Saturday, August 31, 2019

Evaluation of Genetic Diversity of Golden Apple Snail, Pomacea Canaliculata

ABSTRACT Genetics is a trend these days especially that, DNA barcoding has been developed. DNA barcoding is an important tool in categorizing the taxa of different species and it tells so much about the species’ traits, including genetic diversity. The Pomacea canaliculata was introduced in different parts of Asia and had been an invasive species and a pest in different ecosystems ever since the introduction. In understanding this species of snails, samples were collected, DNA’s were extracted, undergone PCR and electrophoresis, and was sequenced and analyzed.The analysis was qualitative In the Philippines while quantitative in China. In the Philippines, the cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI) genes was used and compared among the species collected and when it was sequenced, it showed differences due to localized gap, mismatch and non-correspondence of bases. And in China, the diversity was analyzed by means of Nei’s gene diversity, Shannon’s information in dex, percentage of polymorphic bands (PPB) an AMOVA anlysis. Both the quantitative and qualitative showed that there was diversification within and among the populations of these snails.INTRODUCTION Genetics is the study of the genes, and the heredity and variation of individuals. Understanding the genome, which is the complete set of chromosomes or the entire genotype of an individual, is important because it helps in the taxonomy of species, especially nowadays wherein advancements in science needs more specific information, and that basing on morphological features is not enough. Life is specified by genomes which contain all the biological information which is encoded in its deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and divided into units or the genes.The genes are the blueprint for life because it is the particulate determiner of hereditary traits. Hence, DNA barcoding became a trend for scientists and researchers for the understanding of the different variations in the traits of different o rganisms. The golden apple snails (Pomacea canaliculata) originated from the South America, Central America, the West Indies and the Southern USA (Pain 1972) and was spread in the past decades to the different parts of Southeast Asia, namely Philippines, China, Thailand, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Japan.The introduction of the P. canaliculata without prior studies caused damages to the different plants and it became an invasive species which resulted to becoming pests to humans and competitors to other local snails, example of which are those from the genus Pili. The P. canaliculata was observed to have different growth and reproduction in different parts of Asia, together with their external characteristics due to the different habitats and environmental conditions (Keawjam, 1986 and 1987), therefore there is the possibility to misidentify two sympatric species as one.On the other hand allopatric populations inhabiting different habitats may show ecomorphological variations and questionable species status and it was also suggested that the golden apple snails had high adaptability hence it was easier for them to form new populations (Dong et al. 2011). The understanding of the genomes of different species is a trend for scientists these days but the information about the different mollusks is still limited. The basic information on the number of species and/or population is of help for conservation programs (Carvalho and Hauser, 1994) and for building appropriate management schemes.In contribution, the studies aims are to evaluate the genetic diversity of the golden apple snail population in Asia, namely, Philippines and China via molecularly characterizing the P. canaliculata and to find different ways of analyzing the gathered data from the sequenced DNA of the said species. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE Genetic diversity (Reed 2005) The significance of genetic diversity arose from two necessities: genetic diversity is required for populations to evo lve in response to environmental changes and heterozygosity levels are linked directly to reduce population fitness via inbreeding depression.The amount of genetic variation a population contains is predicted to correlate with current fitness and, in the case of heritabilities (which can remain high or even increase despite severe reductions in population size) with evolutionary potential. This correlation between fitness and levels of genetic variation, however, may be weak or nonexistent due to the neutrality of molecular markers used in estimating heterozygosity, nonadditive genetic variation and the purging of deleterious alleles because of increased selection against homozygotes.There is a body of literature that suggests that allozyme heterozygosity is a good measure of population fitness and adaptive potential. Others caution though that such molecular genetic data generally reflect only a small portion of genome and thus may not be indicator of adaptive genetic differences. But molecular markers may be useful for assessing the extent of genetic drift. Moreover, deleterious alleles, in mutation-selection balance, are responsible for at least half of the genetic variation in fitness.Selection has the tendency to purge the population of the deleterious recessive alleles which in theory creates inbred populations with a higher fitness than their outbreed progenitor. In other words, inbred populations with less genetic diversity would have higher fitness if the population is not kept small enough for a long enough to allow the fixation of deleterious alleles to occur. Fitness and future adaptability are reduced in smaller populations of plants and animals due to drift and inbreeding depression.Commonly used surrogates for fitness such as heritabilities, heterozygosity, and population size, significantly correlate with fitness and explain 15-20 % of the variation in fitness. Correlations suggest that many populations have reduced fitness as a result of inbre eding depression and genetic drift. There is much fuss and concern thus, over genetic variation because of the fact that endangered species typically have lower levels of heterozygosity and the loss of adaptive genetic variation and inbreeding depression puts wildlife populations at an increased risk of extinction.Finally, this increase occurs as a result of the reduction of productive fitness because of inbreeding depression or due to the failure of tracking the change in abiotic and biotic environment of the population as a result of the loss of genetic variation through drift. DNA barcoding (Moritz & Cicero 2004) At the very core, the purpose of DNA barcoding is for large scale screening of one or a few reference genes in order to assign unknown individuals to species and enhance discovery of new species.In the hope of developing a comprehensive database of sequences that will serve as a comparison tool to sequences from sampled individuals, proponents used DNA barcoding. There i s, however, nothing new with DNA barcoding as it is an offshoot of the use molecular markers for the very same purpose except, in DNA barcoding, there is an increased scale and proposed standardization. The selection of one or more reference genes characterizes standardization, with regards to microbial community and in stimulating large scale phylogenetic analyses if of proven value, though whether or not one gene fits all remain to be a question.Presently, most methods of DNA barcoding are tree-based and can fall into two broadly defined classes. One class is the distance-based, wherein it is based on the degree of DNA sequence variation within and between species. This kind of approach converts DNA sequences into genetic distances and then uses these distances to establish identification schemes. It further defines a similarity threshold below which a DNA barcode is assigned to a known or a new species. There is also the mention by several authors of a â€Å"barcoding gap† , a distance-gap between intra- and interspecific sequences, for species identification.However, the distance-based approach seems to be ill suited as a general means for species identification and the discovery of new species. One reason is that substitution rates of mitochondrion DNA vary between and within species and between different groups of species. The varied substitution rates can result in broad overlaps of intra- and interspecific distances, and hinder the accurate assignment of query sequences. Another class which is the monophyly-based requires the recovery of species as discrete clades (monophyly) on a phylogenetic tree and is used to assign unknown taxa to a known or new species.Similarly, some issues complicate the use of monophyly in a barcoding framework. For example, the long-recognized problem of incomplete lineage sorting will yield gene genealogies that may differ in topology from locus to locus. The recently divergent taxa may not be reciprocally monophyletic due to lack of time needed to coalesce. In addition, the gene trees are not necessarily congruent with species trees, and the monophyly, while a discrete criterion is arbitrary with respect to taxonomic level.Moreover, there is a recently applied new technique that has been proposed as an alternative to tree-based approaches for DNA barcoding, the so called character-based DNA barcode method, which is based on the fundamental concept that members of a given taxonomic group share attributes that are absent from comparable groups. It is the kind of method that characterizes species through a unique combination of diagnostic characters rather than genetic distances. The four standard nucleotides (A,T,C,G) if found in fixed states in one species can be used as diagnostics for identifying that species.This way, species boundaries can be defined by a diagnostic set of characters which can be increased to any level of resolution by applying multiple genes. Presently, character-based DNA b arcode method has been proved useful for species identification and discovery of several taxa. In the view that single-gene sequence should be the primary identifier of species, a contention arises that if that is the case then there’ll be a real need to connect different life history stages and increase the precision and efficiency of field studies involving diverse and difficult-to-identify taxa.Although the DNA barcoding community has put emphasis on the importance of large-scale sequence database within the existing framework and practice of systematics, it should be bore in mind that DNA barcoding is not the primary answer in resolving the tree of life. Furthermore, as much as the term â€Å"DNA barcoding† appealing, it implies, however, that each species has a fixed and invariant characteristic. But this kind of implication renders unrest to the minds of evolutionary biologists.In evaluating thus, the promise and pitfall of DNA barcoding, two areas of application should be distinguished: the molecular diagnostics of individuals relative to described taxa and DNA-led discovery of new species. And although there is little doubt that large-scale and standardized sequencing, when integrated with existing taxonomic practice, can contribute significantly to the challenges of identifying individuals and increasing the rate of discovering biological diversity as presented by this study, the general utility of DNA barcoding still requires further scrutiny.PCR (Moore 2005) In rapidly copying a selected template sequence from a DNA mixture in vitro, PCR offers a wide range of applications such as sequence detection and isolation for research, forensics and species identification through the PCR itself and in combination with other techniques. PCR's new technique uses flourescent probes to monitor the amounted product at end of every cycle and PCR machines look for the cycle at which the can readily detect flourescence.PCR is also being used to monitor RNA through the addition of reverse transcriptase enzyme at the beginning to generate DNA template. In addition, there are now new applications of PCR like single nucleotide polymorphism detection and screening. Cytochrome Oxydase subunit 1 (COI) (Buhay 2009) COI plays a significant role in documenting biodiversity and remains to be the choice for phylogenetic and phylogeographic studies. COI is a mitochondrial protein-coding gene which is a widely accepted marker for molecular identification across diverse taxa.Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) have a relatively fast mutation rate, thus they result in significant differences between species. With respect to this, the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene with ~700bp was proposed to be a potential barcode or marker for molecular identification across various taxa. Furthermore, COI is a protein coding gene that has an open reading frame and in thecase of barcoding, COI can be highly divergent from the actual COI sequences which may cause major problems because species identification is based on sequence similarity.Pomacea canaliculata (Cowie 2002) The Pomacea canaliculata belongs to the family Ampullariidae. Its structure appears to have a slight dimorphism in shape of aperture and operculum. Females have broader mouth and concave operculum while convex in male. In terms of reproduction, oviposition often takes place at night or at early morning or evening about 24 hrs after copulation up to two weeks after mating (occurs three times per week) which occurs anytime of the day or night although there may be some diurnal rhythm.On each oviposition occasion a single clutch is laid of highly variable egg number. Moreover, the interval among successive ovipositions for p. canaliculata has been reported to be about five days and hatching generally takes place about two weeks after oviposition. The P. canaliculata breeds only during summer and grows into maturity in less than two months. P. canaliculata is s aid to be prolific and hence has rapid succession of generations which leads to rapid population expansion.They relatively inhabit still water and in water temperatures above 32 degree Celsius, it has been observed that the mortality of p. canaliculata is high. Whereas in low temperature p. canaliculata can survive 15-20 days at 0 degree Celsius, 2 days at -3 degree Celsius but only 6 hrs at -6 degree Celsius. And it is sufficiently tolerant of sea water to survive long enough to be carried by currents from one stream mouth to another, thereby expanding its distribution. P. canaliculata shows preferences among food plants.Its rate of growth has a direct correlation with its feeding on the preferred plant. Moreover, it is able to detect its food plants from some distance using chemical cues in the water. P. canaliculata, however, appears to be relatively generalist and indiscriminate that it is viewed to be particularly voracious compared to other Ampullariids. METHODOLOGY Sampling S nail samples were identified and collected from 2 countries in Asia, specifically in the Philippines and in China, where the P. canaliculata was introduced. In the Philippines; Los Banos (Dong et al. 011, p. 1778), 2 barangays in Tarlac (Brgy. Cabayaoasan, Paniqui and Brgy. Pance, Ramos) and Iloilo (Chichoco & Patdu 2012, p13), 44 snail samples were collected. And in China, specifically from Yuyao and Taizhou in Zhejiang province, Fuzhou in Fujian province, Guangzhou in Guangdong province, Nanning in Guangxi province, Kunming in Yunnan province, wherein a total of 120 samples were identified with the conserved sequence by Matsukura et al. (2008) and Pan et al. (2009) and then was collected (Dong et al. 2011, p. 1778).The snails were then stored, either by wrapping in paper, freezing or preserving it in ethanol, and brought into the respective labs in each country for the next steps; DNA extraction, PCR, electrophoresis and sequencing. DNA extraction The two studies used the phenol-c hloroform method (Bergallo et al. 2006) with an alternative of the Qiagen’s Dneasy extraction kit for China. The DNA concentration was determined spectrophotometrically and adjusted by a mini-gel method (Maniatis et al. , 1982) when the extracted DNA was enough, it was stored at 4oC to -20oC until needed. PCR and ElectrophoresisThe PCR method was basically done by choosing the right primers that will yield clearly reproduced bands and they tested the proper amounts and amplification effects of the components of PCR, which were the Mg2+, dNTP’s, DNA templates and polymerase, and the primers. After the mixture of the components and the DNA extracted, it was carried out in the thermocycler programmed for pre-denaturing at 94 °C for 3 min, followed by 26 cycles of 94 °C for 10-30s, 36-52 °C for 30-45s, extension of 65-72 °C for 60-90s, and the final extension for 5-7mins at 72 °C for final extension with 38-48 cycles.After which, the amplified products together w ith negative controls were run in electrophoresis to be separated and tested for contaminations, respectively. The products were then purified later on with the respective kits present in each lab. In the Philippines, the reaction was done with 2? L MgCl2, 5? L PCR buffer, 1? L dNTP, 2. 5 ? L of the primers, which were the LCO1490 and HCO2198, distilled H2O with 22. 75 ? L, 0. 25 Taq, and 10 ? L Q-buffer. The electrophoresis was done after the ethidium bromide staining (Maniatis et al. , 1982), analyzed through 1. % agarose gels and visualized under a transilluminator. In China, they made use of the ISSR-PCR analysis where they got four primers, which produced clearly reproduced bands, out of the 90 that was screened from the University of British Columbia’s primer set and the reactions were done with a volume of 20 ? l, containing 0. 2 mM of each dNTP, 1. 5 mM MgCl2, 0. 5 ? M primers, 1 U Taq polymerase and 10 ng DNA template, and also with the determination of the optimal r eaction system of ISSR for P. canaliculata (Dong et al. 2011, p. 1779).The products’ sizes after the amplification was estimated using DNA marker DL2000 and then was run in electrophoresis, which was done on 6% polyacrylamide gels, visualized by silver staining and then photographed (Li et al. , 2009). Sequencing/ Data analysis Chichioco and Patdu (2012) sent the DNA samples to the First Base Laboratory in Singapore for sequencing and the results were sent back to the DNA barcoding Laboratory after a week. The COI sequences were aligned in the BLAST, specifically the STADEN package version 1. 5. 3 and Bioedit Sequence Alignment Editor version 7. 0. 9. 0.Aside from the sequences sampled, other sequences and their haplotypes from the GenBank were also compared and matched. In Dong’s (2011) research, he made use of the RAPD fragments by labeling them into binary matrices, used them to get the similarity index, Sxy = 2nxy / nx+ ny, where nx and ny represent the number of R APD bands in individuals x and y, and nxy represents the number of shared bands between individuals, as stated by Nei and Li (1979), then averaging it across all the possible comparisons between individuals within a geographic sample to get the within samples similarity (Si).Between sample similarity corrected by within sample similarity Si and Sj of geographic samples i and j, respectively) is also calculated between pairs of individuals across samples i and j using the equation; S’ij = 1 + Sij – (Si and Sj)/2. Genetic distance between paired samples was then calculated as D’ij = 1- S’ij (Lynch, 1990). RESULTS AND DISCUSSION In the Philippines (Chichioco & Patdu 2012, p. 18-31) The collected samples from Brgy. Cabayaoasan were found in the elevated parts of a rice paddy, specifically, it was a muddy substrate with decaying leaves from the rice plants and surrounding trees while those that was found in Brgy.Pance was in the muddy bottom of the shallow fis h pond in the roots of water lilies and grasses. The samples from the two barangays in Tarlac and Iloilo had relatively different colors and sizes. Those that were collected from Brgy. Cabayaoasan had the largest size and they are colored black while those in Brgy. Pance had brown in color and still, those in Iloilo had very small sized specimens and some of the specimens can be mistaken as Pila conica snails if not examined properly. Primers affect the amplification success greatly, since according to Hajibabaei (2005) a 95% success is necessary for barcoding.The primers LCO1490 (SENSE) and HCO2198 are generally used for the amplification of forward and reverse fragments from COI genes. The DNA samples were subjected to the PCR and agarose gel electrophoresis (AGE), and they produced single discrete bands that suggest that the fragments were homogenous and start and end at the same point (Reece 2004). The bands that were brighter and distinct are more appropriate for sequencing bec ause it means that the DNA fragments were well amplified. The best DNA’s were chosen and forwarded to the First Base Laboratory in Singapore for sequencing.At the return of the results, other sequenced DNA barcodes were also collected and was aligned and compared with the Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) database. Fig 1. Alignment of the COI gene sequences of the Pomacea canaliculata (CPT1-5 from Brgy. Cabayaoasan, PRT 7,9,10 from Brgy. Pance, IICK & IIPC1,3 from Iloilo) from the Philippines using Bioedit Sequence Alignment and ClustalW multiple Alignment (Chichioco & Patdu 2012, p. 26) By aligning the sequenced data, it can be seen that there are both similarities and differences among the genetic make-up of the samples.The differences are due to localized gap, mismatch and non-correspondence of bases along the COI fragments as pointed out in fig. 2 Fig 2. Comparisons of the COI sequences of the P. canaliculata samples from 35bp- 120bp (Chichioco & Patdu 2012, p. 28 ) As emphasized in fig. 2, on the 55bp-58bp, a sequence from CPT1 was observed having (5’-AATT-3’) while all the others have (5’-GGTA-3’). Even though this is a noticeable difference and could have been caused by mutation or variation, the difference is still low enough and less that 1% difference to be considered significant.But on the other hand, the PCa1 sample had 36 different base pairs compared with the others, which was 5. 5% difference and is high enough and can be considered significant since it is ;4% divergent(Meyer and Paulay 2005). Then with a ~98% confidence, it could be said that PCa1 is from an independent evolutionary lineage and might indicate a divergence within or outside its population or might have occurred due to relationships and interactions among the other species.The introduction of the P. canaliculata to different places may have an effect on its intra- and interpopulation and might be why it has various genetic sequences altho ugh it goes against the theory that introduced species becomes a founding population in a new habitat thus they have a limited gene pool and as a consequence genetic drift, which removes variability since it affects all genes, and bottleneck might occur, which reduces the new species to have a reduced genetic diversity.To observe the genetic variability, the sequences collected were compared with those from GenBank with the use of the BLAST software. As a result from 81 COI barcodes and 55 haplotypes, the samples collected showed 99% and 100% similarities with the different haplotypes thus it showed that the species has a high diversity within the populations. The phylogeography within and among the species does not apply on the P. analiculata since intra- and interpopulation diversity was observed which was shown by the multiple introduction throughout the Philippines, hence the different times of the introduction contributed more to its diversity and it coincides with the migrant pool model that says that the introduced population acquires more genetic variability because of the multiple sources of genetically divergent populations as compared to that of the local species (Slatkin 1997, Sakal et al 2001). In China (Dong et al 2010) The chosen primers an average of 124. bands, since they generated a total of 498 bands, which ranged from 150-2500bp and qualifies them for barcoding, as seen in table 1. Among the 140 individuals, 435 bands were polymorphic which was different for each primer. In table 2, Nei’s gene diversity (H) varied between 0. 2612 and 0. 3340, with an average of 0. 3044, and arranged in a descending order the populations, LB ; KM ; NN ; FZ ; TZ ; GZ ; YY while the Shannon’s information index (I) ranged from 0. 3910 to 0. 4856, with an average of 0. 4499.At the species level, the values of Nei’s and Shannon’s showed the same trend as that of PPB. AMOVA analysis showed that there are highly significant (P ; 0. 001) genetic differences among the seven populations of P. canaliculata. The genetic diversity was mostly due to the differences within the population (92. 76%) while the rest was due to among populations. The analysis tells the same as that of the Nei’s and Shannon’s information, which says that there was a relatively high level of genetic differentiation among populations. CONCLUSIONGenetics of different species are studied by means of DNA barcoding, mostly of the COI gene in the mitochondria, to know the taxon of a species and to understand their trends and characteristics not only morphologically but also genetically. The diversity of a species can also be tested by means of DNA barcoding as seen in the study of the Pomacea canaliculata. The P. canaliculata was introduced in Asia for agricultural purposes and was seen for its benefits but not its drawbacks, which later on resulted to it being invasive and a pest for both humans and other species.To understand the P. can aliculata further, its diversity was studied by means of DNA barcoding and was analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively in the Philippines and China, respectively. Both the analysis showed the same outcome, wherein the results showed high levels of genetic diversity among populations. Because invasive species tends to give a negative feedback to those species in the local area, it is important to understand these alien species and to know how diverse they are so that proper management of these species could be done. REFERENCES Barker, G.M. 2002. Molluscs as Crop Pests. UK: CABI Publishing. (pp. 147-182) Buhay, Jennifer E. 2009. ‘‘COI-like’’ Sequences are Becoming Problematic in Molecular Systematic and DNA Barcoding Studies. Journal of Crustacean Biology 29(1): 96–110 Burns, George W. , Bottino, Paul J. 1989. The science of genetics 6th ed. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company. Chichioco, Monique Faye & Patdu, Edel Marie. 2012. DNA barcoding of Pomacea canaliculata and Pila conica using cytochrome c oxidase 1 (CO1) and small subunit (ssu) ribosomal (r) RNA barcodes (Undergraduate thesis).Main Library, University of the Philippines Baguio, Baguio City. Cowie, R. H. 2002. Apple snails (Ampullariidae) as agricultural pests: their biology, impacts and management. In: Molluscs as Crop Pests (ed. G. M. Barker), p. 145-192. CABI Publishing, Wallingford. Dodson, Edward O. 1956. Genetics: The Modern Science of Heredity. Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders Company. Dong, S. , Shentu, X. , Pan, Y. , Yu, X. , Wang, H. 2011. Evaluation of genetic diversity in the golden apple snail, Pomacea canaliculata (Lamarck), from different geographical populations in China by inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR).African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 10(10), 1777-1783. Mendoza, Monica P & Serra, Karen Mae S. 2011. Mitochondrial DNA barcoding of Pomacea canaliculata and Pila conica (Undergraduate thesis). Main Library, University of the Philippines Bagu io, Baguio City. Moore, Pete. 2005. PCR: Replicating Success. Nature 435, 235-238. Moritz, C. , and Cicero,C.. 2004. DNA barcoding: promise and pitfalls. PLoS Biology 2(10), e354, 1529-1531. Reed, D. H. , Frankham, R. 2005. Correlation between Fitness and Genetic Diversity.Conservation Biology. Conservation Biology 17(1), 230-237. Wang, Xu-Mei. 2010. Optimization of DNA isolation, ISSR-PCR system and primers screening of genuine species of rhubarb, an important herbal medicine in China. Journal of Medicinal Plants Research 4(10), 904-908. Zou, S. , Li, Q. , Kong, L. , Yu, H. , Zheng, X. 2011. Comparing the Usefulness of Distance, Monophyly and Character-Based DNA Barcoding Methods in Species Identification: A Case Study of Neogastropoda. PLoS ONE 4(10), e26619.

