Wednesday, July 31, 2019

PEACE BUILDING PROCESS Essay

Conflict refers to the state of opposition, disagreement or incompatibility between two or more people which is sometimes characterized by physical violence. Conflict occur in different forms such as boundary and territorial conflicts, civil wars and internal conflicts having international repercussions, succession conflicts in territories decolonized and political ideological conflicts. In the other hand post conflict is the situation in which open warfare has come to an end. Such situation remains tense for years and can easily relapse into large scale violence. Peace building describes interventions that are designed to prevent the start of violent conflict by creating sustainable peace. This start before conflict starts or it ends. Post conflict peace building means action to identify and support structures which will tend to strengthen and solidify peace in order to avoid relapse into conflict. Peace building process takes different dimensions according to scholars. According to Barnett et al. post peace building process follows three dimensions that is stabilizing post conflict zone; restoring state institutions and dealing with social and economic issues. Stabilizing post conflict; Peace building activities directly attempt to reduce the means available, and the incentives, for actors to return to conflict. They include disarmament (taking away weapons), demobilization, reintegration programs (re-integrating former combatants into civil society), security sector reform, and arms control for light and heavy weapons systems. The first three activities (Disarmament, Demobilization, Re-integrating or DDR) are comprehensive process at the core of peace building as DDR is uses as preventive intervention that is the core component of peace agreement. Practitioners should be cautioned in using DDR approach because it does not provide panacea and it must be understood that just as situations vary, so do possible solutions differ. Restoring state institutions; this dimension tends to reinforce building state capacity to provide basic public goods and increase state legitimacy. Activities involved in this dimension involving rebuilding basic facilities, transportation and communication network, utilities; building health and education infrastructure. But because international actors do not envisag e playing state-like functions long into the future, they also provide some degree of technical and capacity building assistance for state institutions—even as they support parallel NGO’s or private sector structures that may operate outside of or duplicate state functions. For instance, international financial institutions typically provide technical assistance so that state institutions can develop the capacity to build, monitor, and regulate basic economic and financial activities. Dealing with social and economic issues, programs in this context attempt to build not only the state’s but also society’s ability to manage conflict peacefully and develop the socioeconomic infrastructure necessary to underpin economic development. Activities include trauma counseling; transitional justice and restoration; community dialogue; building bridges between communities; increasing peace adherence of human rights; gender empowerment; raising environmental awareness; promoting economic development and developing a civil society and private sector that can represent diverse interests and challenges the state peacefully (Barnett,2007). In general, it takes time to address fragility and building peace and it is done best from the bottom up especially th rough civil society and local government but many post conflict countries have weak local structures which require support. Sri Lanka is an example of the critical country that government has in a post-conflict situation and where it needs to work in partnership with national agencies, commonwealth and international partners. These institutions may function to restore local infrastructure, provide new houses, ensure basic services and encourage local economic development. Major organizations that work worldwide UN Peace-building Commission (PBC), UN Peace-building Fund (PBF), World Bank, International Monetary Fund and European Commission. In the same line of thought the supports provided by particular organizations are not enough as they are undertaking supply driven than the demand driven that is they provide peace building service in which their organizations specializes, not necessary that the recipient most needs. References Barnett, M., Kim, H., O’Donnell, M. and Sitea, L. (2007). â€Å"Peace building: What is in a name?†. Global governance. 13:35-38 Muggah, R. (2006). â€Å"Managing post conflict zones: DDR and weapons reduction.† In small arms survey year book 2005: weapons at war (small arms survey), 21 Schirch, L. (2013). Conflict Assessment & Peacebuilding Planning. CO: Lynn Reinner Press. UN General assembly (n.d). Disarmament, Demobilization and Re-intergration. para 9-10 Wright, C. Peace-building in post-conflict states. London, 2013

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Intellectual Property Rights and software Essay

Moral theories such as utilitarianism are used to defend Intellectual Property Rights of software produced by companies such as the Microsoft. It is important to differentiate between physical property rights and intellectual property rights. The government needs to analyse pros and cons of protecting rights of companies such as the Microsoft. Intellectual Property Rights or IPR is generally defended based on the assumption that they are similar to physical property rights. The ethical argument is that legal experts have upheld the need to protect property rights of individuals. Consequently, due to such rights individuals are able to protect their ownership rights, as they are allowed to approach court of law when their property is encroached. It is not possible to accept this argument in the context of intellectual property. This is due to basic differences that persist between physical property and intellectual property. Physical property allows purchaser to use property and alienate or dispose property at the later period. (Lea 2006) Software patent rights gives the right to use, but does not allow the user to either modify or alienate. This is because software can be produced in large quantities with the assistance of modern technology. Property, on the other hand, cannot be produced in large quantities. Reproduction and duplication of software can affect profitability of a company like Microsoft or author of the program. (Lea 2006) IPR in the context of software cannot be justified on two counts. First, it cannot be compared with physical property. There is no moral justification to protect rights of the creator of software. It is true that it is important to protect rights of individuals who author a computer program. But, at the same time, it is important to protect rights of consumers as well. Based on this reasoning, Wright brothers were not able to patent Airplane. Patents can sometimes discourage creativity. Consequently, modern scientists were able to produce airplane designs and contribute to enhanced facilities to people. The major purpose of patents and copy rights is to encourage people to contribute to scientific knowledge. (Lea 2006) Patents can be considered as recognition of talent of individual. Innovative products can inspire other individuals to produce similar or other products. As software is protected by IPR, it cannot be modified. One needs to differentiate between copy right acts and software patents. Copy right acts protect interest of authors. Generally, mass production of a book involves huge expenditure as it requires investment in printing and machinery. Software production, on the other hand, does not involve such huge investment. This argument is used to defend software patents. But, this argument alone cannot be used to defend right of a person who authors computer programs. (Lea 2006) Utilitarianism believes in welfare principles. Property rights are essential to achieve general welfare. Lack of property rights can affect large numbers of individuals. Non-software copy rights have encouraged producers to enhance production. They are able to obtain recognition for their contribution to their sector. On the other hand, software patent has affected large numbers of individuals, as they are not able to modify source code of a computer program. Duplication of software will affect income rights of a person or organization that produces software. The author will continue to enjoy the right to control the product. At the same time, additional features can be created by tweeting source code. This can benefit large numbers of people as they use free and modified software. Lea 2006) One needs to appreciate the fact that computer programs cannot replace essential goods required by large numbers of world population. In the 1990s, American population depended on computer revolution, which created employment opportunities for large numbers of individuals. At the same time, a country cannot solely depend on computer programs. This is because comp uter programs cannot replace other economic activities such as agricultural and industrial production. (Lea 2006) Protection of monopolistic companies such as Microsoft has created disparity between rich and poor nations. It is not possible to defend high price charged by companies for their software. This is because companies do not invest heavily in R & D, unlike non software industry. From utilitarian perspective, it is not possible to defend IPR of software. This is because the aim of world leaders should be to reduce disparity between rich and poor. IPR in software, on the other hand, has enhanced gap between rich and poor. This is because countries such as the US depend heavily on software export. The US enhanced its software trade surplus which crossed $20 billion in 1999. (Lea 2006) Second, from libertarian perspective also one cannot defend IPR. This is because IPR does not allow freedom to individuals as they are not able to modify and sell software. This can affect their creative abilities. IRP affects autonomy and freedom of individuals. In a free and democratic country such as the US it is not possible to justify protection of organizations such as Microsoft. Free software movement emerged in order to defend the right of individuals to freely distribute software. In the 1960s, computers had to install software as a distinct bundle. Aim of such measure was to avoid monopoly of a particular company. Microsoft believes in protection of its IPR. In actuality, the main attempt of this organization is to protect its commercial interest. Lack of IPR rules in the context of software will erode profitability of this company. By the use of cyber laws, the company is able to reach a monopolistic position. This has contributed to inflated price of software produced by this company. It is interesting to note that the company hired services of professional detectives in Europe to identify people who used unlicensed company products. Microsoft has faced criticism from European countries due to its monopolistic position in the international software market. Lawsuits are filed against this company for discouraging competition from other companies. (Lea 2006) Computer consumers are expected to purchase legal software from designated commercial areas. At the same time, one needs to note that absence of IPR in software would not affect company profitability. This is because it is not possible for individuals to use different free or licensed computer programs. Today, most users depend on Microsoft Windows and Internet Explorer. Other products are not used due to compatibility issue as these programs are not compatible with Microsoft products. This shows that even if Microsoft products are not protected by IPR, consumers will continue to use them as they are accustomed to this company product. In the year 2001, the government compromised with Microsoft by structuring IPR in such a way as to protect interest of this company. (Lea 2006) Data shows that 90 percent of computers use Microsoft products including Windows and Internet Explorer. (Lea 2006) This has affected competition in this sector. Consequently, large numbers of people are compelled to buy products from Microsoft. The solution for this problem is that Microsoft should be divided into two sections. One section can deal with legal and licensed software, which can be sold at a particular price, while another section can concentrate on products such as video player, which can be freely downloaded. This implies that government is taking sufficient measures to protect interest of consumers who in the IPR regime tend to buy software at inflated price. Another alternative is to abolish IPR of software so that it becomes equivalent to mathematical formulae or a scientific law, which consumers can use and modify based on their subsequent research. This can encourage creativity and innovation and achieve welfare of a large section of world population. (Lea 2006) Utilitarian and libertarian perspectives show that software patent rights do not achieve social welfare, as they aim to protect interest of companies such as Microsoft. Software patent rights have affected autonomy and freedom of individuals who are not legally allowed to modify computer programs. The government needs to introduce regulations restricting software prices. This can encourage companies to offer free software, which can be modified and redistributed for non commercial use.

