B321 Tma 02

Question 1 (a) Simons (1999, pg 768) describes intrinsic motivation as â€Å"desire to engage in behaviours or actions in anticipation of internally- generated rewards such as personal feelings of accomplishment† and extrinsic motivation Simons describes as (1999, pg 766) â€Å"desire to engage in behaviours or actions in anticipation of tangible rewards, such as money or promotion†. Extrinsic motivation is created by financial incentives. An incentive as Simons (1999, 767) describes as being â€Å"a reward or payment that is used to motivate performance.The two types of motivation mentioned above can be used to design a rewards package for the product centre managers. First I will discuss intrinsic motivation; this type of motivation is â€Å"from within† (as Simon states (1999, pg 245)) rather than external. Managers can improve intrinsic motivation, Simon’s (1999, pg 245) states â€Å"they can make people proud of where they work† and also †Å"they can involve subordinates in the goal setting process to increase the likelihood that subordinates will see the goals as legitimate.If subordinates are included in the process of setting goals-asked to provide input and information –they are more likely to feel that the goals are legitimate and work more diligently to achieve them†. The motivation is aligned to Air Tex Aviation’s performance goals, which are, the granting of credit but managers have performance goals set by Ted, monthly charges against their departmental profits, managers are more likely to stick to the rules set by Ted because they are in control of credit.Also, the purchasing of capital equipment and operating supplies but having predetermined limits this gives the managers a sense of control and able to make decisions without having to ask permission whenever a purchase was to be made. Moreover product managers are allowed to set policies such as pricing for products or services. They al so have the power to hire, fire and administer the salary. Product centre managers can rewarded because they have the responsibility to do the above and are free to make choices within set boundaries. Other rewards can be meaningfulness managers may feel they are doing something important.Also another reward is having the competence, managers can feel satisfied. Lastly, another reward is having the sense of progress, product centre managers will feel they have gained something. I will now discuss the extrinsic incentives, Simons (1999 pg 245-246) states â€Å"financial performance awards-typically in the form of bonuses-can be linked explicitly to the achievement of goals and targets. Since incentives are to motivate performance Ted has allocated 10% bonus to managers. (b) Simon’s four levers of control can be used in the implementation of strategy for Air Tex Aviation.Simon’s states â€Å"Strategic control is not achieved through new and unique performance measureme nt and control system, but through belief systems, boundary systems, diagnostic control systems and interactive control systems working together to control both the implementation of intended strategies and the formation of emergent strategies†. Simon’s (1999, pg 763) describes belief systems as â€Å"explicit set of organisational definitions that senior managers communicate formally and reinforce systematically to provide basic values, purpose, and direction for the organisation†.Figure 14-2 Levers of control (Simon’s pg, 305) shows belief systems as â€Å"strategy as Perspective† and â€Å"Obtaining Commitment to the Grand Purpose, this in the context of Airtex Aviation are firstly Ted and Frank have taken control of the business, Ted is President and chief operating officer and Frank is chairmanship. They also have a vision to grow at a rate of 20% per year for the first five years. To implement strategy Ted and Frank decentralised authority an d made each operating activity a profit centre and grouped them by departments.Departments were given authority over his operations. This creates shared beliefs and missions within the business. Employees will be more motivated because of the more control they have and they will have the sense of belonging to the business. Simon’s (1999, pg 764) describes boundary systems as â€Å"explicit statements embedded in formal information systems that define and communicate specific risks to be avoided†. Boundary Systems in the situation of Air Tex Aviation are, Simon’s (1999, pg 297) described as â€Å"rules, limits and proscriptions†.Rules in Airtex Aviation are decentralising the business, installing a control system. Limits introduced are profit centre’s having the authority to buy operating supplies and capital equipment with purchase order limits. A reason for limits is described by Simon’s (1999, pg 297) as â€Å"to allow individual creativi ty within defined limits of freedom†. Proscriptions include removing Sarah Arthur and her accounting system as it was not working and introduce a control system that support’s the management and provides information needed in order to make decisions.The accounting system before gave employees a lack of motivation because they were not involved in the decision making process. Also Simon’s (1999, pg 279) states â€Å"communicate standards of business conduct for all employees†, that’s what the new control system does, involves all employees. My recommendations to AirTex Aviation would be use all four levers of control together as one can’t work without the others. Also I would recommend the company when financially able to perhaps train managers, as most employees have only studied up to high school.Another recommendation would be for the department managers to set out goals for their own departments, use a balance scorecard or something simila r. Moreover, I would also recommend the business owners to draw up perhaps a mission statement or a statement of purpose and distribute it to each manager, so they know the objective and purpose of the business. Overall, the owners have turned the business around and should carry on as they have done so. Question 2 (a) In the article by Jones, T. C. and Dugdale, D. (1994), most of the interviewees agreed, net present value is superior to payback.I will summarise the views of the five interviewees below. Adam a lecturer was one those that thought that NPV is better than PB. Adam does however think that payback, in Jones, T. C. and Dugdale, D. (1994) â€Å"works fine for simple, straightforward projects†, but does say how useless it is and NPV gives the right answer and considers time value for money. He also thinks that NPV has no disadvantage whatsoever. He also goes on to say that calculating NPV is easy because of the use of computers. His academic group also agree with him that NPV is superior.Frank chief accountant was one of those interviewed who was against NPV and suspicious of it, describing it as â€Å"dangerous† Jones, T. C. and Dugdale, D. (1994). He has been using PB for many years and says it is simple to use and NPV is complicated, time consuming and â€Å"conveys spurious accuracy† Jones, T. C. and Dugdale, D. (1994). He also says that NPV is hard for managers to understand they prefer PB. Simon a senior finance manager thought no appraisal method has â€Å"importance† but believes â€Å"NPV only relevant with high interest rates & long time periods†, Jones, T.C. and Dugdale, D. (1994). He believes that information given to managers should be what they want and accountants should help in making investment decisions not decide which appraisal method to use. Judy a junior finance manager prefers to use NPV rather than PB because it considers time value for money which is important in her view. She also says †Å"NPV gives ability to alter assumptions & identify different outcomes† Jones, T. C. and Dugdale, D. (1994). She has very strong views for NPV and thinks managers should use this technique only.Managers have studied MBA’s so thinks it will be easy for them to understand. But â€Å"She fears that she may be ‘a victim of my training’ which might have been academic ‘brainwashing’†, Jones, T. C. and Dugdale, D. (1994). Len a finance officer also says net present value is superior to payback. He doesn’t agree with Adam’s suggestion that â€Å"PB figures might be adjusted to reflect more clearly the results of NPV analysis† Jones, T. C. and Dugdale, D, because of ethical rules. (1994).He too like Adam finds calculating NBV easy because of the use of computers. The interviewee’s which I mostly agree with are Len, Judy and Adam this is because, they believe that NPV is superior to PB. Also NPV considers time value of money and is easy to calculate because of the use of computers. I also agree with Judy that managers should be taught NPV because PB is simple and as Adam said NPV should be used for minor projects. (b) Pure reasoning in my view would be coming up with answers which would be the norm and what most people would agree to.An example in B321 case studies would have to be that of Classic Pen Company: Developing an ABC Model. Jane Dempsey came up with information by using methods such as activity based costing used by accountants. Overall, I think pure reasoning would have the most influence on someone’s decision making process this is because most people adhere to the norm they don’t want to be seen as deviant. Also most people would be scared to do otherwise just in case the decision doesn’t turn out to be as expected, which may get them into a lot of trouble. (c)My views have changed since reading the article because, before I thought that calculating net present v alue for investment appraisal was complex and very complicated but both Adam and Len find it easy because of the use of computers. Also before reading the article I thought payback was completely useless and unreliable for investment appraisal but as Adam points out it is fine to use on simple projects. Also another benefit for NPV is that it â€Å"gives ability to alter assumptions & identify different outcomes†, Jones, T. C. and Dugdale, D. (1994) as Judy points out.Both appraisal methods have their benefits, net present value has more benefits overall. Question 3 (a) Total machine hours: 880,000 ? 44,000 = 20 Game Pies: 20 ? 4,000 = 80,000 ? 2000 = ? 40 per batch Pork Pies: 20 ? 40,000 = 800,000 ? 20,000 = ? 40 per batch (b) Set up related: 420,000 ? 200 = 2,100 Pork Pies: 2,100 ? 120 = 252,000 ? 20,000 = ? 12. 60 Game Pies: 2,100 ? 80 = 168,000 ? 2,000 = ? 84 Purchasing related: 240,000 ? 480 = 500 Pork Pies: 500 ? 320 = 160,000 ? 20,000 = ? 8 Game Pies: 500? 160 = 80,000 ? 2,000 = ? 40 Volume related: 44,000 + 88,000 = 132,000 220,000 ? 32,000 = 1. 67 Pork Pies: 1. 67 ? 120,000 = ? 200,400 ? 20,000 = ? 10. 02 Game Pies: 1. 67 ? 12,000 = ? 20,040 ? 2000 = ? 10. 02 Cost centre costs for pork pies per batch: ? 12. 60 + ? 8 + ? 10. 02 = ? 30. 62 Cost centre costs for game pies per batch: ? 84 + ? 40 + ? 10. 02 = ? 134. 02 (c) The difference with activity based costing and traditional costing is, firstly traditional costing only assigns overhead cost: machine hours or direct labour hours to products. Whereas activity based costing uses activities â€Å"for accumulating costs† as described by Atkinson (2004, pg 127).

