Journal research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Journal research - Essay Example The introduction gave a brief description of body mass index ( BMI) as a measure for obesity.The historical background of the research is focused on the increased cardiovascular risk for obese children. The importance of measuring BMI and its validity in establishing obesity was a good platform in establishing a good hypothesis. The study was conducted no less than one of the authors ( Pietrobeli) with another group of researchers. Studies citing complications that arose from obese children in a 40 yr follow-up study by Jacques et al in was presented. Accordingly, the study by Jacques revealed that childhood obesity did not only result to diabetes but led to increased mortality due to coronary artery disease as well. The present study hypothesized that early childhood obesity along with a sedentary lifestyle increases the risk for diseases such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. This translates to higher incidence of mortality when these children become adults. For the methods section, a comparative survey that compares the BMI across teens in the US was used. The cited study was done by Lissau et al published in 2003. The method engaged was a cross-comparison of incidence of obesity in teens in US against teens in Europe. The comparison resulted to the conclusion that occurrence of obesity in US teens is three times higher than European counterparts. Unfortunately, much cannot be said about statistical data since the study was just referenced in the journal Much of the given conclusions were summaries of compiled studies. In fact, the journal is more like of an informative and persuasive article that warns the public of the dangers of childhood obesity. The journal also comments on what directions , programs and policies that European Commission must do so that European teens would not experience same situation as American teens. The suggestions posed by the researchers were interventions

Beverages Consumed by Upv Dormitory Residents While Studying Essay Example for Free