Bahrain Bay Essay

1. What are Bahrain Bay’s four foundational philosophies, and how might they be used as marketing tools? The first is aesthetics, a dedication to state-of-the-art architectural designs that create a modern image of this real estate project. From a marketing perspective, the artistic designs are the key edge of Bahrain Bay’s buildings. The second is community. Rather than marketing each building individually, Bahrain Bay seeks to maintain unified community for its residents and business people. It extends beyond the traditional concept of marketing a service into place marketing, where an integrated community is born. This is supported by the digital technologies and infrastructures. The third is social equity. The Bay offers a wide range of opportunities for all. It believes to serve its stakeholders. Bahrain Bay promises a quality of life for residents, businesses and visitors alike. The fourth and last philosophy is tomorrow’s environment. By employing top-notch technologies and ecologically sound infrastructures, Bahrain Bay is environmentally friendly, sustaining a city for generations to come. 2.What would you see as Bahrain Bay’s mission?  Bahrain Bay is a stunningly presented collection of waterfront residential, retail, and commercial developments, representing a unique new focal point in Bahrain. 3.What is the MIPIM, and why was it important far Bahrain Bay to target as potential customers, investors, developers, and retailers? MIPIM is the world’s foremost real estate trade show, held on a yearly basis. It brings together the most influential real estate professionals to explore major international property development projects, connect with potential partners, and strike deals over 4 intensive days. Bahrain Bay had to promote their project, in a setting that gathers would-be investors, real estate professionals, who are their ultimate potential customers. 4.Why might the Kingdom of Bahrain be an attractive location for overseas investors? Because its stable rather booming economic status as a major financial and commercial center, as well as many rising projects like Bahrain Investment Wharf, Bahrain Financial Harbor, Bahrain City Center and many others.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Crime News for the Week Essay

The local paper that I decided to peruse was The New York Sun (online version). There were a total of seven articles, in relation to crime, which were dated from June 2 to June 9 of this year. The following describes each of these articles: The first article was dated June 2, 2008 and was entitled ‘Operation set to combat youth violence’. It talks about the event wherein state officials of New York City, including Governor Paterson and some police officials, discussed the rising gun violence in the state for the past weeks, concerning teenagers who were as young as thirteen years of age. They plan to implement SNUG that should start by putting additional funds for exercises and programs. The second article was dated June 3, 2008, written by Josh Gerstein, and entitled ‘Lawyer Weiss gets 30-month sentence for kickbacks’. It talks about the 30-month sentencing of New York’s plaintiffs’ bar Melvyn Weiss for his involvement in paying â€Å"secret kickbacks to investors who helped his firm file class-action securities lawsuits† (Gerstein, 2008). Judge John Walter called it a ‘breathtaking’ conspiracy. The third article was dated June 4, 2008, and was entitled ‘Group files suit to stop Paterson’s gay marriage directive’. It talks about the Alliance Defense Fund filing a lawsuit against the New York state government for not recognizing same-sex marriages that have been allowed by other states like Massachusetts. However, Governor Paterson mentioned that, for those who are interested in gay marriages, they would only have to go to places like Canada and Massachusetts to avail a legal marriage contract. The fourth article was dated June 5, 2008, written by Kate Taylor, and entitled ‘Embattled assassination exhibit may be hoax’. It talks of the art exhibition of Yazmany Arboleda at 264 West 40th Street in New York, where the following phrases were imprinted in the sign: ‘The Assassination of Hillary Clinton’ and ‘The Assassination of Barack Obama’. Arboleda was released without charges when he mentioned that they were merely part of art. The fifth article was dated June 6, 2008, written by Hope Hodge, and entitled ‘Report: school custodial workers stole $60,000’. This article relates to the stealing done by former custodial workers of the Department of Education from Grover Cleveland High School situated in Queens. This was in the form of forged checks and unauthorized wage increases through an increase of pay rate without legal authorization. The sixth article was also dated June 6, 2008, also written by Hope Hodge, and entitled ‘Report: majority of sellers in city are overcharging for milk’. The article tells us that â€Å"[m]ore than 85% of milk sellers in the city are charging illegally high prices† (Hodge, 2008). The overcharge was an average of $0. 40 and, thus, needed an enforcement of the law. Lastly, the seventh article was dated on June 9, 2008, written by Anna Phillips, and entitled ‘Police department changes sought in wake of Sean Bell shooting’. It talks of the need to implement changes in the police department after the Sean Bell shooting event in 2006. Officials say that laws in the criminal justice system should be enforced all the more, and that there should be implementation of tests (i. e. , drug) on those who shoot their guns. To sum it all up, the seven articles that were retrieved this past week from The New York Sun talked of the following crimes: (1) youth and gun violence; (2) illegal kickbacks to investors; (3) legal adaptation of same-sex marriages; (4) character assassinations; (5) stealing; (6) illegal product price overcharging; and (7) wild shooting episodes. Conversely, these crimes can be grouped into the following major sets: (1) crimes against public safety; (2) crimes against effective business environments; (3) crimes against the practice of liberty and human rights; and (4) crimes against legal properties. It appears that the types of crime nowadays consist of those that are in connection to safety and welfare, human rights, and the economy. Despite what people say that the world is becoming more liberated and open-minded, the opposite appears to be the true trend. References Gerstein, J. (2008, June 3). Lawyer Weiss gets 30-month sentence for kickbacks. Retrieved June 9, 2008, from The New York Sun database: http://www. nysun. com/business/judge-sentences-mel-weiss-to-30-months/79104/. Group files suit to stop Paterson’s gay marriage directive. (2008, June 4). Retrieved June 9, 2008, from The New York Sun database: http://www. nysun. com/new-york/group-files-suit-to-stop-patersons-gay-marriage/79210/. Hodge, H. (2008, June 6). Report: majority of sellers in city are overcharging for milk. Retrieved June 9, 2008, from The New York Sun database: http://www. nysun. com/new-york/report-majority-of-sellers-in-city-are/79468/. Hodge, H. (2008, June 6). Report: school custodial workers stole $60,000. Retrieved June 9, 2008, from The New York Sun database: http://www. nysun. com/new-york/report-school-custodial-workers-stole-60000/79458/. Operation set to combat youth violence. (2008, June 2). Retrieved June 9, 2008, from The New York Sun database: http://www. nysun. com/new-york/operation-set-to-combat-youth-violence/79062/. Phillips, A. (2008, June 9). Police department changes sought in wake of Sean Bell shooting. Retrieved June 9, 2008, from The New York Sun database: http://www. nysun. com/new-york/police-department-changes-sought-in-wake-of-sean/79525/. Taylor, K. (2008, June 5). Embattled assassination exhibit may be hoax. Retrieved June 9, 2008, from The New York Sun database: http://www. nysun. com/new-york/embattled-exhibition-may-be-hoax/79370/.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Should Wal-Mart opens in Hong Kong Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Should Wal-Mart opens in Hong Kong - Essay Example ing is conferred on the basis of points given on the â€Å"ease of doing business index† which means the regulatory environment is conducive to the operation of business. This index averages the countrys rankings in 10 significant areas of economic environment, which are again made up of a variety of indicators, and by giving equal weight to each subject Ever since the political power was handed over to Mainland China in 1997 by the British government, Hong Kong has functioned as an autonomous region with minimum control from the mainland. It has an independent government and although it had looked for guidance from China, it is fiercely independent in its Open Market policies. It is headed by a Chief Executive who is selected by the Chief Executive Election Committee comprising of 800 members. They are drawn equally by different sections of the society composed of the industrial, commercial and financial sectors; the various professions, labour, social services, religious and other similar sections; and finally by the members of the Legislative Council, the Peoples Congress and the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Conference. Laws are enacted by the Chief executive in consultation with the Legislative Council and that is a democratic set up duly elected by universal suffrage. The beaurocracy or the civil service maintains its neutrality as was the case during colonial times and is largely respected by the population and is effective in execution of its duties. There is no interference from China in the pursuit of Hong Kong’s liberal policies and pro-democratic governance. Hong Kong has been a world financial and Trade centre for several decades. It unique position was further strengthened by China retaining it as it main source of exports despite the changeover in its political nature. It remains a capitalistic economy with a free market system with low taxation and non-intervention by government in its commercial ventures. It has ranked 1st as the