Current Treatments

Technological advances are probably one of the most beneficial things that happened to man. It has allowed people to live their lives easier with the help of machines and programs. One area that seems to benefit from technological innovations is the medical field. Today, the latest developments in medicine and health care have provided people the opportunity to live longer and more comfortably. This is evidenced by better medications, diagnosis, and treatment plans for patients.Personally, I believe that the need for better health care led scientists and health care providers to the development of current treatments. Better knowledge in technology also helped professionals in establishing and discovering new treatments for patients. This is seen in Maguire's (2002) study wherein he compared two patients who has the same type of illness. One is a former patient who appeared to have succumbed to the symptoms of schizophrenia and was not able to improve and live a normal life even with the medications available at that time.The other patient receives a newer medication for schizophrenia and is able to go back to school and live comfortably. The latter patient was able to benefit from the improvements in the field of health care. â€Å"With advancements in such medications, patients with schizophrenia no longer need to lead a life totally dictated by this order† (Maguire, 2002, p. 10). â€Å"Consequently, they need considerable support and approval in therapy, to help them disclose symptoms that typically seem shameful to them and make the potentially frightening behavioral changes that will be asked of them† (Author, p.277). Professionals in the field of health care should never be contented with the current treatments and should always look for ways to improve the lives of patients. This can be especially said in the field of psychotherapy wherein current treatment plans and strategies will not always work for every individual and the changing of ti mes affect people's behaviors, which can affect the treatments that were once thought as the best ones.

Alcoholism and Drinking - Alcoholics Anonymous as an Important Literary Work

Anonymity of alcoholism as an important literary work Anonymity of alcoholism is one of the unrecognized wonderful literary works in the first half of the 20th century. It was first printed in 1939 and went through three editions in which at least 53 plates were printed in more than 90 countries (xxii). The popularity and distribution of the book certainly confirmed this claim. If you check the content of the book, you should also receive this book. This is a rich job, as it conveys the basic human condition, but it is hard to see till it is not publicly spoken at that time. If you do it, that is a good book. But that is not just a matter of speaking The book Anonymous to Alcoholics begins with an introduction letter written by a doctor who was almost monopolistically engaged in alcohol and drug addiction in the 1930's. He believes that alcohol addicts suffer from physical and mental illness, along with the first member of alcoholism. This double disease not only explains why alcohol lacks the ability to control alcohol intake, it also can not choose whether to drink alcohol. When alcohol drinks his first glass wine, the vicious circle of alcoholism begins (according to A.A.). He drank this first drink, because he was mentally interested in alcohol. When he is awake he becomes obsessed with drinking, and ultimately succumbs to temptation and accepts drinking. Alcohol is not mentally caught by alcohol, but physically allergies to alcohol. Alcoholic beverages (or alcoholic beverages) are beverages containing ethanol, which is an alcohol produced by fermentation of cereals, fruits or other sugar sources. Drinking plays an important social role in many cultures. In most countries, there is a law regulating the manufacture, sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages. Some countries prohibit such activities altogether, but in most parts of the world alcoholic beverages are legal. In 2014, the global alcoholic beverage industry exceeded 1 trillion dollars. Alcohol is an inhibitor, low doses can cause euphoria, alleviate anxiety, and improve social skills. At higher doses, it can lead to drunkenness, coma, coma or death. Long-term use can lead to alcohol abuse, physical dependence and alcohol abuse. Alcohol is one of the most widely used recreational drugs in the world, with about 33% being the current drinkers. As of 2016, women drink 0.7 drinks a day on average and 1.7 eyeglasses for men. Many people use the word alcoholism and alcoholism in the same sense. However, alcoholism refers to alcoholism or addiction, and individuals have physical or psychological stress to drink alcohol. Alcohol abuse is a pattern of behavior that people overdrink in spite of bad results. Whether you are alcoholic or whether you are struggling or not, it is important to understand these signs and you know that you are not alone. Thousands of people in all walks of life are fighting alcohol every day, and thousands have decided to call for help. Rehabilitation villag e offers various programs at facilities throughout the country to treat alcohol and other diseases. All you have to do is make a phone call, one of our entry coordinators will be responsible for the rest of the work.

British Literature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

British Literature - Essay Example s misogyny has been the focus of various critics in literature as he exhibited unconcealed and deliberate hatred against women, which can be accounted as one of the reasons for which Eve has been manifested as inferior to Adam and expressed in the following lines when Adam asked God: â€Å"O! why did God, Creator wise! That Peopl’d highest Heaven with spirits masculine, create at last, this Novelty on Earth, this fair defect of Nature? And not fill the world at once with men, as Angels without Feminine? (10: 881-89). These thoughts clearly revealed as if Milton had achieved the patent to hold Eve entirely responsible for the sin of disobeying the order of God. The character of Eve was not that of her own as she was created from a part of the body of Adam. Although, women of today can express their righteous anger and resentment towards the portrayal of Eve, it can be said that the social milieu during the time of Milton was responsible for her character being typified as weak when compared to that of Adam to a certain extent. It is true that Milton’s description of the relationship between Adam and Eve succinctly touches the tones of synchronization; however, the coordination is largely based on inequalities between them. The explanations bear clarified testimonies to Milton’s conception of heterosexual love in his times as he has always preferred to mention the society which was essentially patriarchal in nature although his explanations have also remained nebulous in certain instances. Therefore, the sexism or inequality between Adam and Eve is also revealed in his depiction of Eve and her dual crime towards God and Adam (Corns 71-73). There are various instances in Paradise Lost in which the sexist tendencies of Milton are more blatant and compatible with Bible: â€Å"For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, for as much as he is the glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man. For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man. Neither was

Unit 5 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Unit 5 - Assignment Example This enables the study not to depend on a specific method of collecting data. With such an approach, the researcher is in a position to concentrate on situations that are more complex, but still have the situation context taken into account. The alternative is the restrictive approach; the case study on a particular issue has to be restricted by an event, time, or a particular place. This ensures that the study is more specific and the qualitative topic remains relevant. This approach also gave room for a more extensive and detailed study. Empirical investigation allowed me to use several sources as evidence to support the study. By using this approach, my work achieved an understanding that is deeper and gave room for the triangulation of the several data collection methods I used. The approach indicates the possibility of various sources of data, hence need for triangulation (Johnson & Onwuegbuzie, 2004). The data collection approach involved the sharing of sentiments allowing data to be collected through observation from participants, in-depth interviews, documentation reviews, and questionnaire reviews. This made the collection of data an easy process and thus most suitable for my case study. The mixed method approach involves the collection, analysis, and interpretation of both qualitative and quantitative data while considering the study of a particular phenomenon. A mixed method design is a representation of both an intuitive and logical appeal, which offers a platform for doing away with the gap between quantitative and qualitative paradigms. A mixed method approach will include the strength of both these approaches while at the same time minimizing the weaknesses of the respective approaches (Sun, 2009) The mixed method approach helps the researchers to consider a more defined and wide range of questions for research so that they are not restricted to a particular approach. More so, by having

Organisation of the body Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Organisation of the body - Essay Example The major functions entail the intensification of DNA in order to facilitate the process of mitosis; it equally assists in the smaller casing of DNA so as to fit in the cell; it also controls replication of DNA and gene expression; it also inhibits the damage of DNA. They are normally reffered to as the cell’s powerhouse due to its ability to perform the role of the cell’s digestive system in which it uptakes nutrients, and synthesizes them into energy through cellular respiration. They function by breaking down cellular debris and waste materials through the action by acids known as hydrolase enzymes. In this regard, the lysosomes digest worn out or excess organelles, bacteria or engulfed viruses and food matter. The red blood cells have a flattened disc like shape or a biconcave shape which increases the surface area over volume ratio.In this regard, the diffusion of carbon dioxide and oxygen across the plasma of the red blood cells occurs at a faster rate.Moreover, the red blood cells are elastic and flexible thus they are able to fit the small capillaries. In addition, the red blood cells have a thin wall cell to assist in the effortless oxygen diffusion. The red blood cells equally lack cell structures such as ribosomes, mitochondria and nucleus. In this regard, they are able to pack large amounts of hemoglobin due to the increase in space within the cells. The hemogloblin performs the role of taking in oxygen from the lungs and consequently releasing it to the rest of the body. The ciliate epithelial cells have an overlapping and flat structure which facilitates the minimal use of space in the cell. It equally assists in providing a barrier to the exterior. Furthermore, it assists in offering a lightweight skin structure. In addition, it facilitates the shedding of individual cells. The sperm cell is specialized to carry out its function in a variety

Climate Change and the Experience of Poverty Essay

Climate Change and the Experience of Poverty - Essay Example Mitigation encompasses reducing the impact that one has on the environment through reduction of one’s carbon footprint among other activities. Conversely, adaptation involves dealing with consequences of climate change by say, establishing methods of coping with regular floods. A gap exists in current literature on the relationship between climate change and poverty. Several analysts tend to focus on mitigation at the community level. Institutions have been formed to minimise energy use through transport. Others have addressed housing and urban development (Berrang-Ford et. al., 2011). While these efforts may contribute to long term solutions for the country in general, they do not address the direct challenges that disadvantaged community members face when dealing with extreme weather events. ... It is imperative for stakeholders at the national, corporate and local levels to target this group when creating interventions. Extreme weather events (Such as floods, storms, and cyclones) are a manifestation of climate change and have adverse effects on disadvantaged communities. Poor people live in less-robust settlements that often leave them defenceless against these situations. Furthermore, they lack information of how to protect themselves during such events. Demetriades and Esplen (2008) note that actions are necessary in order to strengthen the resilience of the vulnerable during extreme weather events. Stakeholders may empower the disadvantaged through information dissemination, infrastructural preparedness, housing tenure agreements, among others (McCright, 2010. One of the ways in which these changes are manifested is through community projects. Nongovernmental organizations and special interest groups may carry out community projects to build resilience among disadvantag ed communities. It is imperative to understand why such groups are performing this role, and whether their activities arose from gaps in policy interventions from the national and local governments. Community projects are insufficient as a coping strategy for disadvantaged communities (Zsamboky et. al., 2011). However, they represent an attempt by non-state actors to participate in an issue of grave national consequences. Their presence in deprived areas indicates that policy-makers may not be doing enough to prepare these communities for extreme weather conditions. Runhaar et. al. (2012) carried out a study in the Netherlands to assess the stimuli and barriers to climate change adaptations in urban areas. They found that a gap

