The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald - 1764 Words

When meeting someone for the first time a large part of an initial impression is their clothing. The colors, quality and style of their clothing can give information about them as a person that may or may not be true. F. Scott Fitzgerald, the author of The Great Gatsby, utilizes clothing as an informer of each character’s lifestyle and their desires. Fitzgerald carefully depicts each character’s clothing using color, material, and quality to expose their insecurities. He uses clothing to give details about each character because it is an extension of the characters and displays their self-expression. Unlike race or eye color, clothing is not permanent and can be easily changed, which Fitzgerald uses to exhibit character’s status, emotions, and personalities. In the novel, character mask who they are using their clothing to fit the standards or others while trying to achieve the American Dream. In the beginning of The Great Gatsby, Daisy Buchanan is introduced wearing a white dress. Fitzgerald continues to have her dressed in the color white which may be because of its connotations with purity, innocence, and old money. Daisy is reintroduced to Gatsby at Nick Carraway’s house, wearing a lavender hat, â€Å"Daisy’s face, tipped side-ways beneath a three-cornered lavender hat, looked out at me with a bright ecstatic smile†(85), this scene is the first scene where Daisy is not described in white. Fitzgerald might have decided to stop having Daisy wear the color white because herShow MoreRelatedThe Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald1393 Words   |  6 PagesF. Scott Fitzgerald was the model of the American image in the nineteen twenties. He had wealth, fame, a beautiful wife, and an adorable daughter; all seemed perfect. Beneath the gilded faà §ade, however, was an author who struggled with domestic and physical difficulties that plagued his personal lif e and career throughout its short span. This author helped to launch the theme that is so prevalent in his work; the human instinct to yearn for more, into the forefront of American literature, where itRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1343 Words   |  6 PagesHonors English 10 Shugart 18 Decemeber 2014 The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald s 1925 novel The Great Gatsby is a tragic love story, a mystery, and a social commentary on American life. The Great Gatsby is about the lives of four wealthy characters observed by the narrator, Nick Carroway. Throughout the novel a mysterious man named Jay Gatsby throws immaculate parties every Saturday night in hope to impress his lost lover, Daisy Buchanan. Gatsby lives in a mansion on West Egg across from DaisyRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1155 Words   |  5 PagesThe Great Gatsby The Jazz Age was an era where everything and anything seemed possible. It started with the beginning of a new age with America coming out of World War I as the most powerful nation in the world (Novel reflections on, 2007). As a result, the nation soon faced a culture-shock of material prosperity during the 1920’s. Also known as the â€Å"roaring twenties†, it was a time where life consisted of prodigality and extravagant parties. Writing based on his personal experiences, author F. ScottRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1166 Words   |  5 Pagesin the Haze F. Scott Fitzgerald lived in a time that was characterized by an unbelievable lack of substance. After the tragedy and horrors of WWI, people were focused on anything that they could that would distract from the emptiness that had swallowed them. Tangible greed tied with extreme materialism left many, by the end of this time period, disenchanted. The usage of the literary theories of both Biographical and Historical lenses provide a unique interpretation of the Great Gatsby centered aroundRead MoreThe Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald845 Words   |  3 PagesIn F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, colors represent a variety of symbols that relate back to the American Dream. The dream of being pure, innocent and perfect is frequently associated with the reality of corruption, violence, and affairs. Gatsby’s desire for achieving the American Dream is sought for through corruption (Schneider). The American Dream in the 1920s was perceived as a desire of w ealth and social standings. Social class is represented through the East Egg, the WestRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald Essay970 Words   |  4 Pagesrespecting and valuing Fitzgerald work in the twenty-first century? Fitzgerald had a hard time to profiting from his writing, but he was not successful after his first novel. There are three major point of this essay are: the background history of Fitzgerald life, the comparisons between Fitzgerald and the Gatsby from his number one book in America The Great Gatsby, and the Fitzgerald got influences of behind the writing and being a writer. From childhood to adulthood, Fitzgerald faced many good andRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald2099 Words   |  9 Pagesauthor to mirror his life in his book. In his previous novels F. Scott Fitzgerald drew from his life experiences. He said that his next novel, The Great Gatsby, would be different. He said, â€Å"In my new novel I’m thrown directly on purely creative work† (F. Scott Fitzgerald). He did not realize or did not want it to appear that he was taking his own story and intertwining it within his new novel. In The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, he imitates his lifestyle through the Buchanan family to demonstrateRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1607 Words   |  7 Pages The Great Gatsby is an American novel written in 1925 by F. Scott Fitzgerald. One of the themes of the book is the American Dream. The American Dream is an idea in which Americans believe through hard work they can achieve success and prosperity in the free world. In F. Scott Fitzgerald s novel, The Great Gatsby, the American Dream leads to popularity, extreme jealousy and false happiness. Jay Gatsby’s recent fortune and wealthiness helped him earn a high social position and become one of the mostRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1592 Words   |  7 PagesMcGowan English 11A, Period 4 9 January 2014 The Great Gatsby Individuals who approach life with an optimistic mindset generally have their goals established as their main priority. Driven by ambition, they are determined to fulfill their desires; without reluctance. These strong-minded individuals refuse to be influenced by negative reinforcements, and rely on hope in order to achieve their dreams. As a man of persistence, the wealthy Jay Gatsby continuously strives to reclaim the love of hisRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1646 Words   |  7 PagesThe 1920s witnessed the death of the American Dream, a message immortalized in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Initially, the American Dream represented the outcome of American ideals, that everyone has the freedom and opportunity to achieve their dreams provided they perform honest hard work. During the 1920s, the United States experienced massive economic prosperity making the American Dream seem alive and strong. However, in Fitzgerald’s eyes, the new Am erican culture build around that

Respondents Choices as Reflection of Their Personal Characteristics, Research Paper

Essays on Respondents' Choices as Reflection of Their Personal Characteristics, Occupation, Age and Gender Research Paper The paper â€Å"Respondents’ Choices as Reflection of Their Personal Characteristics, Occupation, Age and Gender† is an  intriguing variant of research paper on marketing. This report is an analysis of the decision making processes in the accommodation of three respondents. Respondent A is a 22-year-old male sophomore student at the University of Sydney, respondent B is a 37-year-old lawyer recently appointed as a senior partner in his law firm in Sydney and is married for two years with a child aged 18 months while respondent C is a 28-year-old, single female university graduate with a postgraduate degree in Political Science and Studies from the Central Queensland University in North Rockhampton and currently underpaid internship at the United Nations. The report presents the rankings of six different evaluative criteria considered in housing- location, price, security, occupation, size, and occupation or gender of a housemate. The report then presents the three res pondents’ ranking of the accommodation options according to the evaluative criteria and places them in a decision matrix. The most likely option is suggested using the compensatory decision rule. The report then analyses the decisions of the three respondents and demonstrates the influence of factors such as personality and demographic characteristics on consumer decision making in accommodation.The choice of accommodation is a major decision-making process in many people’s lives. Unlike minor consumption choices such as what car to buy or which clothes to wear, deciding where to live involves consideration of many factors. For instance, is it affordable to buy a house or to rent one? Can I afford the mortgage payments? Which is the safest place to live in? What about the size, does it fit my personal tastes and preferences? Are you willing to share accommodation or do you expressly require privacy? Is the location convenient for your current occupation? Does it meet y our family’s needs? Consideration of such factors and many others can make the decision very complicated.This report presents an analysis of the decision making processes in the accommodation of three respondents. Respondent A is a 22-year-old male sophomore student at the University of Sydney, respondent B is a 37 year old lawyer recently appointed as a senior partner in his law firm in Sydney and is married for two years with a child aged 18 months while respondent C is a 28-year-old, single female university graduate with a postgraduate degree in Political Science and Studies from the Central Queensland University in North Rockhampton and currently underpaid internship at the United Nations.The report considers six accommodation options and develops six evaluative criteria that people might consider when choosing their accommodation- location, price, security, occupation, size, and occupation or gender of a housemate in the case of shared accommodation. The report first li sts the accommodation options. The report then shows the results of the three different respondents’ ranking of the 6 evaluative criteria and their ranking of the options according to the evaluative criteria in a decision matrix. The report then presents the most likely or suggested accommodation choice using the compensatory decision rule where the weights of the evaluative criteria are multiplied by the ranking of the options.

