Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Caligula Essay - 3116 Words

An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Emperors mapDIR Atlas Gaius (Caligula) (A.D. 37-41) Garrett G. Fagan Pennsylvania State University A Bust of theEmperor Caligula Introduction Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (b. A.D. 12, d. A.D. 41, emperor A.D. 37-41) represents a turning point in the early history of the Principate. Unfortunately, his is the most poorly documented reign of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. The literary sources for these four years are meager, frequently anecdotal, and universally hostile.[[1]] As a result, not only are many of the events of the reign unclear, but Gaius himself appears more as a caricature than a real person, a crazed megalomaniac given to capricious cruelty and harebrained schemes. Although some†¦show more content†¦[[6]] Modern scholars have pored over these incidents and come up with a variety of explanations: Gaius suffered from an illness; he was misunderstood; he was corrupted by power; or, accepting the ancient evidence, they conclude that he was mad.[[7]] However, appreciating the nature of the ancient sources is crucial when approaching this issue. Their unanimous hostility renders their testimony suspect, es pecially since Gaiuss reported behavior fits remarkably well with that of the ancient tyrant, a literary type enshrined in Greco-Roman tradition centuries before his reign. Further, the only eye-witness account of Gaiuss behavior, Philos Embassy to Gaius, offers little evidence of outright insanity, despite the antagonism of the author, whom Gaius treated with the utmost disrespect. Rather, he comes across as aloof, arrogant, egotistical, and cuttingly witty -- but not insane. The best explanation both for Gaiuss behavior and the subsequent hostility of the sources is that he was an inexperienced young man thrust into a position of unlimited power, the true nature of which had been carefully disguised by its founder, Augustus. Gaius, however, saw through the disguise and began to act accordingly. This, coupled with his troubled upbringing and almost complete lack of tact led to behavior that struck his contemporaries asShow MoreRelatedTacitus s Influence On The Roman Empire2166 Word s   |  9 Pagesis unmatched; known as the granddaughter, daughter, sister, wife, and mother of men. ( Tacitus) Agrippina, an Imperial woman of the Julio-Claudian bloodline a female Caesar lived through all five of the Julio-Claudian emperors Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero. Agrippina the younger roles in the empire is recognized but is not credited for the influence she had in shaping the Roman Empire from the time of Claudius to the beginning of Nero’s reign. Tacitus is writing is from the perspectiveRead MoreEvaluate the Significance of Agrippinas Marriages in Her Rise to Prominence.1134 Words   |  5 Pagesthe house on the Palatine to Gnaeus’ house on the Via Sacra. Both Agrippina and Gnaeus gained something from their marriage. By Gnaeus marrying a â€Å"Julian Princess†, or woman from the Julian bloodline, he was made consul in AD32 for a year by Caligula, extended from the usual six month period. Apart from the protection Gnaeus provided for Agrippina, the birth of Agrippina’s only child, Nero, was another. Nero, born as Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus was born in AD37, breech. A baby being born breechRead More The Excesses Of Caligula Essay1239 Words   |  5 PagesThe Excesses Of Caligula Why were the actions of Caligula regarded as excessive? Why was such behaviour important in the evaluation of an emperors image? When Caligula took the title of emperor of Rome, the population of that vast empire felt that a new dawn was emerging. Here was someone with youth on his side to reign over them, by contrast after the aged Tiberius. Because of his earlier travels with them on their campaigns, he had the loyalty of the troops, which was always importantRead MoreEssay about greek and roman art history517 Words   |  3 Pagesembraced the art and sculpture (many Greek sculptures are Roman copies.) Sculpture did not represent entire nation (Greeks), but the individual. -no idealism, reflected humanism. (down to earth) 1.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Head of Roman Emperor Caligula – crazy emperor, appointed horses as member as members of government. Difference between civilizations: Greek want to ascend into world of thought and higher knowledge. Romans are builders, conquerors, rulers. Bust – sculpture that ends at theRead More The Preatorian Guard1814 Words   |  8 Pagesthe Praetorian Guard to further their own goals and get them closer if not placed to the Emperor’s throne. Praetorian Guards’ relationship with Caligula Caligula started out as a promising young man picked by his uncle Tiberius Claudius Nero Caesar Augustus over his true son Tiberius Claudius Drusus, though according to the historian Suetonius, Caligula (who was undoubtedly prejudiced) â€Å"Suetonius was moved by political motives. His book is an essay on the doctrine that power corrupts† (Marsh 46)Read MoreThe Bad Emperors of Rome Essay1677 Words   |  7 Pagesas far as restoring the Republican government from its once fallen state, but this was all forgotten when Tiberius became emperor. Tiberius was corrupt by power and Rome began to live in an era of destruction. As well, the subsequent emperors, Caligula and Nero followed in the same path, portraying violence and negatively impacting the city of Rome. Their reign caused them to be unpopular as each marginalized pietas, the duty towards the Gods, family, homeland, and followers, which is highly valuedRead MoreClaudius : The Second Roman Emperor Of The Julio Claudian Dynasty1288 Words   |  6 PagesTiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus, more commonly referred to as Claudius, was appointed as the fourth Roman Emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, following the assassination of his nephew and preceding Emperor, Caligula, in 41 A.D. (Wasson, 2011) Despite the initial pessimistic perspective held by prominent Roman figures regarding his performance as Emperor, Claudius proved to be an efficient leader whom increased the autocratic nature of Rome through his Empire expansion campaigns and policiesRead More Emperor Claudius Essay2578 Words   |  11 PagesLivilla, became involved with Sejanus and fell from grace in AD 31. Through all this turmoil Claudius survived, primarily through being ignored as an embarrassment and an idiot. Claudiuss fortunes changed somewhat when his unstable nephew, Gaius (Caligula), came to power in the spring of 37 A.D. Gaius, it seems, liked to use his bookish, frail uncle as the butt of cruel jokes and, in keeping with this pattern of behavior, promoted him to a consulship on 1 July 37 A.D. At 46 years of age, it was ClaudiussRead MoreGaius Suetonius Tranquillus s Contributions2521 Words   |  11 PagesThe Twelve Caesars Suetonius describes the different Caesars â€Å"style† of ruling, and also a good amount about their personal behavior and vices. Suetonius covers many if not all of the same topics for each of the three Caesars; Augustus, Nero, and Caligula, the good and the bad. While he does not say it directly, it is fairly easy to discern what attributes in his mind made them either a good ruler, or a bad one. Suetonius makes it clear that the most important aspects that embody good and successfulRead MoreInteraction between Political and Social Life in Ancient Imper ial Rome1788 Words   |  8 Pagesincluding the crazy and murderous antics of the emperor Gaius Caligula, as follows: Caligula had changed fully into the monster that had been merely foreshadowed before. He was ready to test his power to the limit- and there was no limit. He killed his rival, Gemellus. He declared himself a living god. There was a rumour that Caligula intended to award Incitatus, his horse, a consulship. (Davis, p142) The antics of Gaius Caligula according to Davis have been backed up by the following quote

Monday, December 23, 2019

My Experience With Evolutionary Pressure - 1461 Words

Hameed Abdul. Often times I honestly forget my own name. The words roll around my head like a gimmicky concept. Potential. Something that I personally value is the continual growth of a person while in search for a higher purpose. So far throughout all of my experiences my life has presented me with evolutionary pressure needed to form self identity. Because the journey itself has been truly amazing, I have conflicting views on which parts I resonated with the most. My current circumstances and sense of direction or my nostalgic moments learning to explore within and embody who I am while in the face of adversity; however, I digress my life has changed due to perception. The humid and uneventful town of Gulfport, Mississippi is where I†¦show more content†¦The small town society became a stranger when we moved to Maryland. The East Coast had numerous identities. Two street blocks right next to one another felt worlds apart. The people there were as culturally embracive as t he city, all of them being unique and diverse. A perfect utopia that didn’t formally accept me. Baltimore is where I spent the rest of first grade and much of second grade. My classroom experience was rather interesting, the education department there wanted us to experience multiple teachers in one day, group projects, and most importantly the staff wanted to see students mold their own learning experiences. My initial learning process from Mississippi did not stop me from quickly adjusting and enjoying school every single day. My home life at the time matched the same excitement as school. I was going to be a big brother. Months passed since the move to Baltimore and I experienced so much in so little time. I forgot the place I once called home. I longed to be apart of the utopia I intruded into. My mother and her fiance had some tension and decided to move back to their home states. Mississippi felt like a vague dream. Nothing was comprehensible. I was an observer again. Second grade felt like a chore to complete. The feeling of disconnect was embodied by the fear of social interaction. I spent the rest of second grade a quiet mute only wishing not to be noticed. Effort to change my current circumstances were made during third grade.Show MoreRelatedA Master s Program At Queen s School Of Business842 Words   |  4 PagesSchool of Business to pursue my interest in Strategy and build a base of knowledge and experience that will position me to pursue a PhD. I currently attend a Master s program at Queen s School of Policy where I am studying Industrial Relations and completing an independent research project in Organizational Behaviour. While pursuing this course of study I have had the opportunity to work with Dr. Kate Rowbotham and other faculty at Queen s who have helped me realize that my interest in macro-levelRead MoreProperty Dualism1389 Words   |  6 Pa gesallows for matter to cause mental states, which in turn allows for the rejection of the notion of two substances. By supporting the notion that our experience of mental states cannot be reduced or eliminated the theory is intuitively compelling. This is a benefit over materialist theories of mind that fail to capture or explain our intuitive experience of consciousness. Fundamentally, property dualism is an advancement of substance dualism, and over this theory it has several advantages. FirstlyRead MoreStatement of Purpose: Electical and Computer Engineering1439 Words   |  6 Pagesforward to doing worthwhile research in â€Å"Control Systems† to lay the foundations for my doctoral study in the field. My interest in this direction happened to shape from the turn of events that marked my life from childhood. Hailing from an obscure village in the suburbs of a metropolis like Kolkata - the first colonial capital of India, my parents made sure that I didn’t miss out on a â€Å"quality-education†. So, despite my misgivings about boarding-schools, I was admitted to one, renowned for first-rateRead MoreOur Emotions Are Like Silent Shadow919 Words   |  4 Pagesdispleasure or happiness whether we realize it or not. At times in our lives, we let our emotions get the better of us which can result in impaired judgement, thus leading us to make poor decisions. Our emotions can also help to enhance experiences. However when we experience emotion, many of us wish we could turn off our emotions and ignore them, but in truth we need our emotions to function. Our emotions can help us effectively communicate socially with others, but this effective communication can rapidlyRead MoreThe Reality of the Vaginal Orgasm1226 Words   |  5 PagesUnlike the biologically male population, majori ty of women have difficulty with reaching orgasm from intercourse alone . It is confusing and frustrating amongst heterosexual couples that seek mutually conducive sexual experiences and often amounts to self-blame and sexual insecurity in the female counterpart. There are many factors that contribute to producing orgasms, and because of its multifaceted nature, there are also many factors that can disrupt the production of female orgasms. In thisRead MoreThe I Me Generation By Joel Stein1350 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"Coming to terms† with or understanding one s identity, like many things in life, is an evolutionary process. The ongoing search for identity begins initially by identifying our physical traits such as our gender, race, and ethnicity. True identity, however, is far beyond what meets the eye. Instead, the generation we are born into, the family we share, and experiences we have, all shape our views of the world and the role we play within it. Consequently, ou r identity ends up becoming influencedRead MoreAlice Parks Time Magazine Article, The Two Faces of Anxiety1107 Words   |  5 Pagesrate and blood pressure, manifest as a response to stressful scenarios. In these potentially-fatal situations, the fight-or-flight response is an evolutionary reaction developed to prevent species from engaging in behavior that could result in extreme negative consequences, while also preparing them for possible conflict. Overall, this response is a constructive adaptation, but an issue arises when individuals face stressful, albeit non-fatal, situations. The body still experiences the same symptomsRead MoreMini Bio : Social Assessment1372 Words   |  6 Pagesanswer is quite simple. The intersectional play determines whether a person is successful in life or not. In order for one to strive for success he/she must have motivation to create positive outcomes, which drives change. But what happens if one experiences negative intersectional play? His or her life tends to be full of distress, hardship, oppression, discrimination, and hurt. This is evident in E.S.’s case. E.S. had a complex case because he was not only grieving the loss of his son but he soonRead MoreHow Development Is The Methodical Changes And Continuities Within The Individual That Occur Between Conception And Death1470 Words   |  6 Pagesdevelopmental by examining a significant milestone in my own development. My own development has been impacted by specific milestone events, the most significant of which was bullying and peer pressure. Interestingly, it was not the actions of myself which initiated the bullying, rather the actions of my sibling. Family relationships constitute one of the most influential factors on development (Bee Boyd, 2011), and as the younger child, I often felt guided by my sister (Dunn Kendrick, 1982, as cited inRead MoreEssay On Romantic Love1571 Words   |  7 Pagesbetween intimacy and isolation begins. In other words, Erikson believes that the reason why we engage in love-type behavior is to avoid the negative feelings associated with isolation. According to evolutionary psychologist Richard Dawkin, he proposes that the psychology behind love lyes all in the evolutionary need to be in a group setting and to, frankly, propitiate the human species (Dawkins et al., 2016). For Dawkins, the need to engage in love type behavior is similar to Erikson in the sense that