Shri Ram Restaurant - Operations Management Essay

Shri Ram Restaurant - Operations Management - Essay Example Sometimes the customers have been quoted saying that, the services are slow and the rooms squeezed and that people should only go there when they are not in a hurry or are craving for South Indian foods. They have continuously complained that the decor is tacky and the lighting very poor (tripadvisor, 2013). Although the restaurant is well furnished and well equipped with Colourful painted walls, such comments from customers should be seriously treated taking into account that ‘the customer is always right’. Such problems have been causing slow growth of the business due to low customer turnover. To deal with these challenges, Shri Ram Restaurant needs to identify the areas with discrepancies and come up with proper solutions. The main issues that need to be handled are; inventory and capacity management, supply chain management, risk management, lean and waste management, demand forecasting and queuing calculations, quality models, and global and international issues. I n order to complete the customer’s requirements, the restaurant should manage the inventory effectively. Managing finances by use of database is very crucial for effective and accurate use of funds. Quality management remains the key point that forms basis for the business’s main stay and a pacesetter for steadfast growth and expansion.According to Laird and McCutcheon (2002), risk management is the integrated loom to the management of the constant reduction of risks to environment assets, production and people in the industrial setting... Purpose of Case Study The purpose of the study is to better the services of the restaurant through improvement of customers and staff management and production processes. Sometimes the customers have been quoted saying that, the services are slow and the rooms squeezed and that people should only go there when they are not in a hurry or are craving for South Indian foods. They have continuously complained that the decor is tacky and the lighting very poor (tripadvisor, 2013). Although the restaurant is well furnished and well equipped with Colourful painted walls, such comments from customers should be seriously treated taking into account that ‘the customer is always right’. Such problems have been causing slow growth of the business due to low customer turnover. To deal with these challenges, Shri Ram Restaurant needs to identify the areas with discrepancies and come up with proper solutions. The main issues that need to be handled are; inventory and capacity managemen t, supply chain management, risk management, lean and waste management, demand forecasting and queuing calculations, quality models, and global and international issues. In order to complete the customer’s requirements, the restaurant should manage the inventory effectively. Managing finances by use of database is very crucial for effective and accurate use of funds. Quality management remains the key point that forms basis for the business’s main stay and a pacesetter for steadfast growth and expansion. Risk Management According to Laird and McCutcheon (2002), risk management is the integrated loom to the management of the constant reduction of risks to environment assets, production and people in the industrial setting. Chandler (2003)

Source Code Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Source Code Analysis - Essay Example SCA (Source Code Analysis) is an automated technique employed for purposes of debugging a computer application prior to being distributed. As pointed out by the director of Klockwork Company, numerous barriers facilitate to a company's failure in conducting effective SCA. One prominent factor that leads to failure in conducting SCA is a prolonged software evaluation process (Murphy n.p). An extended evaluation process is costly in terms of both wasted human resources and financial resources. Companies are also accused of being too choosy when it comes to deciding on the appropriate application. No particular application is designed to execute all the tasks in one package. Having a combination of these tools working together is the way to go. Application developers are also sometimes accused of ignoring to conduct SCA because of negligence. Software developers sometimes worry about being profiled according to the number of defects in their code. The Klockwork director advises that fin ding and fixing the defects in the code improves the overall ranking. Balancing Between Speed and Security in App Development The demand for top-notch applications is increasing for business organizations in the world. Organizations are in need of custom-made applications for both internal users within the organization and external purposes (Bubinas n.p). Underperforming apps can severely jeopardize a business organization's activities especially in terms of competing in the global market. Companies are continuously faced with the challenge of striking the correct balance between speed and security when going after applications development plans. According to experts, this challenge usually poses a great threat to an organization if it makes the wrong choice.

Hume’s critique of causation Essay Example for Free

Hume’s critique of causation Essay Our work aims to define David Hume’s views on causation. At first we should say that his critique of causation rose from the full theory of causal inference. In this way we may be better able to make out what is critical and what constructive in Humes views of causation and substance. It is sometimes said that Humes analysis of causation and substance is thoroughly dependent on his theory of ideas as to be quiet vitiated by the falsity of that theory. The constructive theory of causal inference, by which Hume connects his sceptical analysis of the causal relation with his final discovery of the impression of necessity in the felt determination of certain habits or customs in imagination, shows the limitations of such criticism as would dispose of Humes conception of experience as atomistic merely. It will be recalled that Hume begins the â€Å"Treatise of Human Nature† with an analysis of the perceptions of mind into impressions and ideas; and that, in the subsequent sections of Part I, he discloses the remaining elements of perception. Therefore, it would be incorrect to identify perception with any one of its elements, or with all of them taken respectively in isolation. Only mere fancies or perfect ideas occur divorced from all associations. Normally, in the experience of mature persons, there occurs, at the least, a lively idea associated with a present impression; which is, by definition, the general nature of belief. These beliefs vary in elaborateness and force between the extremes of proof and mere chance; but only at the extreme of mere chance, or gratuitous fancy, do isolated impressions or ideas exist. Ordinarily, the terms of Humes analysis of perception occur in the synthesis which he articulates in his theory of belief. Normal experience, then, will consist of perceptions, themselves the syntheses in habit which are beliefs. The substantial identity of things present here and now may be compared in direct perception. But only on the assumption that the causes of a things existence remain unaltered may the continued existence of a thing beyond perception be inferred. Again, although times and places as such admit of comparison without inference, still any constancy or variation in such relations may be inferred to exist only as a result of causation. That relation, therefore, is the principle of all inferences about matters of facts. Nothing exists which may not be considered as either a cause or an effect; though it is plain there is no one quality, which universally belongs to all beings, and gives them title to that denomination (Hume, 185). Since, therefore, the origin of the idea of cause and effect is to be found in no quality of our perceptions, it must be derived from some relation between them. Hume at once finds two such relations: causes and effects are contiguous in space and time, and the cause is always prior in time to the effect. Dr. Broad (120-2) points out that Humes proof of the temporal priority of causes is formally vicious. Hume himself seems to have had some doubts about its validity, for he writes: If this argument appear satisfactory, tis well. If not, I beg the reader to allow me the same liberty, which I have used in the preceding case, of supposing it such. For he shall find that the affair is of no great importance (225). But contiguity and succession do not afford a complete idea of causation. A thing at once contiguous and prior to another still might not be considered its cause. There is a necessary connection to be taken into consideration, and that relation is of much greater importance than any of the other two above mentioned (Hume 211). Necessary connection is then the defining characteristic of the causal relation. The impression from which this idea is derived is therefore the one we are looking for. Yet the only relations between impressions Hume has found so far are those of contiguity and succession, which I have already regarded as imperfect and unsatisfactory (216). And he proceeds to divide his problem into two questions: why we believe that every event must have some cause or other; and why we believe that the same cause must necessarily produce the same effect (Hume 223-6). Hume thus distinguishes the law of causality from the law of causation, and takes it that together they are what is meant by a necessary connection among events. Though a general maxim in philosophy, that every even must have a cause is not a matter of knowledge. This Hume demonstrates first on the grounds of his own view of the extent of knowledge. The law of causality may be identified neither with resemblance, degrees of quality, contrariety, nor proportions in quantity and number. The law is therefore not known to be true. Hume thinks that anyone who would controvert this conclusion will be obliged to exhibit a relation at once identical with causality and known by direct inspection, which it will then be time enough to examine (224). He proceeds next to urge that the law in question is to be demonstrated by apagogic reasoning on no theory of knowledge, and therefore is neither intuitively nor demonstrably certain (228). That every event must have some cause or other means that the ideas of cause and effect are necessarily connected. Was this the case, it would be impossible that those ideas should be separable. Yet, since they are distinct, the ideas of cause and effect are separable; and the denial of their necessary connection involves no contradiction. Here Hume relies on the principle of his atomism. Yet he need not have done so; for the contradictory of the law of causality being not self-contradictory, that law is not demonstrable by apagogic reasoning. For since the relation of cause and effect is the principle of all inference about matters of fact, no inference to a probability can be independent of that relation. Hume takes his analysis thus far to have shown that our only notion of cause and effect is of certain objects constantly conjoined. We cannot penetrate into the reason of the conjunction. We only observe the thing itself, and always find that from the constant conjunction the objects acquire an union in the imagination (128). Our notion of cause and effect, as so far disclosed, is no more than a philosophical relation. Thus though causation be a philosophical relation, as implying contiguity, succession, and constant conjunction, yet it is only so far as it is a natural relation, and produces an union among our ideas, that we are able to reason upon it, or draw any inference from it(Hume 131). And causation is more than a philosophical relation just so far as it is association. Concerning the nature of the transition from impression to idea in causal inference is thus that the transition is the work of associations or habits in imagination, not of reason. So understood, the inference from impression to idea Hume declares to be one part of the definition of an opinion or belief; that it is an idea related to or associated with a present impression (Hume 137). Hume insists that the idea of necessary connection derives from the felt force of the natural relation of cause and effect. The ideas of cause and effect being separable, there can be no contradiction in denying their necessary connection. Here again, however, Humes conclusion is valid independently of the assumption on which he himself makes it out. For the contradictory of the law in question is conceivable. And in going on to show the uniformity of nature to be indemonstrable, Hume points out on the one hand that we can at least conceive a change in the course of nature, which sufficiently proves that such a change is not absolutely impossible; and, on the other, that the uniformity in question being the presupposition of probable reasoning, any attempt at its demonstration by induction could only beg the question. Hume is giving a definition of cause and effect, so in conclusion he is describing the observed or felt nature of that relation. Those impressions may have causes Hume does not deny. He says the ultimate causes of sense-impressions are, in my opinion, perfectly inexplicable by human reason, (223) and he finds the alleged necessity that they have a cause to be not demonstrable. Nor are his arguments that impressions are prior to and productive of ideas advanced as a denial that impressions are thus productive. And the attraction of association is also assumed and its origins are regarded as inexplicable. Yet this means that impressions, ideas, and the attraction of association are found to exist in constant conjunction, not in necessary connection. That the than the logical necessity of Malebranche, means that what has been called a necessary connection is in fact habitual; not that from this conclusion we may infer the non-existence of causes. For the fact that the rational necessity of causation is not to be demonstrated plainly does not imply that nothing in the nature of a cause can exist. If we do not know the laws of causality and causation to be true, neither do we know them to be false. Hence there is no reason, the contradictory of which would be inconceivable, why causes should be or should not be assumed. The law of causation, being demonstrable by neither apagogic nor inductive reasoning, if demonstrable at all, will be on the ground that necessary connection in fact is disclosed within sense-perception. Since Humes failure to find that logical necessity obtains between the elements of sense-perceptions has been held to require his own analysis of experience, it may be well to consider briefly the fact that in other interests, and through a conception of experience not that of Hume, the same conclusion had been reached by three of the Cartesians. Hume may well emphasize the conclusion that all of our beliefs that are justified by experimental enquiry and all of our accurately successful causal inferences will depend upon the operation in the understanding of those fundamental habits by which cases of constant conjunction are disclosed and inferred. The nature of the understanding thus is what constitutes the foundations of induction. That the habits of which the understanding consists can in no case yield demonstrably certain conclusions, means that the foundations of induction are essentially illogical, to be neither demonstrated nor denied either by the reason of the Cartesians or by inductive theory itself. It is, finally, of the nature of the understanding that logic proper consists: the pretensions of our scholastic headpieces and logicians are simply to be set aside† (312). The assumption that the elements of experience are intrinsically self-identical is thus requisite to the view of impressions as complete in themselves. But the finding of elements by analysis is itself not the further explanation that these elements may be regarded as self contained because, like being simple, resemblance is not the name of a qualifying predicate. Whether or not the theory of philosophical relations be rejected along with the doctrine of impressions and ideas, the conclusion, as such, that apagogic reasoning is powerless in matters of existence, remains no less free of that theory and that doctrine, than is the conclusion itself of Humes failure to find necessary connections among matters of fact. For, as Professor Kemp Smith has pointed out, it was Hume who first perceived the falsity of the Cartesian, rationalistic view of the causal relation (537). Malebranche could discover no necessary connection between events, yet he continued to conceive of the causal relation as being intelligible to the pure understanding, and, as a consequence of his theory of knowledge as the vision in God, failed to draw the conclusion that the law of causation is neither intuitively nor demonstrably certain. For a real cause, Malebranche says, is a cause between which and its effect, the mind perceives a necessary connection (Rome 94). This conclusion drawn, Hume can attack the root of any assumption that the law of causation may be justified by experience. The attempted justification could only be inductive; and the law of causation is the presupposition of induction. Since causal inference is found to be neither rational nor merely sensory, if explicable at all, it will be so through an analysis, not of the fancies of the philosophers, but of the imagination that is the foundation of the senses and the memory. It is thus found that probable inference consists of the habits of imagination, or beliefs, which are the perceptions that constitute the mind, and of which the more firmly established in the imagination are the understanding. To conclude the work we should say that Humes chief innovation in association’s theory is his inclusion of cause and effect among the natural relations, or modes of association. Yet even a moderately detailed examination of Humes theories of causal inference and belief in substance may suffice to indicate how groundless is the charge of total scepticism, while at the same time it discloses the character of unanalysed experience in Humes view. The relation between his critical analysis of causation and that of the Cartesians, as well as the logical nature of Humes arguments in that regard, make it plain that his analysis here is independent of his chief psychological dogma. Works Cited Baillie, James. Hume on Morality. London: Routledge, 2000. Broad, Charlie Dunbar. Perception, Physics, and Reality; an Enquiry into the Information that Physical Science Can Supply About the Real. New York: Russell Russell, 1972. Hall, Roland. Fifty Years of Hume Scholarship: A Bibliographical Guide. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1978. Hendel, Charles William Jr. Studies in the Philosophy of David Hume. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1925. Hume, David. A Treatise of Human Nature. New York: Penguin Classics, 1986. Kemp Smith, Norman. A Commentary to Kants Critique of Pure Reason. Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003 Noonan, Harold W. Philosophy Guidebook to Hume on Knowledge. London: Routledge, 1999. Potkay, Adam. The Fate of Eloquence in the Age of Hume. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1994. Rome, Beatrice K. The Philosophy of Malebranche: A Study of His Integration of Faith, Reason, and Experimental Observation. Chicago: H. Regnery Co. , 1963. Stewart, John B. The Moral and Political Philosophy of David Hume. New York: Columbia University Press, 1963. Strawson, Galen. The Secret Connexion: Causation, Realism, and David Hume. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1989. Stroud, Barry. Hume. London: Routledge, 1977.

