Species Divergence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Species Divergence - Essay Example physiology, the mode of interaction with its environment, nutrition regime, etc. While evolutionist ideas may be discerned in several pre-modern scholars’ ruminations, it was only with the advent of the 18th century Enlightenment that modern evolutionary theories formed, with that of Charles Darwin soon taking the pre-eminent place among them. The formation of currently mainstream version of evolutionary biology was immensely helped by the respective advances in the fields of genetics and molecular biology, which helped define the organic basis for evolutionary processes. From a biological organization point of view, evolution proceeds on a species level, as individuals comprising a species do not themselves evolve over the course of their lifespan. However, the results of their interaction with the environment enable the accumulation of new heritable responses within their genotype structures, giving rise to a process of natural selection. The latter, in its turn, conditions the changes in the species’ phenotype (i.e. the complex of biological features). Natural selection may be properly defined as a gradual process of genetic variation whereby the individuals with most favorable gene combinations are more frequently able to transplant their genes to subsequent generations of a species, so that their descendants will define the face of their species. While natural selection process is individual, being transmitted across a species only indirectly, it is genotype of a species as a whole that it impacts on, so that heritable changes in those individuals’ genotypes that are favored by natural selection are spread to the subsequent generations of a species as a whole. The mechanisms of natural selection are varied; however, some of them may be assigned more prominent roles in its perpetration. Of those, ecological selection, with an emphasis on fitting with one’s biological environment, and sexual selection, with an individual’s fecundity and ability to find prospective sexual partners as a key factor, may be considered the primary ones. In turn, these mechanisms may be sub-divided into more specific methods of selection, with, e.g., ecological selection encompassing the mechanisms of intraspecies competition, kin selection, etc., and sexual selection including those of intrasexual selection, intersexual selection (sexual dimorphism), etc. b. Evidence for biological evolution is manifold and comprises the number of data from different scientific disciplines. Within the context of this essay, five types of this evidence will be examined. Plate tectonics. The discovery of the movements of plates in the 20th century laid to rest the notion of unchangeable nature of Earth’s tectonics, contributing to an idea of nature’s propensity for change. On a more specific level, Charles Lyell’s studies on the impact of climatological and geological changes on the distribution of species, with specific emphasis on extinct flora, led the researchers to conclude that movements of large land masses lead to conversion of climates, which meant that animal and plant species had to be dynamic entities, the spatial distribution whereof changes in accordance with the changes of topography brought about by geological agents. Consequently, the changes in floras and faunas were decisively connected with the corresponding shifts of land masses, contributing to the development of an idea of ecological selection. Biogeography. The research in the connection between plate tectonics and changes in life on Earth that was referred to above has been directly connected with the research in the field of biogeography. Such scientists as Edward Forbes, Wallace and Willer Matthew conducted an extensive research in the

Business Project Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Business Project Management - Essay Example However, with increased competition, widespread use of project management theories and processes in day to day functioning of businesses and blurring departmental and functional boundaries, projects are now considered no less than strategic processes underpinning theories and concepts of leadership, strategy, culture, communication, integration and appropriate know-how of relevant systems. This report aims at delving deep into this transformed outlook towards project management approach and how these management functions are shaping the traditional structure of project management into an amalgamation of project, change and process management. With the inclusion of relationship management, risk management, people satisfaction and motivation, empowerment and creativity; project management in itself is turning into a specialised body of knowledge comprising of the vital elements of management, strategy, human resources and operations. To demonstrate this tectonic shift, examples of vari ous projects ranging from big construction to IT ones have been taken so that theories and concepts can be understood in real life terms. ... Projects are time-bound, focus on a single time process and are usually complex in nature because of mingling of several distinct and unrelated functions. Limitation of time, cost and resources add to the characteristics of projects. On the contrary, processes are repeatable and do not suffer from limitations which are present in project management. Homogeneity is also more dominant in process management than do in project management. Traditional approach to project management Traditionally, projects used to be differentiated from that of processes because of superficial differences identified between the two. Their scope, extent of penetration in organization’s philosophy and strategy, resource allocation, level of inter-dependence of different functions and activities within the management of two and results achieved thereof lead to the misconception that projects cannot assume the status of processes and vice-versa. Typical project management cycle includes stereotypic phas es defined as requirements analysis, resource management, project methodology, risk management and project closure. These phases are technical in nature with clear specifications of roles, duty, inputs and respective outputs. They do not recognize the evolving nature of business place and components of business management like planning, controlling, decision making and more contemporary functions of management namely leadership, strategy, cultural ramifications, knowledge of systems and overall congruence with the components of process management. This makes the traditional approach to project management short of fulfilling the current needs of business and unique propositions. Evolved components of project management Prosci (2011) specifically highlights the tripartite nature of project

