The Book Of Job And The Odyssey - 2113 Words

The Book of Job and The Odyssey are stories in which two men experience extremely trying times and attempt to navigate their ways’ through it. They face obstacles daunting to anyone such as a cyclops that imprisons Odysseus and his men in a cave and tries to eat them. Odysseus does whatever he can to overcome the obstacles in his journey. Job is faced with watching his entire family and livestock die from natural disasters and marauders, seemingly out of nowhere. Job does what he knows best to overcome his journey. Both Odysseus and Job eventually make it through their journeys, and receive happy endings. They do it in very different ways however. This is because they have differing beliefs on destiny. Here in lies the most significant difference between Odysseus and Job. Odysseus believes his destiny is in his hands and in suit does whatever it takes to control his destiny. In contrary, Job believes his destiny is in the hands of God, so he places his faith and goodwill with God. This essay will examine the differing beliefs in destiny between Odysseus and Job as well as their drastically different behaviors that support this claim. In The Odyssey, the Greek hero Odysseus must make it back to his home in Ithaca after the battle of Troy. Along his journey, he encounters obstacles that require the upmost perseverance and willpower to survive. Some of these obstacles include a giant cyclops who wants to eat him, lotus-eating peoples that drug his crew, violent storms thatShow MoreRelatedThe Effects Of Cultural And Religious Diversity On The World1701 Words   |  7 PagesInvestigation of the Ancient Greek religion and the religion of the Hebrews provides evidence about the different and similar patterns in human-Divinity interrelationships, as exemplified by Odysseus and Athena as well as Job and God. The research of two ancient texts, Odyssey and Bible, show that the power and influence of the Hebrews’ God is more significant than the power and influence of any particular god in the Ancient Greek Olympus, which makes the human and the Divinity more distant in significanceRead MoreThe Odyssey By Homer And T he 1997 Movie Analysis1265 Words   |  6 Pages The Odyssey Gabi Pervis Mr. Peden Pre AP World History 19 October 2017 The book The Odyssey by Homer and the 1997 movie The Odyssey portrayed many real world learning aspects into each take of the story. The book and the movie both had many big ideas that were expressed as the same but had many detailed and specific ideas that were different. The role of family is extremely valued in The Odyssey. Chaos might strike a family, but it always comes back to an initial pointRead More The Role of Women in Homers The Odyssey Essay695 Words   |  3 PagesThe Role of Women in Homers The Odyssey Women form an important part of the folk epic, written by Homer, The Odyssey. Within the story there are three basic types of women: the goddess, the seductress, and the good hostess/wife. Each role adds a different element and is essential to the telling of the story. The role of the goddess is one of a supernatural being, but more importantly one in a position to pity and help mortals. Athena, the goddess of wisdom,Read More Two Godesses and A Woman Essay886 Words   |  4 Pagesnot equally important as men. I strongly disagree with this idea, especially in the book The Odyssey. In The Odyssey, Homer suggests that the women characters in the book are more important than the characters of men despite their stereotype. He portrays this through the characters of Penelope, Kalypso, and Kirke. They are important because they are a large part of the story. The most important woman in this book is Penelope, mainly because of her guile and intelligence. Her guile and intelligenceRead MoreOdysseus And His Struggle For Honour, And Reputation1494 Words   |  6 PagesOdysseus and his struggle for Honour, and Reputation Homer in one of his epic poems â€Å"The Odyssey,† depicts violence as being a major part of it; and has made it very obvious that violence interests people. Although today violence is considered unpleasant, it was once considered honourable and barbaric in the Greek world, when it came to saving the pride and reputation of ones family and members. In the Odyssey, violence is used to describe Odysseus’ adventure; how he ultimately uses violence to getRead MoreComparing The Odyssey And The Movie `` O Brother Where Art Thou ``949 Words   |  4 Pagesoccurred in the 1930’s, but also with Homer s Odyssey. From similarities in characters and storyline in the Odyssey to the life during the Great Depression, are all included and demonstrated. However, just like similarities, there are also inaccuracies that are not exactly the same between the movie, story, and the actual events of the Great Depression. For example, the movie O Brother Where Art Thou was based on a greek myth called Odyssey by Homer. Also, the movie is based only from theRead MoreTwelve Maids: Odyssey and Penelopiad874 Words   |  4 PagesOlivia Barone Mr. Harris Mythology, Period 4 19 December 2011 The Untold Story of Penelope’s Maids As the saying goes, there are two sides to every story. This even applies to the epic novel, Homers, The Odyssey. While the storyline may do an outstanding job of glorifying Odysseus heroism, it fails to give proper insight into the victims of his revenge. Margaret Atwoods, The Penelopiad gives an alternate view of what was going on in Ithaca during Odysseus 20 year absence. This essay willRead MoreO Brother Where Art Thou Character Analysis1694 Words   |  7 Pages The Coen Brothers’ film, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, is loosely based on Homer’s famous Greek epic, The Odyssey, in that certain features in the film resemble those found in Homer’s epic, but the film still reveals its own sense of originality by making it more relatable to the modern world. While The Odyssey is set in Ancient Greece and O Brother, Where Art Thou? is set in the southern part of the United States during the 1930’s, the works are similar in following a protagonist who encoun tersRead MoreWomens Roles in the Odyssey1337 Words   |  6 PagesWomen play a significant role