Classical Conditioning and Operant Conditioning

Importance of Intermodal transportation for the Global supply Chain

Importance of Intermodal transportation for the Global supply Chain Free Online Research Papers Intermodal transportation for the global supply chain is extremely important in this current economy and for the current political hot button issues such as the environment. Bottom line driver for intermodal transportation is price and flexibility. In times of skyrocketing fuel prices, LTL’ only advantage is speed of delivery. Un-stable and fluctuating cost can turn a supplier’s books from black to red in very short time. Intermodal transportation is a cheaper way to transport and the prices rarely fluctuate. Intermodal transportation has recently been hyped by many politicians because the volume of goods that can be moved via rail or sea helps reduce the carbon emissions that multiple trucking shipments produce which some scientist say is one of the leading causes of the greenhouse effect in the atmosphere. Levans states that eighty percent of all greenhouse gas emissions attributable to transportation come from trucks and passenger cars; whereas railroads contribute only 2.2 percent. Given that one intermodal train is equivalent to 300 trucks, the positive contribution of intermodal transportation on the environment is both obvious and immediate. International VS Domestic Supply Chains Supply chain management is more complex internationally than domestically or intra-state domestic. Different destination countries each have their own unique rules and requirements, depending on the specific commodity and value of freight being shipped. There are also a variety of export compliance issues that need to be addressed when it comes to international freight shipping. International supply chains have some of the following government regulations that impact import and export of shipping good and service such as the FTR, EAR, and the ITARs, which are regulations, that doesn’t cause any domestic constraints. The FTR – Foreign Trade Regulations, which is primarily concerned with the reporting of an export shipment. It is within these regulations that the exporter will find the details about the Automated Export System (AES) reporting requirements and exemptions. The FTR defines valuation; export powers of attorney and record keeping requirements. They also address the ever-vexing questions about the responsibilities of parties when the foreign buyer routes the cargo and selects the international transportation. The EAR – Export Administration Regulations. While the FTR deals with statistical reporting of the shipment, the EAR addresses U.S. export control policy. The EAR controls the export of so-called dual use goods and goods that are not controlled by other regulations. Dual use refers to the idea that the product has a commercial function but it also may be used in applications or destinations the U.S. would prefer it not be used. Most commercial shipments are subject to the EAR. The ITARs -International Traffic in Arms Regulations. The U.S. State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) regulates the export of defense articles under the Arms Export Control Act (AECA.) The details of this act are found primarily within the ITARs. Goods regulated by the ITARs are detailed within the munitions list and are subject to an export licensing requirement by the State Department. Logically this list includes weaponry and military equipment. A brief review of the munitions list would imply that it is a simple matter to determine if exports are subject to ITARs. For companies supplying components to the defense industry, however, it may not be as clear. Companies engaged at any level within the defense industry are cautioned about outsourcing production to other countries or exporting any of their goods before reviewing the ITARs. The previous were a few of government-controlled issues that boggle down the supply chain not included was tariffs and other cost associated with shipping internationally. North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has eased some of the regulations and tariffs for the US border countries of Canada and Mexico and has made the supply chain easier to maintain when trading between NAFTA countries. Reference: 1. Levans, M. 2008 Intermodal Roundtable: Ready to get on board? Logistics Management Website, Mar 2008. logisticsmgmt.com/article/337331-2008_Intermodal_Roundtable_Ready_to_get_on_board_.php 2. Mentzer, J. T., W. DeWitt, et al. A Unified Definition of Supply Chain Management. Working paper. University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 1999. 3. Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (e-CFR http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfrtpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title15/15cfr30_main_02.tpl 4. Border activities get a boost since NAFTA?Logistics Management (2002); Highland Ranch; Nov 2002; William Atkinson. 5. The 21st century freight yard: BNSFs Logistics Park near Chicago Trains; Milwaukee; Jan 2003; Michael W Blaszak Research Papers on Importance of Intermodal transportation for the Global supply ChainDefinition of Export QuotasThe Project Managment Office SystemPETSTEL analysis of IndiaBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of SelfLifes What IfsOpen Architechture a white paperUnreasonable Searches and SeizuresGenetic EngineeringTwilight of the UAWArguments for Physician-Assisted Suicide (PAS)