BRIC Countries Free Essays

While the United States and Japan still remains as an economic powerhouse, countries like Brazil, Russia, India, and China, collectively known as the BRIC countries, are seemingly headed for that same route. According to a thesis published by Goldman Sachs Investment Bank, the economy of these four countries are slowly improving and is likely to surpass the existing developed countries in the world by 2050. Aside from these four, there are other emerging markets namely BRIMC (including Mexico), BRICS (with South Africa), BRICA (the four countries and Arab nations like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Qatar, and Bahrain), and BICET( with Eastern Europe as well as Turkey)(Prado, 2008). We will write a custom essay sample on BRIC Countries or any similar topic only for you Order Now The Global Outlook Jim O’Neill, who was the economist who proposed the thesis, forecasted that come 2050, the BRIC countries would have constituted more than 39 percent of world population and generated a collective GDP of $15. 43 trillion. At present, they only account for 15 percent of the world’s gross national product (GNP) compared to that of the six industrialized economies of the US, Germany, Japan, France, Italy, and Britain. However, it is predicted that despite their growing population, the BRIC countries would overtake these countries and become the leading countries as far as increasing growth and spending ability is concerned(Prado, 2008). BRIC Countries 4 Although not regarded as a political alliance (like the EU) or formal trading blocs such as the ASEAN, the BRIC countries have made great strides in strengthening their cooperation, in order to influence the stand of the United States on major trade treaties, such as the proposed nuclear partnership with India(Prado, 2008). Despite of their cultural and political variations, the BRIC countries have shifted their political system in order to be globally competitive in a capitalist world(Prado, 2008). A Second Goldman Sachs Report In 2004, Goldman Sachs published a follow-up to its first BRIC research. In the second report, it was found out that people who have a yearly income of more than the $3,000 threshold will be twice as much in a span of three years and 800 million in ten years. This shows that there is huge increase in the amount of middle class in these states. By 2025, according to the second report, the number of people with an income of more than $15,000 would surpass the 200 million mark(Prado, 2008). However, the follow-up report likewise indicated that despite the shift in the economic growth, the average income in developed countries will remain higher compared to those in the BRIC countries(Prado, 2008). Responding To The Development A report released by PriceWaterhouse Coopers believes that investors must now set their sights on the BRIC countries as it presents a bright future for growth potentials. Economic growth has shifted from the United States and Europe to emerging countries BRIC Countries 5 like China and India. This was based from an observation by John Hawskworth, chief of the macroeconomics division of PricewaterhouseCoopers(Gorringe, 2008). According to forecasts, China would emerge as the biggest economy by 2025 replacing the United States and sustain their growth to 130% come 2050. Similarly, the economy of India would surpass that of the US by 90% in 2050. Brazil will move to number four dislodging Japan. Russia, along with Mexico and Indonesia, may become larger than the economy of Germany and the United Kingdom(Gorringe, 2008). It is worth mentioning that other emerging economies have been included in the list of Pricewaterhouse Coopers as potential growth areas. Among them are Vietnam, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Egypt, Philippines, and Turkey. Vietnam, in particular, has shown tremendous economic growth at 10% per annum. Come 2050, its economy would be 70% larger than the United Kingdom(Gorringe, 2008). Among the BRIC countries, China and India have shown the most significant improvement in terms of their economy. Although their population is over 1 billion, Chinese and Indian economy have grown rapidly. For China, the growth rate is at 10 percent per annum since 1980. India, for its part, registered a 9% growth in its economy in 2006. The combined output of the two countries went up from 6. 7% to 21. 3% from 1980 to 2005. According to predictions, world economy will be focused on China in the year 2015 and India by 2030(Gorringe, 2008). BRIC Countries 6 Over the years, the United States have become the major trading partner of both developed and developing countries. However, this is no longer the case, as many countries have now realized the potential that the BRIC countries have as a region of growth. For instance, the United States have long dominated the scrap market industry, but now China has become a major competitor in the manufacture and distribution of recyclable materials. India, likewise, is a new alternative as far as the scrap market is concerned(Sandoval, 2005). On the other hand, Russia and Brazil have become a major source of raw materials. The significance of the BRIC partnership is that China and India can source their raw materials from Russia and Brazil(Prado, 2008). Although the economy of Brazil is still dependent on the United States, its local currency is doing well. In fact, during the past years, it has outperformed even the Euro(Mason, 2008). Conclusion Gone are the days when the United States dominated world economy. With emerging economies such as the BRIC, the time will come when the playing field as far as global economy is concerned will become level, with each country having their own share of economic growth. Pretty soon, the United States will eventually have to learn how to trade with other countries all over again. The emergence of the BRIC countries is a clear sign that potential growth is no longer concentrated on developed countries and that the balance of economy is veering away towards developing nations outside of North America and Europe. BRIC Countries 7 References Bustelo, P. The Economic Rise of China and India and its Implications for Spain. Real Instituto Elcano. 2007 August 8. Retrieved June 30 2008 from http://www. realinstitutoelcano. org/wps/portal/rielcano_in/Content? WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=/Elcano_in/Zonas_in/DT+31-2007 Gorringe, J. Investors Should Look Beyond BRIC Countries, Says PwC. Law and Tax-News. com. 2008 March 10. Retrieved from http://www. lawandtax-news. com/asp/story. asp? storyname=30242 Mason, J. BRIC Is For Real. Seeking Alpha. 2008 May 19. Retrieved June 30 2008 from http://seekingalpha. com/article/77727-bric-is-for-real Prado, T. The BRIC Thesis. What About Brazil. com. 2008 March 20. Retrieved June 30 2008 from http://www. whataboutbrazil. com/the-bric-thesis/ Sandoval, D. Shrinking World: The Growth of the BRIC Countries Is Making The World A Smaller Place(Brazil, Russia, India, and China). 2005 September 1. Retrieved June 30 2008 from http://goliath. ecnext. com/coms2/gi_0199-4753169/Shrinking-world-the-growth-of. html How to cite BRIC Countries, Papers

