Cetaceans Essays - Megafauna, Cetaceans, Cetacea, Whale, Free Essays

Cetaceans Essays - Megafauna, Cetaceans, Cetacea, Whale, Free Essays Cetaceans Whales, dolphins and porpoises make up the classification order Cetacea, which contains two suborders, Mysticeti and Odontoceti. The baleen whales are members of the Mysticeti suborder, while the toothed whales, dolphins and porpoises make up the suborder Odontoceti. Altogether, the two suborders contain eighty-one known species, separated into thirteen different families. In each family are a number of species, each classified further into 'sub-families', or genera, of which there are 40. What Are Cetaceans? There are many misconceptions about cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises), the most common of which is the idea that cetaceans are fish. They're not - they are mammals, like you and me. Millions of years ago, they lived on land; their bodies were covered in hair, they had external ears, they walked on four legs, they beared live young. As mammals, cetaceans have these characteristics that are common to all mammals: * They are warm-blooded animals. * They breathe in air through their lungs. * They bear their young alive and suckle them on their own milk. * They have hair - though generally only a few 'whiskers'. Another way of discerning a cetacean from a fish is by the shape of the tail. The tail of a fish is vertical and moves from side to side when the fish swims. The tail of a cetacean is horizontal and moves up and down instead. The Cetacean's Adaptations for Sea Life Over a period of millions of years, the cetacean returned to the sea - there was more food there, and more space than on land. Because of this increase in space, there was no natural limit to the cetacean's size (i.e. the amount of weight its legs could hold) since the water provided buoyancy. It had no longer any need for legs. During this time, the cetacean lost the qualities that fitted it for land existence and gained new qualities for life at sea. Its hind limbs disappeared, its body became more tapered and streamlined - a form that enabled it to move swiftly through the water. For the same reason, most of its fur disappeared, reducing the resistance of the giant body to the water. The cetacean's original tail was replaced by a pair of flukes that acted like a propeller. As part of this streamlining process, the bones in the cetacean's front limbs fused together. In time, what had been the forelegs became a solid mass of bone, blubber and tissue, making very effective flippers that balance the cetacean's tremendous bulk. After the cetacean's hair disappeared, it needed some way of preserving their body heat. This came in the form of blubber, a thick layer of fat between the skin and the flesh that also acts as an emergency source of energy. In some cetaceans the layer of blubber can be more than a foot thick. Breathing, Seeing, Hearing and Echolocation Since the cetacean is a mammal, it needs air to breathe. Because of this, it needs to come to the water's surface to exhale its carbon dioxide and inhale a fresh supply of air. Naturally it cannot breathe under water, so as it dives a muscular action closes the blowholes (nostrils), which remain closed until the cetacean next breaks the surface. When it does, the muscles open the blowholes and warm air is exhaled. To make this easier, the cetacean's blowholes have moved to the top of its head, giving it a quicker chance to expel the stale air and inhale fresh air. When the stale air, warmed from the lungs, is exhaled it condenses and vapourises as it meets the cold air outside. This is rather like when you breathe out on a cold day and a small cloud of warm air appears. This is called the 'blow', or 'spout', and each cetacean's blow is different in terms of shape, angle and height. This is how cetaceans can be identified at a distance by experienced whalers or whale-watchers. The cetacean's eyes are set well back and to either side of its huge head. This means that cetaceans with pointed 'beaks' (such as dolphins) have good binocular vision forward and downward, but others with blunt heads (such as the Sperm Whale) can see either side but not directly ahead or directly behind. The eyes shed greasy tears which protect them from the salt in the water, and cetaceans have been found to have good vision both in the water and out. Akin to the eyes, the cetacean's ears are also small. Life in the sea accounts for the cetacean's loss of its external ears, whose function is to collect