Beverages Consumed by Upv Dormitory Residents While Studying Essay Being a student in the University of the Philippines means a lot of stress, pressure and challenge. It is always expected that any student will experience sleepless nights due to endless exams, reports and papers. To cope with these hectic schedules, a lot of students are looking for ways to help them stay active and awake. One of the most common way students resort to is to drink beverages. Many beverages are helpful in making students stay awake and active during studying. Carbonated drinks, energy drinks, caffeinated drinks, alcoholic drinks, and water are the beverages most commonly consumed by students. With regards to these concerns, a study was conducted to determine the choice of beverage of students and to know the reasons why they drink the beverage of their choice. Though others might say that beverages such as carbonated, alcoholic and caffeinated drinks can be harmful to our human body, it can also be helpful to students especially when they were studying. These beverages are very helpful to students, but we cannot deny the fact that if these are beneficial to the students, beverages such as carbonated, caffeinated and alcoholic drinks have harmful effects as well. It is obvious from the word itself that caffeinated drinks contains drug known as caffeine. It is also found in many different substances such as coffee. Some drinks have little amount of it and others may contain no caffeine at all. Consuming small amount of caffeine may be safe that it could help improve our body to have more energy and to stay focus and contrite well but a large consumption of caffeinated beverages leads to negative effects on the human body (Chloe, 2010). Besides consumption of caffeinated drinks really helps students to ward off sleep and increase alertness when the situation demands us to stay awake or need to have a little sleep. Aside from caffeinated drinks, water can help drive away the feeling of sleepiness. Water is an easy home remedy to stay awake whole night when nothing else is available. Drinking ice-cold water is also beneficial because it is a form of distraction to falling asleep (Nicks, 2011). Moreover, frequent urination that follows with increased water intake can prevent from falling asleep (Nicks, 2011). Some common reasons why people drink are to relax, celebrate and also to relax. Drinking alcoholic drinks is usually not part of the reason to drink in order to stay awake for it contains chemicals that depresses the nervous system (Nicks, 2011). Furthermore, consumption of alcoholic drinks may either be beneficial or harmful to body especially on the brain. Over consumption of alcoholic drinks leads to brain functioning such as loss of intellectual functioning combined with amnesia. In addition to that, alcohol-induced brain damage appears to be partially reversible with abstinence (Institute of Alcohol Studies, 16 July 2007). The choice of beverage also varies with each student depending on what kind of beverages they think could help them in any way. The effect of these beverages to the academic life of each student is very important and has an influence on their choice. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY The results of the study will be beneficial to the following: Students. Students will know what beverage can be beneficial with respect to their general weighted average. Manufacturers. Manufactures of the drinks will know if their products are beneficial to the students. Retailers in the dorm area. Product retailers will be able to choose what drink they can sell in the dorm area. Researchers. This will be beneficial to the other researchers for future reference purposes. RESEARCH QUESTIONS a. What is the beverage that students residing in the five UPV Miag-ao dormitories drink the most when studying? b. What is the most important reason why they drink their choice of beverage? c. How satisfied are they with the beverage they consume? d. Is there a linear relationship between their choice of beverage and their general weighted average? e. Is there a linear relationship between their choice of beverage and their general weighted average? OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY a. to determine the proportion of students who drink beverages while studying b. to determine the beverage that students residing in UPV Miag-ao dormitories drink the most while studying c. to determine the reasons why they drink their choice of beverage while studying d. To determine their level of satisfaction with the beverage they drink e. to determine the relationship between their choice of beverage and their general weighted average f. to determine the relationship between the number of times they drink and their choice of beverage general weighted average METHODOLOGY Study Design This is a cross-sectional study of the population to determine the beverages consumed by the students residing in the five UPV Miag-ao dormitories while studying and their effect on the grades of the dormers. Study Population Sample Size. The sample size, calculated based on the current population of the five dormitories of University of the Philippines Visayas Miag-ao, Iloilo, was estimated at 240 individuals comprising 2 strata, Freshmen Dormitories and the Upperclassmen Dormitories, with 110 and 130 individuals per group respectively. When it comes to academic loads, freshmen have almost similar level of loads and the upper class men also have similar level of loads. That is, freshmen have lighter loads and upper class men have heavier loads. Heavier loads means a lot of sleepless nights so upper class men have more reason to drink. When it comes to the general weighted average (GWA), since freshmen have lighter loads, they have a better chance to get higher GWA. This estimated sample size was based on the assumption that no prior estimate of the proportion of individuals whose choice of beverage and their general weighted average (GWA) is known before this survey was planned. Thus, a conservative estimate of the sample size can be obtained by choosing the proportion of what is unknown to be 0. 5. Also, a 5% margin of error was employed in this survey. Sampling Design and Selection of Respondents. The selection of the 240 individuals was based on a stratified random sampling design. First, the population was divided into two strata, the freshmen dormitory residents and the upper class dormitory residents. By proportional allocation, 130 residents from the upper class dormitories and 110 residents from freshmen dormitories were the allocated sizes for each stratum. List of dormitory residents are found in Table A . Survey Instrument The survey instrument consists of 2 parts namely: A. Respondent Characteristics B. Beverage Related Questions Do you drink something while you are studying? What beverage do you usually drink the most while studying? How many times do you drink your choice beverage while studying? What are the three important reasons why you drink the type of beverage you specified in question 2 while studying? How satisfied are you with the beverage you drink? What is your general weighted average last semester? Data Collection A Self-Enumeration method was used to gather information using the questionnaire. English is the language used in the questionnaire. Data were collected from all the 240 respondents in a span of 4 days. Data Processing Data was encoded using SPSS Version 16. 0 (SPSS Inc. 2007). The questionnaire numbers were included in the encoding to easily detect which respondents’ answers were miscoded. The Analysis of the data, tables and graphs was done using SPSS version 16. 0. Statistical Analysis Some items in the questionnaire were included to measure a specific construct. Frequencies and percentages were used to answer most of the survey objectives. One-Way ANOVA was used to determine significant differences in the general weighted average among groups based on the choice of beverages and the frequency of students drinking their choice of beverage while studying. RESULTS and DISCUSSION Result shows that eighty-seven point nine per cent ( 87. 9%) of the students residing in the five residence halls in UPV Miaga-ao are drinking beverages while studying while twelve point one (12. 1%) per cent are not (see Table 1). Six point two (6. 2%) per cent of the respondents drink carbonated drinks, forty-seven point one (47. 1%) per cent drink caffeinated or energy drinks, one point two (1. 2%) drink alcoholic drinks, twenty eight point three (28. 3%) drink water and five point four (5. 4%)per cent drink other beverages (see Table 2). The three most important reasons why the respondents drink the beverages they prefer are the taste (41. 8%), availability (41. 2%) and the effect in helping them to stay awake (67. 9%) (see Table 3). Other reasons are that the beverage they drink is healthy (22. 5%), drinking is part of their study habit (32. 1%), the affordability (17. 9%), and other specified reasons are the relaxation and the craving on the certain drink. It is shown in Table 4 that students are nearly satisfied with the beverage they drink with mean level of satisfaction equal to 3. 69. There is a significant difference in the mean general weighted average of UPV dormitory residents (F= 2. 5, p=. 031) who are drinking different types of beverages while studying. Table 5 shows that among the dormitory residents who drink the different types of beverages, the ones who drink alcoholic beverages while studying have the highest mean GWA. On the contrary, Table 6 shows that the number of times the residents drink their choice of beverages does not affect their GWA at the end of the semester (F= 1. 473, p=. 2). It means that the GWA of the residents are not affected by the frequency of drinking the beverage of their choice. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS There are more students who drink any of the beverages than not with 87. 9%. Of those 211 students who drink, most of them chose caffeinated and/ or energy drink with 47. 1% and drink chosen the least is the alcoholic drink. Though a few number of students consume alcoholic drinks, they unexpectedly have the highest mean general weighted average. On contrary, the number of times the residents drink their choice of beverage does not affect their general weighted average. Because of the unexpected result in our study, at this point of time, we cannot really recommend that alcoholic drinks are good for studying. But we propose that there should be more future studies to confirm if drinking alcoholic drinks really improves the academic performance of the students. Also, they should add others factors that c Since most of the respondents are drinking caffeinated/energy drinks, we would like to recommend to certain manufacturers of caffeinated/energy drinks that they improve their marketing strategies to gain attention because of the competitions. Companies with known brands should improve their products so that they will not lose their consumers while those unpopular companies must improve their marketing strategies through advertisements and improvements of their products as well. They should also focus on the taste of their product because most of the students prefer the taste of the beverage. Also, because the availability of the product is one of the reasons why students drink caffeinated/energy beverages, we suggest that retailers in the dorm area should sell such drink APPENDIX A TABLES Table A. List of Respondents Ran no. | Respondents (Upperclass)| Ran no. | Respondents (Freshmen)| 139| Esmeralda, Hershey| 274| Tiongson, Nijyl| 109| De La Paz, Janine| 110| Torreno, Ermin| 191| Junio, Rap Eula| 241| Paguidopon, Cyril| 56| Basister, Wina Irah| 222| Maguad, Ma. Althea| 69| Bonites, Danessa Joy| 185| Francisco, Elthon| 310| Sta. Maria, Marbenn| 292| Wong, Maria Angelica| 195| Laoc, Charles Von| 33| Continente, Jose Ryan| 167| Gonzaga, Paul Ray-An| 158| Celis, Ella Marie Sofia| 55| Barros, Michelle Anne| 43| Donguines, Adelaine Grace| 202| Limjuco, Ivan Christian| 53| Jimenez, Camille Ericka| 157| Gallenero, Kate April| 238| Odtujan, Wenna Grace| 44| Bagsit, Mitzi Kate| 159| Jance, Mary Pauline|. 14| Alaban, Annaveve Rose| 263| Suarez, Angelica Faith| 108| Daynolo, Raquel| 109| Torrecampo, Jaira Jane| 295| Salvallon, Carmina| 196| Incensario, Cindy| 340| Villalva, Jenny Boy P| 39| Dela Cruz, Eduard| 133| Encio, Quinzelle Ann| 270| Tan, Diana| 33| Arcenio, Ariane| 134| Bacaoco, Ella Marie Kristine| 126| Dumantay, Sherwin| 265| Surilla, John Chaldean| 180| Igpuara, Luvielyn| 32| Condez, Jared Philip| 347| Zeller, Lylve Mariz| 105| Tampus, Franzine Glorie| 265| Pepino, Ma. Marivick| 8| Banehit, Gracesel Faith| 154| Frayco, Altia| 251| Potot, Kristin Francis May| 18| Alido, Edwin| 172| Deslate, August John Xavier|. 134| Endencio, Gerry| 51| Gamez, Clarence| 197| Ledesma, Anne Brigette| 267| Tabing, Ralph Oliver| 329| Tubeo, Nikki Francheska| 239| Oligo, Femelyn Rose| 248| Pagapulan, Marn Angeli| 154| Camarote, Brylle Kristiann| 102| Dacut, Carl Mark| 194| Hortilano, Kristine| 10| Agero, Nikki Rose| 191| Go, Edwina Ruby| 168| Gonzales, Julio Joseph D. | 16| Besinga, Yvonne Grace| 151| Fontillas, Jeanne| 211| Limbaroc, Darrell Christian| 268| Nillasca, Amria Canice| 47| Estante, Eros Paul| 99| Daayata, Angela Marie| 92| Sacramento, Noe John Joseph| 244| Pabualan, Lorejane| 30| Cojuangco, Florenz Dean| 2| Abagatnan, Samuel| 258| Rojas, Jan Katherine|. 162| Genio, Josette| 45| Ereje, Reymark| 216| Manogan, Dana| 125| Alba, Phoebe Anne| 67| Bohol, Lyan Jean| 245| Paroginog, Christian| 161| Gelvoligaya, Luke Jan| 213| Lorenzo, Ma. Conception| 159| Gara, Nolan| 83| Palomo, Megan| 31| Aranguez, Christian Tom| 102| Tabonda, April Mae| 30| Aquino, Jon Irish| 137| Baltazar, Gleza| 242| Orquia, John Jowil P. | 133| Atienza, Paul Henry| 174| Hibaler Regino| 78| Obaob, Laurence| 229| Montales, Ma. Josita| 206| Lao, Karli Anne| 283| Ribalde, Aldren A. | 277| Tordesillas, Jessa Grace| 41| Bae, Haengun| 67| Mangilog, Jude| 280| Rendaje, Donna| 140| Barrera, Mia|. 116| Deopido, Reanna Rosalia| 190| Garcia, Jondale Mae| 47| Balino, Beverly| 66| Manejar, Arvie Joy| 301| Segura, Errol Ralph| 294| Zomil, Nica Pearl| 288| Rotas, Shiela Mae| 22| Caspe, Dion Paul| 4| Abelarde, Ma. Gail| 252| Prisco, Emman Lliam| 182| Ingeniero, Andrea Faye| 25| Castor, Romena| 241| Oppus, Dia Monica| 284| Uehara, Mika| 87| Caro, Miguel Caro| 204| Lachica, Fritzie Lee| 76| Cabarles, Jodhie Mae| 228| Manlangit, Katleen| 144| Estores, El Nino| 111| Tupag, Xerxes| 48| Bangcaya, Angelo Deo| 49| Fulgencio, Eunice Sheene| 249| Pagdato, Shannen Jhen| 247| Penetrante, Alexis Ray| 305| Sisican, Daniel Joseph| 279| Torres, Agape May|. 21| Almencion, Joyce| 168| De Juan, Katrina Bernadette| 165| Go, Catherine Joy| 280| Treyes, Michael Andre| 290| Saldana, Carinna| 6| Artus, Janrey| 235| Negoso, Roxanne Louise| 176| Darroca, Rejean Marie| 282| Rezaga, Mark Allan| 81| Pagunsan, Auser Jann| 147| Fabe, Dharyl Straberry| 278| Torre, Marayah Rio| 7| Acosta, Mabelle| 257| Rodriguez, Faith Marie| 121| Dolendo, Jeanne Lee| 135| Badiang, John Piox| 309| Sta. Cruz, Niel Conrad| 207| Lapoot, Mar Cletus| 264| Penuela, Dianne Frances| 63| Malaga, Karch| 17| Alegre, Anavie| 68| Mayormita, Krisleen Marie| 23| Amoyo, Karlyn Kay| 188| Galbo, Roselle|. 20| Almaquer, Francis Eric| 281| Treyes, Nicolle| 158| Gane, Maria Theresa| 218| Macoy, Donna Vanessa| 253| Pan, Maila| 195| Ilejay, Jorge Alberto| 75| Cabanilla, Carmelo| 180| Estardo, Jessica| 269| Placer, Elecca| 205| Lagtapon, Jyll| 304| Sinfuego,Alain Dean| 224| Malagda, Wilshane Marie| 258| Pareja, Arphymm Marie| 234| Mojica, Mariane Daiseree| 223| Mendoza, Jared Nikko| 12| Bautista, Katrina| 58| Batislaong, Paolo| 88| Recopuerto, Harmon| 171| Henderin, Jason| 40| Delima, Stephanie| 148| Fabila, Lobelene May| 112| Tutor, Ace Marc| 345| Virgula, Juliette| 97| Sarroza, Anna Marie|. 240| Omar Al-Abdallah, Sahar| 246| Payofelin, Frances Joan| 208| Magallanes, Mia Fe| 248| Pineda, Abraham| 46| Baldonasa, RB Hera Angelica| 130| Andres, Darine Jane| 146| Fababier, Cris John| 200| Ireneo, Jevin Justine| 188| Jino-o, Errol| 115| Villalobos, Mae Lynn| 105| Dalida, Elizabeth| 175| Elbanbuena, Cherry Ann| 271| Policarpio, Stella| 23| Castanares, Kyle| 142| Espera, Leza Andrea| 178| Esmolo, Rubie| 22| Alvarez, Noela Joy| 18| Caliso, Femmy Rose| 181| Impreso, Camille| 116| Villanueva, Coleen Thea| 96| Combalicer, Bianca Isabel| 62| Magallanes, Loise Ember| 318| Talaman, Niescee Eiscene| 73| Nablo, Clarice|. 246| Padernal, Michael Patrick| 7| Balani, Mar Anthony| 152| Formaran, Anthony Dwin| 91| Romelo, Nimrod| 233| Narvasa, Jane Karla| 273| Tenoso, Rechelle| 275| Rapista, Jan Rhen| 268| Tabsing, Khristine| 325| Tinagan, Gabrielle Rose| 163| Dagundon, Allyssa Atrovel| 95| Colon, Matt Jensen Rey| 78| Obaob, Laurence| 303| Duremdes, Lenny Joie| 271| Tedera, Yves| 150| Felisa, Karissa Paula| 243| Pamonag, Neal Abelard| 314| Tabarra, Ledrick| 70| Montales, Pia Carlyn| 107| Dalmacio, Rushell Joyce| 94| Saluta, Errol| 254| Casidsid, Velvet| 149| Bocario, Sydney| 279| Regalado, Wilfredo| 86| Perez, Rom Trishtan|. 342| Villanueva, Ma. Sharee Lou| | | 198| Ledesma, Luvic| | | 224| Mendoza, Charaine| | | 252| Palma, Peter| | | 236| Nillasca, Vicar Stella| | | 204| Lucero, Melrick| | | 292| Saldana, Carlo| | | 173| Heredia, Angelica Katrina| | | 185| Jaleco, Mieldrick| | | 251| Palacio, Ruchelle| | | 60| Berano, Erlie| | | 273| Quimsing, Renan| | | 228| Monsale, Dona Mae| | | 231| Montoya, Jamella| | | 201| Libunao, Gardel Xyza| | | 312| Suico, Karen| | | 86| Capina, Kierstin| | | 50| Baquiano, Clarie Dean| | | 153| Francisco, Farramae| | | 156| Parcon, Gregory Lou| | | Table 1: Proportion of Respondents who drink and don’t drink beverage while studying Respondents| Frequency| Percent| NoYes| 29211| 12. 187. 9| Table 2: Choice of Drinks of the Respondents Choice of drink| Frequency| Percent| Carbonated drinksCaffeinated/energy drinksAlcoholic drinksWaterOthers| 1511336813| 6. 247. 11. 228. 35. 4| Table 3: Reasons of the respondents for drinking their choice of beverage Reason| Frequency| Percent| It helps me stay awakeIt helps me remember the things I studyIt is affordableI like the tasteIt is most readily availableIt is part of my study habitIt is healthyOthers| 1633543100997754| 67. 914. 617. 941. 841. 232. 122. 5| Table 4: Level of Satisfaction of Respondents with their Choice of Beverage | N| Minimum| Maximum| Mean| Level of Satisfaction| 240| 0| 5| 3. 69| Table 5: ANOVA Table for the Choice of Beverage and their GWA | Sum of Squares| df| Mean Square| F| Sig. | Between GroupsWithin GroupsTotal| 2. 14339. 94642. 090| 5233238| . 429. 171| 2. 500| . 031| Table 6: Post Hoc | N| Subset for alpha = 0. 051| Alcoholic drinksWaterCarbonated DrinksNAOthersCaffeinated/Energy DrinksSig. | 367152813113| 1. 919331. 989252. 058002. 153672. 158462. 20252. 162| Table 7: ANOVA Table for the Number of times they drink their choice of beverage and their GWA | Sum of Squares| df| Mean Square| F| Sig. | Between GroupsWithin GroupsTotal| 1. 28940. 80042. 090| 5233238| . 258. 175| 1. 473| . 200| APPENDIX B FIGURES Figure 1: Pie Chart for the proportion of Respondents Figure 2: Pie Chart for the Respondent’s Choice of Beverage APPENDIX C FORMULAS Computation of Sample size: no =Z? /2 pqd2 Where p (probability of success) = 0. 5 q ( probability of failure) = 0. 5 ? = 0. 05 d (margin of error) = 0. 06 no= 1. 9620. 5(0. 5)(0. 052)=384. 16 n= 3841+ 384642=240. 28 ?240 APPENDIX D. QUESTIONNAIRE Beverages Consumed by UPV Dormitory Residents While Studying Name (optional): Gender: Age: Course: Year Level: Weekly Allowance: 1. Do you drink something while you are studying? | (1) Yes| | (2) No | (If yes, proceed to number 2) (If no, proceed to number 6) 2. What beverage do you usually drink the most while studying? (Please check one only) | (1) carbonated drinks| | (2) caffeinated drinks| | (3) energy drinks| | (4) alcoholic drinks| | (5) milk| | (6) water| | (7) others| 3. How many times do you drink your choice beverage while studying? | (1) Once| | (2) Twice| | (3) Thrice| | (4) More than Thrice| 4. What are the three most important reasons why you drink the type of beverage specified in question 2 while studying? Please check the top 3 reasons. | (1) It helps me stay awake| | (2) It helps me remember the things I study| | (3) It is affordable| | (4) I like the taste| | (5) It is most readily available| | (6) It is part of my study habit| | (7) It is healthy| | (8) Others (please specify):_______________| 5. How satisfied are you with the beverage you drink? Rate from 1 to 10, 1 as the lowest and 10 as the highest. (Encircle your choice) 12345678910 6. What is your general weighted average last semester?