DigitalTransformation Humanity & the Future †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the DigitalTransformation Humanity the Future. Answer: Introduction In this technological era, technology is a playing major role in organizations and all work is managed through technology whether it be personal or professional . This involvment in technology has brought some hindrances and challenges both for employers and managers. In this report, it will be discussed that how more and more apps are being used by the employees to manage their personal and work life better. The apps are being used for various purposes and it helps in providing working with different styles, both from employees and human resource department. The employees are very careful about spending their time judiciously, so any person who is tech savvy and takes care of his security and privacy issues on the internet can opt for these apps. There are many apps available in the market, ranging from time management, calendaring, file sharing, providing peaceful meditation apps that manage both their work and personal life. The role of leaders is to make sure that core assets are reviewed thoroughly to market the product. Work can be done at any time and anywhere with the help of these personal gadgets and devices. The Internet has made everything global and people are being connected through partnerships and redefining careers which makes people to learn more with best practices. The management has to make sure that instead of orthodox hierarchies, network structures should be used to make things more cooperative and combined. The report discusses the considerations on the part of employees , managers and leaders because of unlimited dependence on technology in the future. Apps used to manage Employees personal life and professional life Employees are using more apps to manage their personal and professional life. For some time, people have been using time management apps to manage their personal life, even for managing their small tasks like waking and sleeping hours. With usage of these apps people can manage their time spent on social network sites and concentrate more on their physical activities , an example of such a app is Toggle. These apps help to identify the task and record the time consumed in these apps. Developers of these apps are working to create official version of these apps. Time is precious for everyone and it is gaining importance these days. Employees feel that in tech job, time is an important tool and it should be managed wisely. In fact, time, is a more limited resource than money and should be managed effectively. Employees using these apps promote it to their counterparts when problems of productivity and prioritizing arises in the organization. Care to be while using the variety of aps that are available In few companies, the teams work together and work on their favorite apps to complete their work effectively. Although it is essential to be technologically strong, an efficient app will help to segregate important business data from piracy data and it will aid the users to work u flexibily and efficiently and avoiding unwanted data. Employees need to be very careful while using these apps as piracy data can spoil their important data. These apps may be useful for one employee and may or may not be useful for other employee, due to changes in working lifestyle and culture of the organization. Time management apps used for offices are more complex than that are used for personal life. Apps store data at different places, fewer apps belong from hard drive and fewer that store data in the cloud, organizations have to select apps from them. These apps are future trends of organizations and developers are working to make it more user friendly and easier to operate As per an analysis under taken of 50 apps, thes apps differ from features, calendaring, time management, data storage to meditation (Bhattacharjee, 2017). Apps are also designed to make customers take rest in between their tasks and feel more attentive while at work. One of the apps, Sapience Buddy has become very popular in countries like US, Europe as it stores personal data efficiently and then analyze it to be used to increase efficiency of employees. As per CEO of Timely app, the companies are focusing on larger companies now, it started with smaller companies and now has targeted large companies and is developing apps to increase efficiency of employees working in a team of big organization. Brands like Bureberry and Starbucks are performing extremely well by offering great apps to their customers, their apps help to to fulfill the individual choice of a customer, allowing them to view products of their choice. They are sent to target specific messages and information which is useful for customers (WN News, 2017). Role of apps in providing ease to people Burberry provides the experience of being at a store in its apps. The customers have the choice to see color, design and have first hand experience through online apps. The Starbucks Mobile app is also very popular, it allows users to choose from their best beverages rather than to stand in queue. Even hotels provide an experience of providing innovative dishes to the customer through online apps. Apps like Panda help customers to choose from their best hotels and place their order.Digital acceptance among people and an effective leadership are equally important (Messinger, 2016). Digital transformation in processes occurs when a separate digital department work for another thousand people contacting through social networking. This is accomplished when excellent leadership takes interest in it and when the core focus of the company is on digitization (Brynjolfsson Mitchell, 2017) Considerations for the leadership It is suggested that for leaders and managers too have to follow one or more steps as needed for digital strategy of an organization. Like Uber and Airbnb, it is essential to restructure the policies as per the present industry. Also, like in US post office, the managers need to creatively design the product as per latest trends of digitalization. In digital transformation, the sub markets can also exist together. The managers can also redesign the path to the customers as done by lemonade.com. The companies are separated from customers with a middle organization and making sure the present distribution channels are not disturbed. Next, the value proposition is changes like rideshare insurance launched GEICO farmers provides standard personal automobiles including insurance coverage (Huckstep, 2016) There are certain suggestions for leaders and Managers. The components of the good digital strategy are to firstly design the core requirements when a digital strategy has to be prepared . Core assets of the company have to be analyzed fully to make the digital strategy successful. Like there are companies who consider sales and professional employees as their assets. Online companies make advertisements and paper ads through various sites, people are motivated to use these services. The online advertisement company captures millions of people over the Internet. Apple has many online customers. The next component is to prepare a core mission statement for the company. Digital slogan which will motivate all employees to move towards digitization. This is very essential for digital changing transformation. Example, a company could have a digital strategy to operate as best retail store globally. The company has a mission to launch the best online store and sell all products globally. The mission statement should be clear and achievable. The mission should not contradict with companys own value. The next component is defining the results what the company wants to do an d allot a leadership role to a person. CEO of Tesco did this when they first aspired to be an online brand and go for digital strategy. Companies like Starbucks and Bureberry also play an important role in making people inclined towards digitization. All its brands are available online and customers are free to pick their choice. Being digitalization vision should pass from leaders to all employees. Leaders should create value proposition and deliver to it all structure of the organization. Lastly is effective governance, where employees are requested to take pending project to their home so that they dont end in making similar apps made by different vendors. There should be a management among different teams related to work, tasks, time, communication which will inspired by a leader (Harsh, 2017). Hence good control of employees will bring more accuracy, uniformity and it will prevent tasks to be done repeatedly. All these components are very important for digital strategy to be su ccessful. Role of Leaders in streamling the future of using apps In order to be successful in the coming times, leaders should work more systematically. Presently, majority of the data that is needed to mark, understand and accept by the staff is not gathered in a systematic manner. The irony in this age and time is thatin spite of availability of surplus data online, decision makers generally lack timely and correct information at the right time. For instance: Although many customer service organizations are using digital technologies such as American government uses it to collect data or Bureau of Labor Statistics uses it to collect Population survey. The reason they are unable to collect accurate data is that they dont ask pertinent questions (Boudreau, 2016). Researchers and Economists usually makes an attempt to manage this by doing their own surveys but they too fall short of credibility, scale and scope. The administrative data of the Government such as tax forms also make available a worthy source of data, but this is required to be combi ned with government survey data to escalate its credibility. Alterations in the traditional structures Now a days organizations are required to be transparent towards its investors and needs to be more flexible as far as balanced and relationship based projects are concerned. Instead of primitive structures of organizations , a flat system of hierarchy will be preferred . The leadership model too has to be shared and combined. Work is all technology oriented and all the work can be done at any time using the available devices. The globe is networking with unlimited partnerships and the jobs are redesigning itself to be more just and learning oriented. There is a breakthrough innovation in technology and devices using fast technology are having huge impact on the work of the people . The jobs are now all the more fair , transparent and as per the ease of the employees (RSS, 2015). Because of these transformations in technology there are transformations in business . The businesses and employees are harmonizing the alterations by engaging the automation services as per the new changes. The automation services are reducing the work of the employees . Example of these automation services are big data , and algorithms. All the work initially undertaken by the workforce are now replicated by the said services. The businesses and leaders have to redefine their work for improved optimization instead of causing obstruction in the work. These changing drifts are crucial for the leaders to undertand , what is the technological structure of their business at present and how much depedent it is going to be more in the future. They need to understand the way of working , tactics that has to be followed to move with the changing times (Glass, 2017). Role of HR With the rise of usage of technologically driven companies the attitude of employees towards their is bound to get effected. The employees have to now all the more be ready to work together in small and big teams to complete their assignmemnts. The primary role of HR is to incorporate rules and regulations of the company in its mobile as per the profile of the employees. It is the HR who has the responsibility to decide the way the apps will be used by the employees. When more and more collaborations will be formed amongst the team members it would mean secure mobile application management. In order to ensure security the firms needs to have strong , policies and rules as per the features of the app. Though mobile apps are well versed with flexibility options but HR would have an additional role in monitoring the employees jobs by sending regular updates and alerts. The availability of safe and dependebale information will help in improving the usage of these apps by more users. (Bou dreau, 2016). All this will result in great technology breakthrough and would bring out more productivity from the employees and that can fulfill their own entrepreneurial roles. The Human resource department would also act as an change agent. (Bhattacharjee, 2017). The examples of several companies are already there whose HR departments is playing a great role in encashing the app technology. These are Twitter and Uber which make use of lower take apps by sending quesries to the employees about the extent of work completed by them. This would make the employees more productive as they have to always make sure that their work is completed on time before the query gets rised at the end of the day. The best time management system works well when it is incorporated in the day (Daniel, 2013). Although technology is growing at a much faster speed but management structures are are changing at a very slow speed. There has to be more involvement from the HR department side as new employment models are coming up like projects, gigs and contracts. There are more innovative forms of employment that are cropping up like the freelancers, contractors, recruitment system in organization. This has made the basic recruitment communication also very much dependable on the social media. Conclusion The report points out that in future the progessioanl and personal lives of employees can be better managed with the help of apps. This would result in several considerations from all the three perspectives , one from employyes side, one from the leadership side and from the Human Resource Department side. The report studies several examples and cases where the use of apps have changes the life of the employyes , example by using the mobile order apps of several restaurants the consumers can order their products without being in the long lines. The leaders have to play a very essential role in the process of digitalization in their organization as a clear vison only can support the changing technological strategy of the business. The role of Human resource department is also discusued which would ensure that the app gets incorporated all the essential rules and regulations for the employyes to ensure that the work gets done timely . They also have a major role to play that of a chang e agent to incorporate digitalization in the business. References Bhattacharjee, A. (2017, May 02). DigitalTransformation, Humanity the Future - Keynote Address to Corporations . Retrieved from https://techygeekshome.blogspot.in/2017/05/digitaltransformation-humanity-future.html Boudreau, J. (2016, March 17). Work in the Future Will Fall into These 4 Categories. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2016/03/work-in-the-future-will-fall-into-these-4-categories Brynjolfsson, E., Mitchell, T. (2017, April 17). We Must Track How Technology Is Changing Work. Retrieved from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/we-must-track-how-technology-is-changing-work/ Daniel, Y. (2013, August). The Future of Mobile Application Management. Retrieved from https://www.wired.com/insights/2013/08/the-future-of-mobile-application-management/ Glass, B. (2017, April 17). Nature: We Must Track How Technology Is Changing Work. Retrieved from https://burning-glass.com/nature/ Harsh, A. (2017, january 05). Digital Transformation, Humanity the Future - Keynote Address to Corporations. Retrieved from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/digital-transformation-humanity-the-future-keynote_us_5907c064e4b084f59b49fc09 Huckstep, R. (2016, September 12). Lemonade are Live. Insurance will never be the same again! Retrieved from https://www.the-digital-insurer.com/blog/insurtech-lemonade-are-here-and-insurance-will-never-be-the-same-again/ Messinger, L. (2016). Do time management apps really make people more productive? Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/aug/18/time-management-apps-work-life-balance-productivity RSS. (2015). Do time management apps really make people more productive? Retrieved from https://thecirculareconomist.com/do-time-management-apps-really-make-people-more-productive/ WN News. (2017, April 17). We Must Track How Technology is Changing Work. Retrieved from https://article.wn.com/view/2017/04/17/We_Must_Track_How_Technology_is_Changing_Work/

Sociology; compensation

The Importance of Nutrition and Exercise essays

The Importance of Nutrition and Exercise essays The importance of Nutrition, and Exercise Many students today ask why they are so tired all the time. It also seems that people in college become stressed out either because of grades or because of work. All people need to do is get the right amount of sleep, eating well, and exercise in order to feel better about themselves and feel good in general. This is not a short process. Most experts say that it takes about twelve weeks in order to see results. Nevertheless, it is guaranteed that after that duration of time one will see a vast improvement in oneself. Sleep is something that most people take for granted. It is the one thing that people are willing to compromise even more then food or money. It is estimated that 40 to 60 million Americans are sleep deprived. Different people can get by with different amounts of sleep. Some can survive the next day with only a few hours. Then there are others who cannot be called after 9:00 because they need those good solid 10 hours. The average person actually needs anywhere from between 7-9 hours a night. Why does one need sleep? When human bodies do not get enough sleep, they tend to lose strength, the immune system decreases, and there is an increase in blood pressure. As students, it can effect concentration, memory, logical reasoning, and ability to do math. When going to bed it should take about 15 to 20 minutes to fall asleep. If a half-hour has gone by and one still is not asleep, one should get up and do something relaxing such as take a warm bath or watch television. Another key aspect is nutrition. Nutrition is the main thing that keeps the body working. Therefore, if one wants to keep the body working at a certain pace it needs to be fed. However, one needs to know the right foods. Think of the body as a car. People drive cars every day and some drive fast and some drive slow. Nevertheless, all cars need gas eventually. Every car driver knows that the be...

Financial Aid Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Financial Aid - Essay Example The Student Guide to Financial Aid is particularly useful as it provides a search engine that navigates to specific college websites offering information about on-campus financial aid facilities. This will be particularly useful to Jack since his financial needs with respect to funding his education will most likely continue throughout his college enrolment. A scholarship is perhaps the most ideal method of obtaining financial aid for college since it does not require repayment. In this regard, given Jack’s financial background, this is preferable. According to The Smart student Guide to Financial Aid, average students like Jack who have not obtained a perfect grade point average and has no specific athletic expertise, can obtain scholarships. (The Smart student Guide to Financial Aid) Students with other traits can obtain scholarships. For instance a student may obtain a scholarship on the basis of community service. By opening the link FastWeb scholarship search, Jack can fill in his specific details and his potential to obtain a scholarship and to what extent will be calculated for him. (The Smart student Guide to Financial Aid) In any event, even if Jack qualifies for a scholarship, the scholarship itself may not be sufficient to fund his college education and he will be required to obtain additionally financial aid to supplement his scholarship. Federal funding is available under the Federal Student Aid also known as the FAFSA. (Qualifying for Financial Aid). An application is available free of charge at Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). In order to qualify, Jack will have to demonstrate that he has a â€Å"financial need.† (Qualifying for Financial Aid). Although Jack is only required to have satisfactory grades while in school, he is not eligible for FAFSA unless and until he is enrolled in a postsecondary institution. (Qualifying for Financial Aid). Armstrong

The Role of User Interface Design in Product Accessibility Research Paper

The Role of User Interface Design in Product Accessibility - Research Paper Example As product engineers pays attention to the technology, usability specialists pay attention to the user interface. Thus, in order to get maximum efficiency, cost efficiency and success, this working association should be upheld from the beginning of a project to its completion. However, in the scenario of computer software, user interface design is as well recognized as HCI (Human-Computer Interaction). As people frequently think of interface design in a scenario of computers, it as well guides to a lot of products where the user interacts with displays or controls (Usernomics, 2011; Ambler, 2010; Smith & Mosier, 1986). This paper will discuss some of the important aspects of the user interface design. This paper basically attempts to assess and analyze some of the critical aspects of interface design to ensure a product is suitable for its intended users. In this scenario, this paper will discuss user interfaces design aspects like navigation, usability, accessibility, and consistenc y. Part 1 Navigation A more effective set of graphic navigation and interactive communication links inside web-pages will be useful in catching the attention of users towards the web pages, weaning them from the wide-ranging purpose web browser communication links and drawing them more into our viewpoint. In addition, by providing them with our own steady and expected set of navigation buttons we as well offer the user a good judgment of our website's structure as well as formulate the logic and organization of our website visually precise (Lynch & Horton, 2004). In more simple words, website navigation is an implementation or document of a table of contents. Thus, it allows the users to think where they are at, where they have been, as well as where they are moving. Alternatively, the overall navigation aspects should respond to the query: Where they are? In addition, navigation should as well include the classification we have intended for our system consequently we are able to re cognize the content of our system (Poteet, 2007). In addition, for an attractive system navigation design, it is important to recognize the interface also. In fact, system interface works as an intermediary among content and users, an interpreter and guide to the difficulties of a system. In the graphical state of the web, interface design has to work with assembled visual meaning (Fleming, 1998). Moreover, straightforward and understandable system navigation is important  for the success of any system or application. In fact, the system should allow its users to move from page to page with connecting links, menu items or buttons. More significantly,  navigation has to as well address the weak balance among real-life user objectives and business aims of the application. However, when business needs terms filters into system navigation, there is some kind of risk that the common user can misinterpret the language employed in the navigation. Thus, these misunderstandings create th e risk to user’s capacity to complete the job and are able to dominate the reimbursement the technology objectives to offer. In this scenario, the term ‘transfer of eligible internal account fund’ is used to send funds from a user’s account to a mortgage, through the web.

