Written exam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Written exam - Essay Example A good example is where giraffes with short necks die after short shrubs die out, and after some generations all the giraffes will have long necks. Mutation is the mechanism whereby a DNA gene structure in a species changes with some units being deleted, inserted or re-arranged in such a way that it affects or alters subsequent generations. An example is an albinism genetic anomaly (Wool, 67). Cladogenesis is the evolution that is brought about by the splitting of a lineage. This is the separation of a gene pool into two or more gene pools. Anagenesis, which is also known as phyletic evolution, is that which occurs within a lineage. It is basically the collective changes that completely alter a species into a new species with different characteristics (Wool, 74). The phylogenetic tree that uses ‘prosimian vs. anthropoid’ is different from the cladogram, which differentiates ‘strepsirhine vs. haplorhine’, in that it shows the ancestors together with the degrees of relationship and the time that the taxa lived contrary to cladograms, which only show the degree of relationship and a hypothetical ancestor (Jurmain et al., 68) A good example of this is propithecus diadema, also known as diademed sifaka. It is found in Madagascar. Its adaptation for grooming is what makes it special from other lemurs. It has a toothcomb and a toilet claw in its second toe mainly for grooming. The white-headed capuchin, which is a new world monkey found in Central and South America, is in the family of platyrrhines. This type of capuchin is special in the fact that it is dominated by both an alpha female and an alpha male. The Zanzibar red colobus found in the main island of Zanzibar, Unguja, is a good example of primates in this clade. The males of the Zanzibar red colobus are very social and defend their group in unison and even groom each other between meals. The gibbons are among the most endangered primates on earth and they fall under this

Proctor and Gambles Takeover of Gillette Case Study

Proctor and Gambles Takeover of Gillette - Case Study Example Kilts needed to ensure that the long-term profitability of Gillette continued, with three well-known brands in its portfolio it was at a disadvantage to companies like P&G which had approximately 150 major brands. To ensure sustainability and future profitability for the shareholders of Gillette he approached the merger with Lafley and P&G in 2002 originally and then subsequently in 2004. The opportunities resulting from this merger included a solid return for current shareholders as well as future profitability for P&G and Gillette as a singular business under the P&G name. Unfortunately, the problems included public reaction which was seen in media attacks following the merger in 2005 as well as the state of Massachusetts. Additionally, the possibility of losing money for shareholders if the deal turned out badly was an ever-present threat. However, the opportunities for profit and a mutually beneficial future for both companies outweighed the potential problems. Between both compa nies, there were defined market shares; P&G did not really hold a market share in razors, toothbrushes, and batteries though it did maintain a large market share in other similar products that would allow it to combine the three Gillette brands into its portfolio and profit. Gillette was more adept at marketing to men, while P&G was more adept at marketing to women. Additionally were the burgeoning foreign markets and the need for increased market shares in those areas. P&G is skilled in marketing and maintaining a significant presence in China while Gillette maintained large market shares in India and Brazil. With this evidence supporting the net benefit of a merger of interests, there does not seem to be much that could improve that.

