mandarin Chinese

Dui Bu Qi, Saying Sorry in Mandarin Chinese There are many ways to say â€Å"sorry† in Mandarin Chinese, but one of the most common and versatile phrases is ââ€" ºduà ¬ bu qÇ . It means sorry in the sense that you have wronged someone and want to apologize. The phrase consists of three characters in traditional Chinese: Ã¥ ¯ ¹Ã¤ ¸ Ã¨ µ · (Ã¥ ° Ã¤ ¸ Ã¨ µ ·. Dui Bu Qi Ã¥ ¯ ¹ (duà ¬) in this case means to face, but in other situations means many other things, such as correct or to.ä ¸  (bà ¹) is a negative particle that can be translated as no or not.è µ · (qÇ ) literally means to rise,† but is often used in an extended meaning to be able to. If you put these together, you get something like unable to face, which is the feeling you have when you have wronged someone. This phrase in Chinese can function as a standalone way of saying sorry, but it can also be used as a verb, so you can say: 我å ¯ ¹Ã¤ ¸ Ã¨ µ ·Ã¤ ½   wÇ’ duà ¬buqÇ  nÇ . I have wronged you. Lets look at a few more examples. As you will see, offering an apology is often just a way of being polite, just like saying sorry is in English. ââ€" ºDuà ¬ bu qÇ , wÇ’ gÄ i zÇ’u le.Ã¥ ° Ã¤ ¸ Ã¨ µ ·, 我è © ²Ã¨ µ °Ã¤ ºâ€ Ã¥ ¯ ¹Ã¤ ¸ Ã¨ µ ·, 我è ¯ ¥Ã¨ µ °Ã¤ ºâ€ Sorry, I have to go now.ââ€" ºRà º guÇ’ wÇ’ shuÃ…  duà ¬ bu qÇ , nÇ  shà ¬ fÇ’u jià ¹ huà ¬ yun ling wÇ’?Ã¥ ¦â€šÃ¦Å¾Å"我è ª ªÃ¥ ° Ã¤ ¸ Ã¨ µ ·, ä ½  Ã¦Ëœ ¯Ã¥  ¦Ã¥ ° ±Ã¦Å"Æ'原è «â€™Ã¦Ë†â€˜?Ã¥ ¦â€šÃ¦Å¾Å"我è ¯ ´Ã¥ ¯ ¹Ã¤ ¸ Ã¨ µ ·, ä ½  Ã¦Ëœ ¯Ã¥  ¦Ã¥ ° ±Ã¤ ¼Å¡Ã¥Å½Å¸Ã¨ °â€¦Ã¦Ë†â€˜?If I say I’m sorry, will you be able to forgive me? It should be mentioned that there are other ways of interpreting or breaking down this phrase. You could also think of it as Ã¥ ¯ ¹ meaning to treat or correct, which would give the sense that you have not treated someone the right way or that you have done them wrong. For practical purposes, it matters little which phrase you use. Pick whichever explanation you find easiest to memorize. -Edited by Olle Linge

Architecture And The Everyday Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Architecture And The Everyday - Essay Example Thus, although politics dictated a small budgetary allowance for the construction of a large building and current design practices place a great deal of emphasis on the engineering rather than the aesthetics of a particular work, the architects of the Jubilee Library in Brighton were able to mesh all of these concepts with a design that served the common man and his need for aesthetic beauty, proving Upton’s point that the everyday architecture should not be and perhaps cannot be separated from the concepts of aesthetic Architecture as a serious venture. The library can be seen to strongly grasp the importance of showing the structure in engineering and materials used as it proudly displays its support columns, glass and tile curtain walls and concrete slab supports. It meets with the budgetary constraints of the political powers that be in its use of inexpensive and locally acquired materials even as it focuses attention on the need to create ‘Green Architecture' that r educes the building's impact on the environment through a variety of means that also function to reduce the cost of daily operation. Yet, even as it accomplishes all of these feats, it remains an aesthetically beautiful building that inspires the creativity and the imaginative use of the structure by the local population, encouraging thought and reflection by its simple existence and meeting the requirements of the more aesthetically minded Architects in their need for adhering to theory, philosophy and the principles of design.

The Community Nursing Practice Model Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

The Community Nursing Practice Model - Assignment Example This theory takes a wholesome approach to nursing. It aims at ensuring that the health needs of the community members are fulfilled in the best way. It emphasizes access to primary care, and ensures that the values of primary health care get to be met satisfactorily. This model can be utilized in actual practice to promote the health of diverse community members. The values used in the model help in providing care that can lead to a decrease in many health concerns. These could include an increase in the community mortality rates, following greater access to health care, and treating the community members in a caring manner. More to these, the model helps in promoting the well-being of the community, through provision of quality advice. This includes advice on better eating habits that lead to a reduction in the cases of malnutrition (Barry & Lynn, 2011, p. 22). A brief nursing situation and possible significance of the theory or an aspect of the theory in the situation This model allows care to be granted in various institutions, such as schools. Therefore, schoolchildren get to access prompt health care while still in school. This serves a number of advantages to those connected to the child. First, the child receives immediate treatment, thus reducing the seriousness of the presupposed illness. This saves the student enough school time, hence ensuring that the student does not miss their studies for a long duration of time.

Toyota hybrid cars Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Toyota hybrid cars - Assignment Example Various advanced technologies that are utilized by hybrids include regenerative braking which is characterised by the electric motor applying resistance to the drivetrain consequently forcing the wheels to slow down (Fuhs, 2009, p. 73). In response, the energy form the wheels will turn the motor that acts as a generator which converts energy that usually goes to waste during braking into electricity and battery is used for storing the electricity until when it will be required by the motor (Lagunoff, 2008, p. 156). Another technology that is used by the hybrid vehicles is the electric motor assist where the electric motor avails more power to help the engine during acceleration, overtaking or going up a hill. Therefore, a smaller and more efficient engine can be used while in some of the cars, only the motor avails power needed for driving in low speed conditions where internal combustion engines are not very effective. They also employ automatic start and shut off that shuts of the engine spontaneously when the car pulls to a halt and starts it again it when the motorist presses on the accelerator. The automatic start and shut off is important in preventing wastage of energy from idling. Toyota is a leading corporation in manufacturing, assembling as well as supply of cars all over the globe. One of the key reasons for the company’s good performance is the efficient management system that it employs (Czinkota and Ronkainen, 2013, p. 535). There are several other striking attributes that have enabled the company to achieve its place as a market leader. The type of market structure that the company functions in cannot be defined clearly and in some cases, it is considered to be a monopoly. The dominance of the company in the market is what makes the company to be seen as operating a monopoly. The company’s differentiation approach has enabled it to have a monopolistic existence particularly in the emerging nations. Conversely, the