in the text that forms an important part of The Odyssey, an epic written by Homer in the 7th century B.C. Within the poem there are three basic types of women: the goddess, the seductress, and the good hostess/wife. Each role helps to create a different kind of element and is essential to the completion of the story. The first female in the Odyssey to be seen in full effect is the beautiful goddess. Although she is a supernatural being in all of the epic poem sheRead MorePeople : An Invasive Species, Victims Of Invasion Themselves1375 Words   |  6 PagesPeople: An Invasive Species, Victims of Invasion Themselves In Homer’s Odyssey, translated by Robert Fagles, invasions of different natures are prevalent, two of such being a mental invasion by means of a drug, and the other, a parasitic invasion driven by greed. Invasion, a very broad term, can be coined to a multitude of things and even ideas, especially in our modern culture. Invasions in the Odyssey inform us about the moral principles of Ancient Greek society, that which we can compare to a

The Cold Truth ~ Cassidy Pena - 1783 Words

ï ¿ ¼The Cold Truth ~ Cassidy Peà ±a The Cold War was the most dangerous boasting battle in the history of the world, and it created many problems that even today have yet to be solved. It was a 44 ­year war between two of the world’s superpowers: the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United States of America. At one point during the war, nuclear weapons were mass ­produced by both sides, mainly for the bragging rights of having more weapons than their opponents (this was called the â€Å"Nuclear Arms Race†). (Trueman) (Americans were outraged when the Soviet Union beat them into space with the launch of Sputnik 1, the first artificial Earth satellite (part of another Cold War race, the â€Å"Space Race†). (History.com Staff) Put simply, the Cold†¦show more content†¦The current world relations between the United States and countries that opposed them during the Cold War remain unfriendly. For instance, the relations between the United States and the communist nation of Cuba a re still very poor as a result of the Cuban Missile Crisis ï ¿ ¼during the Cold War; when the Soviet Union was allowed by the Cuban government to station nuclear missiles pointed towards the United States in Cuba, only 99 miles away from Florida. Today, there is still an embargo prohibiting United States corporations from doing any business with Cuba and restricting United States citizens from travelling to Cuba. (ProCon.org) Another example of international relations damaged by the Cold War are the notoriously strained relations of the Russian Federation and the United States. The two nations have been well known as enemies since even before World War II. In fact, in the year 1980, the United States Olympic Team boycotted the Summer Olympics that were being held in Moscow. (Smothers) In 2009, Dmitry Medvedev and Barack Obama agreed to â€Å"reset† the relations between the countries and wipe the proverbial slate of all contempt rooted in the Cold War. Despite this, there is still much lingering rivalry between the two very different nations. (Cooper) In fact, relations were so horrible during the Cold War that the United States changed a national symbol to spite Russia. That symbol is something that every student in the United

Human Resource Management Promising Practices in Leadership

Question: Discuss about the Human Resource Management for Promising Practices in Leadership. Answer: Similarity and difference between the Leadership Academy Approaches of Trinity Health and Catholic Healthcare The successful leadership academies incorporate different best practices for the development of potential leaders. However, there exist similarities and dissimilarities between the best practices followed in the leadership academies of the two organizations Trinity Health and Catholic Healthcare. The Trinity Health conducts leadership development programs and persistently emphasizes the significance of the leadership development. The corporate office of the Trinity Health also finances different leadership development program for the purpose of development and improvement of leadership skills. Trinity in association with Price Waterhouse Coopers developed a set of 10 leadership skills and added it to the curriculum. In addition to this, the leadership academy of the company also devised the system of periodic review of diverse desired behaviour as well as competencies that are consistent with the priorities of the company. Furthermore, the company focuses on different entry level programs for leaders, critical skill development program, physician development programs in association with the Healthcare Advisory Board. In addition to his, the company also incorporates strategic leadership program, advanced leadership program for senior leaders and concentrates on realistic acti vities and action learning (netfiles.umn.edu, 2016). Correspondingly, the corporate office funds the academy expenses of the Catholic Healthcare Partners (CHP). However, the company also conducts rigorous process of selection of the potential leaders and makes use of the instrument (CHOICE) of the top scoring leaders. The process of the development of the curriculum of Catholic Healthcare Partners is also similar to that of the Trinity Health that is essentially based on competencies. Again, there exists another difference in the leadership development practice of Catholic Healthcare Partners that incorporates intensive face to face sessions of learning that is non-existent in Trinity Health netfiles.umn.edu, (2016). CHP also adopts a different approach of leadership development that focuses on Post-graduation support. However, the practice of the review and assessment of the performance in CHP is similar to that of the Trinity Health. CHP uses Balance Scorecard for evaluation of the performance and assimilates the same for incentive compensation. However, Trinity Health uses the 360 degree process of the assessment of the performance of the employees. Both the organizations also carry out the process of periodic review of the performance and different desired behaviour (netfiles.umn.edu, 