My ethnic identity Essay

Ethnicity is a way of defining, differentiating, and organizing around a shared awareness of the common ancestry of socially distinct groups of individuals, such as language, culture, religion, or nationality. It can shape community and identity, as well as can mobilize â€Å"like-minded† people into action for gaining social, political, and cultural interests. I am Mainland Indian. Since that is about a billion people, I have to add a lot more details. I would say that I am Western Indian. However, that is still not enough because it does not specify my personal identity. Ahmedabad is an important part of my identity because I was born in Ahmedabad. My parents and I can speak its local dialect. Simply put, my ethnicity is Western Indian and Gujarati. Also, I can speak English and Hindi and I am a Hindu. It is the first step that costs troublesome. As an Indian student first coming to New Jersey, USA for living my rest of the life, it was quite challenging to quickly adapt to my new life because of culture shock. To me, language barrier was a hard issue. As the language obstacle progressively became my hardship on a regular basis, I believed that in order to get over the language barrier, improving English while learning Spanish at high school should have been given top priority. After arriving in New Jersey, I lived at an apartment with my family, which was far from the downtown area. I did repeatedly miss my teachers, classmates, friends, and relatives in India. At that moment, the happiest time of day was to sit in front of my laptop, talking with my parents and friends through the Internet. Furthermore, the alien environment of New Jersey Institute of Technology campus was another major obstacle to me. As a freshman, I often got lost on campus, having difficulty finding the way to classrooms and accessing to a variety of facilities. Ethnicity is like a personal identity, referring to his or her own â€Å"sense of belonging to or identification with a group or tradition over time, based on commonalities with similar others. SANSKAR (Indian student association) did make me feel a strong sense of belonging by providing far more services to help all freshmen from India rapidly get used to the new life. I was so happy that I got to know many senior students who enjoyed sharing with me their experiences on how to overcome the setbacks they had ever encountered,  as well as on how to adjust to the new environment with the new students. From sharing their experiences, I learned how to well communicate with my peers and how to develop my interpersonal skills. I believed that these invaluable skills might help me greatly hinder dependence on my parents. My first month at NJIT went smoothly. With the help of those senior students, I gradually adapted to my new life by helping me improve English, overcome homesickness, and familiarize campus. Moreover, SANSKAR launched interesting activities in order to enrich each Indian student’s off-campus life. My friends and I did participate in some meaningful activities. Like SANSKAR, Jersey City Indian square (Little India) can be another home for me. I always spend my spare time going there with friends. As soon as I get there, I do have a strong sense of community. Although Jersey City Indian square is small, its physical landscape is perfectly in response to urban development and the growing success of the Indian community formation in New Jersey. These days, Jersey City Indian square, which is located at the center of many Indian social and cultural organizations, does perform a number of significant functions. Besides, the majority of Indian and foreign population in New Jersey enjoys going to Indian square to purchase some delicious food and some delicate souvenirs, gifts, accessories, or even handmade articles. In addition, Jersey City Indian square annually hosts the celebration of Indian festivals and also American festivals. I often go there for watching an Indian dance during the Indian New year, admiring lanterns and traditional Indian dances during the Mid-Autumn Festival, or getting green fortune cookies for St. Patrick’s Day. Since I am in a White-dominated society, as a member of minority group, I have to internalize the values of the dominant society. However, showing respect to life not only is a common ideology for everyone, but also is a rationale for minimizing and eradicating inequality, privilege, oppression, and marginalization.

Cardio

The angle and camera movement was mainly focused on Rick and his surroundings. . Discuss the use of at least three of the conventions of continuity editing used in this sequence as discussed in your text, starting on page 340. The scene was mostly based around the 1 80 degree rule, It Insured that I was not confused or It was Inconsistent. One example was when Sam was playing the Plano and the some background that was necessary was exploited. The A-line and B-line match was directed between Rick and his friend having conversation.The cross cutting created suspense when Islam and Rick met by the Plano when Sam and was playing the piano. C. This sequence is part of the plot's exposition. Define â€Å"exposition† as it is used in terms of plot. (You first encountered this term in the chapter on narrative. ) In this Sibilance? Exposition in terms of plot is a form of discourse that explains, defines, and interprets. The word is also applied to the beginning portion of a plot in wh ich background information about the characters and situation is set forth. . Watch the sequence in Citizen Kane which begins with a snowball hitting the â€Å"Mrs.. Cane's Boarding House† sign and ending with the sled being covered by snow. This sequence is approximately four minutes long. (1) How many shots are there? I counted 2-3 shots. (2) Describe the use of the camera, including camera angle and movement and the types of shots used in this short sequence. The angle I would describe this scene as would be a long shot. The focus was on Mrs.. Kane, Mr..Kane and Jaw Getty's while Junior was in the background outside playing in the snow. The camera followed the characters as well. Therefore, that is why there were not a lot of shots. (3) Notice the composition of each frame, I. E. , the placement of characters and objects within the frame of the shot. What is symbolically significant about this frame composition? The frame composition in this view led me intrigued on when t here was going to be the next shot. The camera kept following the characters.All the characters were centered around each other except for Junior was in the background which is to be considered the long shot as in question 2. The images it conveyed was the window in the background and Junior playing in the snow which added a little dimension to the shot. 3. In a minimum of two well-developed paragraphs, compare/contrast the overall editing styles used in Sibilance and Citizen Kane. Be specific about types of editing quenches and transitions between scenes and between shots within a scene.The shots conveyed in Sibilance were more of mid shots than of Citizen Cane. In Citizen Cane there were more transitions fading in and out. Including Atlanta's groundbreaking â€Å"deep focus† shots and many astonishing scenes, Citizen Kane is not only spectacular to look at, but the whole story telling is astonishing. Consider this famous scene, which captures the breakdown of a marriage in 2-1/2 minutes by furthering the distance of Kane and his first wife, Emily, at the breakfast table. Stupendous. And in terms of ingenuity, nothing in Sibilance compares.The lighting in both movies seemed to be the same considering they were both â€Å"black and white† The two main characters; Ills and Emily Norton were bright and stood out. Although Sibilance had one of the first new editing techniques brought to film I think Citizen Cane had more genius perspectives and editing, shots throughout the movies. Consider the scene in Citizen Cane when Not only has Wells now aged as Kane from about 25 to 70-something, but the shot of Kane walking though his huge, empty house with only reflections of himself is truly brilliant, as both visual imagery and none-too-subtle allegory.