Ethical Issues Working with Youth

Ethical Issues Working with Youth To what extent can researchers plan for ethical issues when working with children and young people? People often think of ethics or morals, as a rule for distinguishing between what is right and wrong. Something that springs to mind, is the saying; Do unto others as you would have them do unto you or the religious creed of the Ten Commandments, Thou Shalt not kill. This is a common way of defining ethics and the norms for conduct that distinguish between unacceptable and acceptable behaviour. Most people learn ethical norms within the home, at school or in other educational settings. Majority of people acquire their sense of right and wrong during their childhood as moral development occurs throughout life. Simply because as human beings, we pass through different stages of growth as we mature. Ethical norms can be classed as ubiquitous, simply because one might be tempted to regard them as simple commonsense. A plausible explanation of these disagreements is that as humans, we can recognise some common ethical norms, but majority of individuals may apply and interpret these norms in different ways in respect of their own life experiences and own values. Our society has legal rules that govern behaviour, but ethical norms can be broader and more informal than laws. However, most societies use laws to enforce moral standards and ethical and legal rules use similar concepts, it is however crucial to point out that law and ethics are not the same. For example, an action could be classed as legal, but illegal or unethical, but ethical. Society also uses ethical concepts and principles to interpret laws, evaluate and criticise. Within the last century, citizens were urged to disobey laws in order to protest what they classed as unjust laws that were immoral. Within research with children and young people there are several reasons why it is important to adhere to ethical norms. Firstly, it promotes the aims of research and examples include, truth, avoidance and knowledge such as misrepresenting research data promote the truth, prohibitions against fabricating, falsifying and avoid error. Second, is that research often involves a great deal of cooperation and coordination amongst different people in different institutions and disciplines. Ethical standards promote the values that are essential to collaborative work, which include fairness, trust, accountability and mutual respect. For example, many ethical norms in research, such as guidelines for authorship, data protection policies, and confidentiality rules are designed to protect intellectual property interests, but still encouraging collaboration amongst the institutions. Therefore, researchers want to receive credit for their work and contributions to be disclosed prematurely and do not want to have their ideas stolen. Third and the main standard is that many of the ethical norms help to ensure that researchers can be held accountable to the public. Many of the norms with research are that it promotes a variety of other important moral and social values, for example social responsibility, human rights, compliance with the law, and health and safety. Critically, ethical lapses in research can significantly harm humans, students and the public. A researcher who may fabricate data in a clinical trial could harm patients and a researcher who fails to abide by regulations and guidelines, as set out in the ethical standards, could jeopardise his health and safety or the health and safety of staff and students in relation to radiation or biological safety. Consequently, ethics are often a matter of trying to find a balance between opposite extremes. Ethical research with children has changed significantly in the past 30 years and modern standards of research ethic may considerably depend on modern transparent research methods and a respectful relationship between children and researchers. During the 1947s lawyers stressed the dangers of research and insisted that willing consent should be obtained, although it was presumed that children were too young to give consent and consequently banned from participating from research. Traditionally, children were not allowed to consent for themselves for medical Children traditionally were not allowed to consent for themselves in terms of medical procedures and even for the simplest procedures. Today, there are three approved models of consent for children. First, children who are classed as competent, which are sometimes called minors may provide consent on their own. Second, children may provide an assent with parental consent and third, some children, due to their developmental stage or age cannot provide consent until parental consent is sought. Critically, this can raise serious ongoing challenges and some of the difficulties can arise from assessing competence, best interests as well as, motivations. As well as dealing with conflict between children, parents and or with children and youth, many of which may be living on the street or in a crisis situation, to name just a few examples. Children are traditionally considered more vulnerable than adults and this is because of their lack of competence to take part in making decisions. This could be especially around complex issues, such as health care and inclusion, in research. This vulnerability means that parents/ guardians, educators and health care professionals must be trusted to act in their best interests and make decisions for them. Moreover, this vulnerability has often meant that some children are simply excluded from research which is often in short-sighted attempts to protect them from harm. Consequently, this has resulted in excluding children from research and in research, failed to learn about children and to develop better and new ways to treat, approach and protect them. Alderson (2004) states that Ethicists teach the rules for ethical research are based on three main ways of thinking about what is good research: the principles of doing good research because it is right and correct thing to do. Rights based research involves respect and childrens rights, such as providing for basic needs for example, healthcare and education. Protection from child abuse and discrimination and participation is vital during ethical research in having their own views listened to and respected by adults. This is based on good research, rather then relying wholly on adult principles and values. The best outcomes based ethics basically means, working out how to avoid or reduce harm and costs. Researchers may produce very misleading results that are produced in policies that could damage childrens lives. Researchers may upset children by worrying them by making false promises or betray them. Critically, moral questions about power, honesty and respecting people can arise throughout the research process. Although a problem, often seldom mentioned by ethicists, is a risk on published research reports that increase stigma and disadvantage children and young adults. However, these reports can help researchers address such risks and problems and learn how to deal with them. An actual research that wasnt properly planned and a particular ethical issue uncovered was when, as stated by Dennis, 2009 A Japanese graduate student, was translating at a parent/teacher conference and the teacher asked her to pass along comments to the parents that Hanakos thought were rude. She did not want to do it. She intervened covertly because she did not pass along the comments as they had been expressed by the teacher, but she pretended to do so. She tried to make the point the teacher was making, but in a much more polite, positive, and from Hanakos perspective, acceptable way. Critically, this issue would have failed to demonstrate the teachers irritation and pose an ethical risk, as this interpersonal intervention was not inclusive. It could pose a potential harm, as it failed to promote moral and social values and follow ethical standards that promote the values that are crucial to collaborative work, such as mutual respect and trust, especially when working with child ren and young people. Another actual research that the researcher planned well for ethical issues was that off, Naz Rassool. Rassool (2004) was interested in working with a group of 14 and 15 year olds that raised several ethical and practical issues. Rassool felt that the pupils should not be exploited emotionally due to the nature of the work as the pupils were in a critical phase of their development. The research had to be very sensitive through its investigations of identity formation. Therefore, the ethical issues were paramount and persisted throughout the research. Rassool found the most effective way to address the theoretical research question to the pupils, incorporating the concepts of religion, knowledgeability, social change and individual reflexivity, all provided Rassool the theoretical framework. To generate a common understanding of the purpose of the research, Rossool conducted a seminar with staff involved, which addressed the aims of the research, ethical issues and the purpose of the activities. Other ethical issues, revolved in receiving parental consent and whether this as absolutely necessary, if the activities formed a part of the teaching programme. However, since the ultimate aim is to answer research questions it is crucial that all ethical issues are applied throughout. Critically, however when working with children and young people, it is normal protocol to seek parental consent, especially when conducting research. Rossools research promoted the aims of research; followed ethical standards and promote the values, which are essential for collaborative work, such as mutual respect, trust and fairness. It promoted moral and social values. Research heavily relies on the public to take part in the research and if this cooperation is to continue, then researchers have to keep high ethical standards. Alderson (2004) states public anxiety about the removal of childrens organs without consent, partly for research shows how research ethics, consent and rights may change, especially when children are involved. Similar changes may occur in social research and therefore, it is crucial to gain foresight about social research from the hindsight of medical research. Critically many medical journals refuse to publish these reports that may not have the backing of ethical committee approval and therefore, researchers need to keep abreast of the ethical standards. Gaining ethics committee approval can take time and can protect people who take part in the research and protect them from litigation and criticism. The extent researchers can plan for ethical issue is by involving children and young people and should only be conducted when the research question posed is crucial to the well-being and health of children. Ethics help researchers to be more aware of hidden problems, but do not always provide the right and easy answers. However, a research procedure which is not intended directly to benefit the child subject is not necessarily either unethical or illegal. Such research includes observing and measuring normal development and the use of healthy volunteers in controlled experiments. The participation of children is indispensable and this is because the information available from research on other individuals cannot answer the question posed in relation to the children. Therefore, the study method is appropriate for children and the circumstances in which the research is conducted, provides for the emotional, physical, emotional and safety of the child. The challenges relating to ethical and consent issues involving children and young people in research are numerous and require careful consideration and yet are not insurmountable. Critically, as a priority, researchers must engage with the legal, moral and ethical imperatives offered by UNICEF. As Alderson quoted, that Rights based research involves respect and childrens rights and as part of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in particular. The researcher needs to give diligence to Article 12, and the article due and diligent consideration in its entirety, by respecting the views of the child. Researchers must not only commit to inclusive practices, but also maintain assiduousness in ensuring that children and young people are respected participants in the research process, from selection of methodologies to the dissemination and reporting of results. With these guidelines in mind, children should be offered opportunities to genuinely participate in research. When adults are making decisions that affect children, children have the right to say what they think should happen and have their opinions taken into account. Ethical considerations are paramount in childrens research and management of these considerations can be very influential on the research that is ultimately completed with children and young people. The major issues discussed include, protection and safety versus participation, the role of ethics committees and the impact of consent processes. In summary, negotiating ethics approval and access to children and young people remains a major challenge. More attention needs to be given to facilitating information and understanding participatory research across all groups involved to minimise culture clashes and increase the understanding of the nature of participatory research. As Dennis, 2009 quotes There is one ethical principle that worked differently: all peoples voices should be included in decision making thus those who oppose egalitarianism should not be allowed to make decisions that limit the inclusion of others voices. In this case, there is no way to achieve egalitarian inclusivity with people who would limit the egalitarian and inclusive treatment of others. Thus, the two aspects of this ethical principle do not contradict each other and do not need to be criticised on these grounds. The extent researchers can plan for ethical issue is by ensuring the adoption of methods which are respectful to the children and is also crucial that researchers take ethics seriously. This may mean researchers moving away from traditions that in the past may have considered children as unthinking human beings. Instead, it places the emphasis on respecting children as dynamic people, which makes this method more realistic and productive. This is consequently classed as ethical, as most ethics encourage research methods with children participants. Word Count: /2,500