Open an unusual business or service in city of Diamond Bar Research Paper

Open an unusual business or service in city of Diamond Bar - Research Paper Example Diamond bar has a total population of 55544 people based on the census conducted in the year 2010; which form total population density of 3731.5 people per square mile or 1440.8 KM2 (City-data, 2013). Notable to mention is that this numbers are much lower than the population count that was conducted in the year 2000 of 56287 people (City-data, 2013). Based on the2010 census, the total racial makeup was proved to compose of 29144 (52.5%) Asians, 18434 (33.2%) whites (with 21.3% Non-Hispanic whites), 2288 (4.1%) African American groups, 178 (0.3% Native Americans, 106 (0.2%) Pacific Islanders, 3237 (5.8%) for other races, 2157(3.9%) from two or more races and finally the Hispano or the Latino forming 20.1% 11138 people (Quickfacts.census, 2014). According to the statistics gathered in 2010, it is evident from the data that there were 17880 household in diamond bar (Quickfacts.census, 2014). Out of the entire population, it emanated that 102 or 0.2% of the households were living on non-institutionalized group’s quarters while 27 or 0% were living on institutionalized quarters (Quickfacts.census, 2014). Furthermore, basing on age groups, out of the registered 17880 households, it is only 39.2% or 7008 households that had children who were under the age of 18 and this related to 11895 children (City-data, 2013). In addition to this, it was recorded that 5590 (10.1%) people were aged 18 to 24, 13585 (2.5%) people were 25 to 44 years, 17988 (32.4%) were found to aged between 45 to 64 years (City-data, 2013). The elderly people in Diamond bar city which was composed of individuals with 65 years and above formed a population of 6486; relating to 11.7% of total population recorded in 2010 (City-data, 2013). The social status of Diamond Bar revealed that 66% or 11792 of the total population were married opposite sex couples, 2.8% (496) were mature unmarried opposite sex people, 71 (0.4%) were same

Energy drinks, possible benefits and health risks Essay

Energy drinks, possible benefits and health risks - Essay Example EDs are also purported to enhance alertness and performance .In addition, the paper will also examine the various risks associated with ED which include undesirable effects of caffeine, dangers of mixing EDs with alcoholic beverages, addiction to the drink as well as weight gain which may result in obesity and other cardiovascular ailments. Nevertheless, consumption of energy drinks continues to rise and several people fall prey to the advertising of these drinks. There is therefore need for more research as well as practical steps to protect public health, especially vulnerable individuals such adolescents and pregnant women. Energy drinks(ED) can be described as beverages that are typified by the addition of different energy-enhancing elements and are claimed to enhance concentration, athletic performance, reaction time as well as basal metabolism (Burrows, et al, 2013).Energy drinks therefore contain modest to comparatively high concentrations and levels of caffeine, as compared with other beverages that contain caffeine such as cola. Energy drink’s popularity has increased exponentially, recording a 240 percent rise in sales from 2004-2009(Reissig, et al, 2009). Thus, within the quickly growing beverage sector, there is dominance by Red Bull which commands 42% of the market share in the US. Red Bull in 2011 sold over 4 billion units in more than 160 states globally. Reports indicate that males aged18-34 years are the greatest consumers of EDs though increased consumption has also been reported amongst younger children as well. In addition, 31% of children aged between12-17 years and 34 percent of young adults aged between 18-24 years reported regular consumption of the energy drinks; with approximately 57 percent of college students claiming frequent use of energy drinks. Energy drink’s regulation comprising their health warnings and content varies

Peter Singer's All Animals are Equal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Peter Singer's All Animals are Equal - Essay Example I am urging that we extend to other species the basic principle of equality that most of us recognize should be extended to all members of our own species.† (Singer, 1989) In my opinion, Singer would better communicate his point if he preached on the necessity of compassion for animals, but in this instance, he suggests a quality of rights with humans. To show how quickly Singer’s logic contradicts itself or quickly spirals to the absurd, we can begin with the innumerable treaties that exist in international law that define the extent of Human Rights as decided among humans themselves at the United Nations and other locations. First, we must ask ourselves – can even one animal read the â€Å"Universal Declaration of Human Rights†? We can accept that any human being, in any human culture on the planet, generally save instances of abnormal injury, can learn to read and understand the document. In comparison, of what may be anywhere from 30 to 230 million different species of animals on the planet, depending on the number of insects, and the number of individual animal beings literally exponential and uncountable to human mind or science – not one of these animals can read. In recognizing that some higher mammals can be taught, should one extend the right of education and free speech to insects? It is not in my interest to encourage in any way cruelty to animals, nor to belittle animal intelligence, and dismiss animal culture. I understand the ways in which speciesism may unfold, as defined by Skinner, and support vegetarianism. However, I would suggest that Singer spend years in a jungle or forest location and teach vegetarianism to animals. It may be possible, and I have seen cats for example raised as vegetarians by their owners but not renounce killing by their own choice.

