Honey Bees and Economics Essay Example

Honey Bees and Economics Essay Introduction Honey bees, Apis mellifera L. , are among the most well-known and economically of import insects ( Delaplane 2006 ) . There are 20 six recognized races around the universe, supplying honey and wax merchandises, and functioning every bit of import pollinators for harvests and wild vegetations ( Thomas 2002 ) . The tropically-adapted African honey bee races, Apis mellifera scutellata ( once adansonii ) , was introduced to Brazil in the 1950s to crossbreed with antecedently introduced European honey bee races in order to better honey production in the Neotropics ( Schneider et al. 2003 ) . While hybridisation between these races was expected, and sought in the genteelness plan for which the African races was introduced, cistron flow between the races is asymmetrical and the European traits are mostly displaced by the African traits over clip ( Schneider et al. 2003 ) . These African traits tend to be characters that make the Africanized honey bee an efficient encroacher and coloniser, a s evidenced in its scope enlargement throughout South and Central America and the invasion of a figure of southwesterly States in the U.S. ( Schneider et al. 2003 ) . This scope enlargement could take to a figure of social, economic, and ecological jobs since the Africanized honey bee can be really aggressive, has high generative capacity, and may interfere with native pollinators and established European settlements, therefore interrupting their pollenation services ( Fewell and Bertram 2002 ) . This paper investigates the properties of A.m. scutellata that enabled this races ( but non European honey races ) , to go an invasive species, effects of its invasion, and direction issues associated with it. History of the Africanized Honey Bee Honey bees are non native to North, Central, and South America, jointly known as the New World, but became widely established after holding been brought by European colonists in the 1600s ( Delaplane 2006 ) . The natural biogeographical scope of Apis mellifera spans from northern Europe to southern Africa and from the British Isles to the Arabian Peninsula ( Schneider et al. 2004 ) . There are four geographic line of descents that correspond to populations in East and West Europe, Africa, and the Middle East ( or Asian ) which probably exhibited allopatric distribution before worlds began transporting and blending populations on a big graduated table ( Schneider et al. 2004 and Zayed and Whitfield 2008 ) . At least eight of the 20 six honey bee races have been intentionally introduced to the Americas and the European races Apis mellifera ligustica Spinola, A.m. caucasica Gorbatschev, and A.m. carnica Pollman, provided the familial stock of the U.S. domestic honey bee ( Thomas 2002 ) . From the 16th to 18th century, Apis mellifera mellifera, of the West European line of descent, dominated debuts to the New World but the three races that comprised the U.S. honey bee, all of the East European Lineage, dominated subsequent debuts ( Schneider et al. 2004 ) . We will write a custom essay sample on Honey Bees and Economics specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Honey Bees and Economics specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Honey Bees and Economics specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Geographic isolation can take to familial distinction of populations into races due to local choice force per unit areas and familial impetus ( Clarke et al. 2002 ) . This phenomenon is apparent in the honey bee races from Europe and Africa. The European races are well-suited to temperate climes in that much of their energy goes into bring forthing and hive awaying honey that is needed to last drawn-out periods when resources are absent, such as winter ( Sanford and Hall 2005 and Delaplane 2006 ) . In contrast, the African races exhibits a composite of behaviours and physiological features that make it well-suited to tropical environments, such as high generative rates and coevals of droves to replace settlements that are often lost to predation ( Sanford and Hall 2005 ) . African and European honey bee races had been geographically separated for about 10,000 old ages, developing separating features to last in their corresponding environments, before human-assisted debuts caused blen ding between big populations ( Clarke et al. 2002 ) . While most of North America was able to prolong both managed and wild honey bee populations of European decent, the European honey bee was non every bit good adapted to the tropical and semitropical environments of Central and South America where they could merely be maintained with punctilious attention ( Delapane 2006 ) . It was the insufficiency of European races to win in this clime that led research workers in Sao Paulo, Brazil to present one of the tropical African honey bee races, Apis mellifera scutellata, in an effort to develop a better tropically-adapted domestic honey bee ( Thomas 2002 ) . It s deserving adverting that North African bees had been introduced antecedently to North America and that ferine populations exhibited low frequences of African DNA prior to the spread of the African bee from Latin America but did non ensue in an invasive species as seen with A.m. scutellata ( Schneider et al. 2004 ) . The purpose of conveying the African races to Brazil was to present familial stuff from these tropically-adapted honey bees into the resident European honey bees in order to develop better honey manufacturers in the tropical clime of this part ( Sanford and Hall 2005 ) . The genteelness plan, organized by insect geneticist Warwick Kerr, used South African Queenss paired with docile Italian drones and employed dual queen excluders to forestall flight ( Thomas 2002 ) . The queen excluder keeps the queen in the brood nest and is used as a safeguard against settlement flight since the hive will non go forth without the queen. Unaware of this intent, in 1956 a sing apiarist removed the excluders and hence, 26 of the Africanized urtications escaped with their Queenss ( Thomas 2002 ) . The African stock became established in the ferine population around Sao Paulo and spread quickly throughout Brazil and the Neotropics, displacing and/or crossbreeding with the resident races of honey bee ( Spivak et al. 1991 ) . It s of import to observe that the term Africanized is controversial and that the term Neotropical African is likely better terminology for the honey bee with traits of both European and African descent ( Spivak 1992 ) . Africanized, African-derived, and Neotropical African entail different familial procedures in footings of cistron flow between European and African populations such that Africanized refers to settlements that result from European Queenss and African drones bring forthing a hybridized population ( Schneider et al. 2004 ) . Although it was assumed that the African and European races would crossbreed and give rise to the Africanized honey bee and significant hybridisation has so occurred, over clip the European features are displaced by the African traits since cistron flow between the races is asymmetrical, prefering the loss of European traits ( Schneider et al. 2003 ) . In fact, recent genetic sciences research has revealed that some wild Africanized honey bee populations consist of unbroken African female parent lines that extend all the manner back to the original Queenss that were introduced to Brazil in the 1950s ( Sanford and Hall 2005 ) . Interestingly, European honey bee Queenss mate disproportionately with African drones, a phenomenon that contributes to displacing European cistrons in a settlement with African ( Kaplan 2004 ) . Additionally, there is grounds that the intercrossed exhibits reduced fittingness when compared to either European or African settlements. Hybrid workers have been rep orted to hold lower metabolic capacity for flight and dispersion and less efficient scrounging ability, two factors that accordingly result in lessened endurance of intercrossed settlements ( Schneider et al. 2003 ) . Indeed, intercrossed settlements have been observed to vanish over clip unless actively managed and maintained by worlds ( Schneider et al. 2003 ) . Spread of the Africanized Honey Bee A ; Barriers to Range Expansion The spread of the Africanized honey bee is one of the most impressive biological invasions that have been documented, colonising most of the Americas in less than 50 old ages ( Schneider et al. 2004 ) . Factors that have facilitated the constitution and enlargement of Africanized honey bees include the inclination of African settlements to turn faster than those of European races, familial mutual exclusivenesss between European and African races that favor keeping of African over European traits, and the greater ability of African bees to set up nests in a broader assortment of locations ( National Research Council 2007 ) . Besides, African droves will assume European settlements, intending they invade and replace the occupant queen with their ain, a phenomenon which loses both maternal and paternal lines of the European honey bee ( Kaplan 2004 and Schneider et Al. 2004 ) . The African honey bee produces big Numberss of offspring that form many generative droves and absconds more readily than European races, which abscond and drove less often ( Schneider 1990 and Sanford and Hall 2005 ) . This is important because honey bee population growing is influenced by settlement growing and generative rates in that the greater the generative rate, the faster the settlement growing, the more rapidly a settlement becomes overcrowded, and the more frequent the demand to split the settlement ( Fewell and Bertram 2002 and Kaplan 2004 ) . Hence, since the African honey bee produces greater Numberss of offspring, African settlements drove and disperse to organize new settlements more often than European honey bees. In the Neotropics, a 16-fold addition can be seen in African settlements, taking to a rapid addition in African honey bee population denseness, whereas a mere three to sextuple addition is seen for European settlements in temperate parts ( Schneider et al. 2 004 ) . While high generative rates that lead to frequent teeming give the African honey bee an built-in capacity for rapid population growing, bolting may or may non lend to its colonisation and enlargement ability. Absconding, abandoning the nest and traveling elsewhere, may increase the opportunities of endurance merely if the settlement is able nest in a more favourable country or coalesce with another drove ( Spivak 1992 ) . Therefore, the increased inclination of African bees to bolt is advantageous, and therefore a conducive factor to their scope enlargement, merely when they are able to successfully relocate to an country with suited conditions and appropriate resources. A figure of differences in