The State of Solar Power Policy And Incentives in Vermont Essay

The State of Solar Power Policy And Incentives in Vermont Vermont has become widely known as a progressive, even cutting-edge state in terms of its public policy. With two out of three of its Congressional delegation officially independent, a groundbreaking civil-unions law, and no fast-food franchises in its state capitol, perhaps that reputation is well-deserved. Energy; its generation, transmission, usage, and impacts upon the Earth, has arisen as a tempestuous, geo-political issue in the past few decades. As the petroleum era explodes (or should we say implodes?), the development and utilization of renewable energy sources has become vitally important for the survival of humanity and all the other species on our shared Earth. So then, how is the tiny green state of Vermont doing in terms of the development of solar energy, one of the central tenets of the renewable energy movement? What policies exist to help direct its agencies and organizations? What financial incentives are in place to encourage a homeowner to invest in solar techno logy and design? In one year, the equivalent of over 5 million kilowatt hours of solar energy hits each acre in Vt. (Vt. Solar Energy Guide, 1993) How well is the government of Vermont motivating people to stick something in front of all that energy? The main agency entrusted with renewable energy in Vt. is the Dept. of Public Service (D.P.S.) formerly headed up by Richard Sedano, now run by Davis O’Brien. This office works with many of the other groups in the state that push for the use of more solar power and other renewable energy sources. From the D.P.S. website we can read former governor Dean’s official Energy Initiative (Dec. 2001): It â€Å"is a long-term vision for Vermont that looks ... ...nd people wanting to help. Although there could always be more money waved around to persuade more people to invest in solar, the state of Vermont seems to be taking forward-thinking, yet cautious, stand in support of renewable energy. Bibliography Renewable Energy Resource Center www.rerc-vt.org Vt. Public Service Dept www.state.vt.us/psd Renewable Energy Vermont www.revermont.org Vt. Energy Investment Co. www.veic.org Burlington Electric Co. www.burlingtonelectric.com 10 % Challenge www.10percentchallenge.org Database of State Incentives for Renewable Energy www.dsireusa.org Million Solar Roofs www.millionsloarroffs.com

China Unbalanced Write-up Essay

In 2001 China became a member of the World Trade Organization. China’s accession into this organization had many advantages and disadvantages for the country. Some of the advantages of being a member of the WTO for China was the strong increase in GDP growth rate which the country experienced as a result of the facilitation of trade and the increase in imports/exports. Some of the disadvantages of the membership to the WTO were the negative effects in health care, inequalities in income distribution, and inefficient pension funds. Prior to 2001 China had a robust economy which was growing at an astonishing rate. When China ascended into the WTO the country reformed the foreign trade policies which were the foundations of the economic success which the country had experienced. As a result of the reforms foreign enterprise was facilitated, there was more transparency of China’s laws, and free trade was promoted. Despite the growth that China experienced prior to 2001, during annual reviews of the country several human rights issues were exposed which could potentially erode the economy. China’s conformation to the standards which the WTO established would facilitate foreign relations and remedy these human rights issues. China’s membership in the WTO eased some of the restrictions on increased foreign trade regulations which made China more attractive to foreign investors. For foreign-invested firm’s distribution, retiling, and franchising had been significantly restricted prior to 2001. Under the WTO China promised full trading and distribution rights for foreign-invested firms. Tariffs were significantly lowered from 31% to less than 14% and China became committed to treating imported goods comparably to domestic goods in trading agreements. Transparency is a basic principal of the WTO and China’s legal system had to inculcate this principal into their system. Foreign firms had been easily manipulated by the Chinese government and there were several occurrences of theft of foreign intellectual property. The WTO required that China tighten up their legal frameworks and design their legal system to be more transparent for foreign firms which would improve foreign relations. The consequences of the reformed trade agreements were that exports grew by 27% annually and China’s economy grew substantially in subsequent years. The real GDP growth rate increased from 10%- 11% annually. China’s economy had steadily been growing since the late 1970’s as a result of the government’s economic strategies. The strategy which the government subscribed to was an export-led growth strategy. China strengthened its domestic markets and improved its relationships with countries to foster this export-led growth which attributed to the strong GDP growth rate in consecutive years since 1970. Productivity drastically increased in China as a result of the reallocation of capital and labor to more productive uses. There was also a migration of people from rural to coastal regions where there were more resources and opportunities for growth. The labor productivity in China outpaced every other country in the world and the country averaged a 9.5% annual productivity rate between 1997 and 2010. The export-led growth strategy and the increased labor productivity rate were some of the key elements which impacted the strong GDP growth rate. There were some domestic problems which China experienced as a result of the rapid growth in China. Some of these problems were the dismantling of the provisions of the â€Å"iron-rice bowl†. With the influx of private-owned enterprises as a result of the amended foreign relation policies many entities in the public sector ceased to exist or became defunct. There were many provisions which the public sector formerly offered such as adequate health care and robust pensions. Many of the hospitals which were still apart of the public sector operated as if they were privately owned and they catered to the demands of becoming profitable. The ramification of this to the Chinese population was that health care was no longer affordable and accessible to the masses. Many Chinese people were without adequate health care and the pensions which they once had were taken from them because most of the pensions were apart of programs implemented by the public sector which were no longer in existence. Despite the stellar GDP growth rate which China experienced the unemployment rate remained high in China throughout this prosperous economic period. The reason for this is that the majority of the jobs which were created were in the coastal regions. The implications of this are that those people who lived in-land did not have access to as many jobs. Many of the salaries of people who lived on the coast were significantly higher than those people who lived in-land. So there became an inequality of income distribution throughout China as a result of the increase in GDP growth as a result of foreign trade and investments in coastal regions.