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

History - Essay Example They loathed anything that was even remotely communist in nature. This feeling was partly fuelled by the innate anti-communist spirit as well as the effect of the vendetta by the politicians. This was a part of the wider policy of containment followed by the United States of America (Addington, 2000). The war ended with the takeover of Saigon by the North Vietnamese in the year 1975 and the cessation of war which was a byproduct of the Case-Church agreement. Military intervention by the Americans was a strategy that was followed with great effect in the Korean War. However, the defeat in the Vietnam put a serious mark on the policy of containment that concentrated on the military intervention as a deterrent (Daum & Gardner, 2003). The war showed a lot of inadequacy on the part of the Special Forces in the country. Even the American marines also failed severely in the war. It put into doubt and criticism on the American military’s policy of attrition. This policy came under hea vy fire as that led to a lot of casualties on the war front. This particular war showcased the vulnerability of the American forces towards guerilla warfare. The Vietnam War caused a widespread imbalance on the industrial front. The factories that would be used for the production of domestic goods were used for the production of military goods. The funds were mainly overseas, that caused the incidence of a weak dollar (Isserman & Bowman, 2003).

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Danger to Bees is Danger to Us Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Danger to Bees is Danger to Us - Research Paper Example Besides, when bees feel threatened, depending on their strain they can sting once and in some cases respond to threats in great numbers and even can pursue intruders with more persistence. Bees remain the significant commercial pollinators of crops that rely on animal pollination which account for 35% of world food production (Genersch 87). Therefore, bees are vital for economic and sustainable agriculture as well as food security; hence, their threat translates to human threat. For instance, honeybees and their health has been a major topic in the recent past considering their significant role in pollination and food production. Although some exaggerated suggestions claim that humankind would not survive long if bees disappear, production of many fruits and crops that contribute to healthy diet rely on animal pollination. Therefore, a consideration that goes beyond caloric to consider a balanced and nationally valuable diet animal pollinators remain to be essential, which signifies the importance of honey bees in crop production. Independent crop pollination that never rely on animal pollination account for about 65% and 90% of the remaining 35% is carried out by honeybees. Hence, although demise of bees may not spell the end of human kind, the human diet if honeybees become extinct will be greatly impoverished with the decline of bees. Therefore, the decrease of honeybees and their connection to worldwide food security make the decrease of bees an increasing concern for people because of the declining numbers of bees. Since pollination of crops in North America as well as Europe heavily relies on honeybees, the prevailing development of loss of honeybees is alarming though different nations are affected differently. The decline in number of honeybees in the 1990s within Europe attributed to political as well as economic upheaval caused by the collapse of the Soviet Union. Several countries in the soviet used honey as form of currency, which motivated people t o keep bees but after the economic system changed, honey lost its economic relevance, which forced people to give up beekeeping. These economic links imply sustainable economic benefits for beekeepers in nations with declining bees and beehive management can contribute to stabilization or increase of bees or increase of managed beehives (Genersch 88). The prevailing bee losses are not sustainable and the trend is down as is the case with the quality of bees, which if not handled would lead to lose of many bees. The gravity of the threat to bees was acknowledged when the European commission signified its intention of imposing a ban on class of pesticides often referred to as neonicotinoids, which are widely used in the world (Grossman). This class of pesticides is considered a leading cause of colony collapse in bees; hence, the European commission had to announce the controversial decision following the conclusion by the European Food Safety Agency that pesticides represent acute ri sk to bees. The action by the European commission came as scientists and regulators showed their increased concern regarding the impact of colony collapse on the world’s food supply since many of the planet’s significant food crops rely on insect pollination. According to Grossman, a study regarding crop systems in 6 continents indicated

Monday, August 26, 2019

Organized Crime Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 3

Organized Crime - Assignment Example The criminal organization is also known as underworld, mob or crime syndicate. This research paper would not only highlight different aspects of organized crime but shall even reflect upon the importance of waterways or ports. Organized crime is a specific category of crime and is highly distinguishable from financial crimes, white-collar crimes, war crimes, treason, state crimes and political crimes. There are measures being undertaken to safeguard countries from such organized crimes but support from higher authorities tends to increase the frequency of organized crime. Illegal drugs are transported through ports or waterways which forms an integral part of organized crime. High-profit margins are secured through transportation of drugs to various locations. On the other hand, illegal ammunition is also transported through waterways. This, in turn, enhances the strength of criminals and increases adverse impacts created by organized crime. Decreased level of inspection has facilita ted vulnerability of ports. Spatial characteristics and physical layout of ports are highly challenging in terms of law enforcement. The research aim of a study sets forth the purpose of any particular research study. This paper would aim at analyzing the significance of waterways or ports in organized crime. Waterways are always considered to be an ideal medium through which goods or services are transported to different locations. However, this form of transportation medium holds a great deal of significance within organized crime. Illegal activities are easily executed with the support of these mediums. Corruption or smuggling are vital components of organized crime and is exhibited with the support of waterways or ports. Research objectives for this study are – Thesis statement of the research study is – â€Å"ways in which organized crime operates in waterways and port areas.† This statement forms the basis of any research study and outcomes are based on th is thesis statement.

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Interactions with your Preceptor Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Interactions with your Preceptor - Assignment Example Both need reinforcement, support, reassurance, and encouragement. The preceptor/student relationship shapes the student nurse midwife is role transition and development, which affects the students self-confidence and performance in the clinical setting. My preceptor is a nurse educator who assists me in my practicum project in a nursing home. Although there have been some challenges in my practicum projects, I usually have a positive working relationship with my preceptor, who teaches and guides me through practical projects in evidence-based practice for the prevention of ventilator associated pneumonia using ventilator bundle in long term Care (Gables, Reis, Impett &Asher, 2004). Since the time that I started my practicum, my preceptor has been helpful, understanding and patient. Despite the age differences, my communication with my preceptor is always open. She is usually open to assist me in any problem involving my projects and other aspects of nursing. She responds to questions positively. She has been offering me wise counsel on how to face challenges while in line of duty. The cooperation with my preceptor has enabled me to gain confidence and competence in handling pneumonia cases in long-term care, has enhanced my socialization capacity especially with patients and other nursing practitioners, has opened up employment opportunities, and has given me an opportunity to begin a transition from a student life to a general nurse professional life. In addition, she guides and teaches me different practices in the ventilator unit (Myrick, Sawa, Phelan, Rogers, Barlow &Hurlock, 2006). My nursing practicum experience is developed through partnership. My partners are my preceptor and the liaison instructor. Each partner has a special role in ensuring the goals of the practicum are met. In the partnership triad, the liaison instructor organizes for the practicum and the preceptor, provide communication link

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Marketing case study of Ferrero Company Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Marketing of Ferrero Company - Case Study Example To successfully penetrate the market Ferrero maintains a limited unique number of products manufactured and marketed at the highest quality possible. The company also seeks to understand the market properly by carrying out extensive test marketing of its products to avoid embarrassing marketing failures (Australian Trade Commission, 2012). Question One Ferrero Australian opened an online boutique that sells premium chocolate gifts packed in unique keep sake gift boxes. The online boutique was actualized due to consistent demands for Ferrero chocolate gift packs by customers for their chocolate loving friends and family. The gifts are customized, elegantly packed and contain a card for personalized messages (Ferrero Boutique, 2012). Ferrero decision to open an online boutique was a well thought marketing strategy in line with the changing consumer habits in Australia. The internet has become an integral and essential feature of the day-to-day social and business lives of billions of p eople around the globe and the internet economy is growing strong each day (Bughin et al., 2011). Ferrero Australia decision enabled many of its customers to have their desired products with convenience and efficiency as the internet enables customers to save time spent on shopping for gifts. Online stores makes it possible for consumers to make quicker decisions and shop as consumers can find time to perform ten searches online but only two searches offline for each purchase, with internet searches saving more time than physical directories (Chen, Jeon & Kim 2010). This boosts productivity for consumers, suppliers and manufacturers and translates into more profits. Through its online boutique store Ferrero customers in Australia are able to choose their preferred gifts with ease and the website offers price transparency, which is essential in developing customer trust and loyalty. This is because the online boutique service offers customers a reliable and stable source of gifts all year round with more consistency, which is a crucial marketing strategy to maintain customers. Using the internet to sell its products also offers the company the opportunity to advertise its high quality products all over the world. Their website helps to raise product awareness to a much more diverse customer base that spurs its sales volume. Bearing in mind that 90% of online users utilize search engines and internet searches represents 10% of the time spent by individuals on the web (McKinsey & Company for IAB Europe, 2010), it is possible for the Ferrero Company to expressly market its products to customers who are interested in chocolates in the web. This means that the company investment on advertising will pay off and lead to sales growth purely by using internet tools as it is possible to match the needs of customers, individuals, and organizations on the web requiring specific products. With the use of internet based transactions growing, one can confidently say the Ferre ro Australia online boutique store will continue to pull in more revenue for the company as people social lives and businesses continue to be more centered on internet use at home and during work. In addition to supplying its products all over Australia, the