Concept Of Maximising Shareholder Wealth And Competing Theories Finance Essay

Concept Of Maximising Shareholder Wealth And Competing Theories Finance Essay Maximizing share holder wealth is a concept in which optimally increasing the long-term value of the firm is emphasized. Milton Friedman recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences is often quoted as saying The business of business is business He actually did say there is one and only one social responsibility of business-to use it resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception or fraud. Friedman used the term profits, rather than shareholder wealth but the two are often seen as interchangeable. Not only is this not true, there is an increasing body of opinion that views the prime motive of maximizing shareholder wealth as deeply flawed. In the history accounting and finance, it is assumed that the objective of the business is to maximize the value of a company. Put simply, this means that the managers of a business should create as much wealth as possible for the shareholders. Given this objective, any financing or investment decision that is expected to improve the value of the shareholders stake in the business is acceptable. In short, the objective for managers running a business should be profit maximization both in the short and long-term. Shareholders are deemed as the owners of the business. Their main aim is to increase their wealth, finance managers are employed to achieve this aim. In order to maximise shareholder wealth it would mean Maximising the flow of dividends to shareholders through time there is a long term prospective (Arnold, 2005) Shareholder wealth is a short-term gain, and can be artificially increased without adding any tangible assets or products to the companys rooster. You can, for example, simply lay off an entire short-term unessential department; say Research and Development rather than the shop floor, and the next quarters profits will be increased. But what about the social responsibility of the workers made redundant in order to make share price healthy? That is the fallacy with an unthinking mantra of maximizing. Almost any executive decision, no matter how socially irresponsible or unethical can be justified as intended to increase the stock price. Managers on short term leash might stay at the same point on the demand curve but economize more on resource if they must maximize shareholder wealth. Economizing inputs tend to offset the maximisers reducing output. In an economy with widespread monopoly some firms encouraged to maximize shareholder wealth would primarily encourage while others shoul d slash production and reduce allocative efficiency one cannot predict which effect would dominate. Traditional theory suggests that the key aim of any business is to generate the greatest possible value for the company, leading to the maximum possible return for shareholders. As Ian Davies argues, this so-called Shareholder Theory is based on the idea that the ultimate aim of a company is to generate profit and pass this profit, along with any associated value, on to the shareholders who took the risk of purchasing those shares in the first place (Davies, 2007); furthermore, any approach that minimises the companys outgoings will, in theory, contribute to the growth of the asset-value of the company and therefore to the ultimate return to shareholders. Within the concept of Shareholder Theory, there is technically no limit to the methods that might be used in order to maximise shareholder wealth. One of the most commonly used methods, according to Jill H. Ellsworth and Matthew V. Ellsworth, is strategies for the reduction of tax liabilities, in other words reducing the amount of tax paid in order to increase the amount of money that can be paid out as dividends to shareholders (Ellsworth Ellsworth, 2007 ed., p. 58). However, arguably, this theory is overly simplistic: for example, while one strategy might generate greater short-term wealth for shareholders, a less obvious strategy might, in the longer-term, generate far greater wealth. For example, while a company could use surplus profits in order to increase the dividend, it could also use them to invest in projects that could yield far greater gains in the future. This, in turn, could increase the overall share price. This approach highlights an important problem: not all share holders are the same, and while some are willing to wait for the longer-term results, others are after short term gain. There is no guarantee that both can be satisfied by the same approach. COMPETING THEORIES Other theories for example Stakeholder theory asserts that managers should make decisions that take into account the interests of all stakeholders of the firm. Such stakeholders include not only financial claimholders but also employees, managers, customers, suppliers, local communities, government, and others. Thus, stakeholder theory involves trying to maximize multiple objectives. Maximization of shareholder wealth focuses on owners and is a single-valued objective. This does not mean that corporate managers should disregard stakeholders other than owners. On the contrary, they need to be aware of the needs, wants, and interests of these other constituencies, but the owners come first. Although Shareholder Theory has been the dominant approach for many years, the new Stakeholder Theory is gaining ground. This theory suggests that Shareholder Theory is merely one part of the overall strategy that should be employed, with the others including such relatively unfixed concepts as earnings per share, employee satisfaction and environmental protection. Andy Coulson-Thomas argues that Stakeholder Theory is based on the idea that a business is an organic creature that will produce better results for everyone if holistically managed and, overall, led towards a situation in which every aspect of the company is performing well (Worthington et al., 2008, p. 147). This is clearly not a short-term theory, and one again illustrates the dramatic divide between the aims of different shareholders. However, Stakeholder Theory does have one major advantage, which is that it allows a more organic, cross-company angle to be applied, one which allows for stable long-term growth at the ex pense, perhaps, of short-term profit and wealth maximisation. Its also important to consider the size of the company and its location. Size affects such matters as taxation liability and economy of scale, and there are dramatically different rules when it comes to larger corporate entities. Although generalisations are dangerous, its true to say that smaller companies face less legislation in terms of moves to prevent tax avoidance etc., although to compensate for these larger companies often employ legal teams to address such issues. Davies argues that this balances out leading to virtual parity in terms of how companies of