Sunday, December 15, 2019

Ethics for the Real World Free Essays

string(64) " This topic was expounded clearly in the beginning of the book\." ETHICS FOR THE REAL WORLD Creating a personal code to guide decisions in work and life RONALD A. HOWARD CLINTON D. KORVER Hanle Ying Special Topics in Accounting March. We will write a custom essay sample on Ethics for the Real World or any similar topic only for you Order Now 16, 2011 Introduction Within the development of human culture, ethics has been more and more emphasized in human beings. Ethics is not only requested in the work place, but also it should be requested in individuals. Ethics is an extremely helpful in human daily life. For the work place, ethics can help people to trust each other, allow people to know clearly what they can do or not do, and assist their efforts with each other to create a true market in the world. For the individuals, ethics can help to correct people’s attitude about life and to help them build a positive outlook. However, no matter whether in the work place or in an individual’s life, ethics can create a personal code to help people to make the right decision. Reading ETHICS FOR THE REAL WORLD-creating a personal code to guide decisions in work and life not only can help us know what ethics is and how we can draft a personal code to help us make the right decision, but it also lets us know how we can use ethics to transform our life and work. It’s really a good book on ethics and very practical for human beings. This book represents the different thinking of ethics and provides a personal code for people who working; individuals can use the code of ethics to examine their own ethical problems so they can make the right decisions during work. In the real world, there are many behaviors that look ethical, but are not. Conversely, some behaviors look unethical, but are ethical. Since we cannot always discriminate what is really ethical, we sometimes have a dilemma in making a decision. However, the description in this book, expressed by the authors help us to know what ethics is and he helps us to build an ethical framework and draft a personal code in our mind. We can use the ethical framework and the personal code to help us make the right decision. The authors also demonstrate that people can use three steps to help them to clarify the ethical issue, evaluate the consequence of the behavior, and in the end, make the right decision. Moreover, ethics not only can help people make the right decision, but it also can help people to transform the work and life. Author Biography The names of the authors are Ronald A. Howard and Clinton D. Korver. â€Å"Ronald A. Howard is one of the founders of DEF, who is the academic director of the Strategic Decision and Risk Management certificate program at Stanford University. He supervises teaching and research in the Decision Analysis Program of the Department of Management Science and Engineering and he also is the director of the department’s Decision and Ethics Center. Moreover, Mr. , Howard is a professor in the Stanford Graduate School of Business. His experience covers many fields in decision analysis project, from investment planning to research strategy, and from hurricane seeding to nuclear waste isolation† (2011). Furthermore, â€Å"Mr. Howard has been a consultant to several companies and was a founding director and chairman of Strategic Decision Group† (2011). Clinton D. Korver not only is the co-author of Ethics for the Real World, but also â€Å"he is a partner and co-founder at Ulu Ventures, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm investing in early-stage information technology companies. He is also a Kauffman Fellow, co-founder and co-president of Stanford Angels Entrepreneurs, and a venture partner at Crescendo Ventures† (2008). Moreover, â€Å"Mr. Korver is the founder and CEO of DecisionStreet, which provides Web-based tools to help consumers make information life decisions about health, wealth, housing, and family affairs† (2008). Mr. Howard and Mr. Korver wrote Ethics for the Real World-creating a personal code to guide decisions in work and life in 2008. In order to create the habit of highly ethical behavior, Howard and Korver help us to know what ethics is and how we can discriminate ethical issues in our daily lives. In addition, they help us to use ethics to make the best decision in every situation. Summary of Book It’s a good book on ethics, and the authors use a practical approach to talk about what ethics is. The purpose of the authors in this book is not to stimulate people to get high ethics in their mind. Contrarily, they want people to know and study ethics through the tiny little things around us. People do some things or make some decision unethically because they think he decision seems unimportant; however, they still want others to respect and trust them. They even want to continue live in a harmonious environment. But their actions and thoughts are reversed. As a result, this is one of the reasons why people sink into the ethical dilemma. The book provided many theories to help people to understand and study ethics, such as some behavior seems ethical for one, but he still has to confirm if it’s ethical for another; one could look analyze another’s ethical behavior when one sinks into the ethical dilemma; and one could set up an ethical code to help him to correct his ethical problems. But the one of reason why people do the unethical things are they often misunderstand the meaning of ethical, legal, and moral. Someone considered poor ethical as poor moral. Also the legal behavior is considered ethical, and illegal behavior is considered unethical. Actually, there is a total difference between ethical, legal, and moral. Something could be legal, but it’s unethical, such as lie, using profanity to someone. Something could be illegal, but it might be ethical, such as killing terrorists. Therefore, the most important issue for people when knowing ethics is to be able to discriminate the meaning of ethical, legal, and moral. This topic was expounded clearly in the beginning of the book. This book combined four parts: Introduction, seven chapters, an epilogue, and two appendices. Furthermore, the authors combined these four parts very logically, especially in the seven chapters. The authors provided the almost ethical at first, and give a roughly ethical frame in people’s mind, through know and study the ethics to create the personal code. And then use the personal code to do the ethical behavior or make the ethical decision. In the end, the authors demonstrate that the ethics can help people transform their work and life. This sequence is coincidence with people’s thinking and easier to be understood by people. The Introduction not only reflects the rough content of the rest of the book, but it also includes a short summary of each chapter, the engineering approach, and the clarification of the difference between ethical, legal, and moral. Moreover, it also includes the experience of both authors. This introduction is very helpful for people to know what the book is and how to use this book. In addition, the introduction also talks about the skill of making the right decision, it is a weakness we often have because we have little education in this area. The seven chapters can be divided into four parts: the first three chapters, the fourth chapter, the fifth chapter, and the last two chapters. The first three chapters represent what ethics is and the problem of setting up an ethical bottom line. Actually, ethics is not very strange for each person; everyone has a rough framework about ethics, but most of us don’t know the real meaning of ethics. Everyone wants to be an ethical person, and most people have an ethical bottom line to contrast their ethical behavior. This bottom line is very important for each person. But people always sink into the ethical trouble because the ethical bottom line. Certainly, someone utilize this bottom line and the loopholes in the law to build a gray area, doing something between right and wrong. Everybody knows that to tell a lie is unethical behavior, but some use white lies to prevent crime or war; why not? I think most of us would rather to tell this lie. Therefore, there are no fixed rules for people to study ethics. People should learn and analyze the ethics of other’s ethical behavior and set an own ethical bottom line to do the right things or decisions. The fourth chapter is based on the first three chapters. After people know what ethics is and set up an ethical bottom line to distinguish what they can do or not do, they should create their own ethical code to complete their ethical framework. The main purpose of the fourth chapter is to show people how to draft someone’s own ethical code. The fifth chapter talks about how some people to do nothing when facing unethical issues. Although people can make the ethical code by themselves, it does not mean they will be ethical all the time. In this situation, people have to re-clarify the ethical issue and try to create alternatives. Moreover, in order to ensure the feasibility of their alternatives, people have to evaluate the alternatives and then re-make the ethical decision. The last two chapters stated how people use their personal ethical codes to transform their personal life and work life. Having a good ethical code is very important to our daily lives. It not only helps us to distinguish what we can do or not do, but also it can make us face life and work peacefully. This has the most positive effect on our daily lives. The book is composed by the skill of ethical thinking and the ethical decision making. The main purpose in the Epilogue stated how people developed the habit by this skill. However, the habit is developed through constant practice, and the practice is directed by thoughts. Therefore, having good ethical thinking skills not only can help people to make the ethical decision, but also can help develop the right habit in their life. The Appendix A is the flow chart of ethical decision making process which not only helps us know better what ethics is, but also we can use this flow chart to compare our ethical frame to correct and complete our weakness in ethics. The Appendix B talks about the three people’s ethical code that has totally different backgrounds. And the Appendix B let us know no matter what background people have, as long as they are willing to understand and study ethics, they can possess the ethical code. Personal Reflection and Conclusion I always ask myself what does ethics mean? What kind of action belongs to ethical or unethical? Is any behavior within laws ethical issue? However, we have to face ethical decisions in our daily lives, and we always sink into the ethical dilemma because of these decisions. For example, we will make some excuses to avoid trouble, and we will use some white lies to make others feel more acceptable. We always ignore ethics in some trivial things, and ethics becomes strangers around us. This book has very helpful to me. I know that I am not a real ethical man. For example, I used fake excuses to explain my absences; or a bad grade to my parents, as well as use profanity to someone. Now all these behaviors seem wrong. In the past time, I always use different excuses to avoid responsibility when I got into some troubles, and put all the blame upon someone or something else. Now I think carefully; avoiding responsibility is unethical behavior. Individual development and social development should not lack communication and responsibility. If everyone is not sincere and they choose to avoid responsibility when faced the trouble, the individual and social development cannot be achieved, not mention to creating a real life environment. Therefore, building a good personal code is very important to everyone. We are always bothered by the issue that seems ethical, but indeed it’s not. Different people have different values, so they have different ethical lines. Some consider that the white lie is moral; someone may consider that the rational avoidance tax also is moral. People always abandon their principle to do some things which they consider are ethical, but indeed they are not. Thus, people slowly lose their moral bottom line because of these tiny little issues, and then, make them into the gray areas to do something that seems legal, but indeed it’s unethical. If everyone stays in the gray area, nobody will be honest with each other anymore. Therefore, in order to correct our values and life attitude, we should build a personal code which cannot be broken by any excuses. Before doing anything or making any decision, we should consider own personal code and use it to restrain our behaviors, which give us no excuse to do anything that violates ethics. The authors Ronald A. Howard and Clinton D. Korver together created Ethics for the Real World-creating a personal code to guide decisions in work and life, they clearly define what ethics is and use bright black and white contrast to make us know better the meaning of ethics. Moreover, because of the sufficient experience, the essence of this book is easier to be accepted and studied and has a profound meaning in our daily work and life. The reason why I choose this book is I am always bothered by the ethics bottom line in the daily work and life. Sometimes ignore ethics because of the tiny little things. As a result, I slowly lose my ethics bottom line. Now think carefully; this is a wrong behavior and life attitude. This book opened my eyes; it teaches me that not only everyone should have their own ethical code and personal code, but also we should build our principle to do everything. No matter when we do anything or make decisions, we should base them on this personal code. Let our life be surrounded by ethics. Reference Clinton D. Korver, Bloomberg Businessweek, 2008, Retrieved from: http://www. businessweek. com/bios/Clinton_D. _Korver. htm Clinton D. â€Å"Clint† Korver’89 2001, Grinnell College, 2008, Retrieve from: http://www. grinnell. edu/offices/president/trustee/memberintro/korver Ronald A. Howard, Decision Education Foundation, 2011, Retrieve from: http://www. decisioneducation. org/about-DEF/board-of-directors/ronald-howard How to cite Ethics for the Real World, Papers