Impact of Sales Promotion on Sales Volume, in Unilever (Nig.) Plc

Impact of sales promotion on sales volume, in UNILEVER (Nig. ) PLC Introduction For years, most companies concentrated their promotional functions through the use of sales promotions through mass media advertising. In almost all aspects of marketing communication, companies depend on expertise of advertising agencies. Although, most marketers have already introduced and used other marketing communication and promotional tools, package design firms, direct marketing agencies and sales promotion were generally considered as supplementary services and were only used on specific projects.Agencies on public relations were employed to handle the affairs, publicity and image of a company to the targeted public. However, these services were not regarded as vital processes in marketing communication. Traditionally, marketing practices were founded within strong barriers wherein various functions on marketing and promotion are planned and managed separately, with specific market views, budgets , goals and objectives. During this time, marketers failed to realize the importance of coordinating all marketing tools in order to enhance communication and image to target markets (Moore and Thorson, 1996).By 1980s, several organizations have understood and realized the effective strategy behind the integration of various promotional tools. Later, this marketing approach was termed as the integrated marketing communications or IMC. This involves the incorporation of different promotional elements and marketing activities used in communicating with the company’s clients (Moore and Thorson, 1996). A significant transition on marketing approach occurred as marketers were no longer concentrated on solely using media advertising for marketing.Moreover, several companies began to go beyond conventional practice and used other promotional specialists to improve and implement their market plans. Benefits on Sales Volume in Unilever One of the companies operating in Nigeria is Unil ever. The company provides different range of products. In order to gain customer response and large sales volume, the company has been able to use sales promotionm. Advertising or promoting a particular product can be done in multiple ways. Depending on the target market, the product being endorsed and the budget the company can allocate, advertising strategies are almost limitless.Through proper planning, design and execution, advertising can effectively draw customer response, which could either be positive or negative. One of the conventional strategies of drawing out customer response out of advertising is by incorporating humor. Though the effect of humor on overall customer response remains unclear, commercial designers tend to integrate this aspect due to its capability to cause reaction, such as amusement. The main idea of putting humor in advertisements is to enable retention among consumers and enhance product appeal.The use of 3D advertising promotes online virtual exper iences which generally enhances product value. The interactive aspect of this approach encourages consumers to go into an active shopping experience, which in turn increases interested consumers (Biocca, Daugherty and Li, 2002). The use of technology then draws out customer response through the added visual and interactive aspects. This particular approach can actually be applied to Thornton Fencing’s official website. Considering its vast product line, 3D advertising can enhance the browsing experience of online visitors, ultimately leading to more and better customer responses.Sales promotion is another current trend in advertising. Establishing business home pages for offering goods and services require relatively minor costs; thus, this approach is attractive and practical for both merchants and new business entrants. Theoretically, anyone who has access to the internet can visit the company website and enter the market. Aside from broadened market access, the internet en ables merchants to attain direct access to their consumers. This helps retailers avoid undergoing several intermediaries before reaching the consumers; hence, business deals are made faster.Furthermore, this method helps avoid particular intermediary costs like distribution inventories as well as the maintenance of costly retail shops. However, such advertising approach also entails problems such as piracy and violation of property rights. Several models have been proposed in order to evaluate the impact of advertising to consumer behavior. In the model developed by Rodgers and Thorson (2000) for example (See Figure A), the model shows a number of factors in internet advertising that can influence consumer behavior.The consumer-controlled section on the first part of the model identifies the different factors that encourage consumers to use the internet. Their reaction or response to advertisements seen on the net will depend on the advertiser-controlled factors as well as the consu mer mode. Ad types, formats and features play a significant role in influencing consumer behavior, leading to multiple results as indicated in the outcomes section. Reference Assael, H. (1995). Consumer behavior and marketing action. 5th ed. Cincinnati: South Western College. Bailey, S. , and Schultz, D. (2000). Customer/Brand Loyalty in an Interactive Marketplace.Journal of Advertising Research, 40(3), 41. Biocca, F. , Daugherty, T. and Li, H. (2002). Impact of 3-D Advertising on Product Knowledge, Brand Attitude, and Purchase Intention: The Mediating Role of Presence. Journal of Advertising, 31(3), 43+. Kotler, P. and Armstrong, G. (2001). Principles of Marketing. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Moore, J. & Thorson, E. (1996). Integrated Communication: Synergy of Persuasive. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Stock Market Auto loan calculator Our Recommendations images Buzz marketing in Web2. 0 images HOTEL SALES AND CLIENT RELATION images Marketing and Branding Busines s OpportunitiesBusiness Softwares Visitors to this page also liked: Feedjit is learning about this page. Check back in a few minutes for recommended reading. 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Only SG$ 25/ page. ww. ivythesis. com 4 Category : Marketing, Marketing Plan Technorati Tags: budget, consumer behavior, Essay, marketing, media advertising, sales promotion, sales volume, samples, strategies, target market, Unilever (Nig. ) PLC TrackBack TrackBack URL for this entry: http://www. typepad. com/services/trackback/6a00e00987fe5188330133f29eb5a0970b Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Impact of sales promotion on sales volume, in UNILEVER (Nig. ) PLC: Comments Feed You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post. Post a comment If you have a TypeKey or TypePad account, please Sign In ()Your Information (Name is required. Email address will not be displayed with the comment. ) Malaysia Essays RM 40 www. ivythesis. com Custom dissertations. We write it for you. Only RM 40/ page. Essay Writing Australia www. ivythesis. com Send us your essay instructions. We write it for you. Only AUD$27 per page. 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Monday, July 29, 2019

Audience Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Audience Analysis - Essay Example In defining a certain audience, detailed consideration of their culture, age, values, beliefs, background knowledge, or assumptions on the subject is fundamental. It ensures an appropriate tone, style, language, and content in passing the information. Thus, demographics, dispositions, and knowledge of the topic are the basis of an audience analysis. My audience entails all Hawaii residents who reside in the islands of Oahu, Kauai, and Maui. Addressing this audience is very significant since they are the main beneficiaries of the project and possible victims of the environmental problems it may cause. The will economically benefit from cheap and quick transport across the shores and the environmental and economical effects associated with the project will influence their lives since they are immediate to the shores. As such, an environmental assessment of the project will suit them and call for their action. They assume that the ferry will jeopardize their occupation. They also love their indigenous plants and animals. Hence, they fear that the emissions, effluents, and solid wastes from the ferry will kill their indigenous plants and animals. Actually, Nene,  a large goose is Hawaiis state bird (Pacific island Travel Web). They prefer less of technology and enjoy their good life. Hence, they disregard the ferry. The Hawaii residents have fear that the ferry will cause traffic at the port and severely affect the whales. Hawaii residents also venture in agriculture where they grow coffee beans, bananas, and  macadamia  nuts. The tourist business is Hawaiis largest source of outside income and hence they treat the islands with utmost care. They celebrate cultural events and canoe races. Traditional Hawaiian Islands residents have a diverse traditional culture and customs which they seek to maintain and celebrate. English and Hawaii are the most dominant languages in

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Competitive Balance Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Competitive Balance Policy - Essay Example The essay "Competitive Balance Policy" presents a critical evaluation of the approaches and policies to achieve competitive balance in North American sports and European sports. One of the most used principles of football is "the good of the game and the interest of the fans, is enhanced when all clubs have a reasonable opportunity to compete for championships at least periodically†¦ the game is not enhanced when controlled by a few wealthy clubs". The above statement suggests that there has to be a fair ground for all clubs to compete in football, with the experience of football to the fans enhanced when there lack a few clubs that dominate the game over others. In case the chasm between the rich and the poor clubs becomes greater, there would be a negative effect on sporting competition, which would affect the quality balance making football a preserve of a few clubs. To prevent such unfair balance, clubs in European football, as well as North African, have undertaken to imple ment a number of policies. European football leagues employ collective selling of broadcasting rights to media houses to ensure quality balance among all the clubs. Today, the value of broadcasting rights has increased tremendously in European football league. For instance, in the 2011-2012 league sessions, the European premier league received more than 1.1 billion pounds as revenues from the sale of rights to media houses to broadcast matches from the European clubs, one of the most successful collective bargain systems

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Landscape Archaeology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Landscape Archaeology - Essay Example in God, landscape painting, cartography and human enterprise, among others, to illustrate how humans have usurped nature, superimposed sophisticated concepts over it, and bent it to their own purposes. Using concepts fleshed out by such philosophers of science as Heidegger, Thomas moves on to explain human concepts of place and how ‘purpose’ is always superimposed thereon. ‘A place is always the place of something.’ (pp173) He also shows how landscapes seem to be contained within a frame: visual or conceptual, and of course monetary or pecuniary. Humans attach value to place, whether or not it is land, developed or otherwise. They also impose meanings of time, as evidence by the article itself; the value placed on findings from the past; as well as practical present-time use. In addition, Thomas shows a connection between land and the cosmos, seen as early as Neolithic times. Tombs, houses and henges not only formed part of the land form, but had some sort of attachment or reference to the skies and astral bodies; so that the passing of time and seasons were understood to affect the land and places where people lived and died, even from such an early time. We are deluding ourselves, Thomas suggests, if we try and interpret archaeological findings within the landscape using our modern mindsets. (pp 180) We would always fail if we superimposed our way of seeing things over whatever remnant of early undertakings we find. We cannot ultimately gain access to the meanings given to, and the uses of, the environment by early civilisations. He gives the examples of evidence of large gatherings in long houses, discoveries of human remains, patterns of movements between and around monuments, and other details studied through visions and understandings that are necessarily limited (or overly expanded) by modern knowledge. Thomas uses the literature, citing Gow, Frazer and Berger among many others, to extrapolate a theory of anthro-centrism: a superimposition (and