different sizes deal with taxation (and) they end up paying virtually the same rates, albeit from very different starting points (Davies, 2007, p. 37). Its also possible to relocate the companys base to a state with little or no corporate income tax, or where potential lawsuits are far more likely to be resolved in the companys favour. This may generate subsequent problems for shareholders, however, since their profits will be considered to be coming from abroad and may therefore be subject to additional taxation. This is an example of what McLaney calls blind strategy (Davies, 2007, p. 6), whereby something that initially seems to be good (for the company) is ultimately bad for the shareholders. In light of the factors above, CEOs of major companies are being urged, to look to other theories of corporate purpose. In this theory, the customer comes first. Perhaps the most notable change of purpose, as advocated by Richard Ellsworth and Ian Davies, is to change corporate focus from the shareholder to the customer. For example, in his book Leading with purpose Ellsworth offers statistics, drawn from a study of 23 companies that show those businesses that were mostly customer-focused exceeded their industries median performance by 36 per cent. But what does focusing on the customer mean? Isnt it something that successful businesses have always done? Yes and no. In his book, The New Business Road Test John W. Mullins defines customer focus as a corporations ability to resolve customers pain. Mullins then goes on to highlight the case of Nike who impacted on the sports shoe market by designing shoes that met the specific speed and endurance needs of distance runners. In 1972, eight years after Nike (then known as Blue Ribbon Sports) was formed, four of the top seben finishers in the Olympic marathon wore Nike shoes. Two decades later, afte r many years of strong growth, Nike targeted women, for whom its products seemed to hold limited appeal. Nikes researchers found that for active women, clothes had to perform a double-duty, handle an intense workout and look good on the street. Nike turned their research iinto new product lines and in 2005 their combined womens business grew by almost 20% outpacing even the companies overall growth. But away from Mullins, Naomi Kliens book, No Logo, shows there is more to Nikes corporate purpose than target markets. Klien points out that Nike is also probably the most famous case of western companies using sweatshop labour a scandal that was bought to national USA attention in 1995-96 and has dogged the company ever since. The question is this: how do we interpret Nikes repeated attempts to change unethical working practices at its various sites around the world? What do we say about the introduction of schools, donations and increased wages it has given out to workers it previously exploited? Can they be seen as cynical attempts by a panicked business to maintain shareholder value, or genuine efforts to resolve their customers moral pain? Nikes efforts at ethical working practices brings me to CSR Corporate Social Responsibility CSR has become the basis on what organisations do well. There are several studies as to what CSR is, several researchers (Friedman, Rudolf, Davis etc.) have given their own definitions, the World Business Council has defined it as the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and to contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families, as well as of the local community and society at large. (Source: Xrefer, definition of Corporate Social Responsibility) Companies usually implement CSR into their policies and practices so the effects of their activities have a positive social, environmental, legal and economic impact on the communities in which they operate and on their stakeholders. Some organisations behave more socially responsibility because it is an obligation by the managerial board, but also because of fear of backlash from environmentalist and consumer pressure groups and the media, and negative corporate image. It has been argued that behaving in a more socially responsibility manner can be beneficial to an organisation in the long run. A good example of an ethical organisation is the Body Shop. The Body Shop was founded by Anita Roddick in 1976, and has achieved worldwide status for being profitable and socially responsible, which proved that an organisation can be ethical and successful and reward shareholders and satisfy stakeholders at the same time. It has achieved worldwide popularity due its ethical practices, famously recognised for being against animal testing and promoting cosmetic products that have not been tested on animals, . They had a business case to provide body care products that have not been tested on animals and their business case just provides further support that an organisation can be profitable whilst being ethical. SHAREHOLDER WEALTH CRITICISM Another difficulty with Shareholder Theory is that aspects of wealth growth, most notably those related to tax, are increasingly complex and require a variety of forensic-level approaches that are often impossible for a large corporation to undertake. For example, some shareholders might benefit from a corporation-based tax reduction strategy, while others might be better off utilising their own such systems. Its impossible to tell which system will suit which shareholder, and its also impossible to mix the two systems. There is therefore a fundamental need to balance competing needs and, often, to find a balance that generates the best average result for shareholders. To compensate for such problems, companies can help their shareholders to form their own corporation designed to either own stock or to act as consultants (mainly for smaller companies). A. McNeil notes that such tactics are likely to appeal only to shareholders who are more proactive in their involvement in the company, whereas research shows that over three quarters of shareholders prefer a far more passive involvement (McNeil, 2007, p. 85). Furthermore, a number of commentators have argued that such tactics usually offer fewer benefits than they promise on paper, since there must be consideration given to the costs of incorporation and the operation of such a company. Turner and Johnson, for example, argue that the hidden costs in such an operation almost always outweigh the possible benefits (Turner Johnson, 2003, p. 238). Ultimately, the concept of maximising shareholder wealth represents a return to the principle of using a business in order to increase the wealth of individuals. As Andy Coulson-Thomas has suggested, this approach has often been lost in recent years as individuals (instead) work for the greater good of the company, which is often valued more highly than the wealth of the shareholders (Worthington et al., 2008, p. 58). Its clear that attempts to focus on the maximisation of shareholder wealth often involve