How to Write a Dissertation Proposal

How to Write a Dissertation Proposal How to Write a Dissertation Proposal Several guidelines are provided to enable an individual to write an excellent dissertation proposal. Here they are for your attention. They should be well detailed regarding the research topic. Current research shows that to be able to write a good dissertation proposal, students have to be well conversant with the topic at hand. This means that they need to gain a lot of information on the subject matter by reading several materials and books on the topic, know current findings on the topic and be able to access various literary sources. They should be able to go outside the area of study. This mainly means that they will be able to research from related topics and as a result, the research work presented will be unique, thus outdoing previous research on the subject matter. The issue of going outside the given area of study is an advantage in that it is a good source of new ideas for a given area of study. They have to be attentive. The issue of attention is a very powerful tool, especially, in the practical application of knowledge gained. In addition, it helps individuals to know the various methods, as well as the procedures, used in a given analysis. This then becomes a great source of information for the broad topic of study. They should know how to cite papers. For instance, an individual who knows the list of authors who wrote a particular article would give a great referenced dissertation proposal paper. In addition, having a good knowledge in the area of text citations would result to a great dissertation proposal. They should be creative. When a researcher is able to refer to research papers that were written previously and come up with new ideas, the outcome document becomes of greater value in comparison to earlier documents. Below is the suggested format that should be used in the writing of a dissertation proposal: A clear formulation of the research question at hand. Justifying the Research Project. Writing a literature review. Compiling conceptual and theoretical research work. Stating the research methodology. Giving a detailed research plan that indicates how the various research stages will be carried out. Budget and Time factor. References together with appendices. Do always remember that, in case you fail to compose a dissertation proposal on your own and the deadline is due in a very short period of time, you can always contact the custom writing agency for help. Proficient writers will rescue you if you are in need and you will get a carefully composed paper within the time you had indicated to them. Do you still need dissertation proposal help online? You can hire our PhD writers who will write a custom proposal for your dissertation. Try our writing service now!

Princess Catherine Ann Buan Gaviola Essays - Free Essays

Princess Catherine Ann Buan Gaviola Essays - Free Essays Princess Catherine Ann Buan Gaviola MAED- Social Studies Regional Differences There are some 120 to 175 languages and dialects in the Philippines , depending on the method of classification. Four others are no longer spoken . Almost all are Malayo-Polynesian languages , whereas one, HYPERLINK "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chavacano" \o "Chavacano" Chavacano , is a HYPERLINK "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creole_language" \o "Creole language" creole derived from a Romance language . Two are official (English and Filipino), while (as of 2017) nineteen are official auxiliary languages .Including second-language speakers, there are more speakers of Filipino than English in the Philippines. The HYPERLINK "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komisyon_sa_Wikang_Filipino" \o "Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino" Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino enumerated 135 Philippine languages present in the country through its Atlas Filipinas map published in 2014. The indigenous scripts of the Philippines (such as the HYPERLINK "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kulitan_alphabet" \o "Kulitan alphabet" Kulitan , HYPERLINK "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tagbanwa_alphabet" \o "Tagbanwa alphabet" Tagbanwa and others) are used very little; instead, Filipino languages are today written in the Latin script because of the Spanish and American colonial experience. HYPERLINK "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baybayin" \o "Baybayin" Baybayin however, one of the most well-known of the indigenous Filipino scripts, is used by the government in some applications such as on the Philippine Banknotes , where the word "Pilipino" is inscribed using the writing system. As well, the Arabic script is used in Muslim areas in some areas in southern Philippines. According to some ethnic and regional studies journalism of the Philippines by Lee S. Dutton : "Language and dialect affiliations are most important aspects of the Philippine there are some special importance of Cebuano, Ilokano , Tagalog and Hilganyon . It is also noted that the Geographic and linguistic diversity of the Philippines is paralled by the diversity of its ethnic and cultural group. Thus resulting to extreme regionalism by the Filipinos. The study conducted by Ronald E. Dolan titled: " Philippine: A country Study" he stated that the Philippine national identity emerged as a blendof diverse and linguistic groups when lowland Christians, called indios by the Spaniards, began referring to themselves as "Filipinos", excluding Muslims, upland triabal groups, and ethnic Chinese who had not been assimilated by intermarriage who did not fit to the category. It was also noted that a societal cleavage among groups in revolting against Spanish rule and later fighting the United States . The troops of the Indigenous people became increasingly conscious of a national unity transcending local and regional identities. A public school system brought at least elementary-level education to all but the most remote barrios and sittios ( small cluster of homes) during the 20 th century also served to dilute religious, ethnic and linguistic or regional differences as did improvements in transportation and communication systems and the spread of English as the lingua franca. Regional Differences do play a major role in shaping a nation for the language is a soul of a country but due to the fast changing times regional differences are more an expression of time lags and bound to diminish on the long run and we do see the gradual decline of it because the improved in transportation and mass media.

Evaluate what managers do so as to manage the organisational Essay

Evaluate what managers do so as to manage the organisational environment - Essay Example alize the fact that business is a consistently changing world and in this context only the people who are ready to acclimatize themselves would be hailed as successful. Thus to put it in the related context, change is the only constant in the world and in the business scheme of things, changing to suit the will and desire of the customers and/or the stakeholders as well as doing one last bit to bring in more revenues and profits for the company just plays the right trick for the business to succeed both in the short term as well as in the long run. Similarly, managing any sports organization could be a Herculean task. This is because managing the sports enterprise means understanding the psyche of the players, the attached officials and team trainers, coaches, people who make the management regimes work in a smooth manner as well as a whole lot more. (Reeves, 2000) Sports management has come to the fore with the increasing viewership of sports within the world with the global audiences touching close to 2 billion people at a single time. This is equally true for soccer events, rugby matches, the Olympics and many other sporting tournaments and events. Within the sporting tenets, managers need to uphold work and staff quality at all times which means that the work done by the workers and the employees alike should match some pre set standards and there is no alienation as far as this point of view is concerned. Sports managers need to plan in a sound manner the different things, control these activities and tasks and make them plot against short term gains rather than having a long run perspective and integrate the activities so that there is a complete mesh in the related ranks and the synchronization is pretty apparent at the end. Sports managers look out for constant changes that happen within the realms of a sports organization in essence. (Duke, 2003) This means that the change factor has to be studied in the light of the consistency basis since as the maxim

Mergers and aquisitions in the USA banking Dissertation

Mergers and aquisitions in the USA banking - Dissertation Example For the past fifteen years or so mergers and acquisitions in the world of American banking have increased tremendously. There are a number of reasons behind this, such as increase in competition among the financial institutions, the deregulation of the banking sector and upheavals in the economy as well as the interest rates. The paper studies the impact of the consolidation of banks and its effects on the wealth of the shareholders. Though it is largely thought that consolidation is likely to have a positive effect on the wealth of the shareholders, study has found that it is not the case. Thus the thesis discusses in detail the reasons due to which the financial firms of USA are likely to undergo the process of mergers and acquisitions and its impact on the shareholders’ monetary resources. The sample spaces taken for the project are the mergers and acquisitions of the past ten years. The recent most acquisition in the American banking sector is taken into account (the acqui sition of Golden West Financial by Wachovia in 2006) is studied in great detail. The period from the 1930s to the mid 1970s has been the most stable in the history of the American banking sector (Grullon, Michaely, Swary, 1997). However, causes such as an increase in competition, the deregulation of the banking sector and upheavals in the economy as well as the interest rates of the country has resulted in numerous unprecedented problems for the bankers

Hotel Quality Management Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Hotel Quality Management - Research Paper Example Customers who request for a room change spend several minutes before they are reallocated another room. This has proven to be ineffective to customers and hotel departments. Other room services such as newspaper delivery and baggage storage also require improvements. Most of the processes that take place in the hotel are done manually, and there is minimal use of technology. Guests have to call for transport at the check-out time since there are no prior arrangements or contracts with transport companies. These activities and processes compromise the quality of services offered by the hotel, and may drive away some customers. Automating the check-in and check-out process would greatly improve the hotel services. A quality system empowers workers at several levels in the hotel in order to establish guest service expectations and device the best way to meet or exceed these expectations. An online check-in system would prove effective in providing quality system. This would help custome rs conduct booking processes via the internet and make payments online. Currently, the hotel uses a manual identification process, which involves checking identification documents. A computerized check-in process would enable hotel attendants verify the identity of customers automatically. Online services can also conduct room changes before they check-in to the hotel. Room change processes usually consume a lot of time before the new room is prepared. Conducting these requests before the guests check-in would save the amount of time spent. The check-out process is also conducted manually by checking the identification of the customer and retrieving customer accommodation information manually. Guests have to line up at the front desk to clear from the hotel. A computerized system would automate the confirmation process, and guests could check-out of their room without lining up at the front desk. Guests are presented with their bill at the front desk, which increases the amount of t ime spent. An efficient system would enable guests receive their bills before leaving their rooms. The hotel does not conduct a customer satisfaction survey about their services. Collecting customer feedback would enable the hotel improve different areas of their services, which did not please the customers. A guest email service would facilitate the collection of customer feedback and assist the hotel management to process the collected data. The core of quality management is to steer the business towards an improved performance. It has three main components, which include quality assurance, quality control, and quality improvement. Consistent quality is achieved by not only improving the condition of services, but also by improving the processes (Jones and Lockwood, 2004). This involves eliminating or minimizing defects present at the business processes and type of services offered. Customer and investor satisfaction are directly linked to the quality of services provided in the h otel. A hotel quality system would reduce competition from other hotels with the help of benchmarking. The hotel would have a mechanism of measuring the degree of customer needs and expectations through the customer feedback system. The hotel would then match these expectations and needs against the perceived quality. Automating the