Global Warming Essay -- Greenhouse Effect Climate Change

Global Warming This essay has problems with format. Global Warming is a result of the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect occurs when gases such as methane, carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide and CFCs trap heat in the atmosphere by acting as a pane of glass in a car.  ³The glass ² lets the sun light in to make heat but when the heat tries to get out the gases absorb the heat. Holding this heat in causes heat waves, droughts and climate changes which could alter our way of living. The main gases that cause the greenhouse effect are water vapor, carbon dioxide (CO2), and methane which comes mainly from animal manure. Other gases like nitrogen oxide and man made gases called chloroflurocarbons get caught in the atmosphere as well. The decay of animals and respiration are two main but natural sources of carbon dioxide. In my opinion we people of the whole world should try and slow down the emmission of greenhouse gases and/or find ways to balance the gases so the climate doesn't change so rapidly. If it did we would be forced to adap t to the new climate that we brought upon our selves. If we had a international cooperation to put a damper on the production of chloroflurocarbons and slowed down the use of fossil fuels it would dramatically slow down the process of "global warming." Over the last 100 years the global temperatures have been increasing slowly but steadily. Since 1980 the temperature has risen 0.2 degrees C (0.4 degrees F ) each decade. Scientists predict that if we continue putting the same amount of gas into the atmosphere by the year 2030 the temperature will be rising as much as 0.5 degrees C (0.9 degrees F ) or more per decade. Over all the global temperature could rise anywhere from 5 to 9 degrees over the next ... ...mosphere. Every country will contribute by donating money. Each country would be required to give 0.01 of their GNP to this committee. If they refuse they will be boycotted and nothing will be sold to them by the participating countries. Global warming is a big threat to our nation and the world. If we do not act now, it may be too late. Of course, there is no sure way of telling if there actually is a greenhouse effect, but let ¹s not take any chances. Look at what is happening to this world, and you will see that there is a pollution problem. There are steps being taken at this moment to reduce the gases put into the air but it still isn't enough. We need to cut back more by taking a few easy steps. Plant a tree, or take a bus to work instead of driving your own car. Those things may not seem like a lot, but if more and more people do it, it will make a difference.

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie Essays -- Then There Were

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie And Then There Were None, is an intriguing murder mystery novel that follows the lines of a poem called "Ten Little Indians". The story is intricately written to keep the reader in absolute suspense from the beginning to end. The novel involves eight people being mysteriously invited to spend a summer holiday on "Indian Island". Among the eight are a judge (Justice John Wargrave), doctor (Edward James Armstrong), military general (General John Macarthur), former inspector/current private detective (William Blore), mercenary (Phillip Lombard), young rich athlete (Tony Marston), religious woman (Emily Brent), and a schoolteacher (Vera Claythorne). Additionally, a married couple consisting of a butler (Thomas Rogers) and a maid (Ethel Rogers) are both already present on the island. With the exception of the Rogers', only the host, who is expected to arrive the next day, is absent. As the guests begin talking together, they discover that all of them were invited by a Mr. U.N. Owen. Wargrave surmises that their host's name is fictitious since it so closely resembles the word "unknown." The other guests agree, and tension begins to build. Another mystery is the fact that each of the guests has found a po em titled "Ten Little Indians" in each of their rooms, and mysteriously enough, it appears that there are ten small Indian statuettes arranged at the dinner table. It doesn't take long for each of the guests to realize that the poem and statuettes are representative for each of them. With passing of the first night's dinner, the group hears a mysterious voice condemning each one of them to a specific murder. A phonograph i... ...led, and even made comments to other guests that he was ready to die. In an absolute panic, Vera ends up killing Blore and then, not being able to deal with what is happening, she commits suicide. The last topic of discussion I found was the one pertaining to death. Death occurs continuously throughout the novel. After the guests realize that the other guests are not having mere accidents or killing themselves, they realize they are all going to die. With the exception of Wargrave, all of the island's guests die. Rather, they are all murdered. This was an exceptional novel, masterfully written to propel the reader into feeling the very same fears, doubts and suspicions as the characters. The only thing I didn't like was the fact that Wargrave is never found, nor is there a mention as to why his body is never found.

AT&T’s Resources and Capabilities Essay

AT&T is one of the largest telecommunication network provider in the world and they are a market leader in United States. Besides the traditional forms of communication like local and distance telephone services through mobile lines or landlines, AT&T’s primary business is to provide a diversified of telecommunication services to American customers and their services includes: Wi-Fi, high speed internet, internet TV, fiber optics, satellites, voice and cloud services with a whole suite of IP-based business communication services. They were established back in 1876 when Alex Graham Bell first invented telephone. Together with the group of AT&T subsidiaries, they have over 105 million subscribers in 225 countries and close to 250,000 employees worldwide (AT&T, 2014). According to the (Plunket Research, 2013), the market value worldwide for telecommunication industry in 2013 was USD 5 trillion and the market value for United States alone was USD 1.2 trillion. Technology has been an integral part of our daily life; and it is widely used in all business organizations. 91% of adults in United States owned a cell phone (Pew Research, 2013) and the telecommunication industry may seems to be an attractive industry with the increase demand of such product and services. However, due to the rapidly technological evolution, this is a highly competitive market to sustain competiveness in the market. For example, AT&T’s business evolves around technologies, there is shift of demand in the consumer market; consumers have switch to use instant messaging services like ‘whatapps’ instead of talking over the phone or short messaging services. AT&T must be able to implement alternate strategies to meet customers’ need before competitors. Though there are four major players in the telecommunication industry, AT&T’s main competitor is Verizon; they have similar financial strength and market share while Sprint and T-mobile hold a very small percentage of the market share. When firm resources in an industry are homogenous, competitive advantages cannot exist (Bain, 1956). To continue as the market leader, AT&T needs to have sustainable competitive advantages against competitors. According to Barney (1991), a firm is said to have a competitive advantage when it is implementing a value creating strategy not simultaneously being implemented by any current or potential competitors. And to sustainable competitive advantages firms have to analyze their internal environment and implement  strategies that will exploit their strengths by exploring the external opportunities while neutralizing external threats and avoid internal weakness. Porter (2005) reinstates that firms will attain competitive advantage by developing a strategy that enable them to have a unique marketing position. Kanter (1999) also argue that to sustain competitiveness in the market, firm must innovate in an accelerating rate. Resources and Capabilities Leading AT&T the Market Leader The resource-based view (RBV) strategy analyzes a firm’s internal resources that may potentially be the key resources that can have a competitive advantage. And in order to sustain a competitive advantage, a firm must have unique resources (Barney, 2004). RBV strategy is used to evaluate the internal capabilities on an organization – resources and competences (Barney, 2001). Resources are productive assets owned by the firm; capabilities are what the firm can do (Grant and Jordon, 2012). By applying Barney’s (1991) VRIN framework, we can determine whether the internal resources will contribute to the firm’s strategic capability. They four key attributes of the VRIN framework are: (1) Valuable; exploits competitive opportunities (2) Rare; they must be rare in the competitive environment (3) In-imitable; competitors cannot duplicate the sources (4) Non-substitutable; must not be easily replaceable by alternate products. The key resources AT&T possesses are t he strong financial resources, extensive network infrastructure, research and development facilities, human resources, unique culture, brand image and intellectual properties. Resources are then classified into tangible assets or intangible assets and they must be heterogeneous and immobile to have sustainable competitive advantages. For AT&T to achieve strategic capability, we need to evaluate AT&T internal resources and their capability to perform well with those resources. Just resources alone or capability alone will not lead to strategic capability. Over the decades, AT&T has built different network platform worldwide to support a range of wireless voice and data capabilities. They have the widest network coverage, with more than 18,000 WiFi hotspots in 42 countries. In the United States, AT&T’s customers can access to free WiFi services at many popular hangout places like Starbucks, Borders and McDonalds. AT&T is also financially strong to invest of their network  infrastructure. They have invested billions of dollars to install fiber optic cable nationwide to provide customer a much faster and stable network connection. Lieberman and Montgo nmery’s (1998) first-mover theory state that firm may have competitive advantages through new innovations. AT&T was the first to introduce 4G networks in the nation and they are the first and only company who has the resources and capability to restore the network issue in the event of natural disaster. They have built their reputation and brand in the industry over the years and are known as a technology leader with new innovations. Being the first-mover, AT&T has built customers’ confidence by being perceived as the industry leader who can deliver additional values to consumers thus reduce rivalry competition. For example, AT&T was certified by Department of Homeland Security for their Network Disaster Recovery program and US Navy awarded them a 10.4 million contract for the cloud-based voice-over IP recently. Financial and network infrastructure are key tangible assets to AT&T, they are extremely valuable to AT&T as these primary resources integrating with their intangible assets to achieve competitive advantage. Physical resources as such may confer little advantage to company for long term. For example, rival like Verizon, who has the similar financial capabilities may soon acquire similar assets. Verizon has already starting building the 4G networks. Acquisitions and me rgers are often strategies in big firm. Strong financial resources give AT&T the capability to acquire other companies to strengthen their portfolio by leveraging on external capabilities. AT&T has announced to acquire DirecTV, the biggest cable television provider to strengthen their portfolio. Though AT&T provides cable television services, they have less than 6 million subscriber in their ‘U-Verse’ bundle package, which include Internet, landlines and cable TV. The merger of DirecTV increase AT&T’s cable television subscriber four time more than their U-Verse and an additional 18 million cable television subscriber in South America (Forbes, 2014) by leveraging on the DirecTV’s existing network infrastructure and customer data based. There are high risks in every merger, many firms failed because company are unable to integrate. I believed that AT&T will successfully integrate these businesses together and will be able to deliver additional value to the customer by providing an integrated solution and extend to more subscribers. Unlike tangible assets, intangible assets like  human resource, branding, intellectual properties, research and developments do not have a financial value and often the intangible assets are undervalued and yet contribu te much more than the tangible assets. AT&T is the most valuable brand in Texas, with a value of 45 billion (Jean, 2014). Through various strategies, they have built a great reputation and brand recognition in the United States over the century. AT&T has the exclusivity distribution of Iphone when Apple first launched them in the market. AT&T has the upper hand in terms of business negotiation and bargaining power of suppliers are low due to the AT&T’s extensive customer base and their brand. Porter (2005) argues that differentiation strategies give the firm competitive advantages against rivals. Being unique and different will also lead to higher profitability by demanding higher price. AT&T differentiates them from rivalry by highly focusing on research, development and customer-centric approach. AT&T has invested heavily in their research and development lab and they have 1300 of the world’s best scientist and engineers. AT&T’s researcher has contributed to the industry with many new inventions since 1901 and they made major technological inventions like communication satellite and solar cell that changes the way technologies work. According to Barney (1999) ‘A firm obtains valuable and rare resources because of its unique path through history, it will be able to exploit these resources in implementing value-creating strategies that cannot be duplicate by others’ and ‘A firm with scientists who are uniquely positioned to create or explo it a significant science breakthrough may obtain an imperfectly imitable resource from the history-dependent nature of these scientist’s individual human capital’. Since AT&T is a network company, research and development will be one of the most valuable resources to the firm. Besides new innovations, understanding customers’ need is equally important. Some other key development focus includes increase process automation and consolidation, improve and enhance customer experience. Ability to deliver new technology and offer alternate products and services that better suit the customer needs is the key strategy to stay ahead of competitors. AT&T is rated as the company with the best customer service experience in the industry and AT&T’s customers are the first in the industry to have e-commerce services; they are able to view their bills online and also have  added features like bill sorting by categories, request service updates and many more. Intangible assets like intellectual property, trademarks, copyrights and patents do not have an asset value, but they extremely valuable, rare, in-imitable and non-substitutable. Having heavily invested in research and development, these patents give AT&T the exclusive right to protect their innovation s. AT&T has more than 5,000 registered patents and trademarks; they have 3 patents registered averagely per day. Grant (2005) describes human resource as the productive services offered to the firms by human being through their skills, knowledge, reasoning and decision-making abilities. Besides the scientist and engineers in the AT&T Lab, AT&T has employees from a diversify background that has different potential to contribute to the organization in different business function. Continue training and education will ensure that employees will have the essential knowledge, and the capability to perform their jobs. There are a variety of training programs specially designed for the employees of all level and functions. For example, AT&T University provides leadership training to managers at different level, skills development program design from retail sales to engineers. In 2012, AT&T spent 250 million dollars for employees’ training and development and 28 million for tuition reimbursement to increase the employees’ knowledge and skills, which can in return transform into the human resource capabilities. It is very difficult to find a right candidate for the right position and it is even harder to retain talent in an organization. AT&T has one of the best compensation packages to retain talent, to increase employees’ loyalty and decrease employee turnover rate. Barney (2005) recognized that a firm’s culture is one of the most valuable resources. Culture is the work routines and how organization operates; every organization has their own mission, vision, strategies, values, beliefs and behavior. AT&T has a unique culture, they are highly focus in technology, leadership innovation, customer-centric focus, possess high integrity and believe in collaborative teamwork. Embedded capabilities are very likely part of the organization culture and AT&T’s unique culture contributes to the strategic capabilities on the firm. Both human resource and company culture are valuable resources, rare, in-imitable, and non-substitutable. Conclusion A&T is a differentiation leadership, who has superior customer service with the most reliable and fastest services; customers are willing to pay a premium price for the best provider. Their core competencies are: ability to scale the business, creation of new innovations ahead of competitors, integration of network components, integration of software components and network integration. AT&T has sustainable competitive advantages in the telecommunication industry because they possess inimitable strategic capabilities through complexity of internal and external linkage, with their achievements and past experience in the telecommunication industry, they are able to innovate and stay ahead of competitors. The organization has accumulated knowledge through both formal system and shared experience of people and they are able to integrate into organization capabilities. Due to the complexity of the resources, another firm will able to achieve sustainable competitive advantages with the same kind of resources. For example, Continental Lite tried to imitate Southwest’s budget airline, they failed and suffered heavy losses. Similar, even if Verizon have some of AT&T’s employees like the engineers, senior management, and including the same network infrastructure, Verizon will not have able to achieve competitive advantages as AT&T because they do not know the linkage of all the core competencies which will lead to failure. References AT&T (2014) Investors Relations. Available from: http://www.att.com/gen/investor-relations?pid=5711%5B [Accessed 8 June 2014] Bain, J. 1956. Barriers to New Competition. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. Barney, J.B. (1991). Firm’s resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of Management, 17: 99-120 Barney, J.B. (2001)‘Resource-based theories of competitive advantage: A ten-year retrospective on the resource-based view’ Journal of Management December 2001 27: 643-650, Bloomberg Businessweek (2014), AT&T Inc (T: New York). Available from: http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/financials/financials.asp?ticker=T [Accessed 21 June 2014] ‘AT&T-DirectTV Merger Shows Telecom And Television Are Now The Same Business’ 2014, Forbes.Com, p. 1, Business Source Premier, EBSCO host, viewed 3 June 2014. Jean, S. (2014) Dallas News. Ranking: AT&T is the most valuable bank in Texas. Available from http://bizbeatblog.dallasnews.com/2014/03/ranking-att-is-the-most-valuable-brand-in-texas.html/ [Accessed 25 June 2014] Grant, R. and Jordan, J. (2012) Foundation of Strategy. 1st edn. West Sussex: John Wiley & Sons Ltd Grant, R. (2005) Analyzing Resources and Capabilities. Contemporary Strategic Analysis. Volume 5 p.130-185 Kanter, R. M. 1999. From spare change to real change. Harvard Business Review 77 (3): 122–32. Lieberman M.B. Montgomery D.B (1988), â€Å"First-Mover Advantages†, Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 9, 41-58 Market Watch. (2014) AT&T Inc. Available from http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/t/financials/cash-flow [Accessed: 8 June 2014] Porter, M. (M 2005) ‘Michael Porter on Str ategy’, Leadership Excellence, 22, 6, p. 14, Business Source Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 23 June 2014. Porter, M. (2008) M. E. Competitive Strategy, Free Press, New York, 1980. Porter, M 2005, ‘Michael Porter on Strategy’, Leadership Excellence, 22, 6, p. 14, Business Source Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 23 June 2014. Pew Research. (2013) Cell phone ownership hits 91% of adults [Online] Available from: http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/06/06/cell-phone-ownership-hits-91-of-adults/ [Accessed: 10 June 2014] Plunket Research. (2014) Telecommunication Industry Market Reseach [Online] Available from: http://www.plunkettresearch.com/telecommunications-market-research/industry-and-business-data [Accessed: 10 June 2014] The Wall Street Journal (2014), AT&T Enhances Mobile Internet Coverage in Bud Walton Area At The University of Arkansass. Available from: http://online.wsj.com/article/PR-CO-20140603-905535.html# [Accessed: 8 June 2014]