increased complexity and, as a result, present a number of potential points at which profit can be lost. There are a number of conflicting theories in terms of which approach might be best when it comes to maximising shareholder wealth, but its clear that the most fundamental problem is that shareholders often have different, and in many cases competing, aims the key difference is in terms of how quickly they want to see a profit, and the needs of short-term profit-seekers are like ly to contradict the needs of those seeking a longer-term profit generation system. There is even the problem with the stock price itself as illustrated in my third paragraph above. It simply isnt always in management control. Again, as we have seen recently, share value largely depends on the confidence the market has in a corporation or the sector that the corporation operates in. as confidence in the banking sector has recently plummeted, even organizations with a healthy balance sheet have seen their share prices tumble. Consider the monopolist in a nation that denigrates shareholder wealth maximization and has rules and norms that discourage lay-offs. Employees cannot easily be laid off. Their jobs cannot be radically reconfigured without their consent. As such, the monopolist might not cut production and raise prices further, despite the shareholder-wealth-maximization basis for doing so, because it must pay the employees anyway if labor markets are rigid and if it cannot costlessly redeploy its workforce. In such circumstances, not only are the employees with jobs protected, but national wealth is increased (or at least not decreased) by slack agency controls on managers. A weak shareholder primacy norm facilitates greater production. I would say there is the problem of the shareholders themselves. These are not necessarily long-term investors with the interests of the company at heart, but transient individuals, some of whom, as we have seen lately, may actually look to make money out of a business by betting on the share price going down .i.e. taking the fall of shareholders like Conrad Black and Bernard Madoff. As per tutor2u,  Managers of a business should create as much wealth as possible for the shareholders. Given this objective, any financing or investment decision that is expected to improve the value of the shareholders stake in the business is acceptable. This is based on the assumption that managers operate in the best interests of stockholders, not themselves, and do not attempt to expropriate wealth from lenders to benefit stockholders. Another assumption is that managers act in a socially responsible manner and do not create unreasonable costs to society in pursuit of stockholder wealth maximization.  Ã‚  (Blackwell publishing, 2009) Wealth maximization is achieved by maximization of the cash flows of the organization.  Ã‚  Cash flow is a better yardstick than the profits. There are several objections against the profit maximization: One it is vague; there are multiple meanings of Profit.  Ã‚  For example profit after tax, retained earnings. Thus profits cannot be the ultimate goal. Two it is uncertain; as per Freemba, Profit cannot be ascertained well in advance to express the probability of return as future is uncertain. It is not at possible to maximize what cannot be known. Hence the timing of the profit cant be estimated. Three it ignores time value of money; Profits ignore the time value of money which is not in the case of cash flows. One can exactly find the timing of cash flows. Hence cash flow is a better measure. CONCLUSION Despite its advantages of greatly simplifying directors decision making we should discard the fictional undiversified shareholder concept for two reasons. First, it is highly unrealistic, more so than the other alternatives here considered. Second, it is indeterminate as to the degree of risk-aversion that should be ascribed to this fictional shareholder, and this degree of freedom completely undercuts ability of the shareholder wealth maximization norm to constrain director conduct. The  goal of Maximization of profits I think to be a narrow outlook. Evidently when profit maximization becomes the basis of financial decisions of the concern, it ignores the interests of the community on the one hand and that of the government, workers and other concerned persons in the enterprise on the other hand. Hence profit maximization is not considered as the ultimate financial objective. Wealth maximization is considered to be the most important financial objective Organization should also consider non financial objectives too to satisfy the other stakeholders of the organization. Stakeholder can be a person, group, organization, or system who affects or can be affected by an organizations actions. This means satisfying the objectives of customers, suppliers, government agencies, families of employees, special interest groups.  This will help in achieving the success in long term too. Ultimately, the concept of maximising shareholder wealth represents a return to the principle of using a business in order to increase the wealth of individuals.This approach has often been lost in recent years as individuals work for the greater good of the company, which is often valued more highly than the wealth of the shareholders Its clear that attempts to focus on the maximisation of shareholder wealth often involve increased complexity and, as a result, present a number of potential points at which profit can be lost. There are a number of conflicting theories in terms of which approach might be best when it comes to maximising shareholder wealth, but its clear that the most fundamental problem is that shareholders often have different, and in many cases competing, aims the key difference is in terms of how quickly they want to see a profit, and the needs of short-term profit-seekers are likely to contradict the needs of those seeking a longer term profit generation system I also conclude that from above highlights it shows just how complex and interlinked all the financial and psychological aspects of business are. It is no longer enough (if it ever was) for businesses to concentrate soley on their shareholders. In the current climate of a credit crunch fuelled by a potent mix of incompetence and greed, with business ethics under scrutiny like never before, the customer is all of us. And the pain we need resolving is not just economic, but social and environmental as well if corporation investment decisions are best pursued through the use of a fictional shareholder concept, rather than through attempts by directors to ascertain and satisfy to the extent possible the conflicting preferences of their corporations actual shareholders and perhaps other stakeholders as well then the fictional diversified shareholder concept, despite its significant implementation difficulties, is the preferred alternative among those here considered. .