2016). Appropriate practice for organization The appropriate practice for the leadership development in the organization therefore calls for the need of proper system of financing the academic expenses (Dessler, 2013). The best practice also needs to incorporate the procedure of development of the curriculum for training leaders based on desired competencies. In addition to this, the learning sessions for the development of the leadership can focus on different segments such as the entry level programmes, advanced leadership programmes and the strategic leadership programmes. Critical Elements of the successful leadership Development Program The critical elements of a successful leadership development program include the following: Proper system of funding the academic expenses Commitment and support of the senior leaders Development of appropriate curriculum based on desired competency Periodic assessment of the performance and the desired behaviour (Simpson, Green, Scott, 2011) Specialized entry level as well as advanced learning sessions for the leaders (Dessler, 2013) Use of appropriate system for evaluation of the performance and integration with the system of incentives Measurement of the success of Leadership Academy The success of the leadership academy can be analysed by using different metrics and dimensions for enumeration as evidences. The leadership academy can succeed d developing the skills and competencies of the employees as leaders (Mayo, 2012). The percentage of the employees undergoing training needs to move to higher positions in the organization. Longitudinal analysis can help in analysing improvement in the skills important to leaders. A survey can also be conducted for evaluation of the effectiveness and leadership competencies on job. References netfiles.umn.edu, (2016). Retrieved 17 July 2016, from https://netfiles.umn.edu Dessler, G. (2013).Human resource management. Boston: Prentice Hall. Mayo, A. (2012).Human resources or human capital?. Farnham, Surrey: Gower. Simpson, B., Green, J., Scott, J. (2011). Promising Practices in Leadership Development.Nursing Leadership,24(3), 26-38. https://dx.doi.org/10.12927/cjnl.2011.22598

The Real Reason Why You Cant Land Freelance Writing Work

Youre a new freelance writer. Youve read tons of articles, posts, seen videos and webinars and you have it all figured out. But, one things missing – you havent landed your first client. I get it: I was once in your shoes. I had no portfolio, no one knew I was a freelance writer on social media and all the pitches I sent didnt pan out. So, what happened? What changed that newbie freelance writer back then into a professional writer with a ton of credibility now? You Might Be Overwhelmed Theres so much information out there, which one do you focus on? Which post tells you what really goes on as a freelance writer? Which blog gives you the best tips on how to navigate this profession? After reading so much information on what to do, you become paralyzed, unable to do anything. This happens to a lot of new freelance writers. With so much information, they lose track of whats really important – to get out there and take action. Suddenly, fear starts to settle in. This is what happened me and it almost ruined my career. You start to doubt yourself in your ability to be a freelance writer. You question if you really are a writer and wonder if youre really cut out for this. Why You Cant Land Freelance Writing Work Its not because you might be overwhelmed. Its not because you dont have a portfolio. Its not even because you dont have a good pitch. Its because youre not confident. Having a hard time as a new freelance writer putting yourself out there to getting noticed? My course, Write Your Way to Your First $1k, gives you a proven system to squash fear and give you the kick in the butt you need! Check it out! And it seeps into all areas of your business. You might be negotiating with a client and instead of being sure with your rate, you end up saying something like, I can write that blog post for $50, if that works for you. See what happened? By saying, if that works for you you open the door to a lower price. All because you werent confidence in the value you have as a writer. Clients are investing in you, not spending money on you. They want your expertise, knowledge and social influence to help them with their business. Maybe as a new writer you havent gotten this far in a pitch. Maybe youre stuck in the whole, Im a freelance writer, whos going to hire me? thinking pattern. I know, its tough. You think theres no way theyre going to pay a mother with a psychology background to write an expert post on starting a content marketing strategy for a B2B business. Shes not even a writer! Maybe you think like this because you have nothing to show of your writing. This all goes back to taking action. Youd rather read about freelance writing than do freelance writing. Youll gladly spend an hour perfecting your pitch, but never send it because it needs just one more tweak. And you dont bother creating a writer website because, hey, youre not even a writer, right! With only a (insert your training)   background, no business is going to look at you and say, hey, that woman with an event planning background will be perfect for my content needs. But, you know what? If you promote yourself as a writer, youll get hired as a writer. Dont ever think youre not a writer. You chose this profession because you enjoy writing, like reading blogs and want to earn some extra cash on the side or stay home and raise your child. Lack of Confidence Stinks I said your lack of confidence seeps into all areas of your business.and you know what? It also stinks. Clients get wind of it, it shows in your writing and in your overall brand message. Who would want to work with that stinky writer? Who would pay them their rate? So, you see, when you dont have confidence, it shows. And this doesnt only happen to new freelancers. It also happens to seasoned ones. Im not going to lie and say it hasnt happened to me now that Ive been doing this for a year. When I have those feelings of doubt and am not confident, its usually when I land a client   in a new niche. For example, Im looking into doing some copywriting and I landed my first copywriting project. I had to stop for a second and realize what I had to do. Since Im new to the whole world of copywriting, I started doubting my ability to do this project. But, all I had to do was give myself a pep talk and tell myself I can do this. Ive already done it on my course page and coaching page. But, for newbies, how can you shake those feelings off of you? Freelance writing is tough. Its your own business and if you fail, that means you failed your business. Lets look at three ways that helped me when I first started freelance writing. 