Outline in a 1,500 words the characteristics of Social Media and Coursework

Outline in a 1,500 words the characteristics of Social Media and Generation Y and the close relationship between the two with a case example - Coursework Example 89). The paper will reveal the characteristics of social media and the generation Y and will advance to show the close linkage between social media and this generation based on a case example on how social media has facilitated product e-marketing and will go a notch higher to reveal the pros and cons resulting from e-marketing such as increased sales and fraudulent and scamming acts through giving a platform for the scammers and the fraudsters which are mainly the generation Y’s component. Identity distortion is a major issue in social media as people misuse this platform and hide their identities as they try to investigate on other peoples’ ware bouts and will get every detail of the targeted people which is later used to advance their ill motives on such victims. The belief on the existence of the data shadows has made it possible for the monitoring previous transactions made by web user online which are the generated into data necessary for follow ups. An explanation to the definition of social media can be highlighted as situation recently taking over the web presenting a more expansive exposure in respect to degree of connectivity and social networking that facilitates the continuous conveyance of information through the feedback and contribution of web users belonging to any given virtual community. This is a generation that is also known as Millenniums or Echo Boomers which precedes generation X and preceded by generation Z. generation Y is estimated to entail the youths born between the years 1977 and 2000. It is not clear as some state that this generation should the people born between 1978 and 1989. Due to this dissenting explanation is extended to include the age bracket from 1977 to 2000 (Bondarouk & Olivas-Lujan 2013, p. 111). According to Strauss and Howe, the period between 1982 and 2004 formed the bracket of the generation Y in USA. Social media has increased intimacy among the people as people are daily connected via the

Factors to consider when designing a web site Essay Example for Free

Factors to consider when designing a web site Essay Due to the high rate of competition and technology advance, any website creating company aims at giving its costumers a product they will enjoy using. Lafleur trading company a website developing company is not left behind i doing so. In their quest to satisfy their customers they needed to upgrade their way of developing website. To enable them do this lafleur reflected on factors to consider when designing a website. To start with, the company realised they need to find out if they are designing a particular website who was their immediate users, what they would expect to find in that particular web site and the easiness of getting what they want. This will be determined by the interphase of the website that is what colours to use, how easy is it to navigate between lafleur website and any related website that might contain contact information about a product advertised in their website (Vu Proctor, 2011). Designing a unique product is an important point to consider. In order to get attention of many audience give them a different product than what they are used to but one that serves the purpose better than the previous one. This can be achieved by use of different colours but attractive ones ( a page should not contain more than three colours) use of graphics and relevant pictures of what you are advertising also will make the web site more user friendly The most important point to put inconsideration is to test your website for errors. Website should be consistent to use and error prone. Contact information pertaining the website should provided so that customers are able to access online information when they so require. Lastly feedback methods to get customers views should be put in place to get customers potion about websites designed by Lafleur Company. Reference Vu, K.-P. L., Proctor, R. W. (2011). Handbook of human factors in Web design. Boca Raton: CRC Press Source document