Free Essays on Machiavelli

Machiavelli and More are each often described as â€Å"humanists.† Does it seem reasonable to you to group them together as part of the same â€Å"movement† or intellectual trend? Explain why or why not. A most complete definition of humanism describes it as, â€Å"an intellectual movement that stressed enjoyment of all aspects of life, and especially of the ideas and values of pre-Christian civilizations, such as those of Greece and Rome; the interest in individualism, including stress on man as an end in himself, rather than as merely one cog in the vast machine of the Church.† Thus far in this course we have studied two Renaissance figures that are typically described as humanists: Niccolo Machiavelli via The Prince, and Sir Thomas More in Utopia. In The Prince, Machiavelli uses the major corpus of the work to convey his observations concerning principalities. In addition to analyzing the types of difficulties that a prince might encounter, he describes how a prince comes to power and retains his position. In More’s Utopia, we find a treatise on ethics and human nature along with, above all else, a condemnation of pride, disguised in the painting of the portrait of a perfect world. Most important to the ideals of humanism, we see through both works that Renaissance man has evolved greatly from how his Medieval counterpart was viewed as a miniscule, analogous piece of the all powerful church. It is the individualism of this new character on the world’s stage, the Renaissance man, which creates the perfect setting for a return to Roman-Athenian ideals such as self-interest, worldly possessions, and a much greater concern for life than the afterlife. By staunchly defending these ideals, Niccolo Machiavelli emerges as a true humanist, while in abhorring them Sir Thomas More appears only a social critic. In Book I of Utopia, More struggles with the question of how he, a good man by the moral standards of the day, can serv... Free Essays on Machiavelli Free Essays on Machiavelli Machiavelli and More are each often described as â€Å"humanists.† Does it seem reasonable to you to group them together as part of the same â€Å"movement† or intellectual trend? Explain why or why not. A most complete definition of humanism describes it as, â€Å"an intellectual movement that stressed enjoyment of all aspects of life, and especially of the ideas and values of pre-Christian civilizations, such as those of Greece and Rome; the interest in individualism, including stress on man as an end in himself, rather than as merely one cog in the vast machine of the Church.† Thus far in this course we have studied two Renaissance figures that are typically described as humanists: Niccolo Machiavelli via The Prince, and Sir Thomas More in Utopia. In The Prince, Machiavelli uses the major corpus of the work to convey his observations concerning principalities. In addition to analyzing the types of difficulties that a prince might encounter, he describes how a prince comes to power and retains his position. In More’s Utopia, we find a treatise on ethics and human nature along with, above all else, a condemnation of pride, disguised in the painting of the portrait of a perfect world. Most important to the ideals of humanism, we see through both works that Renaissance man has evolved greatly from how his Medieval counterpart was viewed as a miniscule, analogous piece of the all powerful church. It is the individualism of this new character on the world’s stage, the Renaissance man, which creates the perfect setting for a return to Roman-Athenian ideals such as self-interest, worldly possessions, and a much greater concern for life than the afterlife. By staunchly defending these ideals, Niccolo Machiavelli emerges as a true humanist, while in abhorring them Sir Thomas More appears only a social critic. In Book I of Utopia, More struggles with the question of how he, a good man by the moral standards of the day, can serv... Free Essays on Machiavelli Machiavelli "The best fortress a ruler can have is not to be hated by the people, for if you possess fortresses and the people hate you, having fortresses will not save you". I feel that Machiavelli’s intention was to let the ruler of Florence, Lorenzo de Medici know that he must change the way he is ruling Florence because, A prince must act with dictatorial power in order to maintain his position. Machiavelli believes that Lorenzo de Medici does not act with dictatorial power, but with greed which is considered a fault. Machiavelli states that a prince can share power with the people, since a prince can trust the people much more than he can trust the nobles. Nobles can not be satisfied if a ruler acts honorably but the people can be satisfied, because their aims are more honorable than the nobles. The people are not unforgiving and greedy so the prince can place more trust in the people. Since the public can be trusted, the prince can empower the people. â€Å"A leader must seem firm and moral to the people, and show positive results from his leadership†. I agree with Machiavelli, people are the ones that you don’t have to worry about, because they have nothing and giving them authority will make them feel important. By the people feeling the way they do, the ruler will be supported. This is what Lorenzo de Medici should do. This compellation was meant to help him, not hurt him. I think that Lorenzo de Medici took this in a bad way. He probably felt that Machiavelli was telling him how to rule Florence, which would be considered an insult to his authority.... Free Essays on Machiavelli Machiavelli â€Å"It is better to be feared than loved† This is one of the most interesting topics that was brought up in the movie that I felt would be fun to write about. The different between being feared and loved is a very fine line sometimes, through the years many different leaders have bordered on the two in their leadership. Machiavelli obviously firmly believed that it was much better to be feared than loved, but as always there are two sides to every argument. I agree with Machiavelli in some ways because fear is a good way to rule people. If they fear you they will generally not bother you in any way in fear of you harming them or someone close to them. With his opinion on being loved, I believe he felt it made the ruler vulnerable; it made them look weak and easy to attack and overthrow. The problems that I see with Machiavelli’s point of view is that in order for you to be feared you have to set an example, and the problem with setting an example is you have to use someone as that example. I personally am not one who thinks you should have to hurt or kill a person in order for others to follow you. I could never go out and kill a bunch of people for the reason of setting an example to others. The other quote of Machiavelli’s quotes that I want to discuss is â€Å"the end justifies the means†. This is a very controversial quote that I feel can apply in some instances but is not appropriate in others. Take for instance the situation in providence with the mayor. Providence was in rough shape a few years ago but Mayor Cianci cleaned up the city and made it into the beautiful city that is today. But along the way of the reinvention of the city he had to do a few things that weren’t exactly 100% legal. Now I'm not exactly sure how much he did and to who he did it to, but it seems to me that in this case he really didn’t do anything that was that bad. Stealing a little money and shaking down a few people was r...