Friday, August 23, 2019

Offer and acceptance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Offer and acceptance - Essay Example Similarly, in Partridge v Crittenden, 2 the High Court ruled that there was no violation of the law prohibiting the offering to sell wild birds except those bred in captivity and of the closed-ring specimen despite the advertisement to that effect because it was merely an offer to treat and not a legitimate offer of sale. There are of course, exceptions to this rule as those indicated in such cases as Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co, 3 where the inclusion of the  £1,000 deposit was taken to mean as proof of the serious intent of the advertiser, and Williams v Carwardine, 4 where the advertisement offering reward to any informant in a murder case was held as a general contract with anyone who could provide the information without taking into account the motive of the informant. Thus, there was no initial valid offer by Alf in his advertisement. Neither was there a valid offer/acceptance by Bert when he initially called Alf over the phone considering that he was unsure at that time. Moreover, the agreement between him and Alf for the latter not to sell the computer until Sunday is unenforceable because of the lack of consideration that is an essential element in a contract. In Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Co Ltd v Selfridge & Co Ltd, 5 a tyre maker sued a retailer for selling its tyre below the agreed retail price as previously agreed it and its dealers. One of the reasons why the High Court ruled against the plaintiff was that the defendant was not a party to the agreement in issue and there was no consideration flowing from the promisee to the promissor. Also, in Routledge v Grant 6 the Court held that an offer can be revoked despite an agreement to keep the offer for a certain period if no consideration was paid for that agreement. In the case at bar, there was no option money given by Bert to Alf to seal the agreement and make it enforceable. Even if the promise to hold the sale is valid, the new offer, which was valid, made by Bert on Tuesday and its

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Wireless compatibility with information systems Essay

Wireless compatibility with information systems - Essay Example Our subject devices may be GPRS/EDGE or 3G connected computers or alternately Wi-Fi connected smart phones. There are compatibility issues at the network, operating system, and application levels.There are compatibility issues at the network, operating system, and application levels (Intermec, Nortel). These issues are currently being addressed with the objective of achieving a convergent information network that transparently supports all applications using any terminal device.GSM wireless networks carried IP packets over GPRS (45 Kbps), and EDGE (180 Kbps). These protocols are modem based and are slower and less reliable than current digital data transmission technologies. Current versions of TCP assume a reliable high rate link and therefore its congestion control algorithms are tuned to handle traffic driven congestion. Wireless links are slower and incur higher error rates. Several options related to fast error recovery have resulted in the development of "Wireless Profiled TCP. "UMTS, a GSM and CDMA successor, is a 3G technology whose development is carried through into 4G, relies on W-CDMA and supports up to 21 Mbps with HSDPA. Users can expect at best uplink rates of 284 Kbps and downlink of 7.2 Mbps. When IP is carried over UMTS, ATM is typically the link layer, with SS7 being the signaling protocol. The later has a different addressing scheme from IP, so two new protocols were developed to carry SS7 over IP. Real time and streaming oriented transport protocols are also being developed in replacement to TCP. It is unfair to even attempt to treat all network issues involved in this short paper. An excellent and complete coverage of the subject is provided in (Bannister et Al., 2004). The practical conclusion is that there are many standards and operator related issues that would have to be resolved before one can think of actual convergence at the network level. On another hand, wireless LAN (Wi-Fi) technology seems to be the more suited for short and medium term mobile application support since the wireless part involved has local significance and was designed to interwork with IP routers, just like an Ethernet port plugged into the router. 1.2 Operating System compatibility There are as of now far more mobile operating systems than there are "stable" PC ones: Windows Mobile, Symbian, Google's Android, Blackberry's RIM, and Apple's iPhone OS are the most known (Wikipedia.org). Operating systems impact the way the network's physical media is accessed (the air interface) and the way client applications communicate with servers (protocols). One can find disparate solutions being developed like enabling MS Exchange access from Windows Mobile or IBM's Lotus notes and Citrix access from Apple's iPhone; but there is long and intense way to go before assuming smooth client-server applications. This is a major hinder since portable wireless devices are intended to run thin client applications and rely on servers for heavier processing and storage. Middleware is being developed to translate between mobile systems and servers, such as Omni Technology's GroupWise caching client. 1.3 Applications There are issues with the development and testing platforms used to design wireless applications, which have to be developed on a PC or workstation and

“Of mice and men is a novel that presents both the barbarity and the beauty of human nature” Essay Example for Free

â€Å"Of mice and men is a novel that presents both the barbarity and the beauty of human nature† Essay I agree with this because Steinbeck shows barbarity in the characters. One example of this is when Lennie kills Curley’s wife by accident. I know this because it says â€Å"he quickly becomes excited and holds on too tight, frightening her Lennie panics and clamps his strong hands over her mouth to silence her† This is effective because Lennie doesn’t realise that he’s killed Curley’s wife by stroking her hair but it shows that his actions were cruel and his chances of his American dream has been ruined. The words â€Å"holds on too tight† shows that Lennie had got over excited while touching/stroking one of his favourite things and he doesn’t realise that he’s held on tight and can’t restrain himself from letting go of her hair. The word â€Å"panics† shows that Lennie didn’t know what to do as soon as he heard her screaming so he couldn’t help but keep holding on to her. We can tell that Lennie doesn’t choose to be barbaric towards people but due to his simple mind he just can’t help it. Another way we know Lennie is barbaric is because of his animalistic side, Steinbeck uses the deaths of the small animals to show that despite loving to stroke nice things, he ends up killing them. Steinbeck also shows the beauty of human nature in the Novel. Examples of this is when Lennie constantly gets compared to animals with his actions. I know this because it says â€Å"He walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, way a bear drags his paws. His arms did not swing at his sides, but hung loosely.† This is effective because Lennie is being compared to an animal, a bear. A massive, sometimes violent creature. The word ‘hung loosely’ shows that he was simple minded in everything he did so he didn’t really think about the things he did. Another word ‘the way a bear drags his paws’ shows that he was compared to a bear because of his strength and movement. Another quote would be â€Å"His huge companion dropped his blankets and flung himself down and drank from the surface of the green pool; drank with long gulps, snorting into the water like a horse. The small man stepped nervously beside him† Lennie being compared to an animal b ut this time, a horse who has to be kept from drinking too much water. It at least shows that he has some responsibility to control the natural world. Another way Steinbeck shows barbarity is with the character Crooks. He gives Crooks’ character a hatred towards the men in the ranch. I know this because it says â€Å"Crooks said sharply, You got no right to come in my room. This heres my room. Nobody got any right in here but me† This is effective because it shows that Crooks didn’t like the other men because of the way they treated him so he has to be barbaric to them. The word ‘sharply’ shows that Crooks actually meant what he said although Lennie was being nice, it could also demonstrate that he wanted to take out his anger to Lennie because he realised Lennie wouldn’t understand what Crooks was actually saying to him. The word ‘nobody got any right in here’ shows that he wanted treat them the exact same way they treated him in the ranch. Crooks is barbaric because he was treated that way so he might aswell treat the others the way they’ve been treating him. In conclus ion I think Of mice and men does present the barbarity and beauty of human nature because the characters always had two sides to them whether they were happy or not so it did make the novel very interesting to read.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Impact of Climate Change on Moose Population