The Conservation Of Madagascar And Its Lemurs Biology Essay

The Conservation Of Madagascar And Its Lemurs Biology Essay The extraordinary island of Madagascar is unlike anywhere else on earth. Roughly the size of France, with an area of 226,658 square miles, it is the worlds fourth largest island. It lies in the Indian Ocean, approximatly 250 miles off the coast of Southern Africa. Madagascar, and the tiny island of Comoro, provide the only present-day native habitat to lemurs (Butler, 2009). Nicknamed the 8th Continent because of its diversity of species (Hooper, 2005), Madagascar lacks the dominant form of primates distributed worldwide. Instead, their niche has been filled by an older group of primates, the Lemurs. Due to Madagascars isolation, lemurs have an interesting evolutionary history. Madagascar was originally part of the super continent Gondwanaland. As Gondwanaland began to break apart around 160 million years ago, Madagascar broke away from Africa (Carwardine, 2009). The Island continued to drift, moving away from Africa and by the evolution of monkeys, 17-23 million years ago, Madagascar was already isolated. As highly intelligent and adaptive primates, monkeys, quickly became the dominant primates around the rest of the world. The Strepsirhini, the suborder that includes the lemurs, lorises, bushbabies, and pottos, were driven away and towards extinction by these advanced primates. The lorises, bushbabies, and pottos were able to relatively successfully coexist with the monkeys, largely due to their nocturnal and insectivorous traits. They did not compete with the monkeys; however, the lemur lineage was driven to find a new home, Madagascar (Baines, 1997). As the island of Madagascar drifted futher from Africa, the lemurs were then isolated from the rest of the world and its evolutionary changes. They are now By far the most renowned and diverse group of Madagascars mammals (Sauther, 2009). They have spread throughout Madagascar, filling the niches without much competition or predators. Today lemurs are found in almost all of the ecosystems of Madagascar (Carwardine, 2009), many have adapted in amazing and bizarre ways to ensure their survival. Higher primates or homo-sapiens did not reach Madagascar until around 2,000 years ago, when they learned to navigate the seas (Oldfield, 2002). Once there, humans began to systematically destroy the previously untouched island .15 species of lemur are known to have become be extinct, but many more are thought to have disappeared before they were even discovered. Currently all lemurs are in danger, largely due to habitat destruction and hunting. Madagascars terrain is as diverse as its wildlife with coastal plains, mountain ranges, dramatic escarpments, and dense rainforest. As such, there is a great diversity of ecosystems, each with differing vegetation and therefore: different species. This is usually in accordance with relief, geology and rainfall. The first humans to arrive on Madagascar were the ancestors of the Sakalava people, who originated in Indonesia and now live in the West of the island. These early settlers practiced shifting cultivation, burning the previously untouched vegetation. In the 9th and 13th centuries respectively, the ancestors of the Merina people and Betsileo tribes of Northern Madagascar also arrived from Indonesia, and began farming rice. During the last 1,200 years people from Africa and the Arabian Peninsular have also settled in Madagascar, bringing with them Zebu cattle. Many traditional ceremonies and rituals are based around Zebu cattle, even today many Madagascians measure their wealth by the number of Zebu they own. As such there is now more Zebu than people on Madagascar. Every year vast areas of vegetation are burnt in an attempt to improve pasture for these animals (Oldfield, 2002). In 1895 Madagascar became a French colony. These new settlers began harvesting valuable hardwoods for export, such as ebonies and rosewoods, the harvesting of these trees continues today. The endangered Dalbergia delphinensis tree is one of over 30 rosewoods threatened due to selective felling (Oldfield, 2009). The restricted distribution of this species also coincides with a proposed site for a titanium mine which threatens all the remaining coastal forest in Southeast Madagascar (Kimball, 2009). Also to its detriment, Madagascars rainforests contain valuable minerals, such as gold and sapphires. Attempts to extract these poses further threats. Mining is one of the many threats to Madagascars forests and the many species that rely on them. Wood is also cut for fuel and many logging companies are keen to acquire forest concessions. Another threat is the local form of shifting cultivation known as tavy. Most of Madagascars 13 million human inhabitants depend on the land for their livelihood. Massive amounts of forest are cleared every year by cut and burn techniques for rice cultivation, maize and cassava. Many areas are exhausted of their nutrients and then abandoned, the secondary vegetation that then grows is known as savoka, this is eventually replaced by grassland (Oldfield, 2002). Madagascar is home to a massive 10,000 or so plant species, 80% of which are endemic to the island (Carwardine, 2009). Although Madagascars animal diversity is less striking, many species are unique to the island. Over 250 bird species, nearly half of which are endemic to the island, 300 species of reptiles, over 90% of which are found only on Madagascar (Oldfield, 2002). The islands only amphibians, 178 frog species, all of which are endemic and more than 33 known species of lemur inhabit Madagascar, more than half in its depleting rainforests. According to the Botanist, Henri Perrier de la Bathie, writng in 1921, The once mighty rainforests of Madagascar have declined dramatically. As early as 1921, felling had destroyed ninety per cent of Madagascars forests (Sauther, 2006 ). Biologically, it is regarded as one of the richest areas on the planet (Green, 1990), however, no one has ever managed to make a full evaluation of Madagascars many threatened rainforest species. Conservation-status information on some species of animals and trees has been assembled, but is nowhere near complete. Of the rainforest species of lemurs alone, threatened species include the Indri, as well as the Aye-aye, Hairy-eared Dwarf Lemur, Golden Bamboo Lemur and the Red-bellied Lemur. According to Ian Tattershal in Michelle Sauthers report, Lemurs: Ecology and Adaptations, there is general agreement that the lemurs, including the recently extinct subfossil forms, should be classified into seven families: Cheirogaleidae, the dwarf lemurs with five living genera; Lemuridae, the true lemurs and their close relatives, with five genera (one extinct); Lepilemuridae, with two genera (one extinct); Indriidae, with three living genera, Archaeolemuridae, with two genera (both extinct); Palaeopropithecidae, with four genera (all extinct) and Daubentoniidae, the aye-ayes, with a single living genus and species. Depending on whose classification is accepted, living lemurs may number up to forty different species and possibly even up to seventy two species, if subspecies are included in the count. With these numbers, and despite recent extinctions, Madagascar ranks third highest on the list of high-primate diversity countries worldwide (Sauther, 2009), despite being only one tenth of the size of the world leader, Brazil. All of these species of lemur are endemic to Madagascar. According to the ICUN Red List of Threatened Species, each of these species has different threats to their survival. Many lemurs, such as the Red-ruffed Lemur, and many types of bamboo lemurs are critically endangered. With a drastically reduced habitat there are few left in the wild. The Hairy-eared Dwarf Lemur, Golden-brown Mouse Lemur, and the Black and White Ruffed Lemurs are not as close to extinction, but are listed as endangered. Some of the lemurs listed as vulnerable include the Black Lemur, Crowned Lemur, and a number of Fork-marked Lemurs. Perhaps the most remarkable lemur species have long been extinct. These included the Archaeoindris, which was larger than an adult male gorilla, the Babakotia and the Magaladapsis. All lemurs are protected by law, and in many communities it is considered taboo to kill an Indri, but elsewhere, the Indri, and many other species of lemur, are hunted for food and sometimes sold as bush meat or pets (Carwardne, 2009). Madagascar has suffered environmental degradation over a significant part of its land mass. Once covered with rainforests, most of the Eastern third of Madagascar is now, either barren, or reduced to shrub land. As indigenous vegetation is cut and burned for fuel many areas such as the Spiny forest, which contains many rare plant and animal species endemic to the island, have given way to cactus scrub. Around eighty per cent of the original plant cover has been destroyed and much of the terrain is now degraded grassland (Oldfield, 2002). Each year, a further 1% of Madagascars forests are levelled. This mass deforestation not only affects the land and its inhabitants directly, but also indirectly. Without vegetation to absorb moisture the soil is eroding away at an alarming rate. Enviromental regulations have been in place to protect the forests and species of Madagascar since 1881 and at present, more money is put towards the conservation of Madagascar, than any other part of Africa (Butler, 2009). Madagascar is one of the worlds poorest nations, with a per