Friday, December 6, 2019

Rio Grande Medical Center Case Study free essay sample

Is it fair for the Dialysis Center to suffer (in profitability) from the move even though it had nothing to do with it? I do not think that the Dialysis Center suffering in profitability from the move is fair. Being that the Dialysis Center was moved as a result of the Outpatient Clinics need for extra space, I do think that some of the costs of the new building and the relocation of the Dialysis Center should be paid through the Outpatient Center (a â€Å"buy out†). The fact that the indirect costs of the Dialysis Center are going up solely because of the fact that they were forced out to accommodate the Outpatient Center, forcing them into the red, is simply unfair and bad practice. 2) Should the Dialysis Center be charged actual facilities costs for its new location? After all, the move was forced by the Outpatient Clinic, which is being charged for facilities at the lower average allocation rate. We will write a custom essay sample on Rio Grande Medical Center Case Study or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Under the concept of charging for actual facilities costs, department heads may be better off resisting proposed moves to new (and potentially more efficient) facilities because such moves would result in increased facilities allocations. Without the expansion, the Dialysis Center was paying $300,000 in facilities costs ($15 per square foot x 20,000 square feet). With the expansion, the Dialysis Center is paying $400,000 in facilities costs, $100,000 more solely because of the move forced upon them due to the Outpatient Centers need for more space. I believe that the Dialysis Center should pay the same amount in facilities costs considering that they would have the same amount of square footage as they did before the move. All or at least a portion of the additional $100,000 in facilities costs should be absorbed by the Outpatient Center, not only did they force the Dialysis Center out, but they also have an expected 25 percent increase in volume while the Dialysis Center is expected to have no increases at all. 3) Even if the true cost concept were applied to the Dialysis Center, is the 400,000 annual allocation amount correct? After all, the building has a useful life that is probably significantly longer than 20 years – the life of the loan used to determine the allocation amount. If the true cost concept is applied, what would be the allocation in the 21st year, after the mortgage had been paid off? 4) The revenue that the Dialysis Center â€Å"receives† from patient use of the pharmacy appears to be passed on directly to the pharmacy. That is, the Dialysis Center books $800,000 in annual revenue but then is charged $800,000 for the drugs used. Should this â€Å"revenue† be counted when general overhead allocations are made? To make this point, John discovered that the pharmacy supplies used for dialysis actually cost the pharmacy $400,000, so the pharmacy makes a profit of $400,000 on drugs that are actually â€Å"sold† by the Dialysis Center.

Friday, November 29, 2019

how to get into acting Essay Example

how to get into acting Essay Standing in front of the crowd, all dressed up in their costumes everything is just clicking. The crowd loves it, as the play comes to an end. You feel the energy building up in the theatre, an energy that youve never felt. The lights go out and the curtain closes, then the actors come out to bow. Sitting among the hundreds of spectators, you wonder how they got to the stage. One of thefirst steps to get into acting is to construct an acting portfolio. An acting portfolio consists of a few very vital components: 1) Stills, pictures of the actor when he or she is acting; 2) headshots, a picture of just the actors face; 3) a video with highlight shots from past performances; 4) a resume with a list of all the theatre work you have ever been involved with and; 5) two monologues, also on the video (). The monologues should be contrasting, usually one contemporary and one classic, or one humorous and the other a serious dramatic piece. The monologues chosen should be well prepared, polish ed and the best example of an actors ability ().Making the right choice regarding monologues is key, they need to reflect an actors range and be entertaining, but they dont necessarily have to be connected by theme or subject (). To obtain the things required is quite simple all you need is a camera and a video camera, or a friend who has one. For the headshots make sure you are out of costume and out of character so they can take a picture of your face, directors like to know what you look like. For the monologues, look them up on the Internet or find a playbook in the library. For the stills, have someone you trust to take a few pictures of you while you are in costume and are performing something for them. Also, have them record you with a video camera, make sure it is only your best work. The cost of all these things is just the price for the film and development, and the price of the vi

Monday, November 25, 2019

Converting Text to Numbers Using VBA in Excel

Converting Text to Numbers Using VBA in Excel Question: How do I convert cells filled with character numbers to numeric values so I can use the values in Excel math formulas. I recently had to add a column of numbers in Excel that were copied and pasted from a table in a web page. Because the numbers are represented by text in the web page (that is, the number 10 is actually Hex 3130), a Sum function for the column simply results in a zero value. You can find a lot of web pages (including Microsoft pages) that simply give you advice that doesnt work. For example, this page ... http://support.microsoft.com/kb/291047 ... gives you seven methods. The only one that actually works is to retype the value manually. (Gee, thanks, Microsoft. I never would have thought of that.) The most common solution I found on other pages is to Copy the cells and then use Paste Special to paste the Value. That doesnt work either. (Tested on Excel 2003 and Excel 2007.) The Microsoft page provides a VBA Macro to do the job (Method 6): Sub Enter_Values()   Ã‚  Ã‚  For Each xCell In Selection   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  xCell.Value xCell.Value   Ã‚  Ã‚  Next xCell End Sub It doesnt work either, but all you have to do is make one change and it does work: For Each xCell In Selection   Ã‚  Ã‚  xCell.Value CDec(xCell.Value) Next xCell Its not rocket science. I cant understand why so many pages have it wrong.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

External influences affecting the firm and its activities Essay

External influences affecting the firm and its activities - Essay Example 5 The article, â€Å"Wal-Mart files legal complaint against growing protests ahead of Black Friday† written by FoxNews.com on November 20, 2012. 6 References 8 Introduction It is factual that no business exists in a vacuum but in an external environment that consist of various factors and other players outside the business. Indeed, there are factors that the business can control. Nevertheless, the presence of external factors which the business cannot control is a fundamental challenge that all businesses face. As such, business manager must consider these factors and establish their influence on the business. The magnitude of external factors’ effect on business progress depends on the type of business and type of influence. We can conveniently classify the external factors into social, legal, economic, political, and technological factors. This paper will draw a comprehensive report on the external influences affecting four different firms and their activities. In doi ng this, the paper will summarize the information in four relevant stories that address external influences on specified firms and their activities.  The companies in this context will include the Starbucks, Cheetham Hill Construction Company, Apple, and Wal-Mart. The article, â€Å"the reality of recession for small businesses? ‘We need help' authored by Julia Kollewe, Nadine Schimroszik and Dan Milmo on 25 October 2012. ... 1). The article notes that although the construction company had recorded fair progress, the company faces serious challenges in generating new business since the recession ended. Indeed, the article reckons that the company now operates under tight margins and the company encounters challenges in paying the employees and the suppliers. In fact, the article notes that the effects of recession on construction manifested the true picture of the economy at the time. Assuredly, most small firms including Cheetham Hill Construction Company now live on a knife edge and they constantly delay payments to suppliers except to the main suppliers (Kollewe, Schimroszik &Milmo 2012, p. 1). More so, the article establishes that the company called for tax breaks to enable the company train a new generation of construction workers. Prior to the recession, the company used to take apprentices every year but now the company cannot afford that subject to the recession. Indeed, since most of the workforc e in construction comes from SMEs, the construction companies are lacking labor supply as the SMEs suffer from the recession (Kollewe, Schimroszik &Milmo 2012, p. 1). Notably, recession has very significant adverse effects on any business. Ideally, the most adverse effect of recession on business is reduced job security as workers prefer recession-proof businesses which have capacity to thrive or survive a recession. Furthermore, small business suffers the greatest loss in a recession subject to their inadequate preparedness, budget constraints, and few resources. Other effects that derive from recession include reduced cash flow, loss of demand, and marketing constraints (Sandilands 2013, p. 1). The article,