English Prose Study Essay Essays - English-language Films

English Prose Study Essay Essays - English-language Films English Prose Study Essay Miss Havisham is first introduced to the reader when Mr Pumblechook (Pips Uncle) announces that Miss Havisham Requests Pips presence to play at her house. Miss Havisham fits into the main plot because she trains Estella to break their hearts. When Pip sees Estella for the fist time, he instantly falls in love with her. Miss Havisham sees this and she encourages Pip to do so. Miss Havisham was also, in Pips eyes, the cause of his Great expectations Miss Havisham may also have been placed in the novel by Dickens, To explore how the effects of bad experiences on people. In this case it would be Miss Havisham being jilted on her wedding day In the first description of Satis house you get the image of a dilapidated house that has been abandoned even though there is someone there still living there. When pip goes to miss Havishams house she asks him to touch her heart. This according to her is Broken. When Miss Havisham says I sometimes have sick fancies this shows that Miss Havisham is mentally disturbed in the head. Satis house is an old decaying house, which was turned this way by Miss Havishams neglect. When Pip returns to miss Havishams she takes him into her wedding breakfast room. There is a rotting cake in the middle of the table. This sums up Miss Havishams life perfectly. Forgotten and Mouldy. Another thing that is made out to be strange is that al the clocks have been stopped at twenty to nine. This makes it sound like her life has been frozen in time, as she also wore one shoe, half her veil was arranged and she still wore a decaying wedding dress. This makes the readers believe that she has frozen time at that exact point. Miss Havisham plays an important part in the Novel as she leads pip into believing that she was his benefactor because he believed that she was rearing him for Estella when in fact it was the convict (Magwitch). Miss Havishams character at the beginning of the novel is made out to be cruel and heartless, however later on in the novel she turns over a new leaf and begs for Pips forgiveness just before she is burnt to death. Charles Dickens explores the theme of sin and forgiveness in the novel. Throughout the novel some of the people who have sinned tried to redeem themselves the other people who have sinned havent. In addition, Dickens explores the theme of what is a gentle man. Compyson Who jilted Miss Havisham and manipulated Magwitch into doing his dirty work was considered a gentle man whereas Joe Gargery took in pip even though he was not related to him in any way took Pip in and gave him an aprentaship at the forge was not considered a gentle man because he had to work for a living. Dickens explores many themes in the Novel. The main one being the effects on people after a bad experience. In this case this is through Miss Havisham. Miss Havisham dearly loved Compyson and she cast away most of her family who forewarned her that he was trouble, But she ignored them all and when she got jilted by him on her wedding day she realised that her family were right. After this Miss Havisham adopted Estella so she could raise her up to be invulnerable to the effects of society were in actual fact she was more vulnerable when she grew up. Miss Havisham also raised her up to break there heart of men. This in a way is revenge for what Compyson put Miss Havisham Through. Another theme in the novel is sin and forgiveness. In Victorian society many people went to church so many people believed in Heaven and Hell. Throughout the novel many people sin. Magwitch, Compyson, Miss Havisham Orlick and many more. Some of these people try to redeem themselves like Magwitch who became a secret benefactor to Pip. I sleep rough so you can sleep smooth also Miss Havisham realises that that she has destroyed two peoples lives. She tries to redeem herself by grovelling to Pip. Oh

Free Essays on Classification Of Video Games

Classification of Video Games Video games can be classified into several distinct categories. Though video games are all basically the same thing, a computer program that is made to entertain people. Arguably one of the first video games was Pong on Atari, but since then video games have changed so dramatically that there are thousands of games in various categories. The main categories in today’s gaming world are Role-Playing Games (RPG), Sport Games, and First Person Shooting Games. The most popular category is RPG, so it is best to start off with this class. An RPG is a game that places a player in a story as a specific character or role and the player must complete certain tasks, and solve puzzles to strengthen his/her character and keep the story line going. These games are very long and at some times frustrating to those of little patience. But to true gamers a good RPG can consume them into the plot and make them feel as though they are living another life through the character in the game. Some excellent RPGs that have been known to do this are Final Fantasy, Breath of Fire, and The Realm. Also there are games that contain a plot and have the player assume a certain role but give you a first person view and usually a big gun to defeat enemies. These types of games are known as First Person Shooting games. They are pretty basic in their plot and the name of their category says it all. You are a character that has to fend off evil foes from invasion or destruction of something you hold dear. Whether it being your world, country, or even your girlfriend the enemy is trying to kill them and you must put a stop to it. Usually the player is a super human of some sort, who has numerous weapons to eradicate enemies who stand in their way. Most of these games contain various levels, which increase in difficulty as you conquer each of them. When you come to the end of the game there is usually an evil boss who is almost i... Free Essays on Classification Of Video Games Free Essays on Classification Of Video Games Classification of Video Games Video games can be classified into several distinct categories. Though video games are all basically the same thing, a computer program that is made to entertain people. Arguably one of the first video games was Pong on Atari, but since then video games have changed so dramatically that there are thousands of games in various categories. The main categories in today’s gaming world are Role-Playing Games (RPG), Sport Games, and First Person Shooting Games. The most popular category is RPG, so it is best to start off with this class. An RPG is a game that places a player in a story as a specific character or role and the player must complete certain tasks, and solve puzzles to strengthen his/her character and keep the story line going. These games are very long and at some times frustrating to those of little patience. But to true gamers a good RPG can consume them into the plot and make them feel as though they are living another life through the character in the game. Some excellent RPGs that have been known to do this are Final Fantasy, Breath of Fire, and The Realm. Also there are games that contain a plot and have the player assume a certain role but give you a first person view and usually a big gun to defeat enemies. These types of games are known as First Person Shooting games. They are pretty basic in their plot and the name of their category says it all. You are a character that has to fend off evil foes from invasion or destruction of something you hold dear. Whether it being your world, country, or even your girlfriend the enemy is trying to kill them and you must put a stop to it. Usually the player is a super human of some sort, who has numerous weapons to eradicate enemies who stand in their way. Most of these games contain various levels, which increase in difficulty as you conquer each of them. When you come to the end of the game there is usually an evil boss who is almost i...

ANEMIA Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

ANEMIA - Assignment Example Iron deficiency anemia is triggered by failure in blood cell production. The proper management plan will be based in correcting the issue as well as replenishing iron stores. This is done by the prescription of oral iron therapy, activity restriction, and diet adjustment. The patient must be given iron supplementation and in instances where oral preparations cannot be tolerated, parenteral iron may be used. In cases or oral iron therapy, ferrous sulfate is the best iron salt to be administered. Oral iron must be continued until three months after the iron deficiency has been corrected; this aims at replenishing the stores. Analysis of the patient’s diet reveals the diet may have contributed to her condition. The proper management plan for dietary adjustment is counseling the patient on their consumption and development of a meal plan. This means the patient must start consuming meals rich in iron and folic acid, i.e. spinach, broccoli, kidney beans, whole grains, asparagus, an d broccoli. In addition, the patient has to be advised to increase her vitamin B12 intake. Restriction of activity is necessary for this patient based on the fact that she exercises intensely. Therefore, she ought to limit her activities until she is well. The hemoglobin level of the patient has to be monitored at intervals. This is part of the follow up procedure (Brashers,

History of The Australian Aboriginal People Essay

History of The Australian Aboriginal People - Essay Example However, what appears to be clear is that the first Aboriginal settlers colonized what is now Australia between 30,000 and 80,000 years ago via what is now Papua New Guinea or what is now Indonesia (Australian Aboriginal History, 2002; Siasoco, 2006). In 2001 the population of aborigines and Torres Straits Islanders was 366,429, approximately 1.9% of the Australian population as a whole and slightly more than the estimated aboriginal population of 350,000 at the time of European colonization in the late 18th century. At the time of the European invasion, there were 500-600 distinct groups of aborigines speaking about 200 different languages or dialects [at least 50 of which are now extinct] (Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 2006). Although culturally diverse, these groups were not political and economic entities and lacked class hierarchies and chiefs. These aboriginal people were hunter-gatherers who lived in small family groups of 15or 30, called bands. Bands were the basic residential and economic unit (Siasoco, 2006; Arrernte Culture, 2006). Despite their variety and differences, the aboriginal people possess several unifying factors. ... People within these social networks frequently co-operated to exploit abundant resources during good seasons or to share scarce resources during drought or flood (Siasoco, 2006). The aboriginal people are a culturally and religiously rich people. Their social structure, family ties and classification system is almost as complex as the people. However, spiritually, unlike other religions, aboriginal belief does not place the human species apart from or on a higher level than nature. Their spirituality involves a close relationship between humans and nature. Aborigines believe some of their Ancestors metamorphosed into nature (as in rock formations or rivers), where they remain spiritually alive. In the oral tradition of storytelling, aborigines refer to the beginning of the world as "Dreaming," or "Dreamtime. In the "Dreaming", or the Alchera of the Aranda, the aborigines believed that their ancestors who rose from below the earth wandered on a featureless world and gave the world its present shape and form; they believe that their ancestors metamorphosed to form different various parts of nature including animal species, bodies of water, and the sky (Arrernte Culture, 2006; Australian Aboriginal History, 2002). The aborigines have an intricate classification system that defines kinship relations and regulates marriages. The Kariera, for example, are divided into hordes, or local groups of about 30 people, which are divided into four classes, or sections. Membership in a section determines ritual and territorial claims. In half of the hordes the men are divided among the Karimera and Burung sections; in the other half they are divided among the Palyeri and Banaka sections. These sections are exogamous, and rules of marriage, descent, and residence

Reaction paper Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Reaction paper - Assignment Example However, Frances comes to the conclusion that this translates into Michael wanting to leave her, either now, or later on. In the end, forcing him to say that he is not sure whether he will always stay with her always and not willing to discuss it further, Frances gets up to call their friends to go out with them to the country. Pam Houston’s How to Talk to a Hunter is about a woman who falls in love with a man who is not the monogamous kind. Written in a way that makes one feel a part of the narrative, Houston relates how the woman feels insecure in the relationship while trying to find deeper meanings in the words of her lover, the hunter. He is a man who lives alone and who has many excuses not to commit or be monogamous, as Houston puts it. The woman confers with her best friends, male and female, both of them giving her conflicting advice as to how to go about her relationship. Interestingly enough, she ignores their advice and tries to get the man to commit to her. Till the end, it is not clear whether she is successful in her attempts or not, however, this much is clear that she is in love with a man who is involved with other women simultaneously and who, perhaps, does love her in his own

Global in and global out in regard of food industry in Japan Research Paper

Global in and global out in regard of food industry in Japan - Research Paper Example Japanese Food The Tokyo Metropolitan Central Wholesale Market generally known as Tsukiji Market is considered to be one of the biggest wholesale fish markets around the globe. The market is situated in Tsukiji city of Tokyo and is determined to be a major attraction for many foreign visitors because of its large variety of fish and seafood7,8. The contribution of Tsukiji Market for spreading Japanese food culture globally is considered to be noteworthy. Not only the market provides a wide variety of fish to the nation but it is also a global provider of various fishes to some of the most renowned restaurant chain businesses and hotels around the globe. A few of the most well-known Japanese cuisines that have gained considerable amount of likings globally include Sushi, a food item that consists of cooked vinegared rice with a combination of other ingredients such as raw food or other sea foods and meat occasionally, Tempura, dish prepared of sea foods or vegetables that is battered a nd deep fried along with ramen; a type of white noodles served with meat and fish and often flavored with soy sauce or miso9. According to many critics, it has been stated that the main reason behind the rapid globalization and adaption of Japanese culture and practices worldwide is the result of its manga and animations series that are being telecast in various regions of the world. However, it has been viewed that it is not only the Japanese culture that is establishing its trends in other nations however the culture of different nations including their food habits are being invaded in Japan as well. For instance, in a research conducted by Kamei, M., Ki, M., Kawagoshi, M., and Kawai, N. (2001) it was viewed that 24 out of 100 lunch boxes in Japan contained food items such as hamburgers,... The aspect of globalization is considered to be a vital constitute in today’s society. It has been viewed that the advent of globalization has not only changed the way one does business but has also brought drastic alterations in the cultural and religious facets associated with an individual. One such crucial facet is the change in the food habits of people. Japan which is regarded as one of the most renowned countries in the world, specially for their food habit that help the people to live long, has been facing rapid challenges due to globalization of the food industry. This has not only resulted in changing the food habits of an individual but has motivated other nations to invent new food items following their steps that are affecting the health aspects of the civilians in the nation. With reference to the above discussion, it can be viewed that the way in which modern food industry has motivated people to adopt food items as their daily supplementary provider that are le ss healthy. However, if proper steps are taken by the government to promote the difference in the ingredients amid western and Japanese products along with highlighting the disadvantages of consuming some unhealthy food items then the issue can be mitigated to a great extent. Thus, it can be concluded that practices such as campaigns and government programs to create awareness would not only stop people to adapt such food habits but would also facilitate people to return to their traditional eating habits and culinary methods by reducing the risk of nutrition related diseases to a great extent.