Analysis of the Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning

An intergovernmental and national institution named as The Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System for Africa and Asia (RIMES) has managed and owned by member of states for the purpose of application and generation for the early warning information. The RIMES has been evolved from the combined efforts of Asia and Africa, after 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. RIMES have established to generate the early warning information for identification of hazards and are responsive with trans-boundary hazards. On 30 th April 2009 RIMES has come to existence and 1 st July 2009 its gets registered with UN United Nation. In Thailand Pathumthani the Asian Institute of technology, the RIMES activities are operated as regional early warning center (warning, 2011). To building capacity and providing actionable information related to waning to forewarned, resilient and forearmed communities They are working with the concept of provides maximum benefits at the minimum cost, RIMES works to address both low frequency hazards and high-impact like tsunamis and high frequency hazards and low-impact like extreme weather event . They are utilizing their technological facilities in an optimum way and providing the state of members to support decision information at wider basis. The all the members of the states are urge to provide lower cost for the establishment of the individual early warning system for low frequency hazards and high-impact (Warning, 2011). They are working to meet the information that is need by the different users; they are integrating risk information at different time scale so that the diverse user’s early information warning need meet. They are working to generate the tangible benefits that will be demonstrated by identifying new promising technologies and research products to do pilot testing for powerful operations. The key services that have delivered by RIMES are discussed as follows: To the National Tsunami Warning Centers of States Members RIMES are delivering following services: To the National Hydrological Research and Development and Weather Climate RIMES are delivering following services: Localized and customized generation means that the short-term weather information and server weather generate for the contingency plan and for logistic plan medium-term on formation generated and for long-term planning and   management resources, seasonal climate outlook generated (Anny, 2016). The climate variability and change analysis of risk could be generated by them and identification of   management related risk would be made for the adaption of various options The decision support tool would be developed on timely basis and development for the new risk information product would be generated The Following services are provided by the RIMES to the local and national level institute For providing the regional benefits the observations are being maintained and established and stations are being monitored (Robin, 2016). They are providing proper training to scientist The tool that they are used includes risk assessment and interpretation and translation of early warning. In decision making process the application of risk information being tailored The early warning system is also done by RIMES on need basis The SWOT analysis of RIMES will be discussed under this heading so that the organizational behavior framework could conduct The strength of RIMES includes that it is a collaborative efforts of Africa and Asia to generate early warning to save from any sort of hazards. The members from all the states are ready to serve at any cost. The best scientists are working with in the premises of RIMES to deliver their best services to generate the warning that could be save people from high and low impact of hazards (Kurittal, 2000) The RIMES weaknesses are that the scientists are on some basis are not be able to generate the results that are useful because the provision of generating warning might be not corrected although they are working with high quality techs products (Pinder, 2013). The main opportunities of RIMES are that they members of state from the nations are working to provide more tech full resources and they are working to bring advancement in the risk assessment products so that the provision of delivering results will became more authentic and valuable and are useful for them to keep them save from any sort of difficulties (Kuyngus, 2000) As they are working on the global scale they are facing many of the threats from their competitive firms that they might steal their technologies that will be biggest threats to them as they are aiming to work to provide best quality provision The function that is made to achieve the organizational set goals are composed of two or more than two people is defined as the social system that forms an organization. The organization is a place where two or more persons works to gather for the accomplishment of organizational set goals. The way in which an organization structured and organization plays its fundamental role for accomplishment and achievement of organization and individual both. The play a role that is based on the efficacy and efficiency for organization success and satisfaction that is intended to both of an individual and organization (Miner, 2015). The Concept of OB is developed in to identify the behavior of each and every individual and how its affect the organization and individual behavior. The organizational behavior is concept that needs to focus on all perspective to find out its impact on the performance of employees and organization. The concept of OB is developed with purpose to study the human behavior that what basically human mind perceived in order to understand that how effective his thinking for the organization performance (Wagner, 2014). The theories of organizational behavior try to elucidate on the specific behavior of people and to identify environment of organization to find out the factors that affects the individual performance, to identify the level of commitment towards the achievement of goals, to identify the influences of managerial style and leadership style for formulating the overall performance of organization and most importantly to identify the interaction between employers and employees. Thus it has found that the impact of organizational theories found significant to the performance of the organization and these all factors are important to consider for the performance evaluation of organization. The organizations are focusing to use these theories so that the productive of the firm will increase in effective and efficient manner (Durbin, 2013). In the selected organization RIMES are looking significantly into the matters of having a good organization performance those results in better productivity within effective and efficient manner.   The two main theories that are used by RIMES in order to make their performance effective and productive and these two main concepts are planning and organizing. The first main concept that is needed to focus is planning is a very major step organization should have a very enrich concern regarding the planning because a careful planning would lead it to its destination. This planning provides a baseline to achieve the goal it is required to have a careful planning for every start to move towards achieving the goals. The goals are being divided into different task and each task need to be monitor time to time and for this organization should survey and communicate to each other for the better understanding (Greenberg, 2013) It is very important to monitor each task with an open eye; supervisor and upper   management should have to monitor each task for better performance than it is very important to evaluate the results and this result will help an organization to make decision where the need improvements and for this they need to communicate the result within the organization. The organizations performance not only depends on productivity, effectiveness of market, profitability, and customer satisfaction but also depends on employee morals so the performance   management is very necessary step in the organization which is highly influential for employee’s satisfaction then to the organization performance thus the RIMES are focusing on the core of their heart to carefully design their planning activities so that the stated long term goals could be achieved by formulating short term and midterm goals. The planning is the most important factor to look up because of the base is wrong than the results will not effective (Bolnio, 2013). The second perspective defines about the organizing the activities in an easiest way to accomplish the goals in more effective manner. The organizing task according to the set plan is fundamental to obtain effective and efficient result. Further the organizational structure is very important to focus. The design structure should be impairment in the sense that organizing will be beneficial for the firms (Wegite, 2013). The organization structure of RIMES is based on the leadership style design. The organization structure is designed in a way to be convenient for interaction between different firms in countries and headquarters.   The proper linked is required to maintain among countries and headquarters so that the overall objectives could be achieved in effective and efficient manner. RIMES are focusing to maintain the coordinating activities more profound so that the problem could be resolve and miscommunication gap could be minimized. RIMES has faced difficulties while maintain the coordinating activities between different countries and headquarters, they are developing strategies on early basis to get rid of this miscommunication issue so that the effective result generate which is the sign of efficient and effective productivity (Papio, 2016). RIMES are working with full efforts to organize its organizational structure in way that follows leadership style that is beneficial to them in order to eradicate the communication gap so that the communication between firms will become easier to interact with several issues so that the generated problems could overcome. RIMES have developed different strategies that are playing their effective role in order to remove the miscommunication gap (Benner, 2013). In this context the applied leadership theory and style that is focused by the RIMES is discussed. The author of the study stated that the leadership styles are fundamental to the organization performance that needs to be focused very sharply. The leadership is generic skills that are implemented in by leader to work as a team that is beneficial and supportive to organizational culture to maintain the performance. The leadership style is supportive to the performance of organization that working in a team would generate the effective performance. The author of the study stated that the leaders are the one who leads people and don’t emphasize on ordering them to do work, the leader work cohesiveness and guide each and every individual of organization in order to have better performance and they encourage to work as a team rather than to be alone (piner, 2013). The leadership style is defines by two main function of phases that are transitional phase of leadership and transformational phase of leadership. The phase of leadership that are based on the composition of team that defines mission and establish expectations with stated goals, plan and structure, develop the team and train them and provide feedback these all activities done under the active phase. These functions are evolve in monitoring of the team and set boundaries and solves problem with in the limited provide resources and second style of leadership style phase is transformational phase, this is the phase in which leadership style is based on the activities to enhance coordination between groups and its members in order to generate the effective and efficient result and they are working under the leadership style to resolve the conflict that arises due to the misconception and mismanagement. And another type of leadership style is also existing that is known as the laissez-fai re leadership style that emphasize in the learning of members of groups in order to have the efficient and effective results (Marion 2014). The RIMES leadership style is based on the all of the above leadership phases they have transformational leader in their organization that are emphasizing on the composition of team that defines mission and establish expectations with stated goals, plan and structure, develop the team and train them and provide feedback and the evolve the monitoring process in order to have an effective results. The RIMES also follows the transformational leadership style in which the leaders are emphasizing on activities to enhance coordination between groups and its members in order to generate the effective and efficient result and they are working under the leadership style to resolve the conflict that arises due to the misconception and mismanagement so that the better result could be generated and on some extent the RIMES are also focusing on the emphasizing of   laissez-faire leadership style that emphasize in the learning of members of groups in order to have the efficient and effective res ults for RIMES (walker, 2015). The management approaches that has been implemented by RIMES are stated as follows They are following this approach because the intend to make decision on the basis of team work they provide complete freedom to all of their groups members to participate in decision making process so that the effective result could be generated (Hock, 2016). They are following this approach that has been applied to the countries offices representatives. This type of leadership style is based on the process to follow rules and process and top structure of the organization usually make decision in premises of RIMES. They are following this approach and is usually applied on personal securities and accountant of RIMES that they have complete right to make their own decision to complete each task. It may on some extent make frustration for employees as well (Famdaze, 2014). The RIMES are focusing on this approach and providing their employees a learning sharing environment and they have right to make their own decision and prefer to work in a team (Corea, 2015). It has been analyzed in the end that the RIMES have proper planning system and well maintained organization structure in which all are playing their role in effective and efficient manner to generate the better performance in the firm they are focusing on the emphasizing of leadership style to have a complete command over employees so that the best possible result could made that is useful for the organization, RIMES is working to maintain their coordination will all the countries to have direct linked with the organization so that all types of problems that has been faced due to the communication gap could be resolve at early basis. Their leadership style is quite impressive and maintainable It has been concluded at the end that the report is based on the introduction of RIMES and their services and activities are present and SWOT analysis of RIMES is mention that is revealing about the performance of RIMES. The framework of organizational behavior in which the theories of organizational behavior has been discussed and two main concept of planning and organizing is discussed which is based on the premises of RIMES perspective that what are their planning style and concept and according to the them the planning is most important step that is the base of the organization performance and then the organization structure of RIMES has been discussed that is designed in way to cover the communication gap. Then the leadership style and phases are discussed in the other section of report that is defining that the RIMES emphasizes on all three forms of leadership style that is transactional leadership, transformational leadership, and laissez-faire leadership style that are playin g vital role for generating effective performance. Warning, R. I. M. H. E. (2011). 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Leading virtual teams: Hierarchical leadership, structural supports, and shared team leadership.  Journal of applied psychology,  99(3), 390. Fernandez, L., Velasquez, M., & Sua, L. F. (2014). Endobronchial Interventions Used In The Managemet Of Malignant Central Airway Obstruction: Initial Experience At A Reference Center In South America. In  C39. THE SPY WHO LOVED BRONCHOSCOPY: ADVANCES IN INTERVENTIONAL PULMONARY PROCEDURES  (pp. A4399-A4399). American Thoracic Society. Correa, R., Basta, N., Andrade, A., & Flores, J. G. (2015, November). The Integrated Approach to Formation Water Management 2: Field Applications and Best Practices. In  SPE Latin American and Caribbean Petroleum Engineering Conference. Society of Petroleum Engineers.

Okonkwo as a tragic hero Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Okonkwo as a tragic hero - Research Paper Example Although Livingstone and Stanley's explorations contributed very little to deepen the Western understanding of the people or the land, they did encourage plenty of speculation and conjecture. It was these made-up ideas that became the foundation of several of the misunderstandings the West has held about Africa since then. Because of the one-sided discussion, Africa emerged as a land of possibility for Western enrichment through the unfettered exploitation of its resources. The West thinks of African people as mostly child-like, capable only of primitive understandings, and only slightly more than bestial in their natural environment. It took several years before native writers, such as Chinua Achebe were able to align Africa’s story with the West in the presentation of Okonkwo as a tragic hero in his story Things Fall Apart (1959). The tragic hero is a frequent character in numerous plays and dramas of the ancient Greeks into the modern day. The character type was present eve n before Aristotle's time, but it was Aristotle who codified the major elements that must be present for a character to be considered a tragic hero although these rules have changed some in the millennia since they were first described. In Aristotle's time, the tragic hero status could only be applied to characters with real potential for tremendous greatness. This meant people who were destined to be kings and princes or others who had some kind of noble claim. According to Zarro, â€Å"the tragic effect will be stronger if the hero is ‘better than we are’, in that he is of higher than ordinary moral worth. Such a man is shown as suffering a change in fortune from happiness to misery because of a mistaken act, to which he is led by his hamartia (his ‘effort of judgment’) or, as it is often literally translated, his tragic flaw.† In spite of this nobility, the tragic hero is destined to fail as a result of some tragic flaw inherent in their nature. T his tragic flaw is often associated in some way with their greatest strength and is therefore an aspect of their character that the individual becomes inordinately proud to exercise (Aristotle). As society has progressed, though, and new structures emerged in which wealthy businessmen took the place of kings and princes, the focus of the tragic hero has been less concerned with his noble status than it is with his progression through a three-fold process. According to Vest, heroism today, even tragic heroism, refers more to the actions of the character who embodies many of our ideals regarding what is good and noble in human nature than it is concerned with the birth or earned social status of the character himself. Although Okonkwo is not born a tribal chief, he earns his status as a tribal elder and this modern change in tragic hero definitions allows even the West to recognize his status. Before proving Okonkwo's actions qualify him as a tragic hero, it is necessary to understand what constitutes the progression of a tragic hero. The process of the tragic hero begins when the character commits some act in the excess of their pride that inevitably leads to their downfall (Aristotle). This is the first stage of the tragic cycle. The second stage