What is the Function of a Social Contract? Essay -- essays research pa

What is the Function of a Social Contract? Philosophers have been concerned with the theories of a social contract for thousands of years. Plato mentions the concept in Crito and in Republic. These theories have stemmed from the concept of justice and for our society to be just. I will look at the works of Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Jean Jacques Rousseau and finally with John Rawls after which a overall view into the function of a social contract can be derived as well as any problems with the theory(s). The basic concept of a social contract is for members of society to enter into a voluntary contract, which allows society to go from a state of nature to a state of civilisation. What is meant by a state of nature is quite similar to how the rest of the animal kingdom works. A person ¡Ã‚ ¦s security depends on his or her own personal power. The fittest survive and the weakest suffer. Every person is concerned with his or her own ends. Plato outlined two types of contract within society. These were the contract of citizenship and the contract of community. The contract of citizenship was tackled in Crito. He regarded it as a contract made by each individual citizen with the state or law. If a man is to remain in a political society he will have to accept its obligations for he has enjoyed it privileges and benefits. The contract of community was covered in Republic Book II. This theory is based on the assumption the man is an egoist. With this assumption of  ¡Ã‚ ¥every man for himself ¡Ã‚ ¦ it is likely that he would either cause harm to others or sustain harm from others and therefore there would be a need to combat this. Thomas Hobbes published his work, the leviathan, which included theories of a social contract. His view is very similar to Plato ¡Ã‚ ¦s in regards to contract of community. He felt that there was a need for members of a society to Curtail the war of all against all and without these theories this war would spiral out of control with everyone competing against scarce resources. He talks about how a person ¡Ã‚ ¦s strength is all that protects them from others. The only way he saw fit to counter this predicament would be for a person to voluntarily agree to a contract where their natural freedom is given up in return for personal security. This freedom would be give up to the supreme authority, the Leviathan, which would serve as a  ¡Ã‚ ¥common pow... ...ction to relatives and close associates. The theory of general will also has problems. What can protect society from unjust rulers who say they are working in the way of general will? General will does not allow for difference in taste. It also identifies moral obligation with general interest. This is a problem because people may have similar morals but have different interest. The rulers can also work with regards to the interest of the state but not with regards to morals. Bibliography Æ’Ã ¦Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Leviathan; Thomas Hobbes edited by Richard Tuck; 1991; Cambridge University Press Æ’Ã ¦Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Rousseau ¡Ã‚ ¦s Political Philosophy; Ramon M Lemos; 1977; University of Georgia Press Æ’Ã ¦Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Second Treatise of Government; John Locke edited by Thomas P Peardon; 1952; Bobbs and Merrill company inc. Æ’Ã ¦Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Problems of Political Philosophy revised edition; DD Raphael; 1976; Macmillan Press ltd. Æ’Ã ¦Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Social Contract and Discourses; Jean Jacques Rousseau translated by GDH Cole; 1973; JM Dent and Sons ltd. Æ’Ã ¦Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Social Contract or Principles of Political Right second edition revised; Jean Jacques Rousseau translated by Henry J Tozer; 1898; Swan Sonnenschein and Co.

John Holt Essay

â€Å"By Friday you need to have the first 350 pages read in the novel and a written summary.† Do you remember being told that all the time in school? Teachers expecting us to read large amounts in a short period of time, they don’t think it is too much because they love reading. Well John Holt wrote a really good article about his thoughts called â€Å"Making Children Hate Reading.† Making Children Hate Reading is a good article because he uses real life situations and compares his thoughts to others but using several different examples, such as Mark Twain’s work. John Holt was a fifth grade English teacher. He once felt that he needed to push reading on his students so they would grow up into a world of great vocabulary and knowledge. Vocabulary tests and quizzes on the stories. He also encouraged them to look up every word in the dictionary that they were not sure of the meaning. Once confronted by his sister, who had a rough situation with her sons seventh grade teacher, he began to see what he was doing. John saw that he was pushing these kids further from the desire to read than he thought. People cannot be forced to do something they do not want to do over and over again because they will grow to hate it. They might still do it anyways but just not put any effort into it. â€Å"My sister answered that until this class her boy had always loved reading, and had read a lot on his own; now he had stopped. (He was not really to start again for many years.)† (Holt) Holt also describes how people become almost â€Å"scared† of reading. He talks as though someone who is humiliated about something or does something wrong and gets punished for it in some manner will most likely never do it again. That goes for reading as well. Being pushed over and over to read excessive amounts or write long essays they will either A) love it or B) hate it. Once a young child hates something they will fear it for a very long time. Holt uses info from one of Mark Twain’s quotes; â€Å"Mark Twain once said that a cat that sat on a hot stove lid would never sit on one again, but it would never sit on a cold one either. As true of children as of cats. If they, so to speak, sit on a hot book a few times, if books cause them humiliation and pain, they are likely to decide that the safest thing to do is to leave all books alone.† I believe each teacher needs to come up with their own ways to make their class run for every student. Not every student will enjoy everything they do but at some point they should all be able to say â€Å"I really had fun today.† Or â€Å"What I just learned was very interesting.† Not every teacher is going to understand each student’s level of intelligence, but it helps to try. Each individual student comes from a different home, some where parents were strict making them read in their free time or study flash cards and others probably just didn’t care. Now if each teacher had their own unique way of teaching a subject then the student would remain on their toes and ready to see what is next. Imagine being in a class room and every day the teacher just lectured; hearing the same message every day, in the same tone, about the same topic. Even that sentence was boring. Its gets old and people begin to tune out, it may seem they are paying attention but in their head they are really thinking about how the Bulls finally won last night, or what they wanted to eat when they got home.