The Importance Of The Human Genome Project Essay -- Science Genetics B

The Importance Of The Human Genome Project This is the outstanding achievement not only of our lifetime, but of human history. I say this, because the Human Genome Project has the potential to impact the life of every person on this planet. It is a giant resource that will change mankind, much like the printing press did. The famous words of Dr. James Watson resonated as a victory bell, signaling the successful completion of what many deemed the boldest undertaking in the history of biology: The Human Genome Project (2003). On the fiftieth anniversary of the day that forever changed science the day Watson and his colleague Francis Crick unraveled the secret of life, the structure of deoxyribonucleic acid the world was presented with another shocking discovery: the complete sequence of the human genome. Almost immediately, uproar swept throughout the science community and the world-at-large, as many believed that the solution to our problems had finally arrived the true secret of life the panacea that would dissipate the ominous clouds of disease and suffering. Yet, as often happens when a promising new idea is presented on tenuous grounds, the revelers had only heard a fraction of the entire story; their grand hopes were born primarily of imagination. But when all the celebratory confetti had cleared, there stood defiantly amidst all the hoopla voices of reason. Molecular anthropologist Jonathan Marks voice was one of these. In an excerpt from his literary work What It Means to be 98% Chimpanzee: Apes, People, and Their Genes, Marks undermines the importance of the Human Genome Project and our genes, advocating instead a more rational and moderate view of them. By exposing three of the Project s flaws, he hopes to convince... ...ealize that our genes are but one aspect of our history, that there are many other histories that are even more important it is a delusion to think that genomics in isolation will ever tell us what it means to be human (2001, paragraph 11). Indeed, everything is not solely in our genes. Works Cited Beckwith, J. (2002). Geneticists in society, society in genetics. In J. Alper (Ed.), The double-edged helix (pp. 39-57). Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press. Lewontin, R.C. (1991). Causes and their effects. Biology as ideology: the doctrine of DNA (pp. 41-57). New York: HarperPerennial. Marks, J. (2002). The meaning of human variation. What it means to be 98% chimpanzee: apes, people, and their genes (pp. 88-95). Berkeley: University of California Press. Paabo, S. (2001). The human genome and our view of ourselves. Science Magazine 291, 1219-1220.