RITUALS&SYMBOLS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

RITUALS&SYMBOLS - Essay Example Most of the people were dressed nice, but some were wearing blue jeans and nice T-shirts with tennis shoes. The overall impression was a group of fashionable suburbanites at one of their more important social gatherings. The church looked as if it had been constructed sometime in the past ten years. It was relatively large and didn’t necessarily look like the traditional country church with steeple. Instead, it was shaped almost like an L, made of light brown brick and creamy white siding with darker brown brick accenting the cornerstones and other features. At one end of the church, there was an impressive open-air tower that might have been a modern interpretation of the old steeple. The roofs were sharply peaked and tiled in green, giving the church a very natural appearance as if it had been placed there by God for the use of his servants. Inside, the first thing a person entered was the lobby. This was a long, very wide corridor that was lined with windows and covered with skylights. This made it seem almost like standing outside, but was protected from the elements and could be heated and cooled at appropriate times. For those who feel the only proper worship should be held outside, this lobby was very close to bringing the outside in. The light associated with God seemed very welcome and people were offered drinks, food and religious reading or listening material as they passed by small tables. The sanctuary didn’t have as much light, but regular windows, curtained with soft, gauzy white fabric, also allowed plenty of natural light to stream in from the edges. The large array of pipes for the pipe organ stood impressively behind the altar with the choir standing in front of it singing a hymn and making it obvious that music was a large portion of this church’s worship. A large wooden cross and plenty of green potted plants, mostly palm-type plants, decorated the altar as well, again bringing to mind the concept of the natural

Schindlers List Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Schindlers List - Movie Review Example World War II has just begun and Polish army has been torn apart by Germany. Oskar Schindler, brilliantly portrayed by Liam Neeson, is a sadly unsuccessful businessman who arrives in Crakow hoping he may make use of the sudden increase in free manpower resulting from the population of the concentration camps, to set up a manufacturing unit for direct supply of goods to the German Army. Schindler is a member of the Nazi league, and is well aware of the right strings to pull and the right pockets to contribute to. Schindler soon gets around to acquiring a factory for production of army kits as is his plan. Ben Kingsley plays Itzhak Stern, "a man with the face and manner of a Talmudic scholar" (Steven Zaillian, Schindler's List) who is a functionary in the local Judenrat (Jewish Council) with contacts in the Jewish business community in the Ghetto. On his insistence, they agree to loan Schindler the money he needs. And in return they get a small share of products produced by the new company for trade on the black market. Work begins in Schindler's factory. Stern takes care of the matters of administration. In a well thought move, he suggests to Schindler that it would make more sense for the fledgling factory to depend on Jewish manpower as opposed to Poles. One of the benefits of work in Schindler's factory is that the employees are allowed outside the ghetto. Now Stern, in his capacity, ensures that as many of them as possible are reported as "essential" to the Nazi bureaucracy. In a subtle shade, we come to know that although Schindler is aware of what is going on, he does not try t o curb this. A very visible influence of the pre war take on the economics of successful business activity is evident in the portrayal of the running of Schindler's factory. The choice of workers also displays this influence, given the preference for Jews. This is a consequence of the pretty convenient fact that Jews are paid less, resulting in savings for the factory, although as the movie progresses, it becomes quite evident that profit making took second priority in the mind of at least one of the two men. In a fresh angle to the exploitative labor practices, the Jews themselves are paid nothing; all the wages go to the Reich. The movie gives us a fresh and at times depressing insight into the atrocious living conditions of the people. The Jews in the camps, as in the town are subjected to all kinds of torturous treatment. This is very well highlighted in one scene where Schindler enters a hotel, with a very suggestive sign saying ""No Jews or Dogs Allowed". Another very appealing scene shows the initial roll call and checkup of the inmates where they are paraded naked, man, woman and child alike. In some editions of the movie, this scene has been removed. Following airing of a largely uncut edition of the movie on NBC, Tom Coburn, then a congressman, stated that by airing the film, NBC had brought television "to an all-time low, with full-frontal nudity, violence and profanity", adding that airing the film was an insult to "decent-minded individuals everywhere"(Associated Press). Under fire from fellow Republicans as well as from Democrats, Coburn apologized for his outrage. Such insights have served in creating awareness in the people about the objectionable conditions brought about by war and its ravages. Politically these incidences, as has the war itself,

Impact of Culture on International Business Essay

Impact of Culture on International Business - Essay Example However, in the USA, the level of power distance is quite low and this shows that the intensity of interpersonal conflicts is quite high among the members. So, the entrepreneur needs to communicate very tactfully, in order to maintain cooperation and coordination among all. Similarly as the rate of individualism in the USA is extremely high so the entrepreneur needs to offer equal opportunities and wages to its members. Then, the level of motivation and morale of each of the employees of any newly developed organization might get enhanced towards their assigned tasks. Thus if equal opportunities and facilities are offered to the members or employees of the organization of USA, then their rate of dissatisfaction might get reduced to a significant extent. By reducing the rate of dissatisfaction, the level of coordination and teamwork among the employees might get declined to result in amplification of the brand value of the organization (Hofstede, n. d.). Prior developing a business in the United States of America, the entrepreneur needs to be well-versed with the language, customs, habits, and etiquettes, along with cultural dimensions, mentioned above so as to make the enterprise extremely successful in long run. The citizens of USA speak both American as well as Canadian English at the time of conversing with others. The Americans desire to make friendships with all and offer gifts to retain their relationships for the long run. This type of attitude helps to maintain uniqueness and equality among all the members. Moreover, the American citizens always offer high attention to dress codes and shaking of hands to maintain the level of relationships. This is one their business etiquettes that helps to maintain uniformity and coordination among all of the employees of an organization or citizens of the country of USA.

Plessy vs fersgeson Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Plessy vs fersgeson - Assignment Example Ferguson, the Committee of Citizens sought a legal redress in the Louisiana Court to challenge the unconstitutionality of ‘separate but equal’ doctrine that allowed racial segregation in public facilities in Louisiana. This followed the arrest of Plessy Homer who despite being a black used a white designated car. In his ruling, Judge John Howard held that Louisiana Stage was justified to enforce such discriminatory laws. The ruling was upheld by the Supreme Court of Louisiana and Supreme Court of US. By arguing in favor of ‘separate but equal,’ this ruling endorsed racial segregation in USA. On the other hand, Brown v. Board of Education was filed by Brown Oliver et al to advocate for the revocation of the laws that had been propagating the segregation of students in public schools. The plaintiffs argued that such laws violated the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments that support equality. The court ruled that segregation laws in public schools are unconstitutional and should be repealed. By overturning the Plessy v. Ferguson, this ruling paved way for the eradication of segregation in public schools and racial integration in the country. It was indeed, a great victory to the Civil Right Movements that had been piling pressure on the government to end

Is Parliamentary Sovereignty Still Applicable Today As It Was Previous Essay

Is Parliamentary Sovereignty Still Applicable Today As It Was Previously - Essay Example For those who believe in parliamentary sovereignty, parliament has absolute power which is unlimited by any other arm of government and because of this supremacy, all the legislation passed by it cannot be challenged by any other authority. In fact, it has at times been stated that parliament is not limited in what laws it can pass and that all of those that are passed are binding to all the people within its jurisdiction. While in other countries which have the parliamentary system, the actions of parliament are restricted by written constitutions that govern how these parliaments can act, in Britain; this is not the case because there is no written constitution to provide the guidelines. Many have used this to justify the belief that parliament remains as supreme as it was a century ago and this is mainly because it is the one which can make its own guidelines towards its conduct. There has been some debate concerning whether parliament is independent of the other organs of state or whether it is supreme to them. Some writers have stated that parliamentary sovereignty is equivalent to the sovereignty of the state and that the two are the same thing (Newman 175). This idea has been hotly contested because of the opposing belief that parliament is just one of the organs of state and that although it has sovereignty in its own right; it is not supreme to the other organs. In fact, it is stated that the role of parliament is strictly restricted to the role of passing legislation and that it does not have the right to interfere in the functions of the other arms or organs of government. When considering the legislative powers attributed to the British parliament, it is difficult to define the extent to which these powers go and whether they can be limited or not. What can be best described is the fact that the lower house, or the House of Commons, has supremacy in almost all legislative activity in parliament. However, this does not mean that all legislation is passed solely by this house because most of the legislation tends to be passed through cooperation between both houses of parliament (Packman 1229).  Ã‚  

My most significant memory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

My most significant memory - Essay Example Most of my friends live in the city, yet they are always enraptured by the mere mention of the country. Slowly but surely, I fell in love with this city that exudes the charm of tranquility. Nonetheless, I could not help feeling lonely and helpless for being a foreigner here. I was too timid to talk with the locals for fear that they would reject a person like me who could not speak their language flurntly. Not having many other Chinese citizens around me, and not being pampered by my caring and attentive parents only increased my distress. Soon I realized the only thing I could and should do was to be fully devoted to my studies so that I could be distracted away from the consuming homesickness. As a result, my grades started iproving and I felt I was slowly overcoming my homesickness. Occasionally, my mind would involuntarily cast back to those days of happiness I enjoyed back home. These memories always lead to my memories of the last day that I was in China, especially the final few minutes before boarding on the plane to America. My father looked at his watch and said, â€Å"It is time for you to go.† Yes, it was the time for me to go, for me to live without my parents, and for me to survive and thrive on my own abilities in a foreign country. We stood up, and went to Chinese customs. The moment was deeply imbued with melancholy. We were reluctant to depart, but we were all clearly aware that it had to happen. In front of the customs, we asked a warm-hearted passer-by to take a picture of my family as a keepsake for that special day. I hugged my parents, said my goodbyes and walked to the customs. For no reason, I decided to turn my head, and that was the moment when I saw my father’s eyes were welling up and my mother was shedding torrential tea rs. I melted, and the brave look I tried to put on was shattered. When the time