diet and foraging schemes may explicate the generative and survival capacity of the African honey bee that give it a competitory advantage. Competition for flowered resources frequently involves a figure of factors that differ between consumers, such as strength of usage, resource defence, and resource penchant, and successful invasive species are frequently able to out-compete occupant species by working more resources ( Villannueva-Gutierrez and Roubik 2004 ) . This appears to keep true in the instance of the African honey bee, which is able to use a greater diverseness of dietetic resources ( Villanueva-Gutierrez and Roubik 2004 ) , and harvest pollen more intensively than European settlements in the same home ground ( Fewell and Bertram 2002 ) . They are besides less selective about the nectar beginnings that they consume and will roll up less-concentrated nectar from a greater assortment of flowered resources than European honey bees which are selectiv e in the quality of nectar for honey production and endurance intents ( Pankiw 2003 ) . These characters, in combination with the inclination of the African honey bee to readily drove and colonise new countries, make it a really successful encroacher. It has steadily colonized lowland woods of South America since 1957 ( Roubik et al. 1986 ) and, spread outing at a rate of 80-500 kilometres per twelvemonth, it reached Central America by the 1980s and North America by 1990 ( Thomas 2002 ) . Today, all of Latin America, with the exclusion of Chile, has established populations and in North America, subsequent scope enlargement since the first natural settlement was discovered in Hidalgo, Texas has occurred chiefly in a westbound mode, bit by bit covering most of the southwesterly U.S. ( Delaplane 2006 ) . By 2005, nevertheless, populations of Africanized bees were found in the more eastern States of Louisiana and Florida ( Delaplane 2006 ) and have besides been reported in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico ( Kaplan 2004 ) . There are now confirmed populations in south ern California and Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, the bulk of Texas, Oklahoma, and a few counties of southern Louisiana and southern Florida ( National Research Council 2007 ) . There have besides been a few stray droves in southern Utah ( Sanford and Hall 2005 ) . The invasion of the southern United States by A. m. scutellata may hold been significantly influenced by the devastation of European settlements in the U.S. by a parasite. Range enlargement into North America coincides with heavy harm to European settlements due to infestation by the varroa touch, Varroa destructor ( once jacobsoni ) , an invasive honey bee parasite from Asia that was discovered in U.S. populations in 1987 ( Kaplan 2004 ) . The touchs readily transferred from the native host, the Asian honey bee, Apis cerana, to European honey bees when European bees were brought to Asia in the 1950s and so shipped to South America in the 1970s ( Lindquist 1989 ) . The touchs reached Mexico by the mid 1980s ( Lindquist 1989 ) and as the infestation spread, the ensuing decimation to the resident European population in the southern U.S. may hold provided an ecological vacancy that the Africanized bees were coincidently able to make full. The northbound scope enlargement has non been every bit terrible as that experienced in Central and South America and there may be a figure of effectual barriers that prevent extended invasion of temperate parts of the United States and Canada by A. m. scutellata. Certain features of the tropically-adapted African races, those that enabled it to displace resident European settlements in tropical parts of the Americas, may non be suited to lasting in temperate parts where winter conditions require a life history scheme closer to that of European honey bee races ( Sanford and Hall 2005 ) . Since settlement behaviours mediate choice of settlement phenotypes and hence drive version in societal insects, the enlargement of honey bees into temperate parts was probably facilitated by choice for honey billboard and ability to organize a winter bunch ( Zayed and Whitfield 2008 ) . The European bees exhibit these characters, using more energy bring forthing and hive awaying honey that is used t o last predictable dearth seasons and less energy into bring forthing big Numberss of offspring ( Thomas 2002 and Sanford and Hall 2005 ) . In contrast, the African honey bee is adapted to an environment in which menaces, such as predation, are more localised and far less predictable than the widespread, seasonal alterations in temperate parts, ensuing in the version of defensive behaviour and inclination to bolt and teem ( Villa et al. 1987 and Thomas 2002 ) . In other words, the African races are suited for dispersion and colonisation whereas the European races are better suited for keeping the settlement. Evidence that African honey bee scope enlargement may be limited by environmental conditions, and hence implicates that these bees may non last in the temperate parts of North America, can be seen in Argentina where the regional laterality of the European or African parental genotypes of established populations corresponds to the environment that resembles those in which the different races evolved ( Spivak 1992 ) . The tropically-adapted Africanized bees are established in the tropical North of the state which exhibits conditions to which they are well-suited, whereas the temperately-adapted European bees dominate the temperate South ( Clarke et al. 2002 ) . A similar distribution is observed in the Andean Highlandss of Peru where African bees are non found above 2300 metres altitude but European honey bees are common, a likely effect of alterations in climatic conditions with height instead than latitude ( Spivak 1992 ) . In short, the tropical versions of the Africanized bees are less advantageous in temperate parts and cold conditions may efficaciously restrict overwintering capacity as to forestall farther scope enlargement ( Delaplane 2006 ) . It s of import to observe that a passage zone between tropical and temperate parts, where the scopes of African and European honey bees overlap and the races interbreed, will hold bees with changing grades of African and European traits. In the U.S. , where African traits will probably rule in southern parts and northern parts are more likely to keep European traits, a big passage country may develop ( Delaplane 2006 ) . While loanblends may be transported with seasonal motion of bundles, Queenss, and apiarists serving harvests, enabling impermanent scope enlargement in some northern venues, African and Africanized bees are non likely to last in temperate climes without sufficient energy shops to last the winter months ( National Research Council 2007 ) . Besides, although the northern spread of Africanized bees may be limited by clime, one ground that the Africanized bee has non spread into Canada is that the boundary line between the U.S. and Canada has been closed to honey bee tra de and conveyance since tracheal touchs infested U.S. honey bee populations ( National Research Council 2007 ) . If the lodger was reopened to these activities and Africanized bees were imported, their scope enlargement would likely be impermanent since they are non as well-suited to temperate parts as European races. There besides appears to be a important correlativity between the sum and distribution of rainfall and the spread of the Africanized honey bee. For case, rainfall greater than 55 inches distributed equally throughout the twelvemonth reflects the conditions at the border of their eastern enlargement ( Kaplan 2004 ) . This evident barrier may be a effect of the African honey bee being better adapted to arid home grounds, as they seem unable to colonise even in southwesterly parts of the U.S. where the temperatures are appropriate for tropical races but the sum and distribution of rainfall differs from other parts where they ve successfully established ( Schneider et al. 2004 ) . Finally, the northbound scope enlargement of the African honey bee may be limited by differences in twenty-four hours length between tropical and temperate parts. The seasonal forms of settlement growing and reproduction for European honey bees closely correlates to photoperiod whereas African honey bees are ad apted to tropical climes where one-year alterations in rainfall and flowered copiousness are more of import than photoperiod ( Schneider et al. 2004 ) . Economical, Social, and Ecological Consequences of African and Africanized Honey Bees There are several honey bee characters that are of import to people. These include disposition, the inclination to teem and bolt, honey production, and manageableness for apiarists ( Kaplan 2004 ) . Because of differences in these characters between the African and European races, the spread of Africanized honey bees may hold several of import economic impacts on the honey industry and has possible to impact public safety. As an foreigner species to the Americas, the African bee and its loanblends could besides act upon pollenation ecology of natural and agricultural landscapes ( Roubik et al. 1986 ) . The inclination of Africanized settlements to bolt makes them hard to maintain and their heightened defensive behaviour makes them hard and inconvenient to pull off ( Hackett, 2004 ) . While the invasion of Africanized bees ab initio resulted in apiarists abandoning the pattern and doing the honey industry to endure in Central and South America, apiarists in these parts have adjusted good ( NRC 2007 ) . Fewer urtications are kept in any one location and are spaced farther apart, protective vesture and tobacco users are ever used, and the urtications are non worked as often throughout the twelvemonth to forestall absconding, with some apiarists preferring to work their urtications at dark ( Thomas 2002 ) . While bettering honey production was, after all, the purpose of presenting African bees to South America since the European races could merely be maintained in the Torrid Zones with great attention, early comparings of honey production in African and European settlements gave assorted consequences. For illustration, Spivak et Al. ( 1989 ) found no important difference in honey production between races in settlements in Costa Rica although studies from Brazil were systematically higher for African bees and comparable to or lower than European bees in other countries of South and Central America. Even sing these disagreements between studies in different parts, the part of the African honey bee to honey production in Brazil can non be ignored. After the debut of African bees, Brazil s one-year honey production increased nonuple, from 5,000 metric dozenss to 45,000 metric dozenss ( Thomas 2002 ) . However, beekeeping patterns in the Neotropics are basically different from those in the U .S. and Canada and hence, the effects of the African honey bee in these parts may non be an ideal theoretical account for foretelling the impact of Africanization in the apiculture and honey industry of North America ( NRC 2007 ) . Early anticipations of challenges that U.S. agriculturists would confront with the invasion of the African honey bee from Latin America included breaks of both beekeeping patterns and harvest pollenation ( Rinderer et al. 1991 ) , ensuing in increased costs of bee-pollinated nutrient merchandises ( Collins et Al. 1982 ) . Indeed, keeping European urtications while surrounded by African settlements has been a major challenge for U.S. apiarists in the sou-west. They must requeen on a regular basis, utilizing Queenss that have been pre-mated to European drones in African-free zones , to protect against hive trespass by African droves, a pattern that is clip devouring and expensive, particularly for commercial apiarists with 1000s of urtications to keep ( Kaplan 2004 ) . Sing that the apiculture industry was already threatened by important jobs, such as parasitic touchs and disease-causing bacteriums, before and during the African invasion, a farther decrease in the net income border fro m beekeeping was an expected effect of the increased costs incurred from frequent requeening and labour-intensive direction and monitoring of urtications to keep European lines ( Sanford and Hall 2005 ) . For harvest pollenation, nevertheless, differences in scrounging scheme between European and African honey bees may be advantageous in some harvests. For illustration, Basualdo et Al. ( 2000 ) study that Africanized bees collected significantly more pollen from helianthus in intercrossed seed production systems of Argentina, proposing that the tropical races may be a more efficient commercial pollinator. The Africanized bee has received considerable ill fame for its defensive behaviour toward perceived menaces to the settlement which has resulted in a figure of negative social effects. They rapidly recruit 100s to 1000s of settlement members to drive off interlopers and although the toxicity and sum of venom delivered per sting does non differ from European races, the big figure of stings incurred during a mass onslaught and the drawn-out continuance of onslaught has led to the deceases of pets, people, and farm animal ( Rabe et al. 2005 ) . The inclination of Africanized honey bee droves to settle in topographic points near worlds airss increased wellness jeopardies ( NRC 2007 ) and therefore, constabularies, fire sections, and other authorities bureaus have adopted preparation and processs to cover with incidents affecting these bees ( Rabe et al. 2005 ) . Indeed, the frequence of onslaughts dramatically increased when the Africanized bees escaped and spread throughout South and Central America, but as people learned to avoid nesting bees the figure of onslaughts declined ( Thomas 2002 ) . It s deserving adverting that while the aggressive behaviour of Africanized bees poses a really existent menace, public sentiment of the true danger of Africanized bees has been distracted by overdone studies from popular media and Hollywood that use the catch-phrase killer bees ( Lindquist 1989 and Thomas 2002 ) . This widespread public fright has frequently caused apiarists to lose many of the locations that they rent to maintain urtications, even if such locations are considerable distances from known Africanized bee zones ( Hackett 2004 ) . This loss of apiary locations has farther contributed to the decreased net income border of apiculture ( Sanford and Hall 2005 ) . Even so, the early anticipations of the economic impacts of African bees on U. S. agribusiness have therefore far overestimated the existent harm, due possibly to a combination of heightened readiness based on the Latin American experience, apparent reduced fittingness in temperate climes, and a slower-than-predicted enlargement rate ( Schneider et al. 2004 ) . The invasion of Africanized honey bees may hold of import ecological deductions as good. In the tropical Americas, even the earliest surveies showed grounds that African bee settlements can displace native pollinators from flowers, a effect that can be attributed to their superior ability to turn up and reap flowered resources ( Roubik et al. 1986 ) . An of import illustration involves societal stingless bees of the genera Melipona and Trigona. Early experiments with species of these genera showed that big forager size, big settlement size, and ability to pass on the distance and way of a nutrient beginning are all characters that conferred a competitory advantage of the African honey bee over native stingless bees ( Roubik 1980 ) . In a survey of bee population tendencies and distribution in Mexico, Cairns et Al. ( 2005 ) study that the Africanized honey bee had adopted new behaviours to vie better with native pollinators that include physically assailing native stingless bees. Furt hermore, the African honey bee may hold an advantage over both societal stingless bees and European honey bees in footings of nesting sites. While the stingless and European settlements may be limited by the handiness of preferable nesting sites, the African honey bee is timeserving and utilizes a assortment of sites that the others would non busy ( Roubik 1980 ) . Some would reason that since the European honey bee races neer performed good in the Neotropics, the African honey bee can non be said to hold displaced the European honey bee by competition in these parts, even though the invasion has resulted in an about complete replacing of local European populations ( Fewell and Bertram 2002 ) . However, Villanueava-Gutierrez and Roubik ( 2004 ) study that competition with the African honey bee for locally-adapted pollen beginnings in Mexico appears to do resident European honey bees to abandon former resources, usage fewer resources intensively, and use other taxa as resources, thereby doing competitory supplanting. While the European bees used more resource species in this survey, the African bee used more to a important grade, probably ensuing in less pollen income on norm for the European honey bee ( Villanueava-Gutierrez and Roubik 2004 ) . Therefore, the ecological laterality of the African honey bee may non merely affect certain native be es but besides European honey bees. This consequence may be minor in the Torrid Zones where the European bees have historically had small success, but there may be major deductions for North America where they ve performed good ( Fewell and Bertram 2002 ) . Current and Future Management of Africanized Bees Presently, no agencies of eliminating Africanized honey bees exists since anything that negatively affects the African-derived populations will besides impact the European populations, and perchance wild bee populations ( Hackett 2004 and Hackett 2007 ) . The European honey bee is already in diminution due to disease and parasites in the U.S. so extra force per unit area is unwise. Alternatively, certain African traits can be considered good and hence, engendering plans may seek to pull off African honey bees for selected features. For illustration, the Africanized honey bee seems to be more immune to the varroa touch, Varroa destructor, which has been decimating honey bee settlements across the New World, a trait that could be valuable to the apiculture and honey industry ( Rabe et al. 2005 ) . Although the harm to European settlements caused by the varroa touch may hold contributed to the successful invasion of the U.S. by the African honey bee, its opposition may be merely what th e apiculture and honey industries need. The Asiatic honey bee, Apis cerana, exhibits behavioural mechanisms, often referred to as hygienic behaviour, by which it is able to defy infestation, such as remotion of dead or infested brood and training, and so does Apis mellifera scutellata ( Lindquist 1989 and Ibrahim et Al. 2007 ) . The African honey bee besides has shorter brood rhythms and this may lend to resistance in that the touch may non be able to finish development before the brood emerges ( Kaplan 2007 ) . Furthermore, there appears to be some unknown mechanism that influences the touch s generative capacity in African urtications ( Carneiro et al. 2007 ) . While opposition to varroa touchs is surely a good feature, the less desirable African characters, such as disposition and endurance in temperate climes, may be of import sing beekeeping patterns of temperate parts of North America. The inclination to bolt when disturbed, for illustration, makes African bees hapless campaigners for migratory apiculture operations ( Schneider et al. 2004 ) . Furthermore, Carneiro et Al. ( 2007 ) reported alterations in generative capacity of V. destructor in Brazilian African honey bee settlements ; they are get downing to get the better of generative barriers. Therefore, utilizing A.m. scutellata for opposition may no longer be a feasible option. However, honey bees from far-eastern Russia exhibit both opposition and tolerance to varroa touchs ( Rinderer et al. 2001 ) . Engendering with these bees alternatively would avoid unwanted African traits and jobs associated with enlargement restrictions in temperate climes. While research continues, apiarists and the general populace can larn to populate with Africanized bees and follow certain patterns as a agency of incorporating the job. These include look intoing for bee nests before runing machinery such as lawnmowers, as the quivers may upset the settlement ; sealing clefts and gaps in edifices, as these are attractive to a drove in hunt of a nesting site ; and apiarists can where more protective vesture, nevertheless inconvenient, when sing urtications and working around their bees ( Hackett 2004 ) . Cheap pheromone traps are besides used, particularly around schools, airdromes, golf classs and other high traffic countries, to do swarm remotion easy and incidence of onslaught less likely ( Kaplan 2004 ) . In the southern and coastal U.S. parts where commercial queen production takes topographic point, Danka et Al. ( 1994 ) suggest pin downing African droves as a agency of keeping the unity of European traits in their genteelness operations for th e U.S. apiculture industry. In the interim, the ARS of the USDA, the primary monitoring bureau for Africanized bees, provides legion updates that inform research workers and the general populace on the position of this invasive species ( Kaplan 2004 ) . Decisions The African honey bee is an efficient encroacher and coloniser and its scope enlargement can hold a figure of social, economic, and ecological effects. This tropically-adapted races was able to displace resident European bees in the Neotropics through competitory advantages attributed to reproductive capacity, superior resource development, and familial mutual exclusivenesss with European races. While de