Friday, July 26, 2019

Autonomy-in regards to decision making in healthcare and research Essay

Autonomy-in regards to decision making in healthcare and research - Essay Example The medical professional is therefore within the confinements of ethical judgment that the individual autonomy is respected. Beauchamp and Childress (2008) highlighted the four main ethical principles as discussed below. Patients’ autonomy which entails their rights to be heard concerning their views on the treatment they are to be given must be considered. Even if the patients’ views may seem uninformed and unjustifiable in questioning a particular form of treatment that the medical professional is subjecting them to, they have a right to do so. The professional should go as far as possible to bear with the patient’s despite the possibility of the patient being unreasonable. For instance, a patient may resist the decision of the medical professional to apply an injection as a method of drug administration, without considerations on the options that the professional has for the same. But with the ethical considerations, autonomy exercised by the patient leaves some tolerance room on the part of the professional. Time should be taken to discern if the patients’ questioning of the decision to be injected has information of available options as well as the underlying reasons . Autonomy is uniquely possessed by different individuals as an element of independence in decision making. Self direction in decision making determines the level of autonomy that the individual exercises. Alternatively, human beings strive to be rational in making decisions that make their lives better. Every human being has an equal right of existence; hence autonomy is a measure of equality. An autonomous choice is allowed by medical professionals only to the extent that it do not endanger the life of the patient. This implies that if the patient does not make an informed decision when refusing the type of treatment proposed by the medical profession, the autonomy does not qualify. Human beings need to feel free in make decisions about their own lives but where issues arise on

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Are we taking it too far by blaming fast food restaurants for obesity Research Paper

Are we taking it too far by blaming fast food restaurants for obesity When is it individual responsibility and when is it appropriate to place blame - Research Paper Example Obesity is a major risk factor for several diseases which include cardiovascular problems, Diabetes, Gall stone and is a major health concern today. Working for BBC, Ray Dunne came up with some alarming statistics. The numbers around 300m people worldwide are obese, one in three American adults is obese and one in four Britons is obese. Obesity is estimated to cost the US $75bn annually. Obesity can reduce life expectancy by up to nine years and poor diet and a lack of exercise killed 400,000 Americans in 2000. These are some jaw dropping an alarming factors but the big question that needs to be asked in who is responsible for all this and who is to be put at blame? Last couple of decades showed a rapid growth of corporate world and so did the world of ‘food chain’ business came up. Now there are thousands of food chains all over the world and MacDonald’s being a leading industry in that. In 2003, Jazlyn Bradley aged 19 and Ashley Pelman aged 14, unable to resist the temptation of MacDonald’s and weighing 270 pounds and 170 pounds respectively sued MacDonald for making them obese. They argued that they didn’t know about the food ingredients and their father said that he always thought MacDonald’s was good for his children’s health. The court didn’t seem to agree and said that, "Its not the place of the law to protect them against their own excesses." This totally explains my personal opinion about it as well since it is the responsibility of an individual to decide what is good for health and how much they can consume it. After this case, US House of Representatives also passed a legislation which made it illegal to sue any food chain just because it makes people obese. Diane Fields (5) seems to propose the same idea. Just like you can’t blame tobacco industry for mouth cancer and casinos for problem of gambling, similarly you can’t blame fast restaurants

Discussion questions Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Discussion questions - Coursework Example ather encourage employers to put selection system favoring women in the hiring process as an affirmative action in order to boost their participation in national building. This implies that the discrimination could be justified as a mechanism of smoothening out the employment sector on the basis of quotas and proportional presentation in the employment sector (Coral & Practising Law Institute, et al. 2009). Employment discrimination has often been responsible for enhanced equality in job placements especially in across Canada where inequality is highly integrated. However, discrimination is based upon diverse variables or grounds. Certain grounds are unacceptable while others are mutually accepted. In the Canadian province of Alberta, discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is prohibited. In particular, either gay or lesbians facing discrimination on the basis of their sexual orientation are prohibited from recourse via apt mechanisms laid down in the IRPA enabling them to subject their experiences of discrimination besides incapacitating them to uphold a legal remedy (Koral & Practising Law Institute, et al. 2009). A Canadian employer may justify the adverse implications of the procedure used in employment selection on several grounds. For instance, according to the Alberta Human Rights Act, there are exemptions to discrimination. This means that some grounds of discrimination are justifiable. In section 7 of the Act, an employer may be justified to discriminate if such discrimination is based on occupational requirement. Subsequently, section 11 justifies discrimination if such action is both ‘reasonable and permissible within the prevailing circumstances’ (Koral & Practising Law Institute, et al. 2009). In this regard, employer’s discriminatory practices demonstrate the fact that their standards do not contravene the law. To accommodate an individual to a point of undue hardship basically entails a provision under the Supreme Court of Canada

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Identify the five bases or sources of power within a given Essay

Identify the five bases or sources of power within a given organization and Define the relationship between power and dependency in an organizational setting - Essay Example Formal power is manifested through the position assumed in the organization. In the case scenario, Employee 1’s performance is motivated by reward power; defined as the encouragement provided by the marketing manager to work beyond the regular and standard working hours to generate and avail of a large bonus from exemplary performance and who generates superior rating based on the yearly performance evaluation. Employee 1 had been aiming to achieve a superior rating by coming to work even on weekends and by staying up beyond working hours to ensure that work done is complete and accurate. Further, Employee 1 has been with the corporation for 12 years attesting to loyalty and dedication to his work. On the other hand, Employee 2 exemplifies exhibiting coercive power. His ability to negotiate with the accounting manager for a four-day work week due to his competence in being the only employee with knowledge in the preparation of financial statements manifests the fear of management not to give in to his requests; otherwise, the required financial statements would not be prepared. Legitimate power is hereby manifested by the managers in the organization, specifically the accounting manager, who was able to approve the four-day work week for Employee 2 and the marketing manager who encourages employees to exhibit exemplary performance by promising a large yearend bonus bases on superior rating. Personal power is possessed even if employees do not have formal power in the organization. This is manifested by Employee 3 through his charismatic character and personality. In addition, Employee 3 exudes with referent power, where, as Robbins and Judge emphasized, â€Å"some people have referent power who, while not in formal leadership positions, nevertheless are able to exert influence over others because of their charismatic dynamism, likeability, and emotional effects

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Installation of CCTV in McDonalds Fast Food Chains in UK Essay

Installation of CCTV in McDonalds Fast Food Chains in UK - Essay Example Having established more than 30,000 fast food restaurants all over 121 countries around the world (BBC News, 2001), McDonald’s is considered as one of the largest global foodservice retailers today. Since the era of globalization, there are quite a lot of McDonald’s restaurants all over the world that operates 24/7. For this reason, McDonald’s restaurant has become one of the common places wherein criminal activities can take place. Serving almost 50 million customers each day, Andy Lane – McDonald’s region security manager created the urgency for the need to invest on the installation of closed circuit television system (CCTV) in each of the company-owned restaurants (Dallmeier, 2009). Right after convincing the top management that the use of digital video recorders could effectively protect their staff and customers from becoming a victim of crime, Dallmeier was again awarded the contract to install digital CCTV specifically within the southern regions of the United Kingdom. (Sims, 2008). Making it known to the public that McDonald’s is using a digital CCTV that are directed straight to nearby police stations could somehow make people think twice before committing a crime. As of 2011, McDonald’s managed to establish approximately 1,000 fast food restaurant outlets throughout the northern, central, and southern regions of the United Kingdom (Fujitsu, 2011; Sims, 2008). As reported b y Sims (2008), approximately 400 McDonald’s restaurants were established in the southern region. Specifically the business relationship between Dallmeier and McDonalds was established way back in 1999. Back then, Dallmeier was able to win the contract for the installation of analogue products in each of McDonalds’ restaurants in southern area (Sims, 2008). Basically, the shift from the use of analogue products to digital products such as digital CCTV was necessary to allow McDonalds gather some digital images which can be use for legal purposes. The study of project management strongly suggests the idea that having a clear planning process could empower the project managers to effectively manage and implement a successful project plan. Considering the importance of installing digital CCTV in each of McDonald’s fast food store outlet throughout the southern part of the United Kingdom, this report will tackle in details rationale behind the need on the part of Dal lmeier’s project manager to make use of a SMART metric, power and influence graph, risk exposure, activity network, three-point estimate, and project cash flow over the success of installing CCTV to approximately 400 fast food restaurants in the southern part of the UK market. A SMART Matrix The acronym SMART in a SMART goal matrix means that the project manager of Dallmeier should be able to come up with a project plan that is specific, has a measurable time table or schedule, is very much attainable, realistic and relevant to the installation of digital CCTV, and is within the proposed time bound (Kerzner, 2009: 296). In other words, given that the project manager of Dallmeier would come up with a non-specific and unrealistic project plan, the team members that is being headed by the Dallmeier’s project manager may end up being confused about what they really need to complete within a given project schedule. Coming up with a non-effective project plan may lead to a l ong-list of installation errors. As a result, there is a huge possibility wherein the cost of installing digital CCTV throughout the 400 McDonalds restaurant outlets throughout the southern part of UK may increase. This is probably due to a lot of unnecessary expenses which includes the installation of a wrong model of digital CCTV in a wrong spot. When this happen, the company may end up spending extra not only for the salary or wages of the team