Ethnographic Report Essay Example for Free

Ethnographic Report Essay In order to make an ethnographic report, I visited a shop of Toys â€Å"R† Us in my native city in California. It was located in a big new shopping center in the main street of the city. It was not a very big toy shop, but there was quite a good variety of different toys, and also there was a small section of the goods for babies Kids â€Å"R† Us. That day it was really very crowded there, because it was Saturday afternoon and many parents could take their children out for shopping. Besides, as this mall was a brand new one in the city, there were dozens and dozens of new interested customers, arriving all the time.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     First of all, I paid attention on numerous young couples and teenagers, who came there definitely without intentions to buy something, but rather to do window shopping. This could happen because the shop was, again, a brand-new place. Of course, there were many children there, who came mostly with their mothers or elder siblings. There were a lot of young women in the section of Kids â€Å"R† Us, who were interested in clothes, footwear or toys for little babies. Therefore, I could notice almost total absence of mid-aged men in the shop.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It was not easy to estimate correctly, whether those children were mostly boys or girls. Probably, the amount of male and female children in the shop was approximately equal. Boys were very energetic. They enjoyed mostly action toys, plastic guns, remote controlled cars and basketball sets. Some of them insisted on buying different toys from Spiderman and Hulk series, some chose Spiderman comics, and two of little boys became happy owners of Lego sets. Also, miraculous but rather expensive multifunctional Robosapien Robot was an extreme attraction for all the male part of the visitors. Certainly, little girls were very greatly interested in Barbie-dolls and their all possible accessories. Many girls were asking their mums to buy special sets of toy cosmetics and little dresses for their Barbie dolls. Some girls decided to buy new back-bags, stationary or other accessories for school, and one girl asked her mother to buy a big set for arts and crafts. Some little girls preferred to buy little plastic toys, like My Little Pony with a long tail and mane to be brushed by a little brush, included to the set. Extreme crowd of children of both genders could be observed in the section of stuffed animals, where lots of beautiful dogs, cats, horses, tigers or teddy bears, small and big in size, were waiting for their owners. There were many adults in this section also. Three-four of young men bought some cute teddy bears for their girl-friends, and one couple bought a huge stuffed dog. Teenagers and young people were more concentrated on electronic games, PC games, table games, and especially puzzles: I guess, more than a dozen of different puzzles was bought that day. Also, any little child could receive a huge colored balloon from the consultants of the shop in the exit: that used to make many little customers of Toys â€Å"R† US go almost ecstatic.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   During my visit I could observe overwhelming majority of White Americans among the customers of the shop, but there was a family of Blacks: parents and their two little daughters, who were not in hurry and slowly walked, watching around with great interest. Black girls were very silent; they enjoyed plastic sets for playing on the sand, and then they chose a little doll of black color, which late on was bought by their parents for their pleasure. Besides, there were some children of Latin origin, who seemed to be there without parents, so they were extremely noisy and active. They were running around and trying many different toys without special preferences: balls, guns, cars, etc. But in the end they did not buy anything proper, but some sets of plastic water guns and a cheap rubber ball. Generally, I would classify social status of all the visitors like low and mid class. I think, about 70% of all the buys were made by adults, mostly mothers or elder brothers, but there were children, who had some own money and could get something they want for themselves. But, certainly, serious expensive toys could be bought only by adults. To my mind, the most popular toys are action figures and accessories for Barbie. Visiting a toy shop is always pleasure for anybody. Shops of Toys â€Å"R† Us are really very beautiful, very optimistic places, where everybody seems to become very happy and joyful. It is so great to have such wonderful places all around the country, where every day thousands of smiles and good emotions are brought to so many people! Bibliography:  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Toys â€Å"R† Us. Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia Online. 4 Oct. 2005. 6 Oct. 2005 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toys_R_Us.

Suburb and United States Essay Example for Free

Suburb and United States Essay The Suburbanization of North America although not commonly realized, is indeed one of the most striking features of the 20th century. For North Americans this process has changed where we live and how we live. No longer is the city and countryside completely separate, rather for many of us, these two ideas have formed together into a new urban environment. More people today live in suburbs than cities, and these entities have continued to meld, amalgamate, separate, conjoin and coexist. Consequently, a study of Suburbia and its origins is often subjective. A common definition of a suburb is â€Å"a community within a commuting distance of a central city. † However, this statement doesn’t always hold true as someone who lives in Hamilton or Guelph and commutes to Toronto every day for work probably do not consider themselves residents of Toronto. Massive areas of continuous urban development like Megalopolis in the American north east and southern California are the result of the massive move towards suburbs. The question still remains as to whether suburbs will continue to work for us. The relative prosperity of North America and cheap oil of the 20th century are what allowed suburbia to happen. As for the question of whether Suburbia will continue to remain as the dominant form of living on this continent, only time shall tell. More importantly, it is important to understand the origins and magnitude of Suburbia up to this point in time if one is truly to be prepared for the possible challenges of the future. Although the automobile suburb did not come about to until the 1920s in North America it is important to understand the pre-existing conditions, history and factors that lead to the first ‘modern’ suburbs. Both the United States and Canada were founded as rural colonial hinterlands. Despite the importance of the early towns and cities, at the time of the American Revolution, only one in twenty citizens lived in an urban setting. Alas, the United States was a rural nation of farms, plantations and men living on the frontier. It was in this rural setting that the American mindset was born. Frederick Jackson Turner’s 1893 â€Å"Frontier Thesis† claims that the innovative and individualistic mindset of the archetypical American is a result of the nation’s experience on the western frontier. Consequently, one can see the appeal of the individualistic and country living experience that suburbs would later offer. Despite this rural ideal, the 19th century and industrial revolution witnessed a massive movement towards the industrial city. Much like the future development of suburbia, early industrial expansion was unplanned and chaotic. By 1890 there was 160,000 miles of railroad tracks in the United States and cities like Chicago and New York’s population were exploding as a result of natural increase and millions of immigrants arriving from Europe. These American industrial cities became overcrowded, dirty and miserable for most of the working class. The industrial American city began to resemble its English counterparts from across the Atlantic. Indeed the description of ‘Coketown’ from Charles Dickens’ Hard Times had become migrated across the ocean onto North American shores. The dissatisfaction that came from living in Industrial cities manifested itself in several ways. Firstly, it should be noted that most of these cities were walking cities and main means of transportation was walking from place to place for the poor. Consequently, everything from industry to residences was relatively close to each other and the central business district or CBD. The City Beautiful movement, Sir Ebenezer Howard’s Garden City movement and the creation of Central Park in New York are all examples of yearning for green space and connectedness with nature. These projects and ideas were not only concerned about aesthetics, but rather, they were concerned with promoting social order, civic virtue and increasing the quality of life. So it was that the country and nature would penetrate into the borders of urbanism during the mid to late 19th century. However, as certain technologies became available it would be the country that would begin to be breached by Urbanism. In actuality, the first suburbs were established well before the mass or rapid transit of the late 19th century. Wealthy merchants of the 18th century established the first suburbs in London when they built their second homes within a carriage ride from the city. â€Å"Soon many of these merchants were living permanently outside the cities where their businesses were located. They were creating the first true dormitory suburbs†¦small communities in a near-rural setting. † Horse car suburbs no further than a 30 to 40 minute carriage ride from city were available to the wealthier of citizens whom could afford the 15 to 25 cent round trip fares. Frank Sprague’s perfection of the electric street car in 1888 facilitated a massive suburban explosion of â€Å"streetcar† suburbs. Although considerably more compact in land usage as later suburbs will be seen to use, â€Å"street car† suburbs would lead the charge in centrifugal movement of cities. Established closely to rail lines these residences would provide detached housing that would be impossible for the middle class within the city. Unlike our modern suburbs of today, these developments had little in the way of services. Consequently, people went home to sleep and be with family, as the residents of these new ‘street car’ suburbs’ affairs were all but entirely within the city. There were positive and negative consequences to the massive suburban growth created by the street car. Firstly, the electric street car allowed for someone to live up to ten miles away from the city core and still get to their place of business within 30 minutes. Furthermore, factories like the steel plants in Gary Indiana could now be established outside the city core on ripe land or ‘greenfield sites. This suburbanization of industry â€Å"encompassed a progressively broader cross section of groups, with the result that there began to emerge a differentiation of suburban neighborhoods according to occupation and income. † The massive exodus of middle class citizens from the downtown area changed the way its space was utilized, focusing on non-residential uses of land. Some 80,000 new residenc es were built in Chicago from 1890 to 1920, this massive centrifugal movement of people created opportunities for commercial development along rail junctions. This ultimately had the effect of ending the simple city structure with a single focal point. Before the advent of the automobile era, these street car suburbs of the late 19th and early 20th century had a massive effect on shape and character of a city as the rail lines became the arteries for all commercial, residential and industrial development. The period of suburban infill starting in the 1920s was a result of the success of the internal combustion engine and the industrial processes pioneered by Henry Ford. The aforementioned desire to live the country life and escape the wretches of urbanism did continue into this new period. In fact, the versatility of the car or bus over rail would increase the numbers of people who would and could make a life in suburbia as opposed to the city. Two important components were necessary for the new automobile suburb. The first necessary component was the infrastructure, and chiefly among it, roads. The 1916 Federal Aid Roads Act had the design of making States build and maintain interurban highways, and the subsequent 1921 act helped to provide funds for integrating a long-distance network. Secondly, people needed affordable personal vehicles. Henry Ford’s assembly line production methods had the benefit of greatly improved productivity. Utilizing these methods and economies of scale, Ford was able to lower the price on the model T from 22 months’ average pay in 1909 to only 3 months’ pay by 1925. This had the effect of putting 27 million cars on the road by the end of the 1920s in the United States. The rise in investment for automobiles and roads was tremendous during the 1920s and 1930s, but also remarkable was the lack in investment in mass and rapid transit.