capita income of approximately $240 per year. About 80 percent of the population are subsistence farmers, many of whom depend entirely on natural capital to support their way of life. The peoples dependency on the land and natural resources is of major consequence to Madagascars ecosystems and endemic biodiversity (Kremen, 2010). The major environmental problems of Madagascar include deforestation, and thus loss of habitat, agricultural fires, erosion and soil degradation and the over exploitation of resources. The deforestation of Madagascar can be mostly attributed to three activities. Tavy, or slash and burn agriculture, logging for timber, and fuel wood and charcoal production. Tavy is a large part of Malagasy culture, and has been since the arrival of humans on the island. It is used to convert tropical rainforest into rice fields. An acre or two of land may be cut or burned; it is then planted with rice. After several years production the land is then left fallow for up to six years before replanting (Kremen, 2010). After several of these cycles the land is exhausted of all its nutrients and no primary vegetation will grow. The land then becomes barren and only scrubs and a few grasses will grow. This vegetation is often insufficient to anchor the soil, especially on slopes, making erosion a problem. According to the ICUN, the high value of Malagasy hardwoods also makes logging for timber a significant problem in many areas of Madagascar, especially in the rainforests of Eastern Madagascar. Even the few areas that are protected are often illegally logged and even the endemic spiny forests of Madagascar are being cut at an alarming rate for charcoal and fuelwood production. Every year, as much as a third of what remains of Madagascars forest burn. Fires set for land clearing and pastureland often spread into adjoining forests ,causing much damage and further reducing the habitat of many species of flora and fauna. For Madagascar, a country that relies on agricultural production as the foundation of its economy, the loss of this soil, due to erosion, is a massive problem. The deforestation of Madagascars central highlands plus weathering has resulted in massive soil erosion accounting for up to 400 tons per year. Every yea,r the cost of environmental damage is approximated to between 100 and 290 billion US dollars. Deforestation represents 75% of this loss and 15% due to the erosion that effects agricultural and pastoral production (Oldfield, 2002). Due to the factors mentioned throughout, and many more, Madagascars species are among the most threatened in the world. Since the arrival of man Madagascar has lost a known 16 species of lemur, including one the size of a gorilla; a pygmy hippo, the largest land bird to ever walk the planet, and giant tortoises, a species that had survived for 200 million years. The ICUN Redlist currently includes 472 Malagasy species at risk of becoming extinct, although this number is probably massively optimistic. Today, Madagascar is arguably the worlds highest conservation priority (ICUN, 2011). Ensuring the survival of lemurs is not only important because they are endemic to Madagascar, but also because they benefit plants and other animals. Many species of lemur are very important seed dispersers for forest trees and pollinators for many of the plants that are also endemic to Madagascar. They are also an important source of food for other animals. The National Association for the Management of Protected Areas in Madagascar (ANGAP) was founded in 1990 to manage Madagascars protected areas system. ANGAPs mission is to safeguard Madagascars ecosystem, research the potential of Madagascars biodiversity, develop environmental education programs for local people, promote potential commercial applications of Madagascars biodiversity, for example ecotourism, and to support sustainable development activities in areas surrounding protected zones. One of ANGAPs goals is to enable local communities to directly benefit from the conservation of Madagascar. Half of the entrance fees to the conservation parks go directly to local communities and visitors can not enter a park without hiring a local guide. ANGAP also works closely with many other organisations and scientists to asses the impact of visitors to the parks and reserves and study the biodiversity of Madagascar. The ANGAP manages the protected areas network in Madagascar (Butler, 200 9). The network includes three types of protected area. Strict nature reserves, national parks, and wildlife reserves. In 2003, at the ICUNs world parks congress, Marc Ravalomanana, the Malagasy president, announced a bold plan to expand the amount of area under protection from approximately 1.7 million hectares to over 6 million hectares. In 2005 the first 10,000 km2 of the new protected areas system of Madagascar was granted protection status and in 2006 1 million hectares was added, both contributing to the overall goal of 10% of Madagascar being protected. This plan also involved broadening the definition of protected areas in Madagascar and legislation has since been passed to allow four new categories of protected area, natural parks, natural monuments, protected landscapes, and national resource reserves (Butler, 2009). Madagascar currently has 19 terrestrial national parks, 2 marine national parks, 5 complete natural reserves, and 21 special reserves. Reference List Baines, E (1997) University of Edinburgh Natural History Museum. Retrieved from http://www.nhc.ed.ac.uk/index.php?page=493.504.513. Accessed 28/4/2011 Burnie, D (2001). Animal. London: Dorling Kindersley Butler, R. (2009) Wild Madagascar. Retrieved from http://www.wildmadagascar.org/history/. Accessed 29/4/2011 Carwardine, M (2009). Last Chance to See. London: Harper Collins Green, G Sussman, R (1990). Science, New Series, Vol. 248, No. 4952, Pages 212 215 Hooper, R (2005). New Scientist Madagascar Reveals Two New Species of Lemur. Retrieved from http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn7818. Accessed 14/4/2011 ICUN, 2011. ICUN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2010.4. Retrieved from http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/search. Accessed 24/4/2011 Kimball, S et al (2009). USGA Minerals Yearbook, Area Reports: International 2006, Africa and the Middle East. Washington DC, USA: United Staes Government Printing Office Kottak, C (1980). Past in the Present: History, Ecology and Cultural Variation in Highland Madagascar. Chicago, USA: University of Michigan Press Kremen, C (2010). Traditions That Threaten. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/edens/madagascar/paradise.htm. Accessed on 1/5/2011 Oldfield, S (2002). Rainforest. London: New Holland Publishers (UK) Sauther, M (2006). Lemurs: Ecology and Adaptation. New York, USA: Springer Science and Business Media

Sixth Sense: The Vomeronasal Organ Essay -- Biology Essays Research Pa

Sixth Sense: The Vomeronasal Organ "We are all more influenced by smell than we know." (Hercule Poirot) ....Murder in Retrospect, Agatha Christie Biologists have long realized that the noses of most vertebrates actually contain two sensory channels. The first is the familiar olfactory system, which humans possess. The second channel is the vomeronasal complex, a system that has its own separate organs, nerves, and connecting structures in the brain. The function of the vomeronasal system is the detection of pheromones, chemical messengers that carry information between individuals of the same species. It was widely believed (as I found in some of the older texts I examined) that humans had long ago discarded this sensory system somewhere along evolution's trail. But convincing behavioral and anatomical evidence has since brought the notion of a human vomeronasal organ (VNO) into the realm of scientific fact. Some thirty years ago, when anatomist David Berliner was studying human skin composition using scraped skin cells from the insides of discarded casts, he found that when he left vials containing skin extracts open, his lab assistants would become more friendly and warm than usual (1). When, months later, he decided to cover the vials, the warm and relaxed behavior was noticeably reduced. These findings led him to investigate the possible existence of odorless human pheromones and a "sixth sense" organ to detect their presence, a VNO. While this early evidence was not empirical, anatomists have since found that all humans display two tiny pits, with duct openings, on both sides of the septum just behind the opening of the nose (3). The duct leads into a tubular lumen lacking a thick, distinct sensory epithelium. ... ...ture textbooks will attribute to humans this mysterious, unconscious sixth sense. WWW Sources 1)Chemicals the cause excitement http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/indexmag.html?http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/art97/pherom.html 2)VNO website http://neuro.fsu.edu/research/vomer.htm 3)Science Frontiers article http://www.science-frontiers.com/sf090/sf090b06.htm 4)Chemical Communication by Willam C. Agosta 5) Olfactory Receptors, Vomeronasal Receptors, and the Organization of Olfactory Information. From Cell, a journal 6)Howard Hughes olfactory website http://www.hhmi.org/senses/d220.html 7)Article from The Scientist http://euclid.ucsd.edu/~weinrich/theScientist2.html 8)Pheromone Book Review http://www.cogsci.soton.ac.uk/psyc-bin/newpsy?7.12 Additional Sources Messages sent through sweat http://www.patscan.ca//sweat.html