Terri Schiavo Court Cases Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Terri Schiavo Court Cases - Essay Example Many argue that it might have been, but then there were many arguments in this case. Not all of them were ethical or logical, and not all of them played out in court. The story of Terri Schiavo is so much more tragic than people stop to realize. When a situation is so easily preventable, how does it get so terribly out of hand, and how are even the most basic decisions of care handled? The bottom line, Terri Schiavo should have been alive today, and possibly even alive and well. Terri Schiavo suffered a cardiac arrest due to an eating disorder on February 25th, 1990. She was without oxygen for several minutes and then lapsed into a coma. Her coma then evolved into a Permanent Vegetative State. For fifteen years, she remained in that state, until her feeding tube was finally removed for the last time on March 18th, 2005. She died thirteen days later, ending a fifteen year battle with so many players, and yet so few concrete, satisfactory, answers (Quill, 2005). Terri Schiavo was in a Permanently Vegetative State, also known as PVS. While experts tried to argue that she was in a Minimally Conscious State (MCS), at her autopsy, it was confirmed that she had been in a PVS. The difference between the two conditions is slight. Those patients who are in a PVS are unaware of self and environment; they may make gestures, sounds, and eye movements. These behavior, however are involuntary. People in a MCS are aware of self and environment, but can only express it so much. They cannot speak, but their gestures, eye movements, and vocalizations are a deliberate attempt to communicate with those around them (Winslade, 2007). While Schiavo’s state was considered irreversible, there is much more that may have been learned from her had she survived. Studies have shown that some patients in a PVS can regain some level of consciousness. Some may live for decades in a PVS and begin to recover some consciousness. Simply put, it really is impossible to say

History of Breast Cancer Identification and Treatment

History of Breast Cancer Identification and Treatment A City of Strings In the late 1970s, researchers at Standford and UCSF had invented a technology known as recombinant DNA. They founded a biotech company called Genentech in 1976 to leverage on this technology to develop new drugs. Genentech used Recombinant DNA technology to synthesize human proteins in bacteria cells instead of extracting proteins from animal and human organs. From 1982 to 1985, Genentech had manufactured many important drugs such as human insulin, a clotting factor to treat hemophilia, and a human growth hormone all engineered and produced in bacterial cells. In 1984, a team of researchers led by a German scientist named Axel Ullrich from Genentech discovered the human homolog of the neu gene, an oncogene previously discovered by Weinberg. In the summer of 1986, Ullrich told the story of the isolation of Her-2 at a UCLA seminar. Among the audience was a UCLA oncologist named Dennis Slamon. Slamon had a collection of cancer tissues from patients at UCLA. He proposed a simple collaboration to Ullrich. If Ullrich sent him the Her-2 DNA probes, Slamon could test his collection for cancer cells with hyperactive Her-2 genes. Ullrich agreed. Slamon tested Her-2 with his collection of cancer cells. He discovered that breast cancers could be divided into two types: Her-2 positive and Her-2 negative, depending on whether or not the cancer cells amplify Her-2 by making multiple copies. Her-2 positive tumors are more aggressive, more metastatic, and more likely to kill than Her-2 negative tumors. The association of Her-2 with an aggressive breast cancer prompted Ullrich to look for a drug to shut off the Her-2 function. In 1988, Genentech produced a mouse antibody that could inactivated Her-2 and sent it to Slamon. Slamon tested the antibody with cancer cells in a dish, the cancer cells stopped growing and died. When he injected the antibody into mice with Her-2 positive tumors, the tumors also disappeared. He concluded that the Her-2 inhibition worked in an animal model. Both Slamon and Ullrich expected Genentech to leap at the opportunity. But Genentech got cold feet and wanted to focus on simpler and more profitable drugs. Feeling dejected, Ullrich left Genentech, leaving Slamon alone at UCLA trying to keep the Her-2 project alive at Genentech. Eventually, Slamon and Art Levinson, a molecular biologist at Genentech, convinced a tiny entrepreneurial team to push ahead with the Her-2 project. In the summer of 1990, Genentech produced a human Her-2 antibody ready for clinical trials. They called it Herceptin. Fifteen women enrolled in Slamons trial at UCLA in 1992. The drug was combined with a standard chemotherapy drug, both delivered intravenously. Only five of the original cohort continued the trial to its six-month end point. One of them is Barbara Bradfield. She had told Slamon that she was at the end of the road and had accepted what seemed inevitable, when Slamon tried to enroll her in the trial in the summer of 1991. She survives today. Drugs, Bodies, and Proof By the summer of 1993, news of the Herceptin early phase trial had spread through the community. Her-2 positive breast cancer is one of the most fatal variants of the disease, and patients will try any therapy that could produce a positive response. Cancer activist urged the release of the drug to patients who had failed other therapies. These patients, they argued, could not wait for the drug to undergo the long periods of clinical trial; they wanted a life saving medicine now. For Genentech, Herceptin had not been approved by the FDA. Genentech wanted carefully executed early phase trials. Marti Nelson, a gynecologist in California, had breast cancer when she was 33 in 1987. In 1993, six years after her initial surgery, her cancer had relapsed. She wanted to test the tumor for Her-2 sensitivity, but her HMO insisted that the test was useless because Herceptin was in investigational trials. In the summer of 1993, she contacted the Breast Cancer Action (BCA) project for help. Working through its activist networks, BCA asked several laboratories to test Nelsons tumor. In October 1994, the tumor was found to be Her-2 positive. She would be an ideal candidate for the drug. But the news came too late. She died nine days later. On December 4, 1994, a group of women from the BCA staged a funeral procession for Nelson through the Genentech campus. Unable to silence the activists, Genentech joined them. In 1995, Genentech agreed to provide an expanded access program for Herceptin, allowing oncologist to treat patients outside clinical trials. Trial Results On May 17, 1998, Slamon reported the results of the clinical trial at the 34th meetings of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Los Angeles. In the pivotal 648 study, 469 women had received standard chemotherapy and were randomized to receive either Herceptin or a placebo. Women treated with Herceptin had shown a clear a measurable benefit. Response rates had increased by 150 percent, shrinking more tumors, and extending lives by four to five months compared to the control arm. In 2003, two studies were launched to test Herceptin in early stage breast cancer. When the trials were combined, overall survival in women treated with Herceptin was increased by 33 percent. A Four-Minute Mile In 1973, Janet Rowley identified a unique chromosomal aberration in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) cells. The abnormality, the so-called Philadelphia chromosome, resulted from a translocation in which the head of chromosome 22 and the tail of chromosome 9 had been fused to create a new gene. A team of Dutch researchers isolated the gene on Chromosome 9 in 1982. They called it abl. And in 1984, they isolated abls partner on chromosome 22 a gene called Bcr. In normal cells, Bcr and abl are separate genes living on separate chromosomes. But in CML cells, the fusion of the two genes created a new chimera called Bcr-abl which coded a hyperactive kinase that causes cells to divide without control. In the mid-1980s, a team of chemists at Ciba-Geigy was trying to develop selective kinase inhibitors. Ciba-Geigy was a pharmaceutical company in Basel, Switzerland.ÂÂ   The team was headed by a Swiss physician named Alex Matter, and an English biochemist named Nick Lydon. In 1986, Matter and Lydon discovered a simple skeletal chemical that could bind a kinase and inhibit its function. By the early 1990s. Matter and Lydon had created dozens of new molecules with similar structures. When Lydon tested these molecules on various kinases, he discovered that they were kinase inhibitors with extraordinary specificity. What Matter and Lydon needed now was a disease in which to apply this collection of chemicals. In the late 1980s, Nick Lydon met Brian Druker at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Druker, a young faculty member at the institute, was interested in CML the cancer driven by the Bcr-abl kinase. He proposed an ambitious collaboration effort to test the kinase inhibitors on the patients at the institute. But the project was tabled because the lawyers could not agree to terms. In 1993, Druker reconnected with Lydon after he left Boston to start his own laboratory in Portland at the Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU). Lydon informed Druker that the Ciba-Geigy team had found a molecule called CGP57148 that might inhibit Bcr-abl with high specificity. Revealing little about the potentials of the chemicals, Druker got a collaboration agreement signed between OHSU and Ciba-Geigy. In the summer of 1993, Druker added the drug from Lydon to CML cells in a petri dish. Overnight, the CML cells were dead. He induced CML tumors into mice and then treated the mice with the drug. The tumors regressed in days, leaving behind the normal blood cells. He drew out samples of bone marrow from a few patients with CML and applied the drug to the cells in a petri dish. The leukemia cells in the marrow died immediately, leaving behind the normal blood cells. He had cured leukemia in the dish. Druker expected Ciba-Geigy to be excited about these results. But in Basel, Ciba-Geigy has just merged with its arch rival into a pharmaceutical behemoth called Novartis. The prospect of spending millions on a drug to benefit thousands gave Novartis cold feet. Novartis finally relented in early 1998. They changed the name of the drug to Gleevec. In the initial phase of the study, 53 out of 54 patients receiving the drug showed a complete response within days. The remissions extended into weeks and months as the patients continued the medicine. The initial phase of the trial was a success. The Red Queens Race In the fifth year of their Gleevec trial, Charles Sawyer and Mashe Talpaz found the vast proportion of CML patients maintained deep remissions on the drug. But occasionally, a patients leukemia became Gleevec-resistant and stopped responding to Gleevec. Sawyers discovered that the CML cells become Gleevec-resistant by altering the structure of the molecule. In 2005, Sawyerss team generated another kinase inhibitor, called dasatinib, to target Gleevec-resistant Bcr-abl. The effect of this new drug on Gleevec-resistant patients was remarkable: the leukemia cells disappeared again. Even targeted therapy was a cat-and-mouse game. When the cancer becomes resistant to the drug, we would need a different molecular variant. And when it becomes resistant to the new drug, you would need the next generation drug. Like the Red Queens race, we have to keep running to remain still. In the decade since the discovery of Gleevec, 24 novel cancer-targeted drugs have been introduced and dozens more are in development. The 24 drugs have been effective against lung, breast, and prostate cancers, lymphomas, leukemias and sarcomas. Some inactivate oncogenes, others target oncogene-activated pathways. The Red Queens race applies to cancer screening and cancer prevention. Circles of relationships are powerful predictors of individual behaviors. The tobacco epidemic originated as a form of metastatic social behavior. Successful cancer-prevention strategies can lapse swiftly when social behavior changes. Thirteen Mountains The Human Genome Project was completed in 2003. It will be followed by the Cancer Genome Atlas project a compendium of every gene mutation in the most common form of cancer. Mutations in the cancer genome, Bert Vogelstein believes, come in two forms. Some are passenger mutations that have no impact on the biology of the cancer cell. Others are driver mutations that play a crucial role in the biology of a cancer cell. The mountains in the cancer genome, the most frequent mutations in a particular form of cancer, have another property. They can be organized into between eleven and fifteen key cancer pathways. The dysregulation of these core pathways poses an enormous challenge for cancer therapists. These changes provoke three directions for cancer medicine: Once we have identified the crucial driver mutations in any cancer, we will need to hunt for targeted therapies against these genes. We need to integrate the insights of cancer biology into cancer prevention to preempt the need for a million-person association study. Cancer screening can also be fortified by the molecular understanding of cancer. We need to integrate our understanding of abnormal genes and pathways to explain the behavior of cancer, renewing the circle of knowledge, discovery, and therapeutic intervention. Atossas War Imagine Atossa, the Persian queen who had breast cancer in 500 BC, traveling through time, appearing and reappearing in one age after the next. How would her treatment and prognosis changed in the last four millennia, and what happens to her later in the new millennium? In 2500 BC at Imhoteps clinic in Egypt, Imhotep provides a diagnosis, but there is no treatment, he says. In 500 BC, her Greek slave cuts her tumor out a primitive form of a mastectomy. In 400 BC, in Thrace, Hippocrates identifies her tumor as a karkinos. In AD 168, Claudius Galen says its a systemic overdose of black bile cutting the tumor out would not cure it. Medieval surgeons cut her cancer away with knives and scalpels. Some offer goat dung, lead plates, crab paste, and holy water as treatments. In 1778, at John Hunters clinic in London, her cancer is assigned a stage. If the tumor is local, he recommends surgery. For advanced cancers, he advises: remote sympathy. In 1890, at Halsteds clinic in Baltimore, her breast cancer is treated with radical mastectomy. In the early twentieth century, radiation oncologists try to destroy the tumor using X-rays. By the 1950s, her cancer is treated with a lumpectomy followed by radiation. In the 1970s, her surgery is followed by adjuvant combination chemotherapy to diminish the chance of a relapse. In the 1980s, besides surgery, radiation, and adjuvant chemotherapy, she is treated with hormonal and targeted therapy. In the mid-1990s, Atossas genome was sequenced and found positive for BRCA-1.ÂÂ   She is offered several targeted therapies to treat the illness. In 2050, Atossa will arrive at her oncologists clinic with a thumb drive containing the entire sequence of her cancers genome. The computer would identify the mutations and pathways that are causing the cancer. Therapies will be targeted against these mutations and pathways. She will start with one combination of targeted drugs, expect to switch to a second one when her cancer mutates, and switch again when the cancer mutates again.