Impact of Climate Change on Moose Population Moose in the Noose? From Montana to Minnesota, Ontario and Wyoming to Hew Hampshire moose numbers are in steep decline. Could climate change be to blame? These majestic animals, which can be over 6 feet tall and weigh 700 kg, are a highlight for wildlife enthusiasts visiting America’s northern states and bring in much needed revenue for local communities. They are also important components of the boreal forest ecosystem. Unfortunately these mostly solitary creatures are becoming increasingly more difficult to find by hunters and scientists alike. Moose number declines Montana 40% drop in the number of hunting tags released Minnesota Down 70% since 2006 New Hampshire Dropped from 7000 to 4600 Wyoming 70% drop since 1998 Montana Mystery Dwindling populations in Montana have left local people worried and scientists scratching their heads as to why. Currently moose numbers in Montana are not checked regularly, instead they rely on anecdotal evidence from biologists and hunters as to what the situation on the ground is. But many people are worried. Nick DeCesare, the biologist leading the study said â€Å"There’s fewer moose out there, and hunters are working harder to find them.† So worried are they that the Montana Fish, Wildlife Parks (FWP) department have just embarked on a 10 year investigation to track population changes. By tagging moose with radio collars they can check up on them year after year to measure their body fat and take blood, fecal, hair and teeth samples. They will also check whether they are carrying any diseases or infestations. With this data they’ll be able to tell how healthy the moose are individually and as a population and if any tagged moose die they hope to be able to determine the cause. For the time being though, why numbers appear to be dropping so quickly is a mystery. Mike Gurnett, also from the FWP said â€Å"in some parts of Montana, numbers have declined, hunting licenses cut back, and moose counts continue to drop†. 50% fewer hunting licenses were issued by the state between 1995 and 2011. Just a Fluke? Likewise in Minnesota, Michelle Carstensen of the state’s Department of Natural Resources is also trying to figure out what is happening to their much-loved moose, so popular that they even had an Ice Hockey team named after them – the Minnesota Moose. Ominously the team was relocated to Winnipeg in 1996. We used to have two significant moose populations in our state one in the northwest, one in the northeast. And the northwest moose population is pretty much gone. Numbers in the northwest population of Minnesota have dropped from 4000 in the 1990s to just 100 in the mid 2000’s. This rapid loss drove them to cancel the 2013 moose hunting season altogether in the hope that numbers would rebound. The north-eastern population is also thought to be declining with fewer calves seen over the last 10-15 years than previously. Hunters here too have reported difficulty in finding moose. One of the main causes for this is thought to the liver fluke (Murray et al. 2006), these cause damage to the liver, lungs, and other tissues in the moose’s body along with secondary infections resulting from the damage. This reduces their overall fitness and Murray thinks that the northwest population will cease to exist in 50 years time. Ticked off In Ontario, winter ticks are thought to be a major cause of moose deaths. An adult moose can have as many as 30,000 ticks on its body and some have been known be infested with as many as 100,000. All of these blood-sucking ticks can make moose anaemic; the lack of healthy red blood cells causes fatigue due to inadequate oxygen supplies. This lethargy makes it more difficult for the moose to get enough food. As you can imagine a lot of ticks can be itchy. Moose don’t groom themselves like deer and so scratch themselves by rubbing up against trees. This may be satisfying in the short term – like scratching a mosquito bite – but can be detrimental in the long term. Excessive scratching can remove clods of hair meaning the moose are in more danger of dying from exposure in the winter months. In New Hampshire, too, ticks are a big problem for the moose. Youngsters feel the effects more than adults, says wildlife biologist Ted Walski, â€Å"the 1-year-olds don’t have the blood volume or body size (to cope), which makes them more susceptible.† In the warm winter of 2011 it is thought that nearly all calves born the previous year died as well as 40% of the adults. In relatively extreme event such as this moose populations can rebound the following year, but if the situation persists for prolonged periods recovery is not possible. UmWhat has this got to do with climate change? The fact that there seem to be a number of different causes for the moose declines in these different areas implies that there may be an underlying cause. Population ecologist Denis Murray suspects that it is climate change. Moose have evolved to live in cold climates. As such they have thick, warm coats and get stressed if it’s too hot. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the 30 year period from 1983 to 2012 was probably the warmest period of the last 1400 years in the Northern Hemisphere (IPCC, 2013). Furthermore, temperatures in this region are predicted to rise by 1.5ËÅ ¡ to 2ËÅ ¡C in spring and summer between 2025 and 2035 with winter temperatures expected to rise by the middle of the century (Union of Concerned Scientists, 2003). Montana, Minnesota, and Ontario all have something in common. They’re at the southern edge of the moose’s range – the geographical limit of where they can live comfortably. Moose numbers in southern Sweden, too, have been reported to be dropping. Climate change makes it more difficult for moose to survive in the southern parts of their range. This is thought to be due to the increased heat stress but also the increased survival rate of its pathogens over the winter period. In these southern areas increased temperatures are felt more keenly by the moose. When they get too hot they seek shelter rather than forage for food. This leads to them being weaker but also stops them from building up important fat reserves for the winter. Biologist Mark Lenarz from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resourses found that increased summer and winter temperatures induced heat stress was one of the main factors leading to an increase in moose deaths (Lenarz 2009). White-tailed deer are the normal hosts for the live fluke. Deer densities are expected to increase in response to milder winters (Murray et al., 2006) – exposing a higher number of moose to infection. Murray also found that populations of moose were negatively affected by increases in annual temperature Ticks numbers can also be affected by climate change. To see how we need a bit of info on their life cycle: Ticks emerge from eggs in the late summer. After a short time they climb on to plants like grasses and trees, here they wait as moose brush up against them they attach themselves. They feed and grow into adults during the winter and then mate in January to February, shorter winters mean more survive until this time. In April they start to detach and fall to the ground to lay their eggs and the cycle continues. However, if temperatures are low there is more snow around. The white background makes the tick’s dark bodies stand out and they’re more likely to be eaten by birds(Addison et al. 1989). But if it’s warmer and there is less snow cover and the ticks are harder to spot on the dark ground more adult ticks survive to lay eggs, leading to increased infection rates later in the year which have a negative impact on moose health. Daniel Bergeron, from the un iversity of New Hampshire, thinks that the widespread die-off of moose in the warm, snowless conditions in the winter of 2001 -2 extended the period that ticks could be transmitted to moose (Bergeron 2011). http://www.ccwhc.ca/wildlife_health_topics/winter_tick/wintertick.php#canada Christy McCain from the University of Colorado Boulder found that larger animals 27 times more likely to react to climate change than smaller animals. This makes them more sensitive to change and so they face the highest extinction risk (McCain and King 2014). â€Å"The things that are responding most to climate change are the things we tend to like the most, that we go to parks to see to see – Big Horn Sheep, Elk, Polar Bears. These are the things that have the highest extinction risk†. Much like the dinosaurs that died out after 65 million years ago, it was the small mammals left behind that were able to adapt to their new environment more quickly and survive. So Consequences for boreal forest – less grazing etc As well as the threat of climate change there are also threats from logging and especially mining, which currently is not subject to environmental assessment. Less browsing by moose – loss of natural habitat areas maintained by such grazing, fewer wolves as less moose to hunt. References Addison, E. M., Strickland, R. D. and Fraser, D. J. H. (1989) Grey Jays (Perisoreus canadensis) and common ravens (Corvus corax) as predators of winter ticks, Dermacentor albipictus., The Canadian Field-Naturalist, 103(3), 406-408. Bergeron, D. H. (2011) Assessing relationships of moose populations, winter ticks, and forest regeneration in northern New Hampshire., University of New Hampshire Masters Thesis, [online], available: http://search.proquest.com/docview/884096564 [accessed 02/03/2014] IPCC (2013) Fifth Assessment Report,Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis, [online], available: http://www.ipcc.ch/ [accessed 02/03/2014] Lenarz, M. S., Nelson, M. E., Schrage, M. W. and Edwards, A. J. (2009) Temperature Mediated Moose Survival in Northeastern Minnesota, The Journal of Wildlife Management, 73(4), 503-510. McCain, C. M. and King, S. R. B. (2014) Body size and activity times mediate mammalian responses to climate change, Global Change Biology, [online], available: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/gcb.12499/abstract [accessed 25/02/2014]. Murray, D. L., Cox, W. E., Ballard, W. B., Whitlaw, H. A., Lenarz, M. S., Custer, T. W., Barnett, C. and Fuller, T. D. (2006) Pathogens, nutritional deficiency, and climate influences on a declining moose population, Wildlife Monographs, 166, 1-30. Union of Concerned Scientists (2003) Confronting climate change in the great lakes regions: impacts on our communities and ecosystems, available: http://www.ucsusa.org/greatlakes/glchallengereport.html [accessed 27/02/2014].

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Nitration of Acetanilide and Methyl Benzoate