Martin’s Textiles

Case #1- Martin’s Textiles The survival of Martin’s Textiles is very much in doubt with the enactment of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which would not only eliminate tariffs but also allow an increase in the quota for Canada and Mexico to ship textiles to the United States. Compounding the issue, Martin’s Textiles has been registering small losses the past several years and is in danger of losing major customers. Therefore, John Martin, CEO of Martin’s Textiles, has to decide whether to move production of his company to Mexico in order to lower labor costs or keep production in the United States, where the company has good labor relations with its employees. In regards to the dilemma that Martin’s Textiles face, I would recommend that the company move its production base to Mexico in order to lower labor costs and stay competitive within the industry. Martin’s Textiles was founded in 1910 and has spanned four generations of the Martin family. However, with the implementation of NAFTA, all tariffs between the United States, Canada, and Mexico would be eliminated within the next 10 to 15 years with most tariffs cut in 5 years. Especially impactful for Martin’s Textiles was the plan’s provision that all tariffs on trade of textiles among the three countries would be removed within 10 years. Even more devastating for the textile industry was that the quota for Mexico and Canada to ship clothing and textiles to the United States each year would rise slightly over the first five years of the agreement. Thus, many textile competitors moved operations to Mexico in response to increased cost competition since the textile industry involved low-skilled and labor-intensive business. In order to cut costs, John Martin needed to lower his labor costs and the only surefire way to do so would be to move production south to Mexico. However, Martin’s textiles has always had great labor relations with its workers and John Martin prided himself on knowing most of the names of employees and even knowing family circumstances of the longtime employees. Therefore, John Martin needed to decide whether to move production down south to Mexico to save costs and keep up with the competition or keep production in the United States where the company has developed strong employee relations. In evaluating what decision John Martin should make, there are several factors that he must consider. The first issue is the economic costs of the business. In the manufacturing industry, work is defined as low-skilled but labor-intensive and thus costs are driven by wage rates and labor productivity. Therefore, it is not so difficult to find workers that are able to work in the textile industry but the challenge in recruiting workers is that the work is very labor intensive. In evaluating the cost of labor, it is important to find workers willing to work for low wages and also ones that are self-motivated and have high workmanship. In addition, another factor to consider is the social costs. As mentioned above, Martin’s Textiles has strong employee relations and thus workers are loyal and have high workmanship. Thus, would the company’s brand take a hit by moving production to Mexico and releasing 1,500 employees, many of whom have been with the company for many years. On the other side, how would Mexican workers respond to the working culture of Martin’s Textiles and would workers show the same loyalty and workmanship that the current employees show? Finally, one has to consider the competitors and rival products when evaluating this decision. What are your competitors doing and how are their products compared to yours in terms of pricing and quality. In evaluating whether Martin’s Textiles should shift production to Mexico or stay in the United States, I believe that the best choice would be to move production plants to Mexico instead of keeping production in the United States. In looking at both alternatives through a SWOT analysis (for a diagram view look at Appendix A and B), it is evident that moving production to Mexico is the more desirable option. First we will look at the option to keep production in the United States, where there are several strengths in this decision. Martin’s Textiles would be able to maintain its strong labor relationship with employees that is has built over the years and consequently not have to deal with labor disputes. Also, the company would not have to invest additional resources in building or purchasing a production plant in Mexico as well as having to move equipment down south. In the short run, they would be able to enjoy the benefits of tariffs in trade. But there are also weaknesses to this decision as well. For one, the company would have to deal with cheap imports coming from Asia and now Mexico since those countries have the advantage of cheaper labor. Also, the company would not have the benefits of a trade barrier with the enactment of NAFTA. Whereas before, the company could justify having higher prices since cheaper imports were subjected to quotas and tariffs; now the higher costs that Martin’s Textiles employed