Monday, July 22, 2019

American Revolution Essay Example for Free

American Revolution Essay In many societies, music has been a way of life uniquely defining a particular society. Centuries ago, the now African Americans were taken to America as slaves. They went with a rich African musical culture applying it in their places of work like the fields. There they sung work songs, field hollers, chants and shouts. In the 19th century they were granted freedom under the American Revolution and this had an effect on their lives. They could no longer meet in the field where they sung communally they still needed a way to self express themselves. They therefore adopted a more self centered and personalized kind of music the so called blue music. Blue music was not actually a new kind of music, but it was a new concept in music that was personalized. Much of the former songs they involved a group of people in performance. There were soloists and the respondents. However, this new concept in music was more personified, the singer responded to himself or herself. There were teachings that existed, the Haratio Alger model, and which also led to emergency of blue music. The assumption that one self destiny was influenced by him/herself motivated personalized kind of life and therefore the blue music (McElrath, J 2000) Blue music is very important in African American music platform. Over the years, it has evolved from blue, to rhythm and blues (RB) to the hip hop a popular kind of music in the modern world. The introduction of the guitar to the rural black habitations in the post civil war periods was significant in the emerging of blue music. They could now play more flattered notes otherwise called the blue notes. It also influenced other kind of music for instant the rock music, jazz tunes, guitarist music. (New York Times, 2007) Blue music was not limited to anyone. Unlike other kind of music, they were not based on age, season, setting or even location. In fact, they were played by all ages, at any season, any setting for instant workplaces, homes churches. Their main target was expressing immediate individual feelings, pain, hope, desire, pride and suffering. (Campbell et al, 2004) Blue music evolution can be classified in terms of time and location. The Mississippi Delta area came up with a highly charged style of blue music performance which was of high degree. These were termed as Delta Blues. They were mainly slow tunes pioneered by music icons like Charley Patton (1934) Son House and Robert Johnson (1937). They guitar acted as a vocalist where it was played using a glass slide. This was different from the Ragtime Blues that existed in the middle south. These blues were light hearted. The singers used their fingers especially the thumb establishing a recurring bass picking a melody that emphasized the off beats. Blind Boy Fuller (1941) and Blind Blake (1933) pioneered this kind of blues. The religious blues is another classification in blue music. Mainly they were sacred drawn from the ring shouts and spirituals that came before them. Blind Willie Johnson (1949) pioneered this class. There was migrating to the urban centers by the African Americans. There was need to reformat this kind of music to be more attractive and involve dancing. Previously, it was surrounded by some irregularities. This led to a class of blues called the Urban Blues. William Christopher Handy (1958) is an important icon in this type of music. This was significant to Jazz singers. As time went by, the blacks needed to adapt to the urban cities. Those talented in singing had to be vigorous. They started singing even in clubs and bars. These places are generally noisy and needed an improved guitars sound to counter the noise. They started using the electric guitar evolving blues to what was called the electric blues. This occurred the period after the World War II. Important icons included Muddy Water, Howlin’ Wolf and B. B King. Thereafter, blue music influenced the emergency of RB that combined Jazz and pop too. (New York Times, 2007) The migration to the cities came with its impact. The African American women popularized the classic blues. In the cities, they had freedom over rural beliefs and stands. They could now sing out of the church. On the other hand, there was need to perform in entertainment, theaters clubs and dance halls. Women therefore started performing in these places. 1920s was significant for this kind of blues after Mimic Smith’s recorded ‘crazy blues’ which motivated other classical blues singers. (Arc Catalging Genre Help sheet, 2002) The classical blues popularity declined with the rise of the country blues. The success of classical blues motivated recording companies to market more as those recording classical music made a lot of profits. There emerged competent male singers taking over the blue music field. (Chart communication Inc, 2006) Like any other kind of music, the blues have had an impact in the previous society, the present and will continue to the generations to come. Far from influencing the emergency of RB music and hip-hop, it has changed the lifestyle of people. Most of music stars are modeled by many people especially in their personality and fashion a base where many fashion developers advertise their products. Many people especially the youth have modeled these stars adapting their dress cord, personality, dancing style and others. Most of their video shooting incorporates seductive and suggestive moves if not romantic. Therefore it has had an influence on people’s sexuality behaviors. Due to its music culture, it has promoted drug abuse in the society especially among the youth. Some music stars are substances abuser and a model can adapt such personality. Music has an effect on people feelings. In fact, blues are associated with personified feeling and therefore can influence crime by either promoting it or causing incitement. In history of blues, its evolution was highly characterized by performance in leisure places. It has influenced clubs, entertainment, dancing and alcohol use among other issues. (Jelsoft Enterprises, 2008) Generally, the nature of blue music has influenced not only the entire music industry the lifestyle of human beings but also other dimensions of life; economic, culture religion, politics and social. The notion music is life is real considering its impact in the society. We can not derive that humanity is directly influenced by music and its effects that ranges from relaxation to incitement. Blues music is not an exception in this. Its popularity not only in United States but also in the entire world has economically empowered nations. African Americans economical capability has relied on entertainment, primarily on blue music. It has in turn influenced the economy of the entire nation. The recording firms have emerged providing employment to the entire population and economically empowering the stars. The hip hop music has its roots on blue music. The rise of hip hop culture therefore can primarily be based on the blues music. It has therefore influenced culture significantly. In religion, music is one element of communication especially in it information delivery target. Indeed, most of the inspiring gospel music, the so called worshiping music, is blues. They have influenced prayers and the entire religious doctrines. In politics, blues have been composed to send messages and inform people about issues related to politics. In fact, they have been used in political rallies to emotionally move people. In Russia it was associated with post communist phenomena’s. Not only have they been used in politics but also in social context. Blues have a reputation of being a base for most re known love songs and emotion expressions. These songs have been used in marriages, reconciliation and have had a big impact in social settings. Music impact on humanity is profound. Their influence on life dimensions seeks its greater attention. Over the past years, the industry has recommendably been exploited changing the whole world. Pointing to the African Americans, their reputation has been characterized by their impact on entertainment industry especially the music industry, of course their music superiority rooting from blues. It is therefore worth to lift blues music, modernize them and mod it in a way that it will affect many other generations to come. We need to lift the burn that music is life and therefore, there is life in music. References: Arc Catalging Genre Help sheet (2002) classic blues. Retrieved on Friday, November 14, 2008 from http://www. arcmusic. org/features/blues_guides/classic_blues. pdf Blood. Retrieved on Friday, November 14, 2008 from http://www. colinlinden. com/Media_Room/Reprints/chartattack. com_- _Jan_25_2006_-_Country-Blues_Runs_Deep_In_Colin_Linden_s_Blood. pdf Campbell, J, Chilcoat, L, Derby, S, Greenfield, B Heller, B. C (2004) USA: Lonely Planet. Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd (2008) Sociological Observation: Impact of Music on Society. Retrieved on Friday, November 14, 2008 from http://path-to- peace. com/community/showthread. php? t=23 McElrath, J (2000) The Blues and the Development of Personalized Song: about. com. Retrieved on Friday, November 14, 2008 from http://afroamhistory. about. com/od/bluesmusic/a/bluesmusic. htm New York Times (2007) The New York Times Guide to Essential Knowledge: A Desk Reference for the Curious Mind: Macmillan.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