Evolution of Australian Flora: Hymenopteran Visual Systems

Evolution of Australian Flora: Hymenopteran Visual Systems Abstract Very little work has been done on the evolution of floral colour diversity, outside of Europe and the Middle East. In particular, we know almost nothing about the evolution of the Australian flora in the context of hymenopteran visual systems. Such a study is likely to be important due to the geologically long isolation of the Australian flora and the high proportion of endemic plant species. The aims of this study were to investigate the colour of Australian native flowers in the context of hymenopteran visual systems, the innate colour preferences of Australian native bees (Trigona carbonaria), and the interactions between native bees and a food deceptive orchid (Caladenia carnea). Firstly, I found that the discrimination thresholds of hymenopterans match up with floral colour diversity and that hymenopterans appear to have been a major contributor to flower colour evolution in Australia. Secondly, I found that Trigona carbonaria has innate preferences for wavelengths of 422, 437 a nd 530 nm. Thirdly, I found that bees were able to habituate to orchid flowers based on colour, thus potentially explaining the colour polymorphism of Caladenia carnea. Together, my study suggests that the evolution of the Australian flora has been influenced by hymenopterans. 1. Introduction Plant-pollinator interactions The mutual interactions between pollinators and plants have been suspected in driving angiosperm radiation and diversification in the past (Regal 1977; Crepet 1984; McPeek 1996). The obvious mutual benefit is that pollinators depend on the pollen and/or nectar of flowering plants for food and, in return, partake in the incidental transfer of pollen necessary for plant reproduction (Faegri and van der Pijl 1978; Harder, Williams et al. 2001). Worldwide, it is estimated that more than 67% of angiosperm plants rely on pollination by insects (Tepedino 1979). Hence, pollinators play a critical role in the persistence and survival of flowering plants, which are of high value to the human food chain (Kearns and Inouye 1997; Klein, Vaissiere et al. 2007). Flower colour signals and sensory exploitation Colour is the result of the visible light being absorbed or reflected off objects and then processed by the eye and brain of an animal (Le Grand 1968). Light is part of the electromagnetic spectrum, and can be quantified by the wavelength of different photons of energy (Bueche 1986). The wavelengths reflected off the object are perceived by a visual system as the object’s colour. For example, light that appears blue to a human observer can be described by a dominant wavelength of 400nm, whilst light that appears red is 700nm. Ultraviolet light falls between 300-400nm and can be seen by bees, but not humans. Flower colours have been influenced by the sensory receptors of insects, including their colour vision, which is different to human vision. Humans have a red, blue and green receptor (Chittka and Wells 2004). In contrast insects have a UV, green and blue receptor (Chittka and Wells 2004). As human vision is very different to a hymenopterans’ colour visual system, one cannot discuss a bees’ colour perception according to human colour terms such as red or blue. Therefore, this thesis will discuss colours according to wavelength. Colour is one of the most important floral signals plants use to communicate information to insect pollinators (Giurfa, Vorobyev et al. 1996; Dyer, Spaethe et al. 2008). Although it is known that pollinators select flowers based on morphology, nectar availability, size, and odour (Giurfa, Nà ºÃƒ ±ez et al. 1994; Kunze and Gumbert 2001; Spaethe, Tautz et al. 2001; Whitney and Glover 2007), colour is known to play a critical role in enabling pollinators to detect and discriminate target flowers from a biologically important distance of up to 50 cm (Giurfa, Vorobyev et al. 1996; Dyer, Spaethe et al. 2008). Our understanding of the evolution of colour vision in insects has advanced considerably in recent years. In the past, studies of colour perception were limited due to little information on the colour visual system of insects (Frisch 1914; Daumer 1956). It is now possible to evaluate how flower visual signals appear to the visual system of hymenopteran pollinators, using spectrophotometer and colorimetry techniques, which allows quantitative evaluations of how complex colour information is perceived by insect pollinators (Chittka 1992) (fig. 1). Previous research has revealed that colour discrimination in hymenopterans is phylogenetically ancient, with different hymenopterans sharing similar colour perception (Helversen 1972; Chittka and Menzel 1992). Importantly, colour discrimination in the hymenoptera is known to predate the evolution of floral colour diversity (Chittka 1996). Here, recent research has revealed remarkable convergence in the evolution and distribution of floral colours in different parts of the world. Specifically, in a seminal paper, Chittka (1996) showed that flowering plants in both Europe and the Middle East have adapted their colour signals to the visual systems of bees, with flower colours in these regions closely matched to the visual receptors of hymenopterans (Chittka 1996). However, outside of Europe and the Middle East, very little work has been done on the evolution of floral colour diversity. In particular, we know almost nothing about the evolution of the Australian flora in the context of hy menopteran visual systems. This is an important question to investigate due to the long isolation of the Australian flora and the high proportion of endemic plant species. I hypothesise that the Australian floral coloration will closely match the discrimination thresholds of hymenopterans as recent evidence suggests that insect pollinators supported the early spread of flowering plants (Hu, Dilcher et al. 2008). Innate colour preferences of bees Charles Darwin was the first to state that innate preferences could allow an inexperienced pollinator to find a food source (Darwin 1877). Pollinators may use certain traits of flowers such as morphology, scent, temperature and colour to locate food (Heinrich 1979; Menzel 1985; Dyer, Whitney et al. 2006; Raine, Ings et al. 2006). Previous studies evaluating innate colour preferences have tended to focus on two species: the European honey bee (Apis mellifera) and bumblebee (Bombus terrestris). By contrast, no studies have looked at the innate colour preferences of Australian bees and how this affects their choices for flowers. We know that European bumblebees and honeybees show strong preferences for violet and blue (400-420nm) throughout their geographic range (Chittka, Ings et al. 2004) ,which interestingly correlates with the most profitable food sources (Lunau and Maier 1995; Chittka and Raine 2006). These preferences are likely to have had an impact on the relative success of dif ferent flower colours in regions where these bees are dominant pollinators (Chittka and Wells 2004). Consequently, information on the innate preferences of Australian bees will be important to understand hymenopteran plant interactions in the Australian context. Pollinator learning and food deceptive orchids Most plants reward their pollinators with nectar or pollen. However, some species do not offer floral rewards and, instead, employ a range of deceptive techniques to trick insects into performing the task of pollination. Deceptive pollination strategies are particularly well known and widespread among orchids (Jersà ¡kovà ¡, Johnson et al. 2006). For instance, approximately 400 orchid species are known to achieve pollination through sexual deceit, luring unsuspecting male insects to the flower through olfactory, visual and tactile mimicry of potential mates. More common are food deceptive orchids which are believed to number as many as 6,000 species (one-third of orchids) (Jersà ¡kovà ¡, Johnson et al. 2009). Food mimicking orchids employ bright colours to falsely advertise the presence of a reward to attract naive pollinators (Ackerman 1986; Nilsson 1992; Jersà ¡kovà ¡, Johnson et al. 2006). The common occurrence of food deception in orchids suggests that this form of pollinat ion by deception is an extremely successful evolutionary strategy (Cozzolino and Widmer 2005). Visits by pollinators to deceptive plants are influenced by pollinator learning. In the case of sexual deception, previous research shows that insects quickly learn unrewarding flower decoys and avoid them. For example, male insects learn to avoid areas containing sexually deceptive orchids (Peakall 1990; Wong and Schiestl 2002). However, whether insects can learn to avoid food deceptive orchids remains to be investigated. In addition, high levels of variability in floral traits, particularly flower colour and floral scent, may interrupt the associative learning of insects by preventing their ability to become familiar with deceptive flowers (Schiestl 2005). Indeed, variation in colour, shape and fragrance is evident in non-model food-deceptive orchids (Moya and Ackerman 1993; Aragà ³n and Ackerman 2004; Salzmann, Nardella et al. 2007). However, previous studies have only looked at pollinator preference for colour morphs (Koivisto, Vallius et al. 2002), rather than assessing if vari able flower colour slows down the ability of naive pollinators to learn unrewarding flower decoys. Furthermore, there is a need to incorporate a combination of colour vision science and behavioural ecology to understand how a bee perceives the orchid flowers, as bees have a different visual system to humans. Although humans cannot see ultra-violet light, UV sensitivity is common in some animals (Tovà ©e 1995). UV sensitivity has been found in insects, birds, fish and reptiles (Marshall, Jones et al. 1996; Neumeyer and Kitschmann 1998; Cuthill, Partridge et al. 2000; Briscoe and Chittka 2001). Studies on UV vision in an ecological context have mainly focused on species specific signalling and mate choice (Bennett, Cuthill et al. 1996; Bennett, Cuthill et al. 1997; Pearn 2001; Cummings, Garc et al. 2006). However, few studies have looked at the role of UV signals in attracting bees to orchids. Previous studies have shown that the presence of UV reflecting crab spiders attracts honeybees to daisies (Heiling, Herberstein et al. 2003). In a similar study, Australian native bees (Austroplebia australis) were attracted but did not land on flowers with UV reflecting crab spiders (Heiling and Herberstein 2004). However, the role of UV signals in orchids is not well studied. In particular, it is not known if the UV signal is important in attracting naive bees to food deceptive orchids. Thus, it will be useful to know if UV signals might also serve to lure naive pollinators to deceptive flowers to understand deceptive pollination. Aims This project will investigate Australian flower colour diversity in the context of hymenopteran visual systems, the innate colour preferences of Australian native bees (Trigona carbonaria) and their interactions with a food deceptive orchid (Caladenia carnea). This study aims to address the following questions: 1. Is there a link between hymenopteran vision and Australian floral coloration? 2. Does an Australian native bee (Trigona carbonaria) have innate colour preferences? 3. Does a food deceptive orchid (Caladenia carnea) exploit the innate colour preferences of Trigona carbonar 2. Methods Part 1. Is there a link between hymenopteran vision and Australian floral coloration? Flower collection and spectral reflectance functions of Australian native plant flowers Australian native flowers were collected from Maranoa Gardens, Balwyn (melway ref 46 F7). Maranoa Gardens was chosen due to the diverse collection of species from all over Australia. Flowers were collected once a month, from May to January. A colour photograph was taken of the flower for identification. I also took a UV photograph for all flowers, using a digital UV camera [Fuji Finepix Pro S3 UVIR modified CCD for UV imaging] with calibrated UV-vis grey scales (Dyer, Muir et al. 2004). As UV rays are invisible to the human eye (Menzel and Blakers 1976; Dyer 2001), this photo enabled any UV reflectance areas of the flower to be measured by the spectrophotometer (Indsto, Weston et al. 2006). The spectral reflection functions of flowers were calculated from 300 to 700 nm using a spectrophotometer(S2000) with a PX-2 pulsed xenon light source attached to a PC running SpectraSuite software (Ocean Optics Inc., Dunedin, FL, USA). The spectrophotometer was used to quantify the colour of the flower as wavelength. The white standard was a freshly pressed pellet of dry BaSO4, used to calibrate the spectrophotometer. A minimum of three flowers from each plant were used for each spectral analysis. I evaluated a sample of 111 spectral measurements from Australian flowering plants, encompassing a representative variety of plant families (fig. 2). Correlations between spectral reflectance functions of different plant flowers and trichomatic vision of the honeybees To understand if there is a link between hymenopteran vision and Australian native flowers, I used the methodology used by Chittka and Menzel (1992). In that study, Chittka and Menzel looked for correlations between flower spectra sharp steps of different plant flowers and trichomatic vision of the honeybees. Sharp steps are a rapid change in the spectra wavelength (Chittka and Menzel 1992) (see fig. 3 for an example of a sharp step). These steps cross over different receptors, thereby producing vivid colours that stand out from the background. Furthermore, a colour signal will be more distinguishable to a pollinator if the sharp steps match up with the overlap of receptors in a visual system. Thus, the main feature of a flower wavelength is a sharp step. For this study, I defined a sharp step as a change of greater than 20 % reflectance in less than 50 nm of the bee visual spectrum. The midpoint of the slope was determined by eyesight as described by Chittka and Menzel (1992), as th e nature of curves varied with each flower. The absolute numbers of sharp steps within each flower spectra were counted. The frequencies are shown in fig. 4b. As hybrid plants are artificially selected by humans, hybrid flowers were not included in the analyses. Generating a Hexagon colour space To evaluate how flower colours are seen by bees, I plotted the flower colour positions in a colour hexagon space. A colour space is a numerical representation of an insect’s colour perception that is suitable for a wide range of hymenopteran species (Chittka 1992). In a colour space, the distances between locations of a two colour objects link with the insect’s capacity to differentiate those colours. To make the colour space, the spectral reflectance of the colour objects were required, as well as the receptor sensitivities of the insect. For Trigona carbonaria, the exact photoreceptors are currently unknown, but hymenopteran trichromatic vision is very similar between species as the colour photoreceptors are phylogenetically ancient (Chittka 1996). Thus, it is possible to model hymenopteran vision with a vitamin A1 visual template (Stavenga, Smits et al. 1993) as described by Dyer (1999). I then predicted how the brain processed these colour signals by using the avera ge reflectance from each flower, and calculating the photoreceptor excitation (E) values, according to the UV, blue and green receptor sensitivities (Briscoe and Chittka 2001) using the methods explained by Chittka (1992). The UV, blue and green E-values of flower spectra were used as coordinates and plotted in a colour space (Chittka 1992). The colour difference