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Healthcare reform Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Healthcare reform - Essay Example ry in the world, with $7,290 spent per person on health care cost (Centre for Medicare and Medicaid Services, 2009), yet suffers from massive un-insurance, uneven quality of care and administrative waste. The public health insurance sector is much smaller compared to the private health insurance sector and comprises of Medicare for the elderly, Medicaid for the low-income groups and disabled, State Children’s Health Insurance Program for children of families who do not qualify for Medicaid and lack private insurance and Veteran’s Administration for military veterans. The private health insurance sector comprises of employer sponsored insurance and private non-group insurance. 1. Extend coverage through insurance mandate: This would be implemented by providing subsidies in insurance premiums and tax credits up to 35% of premiums for small businesses that employ less than 50 people to provide health care benefits. Those people who are not covered under Medicare or employer sponsored insurance will receive assistance through direct subsidies to purchase insurance through a new on-line exchange, an internet state run market place. for insurers to exclude lifetime and annual caps and cover more of a person’s health care cost. It also requires all new health insurance plans to provide coverage for preventive services with no out of pocket cost and prevents exclusions made for necessary care. The major outcome of these reforms for clients/patients of the health care system is that it will ensure that maximum number of people have health insurance. It will also encourage health care clients to focus on prevention, health promotion and wellness rather than cure of diseases. Also, more healthcare services would be covered. It is projected that this reform will help in reduce the number of uninsured in the country from 19% in 2010 to 8% by 2016 (International Insurance News, 2010). In light of the new health care reform, baccalaureate-prepared nurses will spend a

Monday, November 18, 2019

Art History Comparcomparisons Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Art History Comparcomparisons - Assignment Example To achieve this inspiring effect, each building makes heavy use of stairs to gain entry and tall columns representing the measurements of the Golden Rule to express both their impressive size and their perfection of form. Despite the fact that the Altar of Zeus was built with the Parthenon in mind, builders opted to use Ionic columns that were considered more modern than the Doric style used in the earlier building. In addition to the actual construction, both structures use life-sized or taller statues to celebrate the greatness of the civilization that constructed it while also telling the story of the gods as a means of honoring the power and wisdom of the ruler of the day. The Parthenon’s friezes depicted scenes of battles between the gods and mythological races such as the giants and the centaurs, as well as the defeat of the Amazons and what is believed to be the citizens of Troy, images that are repeated by obvious Parthenon inspiration in the Altar of Zeus. However, the Altar of Zeus concentrates on depicting scenes from battles between the gods and the giants, rather than illustrating scenes with the other races. The buildings might have been used in different ways as well. While the use of the Parthenon is in some debate, definitely used as a treasury and possibly also as a temple, the Altar to Zeus was built specifically to be a temple. Comparing these two images, there are several immediately obvious similarities, most prominent being the large domes of each, the vertical columns and the predominantly square base structure. There remain some significant differences as well. Even though the dome of the Church of Hagia Sophia seems to be larger, thanks to the emphasis it receives by the vertically reinforcing influence of the tall windows along its sides, the dome of the Pantheon is actually somewhat larger, having been considered the largest dome in architecture.  Ã‚  

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Using Batch And Continuous Cultures Biology Essay

Using Batch And Continuous Cultures Biology Essay Microbial growth causes an increase in a microorganisms size and population number and can be studied using batch and continuous culture mediums (Lansing M. Prescott et al. 1990, 1993, p. 112) Batch cultures: Nutrient consumption and build up of toxic by-products slow down and stop the growth of bacteria. One method to avoid this is to use batch culture system. This involves culturing bacteria in liquid medium within a closed system where no fresh medium is added during the incubation period and hence the nutrient concentration declines and waste products accumulate during the growth of bacteria (Slonczewski Foster 2009, p. 137). The microorganisms reproduce by binary fission and their growth can be expressed as the logarithm of cell number and can be plotted against incubation time. This result in a curve that has 4 distinct phases as shown in Figure 1: (Lansing M. Prescott et al. 1990, 1993, p. 113) Figure 1: Curve showing phases of growth for batch cultures (taken from Tortora et al. 1992) Lag Phase- when microorganisms are introduced into fresh culture medium no increase in cell number or mass occurs. This marks the beginning of the Lag Phase which is necessary as the cells may be old and depleted of ATP, certain essential cofactors and ribosome, the medium may be different from the one that the microorganism was growing in previously, or the microorganism may have suffered injuries and may need time to recover (Lansing M. Prescott et al. 1990, 1993, p. 113). Length of the Lag Phase varies depending on factors such as age of culture, temperature changes and differences between old and new media. When cells are transferred from a complex medium to a fresh complex medium lag phase is very short, whereas when cells are transferred from complex medium into a minimally defined medium, lag phase is protracted (Slonczewski Foster 2009, p. 137). Exponential Phase- during this phase the rate of growth of microorganisms is constant and they divide and become double in number at regular intervals and at the maximal rate possible given their genetic potential, nature of the medium and the conditions of growth (Lansing M. Prescott et al. 1990, 1993, p. 113).As batch cultures are not synchronous every cell has an equal generation time and each cell divides at a different moment, as hence the cell number rises smoothly. When the medium is abruptly changed nutritional downshifts or nutritional upshifts cause cells experiencing balanced exponential growth to be thrown into metabolic chaos that is unbalanced growth (Slonczewski Foster 2009, p. 138). Exponential phase cultures are used in biochemical and physiological studies as the population is most uniform in terms of chemical and physiological characteristics during this phase (Lansing M. Prescott et al. 1990, 1993, p. 113). Stationary Phase- during this phase the growth curve becomes horizontal as growth of the population ceases. Bacteria enter this phase at a population level of around cells per ml. The total number of viable organisms remains constant due to a balance between cell division and cell death or because the population ceases to divide but still remains metabolically active. Microbial populations enter the stationary phase due to reasons such as nutrient limitations, oxygen availability and accumulation of toxic waste products (Lansing M. Prescott et al. 1990, 1993, p. 114). Death Phase- characteristic feature of this phase is decline in the number of viable cells due to nutrient deprivation and buildup of toxic wastes. The death of a microbial population is logarithmic. The extended survival of particularly resistant cells may reduce the death rate (Lansing M. Prescott et al. 1990, 1993, p. 114). In this phase the number of cells that die during a given time period is proportional to the number of cells that existed at the beginning of the time period (Slonczewski Foster 2009, p. 138). Advantages of using batch cultures: They allow versatility and can be used for many different reactions (Nielsen Villadsen 1994, p. 344). They are safe and do not pose a threat of strain mutation (Nielsen Villadsen 1994, p. 344). They ensure complete conversion of substrate (Nielsen Villadsen 1994, p. 344). The changing conditions during the use of batch cultures affect the physiology and growth of bacteria and hence highlight the ability of bacteria to adapt to its environment (Slonczewski Foster 2009, p. 137). Disadvantages of using batch cultures: Use of batch cultures requires highly skilled labor thus increasing labor costs (Nielsen Villadsen 1994, p. 344). Use of batch cultures is time consuming (Nielsen Villadsen 1994, p. 344). According to Xuezhen Kang (2000) changing concentrations of products and reactants, varying pH and oxidation-reduction potential makes interpretation of results difficult. According to Xuezhen Kang (2000) complicated mix of growing, dying and dead cells also makes interpretation difficult. Continuous cultures: In a continuous culture system the microorganisms are grown in an open system where constant environmental conditions are maintained through continuous provisions for new nutrients and removal of waste. This allows the microbial population to remain in exponential growth phase and at a constant biomass concentration for an extended period of time (Lansing M. Prescott et al. 1990, 1993, p. 120). 2 main types of continuous culture systems: Chemostat- this system ensures that sterile medium containing essential nutrients in limiting quantities is fed into the culture vessel at the same rate as the medium containing the microorganism is removed (Lansing M. Prescott et al. 1990, 1993, p. 120). The growth rate of microorganisms is determined by the rate at which new medium is fed into the growth chamber. The final cell density depends on the concentration of the limiting nutrient (Lansing M. Prescott et al. 1990, 1993, p. 120). Dilution rate D is used to express the rate of nutrient exchange and is defined as the rate at which medium flows through the culture vessel relative to the vessel volume. f represents flow rate and V represents volume of the vessel (Lansing M. Prescott et al. 1990, 1993, p. 120). D=f/V f (ml/hr) and V(ml)(Lansing M. Prescott et al.1990, 1993, p. 120) Microbial population levels and generation time depend on the dilution rate. As the dilution rate increases generation time shortens and growth rate rises. Under these conditions the limiting nutrient will be almost completely depleted and it begins to rise at higher dilution rates as there are fewer microorganisms present to use it. At low dilution rate a rise in both cell density and growth rate occur (Lansing M. Prescott et al. 1990, 1993, p. 120). Turbidostat- involves a photocell that measures the turbidity of the culture in the growth vessel. The rate of flow of the media through the growth vessel is automatically regulated to maintain a predetermined turbidity. Here the dilution rate remains constant and there is no limiting nutrient in the culture. The turbidostat operates best at high rates of dilution (Lansing M. Prescott et al. 1990, 1993, p. 120). Advantages of using continuous cultures: They allow good utilization of the bioreactor and ensure low labor costs (Nielsen Villadsen 1994, p. 344). They are efficient and ensure high and constant productivity due the autocatalytic nature of microbial reaction taking place (Nielsen Villadsen 1994, p. 344). They allow detailed analysis of microbial physiology at different growth rates as all cells of the population achieve a steady state and hence has significant industrial and research applications (Slonczewski Foster 2009, p. 139). The situation in a chemostat resembles the growth of bacteria in nature where the growth rates are very low (Slonczewski Foster 2009, p. 140). According to Xuezhen Kang (2000) their use eliminates the lag the organism experiences before going into high productivity. Disadvantages of using Continuous Cultures: Sometimes they fail to produce results due to infection and mutations of microorganisms that result in production of non producing strains (Nielsen Villadsen 1994, p. 344). Use of these cultures requires downstream equipments to be designed for low volumetric rates and continuous operation (Nielsen Villadsen 1994, p. 344). In conclusion, we see that both culture mediums have their advantages and disadvantages and while using either one, these should be kept in mind.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Karl Marx :: Essays Papers