The tourism system model

The tourism system model The Tourism System In early tourism research, it was argued that by analysing disaggregated components of tourism, it is possible that an understanding of tourism as a whole could be achieved (Pearce, 1989). However, these reductionist claims often result in a failure to explain the different complex relationships, interactions, interdependencies and impacts within the tourism system (Carlsen, 1999). For example, traditional tourism models such as Leiper (1979) tourism system model assumes that tourism players function in a coordinated manner, suggesting that tourism could be controlled in a top-down approach (McKercher, 1999). However, tourism displays all the characteristics of complexity. Failing to acknowledge the elements of uncertainty, chaos, dynamics and non-linearity in tourist systems, these simplistic traditional approaches to tourism seems to become irrelevant and invalid. Tourism is an activity in which people freely engage in, for personal satisfaction or pleasure, where their behaviour is voluntary and discretionary proceeding from ones own free choice (de Freitas, 2002). Thus, tourists participation is expected to decrease as discomfort and dissatisfaction increase. â€Å"Should climate change, so will be the tourism demand† (De Freitas, 2005, 35). Over the years, more sophisticated models have been developed in attempting to explain what tourism is, its composition and the relationships and interactions that exist within it. From the tourist personality type models (Plog 1974; Pearce 1990), Maslows hierarchy of needs (Maslow, 1954), expectancy theory based on Vrooms theory of work motivation by Witt and Wright (1992) to the Mieczkowski Tourism Climate Index (1985) and the push-pull tourism framework (Dann, 1977; Crompton 1979; Iso-Ahola, 1982, 1989; Klenosky, 2002), these approaches provide different but valuable insights for examining the motivations underlying tourist and visitation behaviour. These models have also been useful for the study of the importance of climate to tourism as well as the research on climate change and tourism, providing an understanding and agreement of the varieties and kinds of activities and stakeholders involved. Climate, a Tourism Resource Climate exists outside of any tourism project. However, it becomes a resource when incorporated within a good or service. This is illustrated by the high demand of North Europeans travelling to the Mediterranean resorts, seeing it as a land of paradise. In addition, climate is often said to delimit optimal zones for tourism at a global and regional scale, as illustrated by the warm tropical zone, considered optimum for sun and beach tourism (Burton 1991). In this way, climate, a natural resource becomes part of the tourism product. All of respondents of the survey agreed that climate is important to tourism with 89% ranking it as â€Å"very important†. With the aim of accessing how climate fares in relation to other important considerations in tourism demand, Table 2.1 illustrates the ranks respondents give to each of the factors relevant to their visit to a country for tourism. Attractions in the destination were viewed as the most important factor followed closely by climate. Of considerable importance to this study which may have been omitted in many studies focusing on the temperate regions, 95% of respondents believed that escaping from their countrys winter cold is at least of some importance in their decision for travel. This shows how weather and climate are intrinsic components of the vacation experience and can act as a central motivator in an individuals selection of holiday destination, the timing of holiday travel as well as a salient factor in tourism spending and holiday satisfaction. This study measures up to many other researches such as that done by Hu and Ritchie (1993). Measuring the importance of destination characteristics, they reviewed several destination image studies from the 1970s and found that â€Å"natural beauty and climate† were of universal importance in defining destinations attractiveness. Using a representative survey, Hamilton and Lau (2005) confirmed that climate is at least the third most popular attribute in tourists decision making. Climate can directly affect tourism. There seems to be a clear connection between weather, climate, and human sensitivity. Atmospheric weather conditions may impact tourist demand, participation, experiences and satisfaction (de Freitas, 2003; Yu et al, 2009). People usually dislike very cold or hot climates and possibly very humid ones probably for good reasons founded in evolutionary biology (Heal and Kristrom, 2002). Survey result of this study proves similar conclusion where 74% of respondents indicate that they were more likely to travel during their countrys winter and 19% during summer. None of the respondents chose autumn and spring as the season they would want to travel out of their country. A warm climate seems to be a huge attraction for many of the mid-latitude tourists with 100% citing a â€Å"hot and sunny† weather condition as the preferred choice in the country they visit, even for those who want to escape the summer heat in their country. This proves Maddison and Bigano (2000) findings that the ideal temperature at the most popular tourist destinations are those offering warmer temperatures of around 31oC. In Context: Sentosa Climate has been argued to be one important component which shapes a destinations image and in some regions of the world, constitutes the resource on which the tourism sector is predicated (Lohmann and Kaim 1999). For example, marketed as â€Å"The Island for All Seasons†, the Mediterranean climate which Cyprus, Greece has been blessed with, has identified as the fundamental attribute attracting tourists to the destination. Mather et al contends that â€Å"the climate is a dominant factor in much of the travel that takes place from northern Europe to the Mediterranean () Not only is the purpose of this mass movement of people primarily leisure-based, visiting a sunny beach destination is the intrinsic reason for travel† (2005, 70). Being a tropical country, Singapore and in particular Sentosa has the perfect conditions for the creation of the ideal tourist coast all-year sunshine, warm water, white sandy carbonate beaches and coral reefs -popularised in the three â€Å"Ss†: sun, sea and sand (Wong, 2003). Sentosa is Singapores premier island resort getaway and Asias leading leisure destination. It receives over 6 million visitors yearly, making it the most visited paid-access attraction in Singapore. According to partial break-down of visitor arrivals to all the paid attractions in Singapore as seen in Figure 2a, it show consistency with Sentosa being the most visited paid-access attraction among all groups of tourists. Thus, it makes a good case study for studying climate as a resource for beach tourism in Singapore. Findings in this study shows that although the warm tropical climate of Singapore appeals to the mid-latitude tourists, inducing them to visit the Island of Sentosa as well as their beaches, weather did not prove to be the ultimate choice affecting tourists decision to Sentosa. In fact, although weather ranks second after attraction/activities, given only a choice, only about one quarter, specifically, 27% of the tourists chose weather to be the most important. One reason for this may be because climate invokes the concept of weather which is what tourists anticipate experiencing at a specific destination and is a key factor of consideration for tourists, consciously or implicitly during travel planning (de Freitas, 2002; Gomez Martin, 2005). Thus, having already considered Singapores hot and humid climate before the trip, factoring in possible weather conditions that might be experienced, attractions and activities that can be found in Singapore is determined to be more important at the expense of weather. This result corresponds to the activities that respondents carry out in Sentosa illustrated in Table 2.2, with â€Å"visiting attractions† being the most carried activities by all tourists during their day in Sentosa. The preference of tourists for certain climatic and weather conditions highlights the relationship between tourism and climate. Naturally, different tourism types and activities require different climatic conditions. Thus, climate is one important variable that influences among other factors, what and when particular kind of tourism activities can be done carried out. For example, climate has been identified as the fundamental attribute attracting tourists to the Mediterranean area (Mather et al, 2005; Amelung and Moreno, 2009). Seeking and enjoying the sun is one of the main reasons why many tourists go away on holiday, evident in 70%-80% of UK holidaymakers citing better climate abroad as the primary reason for their trip (Perry, 1993). Similarly, winter sports depend directly on climatic resources. Without snow or low temperatures for the artificial production of snow, the development of ski resorts would not have been possible (Gomez Martin, 2005). In this study on Sentosa, the activities that can be carried out by tourists (Table 2.2) could be sub-divided into two categories: weather dependent and weather independent. Swimming/sun tanning, picnicking and water sports/playing volleyball is to a large extent dependent on weather, especially to the presence of sunshine and rainfall. Although a large percentage of 59% tourists came to Sentosa specifically for sun tanning and swimming, respondents seems to participate largely also in non weather specific activities such as visiting attractions, shopping and dining in an indoor eatery. This result points to an important fact that although Sentosa depends largely on its beaches as well as some outdoor attractions, they provide a diversified range of activities which tourists are also attracted in but do not solely tap on the appeal of the weather. Climate versus Weather Climate invokes the concept of weather in that it is defined as the accumulation of daily and seasonal weather events over a long period of time whereas, weather is the condition of the atmosphere at any particular time and place (de Freitas, 2002). In a study of this nature, McEvoy (2008: 103) reminds that it is important to differentiate between visitor responses to climate versus weather conditions. Decision-making relating to tourism such as the destination and period of travel has been found to be based largely on climate information. On the other hand, the vacation period is much more weather-dependent and reliant on short term forecasts where actual weather information is more important than climate information (Matzarakis, 2007). The nature of the relationship between the atmospheric environment and the enjoyable pursuit of outdoor recreational activity may be seen to be a function of facets of on-site atmospheric conditions, the weather. Pleasant weather increases tourist satisfaction, whereas severe weather conditions such as rain and strong winds disrupt outdoor activities. In southern Alaska, for example, tour operators noted a marked difference between the sunny, dry summer of 2004 and wet summer of 2006. Although this study fully acknowledges the importance of climate to tourism, with weather being an important factor, survey results show the possibility that destinations may also be chosen in spite of the likely bad weather. Figure 1 illustrates the findings. The result suggests that even if it rains on the day that tourist decides to go to Sentosa, 49% of the respondents would not alter their original plan to visit the island. The reasons cited were more or less similar in that they would â€Å"choose to visit other attractions within Sentosa† and â€Å"stay in indoor venues†. All of the 28% tourists who states that there will be changes to their plans to Sentosa were at Sentosa beach specifically for the purpose of outdoor beach activities such as swimming, sun tanning and picnicking. Therefore, with some tourist activities more sensitive to weather than others, metrological conditions may affect or disrupt the construction of the planned days event. On the other hand, Sentosa Island with many indoor attractions, allows for contingency plans to be made which enables tourists to be independent of weather conditions. With â€Å"visiting attractions† being the most carried out activity for respondents (Table 2.2), as well as â€Å"attraction/activities† cited as the most important factor affecting their decision to visit Sentosa, it suggests why majority of tourists may not change their plans to visit Sentosa even under unforeseen weather events. Therefore, although climate and weather is one of the many factors that may influence tourist decisions, good weather may not be the primary reason for selecting destinations. Weather Forecast Mark Twains famous quote of â€Å"Everybody talks about the weather but no one does anything about it† is often held up as a truism but Twain himself have said this â€Å"aint necessarily so†. Along the same line of argument, Dewar (2005) contends that humans may not be able to alter the day-to-day weather but they do alter their behaviours to either avoid or take advantage of these weather conditions. To some extent as discussed previously, a majority of respondents seems to have predicted that they would alter their behaviours, by visiting indoor attractions to avoid unfavourable rainfall events. Weather forecasting is a useful way to alter ones behaviour or plan activities to suit prevailing weather conditions on the day of event. Favourable climate and weather conditions are essential advantages which influences the degree of satisfaction, allowing tourists to enjoy their holiday activities safely and comfortably, helping them fulfil the desires that originally brought them to the destination (de Freitas 1990, 2003; Blazejczyk, 2001; Gomez-Martin, 2005). However, it is surprising that although 59% of respondents engaged in a pre-planned weather dependent activity of sun tanning and swimming as well as 10% for picnicking, only a small percentage of 13% admitted to have checked the weather forecast before coming to Sentosa.