Nitration of Acetanilide and Methyl Benzoate Nitration of Acetanilide and Methyl Benzoate by Electrophilic Aromatic Substitution Abstract The purpose of this experiment was to synthesize methyl nitro benzoate from methyl benzoate, as well as nitroacetanilide from concentrated nitric acid (HNO3), and concentrated sulfuric acid (H2SO4) by using an electrophilic aromatic substitution reaction. The HNO3 and H2SO4 were combined to form a nitrating solution, which was added to a mixture of methyl benzoate and H2SO4, and the same was done with acetanilide. Following recrystallization, melting point was used to identify and characterize the product of the reaction. The melting point was determined to be 74 ËÅ ¡C-80 ËÅ ¡C for methyl nitro benzoate and for nitroacetanilide it was 195 ËÅ ¡C-200 ËÅ ¡C, which indicates meta-regiochemistry for methyl benzoate and para-regiochemistry for nitroacetanilide. The percent yield of this reaction for the recrystallized product was 59.3% of methyl nitrobenzoate, while it was 6.75% for nitroacetanilide. Figure 1: The reaction for the nitration of acetanilide. Figure 2: The reaction for the nitration of methyl benzoate. Experimental Concentrated sulfuric acid (0.6 mL) and concentrated nitric acid (0.5 mL) were added to a reaction flask and placed in an ice bath. Concentrated sulfuric acid (1 mL) was added to methyl benzoate (0.5 g) in a vial which was then packed in ice, and the same was done with acetanilide.ÂÂ   While stirring, the cold H2SO4/HNO3 mixture was added drop-by-drop. After the acid mixture was added, the reaction mixture was removed from the ice to warm to room temperature, with stirring. It was then transferred by Pasteur pipet into a beaker and stirred for five minutes. The methyl benzoate nitration formed white solid, and the acetanilide nitration for a light yellow solid. The crystals were the vacuum filtered with a Buchner funnel. The crude product was recrystallized by adding a distilled water and ethanol slowly while heating the product. While cooling, the solution produced large white crystals for methyl benzoate nitration and light yellow crystals for the acetanilide nitration. The ma ss, melting point percent yield were obtained. Results and Discussion Through the use of electrophilic aromatic substitution, acetanilide is nitrated to nitroacetanilide, while methyl benzoate was nitrated to methyl nitrobezonate. The first step of the reaction involved in the donation of an electron pair, which generates the nitronium ion from nitric acid by protonation and loss of water, using sulphuric acid as the dehydrating agent. The mechanism for methyl benzoate can be seen below. Figure 3: The mechanism of the nitration of methyl benzoate to methyl nitrobenzoate. To prevent acetanilide from dinitrating, the nitrating solution of HNO3 and H2SO4 were added drop by drop to the acetanilide solution, so that the concentration of the nitrating agent is kept at minimum. The cooler temperatures were used to reduce the reaction rate and help to avoid over nitration. The electrophilic aromatic substitutions involved the replacement of a proton on an aromatic ring with an electrophile that becomes substituent. The sulfuric acid protonates the methyl benzoate, which creates the resonance stabilized arenium ion intermediate.3 The electron deficient nitronium ion reacts with the protonated intermediate meta position. The ester group is the meta deactivator and the reaction takes place at the meta position because the ortho and para positions are destabilized by adjacent positives charges on the resonance structure.2 The major product of the methyl benzoate nitration is the meta product due to carboxyl and nitro groups both being powerful electron withdrawing groups. Table 1: The weight, melting point, and percent yield of both Nitroactenilide and Methyl Nitrobenzoate. Product Name Crude Weight (g) Product Weight (g) Percent Yield (%) Melting Point (ËÅ ¡C) Literature Melting Point (ËÅ ¡C) Nitroactenilide 0.585 0.045 6.75% 195-200 214-217 Methyl Nitrobenzoate 0.56 0.32 59.3% 74-80 78-80 The actual yield of methyl nitrobenzoate is 0.32 g while the theoretical yield is 0.54 g. The melting point is 74ËÅ ¡C 80ËÅ ¡C, and the value is closed to the literature value which is 78ËÅ ¡C 80 ËÅ ¡C. The percent yield for the methyl benzoate electrophilic aromatic substitution reaction was 59.3% with 0.32g of methyl nitrobenzoate formed. The percent yield for the reaction with acetanilide was 6.75% with 0.045g of nitroacetanilide formed, which can be seen in table 1. The melting point observed was 195-200 ËÅ ¡C, which can be accounted for impurities in the product, which can be seen below in table 1. Some impurities might be Ortho and Meta directing substances, as well as there could have been some experimental errors that occurred during the experiment such as not overheating solutions during the reactions. These low yields may have resulted from poor recrystallization, product lost during transfer from one apparatus to another, or human error. The miss ing percent accounts for the impurities removed during recrystallization. However, some product must have been lost in the acetanilide reaction recrystallization because of such a low percent yield. The melting point of the final product was 74-80 ËÅ ¡C suggesting that it was formed by meta-substitution. The literature melting point for meta-methyl nitrobenzoate is 78-80 ËÅ ¡C. Therefore, the melting point is lower than it should be suggesting that an impurity is in the product. This impurity may have occurred due to poor recrystallization or it may have been picked up after recrystallization. The melting point of the nitroacetanilide product was 195-200 ËÅ ¡C suggesting the para-regiochemistry. The literature melting point for the p-nitroacetanilide is 214-217 ËÅ ¡C. Therefore, the melting point of the product is a little lower than the literature value, suggesting that an impurity exists in the product from poor recrystallization of contact with an impurity during recrystallization. The methyl nitrobenzoate product was determined to be meta-substituted based on its melting point range. This can also be proved by evaluating the attack of the benzene ring of methyl benzoate on the electrophililic species and nitric acid.4 The C-OCH3 substituent is a meta-deactivator. Therefore, when the benzene ring attacks the nitronium ion, the NO3+ group will add meta-positon. This creates a resonance stabilized arenium ion without a positive charge on the carbon with the C-OCH3 substituent. Then the proton is removed from the meta position by the weak base, the HSO4-, formed in the creation of the nitronium ion, which reforms the sulfuric acid catalyst.3 Once the proton is removed the substitution product, methyl nitrobenzoate remains. The nitroacetanilide product was formed by a para-substitution. This can be determined by examining the melting point and comparing it to the literature values for each position.4 However, this can also be determined when examining the electrophilic aromatic substitution reaction of acetanilide on the electrophile, nitric acid. The NHCOCH3 substituent is an ortho-para-activator. Therefore, when the benzene ring of acetanilide attacks the nitronium ion, it can add ortho or para. The para substitution, if more stable than an ortho substitution, will be added because the para position is a further distance from the position of the NHCOCH3 substituent. Therefore, the benzene ring adds at the para position based on the melting point and resonance in the mechanism shown above. Conclusion The methyl m-nitrobenzoate and p-nitroacetanilide were prepared. The percentage yield is 6.75% for nitroacetanilide and 59.3% for methyl nitrobenzoate. The melting point of the products are 74ËÅ ¡C 80ËÅ ¡C and 195ËÅ ¡C 200ËÅ ¡C. From the given physical constant, the literature melting point of methyl m-nitrobenzoate is 78 80ËÅ ¡C and 214ËÅ ¡C 217ËÅ ¡C for nitroacetailide, so it can be concluded that the products were methyl m-nitrobenzoate and p-nitroacetanilide. References Wade, Jr., L.G. Organic Chemistry 2003, 722-741. Chemistry Laboratory Manual: Susquehanna University 2014, 242-244 250 ChemFinder.Com. Cambridge Soft Corporation. . Anerjee, Dhruv K. Ortho and Par % of Key Reaction. Utkarschemistry. 2013. Appendix A: Finding the Limiting Reagent Grams X 1 mol / molecular weight = moles of reactant Nitric Acid: 0.6 mL X ((1 g/1 mL) X 1 mol) / 98.08 g/mol = 0.0061 mol Nitric Acid: 0.5 mL X ((1 g/1 mL) X 1 mol) / 63.01 g/mol = 0.0079 mol Methyl Benzoate: (0.55 g X 1 mol) / 181.14 g/mol = 0.030 mol Appendix B: Calculating Theoretical Yield of Methyl Nitrobenzoate Moles of limiting reagent X molar ratio X molecular weight of product) / 1 mol = theoretical yield (0.030 X 181.13) / 1 mol = 0.54 g Appendix C: Calculating Percent Yield (Actual / theoretical) X 100% = percent yield (0.32 g/ 0.54 g) X 100% = 59.3%

Monday, August 19, 2019

Karl Marx and His Radical Views Essay -- History Politics Political

Karl Marx and His Radical Views Karl Marx[i] Karl Marx is among the most important and influential of all modern philosophers who expressed his ideas on humans in nature. According to the University of Dayton, â€Å"the human person is part of a larger history of life on this planet. Through technology humans have the power to have an immense effect on that life.†[ii] The people of his time found that the impact of the Industrial Revolution would further man’s success within this world and would ensure his success as a species. Marx was extremely radical in finding that this was a positive impact on humans in nature. In order to understand why his views were considered radical, it is important to understand his philosophy and the period of history during which Marx developed and formulated his views. Radical, as defined by the Webster’s New World Dictionary states, â€Å"disposed to make extreme changes in existing views, habits, conditions, or institutions†[iii]. Marx’s theories certainly fit this definition of radical. Marx was the founder of the Communist movement, and his ideas about history and economics form the basis of socialist politics throughout the world. This philosophy was developed just as the Industrial Revolution, which was based on capitalism, was beginning to spread from England to the rest of Europe. The writings of Karl Marx spell out the philosophic foundations of his radicalism. Marx’s philosophy is complicated and detailed. However, the central theme to Marx’s theories was his view that economic forces were increasingly oppressing human beings and his belief that political action and change were necessary. Marx’s thinking is a reaction to the industrial society of the mid ninete... ...pitalism (New York: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1988), 8. [viii] Gurley, 8. [ix] Karl Marx. Manifesto of the Communist Party, ed. Friedrich Engels (The Avalon Project at Yale Law School), Section IV. Position of the Communist In Relation to the Various Existing Opposition Parties. [x] [xi] Gurley, 31. [xii] John Elster. An Introduction to Karl Marx (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986), 7. [xiii] Gurley, 27. [xiv] [xv] Gurley, 5. Other Links: http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/index.htm http://radicalacademy.com/philmarx.htm http://www.historyguide.org/intellect/marx.html http://www.anu.edu.au/polsci/marx/classics/manifesto.html http://www.marxists.org/

Sunday, August 18, 2019

No “More” Socialism: Debunking Raphael Hythlodaeus’ Argument Against Pr

George Orwell, in his famous essay, â€Å"Why Socialists Don’t Believe in Fun,† aptly described the problem of any Utopian ideal. â€Å"It would seem that human beings are not able to describe, nor perhaps to imagine, happiness except in terms of contrast†¦ Nearly all creators of Utopia have resembled the man who has (a) toothache, and therefore thinks happiness consists in not having a toothache. They wanted to produce a perfect society by an endless continuation of something that had only been valuable because it was temporary† (Orwell). In Thomas More’s Utopia, Raphael Hythloday is used as a conduit through which More expresses his distaste with private property. It is striking how true Orwell’s words can be applied to More’s Utopia. More’s criticism of private property is structurally fallible, and his description of an alternative is deeply implausible. Raphael is used to lay out the Utopian alternative economic and civic system, from the common-place â€Å"peasant subsistence economy† of More’s England through his description of the idealist island of Utopia (Overton 4). Raphael’s case against private property is built upon two principle supports; the perceived fallacies and failures in a peasant subsistence capitalistic economy, and how seemingly intuitive the socialistic alternatives of the island of Utopia are in solving the tribulations which so perplex the world’s peasantry. If we analyze Raphael’s argument, we find that it is grossly mis-calculated. The assumptions made in both the construction of Utopia and the deconstruction of England’s economic system are both contradictory and completely over-simplified. With our advantage of economic and historical hindsight we can see that Raphael lays blame without knowledge, and we can se... ... A. Von. Collectivist Economic Planning. London: [s.n.], 1950. Print. Hunt, E. K. History of Economic Thought: A Critical Perspective. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 2002. Print. Marx, Karl, Friedrich Engels, David McLellan, and Samuel Moore. The Communist Manifesto. Oxford [u.a.: Oxford UP, 1998. Print. Mill, John Stuart, and W. J. Ashley. Principles of Political Economy, with Some of Their Applications to Social Philosophy. New York: A. M. Kelley, eller, 1965. Print. More, Thomas, and George M. Logan. Utopia: A Revised Translation, Backgrounds, Criticism. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2011. Print. Orwell, George. The Collected Essays, Journalism, and Letters of George Orwell. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1968. Print. Overton, Mark. Agricultural Revolution in England: The Transformation of the Agrarian Economy, 1500-1850. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1996. Print.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Best Friend Award

Valerie Martinez CMST100 4/22/12 The Best Friend Award For my best award I chose my best friend, Arely. I chose Arely because I really that we’ve had a long friendship during high school, considering that things don’t always last during our high school years. Not only because we’ve been friends for so long, but also because I’ve gone through some hardships throughout those years and she was there for me.She never gave up or got sick of me going to her and telling her all my feelings, in other words venting to her about everything. She knows me so well; I sometimes think she knows me better than I know myself. She’s always makes me feel better and I just love our friendship and I believe she deserves the best friend award. I decided to give her a letter telling her how much I appreciate her and thank her for her being my best friend.I also mentioned what I like about our relationship and what I wanted us to keep going and what I wanted to do to make things better for our relationship. This letter I wrote on was on white paper and I decorated it with a lot of pink because I know that is her favorite color. Arely and I both are taking the same class, so I don’t think she was that surprised to have gotten this letter. When I gave it to her, she didn’t read it till later that day.I got a text from her late at night that day and she said, â€Å" aww I love you†. Overall, I think this assignment is a really good idea. I think once in a while we need to remind the ones we love that we love them. There are many people that don’t do that and their friend might feel sad because they wish their friend could tell them they appreciate him or her. I know I don’t do that very often and writing this letter made me realize that I need to let the people that I care about know that I love them more often.