On the Road: Jack Kerouacs Rejection of the Middle Class American Drea

Jack Kerouac was one of a group of young men who, immediately after the Second World War, protested against what they saw as the blandness, conformity and lack of cultural purpose of middle-class life in America. The priorities of people of their age, in the mainstream of society, were to get married, to move the suburbs, to have children and to accumulate wealth and possessions. Jack Kerouac and his friends consciously rejected this pursuit of stability and instead looked elsewhere for personal fulfillment. They were the Beats, the pioneers of a counterculture that came to be known as the Beat Generation. The Beats saw mainstream life as a prison. They wanted freedom, the freedom to pick up and go at a moments notice. This search for the true meaning of life was given a literary voice in Jack Kerouac's novel On the Road, written in 1951 but not published until 1957. This essay will investigate some of the aspects of the novel that make it a forceful and complex rejection of the white middle class American dream. Beginning in the winter of 1947 Jack Kerouac undertook a series of journeys by car across the United States and finally into Mexico that he then wrote about in On the Road. The novel conveys a feeling of constant motion, a frenetic search for meaning in an America that is very different from the middle class ideal. Sal Paradise, the narrator of the story, describes an America of constantly changing landscapes peopled by a multitude of colourful characters. Sal Paradise's America is an America where the only commitment seems to be to the immediate gratification found in fast cars, sex, drugs and jazz. Sal's idol and travelling companion is Dean Moriarty, a reckless and hyperactive womanizer who, to Sal, is the phy... ...tual values but also a search for a personal identity that had been lost or maybe had never even existed in the first place. In On the Road, the narrator, Sal Paradise, recounts the details of a search that, ultimately, is not rewarded. Sal's infatuation with Dean Moriarty leads him only to a parting of the ways. When he is abandoned by Dean, whilst seriously ill in Mexico, Sal finally realizes what Dean really stands for. Sal, at last, comes to the understanding that his friend's philosophy is based on the premise that personal authenticity requires the complete abandonment of personal ties. Dean believes that all your energy must be focussed on obtaining your own kicks to the exclusion of everyone else. As Sal says in the final paragraph of the novel, " I realized what a rat he was" (302). Works Cited Kerouac, Jack. On the Road. New York: Viking Press, 1957.

Caring for An Angina Patient Essay -- Nursing Essays

Nurses play a very important role in managing a patient from the moment of his admission up to making a discharge plan. Each part of the nursing process is vital to the wellbeing of the person he is taking care of. Clinical reasoning is always essential in each part of the nursing process from assessment, setting up goals and intervention. Effective nursing management is done when a nurse looks for the early and right cues at the right patient and implementing it at the right time. This essay will delve deeper into the case of Rob Geis, a patient who was suffering from angina, given his history and the signs and symptoms he experienced up to the time when his condition worsened to Myocardial Infarction. This essay will also look into how the nurse should provide effective nursing care to the patient with this condition. Etiology and Pathophysiology of Angina Angina is pain felt in the chest area as a result of lack of inadequate supply to the myocardium (Better Health Channel, 2013) Atherosclerosis or the hardening and narrowing of arteries caused by the build-up of plaques, the insufficient supply of oxygen and its increasing demand are some of the factors that can cause ischemia in the myocardium (Lewis et al., 2012). When there is a total blockage of the coronary arteries for a few minutes, the myocardium cannot receive oxygen and glucose for aerobic metabolism thus anaerobic metabolism occurs (Lewis et al., 2012). The lactic acid builds up and stimulates the nerve fibres in the myocardium resulting to chest pain (Lewis et al., 2012). The cells are repaired and the aerobic metabolism and the contractility of the arteries are restored when there is return of blood flow (Lewis et al., 2012) Subjective and Objectiv... ....). New South Wales: Elsevier Australia. MedlinePlus. (2010). Atenolol. Retrieved April 4, 2014, from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/meds/a684031.html Rull, G. (2011). Cardiogenic Shock. Retrieved April, 2014, from http://www.patient.co.uk/doctor/Cardiogenic-Shock.htm Smeltzer, S., Bare, B., Farrell, M., & Dempsey, J. (2011). Smeltzer & Bare's Textbook of Medical-Surgical Nursing (2nd Australian and New Zealand edition ed. Vol. 1): Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Pty Ltd. WebMD. (2012). Electrocardiogram. Retrieved April 1, 2014, from http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/electrocardiogram Williams, B. R., Lewis, D. R., Burgio, K. L., & Goode, P. S. (2012). Next-of-Kin's Perceptions of How Hospital Nursing Staff Support Family Presence Before, During, and After the Death of a Loved One. Journal of Hospice and Palliative Nursing, 14(8), 541-550. Caring for An Angina Patient Essay -- Nursing Essays Nurses play a very important role in managing a patient from the moment of his admission up to making a discharge plan. Each part of the nursing process is vital to the wellbeing of the person he is taking care of. Clinical reasoning is always essential in each part of the nursing process from assessment, setting up goals and intervention. Effective nursing management is done when a nurse looks for the early and right cues at the right patient and implementing it at the right time. This essay will delve deeper into the case of Rob Geis, a patient who was suffering from angina, given his history and the signs and symptoms he experienced up to the time when his condition worsened to Myocardial Infarction. This essay will also look into how the nurse should provide effective nursing care to the patient with this condition. Etiology and Pathophysiology of Angina Angina is pain felt in the chest area as a result of lack of inadequate supply to the myocardium (Better Health Channel, 2013) Atherosclerosis or the hardening and narrowing of arteries caused by the build-up of plaques, the insufficient supply of oxygen and its increasing demand are some of the factors that can cause ischemia in the myocardium (Lewis et al., 2012). When there is a total blockage of the coronary arteries for a few minutes, the myocardium cannot receive oxygen and glucose for aerobic metabolism thus anaerobic metabolism occurs (Lewis et al., 2012). The lactic acid builds up and stimulates the nerve fibres in the myocardium resulting to chest pain (Lewis et al., 2012). The cells are repaired and the aerobic metabolism and the contractility of the arteries are restored when there is return of blood flow (Lewis et al., 2012) Subjective and Objectiv... ....). New South Wales: Elsevier Australia. MedlinePlus. (2010). Atenolol. Retrieved April 4, 2014, from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/meds/a684031.html Rull, G. (2011). Cardiogenic Shock. Retrieved April, 2014, from http://www.patient.co.uk/doctor/Cardiogenic-Shock.htm Smeltzer, S., Bare, B., Farrell, M., & Dempsey, J. (2011). Smeltzer & Bare's Textbook of Medical-Surgical Nursing (2nd Australian and New Zealand edition ed. Vol. 1): Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Pty Ltd. WebMD. (2012). Electrocardiogram. Retrieved April 1, 2014, from http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/electrocardiogram Williams, B. R., Lewis, D. R., Burgio, K. L., & Goode, P. S. (2012). Next-of-Kin's Perceptions of How Hospital Nursing Staff Support Family Presence Before, During, and After the Death of a Loved One. Journal of Hospice and Palliative Nursing, 14(8), 541-550.