Mitochondrial Dna And Genetic Evidence Biology Essay

Mitochondrial Dna And Genetic Evidence Biology Essay Introduction: The Out of Africa model, also referred to as the African origins, total replacement, Noahs ark or Eve model is one model suggesting the origins of humankind. This model hypothesizes that the evolution of the modern humankind from their archaic ancestors occurred in one place at the one time. It suggests that modern humans arose as a new species about 150,000 years ago and that this took place in Africa. It was after this speciation event that the modern humans moved out of Africa, replacing all non-African archaic populations. Africa was identified as the origin of Homo sapiens because of the high genetic diversity among Africans. It is much higher than the genetic diversity of other populations around the world. The further away, geographically, from Africa the less genetically diverse the populations are. The last regions to be settled, for instance South America and the Pacific Islands, have the lowest genetic diversity. This review will focus on the evidence obtained from mitochondrial DNA and Y-chromosomal DNA. Both mtDNA and Y-chromosomal DNA are non-recombinant and their inheritance is easier to analysis than for other parts of the genome. MtDNA is only inherited through the maternal line and can therefore be used to determine the female lineage. Analysis of mtDNA revealed a series of population bottlenecks and a progressive loss of diversity moving away from East Africa. The Y-chromosome is passed from father to son and can be used to determine the male lineage. The Y chromosome does not undergo recombination because it is so different from the X chromosome that they dont swap information. This means that the Y-chromosome passed on is the same in father and son (unless it undergoes mutation) making it useful for studying the male lineage. Mutations of both mtDNA and Y-chromosomal DNA accumulate at a fairly constant rate over time, making them useful for estimating the time of human population sp lits. Mitochondrial DNA is also a very good indicator of migration routes and range expansion due to its high distribution and variation. The first lineage to branch off from mitochondrial eve is the L0 haplogroup. The L1, L2 and L3 haplogroups are all descendant of this L0 lineage and are largely confined to Africa. L3 subdivided into the macro haplogroups M and N. These are the lineages found outside of Africa with a low frequency in Africa. The Y-chromosomal haplogroup DE is limited to Africa. Haplogroup F originated in either North Africa or in South Asia. If it originated in North Africa it would indicate a second out of Africa migration. There are two possible scenarios for modern humans dispersal out of Africa. The first suggests a single migration in which only about 150 people left Africa by crossing the Red Sea. The second possibility is that there were two migrations out of Africa. Haplogroup M left by crossing the Red Sea, travelling along the coast to India taking the Southern route. Haplogroup N is thought to have followed the Nile from East Africa, headed north and crossed into Asia via the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. Historical Background: Charles Darwin was one of the first to propose the idea that the ancestor of the modern human originated in Africa. In his book The Descent of Man he proposed that all living organism originated from a common ancestor and he outlined his views that man descended from apes. He stated that in each great region of the world the living mammals are closely related to the extinct species of the same region. It is, therefore, probable that Africa was formerly inhabited by extinct apes closely allied to the gorilla and chimpanzee; and as these two species are now mans nearest allies, it is somewhat more probable that our early progenitors lived on the African continent than elsewhere. But it is useless to speculate on this subject, for an ape nearly as large as a man, namely the Dryopithecus of Lartet, which was closely allied to the anthropomorphous Hylobates, existed in Europe during the Upper Miocene period; and since so remote a period the earth has certainly undergone many great revolut ions, and there has been ample time for migration on the largest scale. Here he is saying that if his theory of common descent was correct and that man really did descend from apes then it would be likely that man originated in Africa as Africa was the region inhabited at that time by apes. Mitochondrial Eve and Y-chromosomal Adam: Mitochondrial eve is the matrilineal most recent common ancestor, estimated to have lived about 200,000 years ago. All living peoples mitochondrial DNA is descended from hers. She was thought to have lived in East Africa and her discovery supported the theory that all modern humans originated in Africa and migrated from there. Y-chromosome Adam is the patrilineal most recent common ancestor, estimated to have lived between 90,000 to 60,000 years ago. He was also believed to have originated in Africa. The original paper supporting the Out of Africa theory was written by Cann et al in 1987. In which they found evidence that the MRCA lived in Africa about 200,000 years ago. They studied mitochondrial DNA from one hundred and forty seven people between five different populations, African, Asian, Australian, Caucasian and New Guinean. They found that out of the one hundred and forty seven mtDNA mapped, 133 were distinct from each other. Using the parsimony method they constructed a tree relating the 133 types of human mtDNA and the reference sequence: Figure 1: Genealogical tree for 134 types of human mtDNA. The tree accounts for the site differences observed between restriction maps of these mtDNAs with 398 mutations. No other order of branching tested is more parsimonious than this one. This order of branching was obtained by ignoring every site present in only one type of mtDNA or absent in only one type and confining attention to the remaining 93 polymorphic sites. The computer programme produces an unrooted network which was converted into a tree by placing the root (arrow) at the midpoint of the longest path connecting the two lineages. The numbers refer to mtDNA types found in more than one individual. (both figure and text taken from Cann et al, 1987) This is a tree of minimum length. On this tree there are two primary branches, one composed of Africans only and the other composed of all five populations studied. From this tree it was suggested that Africa was the source of the human mitochondrial gene pool. This is because two of the primary branches lead solely to African mtDNAs and the second branch also leads to African mtDNAs. The common ancestor a must be of African origin in order to minimise the number of migrations that occurred. This tree also indicates that every population except for Africa must have multiple origins. For example, mtDNA type 49 is New Guinean but its nearest relative is not New Guinean and is in fact Asian. New Guinea seems to have been colonised by at least seven maternal lineages. This seems to be the same for all other populations apart from Africa. By assuming that human mitochondrial DNA sequence divergence accumulates at a constant rate they were able to work out that the common ancestor, Mitocho ndrial Eve of all surviving mtDNA types existed 140,000 to 290,000 years ago. The mtDNA results do not show when the migrations out of Africa took place. Nuclear DNA studies carried out based on polymorphic blood groups, red cell enzymes and serum proteins showed that differences between racial groups are smaller than within and that the largest gene frequency differences are between Africans and other populations. This supports the Out of Africa theory because it suggests that the human nuclear gene pool also originated in Africa. (Cann et al, 1987) The Genetic Evidence: The technique used to deduce the colonization pattern of the world is coalescence. This theory is a population genetics model based on the genealogy of gene copies and favours the Out of Africa theory. It describes the characteristics of the joining of lineages back in time to a common ancestor.This lineage joining is referred to as coalescence. The theory provides a way of estimating the expected time to coalescence and establishing the relationships of coalescence times to population size, and age of the most recent common ancestor. This theory makes use of the fact that genetic drift over time will result in the extinction of lineages. This means that any sample of DNA markers will coalesce to a common ancestor when looking backward from the present day generation. The limitation of this theory is that all genetic variation coalesces to the MRCA and as a result the population history before this MRCA is unknown. Genomic phylogenetics reconstruction is necessary to assume the dispe rsal routes of early modern humans. Mitochondrial DNA evidence: A study was carried out by Ingman et al describing the global human diversity in humans based on analyses of the complete mtDNA sequence of 53humans of varied origins. They created a neighbour-joining phylogram on complete mtDNA sequences: Figure 2: Neighbour joining phylogram based on complete mtDNA genome sequences (excluding the D-loop). The population origin of the individual is given at the twigs. Individuals of African descent are found below the dashed line and non-Africans above. The node marked with an asterisk refers to the MRCA of the youngest clade containing both African and non-African indivdulals. (Both figure and text taken from Ingman et al, 2000) In this tree, the three deepest branches lead to exlusively African mtDNAs and the fourth deepest branch contains both African and non-African mtDNA. The deepest branch provides excellent support for the origin of human mtDNA in Africa. The amount of mtDNA sequence diversity among Africans is more than double that of non-Africans. This suggests that ther is a longer genetic history for African mtDNA than for non-African mtDNA. The star shaped phylogeny of the non -African sequences suggest a population bottleneck. This is more than likely associatd with the colonisation of Euroasia from Africa, in which the previous populations are replaced with the modern humans dispersal into Euroasia. The figures below show the mtDNA mismatch distributions for Africans and non-Africans The mtDNA from the non-Africans show a bell-shaped distribution , indicating a recent population expansion. The mtDNA from individuals of African origin show a ragged distribution, indicating a constant population size. Figure 3: Mismatch distributions of pairwise nucleotide differences between mtDNA genomes (excluding the D-loop) a) African; b) Non-African. (Both figure and text taken from Ingman et al, 2000) The initial Homo sapiens population dynamics and dispersal routes remain poorly understood. The mtDNA phylogeny can be collapsed into two sister branches L0 and L123456 (L15). The L15 group is more widespread and has given rise to almost all mtDNA lineages found today. The non-African genetic diversity being formed from two subclades of the L3 branch, M and N. Some of the L clades show significant phylogeographic structure in Africa, such as the localization of L1c1a to Central Africa and L0d and L0k to the Khosian people.(Behar et al, 2008) Analysis of the complete mtDNA sequences of Khosian people suggests the divided from other modern humans no later than 90,000 years ago. This reveals evidence for the existence of an early maternal structure in the history of Homo sapiens. L0abfk split over 133,000 years ago. Since this split the expansion of L0d, L0k, L0abf and L15 clades have progressed in an uneven way. L0d and L0k localized in South Africa, giving rise to the Khosian people and L0abf and L15spread all over the world giving rise to all non-Khosian populations. These maternal southern and eastern populations remained isolated from each other for a long period of time. This isolation suggests the formation of small, independent populations in Africa instead of the previously thought uniform spread of modern humans. (Behar et al, 2008) Mitochondrial DNA L haplogroups: Single nucleotide polymorphism studies have shown that human mitochondrial DNA can be classified into groups of related haplotypes. An early paper by Chen et al analysed mitochondrial DNA variation in Africa, revealing continent specific groups of mtDNA haplotypes (haplogroups). There is an HpaI site gain at nucleotide pair (np) 3592 which is found in sub-Saharan populations with a low frequency in populations which have been known to have mixed with Africans. The mtDNA that contain the HpaI site at np 3592 form the most divergent mtDNA haplogroups in the world. Continent specific polymorphisms characterize mtDNAs from European, Asian and Native American populations. These continent specific polymorphisms have a high frequency in one continental population and are specific to either European, Asian or Native American populations. These mutations took place after the genetic separation of the ancestral population that formed the modern human ethnic groups. The oldest and the largest haplogroup in each continent is usually the one that is the most divergent. All the mtDNAs associated with the HpaI site gain at np 3 592 all come from the same common ancestor. These cluster in the L haplogroup. This haplogroup is subdivided into theL0, L1, L2, L3, L4, L5 and L6 sub-haplogroups by additional polymorphisms. The L haplogroup and L1 and L2 sub- haplogroups are said to be of ancient origin due to their dominance in sub-Saharan populations. The ages of these haplogroups were determined from the assumption that nucleotide substitution accumulates at a constant rate. The age of haplogroup L is between 98,000 and 130,000 years, haplogroup L1 is between 86,000 and 113,000 years and haplogroup L2 is between 59,000 and 78,000 years. Comparison of the sequence divergence of the L haplogroup determined that the African haplogroup is the most divergent. The approximate ages for the continent specific haplogroups agree with the theory that all modern humans have a common ancestor from an ancestral population in Africa. These ages also agree with the suggested times of dispersal and migration of the modern human populations into the other continents. The age of the haplogroup L could indicate that this haplogroup originated before modern humans dispersed from Africa. However, the haplogroups L1 and L2 were not carried from Africa by the modern human populations that migrated to the Middle East and Asia. Instead another haplogroup must have participated in this migration. There are mtDNAs that do not contain the HpaI site gain in np 3592. These were found in sub-Saharan populations and suggest that there were some mtDNAs without the 3592 HpaI site that originated in Africa. They are widely distributed in sub-Saharan populations and most likely have an ancient African origin. These mtDNAs are similar to mtDNAs in Europe and Asia and seem to be the only mtDNAs carried out of Africa by migration of the modern humans. They gave rise to the non-African modern human populations and are now know to be haplogroup L3. This paper exhibits data that confirms that there was a high sequence divergence w ithin Africans compared to the rest of the world thereby supporting the Out of Africa Theory. There is less sequence divergence in Asians than in Africans. Native American populations have the lowest values of sequence divergence. (Chen et al, 1995) The minimum coalescence age for modern humans has been estimated to be between 156,000 and 169,000 years before present. Analysis of the L haplogroup has been carried out in order to find those sub-haplogroups involved in the migration of modern humans out of Africa. The L0 haplogroup is the earliest descendant of mitochondrial Eve and is a sister group to the L1 haplogroup. L0 is subdivided into L0a, L0d, L0f and L0k. L0a is thought to have originated in Eastern Africa and is dominant in Ethiopia. The idea that east Africa is the most likely region for L0a variation is further supported by the phylogeny of the L0 clade. L0d and L0k originated in Southern African. L0f is rare and confined to East Africa. The relationship between L0d and L0k is still uncertain. The first ancient split from this into L1b/c occurred over 120,000 years ago. The L1 haplogroup is divided into L1b and L1c. L1b is common in Western Africa and L1c is frequent among central African Bantu speakers. See figure__ for the relationship between these two haplogroups. FIG. 3.