Relativism and Morality Essay Example for Free

Relativism and Morality Essay There are moral choices made on a daily basis, no matter the culture or race, people make these types of choices. The moral choices we make based on our cultures can be viewed on a scale of right and wrong by other cultures. In the writing of â€Å"Some Moral Minima†, Lenn E. Goodman views several aspects of morality and relativism, and argues that certain things are just wrong. I must say that I agree with her when she says some things are just wrong, and in this paper I will state my opinions on some of the challenges Goodman presents to relativism. The first topic I am going to speak on is terrorism. In the article â€Å"Some Moral Minima,† Goodman asked the question why is terrorism wrong. Of course I think that terrorism is wrong. There are so many reasons that we the people that terrorism wrong and that it should be against the law. â€Å"Terrorism is willful targeting of non-combatants, aiming to intimidate and attract attention. It is a war crime, since war, if just at all, seeks only to block an enemy’s ability to make war. † (Goodman,2010) No one should be targeted because of a war that is happening, killing innocent people just because of their race, or because of their culture. According to Goodman, â€Å"Terrorism today is a manufactured claim to authority and authenticity, ethnic or regional autonomy, or the imposition of Shari ’ a law and haqq penalties on diverse and diversely inclined populations. † (Goodman,2010) Other than the topic I just finished discussing, Goodman also addressed more areas in her articles. Just to mention a few, she discussed, (1) hostage taking and child warriors, (2) Slavery, Polygamy, and Incest, (3) Rape and female genital cutting , and (4) genocide, politically induced famine, and germ warfare. These areas that she discussed are some major problems areas for many nations and cultures around the world. I am going to discuss these areas more in depth beginning with genocide, politically induced famine, and germ warfare. If you are like me I really did not know what the term genocides meant. I had to look up the word and came to the conclusion that genocides mean that violent crimes committed against groups with the intent to destroy the existence of the group. While discussing genocides, Goodman asked the question, â€Å"Why is genocide uglier than murder? † She also answered the question by saying that, â€Å"The answer lies in the intent, not just the scale of the crime. Clearly, more dreams are broken and more futures cut short when more lives are taken. But genocide targets individuals as members of a group, seeking to destroy a race, a culture, a linguistic or ethnic identity, even a class. † I agree with Goodman because I do not think it is up to us to determine whether a group or a specific individual should not be in existence. We do not have the right to kill people because of the group they belong to or because of their beliefs. I think we all were put on this earth for a purpose and a reason and it is not up to man to kill off the group members or destroy a race or culture. Even though it is happening around the world, I do not think that it should. That’s why I solely agree with Goodman on the things she said concerning this topic. Genocide, politically induced famine, and germ warfare are acts of murder and murder is wrong because it is the destroying of a human subject. A right that human beings have is to be alive and to live at our own free will. The next issue I am going to touch basis on is rape and female genital cutting. Rapes happen every day, not only are females but males are raped as well, but it happens more to the female population. Rape is a violation of another person’s will. A person does not have to be touched to be raped and there is more than one kind of rape. Even though I feel all cases of rape are bad, but in my opinion statutory rape is the worst. To harm a young person that has no power to stop their predator is just plain sad. Rape is wrong because it stands at the extreme limit of a continuum of sexual acts, from the most committed to the least so, and the most alienating. Rape is exploitative, objectifying, and, yes, again violative. (Goodman,2010) The last issue I am going to address is slavery, polygamy, and incest. Theses last acts are very bad and may be the worst in my book. Slavery is an issue that I really hate to discuss because as I have done plenty of research I would find myself in tears due to some of my findings. But slavery keeps its victim alive while stripping her of agency, assigning it to others who do not share her projects, hopes, or interests, but subordinate her capabilities to their wants. (Goodman,2010) I think beating people and discriminating against them because of the color of their skin is a very cruel act that should have never happened. Then there is polygamy. I do not like to talk about other cultures but I think polygamy is wrong as well. I think a marriage should have only two members and no more. Being married to more than one person should not be allowed no matter what culture you come from. The bible says that, â€Å"Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing† (Proverbs 18:22) not whoso findeth many wives or husbands. Again I say I do not think that polygamy should not be happening. In conclusion to this paper, I think that Lenn E. Goodman made some very good points in her article, â€Å"Some Moral Minima†. I can conclude this paper by saying that I agree with her opinions and I think that this article was very helpful. References Mosser, K. (2010). Introduction to ethics and social responsibility. San Diego, Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Goodman, L. E. (2010). Some moral minima. The Good Society, 19(1), 87-94. Retrieved from the EBSCO Host database in the Ashford Online Library Proverbs 18:22 King James Version.