The Two Shopkeepers- Kantian Ethics and Consequentialism

Liza G Prof. Williams Ethics 21 November 2011 The Two Shopkeepers One of the several topics covered in Kant’s Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals is the issued of two shopkeepers. One shopkeeper is honest with his customers in order to maintain a positive reputation and improve profits. The second one is honest because he thinks it is right and exercises his respect for the moral law. The first shopkeeper is motivated to be honest by the rewards of a positive reputation and profit. The second is motivated by respect for morally right action. Taking these motivations into consideration from the standpoint of Kantian ethics, it is clear which shopkeeper is acting right. Kant believes that actions that are consistent with moral law, yet motivated for desires for happiness or pleasure are absent of moral worth. One reason he concludes this can be seen in Groundwork where he introduces the idea of the categorical imperative. This idea contains two formulas, the first one states that one ought to â€Å"act only according to that maxim by which you can at the same time will that it should be a universal law† (Singer 274). In other words, if ones principle, or maxim, behind what they are doing is something they would be willing to make a universal law, it is a good action. The first shopkeeper’s motivation to be honest is inconsistent with this formula, as their maxim of being honest is purely selfish, and it would not be effective if willed to a universal law. This is because it fails the concept of reversibility, for in an ideal society one would want others to treat him according to what the other person is doing. In this case, society would not function in the sense of moral rightness because if everyone acted honest to each other for solely their benefit, no one could trust anyone else or assume they are acting out of respect for the moral law. Since the first shopkeeper’s action fails the notion of reversibility, it also fails the universalizability test in which actions can be willed into a universal law. Secondly, the first shopkeeper is not acting in compliance with Kant’s second formula of the end in itself. This notion of respect for persons has to do with treating people as having intrinsic value in and of themselves. The first shopkeeper is only acting to reward himself through the means of his customers. The fact that he is not rewarding customers with honesty, but complying with the moral law in order to reward himself with a good reputation and profit makes it so that he is not acting rightly. The second shopkeeper, however, is acting in accordance with Kant’s categorical imperative. This shopkeeper acts in accordance with the first formulation of universalizability. Unlike the first, the second shopkeeper is honest because he knows it is morally right. And this passes the universalizability test since an ideal society would inhabit people who act based on the sense of right and wrong, according to Kant. The keeper’s honesty is also reversible, because if others in a society acted out of respect for the moral law like he is, everyone would be acting right towards one another. He complies with the second formulation by his honesty with customers out of respect for the moral law. He is not only using the treatment of his customers as a means for honesty, but also as an end respect for the moral law. In other words, being honest with his customers is not only enabling him to act morally right, but allowing him to be evaluated as respecting the moral law (Singer 274-275). Now, a consequentialist thinker would not judge the shopkeepers moral intentions, but would judge the acts they do by the consequences they produce. Consequentialism is a normative ethical theory where actions are right or wrong based on the consequences that result from action. This contradicts Kant’s notion of evaluating the moral intentions of the action, regardless of the consequence it produces. This theory often adopts ideas seen within utilitarianism, where an action is good or right considering how many people it benefits. For example, a consequentalist may say murder of one person to save one hundred people is right simply because of its consequence. But a non-consequentialist, or deontologist, such as Kant would conclude that killing someone is always morally wrong regardless of the consequence. Applying the consequentialist theory to the shopkeepers’ actions, one can conclude that neither of the shopkeepers is acting in accordance with the ideas of consequentialism. Evaluation of their actions through the mind of a consequentialist will explain this conclusion. Considering the utilitarianist approach within the theory of consequetialism, neither of the shopkeepers is acting rightly. This is because a utilitarianist judges a situation based on how many people it will produce the best consequences for. Since the first shopkeeper is simply benefitting himself, he is not acting in accordance with this process of judgment, but rather benefiting his own ego. And the second shopkeeper is also not acting in accordance with this process because, if anything, he is only benefitting himself with the feeling of acting morally right since he acts in respect for moral law. His honesty may allow him to feel confident that he is doing the right thing, but it fails to benefit anyone else in a sufficient way. Personally, I see the situation from the consequentalist point of view to be closer related to my own perception of the shopkeepers’ actions. I say this because I tend to cast consideration for other people aside. That is to say, the respect for persons and passage of the universalizability test are not as important in determining my actions. I see consideration for the greater society as well as for myself of more importance than acting in accordance with moral law. For instance, I perceive killing one person for the greater good of one hundred as a more realistic and commonsensical than refraining from benefiting all of those people because killing is morally wrong. The fact that I label myself as a realist also greatly affects which viewpoint I see fit. The realistic view to have for the sake of the betterment of society is definitely that of a consequentialist, as acting solely for respect of moral law can sometimes harm humanity. This especially applies to cases where morally right thinking contradicts logical thinking, like in the example of sacrificing one for the sake of many.

The Acquisition Team

The Acquisition Team is an information-based organization that is composed of more specialists than in the traditional command-and-control organization. Members of an acquisition team consist of multi-organizational as well as cross-functional, i. e. contractors, suppliers, acquisition professionals (Engelbeck, 2002). The focus of this paper is to present the students selection of a business opportunity offered by the Department of Energy and found at http://www. fbo. org/. This student will analyse the posting and then â€Å"reverse engineer† the notice to create the ideal agency’s acquisition team that could have prepared this solicitation. This student will also cite and summarize the FAR provisions for the formation of the acquisition team, describe the nature and specifications of the project, identify every area of expertise needed on the acquisition team, using the â€Å"Bodies of Knowledge† diagram in Engelbeck, Chapter 2, as a basis, and justify the involvement of each team member by describing his or her specific contribution to the solicitation/ request for proposal and later steps of the procurement process. Finally, the student will describe the steps to follow and ensure that the solicitation notice is complete, clear, and accurate before submitting it for posting on the FedBizOpps. gov Website. FAR Provisions for the formation of the acquisition team. The dissemination of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) in 1984 replicated the Congress' intention to create a structure that was uniform for Executive Branch federal contracting. Prior to the introduction of the FAR, civilian agencies and the defence services had different and self owned set of regulations. The FAR is codified at Title 48 of the Code of Federal Regulations. It consists of regulations and rules as articulated by the United States federal government that governs the procurement processes for the government. The FAR contains the standardized procedures and policies for acquisitions by any and all federal government agencies. After the circulation of the FAR, the standardization goal was destabilized by the diverse agency-specific supplements (Vacketta, 1999). The FAR enforces the implementation of nearly every decision-making plan related to procurement. It is also within the FAR mandate to accomplish every stage of the process of acquisition. FAR 1. 102 (d) stipulates that: The function of every member of the Acquisition Team is to ensure the exercise of individual initiative and effective business decision while providing the best value product and service that meet the needs of the customers (Acquipedia, 2012). It further explains the scope and procedure of the acquisition team. This consists of the federal government team members responsible for integration tasks constraint and contracting negotiations including the requiring activity, the paying agent team, the contracting officer, financial management and others. Summary of the FAR Provisions for Acquisition Team Opportunity: Supply of Silicon Drift Detector Summary of Opportunity Opportunity is typically defined as the occasion and time that present favourable circumstance to attain precise goals. The details of opportunity identified on http://www. fbo. org/ are as presented below: a. Opportunity title / project location: Supply of Silicon Drift Detector b. Solicitation Number: RC238923 c. Agency: Department of Energy d. Office: Brookhaven National Laboratory (DOE Contractor) e. [Office] Location: Brookhaven f. URL: https://www. fbo. gov/? s=opportunity&mode=form&id=a95ff19f0cbf7a7448fbd5503527130b&tab=core&_cview=0 Nature and Specifications of the Project This is a short-term project in which a federal government body requires the supply of Silicon Drift Detectors. The Contractor is required to deliver 1 Silicon Drift Detector to the US Department of Energy. The project requires fixed pricing terms. The Silicon Drift Detector should be delivered within 180 days upon the signing of the contract at the Department of Energy office, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Brookhaven. The timings are required to be identified by the COR Feb 01, 2013 11:59 pm Eastern: Provision 333 — Machinery Manufacturing/333999 — All Other Miscellaneous General Purpose Machinery Manufacturing, many others as stipulated in AMS – Form – 010, rev. 5, should be considered for the entire process involved in the solicitation and acquisition. Technical specifications of the Hitachi Vortex Silicon Drift Detectors are that it must have a cylindrical Snout. The length of the snout should be 638 millimetres. The detector must be Ultra High Vacuum compatible with active detection area of not less than 500mm2. The unit must be usable indoor/outdoor with 12. 5 ?m window. The detector must operate with power supplies operating at 220-240 volts. Area of Expertise Required The â€Å"bodies of knowledge†, for this project consists of contracting, finance, engineering, logistics, legal, test and evaluation and cost estimates as identified by Engelbeck (2002). The areas of expertise are as outlined below: Contracting expertise will be required since it will facilitate the selection process of a contractor or vendor of Silicon Drift Detectors. The expertise includes communication skills that will enhance the process of dealing with the customer and the supplier. This will help develop trust among the acquisition team. The drafting of the contract will become easy relative to the project priorities. Risk allocation will be easily identified in managing beforehand to make the deal successful. Financial expertise will be required for the project in establishing the financing terms and budgets related to the project. This expertise will facilitate the valuation of the project for the valuable price to be considered for solicitation. Engineering expertise will be required since it will facilitate the classification of technical stipulations required for the project at hand. References for at least three successfully-manufactured, assembled, tested and delivered single-element detectors with similar complexities as the quoted product must be provided. Logistics is a central part of the project since it specifies the items and timings for the project delivery. It will also facilitate the control of the inventory and related costs to be effective in controlling extra costs. Any project under FAR should be incorporated to the law governing the situation hence Legal considerations will be critical as the terms and conditions must be aligned to FAR. Test and evaluation are as important as any other consideration because failure to create standards for the project will make it impossible to create effectiveness in the project. Evaluation is important to be considered as it will facilitate the future course of actions. Cost estimates are critical as they present the bottom-line of project. All the financials related to this project are based on cost estimates. The cost estimates are an underlying factor to the evaluation of the quality standards. Involvement of Team Members Contemporary, the integration of team members is fundamental to acquire the quoted product with the required specifications to effectively complete the processes and projects on time. The contribution of each member in the team will create synergy. Their presence during the project will act as a positive energy for team success. The involvement of each team member is based on their area of expertise: The end user is the definitive team member. In this case, the end user is the staff at the Brookhaven National Laboratory. The staffs represent the Department of Energy which offers valuable resource for the Silicon Drift Detectors being procured. The Program Manager will make sure that the ensuing agreement meets the long- and short-range requirements of the project’s mission and that the design produce the intended results. The contracting officers will make sure that all contract activities comply with relevant laws, regulations, executive orders, and other applicable measures including approvals and clearances. Financial managers will ensure the provision of information needed by the team to make decisions on the amount of money available. The legal counsel will ensure continuous provision of guidance related to legal compliance and interpretation of regulations and laws. All team members will provide necessary and continuous support throughout the project lifecycle. Steps for Solicitation Completion There are a number of steps that will be applied to make sure that the solicitation notice is clear, complete, and accurate prior to submission for posting on the FedBizOpps. gov Website. Prior to finalization of the draft solicitation, the officer in charge of contracting may issue a draft solicitation to obtain questions and comments from a group of potential (but not eligible) candidates before releasing the final solicitation. This will help to better refine the solicitation and clarify any vagueness. Posting the draft solicitation will allow exchange with industry in the form of questions, suggestions, corrections and comments that can improve the final solicitation. The contracting officer will also make a request for a review of the draft solicitation by the counsel and project officer in harmony with procedures prior to release. Upon review, the contracting officers should then seek and obtain the concluding approval from the agency leadership (Gouder, 2007).