Free Essays on Bin Laden

As America fought wars around the globe in the 20th century, one principle guided U.S. alliances: The enemy of my enemy is my friend. In the war against Hitler, the United States found common cause with Stalin. In the war against Japan, America aided Vietnamese rebel Ho Chi Minh. In Third World struggles, America helped Manuel Noriega and Saddam Hussein. And as Afghan rebels fought Soviet invaders in the During the 1980s, the United States gave aid from afar while Saudi exile Osama bin Laden provided support from within Afghanistan. Bin Laden emerged quickly after the September 11th attack on America as the prime suspect, directing a global network of terrorists from camps in Afghanistan. His apparent role in the attacks and the possibility of retaliation generated acute interest in Omaha, home to about 300 former Afghan refugees and the nation's only Center for Afghanistan Studies. Before most of the world knew who bin Laden was, Thomas Gouttierre, director of the Afghan program at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO), spent several months studying him for the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan in 1996 and '97. Gouttierre, who has 37 years experience dealing with Afghanistan, used his sources to confirm for then-U.N. Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali that bin Laden had returned to Afghanistan after leaving Sudan. In his office, Gouttierre still has his bin Laden file, including maps showing the locations of his training camps in the mountainous Central Asian nation. The UNO scholar never met bin Laden but saw his compound in the city of Kandahar and once saw his motorcade pass as the terrorist leader traveled protected by security vehicles. Gouttierre also spent part of his U.N. duty meeting and studying the Taliban, radical Muslim clerics who were and still are fighting for control of Afghanistan. The Taliban reportedly control about 95 percent of the country now. Even before la... Free Essays on Bin Laden Free Essays on Bin Laden A Response to â€Å"Bin Laden’s Bad Bet† Franklin Zakaria, in his article makes a shocking point for most Americans. A year ago, America was stricken with terror. We had the curtain pulled from right in front of our eyes, and on stage we saw a tyrant, Osama Bin Laden, and his Al Queda organization. Hiding behind the curtain for years, Bin Laden planned a treacherous â€Å"play† of terror. When the time was right, and all of America was not paying attention, the curtain was drawn back and the Taliban, along with its director, proceeded to surprise the world with their â€Å"play†. However, September 11, 2001 was not a â€Å"play†; it was an act of destruction, a plot of pure evil. Osama Bin Laden’s motive was not one only to affect the United States but the whole world. He hoped that by his feats of terror he would spark an outburst of radical movements across the Islamic world. Nevertheless, â€Å"The dog has not barked.† (Zakaria p.34) Some believe that he is hiding from fear; yet others sense that Bin Laden is hiding not in fear but in hope to resurrect another plan of mass destruction. Fareed Zakaria gives us a history lesson to help explain his point of view on the outcome of September 11. A decade ago, many people were concerned with political Islam-â€Å"how to setup an Islamic state, implement Sharia and practice Islamic banking.† (p.34) Algeria, Egypt, Turkey, and Pakistan all were terrorized by Islamic groups like the mullahs, but today they are for the most part vanquished. Again, many say that they are still in hiding, but this is where Mr. Zakaria makes an outstanding point. If these terrorist are in hiding it must be in fear, because how can a political movement achieve its goals if no one speaks its name? â€Å"A revolution, especially a transitional one, needs ideologues, pamphlets and party lines to articulate its message to the world. It needs politicians willing to embrace its cause. The Islami... Free Essays on Bin Laden As America fought wars around the globe in the 20th century, one principle guided U.S. alliances: The enemy of my enemy is my friend. In the war against Hitler, the United States found common cause with Stalin. In the war against Japan, America aided Vietnamese rebel Ho Chi Minh. In Third World struggles, America helped Manuel Noriega and Saddam Hussein. And as Afghan rebels fought Soviet invaders in the During the 1980s, the United States gave aid from afar while Saudi exile Osama bin Laden provided support from within Afghanistan. Bin Laden emerged quickly after the September 11th attack on America as the prime suspect, directing a global network of terrorists from camps in Afghanistan. His apparent role in the attacks and the possibility of retaliation generated acute interest in Omaha, home to about 300 former Afghan refugees and the nation's only Center for Afghanistan Studies. Before most of the world knew who bin Laden was, Thomas Gouttierre, director of the Afghan program at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO), spent several months studying him for the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan in 1996 and '97. Gouttierre, who has 37 years experience dealing with Afghanistan, used his sources to confirm for then-U.N. Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali that bin Laden had returned to Afghanistan after leaving Sudan. In his office, Gouttierre still has his bin Laden file, including maps showing the locations of his training camps in the mountainous Central Asian nation. The UNO scholar never met bin Laden but saw his compound in the city of Kandahar and once saw his motorcade pass as the terrorist leader traveled protected by security vehicles. Gouttierre also spent part of his U.N. duty meeting and studying the Taliban, radical Muslim clerics who were and still are fighting for control of Afghanistan. The Taliban reportedly control about 95 percent of the country now. Even before la...

Comparative Afterlife Beliefs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Comparative Afterlife Beliefs - Essay Example The Egyptians, likewise, have more intricate beliefs of the afterlife, as shown from the documentary video entitled â€Å"Egyptian Secrets of the Afterlife† posted by Yuna Raven on January 18, 2012 and shown in YouTube (Raven). The current essay hereby aims to provide a comparative analysis of these two distinct beliefs of the afterlife. There are disparities in the Sikhs and Egyptians beliefs in the afterlife in terms of focus, scope, and details. For Sikhs, it was specifically indicated that â€Å"Sikh scriptures dont dwell on what happens after death† (Burke par. 2). This is very contrary to the Egyptian’s beliefs of the afterlife that is most intricate, detailed, and comprehensive. As indicated from the video, due to their focus and relegating importance to the after death, the idea of immortality and afterlife enabled them to create great architectural structures which detailed guidelines for the dead pharaohs to be resurrected and reborn to their own bodies (Raven). Likewise, the Sikhs’ regard for conformity and compliance with earthly duties, much more than focusing on the afterlife, was manifested in terms of their practice for cremation (Burke par. 1). In contrast, the Egyptians believe that the dead’s soul would eventually get to be reunited with their physical bodies; as such, their belief in mummification (Raven). It was disclosed that it was important that their physical bodies be preserved so that their spiritual souls would recognize it and enable the resurrection (Raven).