Duke of Edinburgh Report

————————————————- Duke of Edinburgh Expedition Report Aim: Observe litter in remote areas and compare with areas accessible by motorised transport Friday Amount of litter: Minor Thoughts: Started our expedition on the top of a hill, near a cafe/ pub which is where we found the litter; a box of beers. Apart from that the route was very difficult to navigate at first because the footpaths were almost non-existent. Furthermore, because of the remote location there was little disruption to the land, grass grew long, wild and marshes were hard to spot. There were few fields for cattle and many times our group had to take bearings because any signs, footprints and the footpath were not visible. This was probably the most physically challenging day as there were many hills and inclines. Photos: Saturday Amount of litter: Moderate Thoughts: When exiting the campsite, there was visible litter on the floor. The route for this day was much easier and accessible than Friday because it was mostly over flat ground and there were very visible and well used paths to walk on. The entire group is skilled at reading a map, compass and taking bearings as we did not get lost once. There was a great amount of teamwork because we constantly checked our position, while taking it in turns to read the map and lead. This made the expedition more enjoyable as it spread responsibility evenly. We found more litter on the side roads, but none on the footpaths. Photos: Sunday Amount of litter: Large Thoughts: Most of this consisted of walking through or around deep mud and fields which contained cattle. This was not enjoyable because there were calves with their mothers; this made them aggressive and slowed our progress. Also we alked through many suburban areas that would be accessible by motorised transport and found lots of litter. In a town we found many bins next to each other, but there was still litter barely 50 meters away. The route this day took us through popular public footpaths, in which we found the most litter. Photos: Summary: Over the course of the expedition, we discovered and concluded that as a remote area becomes more accessible to motorised transpor t, amount of litter in that area increases. This was a very interesting and enjoyable expedition.

Using PHP and HTML on the Same Page

Using PHP and HTML on the Same Page Want to add HTML to a PHP file? While HTML and PHP are two separate programming languages, you might want to use both of them on the same page to take advantage of what they both offer. With one or both of these methods, you can easily embed HTML code in your PHP pages to format them better and make them more user-friendly. The method you choose depends on your specific situation. HTML in PHP Your first option is to build the page like a normal HTML web page with HTML tags, but instead of stopping there, use separate PHP tags to wrap up the PHP code. You can even put the PHP code in the middle if you close and reopen the ?php  and ? tags. This method is especially useful if you have a lot of HTML code but want to also include PHP. Heres an example of putting the HTML outside of the tags (PHP is bold here for emphasis): html titleHTML with PHP/title body h1My Example/h1 ?php//your PHP code goes here? bHere is some more HTML/b ?php //more PHP code ? /body /html As you can see, you can use any HTML you want without doing anything special or extra in your PHP file, as long as its outside and separate from the PHP tags. In other words, if you want to insert PHP code into an HTML file, just write the PHP anywhere you want (so long as theyre inside the PHP tags). Open a PHP tag with  ?php  and then close it with  ?  like you see above. Use PRINT or ECHO This other way is basically the opposite; its how youd add HTML to a PHP file with PRINT or ECHO, where either command is used to simply print HTML on the page. With this method, you can include the HTML inside of the PHP tags. This is a good method to use for adding HTML to PHP if you only have a line or so to do. In this example,  the HTML areas are bold: ?php Echo html;EchotitleHTML With PHP/title;EchobMy Example/b;//your php code herePrintiPrint works too!/i; ? Much like the first example, PHP still works here regardless of using PRINT or ECHO to write HTML because the PHP code is still contained inside the proper PHP tags.

Helen Adams Keller Essay

Helen Adams Keller Essay Helen Adams Keller Essay Helen Adams Keller (June 27, 1880 – June 1, 1968) was an American author, political activist, andlecturer. She was the first deafblind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree.[1][2] The story of how Keller's teacher, Anne Sullivan, broke through the isolation imposed by a near complete lack of language, allowing the girl to blossom as she learned to communicate, has become widely known through the dramatic depictions of the play and film The Miracle Worker. Her birthday on June 27 is commemorated as Helen Keller Day in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and was authorized at the federal level by presidential proclamation by PresidentJimmy Carter in 1980, the 100th anniversary of her birth. Helen Keller was born with the ability to see and hear. At 19 months old, she contracted an illness described by doctors as "an acute congestion of the stomach and the brain", which might have beenscarlet fever or meningitis. The illness left her both deaf and blind. At that time, she was able to communicate somewhat with Martha Washington,[11] the six-year-old daughter of the family cook, who understood her signs; by the age of seven, Keller had more than 60 home signs to communicate with her family.In 1886, Keller's mother, inspired by an account inCharles Dickens' American Notes of the successful education of another deaf and blind woman, Laura Bridgman, dispatched young Helen, accompanied by her father, to seek out physician J. Julian Chisolm, an eye, ear, nose, and throat specialist in Baltimore, for advice.[12] Chisholm referred the Kellers toAlexander Graham Bell, who was working with deaf children at the time. Bell advised them to contact thePerkins Institute for the Blind, the school where Bridgman had been educated, which was then located in South Boston. Michael Anagnos, the school's director, asked former student