Shopping is a complex and contradictory activity which cannot be Essay

Shopping is a complex and contradictory activity which cannot be reduced simply to the act of buying goods or services - Essay Example Shopping on the other hand is a term which is often used in a recreational context , as in : "it's a pleasant afternoon, why don't we go shopping". Shopping necessarily does not mean purchasing objects of requirements; rather, it pertains to purchasing objects of desire and interest. Shopping is an integral part of every vacation, celebration and for most people, even part of their free time. Shopping in these contexts is classified under leisure activities. In most cases shopping is a harmless and sometimes a relaxing activity but on the other hand it is not uncommon to see "pathological shoppers" who tend to go over the top with their buying spree irrespective of requirement, available finances and affordability. Shopping has a dark side too, just like all other leisure activities when done in excess. In some cases, uncontrolled habits may transform into mental disorders and even dependency which eventually require psychological intervention. Compulsive shoppers may feel a false and temporary phase of happiness just by attaining ownership of a particular object but most often than not, this phase is followed by regret and remorse over monetary wastage. For the typical shopper, that Tracy Reese dress or Prada bag may just be a piece of merchandise but for a shopaholic it is medication. Women often joke about "retail therapy." But that laughter may actually be a disguise to veil depression, loneliness or boredom. Shopping is an easy way to numb ourselves or boost our self-esteem, even if relief only lasts until buyer's remorse sets in. Shopaholics try to fill in their emptiness with "stuff" they might not even need. That void, in reality, may be from years of emotional or spiritual deprivation: fear that there's never enough, whether its money, material objects, recognition or love. Retail therapy is shopping with the primary purpose of uplifting the buyers' mood or disposition (Oxford Dictionary). It is a short lived habit and is often seen in people during periods of depression or transition. Items purchased during periods of retail therapy are called "comfort buys". Retail therapy was first used as a term in the 1980's: "we have become a nation measuring out our lives in shopping bags and nursing our psychic ills through retail therapy" (Chicago Tribune, 1986). In a study by European Union revealed that 33 percent of shoppers surveyed had "high level of addiction to rash or unnecessary consumption" (Observer, 2001) which eventually ran them into debts. Melbourne University researchers have coined a term "oniomania" to this psychological disorder, also known as compulsive shopping disorder. For a generation, 'retail therapy' has been the ultimate source of salvation from the stresses of modern living. But a major new study now suggests that for millions of people, binge shopping is no longer an emotional cure, rather it may make an individual feel worse. Retail therapy is actually an expensive way of distracting oneself from life's problems which one would eventually have to face and solve anyway! In short, it is a method of escapism. The pleasure is short lived and shallow in nature. Materialistic belongings can never bring peace and true happiness. Moreover, the sense of ownership imparts a false sense of pride which can be addictive as well as

Global in and global out in regard of food industry in Japan Research Paper

Global in and global out in regard of food industry in Japan - Research Paper Example Japanese Food The Tokyo Metropolitan Central Wholesale Market generally known as Tsukiji Market is considered to be one of the biggest wholesale fish markets around the globe. The market is situated in Tsukiji city of Tokyo and is determined to be a major attraction for many foreign visitors because of its large variety of fish and seafood7,8. The contribution of Tsukiji Market for spreading Japanese food culture globally is considered to be noteworthy. Not only the market provides a wide variety of fish to the nation but it is also a global provider of various fishes to some of the most renowned restaurant chain businesses and hotels around the globe. A few of the most well-known Japanese cuisines that have gained considerable amount of likings globally include Sushi, a food item that consists of cooked vinegared rice with a combination of other ingredients such as raw food or other sea foods and meat occasionally, Tempura, dish prepared of sea foods or vegetables that is battered a nd deep fried along with ramen; a type of white noodles served with meat and fish and often flavored with soy sauce or miso9. According to many critics, it has been stated that the main reason behind the rapid globalization and adaption of Japanese culture and practices worldwide is the result of its manga and animations series that are being telecast in various regions of the world. However, it has been viewed that it is not only the Japanese culture that is establishing its trends in other nations however the culture of different nations including their food habits are being invaded in Japan as well. For instance, in a research conducted by Kamei, M., Ki, M., Kawagoshi, M., and Kawai, N. (2001) it was viewed that 24 out of 100 lunch boxes in Japan contained food items such as hamburgers,... The aspect of globalization is considered to be a vital constitute in today’s society. It has been viewed that the advent of globalization has not only changed the way one does business but has also brought drastic alterations in the cultural and religious facets associated with an individual. One such crucial facet is the change in the food habits of people. Japan which is regarded as one of the most renowned countries in the world, specially for their food habit that help the people to live long, has been facing rapid challenges due to globalization of the food industry. This has not only resulted in changing the food habits of an individual but has motivated other nations to invent new food items following their steps that are affecting the health aspects of the civilians in the nation. With reference to the above discussion, it can be viewed that the way in which modern food industry has motivated people to adopt food items as their daily supplementary provider that are le ss healthy. However, if proper steps are taken by the government to promote the difference in the ingredients amid western and Japanese products along with highlighting the disadvantages of consuming some unhealthy food items then the issue can be mitigated to a great extent. Thus, it can be concluded that practices such as campaigns and government programs to create awareness would not only stop people to adapt such food habits but would also facilitate people to return to their traditional eating habits and culinary methods by reducing the risk of nutrition related diseases to a great extent.

New Labours Policies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

New Labours Policies - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that New Labour’s policies and principles that have given the party victory in elections for three consecutive terms since 1997 have focused on three crucial areas including the economy, public services including health and education and crime and asylum.   Labour has highlighted its achievements since 1997 focusing on the fact that it has helped to bring down inflation rates to a considerable extent and Britain has now been experiencing a period of sustained economic growth with very low levels of unemployment. Considering changes in health policies, New labour points out that hospital waiting times and waiting lists of patients are at the lowest level and the NHS now has 19,300 more doctors and over 77,500 more nurses since 1987 and more modern equipment have been provided in these hospitals. Police numbers being at record levels, Labour claims that crime is under control and the Home Office has laid out strict policies to contro l undue asylum and benefit seeking. Barry and Patterson have discussed New Labour’s role within the framework of globalisation and ecological modernisation and suggested that all environmental policies and reform projects could only be understood within the context of ecological modernisation or EM principles considering the political factors as well. According to Barry and Patterson, globalisation lies at the centre of any discussion on environmental policy and the study shows New Labour’s use of EM approach is consistent with the aims of globalization.... ith its unique policies on the issue of asylum and social exclusion, education (Ryan, 2005), public health (Davidson et al , 2003) and economic policies (Raco, 2002) as well as public participation in the governmental agenda and decision making. Moss and O'Loughlin (2005) highlight the wide ranging public policy programme initiated by New Labour in areas of information and communications technology. The political ideology of new Labour seem to be the best explanatory tool for providing insights into New Labour's policy developments. Moss and O'Loughlin provide an ideological explanation of New labour's approach to policy structures and suggests that New Labour's approach to policy development in technology is structured, defined and is also conceptual and epistemological. Thus New labour seem to be responding to the new political ideology of the information age at the level of policy and this is reflected in its positive attitudes to new technology. The relationship between ideology and policy seem to be clearly related and would require further analysis to understand whether New Labour project is in any way unique and if so whether there is a clearly defined political philosophy followed by New Labour that seems to reflect in its policy implementations. However one important aspect of governance that seems to set apart New Labour and make it different with a definite New Labour project is the party's attempt to connect with citizens at all levels. As Morsion and Newman (2001) state, the Labour government has been increasingly using technology to connect with citizens and to this aim the UK Online and Citizen's Portal initiative was launched to improve the level of service and improve interaction between government and the citizens. However Morison and Newman claim