My Uncle's Addicted To Illegal Drugs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

My Uncle's Addicted To Illegal Drugs - Essay Example That is the delinquent is not punished for abusing the drug, but for the actions committed whilst under its influence. Since the most controversial drug at the moment is marijuana this paper will limit itself to the examination of this narcotic. The Legalise Cannabis Alliance is a UK based political organization committed to the legalization of marijuana. It seeks to have marijuana and marijuana products removed from the UK Misuse of Drugs Act and that possession, cultivation and use of marijuana or its products should be free from prosecution. It argues that marijuana can be used to produce cost-free fuel through the process of pyrolysis on marijuana biomass. Further, it believes that the prohibition of marijuana infringes Human Rights. â€Å"Prohibition†¦goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control man’s appetite through legislation and makes a crime out of things that are not even crimes†¦. A prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our Government was founded.† (cited in Legalise Cannabis Alliance manifesto.) However, this is a very high end argument. It is philosophical and many times removed from the misery endured by those who abuse drugs and those who have to take care of drug abusers. It takes no account of the human or financial costs of drug abuse. The case for marijuana however is special. There are many myths about marijuana. According to the Legalise Cannabis Alliance website in 1999 the US Institute of Medicine concluded that marijuana is not addictive, it is not a gateway drug, it is not a dangerous drug and it does have medical uses. Why then is it outlawed? There are people who believe that the ‘war on drugs’ itself is adding to the human and financial costs, and that it would be wiser to stop fighting the war altogether. For example, Legalise Drugs – a pro-legalization, anti-drug organization

Unionized Workers In America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Unionized Workers In America - Essay Example In response to the strikes, RCA moved its operations from Camden to Bloomington (Romero 175). The same argument can be used to argue for the reason behind the dramatic changes in the number of unionized workers over the period from 1930 to 2003. During the early period of the 1930s and 1940s, most of the American companies set up their manufacturing hubs in different parts America. Initially, the corporations paid less salary to the members and extracted greater output from them. However, with the formation of unions, the workers started demanding more wages and this resulted in the fact that the manufacturing bases were often shifted from one place to another. However, with the rise of pressure from the worker's unions the management started getting cornered and were forced to comply with the demands of the workforce. However, with the start of globalization, the companies realized that they could get the same level of output as they were presently getting if they shifted the manufa cturing bases to countries like India and China. As the companies started to shift their manufacturing bases to third world countries the number of workers in America got reduced and this resulted in the fall of unionized workers in the USA. ConclusionThe above essay tries to provide an explanation behind the rise and fall of the number of unionized workers in America over the period from 1930 to 2002. The probable explanation is the shift of the manufacturing bases to third world countries.