-Phylogenetic tree of mtDNA genomes (excluding the d-loop) obtained by maximum likelihood Bayesian analysis. The split into the L2 lineage occurred in Africa over The L2 lineage is divided into two sub-clades L2a1 and L2b. A mutation at np12693 characterizes the L2a1 clade. Ethiopian L2a1 sequences contain mutations at the np 16189 and the np 16309. L2a1c contains mutations at np 16209, 16301 and 16354. L2a1a has a mutation at np 16286. L2a1a is found mostly in South-Eastern Africa. The split into the L3 sub-clade occurred over 59,000 years ago in Africa. The most frequent of the L3 sub-clades is the L3f haplogroup. This haplogroup seems to be confined to East Africa. However, there is an occurrence of variations of this clade in West Africa indicating an early dispersal of the L3f1 lineages. L3f1 is characterized by two mutations in its coding region. The L3 haplogroup is subdivided into three clades, L3i, L3x and L3w. Haplogroup L3i contains a transition at np 7645. It was also found to occur within a sister group of W haplogroup lineages in Eurasia. The L3x haplogroup is characterized by transitions at nps 6401, 13708 and 16169. This haplogroup is very frequent among Ethiopians, especially among the Oromos. It can be sub divided into two clades, L3x1 and L3x2. These two clades are confined to the Horn of Africa and the Nile Valley. The L3w haplogroup contains substitutions at nps 15388 and 16260. This haplogroup is confined to East and North-eastern Africa. L 3b and L3e haplogroups are found in West Africa and Bantu-speaking populations in South-east Africa. The L3d haplogroup is mostly found in Western Africa. It is divided into the two sub-clades L3d1 and L3d2. The L3d1 sub clade has a high frequency in South-East Africa. L3d2 is characterised by transcriptions at nps 15358 and 16256. These occur in Western Africa. Ethiopian L3d2 lineages contain a transition at np 16368 and this is not found anywhere else in Africa. The L3 clade is more related to Eurasian haplogroups than to African clusters of the L1 and L2 haplogroups. L4 is an early branch from L3. It is divided into two sub-clades by three coding and three control region markers. Substitutions at nps 195, 198, 7376, 16207 and 16260 characterise the L4a1 haplogroup. L4g was previously named L3g but it was found to share ancestral character states at nps 769 and 1018 with haplogroup L4a. It is mostly found in Ethiopia. L4a and L4g have high haplotype frequencies and sequence diversity in Ethiopians.The L5 haplogroup is divided into L5a and L5b. L5a is found almost exclusively in East Africa. L5 b on the other hand is spread through Southern Africa.The L6 haplogroup contains six coding transitions and one control region transition. This haplogroup is thought to have originated in East Africa. It is a sister clade of the L2, L3 and L4 are all frequent there, giving support to this theory. The mtDNA tree splits at its core layers into branches that carry exclusively African sequences and just one, L3, which the Africans share with the rest of the world. All non-African mtDNA lineages are derived from just two branches, M and N, branching from the root of the L3 haplogroup. These also give rise to a number of sub-clades specific only to African populations. The N haplogroup gives rise to a daughter clade, R, which is also a founder of extant non-African populations. The first informative split in the mtDNA tree with regards to phylogeny occurs at the level of L3/M, N, R clades. The next informative split in the mtDNA tree distinguishes all major continents excluding America beneath the M, N and R founders. The M and N Haplogroups: The M1 haplogroup has a high frequency in Ethiopia. It has two subclades, M1a and M1b. M1a contains a transition at np 16359. It can be found in Near Eastern, Caucasus and in European populations. The M1b group is smaller and confined to East Africa. Both M1a and M1b are rare in North Africa. Another clade, M1c, is present in Northern Africa, the Canary Islands and the Near East. This clade is characterized by a transition at np 16185. The N (preHV) haplogroup is the most frequent in Ethiopian lineages. This lineage occurs in populations in the Near East, Southern Caucasia and North Africa. Y-chromosomal DNA evidence: The Y chromosome Consortium (2002) tree was updated in a paper by Karafet et al in 2008. This tree identifies the 18 major clades, A to R, in the Y chromosome tree. There are five paragroups that were not based on a derived character and they represent the interior nodes of the tree. There are 243 different mutational events that give rise to 153 non recombining Y chromosome haplogroups. The C and FT haplogroups were united by the P143 mutation. These haplogroups contain lineages that are not usually found in sub-Saharan Africa. The C-FR chromosome must have been carried out of Africa early on in the dispersal out of Africa. The IJ clade is joined by seven mutations and the NO clade is joined by six mutations. The M lineage is joined to two K haplogroups by the P256 marker into the M super clade. Diagram p4 from the revised Y chromosome haplogroup tree. Two mutations, M91 and P97, identify Clade A. This clade is one of the most base haplogroups on the Y-chromosome tree and is almost entirely confined to Africa, being most frequent in Khosian, Ethiopian and Sudanese populations. Clade B is characterized by four mutations and is also almost completely restricted to Africa, mostly confined to sub-Saharan Africa with the highest frequencies in Pygmy populations. The C haplogroup is identified by five mutations. It has not been found in African populations and may have an originated in Asia after the dispersal of modern humans out of Africa. Haplogroup D is defined by two mutations. This haplogroup is also thought to have originated in Asia as it has not been found anywhere else. These lineages are found almost completely in Central Asia and Japan with a low frequency in Southeast Asia and the Andaman Islands. Clade E is identified by 18 mutations and is the most mutationally diverse Y chromosomal haplogroup. These are found mostly in Af rica with moderate frequencies in the Middle East and low frequencies in Central and South Asia. The FT clade is defined by 25 mutations. The F* paragroups has a low frequency in India. The G clade is identified by two mutations and is divided into two subclades, G1 and G2. This clade is mostly present in the Middle East, the Mediterranean and the Caucasus Mountains. Haplogroup H is characterized by one mutation and is divided into two subclades, h1 and H2. This group is almost exclusive to the Indian subcontinent. Clade I is characterised by six mutations and is sub-divided into two subclades, I1 and I2. This clade represents two of the major European Y chromosome haplogroups with clade I1 being found mostly in Northern Europe and clade I2 is widespread in Eastern Europe and the Balkans. Clade J is defined by three mutations and is divided into two major subclades, J1 and J2, and also contains a paragroup J*. These lineages are found at high frequencies in North Africa, the Middle East, Europe, Central Asia, Pakistan and India. Haplogroup K is defined by the derived state at four sites and the ancestral state at the mutations that characterize the L, M, NO, P, S and T lineages. There is a paragroup K* and four different lineages characterized by five mutations. The K1 haplogroup is found at a low frequency in India and the K2, K3 and K4 haplogroups are found in Oceania, Indonesia and Australia. The L haplogroup is characterized by six mutations and the majority of this haplogroup is found in India, with the L haplogroup also being present in the Middle East, Asia, Northern Africa and along the Mediterranean coast. The M superclade contains 19 internal mutations. This lineage is confined to Oceania and eastern Indonesia. The N haplogroup is defined by 10 mutations and is restricted to Northern Eurasia. Clade O is defined by four mutations and is a major haplogroup in East Asia. It is also found at a low frequency in Central Asia and Oceania. Haplogroup contain s the Q and R lineages. Clade Q is characterized by the M242 mutation and is distributed in North Eurasia with a high frequency in some Siberian groups. It is also found in Europe, East Asia and the Middle East and is the major lineage in native Americans. Cade R is defined by eight mutations and is the major y chromosomal lineage of Europeans. Clade S is defined by three mutations and is mostly found in Oceania and Indonesia. Clade T is identified by six mutations and is divided into two subclades found at a low frequency in Africa, Europe and the Middle East. The two primary splits in this tree lead to the A and B haplogroups, both of which are restricted to Africa. These are genetically diverse and have sub-haplogroups geographically distinct from each other. The remainder of the deep structures of the phylogeny are characterized by three sub-clusters that coalesce at the root of the CR-M168 node. These represent all the African haplogroups and all the non African haplogroups. There is a shared presence of the De haplogroup in Africa and Asia. The C haplogroup is a non African haplogroup and is widely distributed in East Asia, Oceania and North America. The haplogroup F-M89 is another non African cluster that is distributed all around the world. The F* and H haplogroups are restricted to Asia, the I haplogroup in Europe and the J haplogroup in the Middle East. Apart from the A and B haplogroups all other Y chromosome haplogroups descend from one ancestral node, CDEF which is defined by the mutations M168 and M294. This node is split into the C, DE and F haplogroups and these make up the majority of African and non African affiliated chromosomes. Due to the fact that the A and B haplogroups originate in Africa it was proposed the CDEF node also originated in Africa. An African origin of the DE haplogroup was supported with the detection of the DE* chromosome in Nigeria and by the recognition of the D-M174 haplogroup. See figure8d page 555 from Underhill It was proposed that two independent founder types D and CF evolved out of Africa (see figure above) The common ancestry of C and F founder types was supported by a single mutation, implying the diversification of CF from DE was shortly followed by they split of C from F. Although the D and E haplogroups share a common ancestry there is a geographic distance existing between the two of them. The D haplogroup is widely distributed in Asia and the E haplogroup is frequent in Africa. This suggests long term isolation and extinction of descendants in the area between Africa and Asia. Upon analysis of the Y chromosome it is clear that North Africa is genetically similar to the Middle East and there is a clear genetic difference between North-Western Africa and Sub-Sahara Africa and Europe. The lineages most prevalent to North Africa are absent in both Europe and sub-Saharan Africa. E3b2 is most common in North Africa, R1b is common in Europe and E3a is common in many sub-Saharan areas. This suggests that there was limited gene flow between North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa and Europe. E3b2 is rare outside of North Africa and the other dominant haplogroup J* in North Africa reaches its highest frequency in the Middle East indicating that there was gene flow between these two populations. It has been proposed that the J haplogroup originated in the Middle East. The M35 lineage is thought to have originated in East Africa due to its high frequency and diversity there. It is thought to have given rise to the M81 lineage, E3b2, that is found in North Africa. (Arredi et al, 2004) Exodus from Africa: The migration out of Africa is thought to have occurred over 100,000 years ago and is believed to have led to the later colonization of the rest of the world. The first evidence of the existence of modern humans outside of Africa has been dated to over 80,000 years ago. However, this was an isolated incidence and is thought to represent an early offshoot that has since died out. Successful migrations are believed to have occurred between 45,000 and 75,000 years ago. There are two scenarios describing modern humans dispersal from Africa. The first suggests a single migration event took place. This theory proposes that only about 150 people left Africa crossing the red sea. This is because only the descendants of one lineage, L3, are found outside Africa. The M and N haplogroups are rare in Africa and seem to have arrived recently. This may be a result of mutations in the L3 haplogroup arising in East Africa just before the dispersal out of Africa or may have arisen shortly after the m igration from Africa. The second scenario suggests a multiple dispersal model. This indicates that the M haplogroup crossed the Red Sea, travelled along the coast and arrived in India and the N haplogroup headed North, trailing the Nile and crossed into Asia through the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. This group divided and went in several different directions. Some went east into Asia and others went to Europe. This scenario might clarify why the N haplogroup is predominant in Europe and the M haplogroup is absent. Mitochondrial evidence for the dispersal from Africa: Mitochondrial DNA analysis of present day African lineages points to a rapid population growth in the ancestral African population. Studies revealed a peak in African populations about 80,000 years ago with similar peaks in Asia and Europe somewhere between 60,000 and 40,000 years ago. This evidence shows a rapid increase in the African population much earlier than in Europe or Asia indicating expansion in Africa due to dispersion from a small population to other parts of the continent. There was an expansion of the L2 and L3 mitochondrial lineages about 80,000 and 60,000 years ago. Population diversity among African populations: There seems to be limited haplotype sharing among northern, eastern and Sub-Saharan Africans. Some haplotypes are common in one area but missing from the others. Chromosomes with the PN2 T and DYS271 A alleles are common in both northern and eastern Africa. These have been divided into different haplotypes, one of which bears the M81 mutation and is present in some Northern African populations and absent in Eastern African populations. There has been a population expansion in Northern Africa suggested by the age and the high frequency of the M81 haplotypes in north-western Africa. The spread of haplotypes 22 and 24, both of which contain the DYS271 allele, has erased pre-existing genetic differences among different regions in sub-Saharan Africa. Haplotypes 22, 24 and 41 have an extremely high frequency in Sub-Saharan Africans. It is thought that haplotype 41 was involved in the expansion of Bantu-speaking populations from western Africa into southern Africa. This is supported by the fact that the variance of haplotype 41 is much higher in the central western Africa than in southern Khosians. This is also true for the 22 and 24 haplotypes. An Eastern African origin: The oldest remains of modern humans were found in eastern and southern Ethiopia and have been dated to over 160,000 years ago. Eastern Africa is thought to be the origin of the earliest migrations of modern humans out of Africa. The M haplogroup has been found in high frequencies in Ethiopia and Asia. The presence of the Asian mtDNA haplogroup M is unique to Ethiopia. These two regions have a different variation o