Karl Marx Are you a communist? No, a citizen of the United States of America can’t be a communist. But Karl Marx was a communist, or at least he founded some of the main principles of communism, and Karl Marx firmly believed in some of the things that make this country what it is, like equality. But, Karl Marx was still a great political philosopher of his time, and a humanitarian. To really understand the principles of Marx’s teachings one would have to study him, or at least read an essay that describes Marx’s life. There are three key elements to understanding Marx they are his childhood and education, the people that had the greatest influence on him, and his writings. At 2:00 A.M. of May 5, 1818, the life of the greatest political philosopher began. He was born in the Rhine province of Prussia, and was born to Henriette and Hirschel Marx (Payne 17). Hirschel Marx was a rich lawyer, and he was also a Jew (World Book Encyclopedia 236M). On August 26, 1824 Karl and his whole family were baptized, so his family turned away from its traditional Jewish teachings to Protestant Christianity (Payne 21). At the age of twelve Karl entered the Friedrich Wilhiem Gymnasium. He stayed there for five years excelling in foreign languages, but not really caring about mathematics and history (Payne 23). Karl’s father decided that Karl would attend the University of Bonn to study law (World Book Encyclopedia 236M). Karl became an active member of â€Å"poetry clubs,† while studying at the University. The poetry clubs of Marx’s time was more of a revolutionary club than anything. The club members would sit around and practice the art of revolution (Payne 43). Marx only stayed at the University of Bonn for two semesters. Karl then went on to attend the University of Berlin where he grew more distant from his father (Payne 52). Marx’s father died on May 10, 1838 at the age of fifty-six. Marx didn’t attend his father’s funeral, because the trip was too far, and he was to busy (Payne 55). Marx spent a total of five years at the University of Berlin. People can be the greatest influence on a person’s life. One of the greatest influence on a person is the spouse.

Monday, November 11, 2019

Performance Appraisal Essay

â€Å"Performance appraisal is the process through which employee performance is assessed, feedback is provided to the employee, and corrective action plans are designed† (Youssef, 2012). So basically, a performance appraisal is the process of evaluation workers’ performance in correlation with previously determined standards of the organization. Performance appraisals are one way of giving employees feedback about their performance at work; they record the employee’s performance to date, their potential and what they could work on to further benefit them. These appraisals do not only help them employee but they could benefit the organization as well in that it reflects on if the employee is right for the position (currently or in the future) and if the training the organization gives is sufficient for the employee. There are many advantages to performing appraisals. The records of these performance appraisals are kept for a period of time, they can be referenced and used to evaluate how an employee has improved over time, or if they have yet to improve or began to slack off. This gives an opportunity for a manager to pull an employee aside and praise them for their accomplishments or inform them what it is they need to improve on, managers can also determine whether or not an employee could benefit from further training. Employees can be given feedback while learning if their goals within the company have been fulfilled while setting up new goals for them to accomplish in the next year. Sometimes, expectations and policies can be difficult to understand; during feedback, one can take that opportunity to have clarity on policies and expectations and discuss matters that they want to discuss in private, such as ideas for improvement or issues they’ve had within the company or with fellow employees. Knowing that your performance will be appraised can serve as motivation to gain a reward for their hard work. There is potential for biases that need to be worked through to make sure everyone is given a fair opportunity. While it’s easy to compare one another, it’s imperative and difficult to resist comparing skills of one employee to another; if employees were compared to one another, it creates an unfair assessment of the employees. It’s crucial to set a standard to evaluate performance. Personality conflicts can influence judgment when assessing performance; this would cause an inaccurate assessment which would be unfair to the employee. Just because an employee is good at one thing, does not make them good at everything, and vice versa. One ruined project or miscommunication in direction does not mean the same thing will occur every time, or again even. There needs to be a minimum time-frame in which an employee’s performance should be assessed; it’s not fair for a manager that’s worked with an employee a time or two to fairly appraise them, a first impression can distort one’s image in either a positive or negative manner. It’s also necessary to appraise one on their entire performance, not just the most recent occurrences. Lifestyle choices should be left out of the appraisal process and should not be used for or against an employee. The primary objectives of an appraisal are – to assess past performance, to identify training needs, to set and agree on future objectives and standards, and to facilitate the achievement of these goals† (Youssef, 2012). Management by objectives includes an agreement between managers and their employees on the employee’s performance objectives for periodic review for the employee accomplishes said objectives. The effectiveness of a performance appraisal can be judged by its objectives. Understanding the strategic objectives can help one adjust to meet the needs of an organization. A timeline allows a manager and employee to make a plan for goals to be met, there must be deadlines and time periods assigned to each goal to ensure that they are met. An employee needs to show improvement, one that is not very productive and having issues with the company’s values and policies will not be around for a long period of time. Employees that are productive and possess talent that are imperative for the position will help with the company’s success and ensure they are able to withstand growth. Strategic planning is needed to determine the budget for current employees as well as future employees. Appraisal results reflect one’s character, development, how well one performs to the organization’s standards, as well as other strengths or weaknesses. In some organizations, these results may be used to determine if/which employees deserve recognition as well as awards such as a merit pay raise, a bonus and/or a promotion. These results can also determine which employees do not mesh with the organization and need to be let go, require counseling or further training or a demotion/decrease in pay. Performance appraisals can be a motivation to excel.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Browns Essays

Browns Essays Browns Essay Browns Essay Restores Browns a philosopher, minister, and Journalist from the sass compared the slave labor system with the wage labor system In Restores Browns Condemns Wage Slavery, 1840. Despite the fact Brannon states that he does not advocate slavery and considers himself a modern balloonists, Browns says that If given the chance to choose between slave labor and waged labor, slave labor would be the one he recommends. We regard the system as decidedly preferable to the system at wages. Restores Browns Condemns Mage Slavery, 1840) He defends his argument by saying the slave that was never free suffers less than someone who works for a living. The laborer at wages has all the disadvantages of freedom and none of its blessings, while the slave, if denied the blessings, is freed from the disadvantages. (Restores Browns Condemns Wage Slavery, 1840) This simply explains the fact that the waged worker may be free but are faced with disadvantages that slaves dont necessarily have to worry about. Some examples loud be that the slaves are given food, lodging, and even the rations given may not have been much the slaves were better off than the waged worker who had to supply his family with a place to sleep, something to eat, and clothes to wear, things that were not promised because they may or may not have been able to afford it depending on their pay. A key difference to note (as mentioned before) is that the waged worker may not make enough money to be able to properly provide for his family with his current wage assuming he has a Job, while a slave is supplied with Hess things by their masters. Upon noting this difference Browns introduces the working class of females describing them as industrious and hard working, Browns does not overlook the fact that the female workers are paid poorly for their labor. And yet there is a man who employs them to make shirts, trousers, etc. , and grows rich on their labors. (Restores Browns Condemns Wage Slavery, 1840) The fact the employer grows rich on their labors Is another phrase that Browns uses to further exemplify the low wages the working class receives. Where go the proceeds of their labor? The man who employs them, and for whom they are tolling as so many slaves, is one of our city nabobs, reveling in luxury; he shouts for liberty, stickles for equality, and is horrified at a southern planter who keeps slaves. (Restores Browns Condemns Wage Slavery, 1840) Browns ends by saying that wages are a way for employers to avoid the costs of slaves and retain a clear conscience. Who would retain all the advantages of the slave system without the expense, trouble, and odium of being slaveholders. (Restores Browns Condemns Wage Slavery, 1840) This line sakes Browns reasoning as to why he favors slave labor clear, summarizing his ideas and placing them In one sentence, which basically says that a waged worker is paid less than a slave. In 1834, the Boston Transcript reports on the Strike the report starts by saying the workers in Lowell would be receiving a 15% pay cut on the 1st of March, a reduction that primarily affected the female workers. This news led to organized meeting that were headed by a young female, that proposed they should qua e mills Ana Induce teen to make a run on ten Lowell n an ten savings Bank, which they the Boston Transcript reports on the Strike) The organization proved successful, due to the fact that the day the Agent had fired the young female who had headed the meetings all the other women had assembled around her after she gave them the signal. The group (that had grown to nearly 800 participants) marched into town, where one of the leaders delivered a speech on female rights and the iniquities of the mooned aristocracy, which produced a powerful affect on her auditors, and they determined to have their way if they died for it. (1834, the Boston Transcript reports on the Strike) A Poem that concluded Lowell Women Workers 1834 Petition to the Manufacturer was created, in which the oppression the females faced working in the mills and how they seemed to adopt the liberty rhetoric to defend their rights in the work place is made clearer to the reader. Tie I value not the feeble threats/ of Tories in disguise, Awhile the flag of Independence/ Oer our nation flies. (Poem that concluded Lowell Women Workers 1834 Petition to the Manufacturer) These lines from the poem make it clear that they ill not succumb to their fears and do as the manufacturers says, but instead will continue their battle for equality in a nation that had fought for its independence and claimed that all are equal (at least those who qualify, for example slaves were not included). Later in 1836 Song Lyrics by Protesting Workers at Lowell compare their working conditions to the treatment of slaves proclaiming Oh! I cannot be a slave, / For Im so fond of liberty, II cannot be a slave. (1836 Song Lyrics by Protesting Workers at Lowell) The females adapted the liberty rhetoric in their search for quality in the workplace, using things like protests and petitions to spread their message and rising against their oppressors demanding their rights and letting the manufacturers know that they will have their way even if they died for it. (1834, the Boston Transcript reports on the Strike) Which seems similar to Give me freedom or give me death. Although both Browns and the Lowell Mill Girls argue for changes in the labor system, they each go about it a different way. A key difference is noted in their way of reasoning, while Browns uses comparisons (compares slave abort to waged labor) to get his point across, the Lowell Mill Girls adopt the liberty rhetoric to try and persuade manufacturers. Another thing to note is that Browns attempts to use words for his manner of persuasion while the Lowell Mill Girls use action (their march, speeches, and song) to attempt and obtain what they want. Browns demonstrates an aggressive attitude in Restores Browns Condemns Wage Slavery, 1840, going as far as saying that the employer is practically a slave owner whos cut his expenses and pockets the savings for himself, the Lowell Mill Girls also take on a seemingly aggressive attitude forming an organized march and showing their resistance without fear of confrontation. The major difference to note between Browns and the Lowell Mill Girls is the changes they are looking to obtain, both are significant changes, but different nonetheless, while Browns is seeking a higher wage for the working class that will at least provide decent quality of life, while the Lowell Mill Girls are looking for female equality in the work place that may lead to better working conditions for as well.