1. Theres Room for You A big reason many freelance writers fail is because they dont think they are anything special. They learn there are a ton of freelance writers out there. But, you know what? The internet is big and there are more companies, businesses and soloprenuers who need content writers. You have to work on finding these clients (or better yet, have them come to you) and creating a solid brand. Your brand will help stand out and be unique. Whether youre the veterinarian who turned freelance writer or the mom of twins whos making it as a freelance writer (yup, thats me), find your shtick and run with it. 2. Put Yourself Out There How often do you pitch and promote yourself? How many guest posts have you landed? These are the things that will get you freelance writing work. For me, when I find I dont keep up with my social media, guest posts and if my client pieces arent published until much later than I had thought, I dont receive any queries about my services. The internet forgot about me. Thats why its important to keep up with your online presence and put yourself out there. Pitch, guest post and blog! If youre not confident yet about your pitch and landing a real gig, try guest posting. Its a lot less intimidating and its often easy to get published if you know the right blogs to guest post on. 3. Hone Your Craft Sometimes our lack of confidence really stems from our perception that we arent genuine writers. We dont have a journalism degree and the last writing class you took was in high school. If this is you, maybe all you need is to brush up on your writing skills and grammar rules. For me I found these places have helped me strengthen my skill as an online writer: Enchanting Marketing – learn copywriting skills BoostBlogTraffic – learn blog writing skills Quick and Dirty Tips – learn basic grammar rules Take Action Make this time the time you take action and learn the steps to becoming a successful freelance writer. Enroll in my course! Anyone can be a freelance writer. But, not every freelance writer can be successful. To truly be successful you have to really want it and go out and get it. For me, this has to work. I want to stay home with my twins so I have to contribute to our income. If I dont put myself out there and take action, I dont get paid. So, are you ready to get out there and own it? Youre in charge!

Introduced Species and Biodiversity

Introduction Biodiversity refers to the sum total of species, ecosystems and genes in a certain location. The term encompasses all spheres of biological systems such as the genetic or molecular sphere, the population sphere, the species, ecosystem and organ spheres, as well. Conversely, an introduced species is one that exists in an area outside of its native region. Usually, humans may bring them into a certain location either intentionally or accidentally.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Introduced Species and Biodiversity specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Sometimes introduced species may turn invasive and thus cause harm to the native population. The question of introduced species’ effects on biodiversity is a complex one as there is no single consequence of these organisms. Consequently, one must analyse both sides of the debate thoroughly before one can assert that introduced species either are harmful to biodiversity. How introduced species harm biodiversity Conservationists are deeply concerned about introduced species because they threaten the existence of native species. At times, this may occur through direct interactions with the introduced species or through the dependence of other species on the threatened one. When other species depend on the replaced one, then they may loose their habitat, source of food, or mode of reproduction. Eventually, they may also become extinct or endangered. The danger posed by introduced species may occur through various pathways: competition, predation or parasitism, disease, hybridisation, modification of the habitat as well as herbivory. When these phenomena manifest, then they eventually lead to the loss of biodiversity. Studies indicate that introduced species come second to habitat destruction with regard to their threat on native biodiversity. Usually, certain barriers exist in natural environments to allow species to evolve on their o wn. Few of these barriers include mountains, deserts, rivers and ocean. If these barriers did not exist, then it would be quite easy for species to enter new niches and minimise biodiversity in that area. Human beings have contributed adversely to circumvention of these barriers by bringing species, from other areas, for food or commercial purposes. Introduction of species, therefore, accelerates the amount of time needed to broaden a species’ range (Cohen Carlton 1998). The most direct and serious way of reducing biodiversity by introduced species is competition. Non native populations will compete for the same space, nutrients, polluting insects or light as the native ones. In certain circumstances, the introduced species may be better equipped to fight for these resources than the local ones thus outcompeting them. This may lead to the decline of species in such locations. One scenario was the Australian paperback tree, which invaded the US in Florida. The tree had a spon gy bark and flammable leaves that made it better able to utilise resources in its foreign location; this caused adverse competition for numerous native plants. As the Australian paperback kept spreading, more local plants kept