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare Essay Example for Free

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare Essay When put together, it means sick of love. Once Montague and Lady Montague leave, Benvolio has to try and discover what is affecting him. Just in the first few lines of Benvolios and Romeos conversation, love, once again appears, not as sexual innuendos, but this time in a much more serious perspective. Benvolio asks, What sadness lengthens Romeos hours? and Romeo replies, Not having that which having makes them short, which is rather ironic as Romeo wants love and therefore his life is short. We previously identify this through the prologue. Elizabethans had an aristocratic view on love and so they thought it would always be bad as Benvolio indicates, so gentle in his view. As soon as Benvolio speaks of love, Romeo attempts to confuse the issue, but when he uncovers the essential truth, he emphasizes each word as if the facts were almost unbelievable and quite without justification. At line 169, Romeo honestly unveils the truth, heres much to do with hate, but more with love. This may not be extremely important in engaging the audience because they may already believe that his unrequited love is Juliet. But this is not the case, thus it will be a shock to the audience when they discover who it really is. His thoughts are of the clash between love and hate, which then places brutal and outrageous images in his head. This is also shown by the words he uses, Why then, O brawling love, O loving hate, O anything, of nothing first create! O heavy lightness, serious vanity, Misshapen chaos of well-seeming forms, Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health, Still waking sleep, that is not what it is! Which also represents the confusion of his feelings and the contrast between them. This is an example of an oxymoron and the contradictions in life. It is applied in order to express the perplexity of Romeos emotions. It is also apparent that Romeo recognizes that Rosaline is a Capulet, the enemy, which is why his words of love and hate are intertwined, O brawling love, O loving hate. Once more, Romeo attempts to leave but Benvolio follows him and brings up the subject of love yet again. The word love catches Romeos attention; only this time, he counters Benvolios question by mocking his seriousness. In this section, there is a distinction between Rosaline and Juliets attitude to love. Rosaline, hath forsworn to love, indicating her love will not open out for anyone at this moment, and as he continues, and in that vow, do I live dead, that live to tell it now, reinforces the idea of Romeo finding love and life, and when he does, it will result in death. Romeo is caught up in false or artificial love. When real love comes, it will come as Juliet and will be a great impact in his life. The way he feels about Rosaline is much different to his feelings towards Juliet. As I have previously mentioned, we start scene II with Capulet and Paris, and his wish to marry Juliet as soon as possible. The information that we are told at the end of scene I, and the beginning of scene II, is surprising to the reader as we were lead to believe that it is Romeo and Juliet getting together, but it is apparent they are not and create a sense of curiosity. Capulet is presented as a kind hearted man and has faith in his daughter, earth hath swallowed all my hopes but she; She is the hopeful day of my earth. But this quote too, has dramatic irony, because Juliet dies in the end and therefore will have nothing to live for. Capulet then leaves after his lecture, leaving Peter, his servant with a piece of paper. Romeo and Benvolio enter and meet Peter, who is at fault, as he cannot read the list of whom he is meant to invite for the party. Romeo is persistent and patient with Peter. As he reads the list aloud to Peter, a name mentioned caught his attention; Rosaline. By now, he is even more tolerant with Peter because he realises that this is his chance to discover more about Rosaline. To return the favour, Peter prayed, come and crush a cup of wine, and then left. Of course, Romeo would take advantage of this due to his adoration of Rosaline. Benvolio also encourages him, go thither, and with attained eye, compare her face with some that I shall show. This is another example of dramatic irony as Romeo takes Benvolios advice and ironically, he does find another woman who happens to be Juliet. Presently however, Romeo questions, one fairer than my love? believing that there is no one else for him, but there is. Rosaline starts to fade out at the end of scene II. By introducing the nurse before Juliet in scene III, Shakespeare at one stroke made the drama domestic, bawdy, and affectionate in tone. As she speaks in turn to Lady Capulet and Juliet, the nurses speech is more dynamic and rhythmically varied than any so far in the play. Shakespeare was also able to introduce his heroin almost silently, so that in her first scene, Juliet speaks only seven lines. Attention is of course, focused on her, and her response is crucial for the development of the scene; yet she remains dutiful in speech and therefore mysterious and unknown. As lady Capulet did not ask any questions, the Nurse felt it was necessary to speak. Her long speech about the death of her daughter may indicate the events that could happen to Juliet. The bawdy lines 43-45: Thou wilt fall backward when thou hast more wit; Wilt thou not, Jule? And, by my holidam, The pretty wretch left crying and said, Ay Provide a climax for the speech, making the nurse helpless with laughter and provoking three repetitions, two against the express wish of Lady Capulet. Probably the nurse should make an attempt to be silent or serious and then give in to her own instincts. Juliets involvement is effective as she may either be embarrassed by her Nurses bawdiness or may know that more is likely to follow and offend her mother. It is in this scene where Juliet speaks her thoughts of marriage and believes it is, an honour I dream not of, for she is still young and has no plans to marry. This is considered as dramatic irony for she has no desire to marry Paris but when she meets Romeo, she falls in love and marries him almost straight away. Then Lady Capulet asks, can you like Paris love? and Juliet answers, Ill look to like, if looking liking move. But no more deep will I endart my eye Than your consent gives strength to make it fly, Reinforcing that she will meet him but Lady Capulet will have to wait before Juliet gives her verdict. The audience at this point will anticipate the judgment of young Juliet. Finally, there is one last major theme in the play, fate and tragedy. When mentioning the word tragedy, you automatically think death or a disaster outcome, which will make you want to know more about the event or situation. Shakespeare gives a hint of tragedy in the prologue, A pair of star-crossed lovers take their strife, and so connects with the thoughts of the audience. Star-crossed lovers are referred to as death. Their love brings both of them to an end and is thus, their destiny to die. The prologue gives a summary to what we expect to happen, but Shakespeare carefully made this to embody the divine intervention of Romeo and Juliet. In the Elizabethan times, the audience were lead to believe that fate always causes tragedy. As we know, we begin in a fight scene. Romeo is in fact not there, which may symbolise that Romeo is not part of the feud or that he is involved greatly. The quarrelling of fools is turned to civil mutiny as the prologue warned. Although Benvolio seeks to keep the peace, he is soon fighting as Tybalt threatens him with death. The Capulets and the Montagues are built on hate where as Romeo and Juliet is built on love and subsequently, inevitability is introduced. The prophetic words of Prince Escalus, your lives shall pay the forfeit of the peace, is ironic because we know that Romeo and Juliet, from each household, dies as a consequent to the feud that has been going on for many years. It is an insight for those who dont know, of what will tragically happen. Romeos unrequited love leads his life, but when another lady returns his love, his life comes to an end. The ironic in this is visible as we read Romeo and Benvolios conversation. Romeos fate as he believes, is to be with Juliet no matter what. So his determination to spend eternity with Juliet is his destiny to die. Romeo claims he is a victim of bad luck, in saying that he is Fortunes fool The mechanism of fate works in all of the events surrounding the lovers, including the feud between their families. This event is not mere coincidence, but manifestations of fate that help bring about the unavoidable outcome of the young lovers deaths. Fate in the play is influenced by the social situations and the personalities of each character. In scene II, Capulet recalls that he has nothing to live for but for his daughter, but because he is at war with whom Juliet loves, she dies as a consequence of this. It is bad luck to him and for both Romeo and Juliet. Peters obvious flaw of not being able to read is Romeos chance to meet Rosaline, but this is his fate to first meet Juliet. Meeting Peter was a fateful coincidence. Benvolio himself said to look for other women and this is what happened when he went to Capulets party. Benvolio urges Romeo to go to the party for the women, but Lady Capulet urges Juliet to go to meet Paris, giving the audience the benefit of the doubt. The audience at this point is now aware of how Juliet and Romeo meet. In scene III, the Nurse comments, An I might live to see thee married once, I have my wish, implies that she will see Juliets marriage with Paris, but not only does she miss it, but Juliets husband to be is a different man. The nurses speech is significant and refers to the death of her own child. The audience by now is much more interested as they now know more about the events. Overall, we can see that Shakespeare has created an atmosphere, which engages the audience right from the beginning. He uses imagery, emotive words, dramatic irony and various other techniques to do so. In the beginning, the prologue tells us what we are to expect, and as we near the end of scene III, our expectations are answered, but we are curious of how the events happen. Shakespeare has successfully completed his task to seize our mind.