Can the war on terror be undertood in terms of realism Essay

Can the war on terror be undertood in terms of realism - Essay Example This shouldn’t be startling as they all have a common origin and considering the complexity of the subject, it deserves this literary stretch. If Marxism and Christianity can have various interpretations, so can realism. John J. Mearsheimer, professor at the University of Chicago was once asked what realism says about terrorism, and his answer was, ‘Not a whole heck of a lot, Realism†¦..is really about relations among states, especially among the great powers†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Realism doesn’t have much to say about the causes of terrorism’1. It would be better to take a look at various realism theories before going into the details of the war on terror. Realism is a ‘philosophical disposition’ in the words of Robert Gilpin; many commentators have considered it a general orientation and not a set of explicit rules. According to Ferguson and Mansbach, it is a set of normative emphases that shape the theory and an ‘attitude of mind’ with distinct and perceptible flavours in the words of Edward Garnett. Sandra Rosenthal considers realism a ‘loose framework’ while Colin Elman considers it a ‘big tent’ that has room to accommodate a number of theories and notions2. Realism is a methodology of understanding international relations and many scholars and thinkers have placed themselves in the growth of this method that is why it has been delimited in its projection and analysis. It is a little difficult to enclose terrorism or ‘war on terror’ in one definition of realism. Terrorism is a concept that has reached all corners of the earth. No place on this planet is oblivion of this concept, especially after the sad September 11 attacks on the twin towers of U.S. and the America’s ‘war on terror’. This phrase has redefined domestic conflicts and territorial skirmishes. Prior to 9/11 attacks and the alleged ‘war on terror’, terrorist groups were indigenous of their terrains but now just like international trade and

Bruce Smith is a totally incompetent manager Essay

Bruce Smith is a totally incompetent manager - Essay Example The essay hereby proffers theories and concepts that aim to evaluate Bruce Smith’s performance as a manager of the Printery Section of Paper Partners, a small printing firm located in regional Queensland, owned and managed by Paul Southey Case Background Paul Southey is currently in a dilemma in terms of providing an appropriate evaluation for Bruce Smith, the Printery Manager of his firm, Paper Partners. As a manager, Smith’s subordinates rate him as exemplary and provided positive ratings. However, as a colleague and a co-manager, Smith was rated as a nightmare to work with, rude and with utter disregard of the other sections of the company. When confronted with his behavior, Smith admitted his primarily focus on his Printing section with minimal regard to the sales or packaging sections. In this regard, Southey needs to evaluate his behavior and determine the best course of action to solve the problem. Is Smith really an incompetent manager, as contended by other man agers of other departments? Or is Smith an effective manager but a poor colleague? Definition of Terms To support one’s arguments that Bruce Smith is considered a totally incompetent manager, one needs to qualify the definition for incompetence. The online dictionary defines incompetence as â€Å"the quality or state of being incompetent; want of physical, intellectual, or moral ability; insufficiency; inadequacy; as, the incompetency of a child hard labor, or of an idiot for intellectual efforts† (Webster, 1913). The term identifies insufficiency in qualifications. According to Alaspa (2008) in his article entitled Identifying incompetence,† Margaret Heffernan has assembled this list of the ten habits of total incompetence, to wit: (1) an inability to act; (2) failure to divulge crucial concerns; (3) oversensitivity; (4) refusal to deviate from procedure; (5) preference for weak candidates; (6) focusing on minute tasks; (7) inability to comply with deadlines; (8 )lack of recruitment skills; (9) reliance on consultants; and (10) work the longest† (Alaspa, 2008, pars. 2 – 11). The list however, identified habits or patterns of behavior that one has been accustomed to do. In analyzing the insufficiency of a manager to categorize him as totally incompetent, one needs to evaluate not only one’s technical skills, but interpersonal skills, as well. Robbins, et.al. (2008) averred that managers, to be effective, need to perform functions of planning, organizing, leading and controlling (p.5) and assume ten roles grouped into interpersonal relationships, transfer of information, and decision-making (pp.5 – 7). Using these concepts, Smith’s performance can be evaluated first as a manager, using the comments from his subordinates and identifying the functions or skills manifested in the theories provided in various literatures. After which, Smith’s performance will also be evaluated as a colleague. Evaluation of Bruce Smith as a Manager The comments of Smith’s subordinates are enumerated and summarized, and the following managerial functions and skills manifested are identified as follows: SUBORDINATES COMMENTS MANAGER’S FUNCTIONS/SKILLS Nella McDonald Great to work for; gives Interpersonal skills (leader) credit for ideas and motivates Stephen Dye Good leader and problem Interpersonal skills (leader) solver Decisional (disturbance handler) Alex Brown Gives