The Iliad of Homer :: essays research papers

The competition for power and ultimate victory is continuous throughout the Iliad. Several characters including gods and men, attempt to assume authority and rule in order to fulfill personal endeavors and obtain self-gratification. However, it is often that by themselves, these strong figures cannot carry out the tasks that they wish to accomplish. Instead, they are quick to manipulate and beg in order to have the job completed by someone else. On both the human and immortal level, individuals constantly need the help of others in their struggle for supremacy. At first, discord arises due to the greed of Agamemnon, yet Achilleus prolongs the problem by holding on to his anger. He acts such as a tantrum-throwing child does when Pallus Athene disallows him from continuing his argument. To prove his point, he has to ask his mother to go to Zeus, and plead for him to help the Trojans so â€Å"that Atreus’ son wide-ruling Agamemnon may recognize his madness, that he did no honor to the best of the Achaians† (I, 411-412) Achilleus puts himself above the rest of the Achaians, but does not act 1 accordingly to the position he claims for himself. He forgets that as leader, the consequences of his actions, also affects those whom he holds in his charge, and close to his heart. Furthermore, instead of assuming full responsibility for his situation, Achilleus places part of the load on his mother Thetis, as well as Zeus. In drawing gods into the conflict, Achilleus further complicates the matter. Without the intervention of immortals, the victor of any contest is simply the stronger, more skilled, or perhaps luckier opponent. Once the gods are brought into the field of play, anything can be expected since they are even capable of changing the destinies of men. Hera is one of the first of the gods to exhibit her meddling ways and the capacity to turn the tables. When she plans to seduce Zeus into bed to occupy him so that Poseidon may help the Achaians, Hera enlists the help of Aphrodite and Sleep. Though the concept of helping mortals is good and selfless, there is also much evil in her actions. There are no bounds to how low Hera will stoop to acquire the services she needs to triumph over her husband. In order to gain their help, Hera tells lies to Aphrodite, and bribes Sleep with â€Å"gifts; a lovely throne, imperishable forever, of gold† (XIV, 238-239).