Plant and Animal Interactions in the Tropical Rainforest

Plant and Animal Interactions in the Tropical Rainforest Why are animal-plant interactions considered important in the establishment and maintenance of high biodiversity in tropical rain forests? Include specific examples in your answer. The study of plant-animal interactions has been a key role in development of ecology hence it has been carried out for a long time. They are also key constituents of biodiversity, which is termed as a variation of life form in a particular ecosystem. Hence, with no diversity of antagonistic, mutualistic, comensalistic, and amensalistic interactions, ecosystems would simply stop functioning. Energy would not run between trophic levels, primary productivity would not be able to become secondary productivity, and inorganic nutrients would not rotate. Because species interactions are thought to be at the heart of many speciation events, they generate taxonomic and genetic diversity with tight and diffuse co-evolution (Waser and Ollerton 2006). Biodiversity is described as a response to dynamic processes such as ecological, evolutionary and physical, influenced by constant changes in time and space. Those changes consider species richness and their composition where the scale of them can take a variety of forms. They can be large such as changes in geological time of tectonic plates (Crame 2001), variable such as global climate change or small such as localized disturbance or heterogeneity (Jansen 1997). At each of these scales, biodiversity may be considered as a process that responses to biotic and abiotic factors rather than to static characteristics of a particular location. Biotic factors can singly or in combination, directly or indirectly change biological diversity in tropical ecosystems. Using different examples across plant and animal taxa I will highlight plant- animal interactions that cause changes, as well as establish and maintain biodiversity within a rainforest. While studies concentrating on ecology and evolution are thought of dynamic processes, their impact into effects of biodiversity conservation has been subject to debate. In general, many conservation attempts have concentrated on protecting particular areas, habitats and hotspots. For instance, biodiversity in Yellowstone National Park varies greatly because of re-introduction of wolves. On the other hand, the conservation of the park from location and/or habitat point of view has not altered. This suggests that (1) biotic interactions are the main reason for biological diversity; (2) biotic interactions may be direct or indirect (Letourneau and Dyer 2005); and (3) biodiversity and biotic interactions may result in a variety of causes and effects. For centuries, scientists have studied the functions of top-down (predator-dependent) and bottom-up (resource-dependent) regulations in structuring biological communities. The concept of trophic cascades engages indirect outcomes of top-down and bottom-up regulations, i.e. an alteration across one trophic level which indicates an alteration on a remote trophic level. Indirect outcomes involve modifications in biomass, abundance, efficiency or biotic diversity. Trophic cascade hypothesis was first described by Hairston et al. (1960) who stated that the world is green due to predation which regulates herbivores, hence, making productivity of higher plants found in the community more efficient. Even though first research concentrated on community structures across terrestrial habitation, other studies are driven toward establishing freshwater and marine ecosystems constituents and cascade outcomes found in there (Brett and Goldman 1996). A study performed by van Bael et al. (2003), whic h concentrated on a terrestrial habitat, illustrated that bird predation protected rainforest trees from arthropod foraging in the canopy where floral productivity was high. The above findings may be a great indicator of high diversity occurring in the tropics; nonetheless, the meaning of how important top-down and bottom-up trophic cascades are is still a subject of a debate. Nowadays research have concentrated on the way top-down and bottom-up trophic cascades can function in concern to structure community, change over space, time and taxa, influence mechanisms and constituents of complex food webs and maintain heterogeneity and biodiversity in complex ecosystems (Letourneau and Dyer 2005). Any fluctuations in tropics biodiversity can be maintained by a variety of direct trophic interactions. For instance, the species diversity of birds as predators can be dependent on food accessibility for their prey e.g. plants (German and Chacon de Ulloa 1997), or diversity of predatory arthropods can be shaped by herbivore diversity, which in turn is caused by plant abundance and diversity in a given habitat (Saiz et al. 2000). All ecosystems are retained by the interactions of various factors such as climatic changes, vegetation growth and the animals activities. Seed dispersal is one of the most significant processes, influencing the structure and dynamics of the entire plant and animal communities. Biotic interactions in relation to seed dispersal and associated with it species are next to be discussed. Many organisms contribute and provide a unique seed dispersal service in rain forests among which primates, birds, fruit bats, mammalian carnivores and ground-dwelling large herbivores play a crucial role. Primates may contribute in multiple ways to the ecology of tropical rain forests. One of it, as mentioned above, is being a seed dispersal agent, hence being a frugivore. According to Chapman and Onderdonk (1998), the eventual loss of a particular plant species (large, with large seeds and thick, inedible hunks which can be only removed using hands or teeth) may be associated with the decline or local extinction of primates. A typical seed dispersal done by primates involves dropping, spitting out or defecating seeds. Because seeds are generally hard to break and usually toxic, there is a tiny minority of primates that is able to destroy them completely. From a seed point of view it is not a good idea to end up directly under the fruiting tree where it has to compete with its sibli ngs and parent. Also the accumulation of pests and diseases in there is higher. This is when primates, yet again, serve as helpers by dropping or spitting out seeds in different locations. There are numerous factors contributing and subtracting to seed dispersal when consider primates defecation. In overall, the main ones include attractiveness of primate faeces to seed-predating rodents and the abundance of faeces-burying dung beetles (Andresen 2002; Feer and Forget 2002). Whereas primates are very important seed dispersal agents for large plants, birds play a significant role in dispersal of plants with small fruits. Birds seem to be especially important in New Guinea and Australia (Jones and Crome 1990) where a lack of frugivorous mammals is the main threat. In general birds are not for long in the fruiting tree. Before they void the seed they usually move to another tree hence they disperse the seed effectively (Green 1993). For this reason they are considered to be one of the most important seed dispersal agents across tropics. Furthermore, fruit-eating birds may be divided depending on their diet. The more generalist feeders visit more trees. They have, therefore, the potential to be capable of wider dispersal (Green 1993). The cassowary is perhaps one of the crucial seed disperser of local rainforests. Until recently, over 200 rainforest plants have been observed to be eaten by this bird (Kroon and Westcott 2001). One study discovered 78 species in cassowary faeces, with at least 70 of them being viable (Stocker and Irvine 1983). Many of the seeds appear undamaged and many of these are too large for other animals to disperse (Stocker and Irvine 1983). Although the bird itself is hard to see, its faeces can be common and prominent, and can have up to 1 kg of seeds (Stocker and Irvine 1983). Also, as a large animal, it has the potential to be efficient seed dispersal agents over larger distances. Thanks to radio-telemetry it was possible to show that cassowaries cover vast territories, sometimes of several kilometres, which may be done in one day (Kroon and Westcott 2001). Additionally, seeds can take more than 10 hours to pass the digestive system (Stocker and Irvine 1983), hence seeds are likely to be dispersed quite widely. Primates and large birds are great seed dispersal agents. As a result of that spatial distribution trees may increase greatly. A research suggests that tree distribution in the tropics depends on species methods of seed dispersal. The study by Seidler and Plotkin (2006) was done on 561 tree species in a lowland tropical forest in Malaysia. It was observed that trees with smaller fruit were less dispersed than trees with larger fruit. This may suggest that larger-bodied mammals and birds transmit the seeds of these tree species over larger distances. Bats are thought of less important but still meaningful seed dispersers. It could be said, they are wasteful as seed dispersal agents, because of depositing most seeds from the fruits they eat right near the angiosperms. Hence, the most successful seeds, in this case, would be the smallest ones as they can be swallowed and defecated or dropped during the flight. On the other hand, bats are crucial for the pioneer shrubs and trees that are abundant in natural or human-made clearings, mainly localised in Neotropics. Recent studies by Melo and colleagues (2009) suggests that small-bodied bats (Artibeus watsoni) inhabiting Neotropics are assumed to play a negligible role in the dispersal of large-seeded plants. They recorded at least 43 seed species around bat roosts and also suggested the pattern of species-specific abundance of seeds which influences seedling recruitment. These small frugivorous bats are especially important in regions where populations of large-bodied seed dispersers have been reduced or exterminated by hunting (Melo et al. 2009). Another example is a fruit bat (Chiroptera: Pteropodidae) localised in a lowland Malayan rain forest. The study performed by Hodgkison and colleagues (2003) suggests that fruit bats did not have negative influence on seed viability. Further, they found that in 1 ha of old-growth forest 13.7 percent of trees at least in part depended on fruit bats for seed dispersal and/or pollination (Hodgkison 2003). Rat-kangaroos (Hypsiprymnodon moschatus) studied by Dennis (2003) are believed to be good seed dispersal agents in Australians tropical forests. They were found to perform similar behaviour to agoutis, acouchies and squirrels found elsewhere. Even they are the smallest known marsupials they are still able to disperse large numbers if fruits and seeds which can be done in two unique ways: 1) by scatter-hoarding or 2) by dropping elsewhere. Another important factor influencing great biodiversity in tropics is pollination. It has been known for a very long time and firstly was described by Sprengel in 1793. Rain forest pollination, on the other hand, was first studied in the Neotropics (Roubik 1978; Bawa et al. 1985) where the most important pollinators were found to be bees, diverse insects and hummingbirds. They are excellent pollinators and a vast part of angiosperm diversity can be a result of their co-evolution. However, species such as bats, wasps, lemurs and even lizards are also vital pollinators. Studies performed by Corlett (2003) in the Oriental (Indomalayan) region suggests that, although these lowland forests are much less studied and known, they still express similar pattern as Neotropics. He found out that large solitary bees, moths, butterflies and vertebrates are less meaningful as pollinators than extremely social bees (especially Trigona and Apis species) and beetles (most likely to be the next crucial group). A study performed by Goulson and Derwent (2004), however, indicates that to be a pollinator it does not necessary mean to be beneficial to the ecosystem. They illustrated an example of an exotic weed, Lantana camara, and associated with it an exotic honeybee, Apis mellifera, inhabiting Queensland, Australia. This interaction, even though causing higher biodiversity across tropics, may equally bring losses and environmental degradation. Goulson and Derwent (2004) also pointed out that A. mellifera are possibly pollinators of many other weeds, both in Australia and elsewhere. Muchhala and colleagues (2009) studied impact of bats and birds on a flowering plant, Aphelandra acanthus, and its pollination. They observed that hummingbirds and bats could be compared in a case of pollination quantity whilst bats were the most effective in a case of quality. It was suggested that approximately 70 percent of A. acanthus was pollinated by bats themselves and since there is known 170 species of this genus the result is pretty impressive. This indicates that these angiosperms depend on bats pollination to a high degree. Another study carried out by Roubik (2000) shows that African honeybees, Apis mellifera, were the first exotic bees to invade Neotropics, where they interacted directly with approximately one-fourth of the floral population. These findings indicate that honeybees are a great indicator of a biodiversity formation and maintenance. By interacting with so many plants it can be predicted that the diversity of plant species may be easily preserved and upheld. Since plants and their pollinators are often in co-evolutionary mutualism, many research suggest that some insect species are associated and restricted to a particular plant species. Hence, there is yet another argument demonstrating that the biodiversity in tropics must be high in order to preserve all the co-evolving organisms. For this reason, some organisms relay on their mutualistic partners in order to survive. On the other hand, research proposed by Novotny and Basset (2005) suggests that a majority of species in herbivore populations found within tropics do not feed on a single species of plants when alternative hosts are accessible. Consequently, limits of host plants are likely to match with those of plant genera, rather than species or taxa. This illustrates an example that either way rain forests express high biodiversity and the way it is established. Another aspect shaping biodiversity across tropics arises when pitcher plants (Nepenthes gracilis) and their interactions with infauna are taken into consideration. The aquatic environment created by pitchers is very beneficial for organisms inhabiting it such as aquatic insects including mosquito or fly larvae. The inhabitants of the pitchers were split by Thienemann (1932) into three separate groups depending on their appearance inside pitchers i.e. 1) occasional visitors which originally belong to a different place; 2) occasional visitors which may change environments continuously; and 3) native inhabitants. Therefore, since the pitchers are, in general, only partly filled with liquid i.e. up to the waxy zone, there is a terrestrial fauna as well as an aquatic fauna (Lloyd 1942). Spiders, for instance, may take an advantage of pitchers by building nets above or nearby the plants therefore foraging at the expense of the pitchers. For aquatic infauna including protozoa, desmids and diatoms, rotatoria, crustaceae and various larvae of Diptera inhabiting the pitchers means food supply because they feed on animal detritus found in there (Lloyd 1942). Further, the pitchers interior environment is beneficial for many forms of Diptera larvae since they lay their eggs inside. In the fluid (always diluted by rain) the larvae grow to maturity (Bradshaw and Lounibos 1977). Alas, the environment may not be totally beneficial for these organisms since it is also inhabited by ants which in a case of absence of crucial nutrients tend to feed upon mosquito larvae (Clarke and Kitching 1995). Occurrence of ants as inhabitants of tropical pitchers may be, in turn, beneficial for both organisms. This thesis is supported by a study proposed by Clarke and Kitching (1995). They revised ant-pitcher interactions in Borneo and concluded that pitchers habitat was great for ants to live in. The ants nested in the tendrils of the plant, and fed on the large prey items caught by the pitch ers. Further, this relationship was also advantageous to pitchers because ants were removing an excess of prey which was accumulating inside the plant. This accumulation, if not removed, could lead to putrefaction of the contents and disruption of the pitchers digestive system (Clarke and Kitching 1995). Another study performed by Mogi and Yong (1991) proposed that aquatic arthropods, Diptera in particular, are able of coexistence in a single pitcher. Further, they stated that species belonging to the same trophic group commonly shared the same pitcher, because of the high occurrence probabilities of dominant species and positive associations between some taxa (mainly due to similar occupancies by pitcher age) (Mogi and Yong 1991). All these arguments may be a reasonable explanation why the abundance of species in pitchers followed by tropics is high. Yet another mechanism that drives biodiversity in tropics is maintained by herbivores and the impact they have on plant diversity. So far, at least five hypotheses have been proposed. First thesis was suggested by Janzen (1970) and Connell (1971) who have stated that richness of plant species might be established by herbivores feeding on postdispersal seeds and seedlings near adult plants and lower level far away. With such a pattern, any plant species becoming abundant would be predated avoiding competitive elimination. Second theory was proposed by McNaughton in 1985. He hypothesized that ungulates that grazed on the canopy grass species in the Serengeti could reduce plant species competition. Follow this idea, they would supply poorer competitors from the subcanopy with more sources, and, at the same time, they would diminish the loss of species through competitive elimination. Connell and Lowman (1989), who were authors of the third hypothesis, stated that deficient of herbivore predation on the abundant species might lead to monospecific tropical forests. Langenheim and Stubblebine (1983) introduced the forth thesis. They believed that in a case when herbivores would predate on certain conspecific chemical phenotypes seedling within this plant species might maintain nearby parent plants if they adequately vary in chemical profiles from their parent. In this way, predation could speed up competitive elimination in spite of Janzen-Connell idea about seed predation. On the other hand, it could also direct development of high genetic diversity within the aimed plant species. Fifth theory was announced by Connell in 1971. He stated that natural-enemy force (herbivores in this case) would be most successful. Also competitive elimination between plant species would be least expected in habitats with extremes of temperature and rainfall during the year i.e. lowland wet forests. In all above examples, herbivores control local plant diversity by decreasing the possibility of species loss through competitive elimination. It is vital, however, to think about the herbivores influence in a broader context. Mechanisms by which they can manipulate plant diversity in rainforests are worth to consider. Herbivores and their influence on competitive interaction is just one such mechanism. As an alternative, herbivores can have a direct impact on the existence of a plant species in a particular site by diminishing its local richness or completely removing it, independent of its competitive capability. More-indirect outcomes contain three pathways. First, herbivores might establish if a species appears at a given location by having an impact on its dispersal ability, and hence the possibility that it might emerge there. Second, once a seed has emerged at a given location, herbivores can have an influence on the physiological ability of the plant to determine, nurture and breed regarding the abiotic effects occurring in there. Third, herbivores might have an impact on emergence of species in a given site by decreasing its competitive capability. All in all, I believe I managed to introduce, explain and answer the topic question broadly. By introducing a selection of different examples I tried to cover many plant-animal interactions. That is why I can conclude that the tropical forests are a great habitat and environment for a variety of different species to coexist and co-evolve. Further, its favourable, warm, moisturised climate creates perfect developmental conditions for organisms to be able to persist and survive. However, one argument must not be omitted stating that tropical ecosystems may not be as biodiverse as previously thought (Novotny and Basset 2005). Hence, many comparisons between temporal and tropical zones should be taken into consideration to fully prove the idea. Nonetheless, from the number of organisms occurring within the tropics and their interactions it is easy to conclude that plant-animal interactions are tremendously important in order to preserve live in there. Moreover, because of different troph ic cascades and food webs biodiversity has to be maintained at an extremely high level so all organisms appearing in tropics will be able to stay alive. Word count: 3,289 words