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

The Arctic Costal Plain Domest essays

The Arctic Costal Plain Domest essays There are many bills that are passed though the House of Representatives everyday. There are many government agencies and interests groups that are behind the bills that either support them or are against them. The bill I have chosen is the Arctic Costal Plain Domestic Energy Security Act of 2001. At this time and place I believe this bill is one of the most important bills that needs to be passed. Congress has found the nations domestic oil and gas production is in a substantial decline and our dependence on foreign counties is unreliable. The United States currently spends over $100,000,000,000 per year for foreign energy. Within the next decade, the world production of conventional oil is expected to peak and enter a decline phase that will increase the cost of imported oil and the value of domestic oil. The Middle East is a highly volatile region of the world, upon which the United States cannot continue to grow more dependent for its energy. It is a major problem facing our society today and it is a problem that needs to be doubt with now due to the long lead time of 10 or more year required for development of a new North Slope field as well as the new problems that the United States is facing with terrorist in the Middle East. There have been several significant fields that have been discovered underlining the State lands adjacent to the 1002 area of the Arctic Nat ional Wildlife Refuge, making it a promise area. The Arctic Coastal Plain Domestic Energy Security Act of 2001 was introduced to the House of Representatives on January 3, 2001. This bill was put into place to establish and implement a competitive oil and gas leasing program that will result in an environmentally sound and job creating program for the exploration, development, and production of the oil and gas resources of the Coastal Plain, and for other purposes. The bill is also known as H.R. 39. The policy of the bill is to permit explorat...

Monday, November 4, 2019

Leadership versus Management in Organization Coursework - 1

Leadership versus Management in Organization - Coursework Example Leadership involves the ability of the organization top brass to do the rights things that aim at fulfilling the objective of the organization while meeting the needs of the employees and the customers. Management, however, involves the ability of the organization to do the right thing; a process which may go beyond the ethical roles of leadership and adopt the end justifies the means mentality. Therefore, the success of any organizational management process must seek to blend leadership with management to ensure that it succeeds and achieves the overall objectives.In this paper, the different approaches of leadership and management that are essential for the successful control of any organization will be discussed. The discussion will also provide some corporate examples to demonstrate how positive approaches have benefited the overall growth of an organization while negative approaches have affected growth. Henry Mintzberg in his book ‘managing’ interrogates any distin ctions that exist between managing and leading and whether the two can be separated in the actual management process. The paper will, therefore, evaluated the views of Mintzberg and determine the extent by which leadership and management become two distinct levels in organizational management (Bennis & Nanus 2007, p.27).Management theories have been developed to explain different approaches that have been employed in organizations to enhance the performance of the employees and increase the possibility of achieving the organizational goals. Classical approaches to management and leadership have been employed with varying success in various organizations from time immemorial.This was attributed to the benefits that this approach provided to the managers which enabled them to handle the customer’s demands without compromising their internal services to the employees. Under the classical approach of management and leadership, the principle of coordination is employed and this cr eates a harmonious environment where all employees work towards the implementation of the organization’s objectives. It also offers room for the unity of action that is characterized by the respect for authority and the use of disciplined approaches that applies to all employees and managers alike.

Saturday, November 2, 2019

Diet, Obesity and Physical Activity in children (literature review) Essay

Diet, Obesity and Physical Activity in children (literature review) - Essay Example These two factors of increased total energy intake and reduced physical provide the conditions that are conducive for the genetic defects trigger to act, leading to the rapid increase in obesity rates in children. The rising rate of obesity in children is a cause for health concerns around the world, with particular emphasis on the developed. It is no different in the case of Australia, where more and more children are becoming obese at a rapid rate. Estimates in recent times of the prevalence of obesity in Australia, show that the prevalence of obesity has virtually doubled in virtually a short period of time. This sudden increase in the prevalence has been put down to unhealthy dietary practices and the lack of physical exercise. The health concern with obesity in children is the tendency for obesity to continue into adulthood with all the attendant health risks due to obesity. (1). Obesity in children is reaching epidemic proportions. In about four decades between 1963 and 2004 obesity estimate rates in children show an alarming trend. In the adolescent age group it has more than tripled moving from five percent to seventeen percent, while in the age group of 6 – 11 years it has increased by nearly four times, moving from four percent to nineteen percent and in the age group of 2 – 5 years has almost trebled from five percent to fourteen percent. Current estimates from statistical data suggest that more than 22 million children below the age of five are either overweight or obese worldwide. The more pronounced statistical evidence of the growing epidemic of obesity is its rising rate even among infants in the age group 6 – 23 months, where the rate now is almost twelve percent. (2). Obesity in children was considered to be an aspect of the influence of affluence in the developed world, but such concepts are being proved wrong with the spectre of obesity looming large in

Thursday, October 31, 2019

FDT 1 week 4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

FDT 1 week 4 - Essay Example Pena-Nieto’s administration should consider applying border initiative-operation Rio Grande. Rio Grande centralized local, state, county and federal law enforcement intelligence. Similarly, Pena-Nieto’s government should use current available assets including the National Guard under the supervision of Texas Homeland Security Director (Hesterman, 2013, p. 153). There should be viable strategies aimed at enhancing security at the Mexico-Texas border. Sustainable techniques include paying officers overtime to enhance patrols, coordinating state agencies, and sharing information with federal agencies (Hesterman, 2013, p.154). Pena-Nieto’s government should initiate programs that offer ammunition and training to law enforcers and oversight of security agencies operating at the Mexico-Texas border. Currently, Pena-Nieto’s government uses the army to conduct police related activities, in contradiction of provisions outlined under the Posse Comitatus law. Nieto has an established and healthy working condition with bordering countries. The administration employs foreign-based agents to work in coordination with Interpol and other international organizations on drug-related issues (Gaines, 2011, p. 231). Employment of more law enforcement agents is a key success of the administration in addressing challenges of drug cartels along Mexico-Texas

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

The Development Quantum Computing Essay Example for Free

The Development Quantum Computing Essay The story of computers started with the abacus invented by the Babylonians around 500 B. C. In 1614 John Napier began to develop mechanical computers such as the Babbage differential engine that could carry out one fixed problem to the accuracy of 20 decimal places using steam power. This is a picture of the left side of the Manchester Mark 1 computer, which was constructed in 1947. However, computing didnt advance until the introduction of vacuum tube powering in the early 20th century and transistors in 1947. At present computers work by manipulating bits, that can only be of discrete values of 1 or 0. In a digital computer the value of a bit is generated by the voltage on a capacitor, with a charged capacitor representing 1 and an uncharged capacitor denoting 0. According to Moores law the number of transistors in computer chips doubles every 18 months and computers have been seen to double in speed and half in size every two years, this is due to advanced lithography that allows wires and transistors contained in chips to be one hundredth of the width of a human hair These computers can carry out calculations using algorithms, a precise set of instructions used to solve a particular problem, an example of a fast or usable algorithm is addition and a slow or hard algorithm is factorisation. There a limits to present computers, that cant seem to be overcome by present technology. Hard algorithms like factorisation increase in time taken to solve exponentially when the number of digits increase, factorising a 400 digit number would take the most technologically advanced computer a billion years to perform. Computers have also reached their present size boundaries as transistors and wires cant be decreased to less than a width of an atom. (Approximately 10? 10 meters) The dawn of quantum computers In 1982 Richard Feynman began to consider the idea of quantum computers and in 1985 a revolutionary paper was published by David Deutsch of Oxford university, describing a universal quantum computer, however a use for quantum computers couldnt be found, until 1994 when Peter Shor from ATTs Bells laboratories devised a quantum algorithm that could theoretically perform efficient factorisation, creating a killer application for quantum computers for their great potential to break complex codes, for example electronic bank accounts, which gain their security from the present difficulty in factorising large numbers. What a Quantum computer can do for you In order to continue the advance in computing a new type of technology needed to be exploited. According to quantum physics a subatomic particle cant be said to exist, there are only probabilities of its existence and position until its definite state and position is discovered, then its probabilities collapse. Quantum physics breaks down the classically binary nature of a bit, with the invention of a quantum bit or qubit that can exist in coherent superposition, i. e. as a 0, 1 or simultaneously as a 1 and 0, with a numerical coefficient representing the probability of each state. The qubit is represented by the nuclear spins of each individual atom, for example the change in energy state. When you perform a calculation using an electron existing in both states you are performing two calculations, when another superposed qubit is added four calculations can be performed at once and so on. This exponential increase means that the time taken to carry out calculations rapidly decreases. The time to carry out calculations also decreases as atoms change energy states far quicker than even the fastest computer processors. With only a few hundred qubits it is possible to represent more numbers than there are atoms in our universe. It also increases storage capacity exponentially, as N qubits can store 2 numbers at once. Imagine the qubits are atoms whose different electronic states can be controlled by a tuned laser; this will change their state allowing in only one computational step a calculation to be performed on 2 different input numbers encoded in coherent superpositions of N qubits. The actual space a quantum computer will take up will be significantly smaller than present day desk tops, allowing the further development of sophisticated, efficient palm held computers. This is because given the right calculation each qubit can take the place of an entire processor, meaning that 100 barium ions could take the place of 100 computer processors. Aside from computers quantum technology has developed rapidly in the last ten years. In June 2002 a team of Australian scientist were able to teleport a laser beam, causing it to disappear and be regenerated 3 ft away, the results are yet to be confirmed but if they are sound this development could in a matter of years be able to teleport actual objects significant distances. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance After Shors discovery quantum computing construction began in earnest, however due to the phenomena of decoherence no atom or photon, being the qubit, can be of an undetermined state after being detected, the probabilities collapse and its state becomes definite. This makes further calculations impossible as the exponential element of the qubit has been lost, causing it to behave as a regular analogous bit. In order to keep the coherence of the qubit the inner workings of a quantum computer must be separate from the outside environment to stop any interactions that may determine the state of the qubit from occurring, but also be accessible so that calculations can be carried out and results obtained. A solution was Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) a technique developed in the 1940s, which is widely used in medical imagery and chemistry. Experiments were carried out, during the mid 1990s and it was found using a classical fluid made of many (1023) selected molecules allowed each qubit to be represented by many molecules allowing interactions to take place between some of the molecules but still maintaining the coherence of the qubit. NMR treats the spins of qubits as tiny bar magnets that will line up when a magnetic field is applied, allowing manipulation of the qubits. Two alternative alignments are generated one parallel to the external field and one anti-parallel to the field, corresponding to two different quantum states. NMR procedures also use an oscillating electromagnetic field, which is specially selected according to the properties of the molecules used. This causes certain spins in the liquid to be rotated, causing them to perform the different calculations required. Example Hydrogen nuclei placed in a magnetic field of 10 tesla, change orientation at a frequency of 400 megahertz (radio frequency) Due to decoherence the pulse is only turned on for a few millionths of a second but can cause the spins to rotate by 180 degrees, a pulse half that length causes a 90 degree spin. This causes the spins to be of state 1 or 0 with equal probability. This causes the spin to rotate about the magnetic field, as shown in the image on the right. This rotation emits a weak radio signal, which is picked up by the NMR apparatus.