Inside A Pre K Classroom Education Essay

Inside A Pre K Classroom Education Essay In a Pre-K classroom how and what the children are taught is very important. This is when the foundation for learning in a school setting is experienced. The type of training the teacher has in early childhood education is imperative as well. The above factors work together to help the class have successful learning experiences. In this paper it I will discuss the theories and/or philosophies that reflect how I envision my classroom and curriculum for pre-k. The concepts I would teach in each of the academic area, and finally I will include two activities that I would do with the class that coincides with the philosophies of the National Association for the Education of Young Children Standards. There are a couple goals I would keep in mind as pre-k teacher when setting up my class. I d being able to provide a planned educational environment, which means not just teaching as I go. But actually use what I ve learned in classes, workshops, and other resources to provide the best learning environment possible. Secondly, make sure learning experiences are plentiful, so that a positive foundation for the future is supported. Some of the motivations behind my goals are coming from the works and studies done by earlier pioneers of education. One of them that definitely come to mind is German educator Friedrich Froebel (1782-1852) who was renowned for his pioneering work in developing a school for early childhood education. He was a philosophical idealist who believed that every child s inner self contained a spiritual essence that stimulated self-active learning in curriculum for kindergarten. (Eliason Jenkins, 2012) Play was an appropriate means of learning to Froebel. The time c hildren spend drawing, using manipulatives, sing songs, and finger plays it was allowing them to learn. The other pioneer that comes to mind is Jean Piaget (1896-1980) a Swiss psychologist, which made significant contributions to educational psychology and early childhood education. (Eliason Jenkins, 2012) He felt the teacher is designer of activities appropriate to child s level of development. Piaget s principle which states its through children s own exploratory processes, they are able to develop the power to generalize, differentiate, and coordinate their concepts of reality, building concepts based on their experiences of the external world. (Berk, 2003, pg. 219) Their understanding of the world changes as they grow. It s these theories and others from earlier educators helped us today and in the past get a better understanding of the children s development. Pre-K is where the experiences learned can help them develop a positive self-image along with the emotional, social, and intellectual skills necessary to be successful in the classroom. My curriculum would help create a stable foundation in the growth of independent learners. It s here that both teacher-directed and choice-based activities can create these independent learners. (Berk, 2003, pg. 342) The classroom s activities for the curriculum are designed to recognize the growth and development of each child while I m teaching. It will motivate the children to learn while also identifying the needs of the child individually. This way I m able to help them develop positive relationships with peers and adults, and encouraging them to express themselves creatively. They will get to develop language through listening, speaking, and dramatic play activities. The opening for physical growth can take place through gross and fine motor activities, also provide experiences to stimulate and develop cognitive skills. There are some basic concepts such as counting, colors, shapes, patterning, math, rhymes, and sequencing will be learned. Some of the academic areas of my class would include math, literacy, creative arts, science, and technology. Young children develop an everyday mathematics including informal ideas of more and less, taking away, shape, size, location, pattern and position. (Ginsburg, Lee, and Boyd 3-23) In math they will get the chance to learn things like numerals 1-10 and counting objects to 10. The children will learn to identify, describe and compare repeating patterns. This is actually the basis of our number system. The students get the chance to sort of objects such as color to help them to develop flexibility in thinking and problem solving. They will get introduced to shapes (circle, square, triangle, and rectangle), sizes (small, medium, large), shapes matching and time in reference to day and night. There is even an insight about using measurement. In the area for dramatic play there are pots, pans, and etc. to allow them to act out things they see in the kitchen. Well, when using the items they are able to try and see what fits into what and what doesn t. This is also allowing them to use problem solving skills. Literacy is what my class is able to read and write. It s at this age I know they can gasp good habits as their reading and writing level is starting to grow. My responsible is to create a literate environment and then use the best tools available to teach the components of literacy. (Eliason Jenkins, 2012) I will teach about each letter s name and sounds of the alphabet. They will work on spelling, writing, and recognizing their own name. Practicing writing will help them learn to hold writing utensils correctly. At this point they can understand and explain what the text in a story is about from its illustrations, repeat nursery rhymes and finger plays, respond to questions about stories, build new vocabulary and listening skills. The creative arts would defiantly be enjoyable when working with this age. They have such great imaginations that actually get to allow them to share it with each other. I would make sure while they are learning I embraces all of their creativity with positive reinforcement. I d let them try art processes like painting, drawing, sculpture, weaving, and collage. I would encourage them to sing songs that enhance their curriculum. During music time allow them to use scarves, rhythm sticks, and bean bags to practice rhythms. I encourage them to play with children s instruments. As we learn about different animals I d have the class act out the sounds they make. It s so many ways to bring out their artistic side but these are just a few I would do with them. In the science area they are at a developmentally appropriate age to explore science tools such as magnets, prisms, magnifying glasses, and etc. I can take them on nature walks, gardening, and other explorations. Plan activities where they can measure and mix ingredients in cooking activities. I can allow them to identify basic colors and explore color mixing to see how certain colors are formed. Teaching them about how we use our five senses to explore different things. Then there s sharing different types of animals with the class. But also going even farther by informing them about the types of homes they live in, and the food they eat. It seems that the world is become more and more dependent on technology as time goes by. Today even pre-k can get a start on using some of the devices. Computers play a huge part in our lives nowadays. My students would learn things like creating picture with computer programs to tell stories. They will be working on improving their fine motor skil ls by using the keyboard. Also while controlling the mouse to click and drag to different points on the screen. They would be allowed to explore kid friendly websites on the internet that is developmentally appropriate. The first activity I would do with them is called Autumn Collage The day before we do the activity I would complete an example for them to see. The materials needed are treasure sacks (brown paper bags), flour, oil, salt, and water for collage background, plastic spoons, heavy paper plates, hold puncher, and yarn. The morning before we go outside I would pass the sacks out and tell the children we are going on an autumn nature walk to look for treasure. The items we will be looking to put in our sacks are leaves, nuts, acorns, grass, small flowers, and seeds. The two objectives for my class will be to measure and mix ingredients for collage background, and sort and place items from their treasure sack onto the collage. Once back inside and we get ready to start the activity the procedure would go in this order select a paper plate and have students write their names on the back of their plate, discuss the word Autumn and that we are going to make a special display for the items they have in their treasure sacks, show how to measure and mix the glop for the collage background and how the mixture changes, then allow them to spread the glop onto the paper plate with a spoon, take items from the treasure sack and place it onto the glop to make a pretty autumn collage, and finally let the collage dry and explain how the water will evaporate and their collage background will get hard just like mine. I will then take finished collage to a drying rack. When it is dry in a couple of days, I will then punch a hole in the edge of the plate and put a yard through it so it can be hung. The concepts the children learn from this activity are fine motor, language development, measurement. The second activity I would do with my students is called Name that Sound . This activity is great to do for science to work on our sense of hearing. This can be fun and encourage the children to use their listening skills. It s also designed to make the class aware those different things that have sounds of their own. They are also able to learn we can name different things by recognizing the sounds with their ears. The materials needed for the activity are paper, chalk, pen, zipper, jar with screw lid, bell, book, and other objects that make noise. I would use this activity when we are working on learning about our five senses. Before getting into the activity I would go over some vocabulary words used during this activity. They would include words like loud, quiet, sharp, soft, and sounds. The steps for this lesson are to take turns with a group or with an individual; asking each child to close his eyes, wad up the paper while his eyes are closed and ask the child to identify the sound, and then repeat with a different object. Once completing this activity the children will become more aware of sound. The National Association for the Education of Young Children Standard (NAEYC) is a 103,000-member organization of early childhood educators. NAEYC has created a set of standards that specifies what a program s characteristics that meet the developmental and individual needs of young children of varying ages, based on current research and the consensus of experts. (Berk, 2003) The two planned activities above encourage the children to be active and engaged. (Berk, 2003) It is so important to Implement a curriculum that is thoughtfully planned, challenging, engaging, developmentally appropriate, culturally and linguistically responsive, comprehensive, and likely to promote positive outcomes for all young children. (NAEYC, 2003) You are now aware of how I would prepare the appropriate curriculum to teach a pre-k class. I have shared the goals of providing a planned educational environment, and creating rich learning experiences to form a positive foundation for the future. Plus, instructions on how the goals are applied in each academic area and two different lesson plans.

Emerson Characterizes a True Poet :: Emerson Poet Essays

Emerson Characterizes a True Poet We live in world today where people claim to be songwriters, musicians, artists, and even poets. These people say they are because they feel they have a gift or a special talent. They try to use their talent to make money and never once stop and do it to feed their soul or look at it for the beauty of the piece. Emerson says to be a true poet one must have these qualities: the sayer, the namer and represents beauty (1648). If you try to write putting yourself in the view of Emersonà ­s The Poet then you too will become a great writer or poet. First we should look at the quality of the sayer. Basically all it is, is that you announce that which no man foretold. He is the true and only doctor; he knows and tells; he is the only teller of news. He is the beholder of the ideas...(1648-49). Emerson claims all poetry was written before time and that the true poet, when he writes, listens to the region where air is music and you hear whispers of poetry and the poet begins to write. The true poet will write it down accurately and with a delicate ear. The world we live in is such a work of art and its much a privilege to be living here. A poet can just go outside and write about the beauty he sees before him. There is so much one can write. One could write about life experiences, or one could just write about nature and its splendor. Emerson says that nature is like a picture-language and nature is expressed through images or symbols..nature is a symbol in the whole and every part. Every line we draw in the sand has expression and there is no body without its spirit or genious (1650). Emerson basically looks at everything in this world as a symbol because each image has so many different interpretations and ways to express it. Beauty is much in the eye of the beholder and how we express a particular item is up to the person and everyoneà ­s expression would different. Thatà ­s what makes poetry so great. The Poet is also the namer, or language maker, naming things sometimes after their appearance or essence and giving to every one its own name (1653).