as perceived by a bee was calculated by the Euclidean distance between two objects locations in the colour hexagon space (Chittka 1992). Modelling the distributions of Australian flower colours according to bees’ perception I analysed the most frequent flower colour according to a bees’ colour perception using the methods of Chittka, Shmida et al. (1994). I plotted the Australian flower colours in a colour space (Fig 5a). A colour space is a graphical representation of a bees’ colour perception. A radial grid of 10 degree sectors was placed over the distribution of colour loci and the number of floral colour loci within each sector was counted(fig. 5b). Part 2. Does an Australian native bee (Trigona carbonaria) have innate colour preferences? Insect model and housing Trigona carbonaria is an Australian native stingless bee that lives in colonies of 4000-10000 individuals (Heard 1988). In the wild, stingless bees live in hollows inside trees (Dollin, Dollin et al. 1997). Trigona carbonaria has a similar social structure to the honeybee (Wille 1983). They are common to North Eastern Australia and are a potentially important pollinator for several major commercial crops (Heard 1999). A research colony (ca. 4000 adults and 800 foraging individuals) of T. carbonaria was propagated for the experiments by Dr Tim Heard (CSIRO Entomology, 120 Meiers Rd, Indooroopilly 4068, Australia) as described in the paper by Heard (1988). Bees were maintained in laboratory conditions so that no previous contact with flowers had been made. For this study, a colony was placed in a pine nest box (27.5 x 20 x 31 cm; LWH) and connected to the foraging arena by a 16 cm plexiglass tube, containing individual shutters to control bee movements. All laboratory experiments were conducted in a Controlled Temperature Laboratory (CTL) at Monash University, Clayton, School of Biological Sciences (CTL room G12C dimensions 3 x 5m), during the months of July 2009- January 2010. Relative humidity (RH) was set to 30%, and the temperature was set to 27  °C (SPER-Scientific Hygrometer, Arizona, USA), as this set up approximately matches conditions in Queensland for insect pollinators (Heard and Hendrikz 1993). Illumination (10/14 hr day/night) was provided by four Phillips Master TLS HE slimline 28W/865 UV+ daylight fluorescent tubes (Holland) with specially fitted high frequency (>1200Hz) ATEC Jupiter EGF PMD2x14-35 electronic dimmable ballasts which closely matches daylight conditions for trichromatic hymenoptera (Dyer and Chittka 2004). The flight arena (1.2 x 0.6 x 0.5m; LWH) was made of a coated steel frame with laminated white wooden side panels. The arena floor was painted foliage green, and the arena lid was covered with UV transparent plexiglass. Experimen ts were conducted from 1pm-3pm to control for time of day, as this is when bees are most active (Heard and Hendrikz 1993). Pre-training Bees were habituated to the flight arena for seven days. Naive foragers (i.e. bees that had never encountered real or artificial flowers) were initially pre-trained to forage in the flight arena on three rewarding aluminium sanded disks (25 mm in diameter), with a 10-ÃŽ ¼l droplet of 15% (w/w) sucrose solution placed in the centre. The disks were placed on vertical plastic cylinders (diameter = 25 mm, height = 100 mm), to raise them above the floor of the flight arena so that bees learnt to fly to the disks. Pre-training allows bees to become habituated to visiting artificial flowers for further experiments. The aluminium sanded disks were chosen as neutral stimuli because they have an even spectral reflectance curve in the spectral visual range of the bees, fig. 6. The sucrose solution reward on these training disks was refilled using a pipette after it was consumed by foraging bees. The spatial positions of these training disks were pseudo randomised, so that bees would not learn t o associate particular locations with reward. Bees were allowed a minimum of two hours to forage on the pre-training disks before data collection Innate colour preference testing To test the innate colour preferences of naive bees, I performed simultaneous choice experiments with flower-naive bees using artificial flowers that simulated the floral colours of natural flowers. The aluminum rewarding disks were replaced by the ten unrewarding, coloured artificial disks in the original flight arena. Artificial flower stimuli were cut in a circle (70 mm diameter) from standardized colour papers of the HKS-N-series (Hostmann-Steinberg K+E Druckfarben, H. Schmincke Co., Germany). In each experiment the same set of ten test colours (1N pale yellow, 3N saturated yellow, 21N light pink, 32N pink, 33N purple, 50N blue, 68N green, 82N brown, 92N grey, back of 92N white) were used. These colours were chosen as they have been used in innate colour experiments with other hymenopterans (Giurfa, Nà ºÃƒ ±ez et al. 1995; Kelber 1997; Gumbert 2000), and the colours are also widely used in other bee colour experiments (Giurfa, Vorobyev et al. 1996). The coloured paper disks were placed on vertical plastic cylinders (diameter = 15 mm; height = 50 mm), to raise them above the floor of the flight arena. The gate was shut in the arena to ensure the bees used in each trial were separated from the next trial. The number of landings and approaches to the stimuli were recorded for one hour. Approximately 200 bees were used for each trial. The spatial positions of the artificial flowers were pseudo randomised in a counter balance fashion every 15 minutes. After each trial, the colour disks were aired and wiped with a paper tissue to remove possible scent marks, which are known to affect experiments with honeybees (Schmitt and Bertsch 1990; Giurfa and Nà ºÃƒ ±ez 1992). I conducted each subsequent trial after removing the used bees from the system, to ensure that the bees in the next trial were replaced with naive foragers. It is known that perception of colour can be influenced by background colour (Lunau, Wacht et al. 1996). Therefore, I also tested colour choices on other background colours of grey and black. The results are qualitatively similar (fig. 8b), so only data from the biologically relevant green background was used for subsequent analysis. Analysis of colour stimuli As bees see colours differently to humans, I quantified stimuli according to five parameters: wavelength, brightness, purity (saturation), chromatic contrast to the background and green receptor contrast. Dominant wavelength was calculated by tracing a line from the centre of the colour hexagon through the stimulus location to the corresponding spectrum locus wavelength (Wyszecki and Stiles 1982). Brightness was measured as the sum of excitation values of the UV, blue and green receptors (Spaethe, Tautz et al. 2001). Spectral purity of the stimulus was calculated by the percentage distance of the stimulus in relation to the end of the spectrum locus (Chittka and Wells 2004). Chromatic contrast was calculated as the distance of a colour stimulus from the centre of the colour hexagon relative to the background. Chromatic contrast is important as perception can be affected by background colour (Lunau, Wacht et al. 1996). Green receptor contrast was measured as the green receptor excitat ion from a stimulus relative to the background (Giurfa, Nà ºÃƒ ±ez et al. 1995). This contrast is relevant as green receptors and green contrast are known to affect motion in bees (Srinivasan, Lehrer et al. 1987). Statistical analyses The impact of wavelength on number of landings by Trigona carbonaria was investigated using a single factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) and a post hoc Tukeys HSD test (ÃŽ ±=0.05) (Quinn and Keough 2002) using the number of landings as the dependent variable and wavelength of stimuli as the independent variable. Brightness, purity (saturation), chromatic contrast to the background and green receptor contrast of stimuli were analysed using the Spearmans rank correlation test against choices. Statistical analyses were conducted using R statistical and graphical environment (R Development Core Team, 2007). Statistical significance was set to P≠¤0.05. Part 3. Does a food deceptive orchid (Caladenia carnea) exploit the innate colour preferences of Trigona carbonaria? Plant model Caladenia carnea is a widespread species, common to eastern Australia. The orchid is highly variable in colour, ranging from pink to white. It is pollinated by Australian native bees of the Trigona species (Adams and Lawson 1993).With bright colours and fragrance, this orchid achieves pollination by food mimicry (Adams and Lawson 1993). Thus, due to the colour variation of the orchid, C. carnea is an excellent model with which to examine floral exploitation of potential pollinators. Caladenia carnea flowers were supplied by private growers from the Australasian Native Orchid Society. Can Trigona carbonaria perceive a difference between pink and white flowers of Caladenia carnea? Colorimetric analysis of the pink and white Caladenia carnea flowers were used to investigate whether different colours of the orchid would be perceived as similar or different to a bees’ visual system. A spectrophotometer was used to take four measurements of each flower colour (pink versus white). The actual measurements used in the analysis were an average of each colour (Dyer, Whitney et al. 2007). To predict the probability with which insect pollinators would discriminate between different flowers, these spectra were plotted as loci in a hexagon colour space (Chittka 1992) (see ‘hexagon colour space’ methods). Choice experiments I conducted trials testing the preferences of bees when offered a dichotomous choice between a white versus pink Caladenia carnea flower. Each trial took place inside a flight arena. Each white and pink flower used in a trial were matched for size, placed into indiviual plastic containers (diameter= 5 cm, height=5 cm) and placed in the arena with a distance of 10 cm between flower centres. Each container was covered with Glad WrapTM (The Clorox Company, Oaklands, CA, USA) to remove olfactory cues as they are known to in ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡uence the choice behaviour of honeybees (e.g. Pelz, Gerber et al. 1997; Laska, Galizia et al. 1999). Approximately 50 bees were let into the arena for each trial. The  ¬Ã‚ rst contact made by a bee with the Glad WrapTM within a distance of 4 cm, was recorded as a choice of that  ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ower (Dyer, Whitney et al. 2007). The number of landings were recorded to the flowers for five minutes. After each trial, the Glad WrapTM was changed to prevent scent ma rks. In addition, individual flowers and spatial positions were randomised. Individual bees were sacrificed after each trial to avoid pseudo replication. Does the UV signal affect the attraction of bees to orchid flowers? To investigate whether the UV re ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ectance of the dorsal sepal affected the response of bees, I offered bees the choice between two white orchids, one with a UV signal and the other without (N=16). The UV signal was removed by applying a thin layer of sunscreen (Hamilton SPF 30+, Adelaide, SA, Australia) over the dorsal sepal. Spectral reflectance measurements were taken to ensure that the sunscreen prevented any reflection of UV light (below 395 nm) from the sepals and did not change the reflectance properties of the orchid. In addition, spectral measurements of orchid sepals under Glad WrapTM confirmed that the foil was permeable to all wavelengths of light above 300 nm and did not obscure the reflectance of flowers. Do bees display preferences when choosing between pink versus white orchid flowers? To assess whether bees show a preference for pink or white variants of the orchid Caladenia carnea, I offered bees a simultaneous choice between a pink or white flower (N=16). See procedures for choice testing. Do bees habituate to non-rewarding orchids based on differences in floral coloration? I conducted a two stage experiment to investigate if bees could learn to habituate to a non-rewarding flower colour over time and whether bees adjusted their subsequent flower choice depending on the flower colour encountered previously. At stage 1 of the experiment, native bees were presented with one flower, either white or pink. Flowers were placed in a container with Glad WrapTM. Landings to the flower were recorded at the start and again at the 30 min mark. At stage 2, the flower from stage 1 was swapped with a new flower colour and the number of landings were scored for 5 minutes. Flowers were randomised and Glad WrapTM changed to prevent scent marks after each trial. Once again, bees were used only once per experiment. Statistical analyses For experiments 2, 3 4, numbers of landings by naive bees to flower pairs were compared using two tailed paired t-tests. A two factor ANOVA was used to analyse whether bees habituate to non-rewarding orchids based on differences in floral coloration. The dependent variable was the number of landings and the two independent variables were previous flower colour and new flower colour. 3. Results Part 1. Is there a link between hymenopteran vision and Australian floral coloration? Correlations between the inflection curves of different plant flowers and trichomatic vision of hymenopterans The analysis of 111 spectral reflection curves of Australian flowers reveals that sharp steps occur at those wavelengths where hymenoterans are most sensitive to spectral differences (fig. 4b). There are three clear peaks in sharp steps (fig. 4b). It is known that hymenopteran trichomats are all sensitive to spectral differences at approximately 400 and 500 nm (Menzel and Backhaus 1991; Peitsch, Fietz et al. 1992). Hence, the peaks at 400 and 500 nm can be discriminated well by hymenopteran trichomats, as illustrated by the inverse Δ ÃŽ »/ÃŽ » function (solid curve shown in fig. 4a) of the honeybee (Helversen 1972), which is an empirically determined threshold function which shows the region of the electromagnetic function that a bees’ visual system discriminates colours best. In summary, the spectral position of receptors of trichomatic hymenopterans are correlates with steps in the floral spectra of Australian flowers. The distributions of Australian flower colours according to bees’ perception The floral colour loci are strongly clustered in the colour hexagon (fig. 5a). Blue-green flowers are the most common in the perception of bees, while pure UV flowers were the rarest (fig. 5b). Part 2. Does an Australian native bee (Trigona carbonaria) have innate colour preferences? Effect of brightness, spectral purity, chromatic contrast and green receptor contrast on colour choices There was no significant effect of stimulus brightness on choice frequency (rs= 0.333, n=10, p= 0.347; fig. 7a). There was no significant effect of spectral purity on choice frequency (rs = 0.224, n=10, p= 0.533; figure 7b). There was no significant correlation effect of chromatic contrast on choice frequency (rs = 0.042, n=10, p= 0.907; figure 7c). There was no significant effect of green receptor contrast on choice frequency (rs = 0. 0.552, n=10, p= 0.098; figure 7d). Effect of wavelength on colour choices Stimuli colours are plotted in figure 8a, as they appear to a human viewer to enable readers to understand the correlation between colour choices. However, all statistical analyses were conducted with stimuli plotted as wavelength due to the different visual perception of bees and humans (Kevan, Chittka et al. 2001). There is a significant effect of wavelength on the number of landings by Trigona carbonaria (Single factor ANOVA, F9,110 = 5.60, P