Fluke, or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings Chapter 1~2

For Jim Darling, Flip Nicklin, and Meagan Jones: extraordinary people who do extraordinary work Fluke (flook) 1. A stroke of good luck 2. A chance occurrence; an accident 3. A barb or barbed head, as on a harpoon 4. Either of the two horizontally flattened divisions of the tail of a whale PART ONE The Song An ocean without its unnamed monsters would be like a completely dreamless sleep. – JOHN STEINBECK The scientific method is nothing more than a system of rules to keep us from lying to each other. – KEN NORRIS CHAPTER ONE Big and Wet Next Question? Amy called the whale punkin. He was fifty feet long, wider than a city bus, and weighed eighty thousand pounds. One well-placed slap of his great tail would reduce the boat to fiberglass splinters and its occupants to red stains drifting in the blue Hawaiian waters. Amy leaned over the side of the boat and lowered the hydrophone down on the whale. â€Å"Good morning, punkin,† she said. Nathan Quinn shook his head and tried not to upchuck from the cuteness of it, of her, while surreptitiously sneaking a look at her bottom and feeling a little sleazy about it. Science can be complex. Nate was a scientist. Amy was a scientist, too, but she looked fantastic in a pair of khaki hiking shorts, scientifically speaking. Below, the whale sang on, the boat vibrated with each note. The stainless rail at the bow began to buzz. Nate could feel the deeper notes resonate in his rib cage. The whale was into a section of the song they called the  «green » themes, a long series of whoops that sounded like an ambulance driving through pudding. A less trained listener might have thought that the whale was rejoicing, celebrating, shouting howdy to the world to let everyone and everything know that he was alive and feeling good, but Nate was a trained listener, perhaps the most trained listener in the world, and to his expert ears the whale was saying – Well, he had no idea what in the hell the whale was saying, did he? That's why they were out there floating in that sapphire channel off Maui in a small speedboat, sloshing their breakfasts around at seven in the morning: No one knew why the humpbacks sang. Nate had been listening to them, observing them, photographing them, and poking them with stick s for twenty-five years, and he still had no idea why, exactly, they sang. â€Å"He's into his ribbits,† Amy said, identifying a section of the whale's song that usually came right before the animal was about to surface. The scientific term for this noise was  «ribbits » because that's what they sounded like. Science can be simple. Nate peeked over the side and looked at the whale that was suspended head down in the water about fifty feet below them. His flukes and pectoral fins were white and described a crystal-blue chevron in the deep blue water. So still was the great beast that he might have been floating in space, the last beacon of some long-dead space-traveling race – except that he was making croaky noises that would have sounded more appropriate coming out of a two-inch tree frog than the archaic remnant of a superrace. Nate smiled. He liked ribbits. The whale flicked his tail once and shot out of Nate's field of vision. â€Å"He's coming up,† Nate said. Amy tore off her headphones and picked up the motorized Nikon with the three-hundred-millimeter lens. Nate quickly pulled up the hydrophone, allowing the wet cord to spool into a coil at his feet, then turned to the console and started the engine. Then they waited. There was a blast of air from behind them and they both spun around to see the column of water vapor hanging in the air, but it was far, perhaps three hundred meters behind them – too far away to be their whale. That was the problem with the channel between Maui and Lanai where they worked: There were so many whales that you often had a hard time distinguishing the one you were studying from the hundreds of others. The abundance of animals was a both a blessing and a curse. â€Å"That our guy?† Amy asked. All the singers were guys. As far as they knew anyway. The DNA tests had proven that. â€Å"Nope.† There was another blow to their left, this one much closer. Nate could see the white flukes or blades of his tail under the water, even from a hundred meters away. Amy hit the stop button on her watch. Nate pushed the throttle forward and they were off. Amy braced a knee against the console to steady herself, keeping the camera pointed toward the whale as the boat bounced along. He would blow three, maybe four times, then fluke and dive. Amy had to be ready when the whale dove to get a clear shot of his flukes so he could be identified and cataloged. When they were within thirty yards of the whale, Nate backed the throttle down and held them in position. The whale blew again, and they were close enough to catch some of the mist. There was none of the dead fish and massive morning-mouth smell that they would have encountered in Alaska. Humpbacks didn't feed while they were in Hawaii. The whale fluked and Amy fired off two quick frames with the Nikon. â€Å"Good boy,† Amy said to the whale. She hit the lap timer button on her watch. Nate cut the engine and the speedboat settled into the gentle swell. He threw the hydrophone overboard, then hit the record button on the recorder that was bungee-corded to the console. Amy set the camera on the seat in front of the console, then snatched their notebook out of a waterproof pouch. â€Å"He's right on sixteen minutes,† Amy said, checking the time and recording it in the notebook. She wrote the time and the frame numbers of the film she had just shot. Nate read her the footage number off the recorder, then the longitude and latitude from the portable GPS (global positioning system) device. She put down the notebook, and they listened. They weren't right on top of the whale as they had been before, but they could hear him singing through the recorder's speaker. Nate put on the headphones and sat back to listen. That's how field research was. Moments of frantic activity followed by long periods of waiting. (Nate's first ex-wife had once commented that their sex life could be described in exactly the same way, but that was after they had separated, and she was just being snotty.) Actually, the wait here in Maui wasn't bad – ten, fifteen minutes at a throw. When he'd been studying right whales in the North Atlantic, Nate had sometimes waited weeks before he found a whale to study. Usually he liked to use the downtime (literally, the time the whale was down) to think about how he should've gotten a real job, one where you made real money and had weekends off, or at least gotten into a branch of the field where the results of his work were more palpable, like sinking whaling ships – a pirate. You know, security. Today Nate was actively trying not to watch Amy put on sunscreen. Amy was a snowflake in the land of the tanned. Most whale researchers spent a great deal of time outdoors, at sea. They were, for the most part, an intrepid, outdoorsy bunch who wore wind- and sunburn like battle scars, and there were few who didn't sport a semipermanent sunglasses raccoon tan and sun-bleached hair or a scaly bald spot. Amy, on the other hand, had milk-white skin and straight, short black hair so dark that the highlights appeared blue in the Hawaiian sun. She was wearing maroon lipstick, which was so wildly inappropriate and out of character for this setting that it approached the comical and made her seem like the goth geek of the Pacific, which was, in fact, one of the reasons her presence so disturbed Nate. (He reasoned: A well-formed bottom hanging in space is just a well-formed bottom, but you hook up a well-formed bottom to a whip-smart woman and apply a dash of the awkward and what you've got yo urself is†¦ well, trouble.) Nate did not watch her rub the SPF50 on her legs, over her ankles and feet. He did not watch her strip to her bikini top and apply the sunscreen over her chest and shoulders. (Tropical sun can fry you even through a shirt.) Nate especially did not notice when she grabbed his hand, squirted lotion into it, then turned, indicating that he should apply it to her back, which he did – not noticing anything about her in the process. Professional courtesy. He was working. He was a scientist. He was listening to the song of Megaptera novaeangliae (â€Å"big wings of New England,† a scientist had named the whale, thus proving that scientists drink), and he was not intrigued by her intriguing bottom because he had encountered and analyzed similar data in the past. According to Nate's analysis, research assistants with intriguing bottoms turned into wives 66.666 percent of the time, and wives turned into ex-wives exactly 100 percent of the time – plus or minus 5 percent factored for post-divorce comfort sex.) â€Å"Want me to do you?† Amy asked, holding out her preferred sunscreen-slathering hand. You just don't go there, thought Nate, not even in a joke. One incorrect response to a line like that and you could lose your university position, if you had one, which Nate didn't, but still†¦ You don't even think about it. â€Å"No thanks, this shirt has UV protection woven in,† he said, thinking about what it would be like to have Amy do him. Amy looked suspiciously at his faded WE LIKE WHALES CONFERENCE 89 T-shirt and wiped the remaining sunscreen on her leg. † ‘Kay,† she said. â€Å"You know, I sure wish I could figure out why these guys sing,† Nate said, the hummingbird of his mind having tasted all the flowers in the garden to return to that one plastic daisy that would just not give up the nectar. â€Å"No kidding?† Amy said, deadpan, smiling. â€Å"But if you figure it out, what would we do tomorrow?† â€Å"Show off,† Nate said, grinning. â€Å"I'd be typing all day, analyzing research, matching photographs, filing song tapes –  » â€Å"Bringing us doughnuts,† Nate added, trying to help. Amy continued, counting down the list on her fingers, â€Å"- picking up blank tapes, washing down the trucks and the boats, running to the photo lab – ; â€Å"Not so fast,† Nate interrupted. â€Å"What, you're going to deprive me the joy of running to the photo lab while you bask in scientific glory?† â€Å"No, you can still go to the photo lab, but Clay hired a guy to wash the trucks and boats.† A delicate hand went to her forehead as she swooned, the southern belle in hiking shorts, taken with the vapors. â€Å"If I faint and fall overboard, don't let me drown.† â€Å"You know, Amy,† Nate said as he undressed the crossbow, â€Å"I don't know how it was at Boston doing survey, but in behavior, research assistants are only supposed to bitch about the humiliating grunt work and lowly status to other research assistants. It was that way when I was doing it, it was that way going back centuries, it has always been that way. Darwin himself had someone on the Beagle to file dead birds and sort index cards.† â€Å"He did not. I've never read anything about that.† â€Å"Of course you didn't. Nobody writes about research assistants.† Nate grinned again, celebration for a small victory. He realized he wasn't working up to standards on managing this research assistant. His partner, Clay, had hired her almost two weeks ago, and by now he should have had her terrorized. Instead she was working him like a Starbucks froth slave. â€Å"Ten minutes,† Amy said, checking the timer on her watch. â€Å"You going to shoot him?† â€Å"Unless you want to?† Nate notched the arrow into the crossbow. He tucked the windbreaker they used to  «dress » the crossbow under the console. It was very politically incorrect to carry a weapon for shooting whales through the crowded Lahaina harbor, so they carried it inside the windbreaker, making it appear that they had a jacket on a hanger. Amy shook her head violently. â€Å"I'll drive the boat.† â€Å"You should learn to do it.† â€Å"I'll drive the boat,† Amy said. â€Å"No one drives the boat.† No one but Nate drove the boat. Granted, the Constantly Baffled was only a twenty-three-foot Mako speedboat, and an agile four-year-old could pilot it on a calm day like today. Still, no one else drove the boat. It was a man thing, being inherently uncomfortable with the thought of a woman operating a boat or a television remote control. â€Å"Up sounds,† Nate said. They had a recording of the full sixteen-minute cycle of the song now – all the way through twice, in fact. He stopped the recorder and pulled up the hydrophone, then started the engine. â€Å"There,† Amy said, pointing to the white fins and flukes moving under the water. The whale blew only twenty yards off the bow. Nate buried the throttle. Amy was wrenched off her feet and just caught herself on the railing next to the wheel console as the boat shot forward. Nate pulled up on the right side of the whale, no more than ten yards away as the whale came up for the second time. He steadied the wheel with his hip, pulled up the crossbow, and fired. The bolt bounced off the whale's rubbery back, the hollow surgical steel arrowhead taking out a cookie-cutter plug of skin and blubber the size of a pencil eraser before the wide plastic tip stopped the penetration. The whale lifted his tail out of the water and snapped it in the air, making a sound like a giant knuckle cracking as the massive tail muscles contracted. â€Å"He's pissed,† Nate said. â€Å"Let's go for a measurement.† â€Å"Now?† Amy questioned. Normally they would wait for another dive cycle. Obviously Nate thought that because of their taking the skin sample the whale might start traveling. They could lose him before getting a measurement. â€Å"Now. I'll shoot, you work the rangefinder.† Nate backed off the throttle a bit, so he would be able to catch the entire tail fluke in the camera frame when the whale dove. Amy grabbed the laser rangefinder, which looked very much like a pair of binoculars made for a cyclops. By taking a distance measurement from the animal's tail with the rangefinder and comparing the size of the tail in the frame of the picture, they could measure the relative size of the entire animal. Nate had come up with an algorithm that, so far, gave them the length of a whale with 98 percent accuracy. Just a few years ago they would've had to have been in an aircraft to measure the length of a whale. â€Å"Ready,† Amy said. The whale blew and arched its back into a high hump as he readied for the dive (the reason whalers had named them humpbacks in the first place). Amy fixed the rangefinder on the whale's back; Nate trained the camera's telephoto on the same spot, and the autofocus motors made tiny adjustments with the movement of the boat. The whale fluked, raising its tail high in the air, and there, instead of the distinct pattern of black-and-white markings by which all humpbacks were identified, were – spelled out in foot-high black letters across the white – the words BITE ME! Nate hit the shutter button. Shocked, he fell into the captain's chair, pulling back the throttle as he slumped. He let the Nikon sag in his lap. â€Å"Holy shit!† Nate said. â€Å"Did you see that?† â€Å"See what? I got seventy-three feet,† Amy said, pulling down the rangefinder. â€Å"Probably seventy-six from where you are. What were your frame numbers?