reducing. Even other mammals and birds that had adapted to the native plants started declining.Advertising Looking for essay on biology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Therefore, competition causes biodiversity loss by eliminating organisms that directly compete with the invasive species, and reducing the ones that depend on the first variety. Other examples of introduced plants that have outcompeted local ones include the Australian Caulerpa, which steeled in the Mediterranean Sea, as well as the South American water hyacinth. The North American gray squirrel, which came from Italy and Britain, has a better way of getting nuts than local ones. These indigenous squirrels have less access to resources an d thus fewer chances of survival (Moritz 1999). Sometimes introduced species can become predators or parasites on native populations. These organisms may be too strong for the local ones thus perpetuating their extinction. One such instance was the case of the pacific black rat. It was introduced into Hawaii and attacked the eggs of honeycreepers, which were local Hawaiian birds (Johnson 2003). In fact, several bird species that live in islands have no way of protecting themselves against introduced hunters like the Pacific black rat. The brown tree snake is also a commonly cited example. This species emanated from Admiralty Islands, and was responsible for the eradication of 11 bird types in Guam. The Nile perch has predated upon cichlid fish in East Africa’s Lake Victoria. Approximately 100 species of these organisms have disappeared as a direct result of the Nile Perch’s predatory activities. An example of how introduced species can become parasites is the case of t he Asian chestnut fungus. This species used American chestnut trees as hosts and eventually led to their elimination from most parts of eastern US. Approximately 180 million acres of land lost this species biodiversity. Additionally, almost a dozen moth species depended on the American chestnut trees, so they also became extinct or endangered. Certain introduced species can breed with native organisms and alter the gene pool in the species. Hybridisation affects indigenous populations by creating an offspring that is better adapted to its environment than the local one. As such, the introduced species as well as the hybrid displace the local species into extinction because they have a genetic advantage.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Introduced Species and Biodiversity specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This form of invasion occurs over a relatively long period of time thus making them seem less dangerous. Rhymer and Simberloff (1996) explain that the seriousness of the phenomenon may not be very evident from direct observation of the morphological traits of the species. Therefore, the scientists used molecular technology in order to study the extent of hybridisation among various species. They argued that gene flow occurs naturally in various settings. However, when hybridisation takes place, then more genes are lost, and at a faster rate than in cases where no introduced species exist. Such foreign species threaten rare species particularly because their gene pools are delicate. This is a process called genetic pollution; other experts called it genetic erosion. When human beings manipulate organisms’ genes for increased yields in agriculture, they eventually, make wild and domestic varieties less common (Wilson 1992). Genetic erosion is a danger to environmental diversity because it minimises the prevalence of rare genotypes. The native Hawaiian duck is adversely affected by intro duced species such as mallards because it has bred with them. Now the duck’s gene pool is bearing more resemblance to the invader; in other words, it has evolved. Another case was hybridisation of the Texas fish with genes from the mosquito fish. Now the Texas fish is regarded as an extinct species whose contribution to biodiversity in the area has been undermined (Naylor et al. 2001). Even the Gula and Apache trout have hybridized with several species in their areas of introduction. In Europe, the white-headed duck has become an endangered species because of hybridisation with the ruddy duck from North America. The white-headed duck is regarded as one of the rarest ducks in the world, yet the ruddy duck’s continual expansions into Europe ruined this (Eildredge 1998). Introduced species can modify habitats as well. They often make their new environments unfavourable to indigenous species, which struggle to adapt and eventually die out. One classic case is the zebra mus sel; the organism had a way of filtering large quantities of water that led to the reduction of planktons in the water. Additionally, because the zebra mussel spreads so quickly, it became so difficult for indigenous populations to survive in these environments. Almost thirty species of freshwater species face extinction in areas inhabited by the zebra mussel. The introduction of Prunus spinosa into Western Europe has substantially altered habitats for the Thecla betulae butterfly. The introduced species came from Eastern Europe, and leafs much faster than the local plants. Not only did the Prunus spinosa endanger the local plants, but also modified the indigenous butterfly’s habitat thus threatening its contribution to biodiversity too (Pimentel et al. 1999).Advertising Looking for essay on biology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Non native species can also spread diseases that harm indigenous populations. A typical scenario was the introduction of a European parasite that led to the prevalence of whirling disease among rainbow trout in the US, Pennsylvania. They disease spread to other regions of the country and diminished rainbow trout in most parts. On occasion, introduced species may not be parasitic or predatory; they may be herbivorous. In this regard, these animals will consume native plant species and thus lead to their elimination. Although many individuals rarely think about these particular animals, the goat has been one of the most threatening organisms to native plant species. When goats came to the Atlantic Island during