Development of the World Wide Web

Development of the World Wide Web CERN stands for Centre Europe n de Recherchà © which means the European Organisation for Nuclear Research. After the 2nd World War, many international organisations were evolving during which Raoul Dautry, Pierre Auger and Lew Kowarski from France, Edoardo Amaldi from Italy and Niels Bohr from Denmark intended to build an Atomic Physics Laboratory. After many intergovernal meeting and conventions, on 29 September 1954, it came formally in existence. CERNs main area is high energy physics researches. It provides particle accelerators for nuclear physics experiments. After 1954, there has been numerous researches and evolvements at CERN and is continuing its contribution to science and technology. The main aim of CERN is, Research: Solving the mysteries of the Universe Technology: Developing new technologies. Collaborating: Uniting the nations through science. Education: Providing trainings and research platforms for future scientists. (CERN, 2008) 2. WWW In 1989, Tim Berners-Lee, a scientist in CERN wrote a proposal to develop a distributed information system for the laboratory. His boss commented the idea to be vague but exciting. After those words the way information was transmitted revolutionised. By 1990, Tim had defined the Webs basic concepts of URL, HTTP and HTML and also wrote the first browser http://info.cern.ch and server software. The WWW was born. (CERN, 2008) 3. Development of WWW After the successful operation on the multi-platform computer network at the CERN laboratories in August 1991 CERN files alt.hypertext was made accessible to the public. During the time all the coded programmes were stored in a computer in CERN called the Web Server because it interconnects with the HTML documents. There was only one web server located at CERN.Gradually after that www began to spread throughout the world specially universities and research labs. YEAR WEB SERVER 1991 1 1992 50 1999 720,000 2001 24 million+ 2010 240 million+ Source: http://www.netcraft.co.uk/survey During 1993, Marc Andreessen, University student at the University of Illinois led a team that developed the Graphical User Interface (GUI) browser called Mosaic. Later, Mosaic was released for Windows and Macintosh platforms to install it.Popularity of this Graphical browser that made people without computer awareness possible to use www by navigating and pointing. (Gribble C, 2009) 4. Internet The internet is a global system of interconnected computers, having ability to provide transparent, self-organising, interoperability among large numbers of diverse networks, host computer and application. (Dimensioning the internet, 1998) 5. Internet History The idea of developing a global network was thought by three pioneers and a conference where they developed a concept of publicly accessible computer network connecting many smaller networks around the world to share the information. Among these pioneers, Vannevar Bush gave an idea of potential uses of information technology through his library system. Norbert Wiener invented the Cybernetics which inspired many developers to work on the possibilities from the IT and Marshall McLuhan made the whole concept of interconnected computer popular. Finally the conference of Dartmouth Artificial Intelligence in 1956 approved the concept and realised the stride improvement of technology. In 1957 the first satellite, Sputnik I was launched by the Soviet Union. This satellite could affect US by the space based nuclear attack. Therefore to stop this US government was forced to create an agency that mandates this kind of foreign attack. As a result US formed Advance Research Project Agency (ARPA).This organisation was primarily created to help defend US against the attack through constant effective communication.JCR Licklider, head of Information Processing Techniques Office (IPTO) based within the ARPA focused on the benefits of a nationwide communication network. During the process he hired Lawrence Roberts to implement in his vision. Lawrence Roberts led to the development of the network. After few years a special computer called an Interface Message Processor was developed to comprehend the design and in October 1969, network called ARPANET was up and running which was later called CSNET.This network then connected all the universities in America and was later also connected to the EUNet.This was the European network to connect the research facilities in Europe. After the Internet went global, US government had to transfer the management to an independent authority in 1995. (Website 1, Ruthfield S 1995) 6. Internet: Its Uses Internet has made the world into a global village. It uses has been tremendously grown since its introduction. With millions of user worldwide posting and publishing information, its making more data available, producing more results and interacting more easily. Information Internet and www is sometime misinterpreted as a synonym term where as they are totally different. Internet is like hardware of computer which provides software like www to work on it. World Wide Web is a global set of images, documents and other resources logically inter related by hyperlinks and referenced with Uniform Resource Identifiers (URI). The internet has enabled individuals and organisation to publish information on such a platform where large number of users can access it.Millions of user posting information worldwide makes internet the biggest database of information and easiest route to use it.Search Engines like Google, Bing, Yahoo, Ask Jeeves has made it even more simpler to look for information in the internet. They are designed to search for information over the internet. By just providing the word for the needed information it searches the entire database in the form of web pages, pictures, videos, or files. Information such as news, product information, maps, weather can be easily retrieved by a single click. Publishing and maintaining web logs (blogs) is also widely in use recently because of the simplicity and zero cost to publish. It is like a diary which can be easily accessed by anyone from anywhere. Users can also build up and take part in discussion forums as per interest and express ones idea as and when and however he/she wishes. Almost every site provides a blog page to make the consumers and internet users provide their honest view easily. So much diverse information online and in within the reach has allowed decentralisation of the information. Retrieval of information from web is certainly quicker, easier and also saves great deal of time compared to encyclopaedias and old fashioned libraries. Communication Communication is another area where the internet is frequently used. It is used in the form of emails, chat, video conference and voice calls. The internet has shown us new ways of communicating and has taken communication to a whole new level. For various reasons such as its low cost, simplicity and accessibility it is getting high attention. Among the all email is an important communication service available. It allows user to send mail electronically with a valid email address to any other valid email address via the internet. It can be read from any computer connected to the internet. User can also attach files like pictures, documents, sound and video with the email. Email has made data transfer and retrieval so much easier. Email gets delivered to the recipient within seconds therefore there is no waiting for the post to get delivered and no worries of losing it. (Folger L, 1997) The next best thing to email is chatting, Chat service allows user to actually have a live conversation with each other or a group. Chat is used in individuals or as a company to pass the message. Many providers like Microsoft and Yahoo provides these features in their website itself for free. (Folger L, 1997) Another way of communicating via the internet is Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).This technology is used to transfer voice and packet switched networks over the internet. The technology offers ability to transmit more than one telephone call over the same broadband connection. VoIP enables conference calling, call forwarding and many other features which normal telephone has in almost zero cost. So, just with the internet, microphone and web-camera one can call anyone anywhere along with the video call.   (Harris S and Hansen A, ND) Social Networking Social networking is the grouping of individuals into specific groups like small rural communities or a neighbourhood subdivision, if you will. Although social networking is possible in person especially in the workplace, universities and high schools, it is most popular online. This is because unlike most high schools, colleges or workplace, internet is filled with the millions of individuals who are looking to meet other people to get first-hand information and experiences about any number of topics. (Brown K, ND) The internet has enabled entirely new way of interacting with people through social networking. Social sites such as Facebook, MySpace, Bebo provides platform to connect many friends and interact with them which wouldnt have been possible without the internet. It includes visiting other profile pages, commenting or posting feeds, uploading pictures and videos. These kinds of sites have united many friends and groups within the socialisation. However, it definitely arises less face to face interaction and some minor identity thefts. Recently such social sites have also helped raising awareness to the people. E-Shopping The most recent but now a very common and frequent use of the internet is buying and selling over the internet. E-marketing is very popular for many reasons. One good reason is that it takes only a fraction of the cost of advertising through other medium like newspaper and television. Also it has been found that it can reach a far greater consumers based in the internet. E-shopping is also very popular because it can be done sitting in a room. Even if someone needs to sell their products they dont have to open a shop. May be because of this easiness E-shopping is becoming more and more popular. (Folger L, 1997) 7. Future Out of the 6.7 billion human population 1.7 billion of the population is equipped with or has access to internet. This is a growth of 380.3% compared to that of year 2000.The statistics clearly shows the pace of Internets popularity among us people. (Internet World Stats, 2009) Technology is always evolving. The speed which internet developed in the past was so swift it is very likely it will continue its pace in the future.So,what lies in the future for internet and what can users expect? The internet connects world at the present time but is it possible to go further than that? Internet is going off planet.(Dr.Cerf V).A robot is being deployed to North Pole of Mars carrying communication protocol which will eventually lead to inter planetary extension of the internet. Many high-tech innovations such as virtual reality and IP-TV have already become possible in many areas. For example, some medical companies have successfully demonstrated virtual surgery from a virtual flesh. Many websites broadcasts live video through internet protocol (IP) and also allow user to share videos peer to peer (p2p). Most significantly, internet is going mobile in the future. Having said that it is already available in almost all countries with mobile phone facilities but in near future mobile internet will play a major part in the. From heavy machines, internet will be accessible to all possible handhelds and mobile devices. The internet will be accessible anywhere, anytime in a broader band. That means the speed of the net will be very high. For example, time to listen to music will be much higher than to actually download it. We are taking the computer from the two-dimensional desktop metaphor and turning it into a 3D shopping mall model of interaction. (Tom Defanti, ND). This statement clearly suggests where the internet is heading in the future. A 3D interaction will allow Internet users to be in any geographical region without actually getting out of their room. It will allow performing multi task in virtual 3D environment just as in real environment. Besides the development of internet itself, there is also a fear of enslavement by our own creations. Rapid development will eventually lead machines to become intelligent, evolve rapidly and end up treating us like pets. (Saffo P, ND) There is also strong possibility the face interaction will be no more in existence. Even at present, people spend so much time interacting through the internet; there will be time when people will be only interacting with artificially generated stimuli. The development of early forms of networked communication, the telegraph, radio, telephone, television to the internet, communication has come a long way. Prediction made during the 90s is overachieved by 2010.Therefore it wont be surprising if the present prediction comes to reality in future. Ideas like virtual friend, biometric identity and capacity of a machine to download human brain is very daunting. All the developments might be for the benefit of human if the governing body let it remain like that, if not the world will be no more better place to live than it is now.( Janna Quitney Anderson,2006) 8. References IEEE Internet Computing, (1998) Interview: Dan Connolly on the architect of the web, Vol 2,Number 2, March-April, pp. 24-25 IEEE Internet Computing, (1998)Dimensioning the Internet ,Vol 2,Number 2, March-April,p8 Janna Quitney Anderson, (2006) The future of the internet II, Elon University  Lee Rainie Web communication(2008), 1954: foundations for European science[online], CERN,available at; http://public.web.cern.ch/public/en/about/History54-en.html ,accessed on 26/03/10 Web communication(2008), 1990: Tim Berners-Lee invents the Web [online], CERN, available at http://public.web.cern.ch/public/en/about/History90-en.html ,accessed on 26/03/10 Cheryl Gribble(2009), History of the Web; Beginning at CERN [online],hitmill.com,  available http://www.hitmill.com/internet/web_history.html, accessed on 27/03/10 Web Server Survey,WSS(2010),March 2010 Web Server Survey[online],WSS,available,http://news.netcraft.com/archives/2010/03/17/march_2010_web_server_survey.html accessed on 27/03/10 Steve Crocker(2007),Internet History [online],livinginternet.com ,available   at http://www.livinginternet.com/tindex_i.htm ,   accessed on 28/03/10 Steve Crocker(2007),Internet History, One page Summary [online],livinginternet.com ,available   at http://www.livinginternet.com/i/ii_summary.htm ,   accessed on 28/03/10 Harris S and   Hansen A,A public Net[online],National Science Foundation, available at http://www.nsf.gov/about/history/nsf0050/internet/publicnet.htm accessed on 28/03/10 Internet World Stats(2009), Internet Usage Statistic[online],available at   http://www.Internetworldstats.com/stats.htm accessed on 28/03/10 Folger L(1997),Common Uses of Internet[online],available at http://www.bizymoms.com/computers-and-technology/internet-communication.html accessed on 29/03/2010 http://www.bizymoms.com/computers-and-technology/uses-of-the-internet.html Folger L(1997),Internet Communication[online],available at http://www.bizymoms.com/computers-and-technology/internet-communication.html accessed on 29/03/2010 Folger L(1997),What is VoIP?[online],available at http://www.bizymoms.com/computers-and-technology/VOIP.html accessed on 29/03/2010 Brown K,What is Social Networking?[online].Karen Brown, available at http://www.whatissocialnetworking.com/ accessed on 29/03/2010 Harris S and   Hansen A, Expectation for the Internet of Tomorrow[online],National Science Foundation, available at http://www.nsf.gov/about/history/nsf0050/internet/expectation.htm accessed on 28/03/10 BBC (2006),Internets future in 2020 debated[online],BBC,available at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/5370688.stm accessed on 29/03/10