Solvency ratio indicates Essay Example for Free

Solvency ratio indicates Essay The solvency The solvency ratio indicates whether a company’s cash flow is sufficient to meet its short-term and long-term liabilities. The lower a companys solvency ratio, the greater the probability that it will default on its debt obligations. Current ratio The ratio is mainly used to give an idea of the companys ability to pay back its short-term liabilities (debt and payables) with its short-term assets (cash, inventory, receivables). The higher the current ratio, the more capable the company is of paying its obligations. A ratio under 1 suggests that the company would be unable to pay off its obligations if they came due at that point. While this shows the company is not in good financial health, it does not necessarily mean that it will go bankrupt as there are many ways to access financing but it is definitely not a good sign. Current ratios for Sports UK For year 2012 For year 2011 Acid test ratio A stringent indicator that determines whether a firm has enough short-term assets to cover its immediate liabilities without selling inventory. The acid-test ratio is far more strenuous than the working capital ratio, primarily because the working capital ratio allows for the inclusion of inventory assets. Acid test ratio for Sports UK For year 2012 For year 2011 Performance ratio Calculates a measure of a specific aspect of performance, which might involve things which you can attach a number to, or an indicator that something did or did not happen in the requited way. Ratios are very good way to measure them using only a financial record. This record bellows shows performance of sports UK. 2011 Stock turn over= 72215 = 3.05 times 23611 2012 Stock turn over= 23611 x 365 = 119.3 days 72215 2011 debt collection period = 9024 x 365 = 962 days 34212 2012 debt collection period = 9098 x 365 = 904 days 36696 2012 asset turnover= 153487 = 0.64 237028 2011 asset turnover= 159921 = 0.73 219013 Profitability ratios Measures that indicate how well a firm is performing in terms of its ability to generate profit. Those ratios measure financial metrics that are used to assess a businesss ability to generate earnings as compared to its expenses and other relevant costs incurred during a specific period of time. For most of these ratios, having a higher value relative to a competitors ratio or the same ratio from a previous period is indicative that the company is doing well. Profitability ratios of Sports UK for 2011 Gross profit margin =81272 x 100 =52.95 153487 Net profit percentage = 6741 x 100 = 43.9 153487 ROC E= 10753 x 100 = 21.9 49097 Profitability ratios of Sports UK for 2012 Gross profit margin =83199 x 100 =52.02 159921 Net profit percentage = 6742 x 100 = 39.0 159921 ROC E= 10310 x 100 = 20.9 49227