the 16th century, they ate plenty of local plant species. As a result, 50% of these organisms were lost. Perhaps it is the beneficiary effects of the goats to the human being that make it appear non invasive. However, when one studies this issue from the perspective of the plan t species, then one realises that herbivory can indeed be detrimental to biodiversity (Spicer 2006). How introduced species may not harm biodiversity Bartomeus et al. (2008) carried out research on the effects of invasive plants on the pollinating patterns of the population. Their results contradicted what most conservationists say about introduced species. The scientists found that it was not just the invading population that benefitted, but the local population, as well. Invasive plants may sometimes increase the number of pollinating agents that visit a particular ecosystem. The agents under consideration in this research were insects. It was affirmed that, unlike what floral market analysts claim, more insects increased in that population. Since the introduction of foreign plants in the area of study did not occur in a simple manner, then it was necessary to analyse the competition structure of the respective ecosystem. In this analysis, there were two invasive plants: the prick ly pear type called Opuntia stricata and the balsam or Carpobrotus affine acinaciformis. They both have very attractive flowers that attract more insects than the native populations. Furthermore, because those flowers are also rich in pollen, then more pollinating agents can visit them. The prickly pear type received 30.9% visits from insects while the balsam received 43.4%. The researchers concluded that whenever pollinating resources increase in a community of plants, then more insects will visit the area. Approximately 23 pollinating insects visited the Carpobrotus. Unlike the other invading species, which was an exclusive feeder, this particular insect visited other plant types, including the local ones. Balsma plants can alter reproduction processes in native species because they change reproduction patters in these new areas. Local plants have a better chance of increasing their population when such species enter their niches. This study indicates that not all invasive species are detrimental to the existence of local populations. Some of them can increase the rate at which indigenous organisms reproduce and exist. Some introduced species can also fight pollution when the concerned location becomes unfavourable for other organisms; the Asian oyster is one such example. When introduced into water bodies, it was able to filter out more water pollutants than the native oysters. This was quite beneficial because the water quality in Chesapeake Bay, US had deteriorated adversely. The oyster made the water more habitable for other species by minimising pollution. Even the notorious zebra mussel has some positive effects on water quality. Studies illustrate that water clarity has increase by five or six times in Lake Erie, where the zebra mussel exists. Greater water clarity has emanated from the zebra mussel’s feeding habits; it consumes fertiliser runoff as well as algae. As a result, more light penetrates into the lake thus providing the underground p lants with access to ultraviolet rays needed for survival. Therefore, microphyte beds have returned to the lake in times when they had previously been missing. Part of the reason for their scarcity was the pollution in the lake. The microphyte beds also provide new species of fish with nurseries, which nurture their re-emergence. In line with the above argument is the issue of modifying environment in favour of local populations. The common gorse came into New Zealand from Scotland. It easily adapted to its environment, and fitted in well with the rest of the population. However, it threatened many native plants through competition. In the long run, after eradicating some native plant species, it started providing nurseries for their reestablishment. Introduced species may not necessarily lead to the minimisation of biodiversity if other species enter the ecosystems too (Newcomb 2001). In this regard, when local species are destroyed, then other species may come in to fill the void. This interchange of species can sometimes lead to a greater level of biodiversity in some areas than had existed prior to the extinction of certain species. Nonetheless, the occurrence of this phenomenon has not been explored in as much detail as the reverse phenomenon; that it, extinction of species. In fact some individuals argue that researchers have a tendency to stop at the immediate losses that occur in a certain location. Many of them do not look into the long term implications of invasive species on diversity. Sometimes a certain population may be burdened by invasive species. Consequently, humans may introduce other species as a means of biological control. Here, introduced species may remedy the effects of other harmful species in the area. One such instance is the use of the South American caterpillar moth to control prickly pear cactus in Australia. The latter species came from the Americas, and invaded numerous Australian lands. They seriously affected the ability of l ocal plants to grow and thrive in these locations. It was necessary to introduce an enemy to the invasive species in order to restore biodiversity in the area. An example of such an experiment was the alligator weed in the US, which had come from South America. The weed was a danger to aquatic diversity in the state of Florida owing to its high rate of expansions. Scientists introduced the alligator weed flea beetle to control this population. As a result, the population of the weed radically reduced, and this enhanced biodiversity for other organisms that had been crowded out (Wiedenmann 2000). Nonetheless, for biological control to work, then the natural enemy of the invasive species needs to have a high degree of specificity. The conservationists must do a thorough research of the exclusivity of the species under consideration (Geerat 1991). If it is a general feeder, then it may become dangerous to the local population. The cane toad in Australia was one