The Human Genome Project Essay -- Genome Science biology Essays

The Human Genome Project Now more than ever it is not uncommon to hear of scientific barriers being crossed. This is seen through, "a scientific research effort . . . currently under way which is unlike anything ever before attempted. International in its scope, it is enormously expensive and, if successful, could lead to our ultimate control of human disease, aging, and death. It is nothing short of a revolution against the way science has traditionally progressed"1 . This statement of Thomas Lee refers to a massive scientific undertaking known as the human genome project, an endeavor that aims to discover each and every intricacy of human genetics. This mission, which includes the collaboration of scientists world wide, hopes to find ways to improve health care and to increase the knowledge of the human race as a whole. With each discovery that is made through the conquering of this scientific frontier, a myriad of possible benefits emerge. These possible benefits range from new therapies for genetic disea ses, to the possibility of finding cures for the ailments which plague humanity. However, accompanied by these benefits is a wide array of moral dilemmas that emerge when the wonders of this newfound technology collide with religious beliefs and views. In turn, as the tradition of conflicts raging between science and religion have plagued societies throughout history, the echoing of this tradition into modern day is illustrated through the ethical and moral battles which accompany the Human Genome project. As conflicts between religion and science erupt due to great strides and achievements in genetics, the importance of evaluating these conflicts seriously is seen if the possible consequences are kept in mind. In t... ...ork: Plenum, 1991. - Murphy, Timothy. "The Genome Project and the Meaning of Difference." In Justice and the Human Genome Project, edited by Timothy Murphy and Marc Lappe. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1994. - Murphy, Timothy, and Marc Lappe, eds. Justice and the Human Genome Project. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1994. - Shapiro, Robert. The Human Blueprint. New York: St. Martin's, 1991. - Starr, Cecie, and Ralph Taggart. "Recombinant DNA and Genetic Engineering." In Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum, edited by Laurence Behrens and Leonard Rosen. 6th ed. New York: Longman, 1997. - Watson, James. "The Human Genome Project: A Personal View." In Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum, edited by Laurence Behrens and Leonard Rosen. 6th ed. New York: Longman, 1997.