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Family Communication Plan for Parents of Deaf Children

Family Communication Plan for Parents of Deaf Children There have been many studies conducted concerning children who are born into deaf families who can hear. These studies identify how parents manage this change in life and how they can make the best decisions that can positively impact their children and family. However, a limited number of studies have actually been conducted for children who are born into deaf families who can hear. Moore Lane (2010) state that 90% of deaf parents have hearing children, unfortunately these children have the same amount of attention compared to those who are deaf in hearing families. Purpose The purpose of this review is to establish a plan for children born into deaf families that can best help them and their parents, identify other studies and articles that have researched this, and to identify key gaps that are missing from the research. This study will explore family communication with emphasis on expressiveness, family satisfaction, and motivation. It will also identify how these concepts relate to the roles of interpreting and protecting. Research The research was conducted using the Cornett Library database online, which includes the CINHAL and MEDLINE databases, along with others. We limited our search to scholarly journals only and searched within a five year window so all data would be up to date and accurate. I searched for â€Å"deaf adults† â€Å"children with deaf parents†, and â€Å"nursing and deafness†. I chose the selected articles based on familiarity of ideas, and consistency of information, along with the minor disagreements that each article had. Themes Communication: There are many different theories that try to explain and solve the issue of communication of children and their deaf parents. Koerner and Fitzpatrick (2012) established a communication model by using relational observations. These analyzations created a theory that addressed the level of â€Å"conversational orientation.† Families with a high degree of conversational orientation tended to be able to freely communicate about any topic. This kind of communication led to high satisfaction within all family members. This theory states that every family is unique, so it is up to each separate family member to contribute to how they best like to communicate so their satisfaction is higher within the family, or environment. Olson (2011) used created the Circumplex Model of Marital and Family Systems and established a model that stated that communication, cohesion, flexibility, and family relationships are key to creating a healthy family balance. Expressiveness: With both theories, it is important for family members to express themselves with their own opinions and ideas to continue positive communication. Schrodt (2015) conducted a survey that questioned young adult children about their family communication. Schrodt (2015) states that the â€Å"perceptions of family expressiveness have a sizable, direct association with perceptions of family cohesiveness and flexibility†. Schrodt also voiced the when family members communicate effectively, it lowers stress within the family structure, and it also helps to lower the stress levels of members outside the family unit as well (Schrodt 2015). Cohesiveness is formed when family members commit to the idea that they are going to converse with each other about both the negative and the positive things that are happening to them as well as the other people within the family. It is also important that the flexibility within the family happens. This can only occur when each family member learns how to properly deal with the information that is being discussed. Family Satisfaction: The satisfaction family members have towards one another directly relates to the type of communication they have with each other. Burns Person (2011) conducted an online survey where two family members answered questions related to three categories: relationship talk, joking around, or summarizing their day. The study concluded that the three categories were predictors of the family’s satisfaction towards one another. A sense of unity was formed when family member discussed one of these three topics, and this led to a higher family satisfaction. Caughlin (2013) states that â€Å"a family’s satisfaction rate can be measured only by the family members’ standards they have set for themselves and their family as a unit.† This emphasizes that all families are different and although satisfaction can be generalized through the previously mentioned studies, these situations should be recorded and investigated more thoroughly, as every family communicates differently. Motives: Children communicate with their parents for many different reasons. Barbato, Graham Perse (2013) identified two key variables when children communicate with their parents: inclusion and control. Children will learn how to properly communicate with their parents because the main thing they truly want is to be included in their family’s conversations. Children should learn how to communicate with their parents so they can explain their ideas, ask questions and feel a sense of belonging. Also, children communicate to gain certainty with what is going on around them to feel more in control of their environment. Barbato, Graham Perse (2013) concluded that children are influenced by how their parents communicated. In the study, many children embraced the same communication habits as their parents. Limitations and Gaps All research studies have limitation that need to be considered. In the Burns and Pearson (2013) article they state that â€Å"future research should begin looking at families individually as units and then making comparisons with other family units to have a more accurate interpretation of ‘‘families’’ and not individuals. Complimenting these results with observations may also provide more validation.† Also in the Schrodt (2015) article, they state that the sample size that they used was too limited both in ethnic diversity and in number. This could have been easily corrected by expanding the number of individuals that participated and the different ethnic family that were included as well. Finally, Barbato, Graham, Perse (2013) states in their article that certain fundamental gap was noted after their study was performed with the age group of 12-16 year old females. There were only five female girls aging from 12-16 years old, compared to 20 childr en from every other age group tested, making this the weakest point in their study. Method Method Choice: In order to conduct my own inductive study, I would use a qualitative method throughout because I would be concerned about the effect family communication is impacted as a whole, not just only how the parent’s deafness impacts the family. Also, I would look for a similarity between the parents’ deafness and the family communication. I would study this by analyzing real participants it affects and in the actual environment with the communication occurs. To guarantee credibility, I would use three methods to form my data. The three methods I would use would be personal interview, focus groups, and ethnographic research. The ethnographic research would enable authentic reactions within a real life environment and provide a unique opportunity to view this interaction between a child and parent. Personal interviews could help better understand a person’s motives and feelings, and focus groups could help new ideas form. Sample Selection: For selecting a sample, I would use the Texas Association for the Deaf and receive a list of families that are living with hearing children and deaf parents. I would contact these families and explain my study and ask if they wanted to be a part of it. I would then choose a nonrandom sample of the participants that meet three criteria. First, they must be between 10 and 18 years old in order to answer all questions asked in the study. Secondly, they must live within a 20 mile radius of the Dallas Fort Worth area so I can properly and personally contact them all. Finally, both parents of the children chosen must be deaf. The minimum amount of families I would want to observe would be five. Overall, I would like to interview between 20 and 30 children Procedure: In the ethnographic research, I would only be an observer. I would witness applicants both in a public setting and at their personal home, knowing that the participants might act differently because of my presence. For personal interviews, I would have a pre-determined list of questions and would give opportunity to ask new questions depending on the direction of the interview. The interview is estimated to last between 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the extent of the participant. One question that I would ask would be, â€Å"Do you use regularly use voicing or sign language when you communicate with your parents?† In the focus group, I would use a facilitator who could both speak and use sign language. I would also take record the answers the participants stated and any other comments that could be useful concerning their communication within their family. After the data is collected, I would draw conclusions from it once it is interpreted and analyzed. Discussion and Conclusion The goal of this literature review was to establish a plan for children born into deaf families that can best help them and their parents, identify other studies and articles that have researched this, and to identify key gaps that are missing from the purposed research. Its intent was also to discuss family communication with emphasis on expressiveness, family satisfaction, and motivation. Overall, children with deaf parents can and do communicate with them every day. The goal, however, is to support and help them and their parents better communicate with each other in order to create a healthy and happy family dynamic. This will help within the nursing community by improving communication with deaf patients and will greatly help in healthcare service areas throughout the world. Though this is seen differently with each family because every family is unique, the goal is the same, and with more work and improvement in this field, we can make a difference and see lives changed. References Barbato, C., Graham, E., Perse, E. (2013). Communicating with the family: An examination of the relationship of the family communication environment and interpersonal communication motives. The Journal of Family Communication, 3(3), 123-148. Burns, M., Pearson, J. (2011). An investigation of communication atmosphere, everyday dialogue, and family satisfaction. Communication Studies, 62(2), 171-185. doi: 10.1080/10510974.2010.523507 Caughlin, J. (2013). Family communication standards what defining excellent family communication and how standards associated with family satisfaction? Human Communication Research, 29(1), 5-40. Koerner, A., Fitzpatrick, M. (2012). Toward a theory of family communication. Communication Theory, 12(1), 70-91. Moore, M., Lane, H. (2013). For hearing people only. Rochester: Deaf Life Press. Olson, D. H. (2010). Circumplex model of marital and family systems. Journal of family therapy, 22(2), 144-167. Schrodt, P. (2015). Family strength and satisfaction as functions of family communication environments. Communication Quarterly, 57(2), 171-186. doi: 10.1080/01463370902881650

Friday, October 25, 2019

children and tv :: essays research papers

Effects of Television on Children Children are mainly exposed to television, television violence and television culture at home. Thus parents play a vital role in helping children to make sense of what they see on the television. These days television influences the lives of young children and it is only going to get worst with each passing year. It is very challenging for young children to make choices of what programs they should watch. Because of the lack of experience they need more help from adults. Pulling children away from television programs is a challenge. Children's media are designed to get attention and keep it. Some Horrifying facts about media violence in children's lives: †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  By the end of elementary school, the average child will have seen 8,000 murders and 100,000 other violent acts in the media. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Children's cartoons and action programs average more than 20 acts of violence per hour, compared with 5 acts per hour during prime-time hours. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The sale of Mighty Morphin Power Ranger products (based on the extremely violent TV show) surpassed $1 billion in 1994. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  More than $3 billion of products related to the Star Wars movie have been sold worldwide. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In one survey, more than 90% of teachers thought the Power Rangers led to increased violence among the children they taught. Some Action Ideas: First of all as a parent, take charge. Develop guidelines for your child as to how much television she/he can watch. The less the television time the better it is. Since young children do not have the concept of time, deciding on the number of shows they can watch can be an option. Select programs that are designed to promote positive development and learning. Some experts suggest no more than an hour a day for young children. Experts have suggested a simple chart that parents can use with their children, for example: ________________________________________ Plan for TV viewing for ____________________________ Day of week Picture of Show #1 Picture of Show #2 _________ Time: Time: _________ Time: Time: ________________________________________ Children as young as three years old can plan by drawing pictures of the show they plan to watch. You can develop TV rules for home. Please make sure that as a parent you follow them as well and be consistent. You can come up with some rules as for example, TV only on weekends, no TV before school, no TV after dinner, no violent shows, etc. This plan of action will be more effective if you develop these rules with your child because she/he will feel that her/his voice is heard.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Issue Report on Captive Breeding and Reintroduction