Learning and Skill Essay

Tymon Muska Intro to Motor Learning Dr Rausch Jr. 11 / 14 / 08 The Skill of Juggling In terms of the type of skill, juggling is a continuous skill as opposed to a discrete or serial. Juggling is a continuous skill because it does not have a distinct beginning or end. Continuous skills involve practicing the movement nonstop and uninterrupted, unless a ball or scarf is dropped. The motor control loop partnered with juggling is the closed loop because feedback and the comparator are present. In terms of breaking down the scheduling for teaching and practicing this skill, one must understand there are several different components to practicing juggling. Similarly, the schedule would be blocked because one must practice a component for juggling and repeat this component until mastered. A blocked practicing schedule also allows the subject being taught to build a feel for the skill, begin to get more confident in performing the skill, and most likely with block scheduling the subject will be more successful in performing the skill, over and over again. I will be using a combination of part and whole practice. This is because teaching the skill in parts is easier for the learner to understand, but when it comes to showing the learner how to put all the movements together, that is where the whole practice comes into play. Using a combination of both types of practices gives the learner a chance to understand each movement, and at the same time get his or her rhythm down without constantly starting and stopping the motion when trying to put the skill together as a whole. Another portion on the practice side of juggling is called massed practice. This type of practice, which I will use, is the best type of practice for a beginner. â€Å"When applied to the length and distribution of practice sessions, a massed schedule will have fewer practice sessions than a distributed schedule, with each massed practice session requiring more and or longer practice† (Richard (2007). I’ll use this type of practice with my subjects because it allows the subject to get a good feel for the skill and build confidence. With those two things, the subject becomes more successful at the skill they are performing. When one thinks of juggling, they think of juggling with some type of ball. For a beginner, juggling with a ball can be very difficult. For one, they are heavier so they fall faster. Second, they are solid so they are harder to grab onto. In teaching the subjects I plan to use a simulated practice, â€Å" research investigations of the effectiveness of simulators have been more common for their use as training devices to help people learn how to drive cars, and pilots to fly planes, (Fisher, 2002), than for their use in sports contexts, (Stewart, Do home, & Null Meyer, (2002)†. Scarves are perfect for a beginner to start off with because they are light and float in the air longer than a ball would. This gives the subject chance to get the right form and technique down. It will also increase their success rate in completing a juggling pattern, which in turn will lead them to build a higher level of confidence when juggling. Then, one must move to the next component involved in the skill of juggling. In other words, when beginning to learn how to juggle, one should begin without any scarves or balls. Mastering the hand movements and repeating the phrases ‘up, up, down, down’ or ‘throw, throw, catch, catch’ are important so that the student may now incorporate the scarves. The student should practice using one scarf and proceed to using two scarves. Also included in the schedule is the art of a practice. In this case, we would use part practice. In demonstrating the skill, I will first address the class explaining the use of the scarves and the different colors of the scarves and the sequence in which they will be used. I will demonstrate the toss and catch method with one colored scarf. Tossing the scarf up from the dominate hand and catching it with the non-dominant hand and then repeating the skill from non-dominant to dominant. The second step involves having two scarves, one in each hand. Starting with the dominant hand, the subject will toss with the dominant, toss with the non-dominant, catch with non-dominant and then catch with the dominant. The third step in learning how to juggle would involve the third color. Starting with the two original colors used for step one, in your dominant hand and step two in your non-dominant hand. Add the third color to your dominant hand; this scarf will be tossed last. In order to produce a perfect cycle of juggling the pattern goes like this, toss with the dominant, toss with the non-dominant, catch with the non- dominant, toss with the dominant and catch with the dominant hand. It is very important for the subject to keep the color and order of the scarves the same throughout each trial. By keeping the same colors in each hand, it will give the subject a base to go by. It will help them remember which scarf to through and grab and when and perform the skill in the correct order. Using the colored scarves is a form of simulated practice. Simulated practice is a great way to teach beginners a skill, but its major weakness is that it is not realistic in terms of juggling with real balls or heavier objects. For the practice consumption for juggling, we would be using the specificity of practice. The specificity of practice hypothesis has been around since the 1900’s. The theory explains why positive transfer occurs between two skills or skill learning situations, (Thorndike & Woodworth 1901). Part practice consists of three different types and we would be using segmentation. Segmentation is a type of part practice in which one part of the target skill is practiced and mastered followed by the practice of a second part in which the first and second would then be put together until the entire skill is practiced. It is important to give the subject feedback on how they are doing result wise and not performance wise. The close loop system involves feedback, whereas an open loop system does not. In human movement, the feedback is afferent information sent by various sensory receptors to the control center. The purpose of this feedback is to update the control center about the correctness of the movement while it is in progress (Richard (2007). There are multiple kinds of feedback a subject’s teacher could give to them after watching a number of trials performed. In this case since my subject is a beginner, I will be using the Summary Feedback schedule which is when the subject has completed his or her trial or practice runs and the teacher gives them intervals of feedback. The specificity of this feedback schedule is called direction, which is strictly used for beginners because it is the easiest to understand and the least overwhelming. After explaining the basic three step method to the class, I will call on subject up and ask he or she to perform the skill and demonstrate for the rest of the class. For the next step, I will split the class up into groups. Each person in the group will have a chance to perform the skill, while being evaluated by their peers in their group. Each subject will perform the task of juggling the scarves ten times, and I will ask the people in the group to give the subject some kind of feedback whether negative or positive after every two trials. The subject juggling has a definite advantage considering he or she will be getting fifty percent feedback during their trial runs. In teaching the subjects how to juggle, my ultimate goal is for each subject to be able to complete a full cycle of juggling without a single error. Due to the time constraints in teaching this skill, the main focus will be on the subjects form in performing the skill and how well he or she interprets the information and que’s given to them to complete the task. Reference Page 1)- Magill, Richard (2007). Motor Learning and Control : concepts and applications,8, 86. New York, NY: The McGrawth-Hill Companies. 2)- Magill, Richard (2007). Motor Learning and Control : concepts and applications,8, 395 – 396. New York, NY: The McGrawth-Hill Companies. 3)- Thorndike, E. L. , & Woodworth, R. S (1901). The influence of improvement in one mental function upon the efficentcy of other functions. Psychology Review, 8, 247 – 261. 4)- Fisher, D. L. , (2002). Use of a fixed based driving simulator to evaluate the effects of experience and PC-based risked awareness training on drivers decisions. Human Factors, 44, 416 5)- Stewart, J, E. , Dohme, J. A. , & Nullmeryer, R. T. (2002). Motor Learning and Control : concepts and applications, 8, 416. New York, NY: The McGrawth-Hill Companies.

Friday, August 16, 2019

Maintaining Race and Ethnic Identity Essay

The world we are living is very dynamic and exhibits various types of movements for both plants and animals including humans. History insinuates that man practiced considerable movements from one place to another since its first existence. This movement from one locality to another is referred to as migration. Migration can be 1) internal which is within the country, state or continent and maybe 2) international which crosses boundaries to other country, state or continent. With the development of technology and globalization, international migration continues to increase over the past decades. In 1960, there were 76 million international migrants and increased to 191 million international migrants in 2006. It was noted that a relatively high migration rate is from 1985 to 1990. Generally, ethnic identity diversifies according to the length of distance and therefore international migration increases the gap of connectivity in relation to ethnicity. Human migration can be classified as permanent or semi-permanent depending on their reasons which maybe voluntary or involuntary. Voluntary migration is generally practiced in search for a â€Å"greener pasture† and satisfaction of one’s preferences. This includes employment, climate, food supply, self development like education, religion and family. Involuntary migration, on the other hand, includes migration due to calamity, political conditions like when in war or in exile, slave trades or human trafficking and ethnic cleansing. (Boyd, 2003) Refugees can eventually be immigrants. Based from Human Migration Guide of the National Geographic Society, â€Å"A refugee is a person who is residing outside the country of his or her origin due to fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. † (â€Å"What is Human Migration? † 2005) . This involuntary migration results to a hefty impact on self identity rather than voluntary migration. Human migration has taken a major participation in shaping and honing the present status of the population. It allows the diffusion and combination of the structures, cultures, beliefs, ideas, principles, religion, and other traits which results to the modification of each others traits. Rejection of the integration, however, sometimes results to conflict that may cause decline of socio-cultural capital and values. Although immigrants tend to maintain their ethnic identity and cultures at home, the children of the second, third generation is common or comparable with generations of the host country. This means that these generations are highly acculturated to the host community and country. Intentional or not intentional, this is in response to their quest for belongingness. On the other hand, some immigrants give high regard to their culture which is linked to nationalism. Some may even believe that there is no other culture than theirs and fail to recognize cultures of other immigrants within the community. Some host countries like Western European nations and Japan are deeply concern about the effect of these immigrants on their culture and ethnic identity which can be compromised. Oftentimes, conflict such as racial discrimination exist and become the subject of debates. Different countries have their own policies regarding immigration. Other countries begin to recognize immigrants with different race and cultures. They are respected in preserving their respective cultures and interact peacefully within one nation. This official policy is known as multiculturalism and can be seen in Canada, Australia and the U. K. It is also called as the cultural mosaic of different ethnic groups. Nevertheless, immigrant groups are still encouraged to learn the language of the host country and participate in the activities of the major society including labor force. However, this policy gained many criticisms such as it divides the people even there is a need to be united on certain social issues and justices. Debates on immigration law and racism are still on-going issues of every host country.