Existentialism and Film Noir

Existentialism and Film Noir Existentialism and its worldview are believed to have derived from Nietzsche’s provocative and controversial statement â€Å"God is dead†. The underlying meaning to Nietzsche’s controversial statement is that empirical natural science has replaced metaphysical explanations of the world. As a result of this, according to Nietzsche we no longer have any sense of who and what we are as human beings.He concludes that no foundation exists anymore for the meaning and value of things. Nietzsche’s philosophy shines light on what film noir is. That is, an artistic response to, or recognition of, this alteration in our understanding of the world. To emphasize the existentialist attitude in film noir, various stylistic and thematic techniques are used.Common techniques or characteristics of film noir that we see in both The Maltese Falcon and The Killers include: unconventional or non-classical narrative patterns, opposition of light and shadow, disorientation of the viewer, incoherent plot lines, inversion of traditional values and its corresponding moral ambivalence, non-chronological ordering of events, and characters whose actions are not motivated or understandable in any rational way.The similarities of characteristics between existentialism and film noir are prominent; for example, Siodmak and Huston distinguish the alienation and disorientation of a post-Nietzschean world, one without transcendent meaning or value. The constant opposition of light and shadow as seen in The Maltese Falcon and The Killers, helps communicate the dark characteristics of a post-Nietzschean world. For instance, when the swede peacefully awaits his assassins, we get a sense of estrangement and lack of sense and meaning.This lack of sense and meaning is further emphasized when the room goes dark and you see him from the neck down in light, but the face is in total shadow. A sense of despair is created through this camera technique b y showing that no one else is in the room, leaving him hopeless to escape. A common characteristic of film noir that we see in both The Maltese Falcon, and The Killers, is the use of unconventional or non-classical narrative patterns. The use of non-classical narrative patterns emphasizes the cynical characteristics of a post-Nietzschean world.For instance, in The Maltese Falcon, Miss Ruth Wonderly initially claims to Spade and Archer to be searching for her sister, however her true intentions were to implicate Thursby her unwanted accomplice by killing Archer. Miss Ruth Wonderly’s contemptuous behavior coincides with the pessimistic view about the nature and purpose of human life. Non-classical patterns are established through various stylistic techniques. Such as the non-chronological ordering of events, often achieved through flashbacks. An example of this technique is seen in The Killers, when flashbacks are used to tell the story leading up to Ole Andersen’s death .The use of flashbacks and complicated sometimes-incoherent plot lines, as in The Maltese Falcon, are examples of the stylistic techniques that are used in film noir to communicate the mood and sensibility. A final common technique that is used in film noir is portraying characters whose actions are not motivated or understandable in any rational way. For example, why does Miss Wonderly lie about her name and objective in the beginning of The Maltese Falcon when she is sure to get caught at some point? By portraying the characters in this manner, Huston leaves the viewer with unanswered questions, leading to the disorientation of the viewer.It has been argued that film noir cannot be defined, therefore has no essential characteristics. That being said, considering noir as a response to the death of god helps explain the commonality of elements that philosophers have recognized in noir films. Moreover, the directors of The Maltese Falcon and The Killers use of thematic and stylistic characteristics in their films make them two of the best examples of film noir. They clearly depict a world of the post-Nietzschean period in their films, that is one of despair, alienation, and paranoia, which is essentially an existential attitude towards life.

Animal Behaviour Essay

Animals and their behaviour has been fascinating to behold and even more incredible to experience. Humans have been intrigued at how the most basic creatures can do the most complex things. Ethology or the scientific study of animal behaviour is responsible for numerous breakthroughs in the understanding of the animal world, and in turn the human one. Animal behaviour can range from being altruistic, to funny, to being lessons in teamwork and commitment. Dolphins have been observed to help sick or injured animals, swimming under them for hours at a time and pulling them to the surface so they can breathe. Male emperor penguins form a huddle during the cold and dark winter months where from tens to thousands of penguins lean on each other and gradually shift positions to obtain maximum warmth from the core of the huddle. Geese fly in a V formation as a flock to increase flight efficiency by 71% compared to one goose flying alone. Malaysian ants blow themselves up into a thousand bits of organic dust if they sense a threat to their colony. Elephants are known to mourn their dead. They stand around the body for days and pay respects to the dead elephant by touching their trunks to its body. Many animals, from earthworms to apes, are capable of learned behavior. They can alter their instinctive behavior by drawing on past experiences. With the help of technology, today scientists are able to find out much more about animal behaviour and the ways animals interact. If scientists in the Smithsonian can teach orangutans simple language using computers they can also find out if other animals think like humans. The knowledge they gain will help save wildlife and prevent endangered species from disappearing. So let’s hear it for the creepies and crawlies, the slimies and furries who have successfully learnt to establish and protect territories, find food and water, court, mate, reproduce, nurture their young, and play in a mind-boggling array of conditions far beyond our fragile human capacity. â€Å"God gave unto the animals wisdom past our power to see: Each knows innately how to live. Which we must learn laboriously†.