Improving Personal Efficiency At Work And In Life Commerce Essay

Improving Personal Efficiency At Work And In Life Commerce Essay The author of this paper is an engineering professional, who applies science (in the engineering inquiring system) to the real world during his work (Van Gigch, 2006). Organizations are continuously exploring methods to eliminate waste to lower the production cost and increase efficiency. This concept has evolved from a Two Bin System to a kanban System and most recently to a Toyota Production System (Hill, 2005). The author is intrigued by this organizational idea of reducing waste and increasing efficiency. He would like to apply the similar concept to increase personal productivity and efficiency at work and in his personal life. The proposed action plan intends to improve personal efficiency of the author at work and in life. The author deals with a variety of activities and tasks in his personal and work life during the day. These activities and tasks can vary from a simplest activity, such as starting a car ten minutes before departing for work, to solving a complex at work such as why a fastener broke during the assembly, and to writing a research paper for school. The phenomenon of friction is well known in a manufacturing industry. The usual engineering definition of friction is the resistance to relative motion of contacting bodies (Booser, 1983, p. 31). Magnitude of friction is usually expressed as a coefficient of friction ( µ), which is the ratio of the force F required to initiate or sustain relative tangential motion to the normal N which presses the two surfaces together. Thus  µ = F/N (Booser, 1983 p. 31). The right amount of friction is needed for two components to work efficiently and minimize wear. The same concept can be applied in work and life to improve personal efficiency. This action plan will develop a strategy to lower (balance) the friction in order to improve personal efficiency. Progress is becoming skilled consists largely in eliminating the useless (Laird, 1952, p.32). Productivity conceptually has two dimensions: efficiency and effectiveness. Efficiency is the level and quality of obtained from the amount of resources available (Smith, 1995). Competent performance defines efficiency doing something and doing something right (Smith, 1995. p. 7). The author will be exploring methods to produce a greater quantity with higher quality with the same amount of resources to improve his efficiency. The way in which the provider meets needs and demands of objectives defines effectiveness. A productivity plan is an action plan designed to achieve the twin goals of efficiency and effectiveness (Smith, 1995). Effectiveness relates to the extent to which the provider meets the needs and demands of the objectives. Improving productivity is a multi-faceted concept, which is linked with the achieving the goals efficiently and effectively. A productivity initiative is more than the statement of a set of goals; it is a plan to foster the achievement of those goals. It is an action plan designed to allow the system to get from here to there. (xxxx, xxxx) Productivity = f (efficiency, effectiveness) (Smith, 1995) The author has analyzed through the journaling activities during the course of Strategic Management of Human Resources that Personal Efficiency (PE) is affected by several factors. These factors are goal setting, communication style, negotiation and collaboration skills, art of persuasion, procrastination, locus of control, motivation, behavior and attitude, stress and burnout, influence, power authority, personal temperament, and networking. (Nelson, 2006) Assessment The author has gone through several self assessment exercises to identify his weaknesses and strengths. The author leads a busy personal and work life, thus it is important for the author to be efficient. The author will look at several factors to improve upon his Personal Efficiency within this action plan. The author agrees with Edmund and Morris (2000) that having too much information which uses up too much of their time, causes to feel stressed which, in turn, affects our decision making (Karlsson, 2006, page number) further, The extreme development of natural material resources and their conservation in paralleled by a pitiable neglect of human mental resources (Laird, 1952, p. 1). The development in information technology has provided the author with various planning tools such as a personal computer, blackberry, palm organizer, and Microsoft outlook express, but not necessarily all of these additional aids have improved his efficiency. Within this action plan, the author will develop a plan to understand the utility level of available aids. Action Plan The author used a competency card tally sheet to analyze and assess his competencies. Timely Decision Making, Organizing and Priority Setting are the three competencies on which the author will focus. The author will use goal setting techniques and decision making models to improve upon stated timely decision making, organizing, and priority setting competencies. The author will use performance measurement system (PMS) to evaluate performance of accomplishment. The action plan will use a sequential process. First, data will be collected, second the data will be organized, and third an action plan will be formed, fourth the action plan will be executed. Finally, the process will be reviewed and reanalyzed periodically. Goal Setting A goal is a measurable accomplishment to be achieved within a specified time and under specific time constraints (Rouillard, 2002 p.4). The goal setting offers motivation and a tool for performance measurement (Griffen et al, 2009). The author will use SMART approach for goal setting. The author understands that the goals should be specific, measurable, attainable, and realistic and that they should be subject to deadlines. The author will set challenging goals which require effort, yet still be attainable (Griffen et al, 2009). The author will use a sequential process to set goals. First, he will brainstorm all the goals by writing them down on a notebook, those he would like to attain in his life. Second, he will categorize these goals by the time limit he would like to them achieved. The goals will be categorized by month, six months, one year, two years, five years, and ten years. After analysis author may find that some of the initial goals are thoughts and need not be classifie d as goals. The goals will be further analyze for acceptance of author. Next, the plan for accomplishment of all the goals will be set. The progress of each goal will be reviewed periodically. Daily goals will be reviewed daily, monthly goals will be reviewed weekly, semi-annual goals will be reviewed monthly, annual goals will be reviewed quarterly and bi-annual goals, five years. During the review, if it is found that a goal was not achieved within the time allocated than it will be analyzed for the reasons. The analysis will help the author to understand the reasons for failure to make necessary improvements. The analysis will provide information whether the author lacked the resources to accomplish the goal(s), or whether there was an uncertain event that occurred during the period. If analysis presented that the author lacked the resources than reevaluation of the resources will be done. If analysis presented that there was an uncertain event occurrence during the period than t he author will reevaluate the deadline for the goal(s). (Griffen et al, 2009). Procrastination has always been a factor for the poor performance for the author. There are times when decisions are made very rapidly and at other times they take much longer. Procrastination increases stress and uncertainty (Griffen et al, 2009).The purpose of developing timely decision making skills is to be able to make the best possible decision with the information available (Gowin, 1917). Decision Making Model Temperament analysis from the book identified the author as an ESTJ personality type, where E stands for extrovert, S for sensing, T for thinking and J for judging. The T, or Thinking personality most often makes decisions based on logic and optimization. This style of decision making fits with rational model of decision making. There are constraints in relation to available time and information which prohibit practicing a rational decision making model. (Griffen et al, 2009)The author will use a decision support system to understand how to use an alternative decision making model. Herbert Simon suggested that there are limits to how rational a decision maker can actually be. (Nelson et al, 2006, p. 319). The objective is to find acceptability and effectiveness in the results. This decision orders classification forms the basis for the decision alignment framework(Scherpereel, 2005 PAGE NUMBER). Bounded rationality model can be an alternative choice for the author to develop a heuristics approach for decision making. The author will list and evaluate alternatives to select a good enough alternative to make the decision timely.(xxxx). To understand the likely consequences of decisions, the author will analyze the importance of individual factors and choose the best course of action. It is the alignment of decision problem characterization (or primal elements) with available approaches (or dual elements) that determine the adequacy and efficacy of a decision (Scherpereel, 2005 Page Number). The following steps will be used to develop timely decision making competency. The author will define the goal and assign a deadline to achieve the goals. He will record the activities in a log book to track the time spend on each activity. The log book will also be used to create matrix to design the decision support system. The author will practice the timely decision making with smaller tasks to create a habit of making decisions on time. Motor habits, or habits of doing, are all that many people include as habits in their thinking (Leird, 1952, p.44). Form the habit of sticking to a job until it is done (Leird, 1952, p.177). An example of this task would be starting the car in the morning ten minutes before heading to work in winter. The author will monitor this activity through the log book until this activity becomes a programmed decision making. He will develop an evaluation system to understand pro and cons of decisions. After identifying the pro and cons of the making the decisions, he will apply the strategy to make the decisions. If you really want to increase your mental efficiency do these things, do not just read them (Leird, 1952, p.35). The author will continuously read scholarly material and consult with an expert on his decision making competency. Decision Support System The author will develop a decision support system (DSS) to improve upon timely decision making competency. G. Mallach (1994) stated that The Decision Support System (DSS) is a system whose purpose is to provide knowledge with information on which to base informed decisions (Chong, 2001. p. 1). Decision Support System generates information used to support a decision (Chong, 2001. p. 1). Next, the author will use cognitive maps (CM) as a tool to develop the decision support system. In a Cognitive Map, concepts are connected with lines, arrows, and blocks. The information in blocks represents concepts (cn) in the problem domain and the line will represent the causal relationships within the concepts. The causal relationship can be positive or negative. In the case of a positive relationship, an increase or decrease in the cause variable shows the effect variable moving in the same direction. In a negative relationship, the cause concept causes the effect concept to move in the opposite direction (Chong, 2001). Need groceries T1 Total time available on weekend T5 Car needs oil change T2 Finish SMHR action plan T3 Meeting friends in evening T4 + 1.50 hr + .50 hr + 15.00 hr + 2.0 hr Figure 1.1: Cognitive map showing activities on the weekend (Chong, 2001) Figure 1.1 shows a cognitive map to illustrate tasks those need to be completed and leisure time planned for the weekend. Figure 1.1 also shows an incident which was not the part of planning. This cognitive map (CM) is drawn to identify the utilization on available time on the weekend efficiently and effectively. Each activity has given identification e.g. need groceries is identified as T1(Chong, 2001). After the CM is created, it is transformed from a diagram to a matrix. Fist, the diagram is translated to an N x N matrix (where N is the number of activities used in the map). Then, the rows and columns in the matrix are labeled with domain concepts (Chong, 2001). After drawing the CM, the map undergoes a diagram-to-matrix transformation. The process begins with the creation of an N x N matrix where N is the number of activities used in the map. The rows and columns in the matrix are labeled with domain concepts. (xxxx, Page Number) T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.50 T2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 .50 T3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 15.00 T4 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.00 T5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Fig 1.2: Matrix for the Cognitive Map on Fig 1.1 The fig. 1.2 shows a matrix of the information transferred from the cognitive map shown in fig. 1.1. The matrix shows the entry at row i, column j is the signed degree to which the activity (the source concept) influences (Chong, 2001, p. 3). When there is not relationship with an activity (Ti) to another activity (Tj) the value zero is inserted for the relationship. E.g. the activity T1 has no relationship with T2 on the cognitive map thus matrix has a zero entry for that relationship whereas activity T1 to T5 has a relationship that it will take 1.5 hour from the weekend thus it is given a 1.5 entry. The same concept (c) will be used throughout for information transformation from cognitive map to matrix. The author will be able adapt to this model after few practices (Chong, 2001). The summation of the activities will tell the author whether he was able to utilize the available time for the weekend effectively. For example, the sum of the matrix in the example shown on fig 1.2 is 19.0. The author had 2.0 hours allocated for leisure time from the total 19.0 hours available for the weekend. The summation calculation from the matrix shows that the author used 19.0 hours to accomplish all the activities. Thus he was able utilize the available time over the weekend effectively. The author will use the similar method for more complex problems (Lettieri et al, 2008). The author will make cognitive maps for one concept every week. This information will be made into a matrix as illustrated above. The information will be compiled into another matrix once the concept (tasks within the concept) is completed. The simple calculation for summation will be used to identify the efficiency of the proposed matrix to the actual matrix. Figure 1.2 shows the relationship between two matrixes before and after the completion of concept (Chong, 2001). T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.50 T2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 .50 T3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 15.00 T4 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.00 T5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.00 T2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 .50 T3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 14.50 T4 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.00 T5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Before After Fig 1.3: Matrix for before and after completion of the concept The summation calculation for the proposed matrix before the concept is completed is 19.00 hours whereas 18.00 hours for the matrix after concept is completed (Corral, 2008). This calculation provides the author with information for making future decisions as related to the activities defined with the illustrated concept (c1). The concept (c1) illustrates a very simple activity such as buying groceries as well as the complex activity of writing an action plan for the study course. The decisions the author faces can range from simple, with established programmed rule to complex decisions which require creative solutions (Chong, 2001). Most important is to identify the measures of efficiency and effectiveness based on the stated goals and objectives (Locke et al, 1981). The author assumes that in some cases it may be necessary to begin with new data collection for the appropriate measures. Finally, the productivity improvement process calls for new strategies to be developed for improving and monitoring productivity. Such strategies should be based on the goals and objectives first extrapolated (Griffen et al, 2009). Work and life balance Dr. Adam Butler, a psychology professor, suggested in his research that individuals should avoid preoccupation with work while at home (2010). The author will practice Dr. Butlers suggestion including finding challenges and learning opportunities outside of work and relaxation to enjoy leisure time. The author will also execute a plan to exercise regularly. These activities will help the author to balance life and work to become more efficient. Summary Productivity is the function of efficiency and effectiveness. The author has developed this action plan to improve his personal efficiency by using various decision making models, goal setting and motivation techniques. He will also use decision support systems, cognitive maps, and a strategy for work and life balance to improve his personal efficiency. The author has analyzed his competencies by using competency card tally sheet and other several self assessment tools taught during the course of Strategic Management of Human Resources. The sequential process action plan will be reviewed and reanalyzed periodically.