Wildwood Trust is a project situated on the edge of the Forest of Blean, in Kent. Wildwood's aim is to use the facilities in the woodland and animal collection to ‘support practical conservation projects in the wild.' There are over three hundred animals, many of which are endangered, taking part in conservation projects, and living in semi natural enclosures. The woodland is managed by coppice rotation, a process that takes place every 20 years where trees such as silver birch and sweet chestnut are cut to ground level and then shoots allowed to regrow. This is an essential habitat for the hazel dormouse. The wood is a centre for captive breeding and reintroduction for native endangered species such as hazel dormice and this example will be used in this report to explain these issues. The Hazel Dormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius) The Hazel Dormouse is native to the countryside of Britain, predominantly southern England (see figure 2), living in woodland areas and environments rich in coppice. The mice are an arboreal species; spending the majority of their life in trees or bushes and only living on ground level during winter hibernation. The mice are considered a ‘flagship species' chosen to represent an environmental cause and raise support subsequently benefitting other species contained in the ecosystem. The populations of dormice were shown to have disappeared from seven counties in England by The UK Mammal Society Dormouse Survey in 1984. The decline has been caused by human destruction of their woodland habitat through development, climate change and pressure from other species. Grey squirrels were introduced into England and ate the nuts that the dormice fed on whilst they hibernated. Climatic change caused warmer winters resulting in the early awakening of the dormice from hibernation, before the ripening of their food, and wetter summers stopped the dormice from foraging. Dormice are listed on The World Conservation Union (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species and are protected by law, under Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981. This act prevents the killing, injuring, disturbing or trapping of the dormouse. It also makes it illegal to possess or control the animal, damage its shelter and sell or buy the dormice without a licence. Captive breeding Captive breeding is the reproduction of animals in confinement under controlled conditions to be released into the wild. This is important for conservation of threatened species and is an example of ex situ (out of the natural habitat) conservation, but it raises implications. Captive breeding has taken place at Wildwood for dormice as part of the national dormouse captive breeding and reintroduction programme. The dormice are housed in an enclosure made of a wooden frame and mesh covering. Unlike other rodents theirs is a short breeding season having 1-2 small litters of 4-7 offspring. The young stay with the mother for 6-8 weeks, making it unlikely for more than one litter a year. In each enclosure the nest boxes are kept 1.5m off the ground with protection from water and predators, water and food are hung on the side of the cage and the floor is covered with leaves and soil. After hibernation the enclosure is filled with branches of vegetation to provide 3D space for the animals to use. This provides the ideal conditions for breeding with no stressful food finding. One enclosure can hold up to three individuals either two females and one male or one breeding pair and their offspring, under one year of age, and will be kept in the same groupings over winter. Adult males must be placed separately as they are territorial and will fight. Where do the breeding mice come from? In November nest boxes are checked and, if permission is granted from Natural England, wild dormice weighing less than 15g can be taken. As these mice are underweight they have less chance of surviving winter hibernation and can be kept indoors during this period in heated nest boxes. Other dormice are orphaned or given into rescue centres and vets. The Common Dormouse Captive Breeders Group (CDCBG) chooses which individuals breed and how many are bred annually, which also helps to prevent inbreeding. The Paignton zoo studbook keeper gives each captive born dormouse a stud book number, and their breeder will allocate each mouse a local ID number. Genetics When animals reproduce genes are passed from parents to offspring. Genetic variation is the natural differences of individuals, across a population. A characteristic that will give dormice a disadvantage, for example short teeth, could prevent them from opening nuts, so if food was in short supply these mice would die and longer teethed mice would thrive. This would cause the gene for longer teeth to become more common, which is the basis of natural selection. Natural selection, was a theory of Charles Darwin, in which better adapted animals would have more chance of survival, so becoming more predominant. Wildwood would like to preserve biodiversity which is the huge variation found within and between species and ecosystems on Earth. Offspring that are created from the same sets of genes will have similar genes to each other. Inbreeding is the breeding of animals that share more genes than the average population, they are related in some way. If inbreeding takes place the genes of their young will come from a very selective gene pool, making particular genes more predominant within a species. Inbreeding can lead to deformities and mutations as well as problems with immune systems and an increase in genetic diseases. ‘Inbreeding tends to reduce the number of alleles in a population', from source 1. A studbook for dormice was created in 2006 to keep track of mice kept by members of the CDCBG. The studbook limits inbreeding and keeps breeding to first generation or wild caught animals. Breeders can use the studbook to selectively breed, mixing mice from different collections and different families. This will stop related mice from dominating the gene pool creating healthier mice and preserving genetic diversity. Future developments could include implantation of embryos and in vitro fertilisation (IVF) of the dormice. Selective breeding could be improved and gradually undesirable characteristics or weaknesses bred out. Cloning could be developed. Captive breeding raises many ethical, environmental, social and economic issues. Ethical issues. * There are various ethical issues that need consideration with regard to captive breeding. Animals have to be removed from their natural environment and put into captivity virtually locking them up and many people feel that there should not be any interference with nature in this way even to avoid extinction. It could be the case that genetic diversity has already declined to the point where it is irreversible. * There could be a case for protection to encourage breeding in the wild, by in situ methods of conservation, within the environment. However, captive breeding is used to retain species and improve numbers and is easier to manage. * Selective breeding increases genetic variation and produces healthier populations also preventing inbreeding. This reduces deformities and mutations but should humans interfere with natural reproduction? Inbreeding would sometimes naturally occur and if the population was kept large enough this would not often happen. Economical Visitors pay an entrance fee at Wildwood and this money goes towards the captive breeding scheme. However, they do not see the programme taking place as they would disturb the dormice and interfere with hibernation and reproduction. It could be that unless the programme continues indefinitely a lot of investment may be lost if the numbers continue to decline. Environment Using dormice from different collections to breed may spread diseases to other populations of dormice. Reintroduction Reintroduction is releasing captive born animals into a particular environment to which they were once native and where they will be free from human supervision. Normally these populations experienced decline due to human intervention and will only succeed if the cause of the decline has been overcome. The reintroduction is considered successful if the animal has fully integrated into the local population and survived with no further aid or interaction from humans. Reintroduction projects must follow guidelines set out by the IUCN and Wildwood has released dormice back into their natural habitats. They use a soft release program, gradually using less human intervention. Seven weeks before release the litters are health screened at the Zoological Society and released if they pass the tests. Reintroduction is limited to once a year as criteria for suitable sites are extensive and complicated. The population densities are less than 10 adults per hectare in their best environments. What does the health screening test for? The health screening takes place to check the animals do not have any disease that could be passed onto wild populations. Scientists test for: * pathogenic bacteria * Tapeworms (cestodes) * Roundworms (strongyles) * Tubercolosis * Parasites The condition of the dormice's coat, skin, face, genitals, feet and incisor teeth are checked and their weight should be between 18-24g for summer re-introduction. 8mm Pet-ID microchips are fitted in the dormice under anaesthetic for identification in the future. Where is a dormouse released? An ideal site for the dormice†¦ would†¦ would not†¦ be an old wood with different layers of vegetation, already have a dormouse community (males may kill new dormice) have lots of undergrowth, have less than 100 nest boxes in the woodland. have deciduous trees, Place males less than 100m apart, as they are territorial. have coppicing taking place regularly, Have related dormice close by to stop inbreeding have fruiting hazel, Be at least 20 hectares, have a site management plan. Figure 4: Table showing an ideal site for dormouse reintroduction. How Wildwood release their dormice 1. Natural England is informed. 2. Pre-release cages made of wire are attached to a group of hazel trees. 3. 2-3 nest boxes placed in each cage, with a male and two females so there is more of a chance of the animals staying together. 4.Dormice then live in these whilst they acclimatise to the surroundings. 5. For 2-3 weeks humans supply fresh food everyday, during the day so the dormice are not disturbed. Also leafy branches are placed above pens to provide shade and protection from predators. 6. One week to 10 days into the three week period, a hole, less than 3cm2 is made in the top corner of the cage. The mice can then explore the area and there cage can not be invaded by birds or squirrels. 7. The frequency of feeding is reduced gradually until mid-September, when the animals should have found their own food supplies. 8. The nest boxes are checked until October, where weights and number of offspring are recorded. 9. Dormice are left to hibernate. 10. Monitoring begins in May. Figure 5: Stages of reintroduction What is monitored and when does it take place? A long term monitoring plan should be made before any reintroduction, so that the species will successfully survive in a wild environment. After release nest boxes are checked by trained and licensed volunteers, who record numbers, sex, weight, breeding condition and offspring. The volunteers monitor the nest once a month from April to October, between the 15th and 25th of each month. Data should be collected before midday so torpid dormice can be seen, and a National Dormouse Monitoring Programme Record From must be completed. Conditions of release * Winter cleaning of empty boxes. * Dormice are released in June to prepare for hibernation. Ethical There is an ethical duty for reintroduction because humans destroyed the dormice's natural habitat and caused the population decline so they should restore the population. However, should animals be returned to the wild when there are still outstanding issues that led to the original decline? Microchips are put into the necks of the released dormice which are approximately a tenth of their body length. Anaesthetic is risky for small animals and interferes with their natural state. The chips are considered important for monitoring the dormice to help with the programme. They could be eaten by a predator in the food chain and the microchip would be affecting natural processes. If the reintroduction is not successful and the mice die this could be due to human error and animals may have suffered as a result of this. Economical The scheme is expensive as the release is labour intensive, with staff needed to survey the area before and after release. This diverts resources from much more cost-effective ecosystem and habitat conservation measures. The health screening is expensive and microchips costs à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½8 per mouse on top of anaesthetic and vetinary bills. Environmental The nest boxes and cages used can intrude on the natural woodland, with the possibility of dormice causing a shortage of food for the other animals in the ecosystem. Social Some behaviour in genetically inherited but some is learnt from adults and experience. Captive bred animals do not gain this knowledge and are at a disadvantage when reintroduced. The mice might lose their ability to create their own nests. The reintroduced dormice could cause a problem to the local residents.