Notes on Ecosystems

Topic 1: Ecosystems at Risk A. Ecosystems and Their Management 2. Vulnerability and Resilience of Ecosystems * Vunerability is the sensitivity of an ecosystem to cope with stress. * Resilience is the ability of an ecosystem (or a component of an ecosystem) to adapt to a changing environment and to restore function and structure following an episode of natural or human-induced stress. * All ecosystems function in a state of dynamic equilibrium or a continual state of balanced change. This state of dynamic equilibrium is the product of the interrelationship of the elements in the ecosystem: the atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere.* Change occurs because the interrelationship between minerals, energy and communities varies over time. * It is also the interdependence of these four elements that makes an ecosystem vulnerable. * A change beyond the limits of the equilibrium, in any of these elements, means that the system as a whole cannot exist in its original state. All ec osystems are, in a sense, vulnerable, but the level of vulnerability depends on how small a change is needed in any element to upset the equilibrium. * Ecosystems, are therefore, not equally at risk – some are more resilient than others. Which ecosystems have greater resilience? Resilience is the ability of an ecosystem (or component of an ecosystem) to adapt to a changing environment and to restore function and structure following an episode of natural or human- induced stress.Ecosystems rich in biodiversity generally have greater resilience than those with little diversity. They are able to recover more readily from naturally induced stress (including drought and fire) and human- induced habitat destruction. 2. Under what conditions does long-term degradation occur? Long-term degeneration occurs when the magnitude and duration of the stress exceed the ability of the component to repair itself. 3. Explain the process shown in Fig 1. 1. 28. Figure 1. 1. 28 shows the impact of stress on the functioning of ecosystems.It shows the Elasticity and the rate of recovery of an ecosystem property following disturbance. It also shows the rate of amplitude and the threshold level of strain beyond. The intensity and duration of stress is important in terms of the effect it has on ecosystems. 4. Outline how natural sources of stress can play an important role in the functioning of ecosystems. These changes could be in response to changes in the availability of water, average temperature or many other natural events. In nature, these changes usually take place very slowly.The biome gradually adapts as animals and plant species that have characteristics unsuited to the change die out and those more suited the environment remains alive to breed and pass on their characteristics to successive generations. This process is known as natural selection. Causes of Ecosystem Vulnerability * All ecosystems have some ability to withstand stress. * They tend to resist being distu rbed or altered and will restore themselves to their original condition if not disturbed too dramatically. * In other words, ecosystems maintain themselves within a tolerable range of conditions. A number of factors are relevant to the vulnerability of ecosystems to stress, including location, extent, biodiversity and linkages. a) Location * Where an ecosystem is will affect its functioning. * At a global scale, latitude, distance from the sea, and altitude play decisive roles in determining climate and ultimately the nature of particular ecosystems.* The microclimatic features of a location can be significant enough to create a range of distinctive ecosystem types within relatively small areas e. g. aspect. * Some ecosystems are located in nvironments that are extreme e. g. deserts, polar, hypersaline lagoons. * Organisms capable of living in such conditions are highly specialised. * The greater the degree of specialisation of an organism to a particular set of environmental condit ions the more vulnerable it is to changes in those conditions e. g. coral * Corals are highly specialised organisms that flourish in the relatively shallow, nutrient-deficient waters of the tropics. †¢ * Any increase in nutrient levels promotes the growth of algae, which reduces the amount of sunlight available for coral growth. If high nutrient levels continue the corals become stressed, reefs contract in size and the number of coral species declines. * Coral is also sensitive to changes in water temperature, and flourish between 25 °C to 29 °C. * A small increase in the temperature can kill the coral polyp, leaving only the white calcium skeleton (coral bleaching).* Proximity to large concentrations of people is another important contributing factor to ecosystem vulnerability; demand for land grows as populations grow. Urban, industrial and agricultural land uses destroy natural ecosystems, while oceans, rivers and the atmosphere become dumping grounds for pollutants. b) Extent The extent (size) of any particular ecosystem is the product of a variety of factors. †¢ Recent research has shown that the boundaries of ecosystems tend to overlap each other. †¢ E. g. river ecosystems extended beyond the river channel to include the whole drainage system. †¢ Thus, human activity in the drainage basin can impact on the river itself even when it occurs some distance from the channel. E. g. may increase soil erosion †¢ A study showed that stoneflies and other creatures living in shallow wells on the flood plain of the river, up to 2km away from the river, mated along the riverbanks before returning to lay their eggs in the wells.†¢ This means the floodplain and the river cannot be considered as separate systems. †¢ Ecosystems that are restricted to relatively small areas or have already been distributed extensively are especially vulnerable †¢ Tropical rainforest, have relatively small populations of a large number of pecies confined to relatively small, localised communities †¢ Loss of small areas of rainforest can lead to extinction of plant and animal species †¢ Savanna grasslands, have large populations of a small number of species spread out over much larger areas †¢ Loss of a small area of grassland therefore need not result in the extinction of species. †¢ Large herbivores typical of these regions require extensive grazing areas†¢ c) Biodiversity Biodiversity is usually considered at three levels: genetic diversity, species diversity and ecosystem diversity. ) Genetic diversity – Genetic diversity is the variety of genetic information contained in all the individual plants, animals and micro-organisms †¢ Genetic diversity occurs within and between populations of species as well as between species. †¢ Genetic diversity favours the survival of a species, because it increases the chance that some members of the species will have characteristics that aid thei r survival †¢ Often a gene has costs as well as benefits †¢ A study has shown that peach potato aphids that are resistant to common pesticides are less able to survive ii) Species diversity – Species diversity is a measure of the number of species at each trophic level of an ecosystem†¢ The greater the species diversity the more robust the ecosystem †¢ If the population of one consumer organism crashers there are other producers available that can fulfil a similar function in the ecosystem †¢ When ecosystems are diverse, there is a range of pathways for the ecological processes, such as nutrient recycling †¢ If one pathway is damaged or destroyed, an alternative may be used and the ecosystem can continue to function at its normal level †¢ If the level of biodiversity is greatly diminished, the functioning of the ecosystem is put at risk †¢ The greater the level of diversity, the greater the opportunity to adapt to change †¢ Many di verse ecosystems are characterised by highly specialised organisms †¢ A species may be vulnerable even if the ecosystem as a whole is not †¢ iii) Ecosystem diversity – Ecosystem diversity refers to the diversity present within ecosystems in terms of habitat differences, biotic communities and the variety of ecological processes d) LinkagesInterdependence, or linkages, is related to species diversity †¢ The greater the level of interdependence within an ecosystem the greater its ability to absorb change †¢ The loss of a primary consumer from a food web, e. g. s unlikely to have a major impact on secondary consumers if there is a range of alternative primary consumers on which to feed †¢ Ecosystems that have low levels of interdependence are much more vulnerable to change †¢ Krill are the dominant primary consumer organism and the main source of energy for some species of whale †¢ Interdependence can take very subtle forms e. g. some flowering plants can be fertilised by only one species of insect †¢ Anything that jeopardises this third organism, therefore, will affect the reproductive success of the flowing plant †¢ Primary consumers have highly specific food sources, and many parasitic organisms depend on specific hosts †¢ The same characteristics can be exploited by humans in the biological control of pest species †¢ Large consumer animals may range across a number of small, localised ecosystems, having genetically adapted to the variations in all of them †¢ 1.Outline (using examples) how the level of interdependence within an ecosystem will affect its vulnerability. Interdependence, or linkages, is related to species diversity. The greater the level of interdependence within an ecosystem the greater its ability to absorb change. The loss of a primary consumer from a food web, e. g. is unlikely to have a major impact on secondary consumers if there is a range of alternative primary consumers o n which to feed. Ecosystems that have low levels of interdependence are much more vulnerable to change 2. Give an example of the subtle forms this interdependence can take. Interdependence can take very subtle forms e. g. ome flowering plants can be fertilised by only one species of insect. This insect may turn, be dependent on some other organism for part of its life cycle. Case study: Vulnerability of Minnamurra Rainforest The Minnamurra rainforest is a small pocket of rainforest located on the South Coast of New South Wales near Kiama.The extent, biodiversity and location of the rainforest all work together to make this a vulnerable ecosystem. It is located close to urban development and is surrounded by farms. This increases the levels of pollutants entering the system and has lead to significant weed infestation. Natural and Human-Induced Environmental Stress Ecosystems are constantly changing and evolving in response to stress-induced changes within the total environment. * Th ese changes may be brought about naturally e. g. drought, or may be human-induced e. g. deforestation. * Natural changes usually take place more slowly than human-induced changes and the biome gradually adapts as animals and plant species that have characteristics unsuited to the change die out, and those more suited to the new environment remain alive to breed and pass on their characteristics to successive generations (a process known as natural selection).