Creation Versus Evolution - Both Arguments Can be Right Essay -- Creat

Creation Versus Evolution â€Å"Creation Versus Evolution.† What’s wrong with this title? Read it to yourself a few times, and then answer that question. We’ve all heard of the argument. Creationism, the idea that God created all the species as they appear today, versus Evolutionism, the idea that all life evolved from simple bacteria to all the species that appear today, is a familiar controversy. Ever since Darwin first published the Theory of Evolution in his controversial 1859 book The Origin of Species, the debate has raged between religion and science. But this debate is something that has always puzzled me. From the time I first understood what the Theory of Evolution was really saying, I found it difficult to reject. Scientifically, every shred of evidence in biology and genetics I have ever seen points to it, directly or indirectly. And religiously – Evolutionism does not contradict Creationism. Evolution is based on two underlying principles that themselves are not at all controversial: heredity and natural selection. Heredity is the principle that organisms pass on different combinations of their traits to their offspring. If an organism has strong traits that help it to survive, then its offspring are likely to possess some of those same strong traits and themselves be more likely to survive. The second principle is natural selection, better known as â€Å"survival of the fittest.† According to natural selection, the organisms with strong, â€Å"fit† traits are more likely to survive long enough to reproduce than are the organisms with weak, â€Å"unfit† traits; thus over time, the strong organisms (as a species, or subspecies) will survive and the weak ones will die out. In this way, only the strong traits that help organisms to survive will be preserved over long periods of time. For instance, all the long-necked giraffes that were able to reach foo d in tall trees were able to survive, while all the short-necked ones weren’t able to compete and died out. These two principles, taken alone, are not controversial. Most people seem to intuitively accept them as being true, because they make so much sense and because there is so much scientific evidence to back them up. However, when they are combined together in the Theory of Evolution, something happens. The assertion is made that, over time, species engaging in natural selection and passing on thei... ...y displaces or precludes that same faith. To react with such fear and narrow-mindedness to this â€Å"new-fangled† idea of Evolution, then, belies a fundamental problem with the Anti-Evolution Creationist viewpoint. These Creationists react with fear to this different way of thinking about the origin of life not because this different way is wrong, but because these Creationists are afraid that they are wrong in their beliefs. Secure Creationists who are confident in their faith have no reason to feel at all threatened by the Theory of Evolution; they are free to embrace it as just another argument for their faith. I believe that it is only the insecure Creationists who are Anti-Evolutionists, because on some level they realize that their faith is weak – that maybe their narrow view of things isn’t the only â€Å"right way† to look at the world. But, as Comedian Dennis Miller (and any scientist concerned with the truth) would say, â€Å"That’s just my opinion. I could be wrong.† Works Cited Kimball’s (1983) Biology, 5th edition Green, Joel B., & Longman, Tremper (Eds.). (1996). Holy Bible -- The Everday Study Edition. Dallas: Word Publishing. IUK Correspondent, April 29, 1996

Importance of Electricity

IMPORTANCE OF ELECTRICITY The greatest scientific achievement of the nineteenth century is the discovery of electricity. The twentieth century is making use of electricity so extensively that it has almost changed the face of the earth. â€Å"Electricity—carrier of light and power, devourer of time and space, bearer of human speech over land and sea, is the greatest servant of man, though it is itself unknown. Lenin saw Russia's hydro-electrical potentialities. The application of electricity to industry and agriculture was Lenin's dream. In India, we have staked our whole future on a rapid growth of our hydroelectric power. The modern age is the age of machinery. The true object of substituting human labour by mechanical labour is to find greater leisure for man. Machines must be driven by natural power. And the most pervasive of all sources of natural power is electricity, mechanical, hydro wind followed by electronics now-a-days. Look at life today in a modern city. Electricity regulates the clock that rouses us from bed; boils the water that makes our tea, cooks our food on heat-proof cooking ranges or cookers; works the radio and TV that tell us the news; rings the bell that announces a visitor; carries our telegraphic message to distant places; conveys us to our office in luxurious tram-cars and trains; takes us to our room somewhere in some multi-stroied building on elevators; electricity lifts; refrigerates the food to keep it completely fresh; lights our rooms when the sun goes down; warms it in winter and cools it in summer; in short, does everything for our comfort and convenience with the utmost efficiency at all hours. To generate and harness electricity on a large scale means the development of machinery capable of doing so. The various multipurpose schemes, which we are running at such a heavy cost over the years, are for the production of large-scale electricity. But most of our electricity was based on coal: the total output was lamentably low. Now that such multipurpose schemes as those of Bhakra Nangal, Damodar Valley or Hirakud have made it possible to provide to even remote villages with electric powers, and help change life beyond recognition. India's resources for generating electricity are second to no other country in the world. Even some Atomic plants have generating electricity. Importance of Electricity IMPORTANCE OF ELECTRICITY The greatest scientific achievement of the nineteenth century is the discovery of electricity. The twentieth century is making use of electricity so extensively that it has almost changed the face of the earth. â€Å"Electricity—carrier of light and power, devourer of time and space, bearer of human speech over land and sea, is the greatest servant of man, though it is itself unknown. Lenin saw Russia's hydro-electrical potentialities. The application of electricity to industry and agriculture was Lenin's dream. In India, we have staked our whole future on a rapid growth of our hydroelectric power. The modern age is the age of machinery. The true object of substituting human labour by mechanical labour is to find greater leisure for man. Machines must be driven by natural power. And the most pervasive of all sources of natural power is electricity, mechanical, hydro wind followed by electronics now-a-days. Look at life today in a modern city. Electricity regulates the clock that rouses us from bed; boils the water that makes our tea, cooks our food on heat-proof cooking ranges or cookers; works the radio and TV that tell us the news; rings the bell that announces a visitor; carries our telegraphic message to distant places; conveys us to our office in luxurious tram-cars and trains; takes us to our room somewhere in some multi-stroied building on elevators; electricity lifts; refrigerates the food to keep it completely fresh; lights our rooms when the sun goes down; warms it in winter and cools it in summer; in short, does everything for our comfort and convenience with the utmost efficiency at all hours. To generate and harness electricity on a large scale means the development of machinery capable of doing so. The various multipurpose schemes, which we are running at such a heavy cost over the years, are for the production of large-scale electricity. But most of our electricity was based on coal: the total output was lamentably low. Now that such multipurpose schemes as those of Bhakra Nangal, Damodar Valley or Hirakud have made it possible to provide to even remote villages with electric powers, and help change life beyond recognition. India's resources for generating electricity are second to no other country in the world. Even some Atomic plants have generating electricity.

Hippopatamus Essays - British Poetry, Night, Drunken Haze

Hippopatamus Essays - British Poetry, Night, Drunken Haze Hippopatamus The first stanza introduces the scene and tone of the poem. We are given the time as ?Twelve o?clock?, ie. midnight, which is in a sense the witching hours of the day. The walk the narrator embarks on is dramatised in the next few lines as the street is described as ?Held under a lunar synthesis whispering lunar incantations.? This personification of the moon suggests that the moon is possibly acting like a witch casting a spell on the street, allowing the narrator to abolish all rational thoughts and enter an almost dream-like sequence in which a series of irrational thoughts and memories arise. The first mentioning of a ?street lamp? introduces many different ideas. To begin with, the time of the day is midnight, the darkest time of the day. This sets the tone to a rather bleak and dark view of life but the street lamp acts as small patches of light in the street suggesting hope. These small patches of light are also a catalyst for a sequence of thoughts, memories and images that w e are presented with throughout the entire poem. Thus in a way, the street lamp forms a significant motif as it represents hope while stimulates all the thoughts the narrator conjures up. The line ?Beats like a fatalistic drum? gives us the first insight that the narrator may be in a drunken haze causing a possible headache, which explains all the hallucinations though this is never confirmed. The last lines of the first stanza introduces the sense of pandemonium that we should expect throughout the rest of the poem as Eliot compares the narrator?s state of mind with how ?a madman shakes a dead germanium.? A germanium is a flower that is adept at survival yet the fact that it is dead further emphasises the chaotic state of the narrator?s mind. The technique of juxtaposition is used here since on the one hand, Eliot illustrates an external and rational landscape of a street while on the other hand; an internal and irrational landscape of chaotic thoughts is suggested. The second stanza takes the time to one and a half hours later. The repetition of the word ?street-lamp? brings us back to the motif of a catalyst for thoughts. Onomatopoeia and rhyme is used here with ?sputtered?muttered.? This creates a rhythm of walking that reminds us that the narrator is still walking down a street. The street-lamp is also personificated to speak as it evokes the first of a series of thoughts. For the first time in the poem, another person is mentioned, a woman in fact. However, even though the sense of isolation and loneliness is broken, this woman is suggested to be seductive giving us an idea that the narrator has had bad experiences with women and relationships in the past. This is further exemplified in the last line words like ?Twists? and ?crooked pin? which create a sense of emptiness and agony. The third stanza depicts another thought or memory, this time with two very desperate and pessimistic images of life. The first one is of a ?twisted branch? that is eaten up and is compared to the world giving up ?the secret of its skeleton.? This suggests that life simply causes pain and wears people down. The repetitive use of the word twisted evokes pain upon the reader and the fact that the world?s skeleton is ?Stiff and white? implies that the world has no goodness and that there is no miracle of ?magic? involved. .The second image we are given is the ?broken spring in a factory yard.? This metaphor denotes people?s lives as broken and pushed to the limit. It portrays the vulnerability of humanity as the broken spring is only hanging on by rust. This reference to rust shows the corrosive nature of life and brings us back to how life wears us down. The last words ?ready to snap? is very striking as it further shows the fragile nature of life and suggests that humanity is on the v erge of breaking. The next stanza takes us forward once more in time, as it is now half-past two. This time we are given three desperate images that further demonstrate Eliot?s