The Importance of Work-Life Initiatives Essay -- Human Resource Manage

Work causes stress. Both men and women are working, raising a family, and going to school. Previously, women in the work force would take demotions or walk away from careers when having children. Today, families rely on a dual income. With both parents working full time, while raising children, the relationship between work and home responsibilities are unbalanced. This unbalance creates stress for both the employee and the employer. Work-life balance is the need to provide a schedule that will combine work, family relationships, and leisure time into a satisfying life. Flexible work arrangements balance work and home responsibilities; which helps employees deal with stress, motivates them, and empowers. Organizations need to assess workplace culture and provide mechanisms to support work-life balance that are mutually beneficial to both the organization and the employee. Individuals each have unique responsibilities that define the meaning of work-life balance. Employees in the workforce that fulfill family and work commitments have achieved a sense of work-life balance ("The business imperative," 2009). The distinction between work and personal life used to be clear. Today, personal commitments suffer for lack of time and energy. Unfortunately, the demands of work outweigh the demands at home, because without work the home does not exist. The unbalanced work-life creates negative and disengaged employees. It costs the U.S. economy between $250 and $300 billion every year in lost productivity alone (Clifton & Rath, 2009). Organizations now realize their success directly relates to the moral of their employees. Organizations that demand complete loyalty and extensive overtime fi... ...ight%20q2%202009.pdf McMahon, C., & Pocock, B. Australian Government, EOWA. (2011). Doing things differently: Case studies of work-life innovation in six Australian workplaces. Retrieved from http://www.eowa.gov.au/Information_Centres/Resource_Centre/EOWA_Publications/University_of_SA_Case_Study/UniSA_Case%20Studies%20report_April2011.pdf Nixon, J. (n.d.). Work-life balance. In M. Simmering (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Business (2nd ed. pp. Tr-Z). Retrieved from http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/management/Tr-Z/Work-Life-Balance.html SHRM. (2011). Shrm research spotlight: Flexible work arrangements. Retrieved from http://www.shrm.org/research/surveyfindings/documents/11-workflexflier_final_rev.pdf Yasbek, P. (2004), The business case for firm-level work-life balance policies: a review of the literature. Retrieved from http://w.iaa.govt.nz/PDFs/FirmLevelWLB.pdf The Importance of Work-Life Initiatives Essay -- Human Resource Manage Work causes stress. Both men and women are working, raising a family, and going to school. Previously, women in the work force would take demotions or walk away from careers when having children. Today, families rely on a dual income. With both parents working full time, while raising children, the relationship between work and home responsibilities are unbalanced. This unbalance creates stress for both the employee and the employer. Work-life balance is the need to provide a schedule that will combine work, family relationships, and leisure time into a satisfying life. Flexible work arrangements balance work and home responsibilities; which helps employees deal with stress, motivates them, and empowers. Organizations need to assess workplace culture and provide mechanisms to support work-life balance that are mutually beneficial to both the organization and the employee. Individuals each have unique responsibilities that define the meaning of work-life balance. Employees in the workforce that fulfill family and work commitments have achieved a sense of work-life balance ("The business imperative," 2009). The distinction between work and personal life used to be clear. Today, personal commitments suffer for lack of time and energy. Unfortunately, the demands of work outweigh the demands at home, because without work the home does not exist. The unbalanced work-life creates negative and disengaged employees. It costs the U.S. economy between $250 and $300 billion every year in lost productivity alone (Clifton & Rath, 2009). Organizations now realize their success directly relates to the moral of their employees. Organizations that demand complete loyalty and extensive overtime fi... ...ight%20q2%202009.pdf McMahon, C., & Pocock, B. Australian Government, EOWA. (2011). Doing things differently: Case studies of work-life innovation in six Australian workplaces. Retrieved from http://www.eowa.gov.au/Information_Centres/Resource_Centre/EOWA_Publications/University_of_SA_Case_Study/UniSA_Case%20Studies%20report_April2011.pdf Nixon, J. (n.d.). Work-life balance. In M. Simmering (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Business (2nd ed. pp. Tr-Z). Retrieved from http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/management/Tr-Z/Work-Life-Balance.html SHRM. (2011). Shrm research spotlight: Flexible work arrangements. Retrieved from http://www.shrm.org/research/surveyfindings/documents/11-workflexflier_final_rev.pdf Yasbek, P. (2004), The business case for firm-level work-life balance policies: a review of the literature. Retrieved from http://w.iaa.govt.nz/PDFs/FirmLevelWLB.pdf