Saturday, July 20, 2019

jennie Finch Essay -- essays research papers

â€Å"You play like a girl!† used to be one of baseball’s classic insults. Not anymore. Softball diva Jennie Finch has made it cool to not only throw like a girl, but to run, field and hit like one, too. Not since Babe Ruth has a player dominated so completely from the pitching rubber and the batter’s box, and she even gives the Bambino a run for his money in the charisma department. Jennie has also accomplished something Ruth never could: She is showing the boys it’s okay to be one of the girls. This is her story†¦ GROWING UP Jennie Finch was born on September 3, 1980, in La Mirada, California. Jennie’s parents, Doug and Bev, already had two boys, Shane and Landon. Both loved baseball and played competitively, but it wasn’t until Jennie took up the game that the family really got serious about it. La Mirada offered organized ball on a year-round basis. Jennie joined her first league, L’il Miss T-Ball, after her fifth birthday. She was one of those kids who excelled at a number of sports, but her greatest love was always for baseball. Bev and Doug soon began channeling this passion almost exclusively into girls’ softball. Their daughter had good hand-eye coordination and excellent speed. But it was her arm that opened the most eyes. During winter vacation in Iowa one year, she celebrated her first snowfall by packing a snowball and literally heaving it out of sight. Jennie’s hometown was also close to Dodger Stadium, where the Finches had season tickets on the third-base line. Bev, the baseball nut in the family, listened to Vin Scully on a pair of headphones while she took in the action. As soon as Jennie was old enough, she began accompanying her mom to Chavez Ravine, bleeding Dodger blue and rooting for heroes like Kirk Gibson, whose dramatic homer sparked LA to a World Series title a few weeks after Jennie’s eighth birthday. Doug did whatever he could to accelerate his daughter’s progress. He constructed a batting cage in the backyard, and hired a fast-pitch instructor for Jennie. Later, he transformed a small trampoline into a pitch-back she could use on evenings when he worked late. As Jennie improved, her dad immersed himself in softball and became her personal coach. By the time she turned nine, she was playing for a 10-and-under traveling all-star team. Every weekend was spent at a different diamond somewhere in suburban Southern California. ... ...itter, smart baserunner and, of course, an overpowering pitcher. Her instincts are remarkable, too. Her mom and dad can share some of the credit for Jennie’s talent. Doug helped her develop many of her skills, while Bev passed along her feel for the game. Jennie’s work ethic and competitive fire are all hers. As a pitcher, Jennie has few peers. She has five pitches—rise-ball, curveball, screwball, drop-ball and changeup—and can throw all with great control. Jennie regularly hits 70 mph on the radar gun, which from 46 feet is comparable to a Nolan Ryan fastball—with a lot more movement. One the keys to her success is the ability to deliver her changeup with the same arm speed as her hard stuff. Intimidation is another weapon. Some hitters (including a few big leaguers) are actually scared to stand in the batter’s box against her. Despite all of her individual press clippings, Jennie has always been a loyal, team-first player. Winning is her only concern on the field and in the dugout, and those she plays with respect her immensely. They also genuinely like her. Jennie can be a talk-it-up leader or a quiet foot soldier who does her job. Her record as a winner speaks for itself.

Friday, July 19, 2019

Analysis of Tony Kytes, the Arch Deceiver by Thomas Hardy Essays

Analysis of Tony Kytes, the Arch Deceiver by Thomas Hardy The story is about a man who is unsure about how he feels towards his fiancà ©. The attitude shown towards love by Tony shows that he is uncommitted. Tony is unsure about his feelings for Milly; he is united with his former girlfriends Unity and Hannah. He then confuses himself about who he wants to marry. He does not love the girls for their inner beauty but only for their physical appearance which is not counted as love this is shown by him saying "I never knowed you was so pretty before" . Whereas milly's attitude shown towards love is strong and committed she feels that Tony is the perfect match and assumes that he feels the same. Milly is engaged to Tony, but Hannah and Unity want to marry him too and try to ...