Quotes From Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

Quotes From 'Flowers for Algernon' by Daniel Keyes Flowers for Algernon is a famous novel by Daniel Keyes. Its a bittersweet novel of a mentally disabled man named Charlie, who undergoes an experimental procedure to gain higher intelligence. The book follows his evolution from his low level, through his experiences of coming to understand the world around him. The book raises ethical and moral questions about the treatment of the disabled and happiness. The story is told through Charlies diaries and other documents. One of the ways Keyes portrayed Charlies intelligence was through the evolution of his spelling and  grammar.   Quotes From Flowers for Algernon Any one who has common sense will remember that the bewilderments of the eye are of two kinds, and arise from two causes, either from coming out of the light or from going into the light, which is true of the minds eye, quite as much as of the bodily eye; and he who remembers this when he sees any one whose vision is perplexed and weak, will not be too ready to laugh; he will first ask whether that soul of man has come out of the brighter life, and is unable to see because unaccustomed to the dark, or having turned from darkness to the day is dazzled by excess of light. And he will count the one happy in his condition and state of being, and he will pity the other.  -The Republic, Prefaceall my life I wantid to be smart and not dumb and my mom always tolld me to try and lern just like Miss Kinnian tells me but its very hard to be smart and even when I lern something in Miss Kinnians class at the school I ferget alot.  I dint know mice were so smart.  If your smart you can have lots of frends to talk to and you never get lonley by yourself all the time.   Some times somebody will say hey lookit Frank, or Joe or even Gimpy. He really pulled a Charlie Gordon that time. I dont know why they say it but they always laff and I laff too.I beet Algernon. I dint even know I beet him until Burt Selden told me. Then the second time I lost because I got so excited. But after that I beet him 8 more times. I must be getting smart to beat a smart mouse like Algernon. But I dont feel smarter.She says Im a fine person and Ill show them all. I asked her why. She said never mind but I shouldnt feel bad if I find out everybody isnt nice like I think.  One thing? I, like: about, Dear Miss Kinnian: (thats, the way? it goes; in a business, letter (if I ever go! into business?) is that, she: always gives me a reason when - I ask. Shes a genius! I coud be smart like-her, Punctuation , is? fun!  I never knew before that Joe and Frank and the others liked to have me around just to make fun of me. Now I know what they mean wen they say to pull a Charlie Gord on. Im ashamed. Now I want you to look at this card, Charlie. What might this be? What do you see on this card? People see all kinds of things in these inkblots. Tell me what it makes you think of.I was seeing them clearly for the first time - not gods or even heroes, but just two men worried about getting something out of their work.  It had been all right as long as they could laugh at me and appear clever at my expense, but now they were feeling inferior to the moron. I began to see that by my astonishing growth I had made them shrink and emphasized their inadequacies.  I had betrayed them, and they hated me for it.  Our relationship is becoming increasingly strained. I resent Nemurs constant references to me as a laboratory specimen. He makes me feel that before the experiment was not really a human being.  What did you expect? Did you think Id remain a docile pup, wagging my tail and licking the foot that kicks me? I no longer have to take the kind of crap that people have been handing me all my life.   Remembering how my mother looked before she gave birth to my sister is frightening. But even more frightening is the feeling that I wanted them to catch me and beat me. Why did I want to be punished? Shadows out of the past clutch at my legs and drag me down. I open my mouth to scream, but I am voiceless. My hands are trembling, I feel cold, and there is a distant humming in my ears.  It may sound like ingratitude, but that is one of the things I hate here - the attitude that I am a guinea pig. Nemurs constant references to having made me what I am, or that someday there will be others like me who will become real human beings. How can I make him understand that he did not create me?  They had pretended to be geniuses. But they were just ordinary men working blindly, pretending to be able to bring light into the darkness. Why is it that everyone lies? No one I know is what he appears to be.  Nothing in our minds is ever really gone. The operation had covered him over with a ven eer of education and culture, but emotionally he was therewatching and waiting.   Im not your friend. Im your enemy. Im not going to give up my intelligence without a struggle. I cant go back down into that cave. Theres no place for me to go now, Charlie. So youve got to stay away.  ARTIFICIALLY-INDUCED INTELLIGENCE DETERIORATES AT A RATE OF TIME DIRECTLY PROPORTIONAL TO THE QUANTITY OF THE INCREASE.the men of the cave would say of him that up he went and down he came without his eyes.  I passed your floor on the way up, and now Im passing it on the way down, and I dont think Ill be taking this elevator again.  P.S. please if you get a chance put some flowers on Algernons grave in the back yard.

In a World of Pay by Fryer Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

In a World of Pay by Fryer - Research Paper Example The contribution of this article in the study of human resources is significant in the sense that the article is sufficient enough to enable the HR students gain a real-world insight on how to apply HR theories and practices. The article also allows the students to have an idea concerning the level of competition in the real world of business. Likewise, the article revealed how HR managers should plan on designing effective work compensation packages based on the Coming up with a win-win situation between the employer and employee is very important. Since Anne as a job applicant is a well-known individual who has marked a competitive marketing performance within the ERP software industry, the HR manager should consider the fact that Anne is paying a fee of US$3,000 per month for the assisted living facility of her mother, a competitive health care plan for her 7-year old son who is suffering from asthma and allergies (Fryer, 2003, p. 32, 34). The HR manager also needs to consider that Anne is a single mother. Therefore, transferring her to Germany could be very costly since Anne may need some support on house rent, day care services, cultural training for her and her son, and the annual tuition for her son’s education (p. 37). Knowing the major concern of Anne as a potentially competitive marketing employee, the HR manager should come up with a better working arrangement option or work compensation package that will directly address the main concerns of Anne. With this in mind, the HR manager should weigh the proposed work compensation packages with the market potential and business profitability Anne could contribute to the company. Â  

The Philosophy of Punishment for Criminals in Regard to Society and Essay

The Philosophy of Punishment for Criminals in Regard to Society and Victim - Essay Example Changes should be instituted that continue to enhance the rights of victims and create a greater sensitivity to their long-term emotional needs. It is a relatively recent development in the history of punishment that the victim of a crime is not central to the issue of resolving the debt created by a criminal act. In the American justice system, a criminal is considered indebted to the greater society, thus excluding the victim as a part of the punishment process. In fact, the concept of victims' rights has only become an issue for the justice system within the last few decades. The design of the justice system was not created with empathy for the victim, or an understanding of the lasting affect that violent crime can have on the life of someone who must cope with the aftermath of such an act. However, the concept of punishment does hold the potential as a deterrent for future crimes, and in this way relates mainly to the needs of a secure society. In an examination of punishment in the United States, and the way in which it relates and affects both the victim and society, it reveals a philosophy that is ineffective at addr essing the core issues that are significant to the long-term goals of society, or in satisfying the needs of the victim. In the evaluation of the ways in which crime a... five prevalent categories of needs for victims that include "retaliation, recognition of victim status, confirmation of societal values, victim security, and societal security" (p.173). The five goals of the victim are directly related to the ways in which the crime has affected the well-being of the individual. The more violent crimes require more than one of these goals in establishing a sense of closure, while less violent crime can require only one or two of these goals. However, these goals that affect the well-being of the victim are often not specifically addressed in the current justice system. While civil lawsuits can create monetary reparation toward the victim, most crimes are difficult to address through this type of litigation. Criminals that are incarcerated usually have no physical resources for restitution, and become a depersonalized entity within the prison system. Victims are left with a sense that their needs have diminished within society and that their circumsta nce has not been properly acknowledged. Historical Perspective Historically speaking, the philosophy of punishment has more often been designed around reparation to the victim of a crime. This is not to suggest that punishment was more merciful or did not have an aspect of cruelty incorporated into it. One example of the harshness of ancient law is from Sumer, which has the earliest surviving written record of law in history. According to Tetlow (2004), "When a woman said something offensive to a man, her teeth were crushed by burnt bricks on which her guilt had been inscribed. The bricks were then hung up in the city gate for all to see" (p.9-10). While the harshness of this sentence is beyond any reasonable standard of conduct for a modern culture, it represents the direct