such example; it was int roduced in the continent as a method of biological control against the Greyback and French cane beetle. Unfortunately, the parties responsible for it did not know that it would feed on other insects in the area. They did not predict that the cane toad would also threaten other local frogs through competition and disease introduction. A number of other carnivorous animals also died from the poison in the cane toads’ parotid glands. The population of tiger snakes, crocodiles, quolls and dogs reduced dramatically when they ate this amphibian. A domino effect can occur when a biological agent’s full effect on the ecosystem s not well understood. Another scenario of biological control gone wrong is the Rhinocyllus conicus. This weevil was supposed to minimise the Canadian and Musk thistles. The latter introduced species had threatened local plant species extensively. The weevil turned on native plants that were an important source of food to local insects. Consequently, not only did the local plants face the threat of extinction, but so did other insects that depended on the thistles. Eventually, this has a negative effect on the biodiversity of the place. Introduced species can also improve biodiversity in an area when they are brought for conservation purposes. In such scenarios, a species may be in danger of extinction. Therefore, environmentalists may take it upon themselves to introduce those new species to the same locations that they existed before. Although introduction of the invasive species may have caused the problem in the past, it can also contribute to the prevalence of a higher native population of species. Cases of native restoration include the introduction of the Red Kite in Scotland and England. Wolves were also introduced in Yellowstone National Park within the US after their numbers were reduced dramatically. Additionally, some individuals take it upon themselves to plant trees in their personal properties that match the local po pulation. Reintroducing endangered species works by expanding the gene pool of threatened animals. Many of these genes may be highly concentrated in one area but not prevalent in another. It thus becomes necessary to translocate them to the depleted gene pool in order to restore their numbers. In other instances, the elimination of introduced species may be more of a political battle than an environmental one. In this case, it mirrors xenophobia or ethnic hatred. The attitude towards all things foreign is sometimes transplanted in botany or other areas of nature conservation. Well known writers, such as Nellie Doubleday, have reflected these ideologies in their writings about natural landscapes. He asserted that American plant life needed to reflect the racial temperament of the country. Therefore, styles of gardening inevitably demonstrate this perspective. Another landscaper called Jens Jensen explained that the landscape environment he was creating needed to reflect the racial tr aits of the US. They needed to be devoid of non American influences such a Latin or Oriental mixes. He claimed that plant types that borrowed from these influences were ruining the American character. Furthermore, he added that Latin elements were always spoilers (Simberloff 2003). While such attitudes were quite strong in the early twentieth century, their influences still exist today. Journalists, researchers and other stakeholders appear to be interested in causing mass hysteria regarding introduced species. For instance algae may be described as ‘killer algae’ while rats may be called ‘giants’. All these words create fear in the masses and propel the government to make laws that support xenophobic tendencies (Gobster 2005). Sometimes the focus is always on the commercial industries and few arguments dwell on indigenous biodiversity. Several stakeholders may assume that all introduced species are harmful unless proven others. Consequently, one can realis e that in certain circumstances intolerance to all things foreign determines people’s reaction to invasive species rather than their actual harm Conclusion An analysis of the issue illustrates that although introduced species have certain benefits, they appear to cause more harm than good to biodiversity. They cause competition and modify habitats for local species. Additionally, they may become parasitic or predatory on certain organisms. On top of that, some hybridize and cause diseases among indigenous species. The purported benefits of introduced species are questionable because when used as biological agents, they may turn on other vulnerable organisms. Additionally, those introduced species that fight pollution or modify habitats for the benefit of other organisms, also destroy it for others; the net outcome is negative. Therefore, introduced species may have a lot of commercial value, but their harmful effects on biodiversity are too much to ignore. References Bartomeu s, I Santamaria, L Vila, M 2008, ‘Contrasting effects of invasive plants in plant pollinator networks’, Oecologia Journal, vol. 155 no.4, pp. 761-770. Cohen, A Carlton, J 1998, ‘Accelerating invasion rate in a highly invaded estuary’, Science Journal, vol. 279 pp. 555-558. Geerat, V 1991, ‘When Biotas meet: Understanding biotic interchange’, Science Journal, vol. 253 no. 5024, pp. 69-99. Eildredge, N 1998, Life in the balance: Humanity and biodiversity crisis, Princeton University Press, Princeton. Gobster, P 2005, ‘Invasive species as ecological threat: Is restoration an alternative to fear-based resource management?’, Ecological Restoration Journal, vol. 23 no. 4, pp. 262-270 Johnson, T 2003, Invasive species, Burlington Free Press, New York. Moritz, C 1999, Conservation units and translocations: Strategies for conserving evolutionary processes’, Hereditas Journal, vol. 130, pp. 45-52. Naylor, R Williams, S Strong, D 20 01, ‘Aquaculture: A gateway for exotic species’, Science Journal, vol. 294, pp. 1655-1656. Newcomb, J 2001, ‘Alien species often fit in fine, some scientists contend’, The New York Times, 4 September, p. A8 Pimentel, D, Lach, L, Zuniga, R, Morrison, D. 1999. Environmental and economic costs associated with non-indigenous species in the United States, Cornell University Press, New York. Rhymer, J Simberloff, D 1996, ‘Extinction by hybridisation and introgression’, Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, vol. 27, pp. 83-109. Simberloff, D 2003, ‘Confronting introduced species: a form of xenophobia?’, Biological Invasions, vol. 5, pp. 179-192. Spicer. J 2006, Biodiversity: Oneworld Publications, Chicago. Wilson, E 1992, The Diversity of Life, Harvard University Press, Harvard. Wiedenmann, R 2000, Introduction to biological control, https://illinois.edu/ This essay on Introduced Species and Biodiversity was written and submitted by user Marcus U. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