* Sudden natural disasters have occurred from time to time which have caused whole species to die out almost instantly because they had no time to adapt, however this is rare. In contrast, human-induced changes are usually rapid and do not allow species to adapt. * The ability to instigate large-scale environmental change means that people are able to push the state of dynamic equilibrium beyond its limits. * This means that people have created situations where they are required to maintain a state of equilibrium by utilising re sources found elsewhere e. g. the use of fertilisers and pesticides to maintain an agricultural monoculture, which would collapse without them.* Today, human activities destroy or seriously threaten species and destroy or degrade their habitat. Changes affecting ecosystems by cause and rate |Catastrophic |Gradual | |Natural sources of environmental stress |Drought |Climatic Change | | |Flood |Immigration of new species | | |Fire |Adaptation/evolution | | |Volcanic eruption |Ecological succession | | |Earth Quake |disease | | |Landslide | | | |Change in stream course | | | |Disease | | |Human-induced sources of environmental stress |Deforestation |Irrigation- salinization, waterlogging | | |Overgrazing |Soil compaction | | |Ploughing |Depletion of ground water | | |Erosion |Water/air pollution | | |Pesticide application |Loss and degradation of wildlife activity | | |Fire |Elimination of pests and predators | | |Mining |Introduction of new species | | |Toxic Contamination |Overhuntin g/Overfishing | |Urbanisation |Toxic contamination | | |Water/Air pollution |Urbanisation | | |Loss and degradation of wildlife activity |Excessive tourism | a) Natural environmental stress * Some natural sources of stress can be catastrophic and cause very rapid change e. g. droughts, floods, fire, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, landslides, disease, tsunamis and cyclones.* Most natural sources of environmental stress are more gradual and do allow species to adapt e. g. climatic change, immigration, adaption/evolution, ecological succession, disease, geographical isolation. Climate change was thought to be the reason behind the extinction of the dinosaur. * Ecological succession involves one species gradually taking over an environment from another as circumstances within the environment change e. g. as a climate becomes drier, drought-resistant species will gradually take over. Some of the effects of environmental stress Organism Level Physiological and biological changes Psychol ogical disorders Behavioural changes Fewer or no offspring Genetic defects in offspring Cancers Population Level Population increase or decrease Change in age structure Survival of different genetic strains based on stress threshold Loss of genetic diversity ExtinctionCommunity-ecosystem level Disruption of energy flows -Decrease or increase in solar energy uptake and heat output -Changes in trophic structure in food chains and webs Disruption of chemical cycles -Depletion of essential nutrients -excessive nutrient levels Simplification -reduction in species diversity -reduction or elimination of habitats -less complex food webs -possibility of lowered stability -possibility of ecosystem collapse Case study: Mt. St. Helens volcanic eruption 18th may 1980 at MT st Helens Washington state. A large volcanic eruption disrupts the natural order. New populations of flora and fauna were beginning to colonise the harsh environment.The new ecosystem formed and the process of regeneration was observed as the organisms with enough resilience survived and repaired. b) Human-induced environmental stress * People play a role in maintaining or disturbing the dynamic equilibrium of any ecosystem. * The impacts of human activity have a global dimension, operating within the context of an interdependent global environment. * Global co-operation is needed to address the threats to the world’s biophysical environment. * The causes of environmental degradation in today’s world include: – massive population growth – developing world poverty and the crippling burden of debt – non-sustainable agricultural practices in many countries environmentally damaging industrialisation and exploitation of natural resources, especially in poor countries struggling for export earnings* Each of these issues need to be effectively dealt with if humans are to combat environmental degradation. * Human threats to biodiversity include: – species introductions à ¢â‚¬â€œ habitat destruction – hunting/trade in animal products – pollution * The World Conservation Union’s analysis of animal extinctions since 1600 found that 39% resulted from species introductions, 36% from habitat destruction and 23% from deliberate extermination. answer the questions from the information on page 32-33 1. Outline the history of human-induced change. Humans have induced change in ecosystems since very early days in their evolution.The effects have been either caused intentionally or inadvertently. eg: Aboriginals burnt bushland to aid in hunting as well as inadvertently promoting growth and shaping the Australian bushland through natural selection promoting growth. 2. Outline how humans have simplified natural ecosystems and what this has resulted in the need for. Humans have been shaping ecosystems for their benefit. In this process the useful parts of the ecosystem have remained and the other parts have changed or died out. This process ha s also simplified the ecosystem in some cases making it unable to support itself. Eg crops, farms require money and time for upkeep. 3. What is the great environmental challenge for humans?The great challenge that humans face with their environment is to maintain a healthy balance between simplified ecosystems and neighbouring complex ecosystems. 4. Outline the ways in which humans modify natural vegetation, and the ability of the affected ecosystems to recover in each case. Human induced change can be either intentional, inadvertent or a result of negligence. The changes made can result in complete ecological destruction but occasionally the ecosystem can adapt due to its resilience and survive with the change. The Nature of Human-induced Modifications – Human-induced modifications to ecosystems may be either intentional or inadvertent. – In some cases they are the result of negligence on the part of people. i) Intentional ecosystem changeHumans bring about intentiona l ecosystem change for human benefit. An example of this can be found in the aboriginal burning for easier hunting or simply clearing land and producing food from crops or livestock. ii) Inadvertent ecosystem change ? These are changes that are not intended, but occur indirectly as a result of human activity. ? Meeting the needs and wants of humankind and a rapidly increasing human population will inevitably bring about large-scale environmental change. ? Unlike other species, humans have the ability to transfer resources from one region to another and to modify ecosystems in order to sustain continued population growth.Examples of human activities and the inadvertent effects they have include: Farming – Reduction of biodiversity, destruction of habitats, soil erosion, introduction of harmful pesticides killing native flora/fauna. Urbanisation- Total destruction of habitat, fragmentation of habitat destruction of ecosystem linkages, Increased pollution affecting surrounding e cosystems, Destruction of ozone o3 layer through use of cfcs iii) Ecosystem change caused through negligence People sometimes cause environmental change through negligence. Some of the more notorious examples of humanity’s failure to protect ecosystems at risk are the: ? Explosion of the reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the Ukraine ?Minamata children being poisoned by mercury accumulated in the food chain ? Grounding of the Exxon Valdez in Prince William Sound, Alaska which caused widespread environmental destruction Consequences of human-induced changes . Human induce change is occurring worldwide in ecosystems. . The magnitude and rate of change is closely linked to human population size. . Salinization and desertification are two large scale problems with deforestation a major cause of ecosystem destruction through change. . Almost 11 million ha of land is degraded each year. Takes between 100 and 250 years for topsoil to build up in an area, can be destroye d in less than 10 by human activity.