† She was reaching for the notebook as she looked back at Nate. â€Å"Are you okay?† â€Å"Fine. Frame twenty-six, but I missed it,† he lied. His mind was shuffling though a huge stack of index cards, searching a million article abstracts he had read to find some explanation for what he'd just seen. It couldn't possibly have been real. The film would show it. â€Å"You didn't see any unusual markings when you did the ID photo?† â€Å"No, did you?† â€Å"No, never mind.† â€Å"Don't sweat it, Nate. We'll get it next time he comes up,† Amy said. â€Å"Let's go in.† â€Å"You don't want to try again for a measurement?† To make the data sample complete, they needed an ID photo, a recording of at least a full cycle of the song, a skin sample for DNA and toxin figures, and a measurement. The morning was wasted without the measurement. â€Å"Let's go back to Lahaina,† Nate said, staring down at the camera in his lap. â€Å"You drive.† CHAPTER TWO Maui No Ka Oi (Maui Is the Best) At first it was that old trickster Maui who cast his fishing line from his canoe and pulled the islands up from the bottom of the sea. When he was done fishing, he looked at those islands he had pulled up, and smack in the middle of the chain was one that was made up of two big volcanoes, sitting there together like the friendly, lopsided bosoms of the sea. Between them was a deep valley that Maui thought looked very much like cleavage, which he very much liked. And so, to that bumpy-bits island Maui gave his name, and its nickname became â€Å"The Cleavage Island,† which it stayed until some missionaries came along and renamed it â€Å"The Valley Island† (because if there's anything missionaries do well, it's seek out and destroy fun). Then Maui landed his canoe at a calm little beach on the west coast of his new island and said to himself, â€Å"I could do with a few cocktails and some nookie. I shall go into Lahaina and get some.† Well, time passed and some whalers came to the island, bringing steel tools and syphilis and other wonders from the West, and before anyone knew what was happening, they, too, were thinking that they wouldn't mind a few cocktails and a measure of nookie. So rather than sail back around the Horn to Nantucket to hoist noggins of grog and the skirts of the odd Hester, Millicent, or Prudence (so fast the dear woman would think she'd fallen down a chimney and landed on a zucchini), they pulled into Lahaina, drawn by the drunken sex magic of old Maui. They didn't come to Maui for the whales, they came for the party. And so Lahaina became a whaling town. The irony of it was that even though the humpbacks had starting coming to birth their calves and sing their songs only a few years earlier, and in those days the Hawaiian channels were teeming with the big-winged singers, it was not for the humpbacks that the whalers came. Humpbacks, like their other rorqual brothers – the streamlined blue, fin, sei, minke, and Bryde's whales – were just too fast to catch in sailing ships and man-powered whaling boats. No, the whalers came to Lahaina to rest and recreate along their way to Japanese waters where they hunted the great sperm whale, who would literally float there like a big, dumb log while you rowed up to it and stuck a harpoon in its head. It would take the advent of steamships and the decimation of the big, floaty-fat right whales (so named because they did float when dead and therefore were the  «right » whales to kill) before the hunters would turn their harpoons on the hum pbacks. Following the whalers came the missionaries, the sugar farmers, the Chinese, Japanese, Filipinos, and Portuguese who all worked the sugar plantations, and Mark Twain. Mark Twain went home. Everyone else stayed. In the meantime, King Kamehameha I united the islands through the clever application of firearms against wooden spears and moved Hawaii's capital to Lahaina. Sometime after that Amy came cruising into the Lahaina harbor at the wheel of a twenty-three-foot Mako speedboat with a tall, stunned-looking Ph.D. sprawled across the bow seat. The radio chirped. Amy picked it up and keyed the mike. â€Å"Go ahead, Clay.† â€Å"Something wrong?† Clay Demodocus was obviously in the harbor and could see them coming in. It wasn't even eight in the morning. He was probably still preparing his boat to go out. â€Å"I'm not sure. Nate just decided to call it a day. I'll ask him why.† To Nate she said, â€Å"Clay wants to know why.† â€Å"Anomalous data,† Nate said. â€Å"Anomalous data,† Amy repeated into the radio. There was a pause. Then Clay said, â€Å"Uh, right, understood. That stuff gets into everything.† The harbor at Lahaina is not large. Only a hundred or so vessels can dock behind her breakwater. Most are sizable, fifty- to seventy-foot cruisers and catamarans, boats full of sunscreen-basted tourists out on the water for anything from dinner cruises to sport fishing to snorkeling at the half-sunken crater of Molokini to, of course, whale watching. Jet-skiing, parasailing, and waterskiing were all banned from December until April, while the humpbacks were in these waters, so many of the smaller boats that would normally be used to terrorize marine life in the name of recreation were leased by whale researchers for the season. On any given winter morning down at the harbor at Lahaina, you couldn't throw a coconut without conking a Ph.D. in cetacean biology (and you stood a good chance of winging two Masters of Science working on dissertations with the rebound). Clay Demodocus was engaged in a bit of research liars poker with a Ph.D. and a naval officer when Amy backed the Mako into the slip they shared with three tender zodiacs from sailing yachts anchored outside the breakwater, a thirty-two-foot motor-sailor, and the Maui Whale Research Foundation's other boat (Clay's boat), the Always Confused, a brand-new twenty-two-foot Grady White Fisherman, center console. (Slips were hard to come by in Lahaina, and circumstances this season had dictated that the Maui Whale Research Foundation – Nate and Clay – perform a nautical dog pile with six other small craft every day. You do what you have to do if you want to poke whales.) â€Å"Shame,† Clay said as Amy threw him the stern line. â€Å"Nice calm day, too.† â€Å"We got everything but a measurement on one singer,† Amy said. The scientist and the naval officer on the dock behind Clay nodded as if they understood completely. Clifford Hyland, a grizzled, gray-haired whale researcher from Iowa stood next to the young, razor-creased, snowy-white-uniformed Captain L. J. Tarwater, who was there to see that Hyland spent the navy's money appropriately. Hyland looked a little embarrassed at the whole thing and wouldn't make eye contact with Amy or Nate. Money was money, and a researcher took it where he could get it, but navy money, it was so†¦ so nasty. â€Å"Morning Amy,† said Tarwater, dazzling a perfectly even, perfectly white smile. He was lean and dark and frighteningly efficient-looking. Next to him, Clay and the scientists looked as if they'd been run through the dryer with a bag of lava rock. â€Å"Good morning, Captain. Morning Cliff.† â€Å"Hey, Amy,† Cliff Hyland said. â€Å"Hey, Nate.† Nathan Quinn shook off his confusion like a retriever who had just heard his name uttered in context with food. â€Å"What? What? Oh, hi, Cliff. What?† Hyland and Quinn had both been part of a group of thirteen scientists who had first come to Lahaina in the seventies (â€Å"The Killer Elite,† Clay still called them, as they had all gone on to distinguish themselves as leaders in their fields). Actually, the original intention hadn't been for them to be a group, but they nevertheless became one early on when they all realized that the only way they could afford to stay on the island was if they pooled their resources and lived together. So for years thirteen of them – and sometimes more if they could afford assistants, wives, or girlfriends – lived every season in a two-bedroom house they rented in Lahaina. Hyland understood Quinn's tendency to submerge himself in his research to the point of oblivion, so he wasn't surprised that once again the rangy researcher had spaced out. â€Å"Anomalous data, huh?† Cliff asked, figuring that was what had sent Nate into the ozone. â€Å"Uh, nothing I can be sure of. I mean, actually, the recorder isn't working right. Something dragging. Probably just needs to be cleaned.† And everyone, including Amy, looked at Quinn for a moment as if to say, Well, you lying satchel of walrus spit, that is the weakest story I've ever heard, and you're not fooling anyone. â€Å"Shame,† Clay said. â€Å"Nice day to miss out on the water. Maybe you can get back with the other recorder and get out again before the wind comes up.† Clay knew something was up with Nate, but he also trusted his judgment enough not to press it. Nate would tell him when he thought he should know. â€Å"Speaking of that,† Hyland said, â€Å"we'd better get going.† He headed down the dock toward his own boat. Tarwater stared at Nate just long enough to convey disgust before turning on his heel and marching after Hyland. When they were gone, Amy said, â€Å"Tarwater is a creep.† â€Å"He's all right. He's got a job to do is all,† Clay said. â€Å"What's with the recorder?† â€Å"The recorder is fine,† Nate said. â€Å"Then what gives? It's a perfect day.† Clay liked to state the obvious when it was positive. It was sunny, calm, with no wind, and the underwater visibility was two hundred feet. It was a perfect day to research whales. Nate started handing waterproof cases of equipment to Clay. â€Å"I don't know. I may have seen something out there, Clay. I have to think about it and see the pictures. I'm going to drop some film off at the lab, then go back to Papa Lani and write up some research until the film's ready.† Clay flinched, just a tad. It was Amy's job to drop off film and write up research. â€Å"Okay. How 'bout you, kiddo?† Clay said to Amy. â€Å"My new guy doesn't look like he's going to show, and I need someone topside while I'm under.† Amy looked to Nate for some kind of approval, but when he simply kept unloading cases without a reaction, she just shrugged. â€Å"Sure, I'd love to.† Clay suddenly became self-conscious and shuffled in his flip-flops, looking for a second more like a five-year-old kid than a barrel-chested, fifty-year-old man. â€Å"By calling you ‘kiddo' I didn't mean to dimmish you by age or anything, you know.† â€Å"I know,† Amy said. â€Å"And I wasn't making any sort of comment on your competency either.† â€Å"I understand, Clay.† Clay cleared his throat unnecessarily. â€Å"Okay,† he said. â€Å"Okay,† Amy said. She grabbed two Pelican cases full of equipment, stepped up onto the dock, and started schlepping the stuff to the parking area so it could be loaded into Nate's pickup. Over her shoulder she said, â€Å"You guys both so need to get laid.† â€Å"I think that's reverse harassment,† Clay said to Nate. â€Å"I may be having hallucinations,† said Nate. â€Å"No, she really said that,† Clay said. After Quinn had left, Amy climbed into the Always Confused and began untying the stern line. She glanced over her shoulder to look at the forty-foot cabin cruiser where Captain Tarwater posed on the bow looking like an advertisement for a particularly rigid laundry detergent – Bumstick Go-Be-Bright, perhaps. â€Å"Clay, you ever heard of a uniformed naval officer accompanying a researcher into the field before?† Clay looked up from doing a battery check on the GPS. â€Å"Not unless the researcher was working from a navy vessel. Once I was along on a destroyer for a study on the effects of high explosives on resident populations of southern sea lions in the Falkland Islands. They wanted to see what would happen if you set off a ten-thousand-pound charge in proximity to a sea lion colony. There was a uniformed officer in charge of that.† Amy cast the line back to the dock and turned to face Clay. â€Å"What was the effect?† â€Å"Well, it blew them the fuck up, didn't it? I mean, that's a lot of explosives.† â€Å"They let you film that for National Science?† â€Å"Just stills,† Clay said. â€Å"I don't think they anticipated it going the way it did. I got some great shots of it raining seal meat.† Clay started the engine. â€Å"Yuck.† Amy untied the bumpers and pulled them into the boat. â€Å"But you've never seen a uniformed officer working here? Before now, I mean.† â€Å"Nowhere else,† Clay said. He pulled down the gear lever. There was a thump, and the boat began to creep forward. Amy pushed them away from the surrounding boats with a padded boat hook. â€Å"What do you think they're doing?† â€Å"I was trying to find out this morning when you guys came in. They loaded an awfully big case before you got here. I asked what it was, and Tarwater got all sketchy. Cliff said it was some acoustics stuff.† â€Å"Directional array?† Amy asked. Researchers sometimes towed large arrays of hydrophones that could, unlike a single hydrophone, detect the direction from which sound was traveling. â€Å"Could be,† Clay said. â€Å"Except they don't have a winch on their boat. â€Å"A wench? What are you trying to say, Clay?† Amy feigned being offended. â€Å"Are you calling me a wench?† Clay grinned at her. â€Å"Amy, I am old and have a girlfriend, and therefore I am immune to your hotness. Please cease your useless attempts to make me uncomfortable.† â€Å"Let's follow them.† â€Å"They've been working on the lee side of Lanai. I don't want to take the Confused past the wind line.† â€Å"So you were trying to find out what they're up to?† â€Å"I fished. No bites. Cliff's not going to say anything with Tarwater standing there.† â€Å"So let's follow them.† â€Å"We actually may get some work done today. It's a good day, after all, and we might not get a dozen windless days all season here. We can't afford to lose a day, Amy. Which reminds me, what's up with Nate? Not like him to blow off a good field day.† â€Å"You know, he's nuts,† Amy said, as if it were understood. â€Å"Too much time thinking about whales.† â€Å"Oh, right. I forgot.† As they motored out of the harbor, Clay waved to a group of researchers who had gathered at the fuel station to buy coffee. Twenty universities and a dozen foundations were represented in that group. Clay was single-handedly responsible for making the scientists who worked out of Lahaina into a social community. He knew them all, and he couldn't help it – he liked people who worked with whales – and he just liked it when people got along. He'd started weekly meetings and presentations of papers at the Pacific Whale Sanctuary building in Kihei, which brought all the scientists together to socialize, trade information, and, for some, to try to weasel some useful data out of someone without the burden of field research. Amy waved to the group, too, as she dug into one of the orange Pelican waterproof cases. â€Å"Come on, Clay, let's follow Tarwater and see what he's up to.† She pulled a huge pair of twenty-power binoculars out of the case and showed them to Clay. â€Å"We can watch from a distance.† â€Å"You might want to go up in the bow and look for whales, Amy.† â€Å"Whales? They're big and wet. What else do you need to know?† â€Å"You scientists never cease to amaze me,† Clay said. â€Å"Come hold the wheel while I get a pencil to write that down.† â€Å"Let's follow Tarwater.†