“A Martian Sends A Postcard Home” by Craig Raine Essay

In â€Å"A Martian Sends a Postcard Home,† Craig Raine uses many metaphors to describe what a Martian would see if he came to earth. In the first stanza Raine uses metaphors to describe what a Martian may think a book looks like. Raine makes reference to William Caxton, who was the first to print books in England, in the first stanza; â€Å"Caxtons are mechanical birds with many wings / and some are treasured for their markings. A book would resemble a bird when opened, the wings being the many pages, and many books have marked a spot in history or is cherished by the person reading it. In the next four lines the Martian observes the different emotions one may have while reading a â€Å"mechanical bird,† and although he’s never witnessed one actually flying, which is impossible, he notices that they are sometimes in someone’s hand. In stanzas five and six the Martian is trying to explain fog. â€Å"Rain is when the earth is television / It has the proper ty of making colours darker,† meaning when the colors are changed on a television the picture would look unclear, and cloudy even. Raine simply describes a car as a â€Å"Model T,† in the next two stanzas. Explaining a car to be â€Å"a room with the lock inside,† is a very imaginative metaphor. By writing â€Å"But time is tied to the wrist / or kept in a box, ticking with impatience,† Raine is expressing that the Martian is encountering a watch or a clock. In stanzas ten through twelve the Martian has come upon a telephone, which he describes as a â€Å"haunted apparatus,† which usually â€Å"sleeps,† and cries, or rings until it is picked up. Raine also adds the element of humor to the poem, an example is in the twelfth stanza when he writes, â€Å"And yet they wake it up / deliberately, by tickling with a finger.† The Martian believes that humans â€Å"tickle† the keypad with their fingers, when they’re making a call. â€Å"A punishment room / with water but nothing to eat,† is a bathroom. The Martian observes that â€Å"Only the young are allowed to suffer openly,† which is really when I child would be getting their diaper changed, and adults must be alone when they go to the â€Å"punishment room.† Finally, in the last two stanzas the Martian is describing the nighttime routine of humans, â€Å"At night when all the colours die / they hide in pairs / and read about themselves / in colour, with their eyes shut,† in other words at the end of the day humans close their eyes to fall asleep and dream. This poem uses a multiple metaphors to describe what a Martian would  encounter if he visited Earth. The poem is interesting to read because it requires the reader to use their imagination, the reader must think in order to figure out these everyday things the Martian is seeing for the first time, it’s somewhat of a brainteaser. It’s obvious that the Martian is seeing these things for the first time, it makes the reader wonder why a simple thing such as a watch or a clock is not found on his planet, is time insignificant were he’s from?

Shylock s Tragedy And Its Toll On Romantic Comedy

Shylock’s Tragedy and its Toll on Romantic Comedy The inclusion of Shylock in The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare adds a complexity not typically found in romantic comedy. Shakespeare could have made Shylock’s role a light mockery of anti-Semitism, or something to that effect, but instead he chose to create a tragedy at the center of romance and comedy. This makes for a play, which does not fit neatly into an assigned genre. Shylock’s language in this passage, reveals several things, not only about the play, but also the other characters. Through Shylock, the hypocrisy of the Christians is revealed. Shylock flips this romantic comedy on its head, and turns it into something more significant. Pauses and repetitions give†¦show more content†¦This can be seen in both the content and structure of Shylock’s lines. Intentional pauses indicate Shakespeare’s intention for an emotional reading of Shylock. Pauses and repetition in this part icular moment in the play suggest Shylock is at a loss for words, and caught up in his grief: â€Å"The curse / never fell upon our nation until now—I never felt it / till now† (3.1.78-80). Jessica’s choice to join her father’s persecutors is cruel. He pauses after this statement, perhaps because Jessica’s betrayal is the worst type of betrayal against her heritage, and against him. She causes Shylock, who has always had a hard exterior in spite of oppression and abuse, to feel the pain of his persecution. This realization deserves pause, not only for Shylock, but also the audience. For Jessica to leave her father, in this particular way, brings the mistreatment and pain of an entire nation to Shylock. Because his motivations seem somewhat convoluted at times, by greed and revenge, these moments of intentional pause allow the audience time to realize the magnitude of Shylock’s sorrow, and perhaps his true motivation. The repetition in his l anguage, demonstrates a shift in tone, from concise angry Shylock, to repetitive sad Shylock. Repetition is used throughout the play for various dramatic effects. For example, in act three, scene three Antonio