Aerospace Development and the Boeing 787 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Aerospace Development and the Boeing 787 - Essay Example The 787-9 with a capacity of 290 seats and the 787-3 with 330 are set for a release in mid and late 2010 ("Program Fact Sheet"). The 787-8 and 787-9 are long distance carriers with a range of over 8,000 nautical miles. The 787-3 is a shorter distance aircraft with a maximum range of just over 3,000 nautical miles ("Technical Information"). The Boeing 787 boasts several innovative improvements that make it an environmentally friendly, efficient, and economical aircraft. The performance of the 787 is similar to the 747 and 777 that travel at a speed of Mach .85 ("Program Fact Sheet"). By using a higher ratio of carbon composite materials, the 787 has a weight savings of 30,000 to 40,000 pounds compared to an Airbus A330-200, which results in a 20% fuel savings ("Program Fact Sheet"). In addition, the 787 produces 20% fewer emissions and it is anticipated that maintenance costs will be reduced by 30% ("Program Fact Sheet"). Customer orders have been placed by major airlines from around the world. The largest orders have come from ANA at 50, Northwest Airlines at 18, JAL at 35, Continental Airlines at 20, Air China at 15, Air Canada at 14, China Eastern Airlines at 15, International Lease Finance Corp. (ILFC) at 22, LCAL (Low-Cost Aircraft Leasing) at 15, China Southern Airlines at 10, Air India at 27, Qantas at 45, Singapore Airlines at 20, and Jet Airways at 10 ("Boeings 787 Dreamliner Surpasses 500 Customer Orders", "Program fact Sheet"). Several other international airlines have placed smaller orders bringing the total to 514 aircraft. Delivery is currently set for early 2008 for the 787-8 and 2010 for the 787-9 and 787-3. The current orders for 514 aircraft represent the initial delivery of what Boeing anticipates will be 3,500 787 aircraft by the year 2023 ("Program Facts"). This will represent $400 billion in sales through this 20-year period. The major competitor for the soon to be released 787-8

The Myth of Bermuda Triangle Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Myth of Bermuda Triangle - Essay Example As the paper outlines, no US government file has identified the location of Bermuda Triangle or for that matter, the Board of Geographic Names; still the name is synonymous with the mystery as a number of ships have disappeared, as is acclaimed without providing any logic behind their disappearance. Let’s focus on the geographical positioning of the Bermuda Triangle, which is considered to be off the Southeastern coast of the United States in the Atlantic Ocean, with its vertices touching Bermuda, Miami, Florida, and San Juan, Puerto Rico, roughly grounded in 500,000 square miles (Obringer, 2012). The adjective ‘Devil’ was associated with Bermuda because once Bermuda was called, â€Å"the Isle of Devils.† It is because the reefs surrounding the area are quite tricky to the sailing ships, resulting in the wreckage of sailing ships. An object becomes a mystery when the logic behind extra-ordinary happening near that object is not cross-checked, and rumors tak e a full circle, thus, making people believe in the reality of such rumors. The same is the case with the Bermuda Triangle where, it is stated that not only ships but aircraft also disappear while hovering over the mysterious region, called Bermuda Triangle. Actually, reports of sinking ships have not been authenticated by some government body, such as the U.S. Coast Guard, which finds nothing particular in the number of ships meeting with accidents in the region. It seems that the media have used the incidents of missing ships as a ploy or cheap propaganda to boost their magazines’ sale. A deeper analysis of the past happenings leads to believe that imagination was allowed to flutter its wings in the air freely, as no serious attempt was made to halt the propaganda. Ship accidents surrounding the Bermuda region have been linked to alien abductions or giant octopus, but research on marine accidents by Norman Hooke for Lloyd’s Maritime Information Services rejects the e xistence of any such mystery over the Bermuda Triangle. Any accidents caused were related to bad weather conditions only. Further research has also proved that some major casualties had taken place, but these occurred far away from the stated Bermuda Triangle (Obringer, 2012). The scientific evidence based on computer-aided research of ocean floors revealing that huge methane gas explosions had been taking place under the sea-bed, specifically over the Bermuda Triangle region seem to be more convincing, but more evidence is required to believe in the scientific theory of the sudden eruption of methane gas in the form of a mega-bubble, not only swamping ships but projecting upward in the air, also engulfing airplanes (Cat, 2010). The scientific base of the methane gas bubble is that when a ship comes in the contact of the methane mega-bubble, the ship becomes devoid of all buoyancy and goes sinking to the bottom of the ocean. If the circumference of the bubbles is large enough and it is sufficient in density, the methane bubble can also force an aircraft to dive to the bottom of the sea without creating a system alert? The possible explanations that aircraft engulfed in the methane bubble stops the engine, and-perhaps inflames the methane around, causing instant loss of flight, as the airplane dives into the ocean. The scientific explanation of the mystery surrounding Bermuda Triangle seems to be doubtful in the absence of any reliable reports of ships and airplanes almost engulfed by such a bubble.