Intelligent Design Versus Evolution

Intelligent Design Versus Evolution Teaching intelligent design or creationism in public schools has been acontroversial subject for the past century in the United States. Many people believe thatonly the evolution theory should be taught. Intelligent design should not be taught inpublic schools because it is not based on evidence. Learning creationism in school willbreak the law, harm science and harm students learning about science.Teaching intelligent design in public schools will break the law. The firstamendment states that Congress is prohibited to make any law respecting anestablishment of religion; therefore, you cannot teach creationism in schools. There havebeen many cases of schools breaking laws in order to teach creationism; if the schoolsdon't want to break the law then they shouldn't teach intelligent design to their students.Intelligent shouldn't be taught in public schools because it is religious and is notpractical for daily life. Intelligent design is the belief that a supernatural intelligence hascr eated the universe and humankind. The definition of evolution is that a developmentalprocess in which an organ or organism becomes more and more complex bydifferentiation of its parts. Evidence has shown that an animal that has stronger genes tosurvive in their environment can live longer than other animals that don't have the genes.After a while, the animals that lived on will sometimes develop certain characteristics ontheir bodies, which could make it easier and better for fitting to their environment.Intelligent design is only a belief that the world today was created for a reason andeverything that we see was designed for a purpose. Most schools today only teach theevolution theory which makes it more practical for daily life. Most people also believethe evolution theory. The US News and World Report has made a...The ligne is still used by French and Swiss watchm...

The world Trade Organization (WTO) The WritePass Journal

The world Trade Organization (WTO) Introduction The world Trade Organization (WTO) IntroductionWTO and Trade Libralization:The Doha Development Agenda:Competitive Environment:References:Related Introduction WTO and Trade Libralization: â€Å"The world Trade Organization (WTO), is the only global international organization monitoring and controlling the rules of trade between nations. It was formed in 1995 with the General Agreement of Trade and Traiffs (GATT) as its basis.† (Paul and Aserkar, 2010:1) The Doha Development Agenda: The fourth ministerial conference in Doha, in its November 2001 declaration, highlights the directives of negotiations around 21 subjects and the problems faced in their execution. The declarations support the WTO agreement objectives in order to amend the restrictions and biases in the world agriculture markets. (wto.org/english/tratop_e/dda_e/dohaexplained_e.htm#subsidies) The member countries are entitled to focus on the following facts: Access to Market Subsidies on Export Reduction in domestic support. For developing countries like Africa and Latin America, the Doha Declaration provides a differential treatment during the negotiations with some special provisions to monitor if the countries meet with the basic needs like food security and overall development. Competitive Environment: â€Å"No prohibitions or restrictions other than duties and taxes whether made effective through quotas, import or export licences or other measures, shall be instituted or maintained by any contracting country on the importation of any product of any other member country.† (GATT 1947) According to the original GATT, introduction of non-tariff barriers such as subsides and import quotas, creates an unfair environment, highly distorting the agricultural trade especially with the use of export subsidies. (wto.org/english/tratop_e/dda_e/dohaexplained_e.htm#subsidies) The Multilateral Agreement in the agriculture sector produced in the Uruguay Round laid the foundation to a fair competition with minimum distortions, through constant restructuring in the negotiations. (wto.org/english/tratop_e/agric_e/agric_e.htm) Africa and Latin America have predominantly large population especially in the rural areas, wherein the prime focus of these groups is agriculture. As per the FAO 2000 reports, agriculture occupies 50 percent and 20 percent of the total employment in the African and Latin American countries.   (Morrison and Sarris, 2007: 340) The European Union and The United States trade polices play a major role in promoting the overall progress of the developing nations by providing adequate support in accordance to the WTO agreements. No doubt that, agricultural products occupy a major share in exports of the developing countries. The United States and European Union impose higher controls on the agricultural exports of these developing nations by excising or imposing subsidies. However it would be quite unfair on their part, just to focus on either Africa or Latin America or only on the agricultural products and no other major industries or sectors. Moreover they are not legally obliged to focus on the concerns of other countries for their own benefits. In this competitive world, the big players should promote equal opportunities for all the countries, especially the developing ones. The core sectors need to be classified and equally promoted for a balanced overall growth. As in most developing countries, the rules and procedures of the multilateral trading system are regarded as unfair by the developing countries. They view the rules and procedures as favouring the developed countries. For example, although the WTO is supposed to be a member-driven organization, important issues and decisions are taken in â€Å"Green Room† meetings and African countries do not have proportionate and adequate representation at these meetings. In addition, because of their relatively low bargaining power, countries in the region have difficulties setting and influencing the agenda and pace of negotiations. The lop-sided power structure of the multilateral trading system is evident in the fact that developed countries managed to get the Singapore Issues on the agenda of the Doha Work Programme at the WTO Ministerial Conference in Doha despite mounting opposition from developing countries, who comprise more than two-thirds of the membership of the WTO. The Singapor e Issues contributed to the failure of the 2003 WTO Ministerial Conference in Cancun and three of the four issues were eventually taken out of the Doha Agenda. (Morrison and Sarris, 2007: 344-345) To stabilize farmers’ incomes and preserve a practical, diverse agricultural system is by combining the supply management and the price supports. In order to be effective, The United States and European Union should impose superior tariff controls along with the price supports on the imported farm goods. However such a policy prescription, of course, runs completely counter to the entire neoliberal thrust of the last twenty-five years, and would effectively remove US farm policy from the regulatory jurisdiction of the WTO, signalling the end of the WTO’s Agreement on Agriculture. (foodfirst.org/backgrounders/subsidies)    References: Justin Paul and Rajiv Aserker (2010) 5th edn. Export Import Management. New Delhi: Oxford University Press WTO (n. d.) WTO | DOHA Declaration [online] available from wto.org/english/tratop_e/dda_e/dohaexplained_e.htm#subsidies [1 May 2011] WTO (n. d.) WTO | Agriculture Gateway [online] available from wto.org/english/tratop_e/agric_e/agric_e.htm [1 May 2011] Morrison and Sarris (2007) WTO rules for agriculture compatible with development. Rome: fao.org Karl Bietel (2005) U.S. Farm Subsidies and the Farm Economy. FOOD FIRST 11 (3), 3