Sonia and Raskolnikov in Dostoevskys Crime and Punishment :: Dostoevsky Crime and Punishment

Sonia and Raskolnikov in Crime and Punishment    Sonia and Raskolnikov are two characters that interact with each other in the novel, Crime and Punishment. They interact on multiple levels, sharing several likenesses. Both of these characters are at-times self-sacrificing, both are struggling for meaning in a dreary existence, and both are generally unhappy people, but brighten and seem to enjoy each other's presence--even when Raskolnikov is berating her religion. What is self-sacrifice, for which these characters and so many people around the world engage in? It is a desire to help those around us more than we wish to help ourselves. This is not normal human state, although it can be brought about easily by societal pressures, and sometimes even political societies can compel this attitude. Sonia practices a form of altruism for her family however. She acquires a yellow card and takes her body off to the moral slaughter by sacrificing it to others for money--money that will go to her starving, poor family. Though not his predomin ant state of mind or action, Raskolnikov does have temporal tendencies towards self-sacrifice. It seems that part of his state of mind when considering the murder of the pawnbroker is that he will be helping society as a whole--definitely a motive that comes from outside the self. Sonia and Raskolnikov share many characteristics that make them an interesting encounter for each other. A tendency to self-sacrifice for one, and a life of it for another, provides for an amalgam of psychological likenesses which help the characters relate.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Due in part to their self-sacrificing lives, both characters are also trying to search for meaning in the dreary existence which they are subjected to. Sonia finds this meaning in the Bible, in a belief in God. Raskolnikov writes a theory. He finds solace in thinking that he himself is a god-like creature, he believes he is extraordinary. A belief in being a subject of the Divine and thinking that there are two divisions of men is extremely close. Both of these characters also have their meaning attacked. Porfiry Petrovich attacks and picks for holes in the theory of Raskolnikov. Perhaps as a reaction to this, Raskolnikov picks holes in the support for meaning in Sonia's life--God, the Bible, and her faith. The final glues that continually attracts these two characters is the fact that all their morbid similarities bring them together so that they actually enjoy each other's presence.

The Nature of Duality in Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Essay

The Nature of Duality in Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde It has long been debated that there are two sides to the human mind. Many philosophers have stressed on the fact that human beings are 'dual creatures’. There is the duality of good and evil, right and wrong, joy and despair. There always is the desire to do something which is against the society, against the laws, although this varies from person to person. Robert Stevenson brings the possibility of another self in one person to life in his creation of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. His novel is a rich tale of the duality of mankind. We all have a split personality in a sense, we have two sides to us: right and wrong. There is a Mr. Hyde in all of us: anger, frustration, murderous thoughts all prevail in us although we have evolved so much. Morals, education, helping and unselfishness are the Jekyll side of us. Stevenson believed that people knew they had a bad side, but they all refuse to accept the truth, as the ‘dark side’ is so unpleasant. The novel demonstrates how innocent curiosity about the darker elements of our nature can soon get out of hand, how the evil triumphs over good if let out of control. Stevenson portrays duality in almost all of his characters, mainly Dr. Henry Jekyll. The symbols used, the narrative viewpoints and the language use by Stevenson also puts forward the dual nature of man. The philosophical context of the novella also is another factor which Stevenson cleverly uses. Stevenson creates a novel of gothic genre, which was extremely popular at the time of release. And the bottom line of the novel is to entertain the reader. The nature of duality, the philosophical context, the scientific context, symbolism, and hy... ...onality. Darwin’s theory of evolution and Freud’s creation of psychoanalysis are well portrayed in this novel. Overall, Stevenson clearly implies that humans are a mixture of ‘good’ and evil’ and challenges the ‘human perfectibility’, which was presumed for the upper class at the time. I particularly enjoyed this novel as it was exploring various themes at the same time. One interesting point is that, when Jekyll made up the ‘transforming draught’, it never was intended to turn him evil. It was just his desires which propelled him to being Hyde. The potion just acted as a catalyst and in the end it was Jekyll who destroyed himself. We had discussed this in class and it struck me as it wasn’t an evil potion. This also shows that Jekyll wanted to break through the Victorian laws and meet his inner desires, which leads us back to the ‘nature of duality’.