would no longer be protected. Thus, Martin’s Textiles could lose a lot of its clientele since many could opt for cheaper alternatives with the same quality. Additionally, the tariff barrier will be rescinded within 10 years creating further problems for Martin’s Textiles if it is still operating. An opportunity that could arise if Martin’s Textiles decided to remain in the United States would be to brand itself as an â€Å"All-American† company. Since the whole operation of the company is based in the United States, Martin’s Textiles can market itself as such and hope that the patriotism and nationalism card will resonate with its customers. Threats or risks that may come up if Martin’s Textiles decides to stay in the United States could be that the company will not be able to survive the higher labor costs and that its competitors could undercut prices so much that Martin’s Textiles would no longer be viable. Customers have already threatened to leave if costs are not reduced so the company has to figure out a way to cut costs. If it decides that it won’t cut labor costs, then there has to be cuts in other parts of the company. Whether it is the sales force, research and development, or the designers, another part of the company will have to suffer cuts. Next, we consider the alternative of moving production to Mexico and after evaluating this decision through a SWOT analysis, it is clear that moving production to Mexico is the favored decision. One of the strengths of this decision is that the economic costs are highly favorable. The labor cost for textile workers in Mexico are less than $2 per hour compared to the wage rate paid to workers in the unionized New York plant, $12. 50 per hour. In addition by moving production to Mexico, Martin’s Textiles will be able to avoid cost disadvantages that they would have faced by keeping their production base in the United States. In the United States, there are tougher and stricter labor laws, regulations and standards than in other countries. Therefore, Martin’s Textiles will be at a disadvantage to companies in foreign countries with lax labor laws like China. In addition, Martin’s Textiles will be able to enjoy the benefits of the NAFTA agreement now that they have moved their production base to Mexico. The trade agreement allows for an increase in the quota of Mexican and Canadian clothing and textiles to the shipped to the United States. Additionally, tariffs on trade of textiles would be removed within 10 years. Finally, moving production to Mexico would allow Martin’s Textiles to keep most of its major customers as they will be able to enjoy the benefits of lower prices in products since labor costs have been reduced dramatically. However, there are also weaknesses for Martin’s Textiles in moving production plants down to Mexico. For one, Martin’s Textiles reputation will take a hit as the company has had a long history of good labor relations with its workers. Also, there is a great unknown in the Mexican workforce, as John Martin has heard stories of low productivity, poor workmanship, high turnover, and high absenteeism. For John, this may be an unsettling situation as he has relied on strong employee relations over the years. In addition, it would be hard for Martin’s Textiles to forge the same work culture, as John Martin would have a difficult time establishing relations with foreign workers who speak a different language. An opportunity that could benefit Martin’s Textiles if moving to Mexico would be to expand its production to other garments and clothing if desired since it can now employ cheaper labor. If there is a new hot fad in the United States, Martin’s Textiles would have the opportunity to capitalize due to the immense savings from labor costs, which allow them to hire more workers and expand production. A threat or risk of moving production to Mexico could be that the Mexican government demands a bribe from the company for purchasing a textile plant or building a new one. As seen in Appendix C, Mexico is shaded darker than the United States, which makes it more corrupt. Therefore, Martin’s Textiles could be subjected to paying bribes or buying needless licenses. I believe that the best decision for John Martin to make is to move the company’s production to Mexico instead of keeping production in the United States. Although the company has developed an outstanding record of employee relations and there is great uncertainty with the workforce in Mexico, the economic benefits of moving to Mexico are too great. The company would be saving over $10 per hour on each worker and these savings would allow the company to keep customers. In addition, Martin’s Textiles would be able to keep up with its competitors in Asia and other textile companies that have moved their production to Mexico. Though the decision to move production to Mexico would not be a popular decision locally as many people would be losing their jobs, the vitality of the company is at stake. By not moving production to Mexico, Martin’s Textiles would be at risk of falling behind its competitors and ultimately going out of business.