Analysis of Competitive Environment Models and Tools Essay

Introduction   Ã¢â‚¬ËœClosed’ systems are described as systems having no relationship, communications and interface to its outside world.   Systems including human organizations, which is self-sustaining (both food producing and waste material recycling) has always been in touched with other organizations and its environment.   Imagine an entity floating in outer space carrying living organisms in it.   And such are producing their own food, energy and raw materials needed for survival.   But such entity will die in the future for it will need to replenish its need, energy to use and food to eat.   This fact makes an entity virtually lonely and survival impossible, thus organizations, social groups and social entities are interconnected. This connections and interactions render them as ‘open’ entities.   This connection allows entities to exchange the necessary things that will allow the survival and sustainability of its existence.   Organizations interact with its environment and other organizations for resources, information and technology, weapons, goods and services.   Thus transformation of organization becomes inevitable.   The point is it is a necessity rather than a requirement for organizations to work with or against other organizations and its environment for growth, survival and development.   A typical example of an entity, which houses everything that it needs and for its consumer: the hypermarkets. Hypermarket is a combination of a supermarket and a department store. It is a huge retail store which house a wide range of products. A well planned hypermarket allows a consumer to purchase everything in this type of facility. Like malls and grocery stores, hypermarkets follows a   on high-volume, low-margin sales model. The size of hypermarket facility covers an average of 150,000 square feet.   Such facilities are located on suburban and highly accessible areas for vehicles to accommodate large numbers of shoppers. (Wikipedia, 2007). In 1957, Carrefour was the first to introduce hypermarkets in 1957 owned by Fournier and Defforey (Wikipedia, sec 1).   This entity targeted a wide range of customers that the concept of housing all the necessary things human beings would possibly need was made in one entity.   Analysing this kind of organization using the different environmental analysis models and tools, we can get rich lessons from   Carrefour. The STEP checklist (Social, Technological, Economic and Political). STEP is simple and has many applications in many fields.   STEP is an acronym, which stands for Social, Technological, Economic and Political Checklist.   This method determines the factors that influences organizations/entities accurately and systematically.   The STEP checklist facilitates ease of determining the factors that influences the organization (Armson et al, 12-13). Social factors include demography, culture and values of an organization, vision and mission. The physical aspects of the society are measured by sociological factors like age, class, trends in migration and emigration, and so on.   Carrefour had integrated a multilevel marketing strategy based on this indicator.   A family as a unit has special need for each member. If Carrefour could bring all these needs in one place, the family need not go on separate ways.   As they acquire the needs, the company of each member is not sacrificed.   Exchange of opinions regarding clothes for each member and the amount of consumption and expenditure is also discussed while they go shopping around. Technological factors refer to machines, discoveries and techniques developed that improve communication, systems, and the general way of life.   Economic factors refer to the financial growth, family income and other economic indicators.   Political factor translates to the rules and regulations, government and system of governance and the political direction of the organization in terms of leadership.   Carrefour in this example had brought in together in one place the advances in technology.   The barcodes that we have, the electronic transactions that we have are all products of the chain reaction in putting together shops in one place.   The need for efficiency and fast movement of goods was conceptualized little by little. The Transformation Model The STEP model is an overview of everything that occurs in an organization.   It determines individual movement of society and its causal agent.   In transformation model, inputs determine the output using a certain ‘transformation’ process. This Input-Process-Output process has been borrowed from Ludwig von Bertalanffy in 1950 in his general systems theory (Wikipedia, par 1, sec. 1).   This theory is an approach that looks into the properties of systems in terms of relationships and processes and those that emerge from these relationships and processes which also conveys the whole. In the point of view of customer relations, Carrefour had encountered a lot of challenges that it evolved into an efficient system of customer service.   A special section perhaps dealing with product complains, product testing and purchase returns was created.   The reaction to its competitors was to move the same. Show the customer concerns and care for their needs as they value their hard earned money.   Other inputs like management had evolved from simple to complex structure.   But as this processes occurred, everything also move with them like customer perception, supplier value-adding activities, government regulations and even lifestyle of the community which they exist. Mintzberg’s ‘Physiognomy’ Physiognomy was used by palm readers to read lines in human hands in relation to the human character.   In this case, we use faces to read characters of organizations.   Mintzberg believes that organizations should forged links or ‘coalitions’.   These coalitions are useful when problems that require resolution arise.   When the different interests relating to the problem represent different groups, power groups are said to arise (Armson et al, 12-13). In addition to this, Mintzberg created ‘cast lists’ of every groups and/or coalition, which could be used as checklist also.   He named key players in these coalitions such as owners, associates, associations, and publics. Economic Sector Analysis Another method of dissecting business environment is the use of sectors and markets in the economics point of view (Armson et al, 14-15).   Economists termed sector (more like industries) in the use of economic activities.   In a sector, similar goods and services are produce such that each is affected by one another.   For example, a growing sector affects other sectors as well as the organizations within that sector.   Whether these effects are large or small, the use of sector analysis allows us to explore organizations in the same sector especially what is distinct in that organization.   Again Carrefour as a hypermarket entity pioneer spurred other hypermarket entities to compete and also join industries to lobby for government policies. References: Armson, Rosalind, John Martin, Susan Carr, Roger Spear and Walsh Tony. The Open University: Managing in Organizations: Identifying Environmental Issues. 1995. p11-15. General Systems Theory. Wikipedia- the Free Encyclopedia.   2006. Hypermarket.   Wikipedia- the free encyclopedia: 2007 â€Å"Carrefour† Wikipedia- the free encyclopedia.   12 February 2007.

The Communication Phenomena: Ideas and Definitions

It is acceptable then to say a definition of communication phenomena is the exchange of thoughts and ideas that are observable or observed and takes place In remarkable or arc There isn't a more powerful example of a communication phenomenon in modern times than the coloratura evolution that has been brought on by the advent Of the mobile telephone. Beginning with the bulky, primitive models of the past and continuing on with today's advanced smartness, this communication phenomenon has not only had a significant impact on the urban lifestyle, it has also reshaped the urban landscape.Small group communication, a subfield within the broad field of communication, has been changed significantly in large urban cities because of the mobile telephone. In the times before that technology was available, it was a challenge for an individual to acquire basic information such as the location of the closest bus stop that is still operating in the direction they need to go or even what time the n ext bus will arrive. This difficulty was amplified if the individual was alone and could not find anyone else to ask, as commonly happens during the late night & early morning hours.Equipped with a data enabled smartened, an individual simply loads an application or visits a mobile website to find out he basic information they wanted. Additionally, detailed information is available such as GAPS map and navigation data, weather information along the route or even if a particular store along the way has something they are interested in on sale. Even if an individual doesn't have a complex smart phone there's a good chance the information will be available via voice- response systems.Another communication phenomenon that is taking place in both urban centers and rural areas is changes in the efficiency and scope of public address communication systems. Historically, whenever the need arose to communicate information rapidly to a large group of people it was handled in traditional ways. Depending on the time period those methods ranged from men on horses with bullhorns, smoke signals, sirens, radio and eventually broadcast television. While they were considered effective for their time, those methods had varying weaknesses.Some suffered from large coverage area gaps while others relied on the target audience being within close proximity to the source of the announcement. Mobile telephones have enabled instantaneous nationwide communication via voice and text messaging for the first time in history. Even after satellite technology allowed for nationwide television broadcasts, nothing has been able to specifically target groups of individuals across such vast land areas as quickly and efficiently as mobile telephones are able to.United States national security has even been bolstered by the newly created Presidential Alert System. Amazingly the President and other designated individuals can compose a message and send it to almost every single smartened in less than 5 minutes. One might think that modern methods of communication using advanced smart devices have caused the biggest communication phenomena in recent decades. However that title has been earned by the first generations of cellular phones that were adopted very quickly by society after they were born in the AT&T Labs in 1983.Even though they were bulky and the very early models even had separate battery packs, they allowed mankind to finally â€Å"cut the cord† thus creating a communication phenomenon so large that caused a technological and social paradigm shift which changed how unmans interact forever. An interesting side-effect of this digital revolution is the negative interpersonal communications phenomena that occur. Prior to information being so easily accessible and available, people communicated verbally with one another in almost every situation in their day to day lives.Word of mouth was a very common way information was spread. It was not uncommon to barely be ab le to hear yourself think over the din of conversation anywhere people would congregate such as subway cars, train stations and even busy street corners. Now most people rely on their devices and new media sources for the same information they would get from verbal communication with other people or print media like newspapers.It's an almost eerie sight to be on a packed subway car where the only noise you hear is the clicking and notification sounds of smartness supplying the masses with the information they so desire. Occasionally though, as if the energy of times past was able to manifest itself, there will be an event significant enough to cause many people on that train to be notified at once. Then you start to hear muffled conversation confirming the information with a fellow passenger. That muffled verbal communication quickly turns into an all-out discussion of the event.For a brief period of time it's as if the devices didn't exist, however almost as quickly as it started, the passengers realize that they want more information and grow silent as they head back to their various digital streams of information. Utilizing the Non research methods of quasi-experiments & pre-experiments from our textbook, there are several different ways to explore how the communications phenomena that mobile loopholes have created effects the process and outcome of scenarios in daily life.Using the quasi-experiment method, which uses pre-tests to see where subjects are in reference to the variables tested, our two subjects are both in a large city around BPML and have to locate a bus Stop where they can catch a bus heading in their required direction of travel. Subject A has a smartened with all the current technology such as GAPS sensors, navigation technology and a â€Å"Find my Bus† type application provided by the local transportation authority. Subject B has no cell phone or means to communicate outside of the people and places in her immediate vicinity.They ar e both less than a mile away from a bus stop in a safe well-lit area that will get them a direct bus to their destination. Subject A is in their office getting ready to leave for the day. They decide they want to stop at a restaurant on their way home and get some take-out food for dinner and surprise their family. In order to accomplish this goal, they simply take out their smartened and enter in the destination addresses of their home and the assistant.The application(s) plot the locations of all relevant bus stops that are close along with the connecting bus information when they reach the restaurant. Simple walking directions are also provided in relation to their location. Since the closest bus stop is only a 10 minute walk away they are able to stay in their office until right before they have to head out, When the time comes they leave their office and have an uneventful walk to the bus stop and make it to the restaurant on time to pick up the food and make it to their connec ting bus home.