A Review of Software Tools for Quantitative Data Analysis

A Review of Software Tools for Quantitative Data Analysis If youre a   sociology student or budding social scientist and have started to work with quantitative (statistical) data, analytic software will be very useful to you. These programs force researchers to organize and clean her data and offer pre-programmed commands that allow everything from very basic to quite advanced forms of statistical analysis. They even offer useful visualizations that will be useful as you seek to interpret your data, and that you may wish to use when presenting it to others. There are many programs on the market, but unfortunately, they are quite expensive to purchase. The good news for students and faculty is that most universities have licenses for at least one program which students and professors can use. In addition, most programs offer a free, pared-down version of the full software package which will often suffice. Heres a review of the three main programs that quantitative social scientists use. Statistical Package forSocial Science (SPSS) SPSS is the most popular quantitative analysis software program used by social scientists. Made and sold by IBM, it is comprehensive, flexible, and can be used with almost any type of data file. However, its especially useful for analyzing large-scale survey data. It can be used to generate tabulated reports, charts, and plots of distributions and trends, as well as generate descriptive statistics such as means, medians, modes and frequencies in addition to more complex statistical analyses like regression models. SPSS provides a user interface that makes it easy and intuitive for all levels of users. With menus and dialogue boxes, you can perform analyses without having to write command syntax, like in other programs. It is also simple and easy to enter and edit data directly into the program. There are a few drawbacks, however, which might not make it the best program for some researchers. For example, there is a limit on the number of cases you can analyze. It is also difficult to account for weights, strata and group effects with SPSS. STATA STATA is an interactive data analysis program that runs on a variety of platforms. It can be used for both simple and complex statistical analyses. STATA uses a point-and-click interface as well as command syntax, which makes it easy to use. STATA also make it simple to generate graphs and plots of data and results. Analysis in STATA is centered around four windows: the command window, review window, result window and variable window. Analysis commands are entered into the command window and the review window records those commands. The variables window lists the variables that are available in the current data set along with the variable labels, and the results appear in the results window. SAS SAS, short for Statistical Analysis System, is also used by many businesses; in addition to statistical analysis, it also allows programmers to perform report writing, graphics, business planning, forecasting, quality improvement, project management and more. SAS is a great program for the intermediate and advanced user because it is very powerful; it can be used with extremely large datasets and can perform complex and advanced analyses. SAS is good for analyses that require you to take into account weights, strata or groups. Unlike SPSS and STATA, SAS is run largely by programming syntax rather than point-and-click menus, so some knowledge of the programming language is required.

Qualitative analysis using the transcript provided Essay

Qualitative analysis using the transcript provided - Essay Example In this paper, the approach to analysing findings gathered through an interview and a presentation and analysis of the findings are presented. The overall approach to analysis data was based on content analysis. This was used for its advantage of analysing the outcome of interviews in its most natural way in which it was gathered (Bowling, 2009). There were three major stages involved in the content analysis procedure, all of which have been vividly presented below. Segmentation was a process that helped the researcher in coming out with categories based on which subsequent codes will be constructed. The segments were therefore broad categorisation of meanings from the content of the interview (Hennick, 2011). For form the segmentations, three major rules were set. The first rule was that an interview question was a fixed category and the question order was not relevant. Second, the meaning of analysis gained from direct answering to the question was a category. Third, a follow up question or follow up answer was considered a separate category. Based on these rules, three major categories representing three non-recurring segments were constructed. These categories also served as themes for analysis in the subsequent section where the findings are presented and discussed. Based on the broad segmentations, it was necessary to have a coding process which highlighted key words and put them in appropriate categories based on the segmentation done earlier. In effect, whereas the segments or categories were broader themes, the codes were key words that reflected each category (Braun and Clarke, 2013). To get the most appropriate codes, rules were set in identifying key words that were most relevant to segments. Generally, the codes were named units. The first rule was that words that had same meaning with component words in the