Flood of Epic of Gilgamesh and Book of Genesis of the Holy Bible :: Epic Gilgamesh essays

The Flood of Gilgamesh and Genesis  Ã‚   The Epic of Gilgamesh records a story of a world-wide flood and pre-dates Genesis. So some claim that this invalidates the Genesis record. But P.J. Wiseman presents an interesting theory in this regard in his book Ancient Records and the Structure of Genesis (New York: Thomas Nelson, 1985). He believes that Moses did not write Genesis but rather translated it from ancient stone tablets written in Cuneiform script. The tablets each would have been originally written by eye-witnesses of the particular events, or those who received their information from eye-witnesses. He breaks Genesis into parts according to the phrase "These are the generations" (KJV; "This is the history" - NKJV; "This the account" - NASB; NIV; Gen 2:4; 5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:10; 11:27; 25:12,9; 36:1,9; 37:2). He compares the use of this phrase and the structure of each section to the stone tablets written in cuneiform script. Many of these tablets have been discovered and they date to the third millenium BC. Wiseman's theory is that Genesis is translated from individual tablets which would have contained the material before each occurrence of the above phrase. So the narratives of the creation of the universe (Gen 1) and of the Garden of Eden (Gen 2) would have been written on one tablet by Adam as these events were revealed to him by the only Eye-witness of the events, God Himself. The narratives of the Fall and subsequent events would have been written on another tablet by Adam as an eye-witness of the events. Adam then passed each of these tablets on to his descendant Seth. Seth then recorded the events of Gen 5 and passed the tablets to his descendant Noah. Noah then recorded the events of Gen 6-9 and passed the tablets to his descendant Shem, and so one until Joseph. Joseph then recorded the final chapters of Genesis and placed all of the tablets in the library of the pharaohs. Moses then, while in pharaoh’s court, would have had access to these tablets. He then translated them into his native Hebrew. The above theory "fits" with various evidences in the Scriptures. For instance, it would explain such passages as Exod 6:3: "I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name, LORD [YHWH], I was not known to them." But the Tetragrammaton appears in Genesis, making for an apparent contradiction.

Sex, Power and Money Contributing to Immorality in Our Society

The term immorality refers to an act or practice that is immoral or indecent. Money, sex and power are the threefold alliances of immorality in our society. There a quite a lot of these immoral practices that are plaguing our society. Due to the high rate of immorality that is caused by money in our society there is widespread corruption. Have you ever been a victim of corruption? If not, I am almost certain you have suffered the effects of corruption. Corruption is the abuse of entrusted power for private gain. It hurts everyone whose life, livelihood or happiness depends on the integrity of people in a position of authority.According to Transparency International‘s (TI) 2011 Corruption Perception Index â€Å"the vast majority of the 183 countries and territories assessed scores below on a scale of 0(highly corrupt) to 10 (very clean). â€Å" Two years earlier, TI acknowledged that its 2009 annual report exposed the pervasive reality of corruption†: It is clear that no region of the world is immune to the perils of corruption. In some cases, the consequences of corruption lead to a very high level of immorality and can be very disastrous. For example, Irie FM’s news reported that â€Å"a man was killed in the Kemps Hill area of Clarendon†.This man was a part of a trio that went to a remote area to sell other men cocaine. On arrival with the cocaine, it was tested and found to be flour instead of cocaine. A dispute developed and the other two accomplices fled leaving one behind. He was set upon and stabbed to death by the men who were supposed to purchase it. These forms of immorality in our society are very high and these are caused by the need and greed for money. Why immortality does persist? â€Å"Man has dominated man to his injury. † Ecclesiastes 8:9. That statement aptly describes the history of human rulership.It has been responsible for untold suffering and misery. In all ages, well-intentioned people who have tried t o establish a more just society were constantly foiled by greed and immoral behaviour. Why is that so? Basically, because of the following three unwholesome influences: the influence of sin, the influence of the wicked world we live in and the influence of Satan the Devil. The influence of sin- the Bible plainly states that we â€Å"we are all under sin†. (Romans3:9) Like an incurable hereditary disease, sin† resides† or is â€Å"dwelling,† within us.For thousands of years, sin has ruled over mankind like a king. Its law is continually at work in us. Sinful inclination leads many to put their own interests first or to center their lives on gaining material possessions or authority at other’s expense. Romans 5:21; 7:17; 20, 23, 25. The influence of the wicked world we live in- our world is characterized by greed and selfishness. In such an environment, some people find it difficult to be different. Driven by selfish desires and ambitions they become p ower hungry. They also develop a strong desire for more money and possessions, more than they really need.Sadly, they are willing to behave in a dishonest way to achieve those goals. Rather than resisting immoral and unwholesome influences, such people â€Å"follow after the crowd for evil ends. † Exodus23:2 The influence of Satan the Devil, a rebellious spirit creature, is â€Å"misleading the entire inhabited earth. †(Revelation12:9). He may craftily exploit a person’s natural desire for material comfort and financial well-being to the point that the person acts deceitfully. Is it possible to be honest in a corrupt world? Although we live in a sinful world and the devil can exert great pressure on us, we can resist their influence.This can be achieved by drawing close to God and applying principles from His word to our lives. Money has certainly caused a lot of immoral behaviours in our society. This is not just a situation that started in contemporary society but has been happening from as far back as in biblical times. Look at the situation in Acts5:1-10, with Ananias and Sapphire. These two persons sold a possession and kept back a part of the money for themselves. Instead of talking the truth they hid it and the outcome was death. This is all because of the love and greed that mankind has for money.Another biblical example is that of Judas where he betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver (Genesis37:18). Greed is one of the main causes why people are led to act so cruel and inhumane. Can you imagine that Judas was one of Jesus’ disciples and yet still he made greed overcome him? He did not even care about the after effects but probably was looking on the amount of money he would receive. Situations such as these are not just happening nowadays but were there from ancient times. Recently aired on TVJ via a program- ‘Religious Hardtalk’ was a bishop (Bishop Clayton). He talked about his life as a pastor in church.He w as a womanizer and someone who was very wealthy. He said that because of his money he thought that he did not need anything from God. His main focus was on women and his possessions. This led him to commit immoral and unjust acts. He said the more money he had, the more he wanted it. Therefore, this causes him to turn a blind eye to certain principles and values and thus go after money (the thing he had so much pleasure in). Lottery scamming is indeed another terrible ‘disaster’ that is wreaking havoc in our society. People are actually stealing from others to fulfill their cruel desires.Can you imagine! Elderly people are the main targets. These people have worked so hard for their entire lives and are now living in fear and poverty because of these criminals. Some of the major players in these criminal acts are young people. Superintendent Fit Bailey, head of the Organized Crime Investigation Division, (OCID) confirmed that students are dropping out of school because they do not see the need to continue in acquiring an education. Reason for this is merely because they are able to purchase car, houses, and land and other valuables based on the money they received from lottery scamming.Lottery scamming contributes significantly to the crime rate in terms of murders. Superintendent Bailey also disclosed that students are using school compounds to make their links and carry out their plans and telephone calls. They are even introducing this method to their friends, telling them it is a good way to make money. Human trafficking is also a cause for concern. The price that are being paid to adults for these young people are tremendous. Recently the media reported that a lady from the Kingston area was nabbed. She is believed to be the mastermind behind the disappearance of a large number of children.Can you imagine that people’s children are being sold for money without their knowledge? This is downright inhumane and immoral. Our society is pack ed with a lot of people who are craving for money and will do anything to make this a reality. Sex should be an act that is performed by married people. People are not thinking about the immoral acts that they are performing. They are only thinking about the pleasure that they would receive from such act and also the benefits. People commit such acts to benefit both financially and also to get pleasure.There are numerous amount of people (both male and female) in the society who are selling their bodies. These prostitutes can be found all over the society, example, in clubs, motels and street corners. Even in some uptown community. At one point there would be only females who do these things but men are now doing it. The love of money makes people do almost any and everything. The Bible also talked about a prostitute who sold her body for monetary gains. A vast majority of women (even men too) are being viciously raped in our society. Recently an eight year old girl was raped along with four other females in St.James. This act was so cruel. The little girl had to go through some major surgeries. Even parts of her internal system were damaged due to this wicked act which was carried out on her. The RJR news stated that â€Å"reports are that the men who carried out this act were on a housetop nearby. They actually watched from this view because they had the intention to perform this act. Our society in which we live today is very scary. The recent vicious rapes that are occurring in our society causes alarm, panic, fright and anguish to citizens. What difference does it make if we are sexually immoral?The Bible tells us not to engage in sexual immorality. The Bible gives us abundant evidence that sexual sin leads to disaster and this is stated clearly. We are supposed to avoid sexual immorality. But, we are not very good at this. Surveys indicate that between 17% and 35% of pastors in the USA have had, as married men, sexual relations with other women other th an their wives. The politicians who have been supporting family values keep on falling down as it is revealed that they have had or are having sexual relationships with mistresses and prostitutes.Pastors continue to fall as they preach on Sundays and Saturdays about moral purity and then live a double life of sexual immorality during the week. The problem is not just pastors and politicians, but citizens on a whole who participate in these moral acts. Citizens who are in positions of power and authority are also partakers of immoral behaviour in our society. Some examples are: employers and CEO’s in institutions that disregard the rights of the workers. They abuse and treat them inhumanely. Sometimes they are worked overtime and never get a pay for the time that they worked.Some of them also use indecent language to their employees. These are immoral behaviour that is being displayed in our society. Some persons who have power such as policemen are also involved in immoral be haviour. Some policemen issue guns to citizens and this result in the death of innocent persons, the abuse of power and also lottery scamming. Recently, Operation Kingfish stated that several police personnel are involved in the deadly lottery scam operating out of Montego Bay, St. James. Also, the two persons who were nabbed in that parish for lottery scamming.These persons are from the St. James parish council. They were held in a pre- dawn operation at their homes by members of the security force. These are persons that one would look up to and expect to be role models. But instead they are involved in deeds that are downright immoral. Entertainers are persons who people in our society look up to so therefore if they bring across positive ideas it would certainly help the nation because people tend to follow what they say. The message some of them of them bring about is outrageous and immoral.Their songs contain vulgar and indecent language which is impacting seriously on the min ds of young Jamaicans. Sex, money and power are the three alliances that cause the majority of immoral deeds in our society. But, money is the major influence. Remember, the Bible states that â€Å"the love of money is the root of all evil. (1Timothy6:10). People perform sexual acts for money which is downright immoral. People try to gain some form of power and authority for the sake of money. The love of money on a whole lead people to act immoral, indecent and corrupt.