Mutualism and Exploitation in Plant-Pollinator Relationships free essay sample

This paper examines cheating in plant-pollinator mutualisms. This paper examines some of the ecological dynamics and game theory behind mutualisms and cheaters focusing on plant-pollinator relationships. Table of Contents Reciprocal Exploitation Defensive Strategies: fruit abortion and selective maturation Offensive Strategies: cheating insects To cheat or not to cheat? Evolutionary Consequences of Cheating References Although mutualisms have often been heralded as mutually beneficial relationships that exist for the good of all those involved, they are often not as good-natured as people would think (Soberon Martinez del Rio 1985). Perhaps Darwin knew best when he claimed that Natural selection cannot possibly produce any modification in any one species exclusively for the good of another species; though throughout nature one species incessantly takes advantage of, and profits by, the structures of another (1859). Upon close inspection of the many mutualisms that pervade the global ecology, it becomes clear that there is a strong incentive for exploitation, either by one of the partners in the mutualism or by a third party species. We will write a custom essay sample on Mutualism and Exploitation in Plant-Pollinator Relationships or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Because of the conflict of interest that often exists between members of a mutualism, certain tendencies to cheat have evolved. By escaping the costs that go hand in hand with mutualisms, these cheaters are able to reap the benefits of the mutualistic relationship without having to provide any services or resources in return. Far from one partner acting altruistically toward the other, members in mutualisms are actually pursuing their own agendas, often carrying out self-beneficial actions as far as the other partner will allow.

Free Essays on Death And Honor

â€Å"are you the Beowulf who competed with Breca, vied with him at swimming in the open sea when, swollen with vanity, you both braved the waves, r... Free Essays on Death And Honor Free Essays on Death And Honor The following will show how the characters from "Beowulf" perceived their deeds in life as the build up to the way their bodies would be cared for after death and how their people would remember them. Unlike modern times burial ceremonies were based on what a person accomplished rather then who the person was. In essence if you were a great hero you got a wonderful send off, if you were a peasant farmer you were luck if you got a stone cairn over the hole your body was in. In the Norse world, both gods and humans know their inevitable destiny is death. The heroic goal is fame after death... great and glorious deeds that inspire poets and singers are the only measure of immortality that a mortal can achieve. The Norse hero's greatness is measure by the quality of his life and the courage and dignity with which he faces his inevitable death. The characters of Beowulf cannot determine when they die, but they can try to determine how they live and die. Life is a tragic experience, and the best one can hope for is to live and die with dignity. It should be noted; the characters that rail against the inevitability of death are usually the ones who act with dishonor and treachery. First thing to note is the contrast between Beowulf and Unferth, the Danish warrior. Beowulf accepts death as inevitable and purposely seeks out deeds that will bring him glory while he lives and fame long after he is gone. He takes pride in himself and his accomplishments â€Å"in my youth I achieved many daring exploits† (400) and values relationships, and is willing to travel, â€Å"I have sailed here from so far†, (420) in order to help people because he is seeking to add to his fame. Unferth is afraid and jealous of Beowulf fame. Which is clearly shown when he speaks in the feasting-hall with these words â€Å"are you the Beowulf who competed with Breca, vied with him at swimming in the open sea when, swollen with vanity, you both braved the waves, r...

Does Applying Early Decision Increase My Chances?

Students with their hearts set on attending a specific college often want to know how they can increase their odds of acceptance. Will attending summer programs give them a boost? How about contacting a local alumna? We hear these questions a lot, but there’s one we hear far more often than all the others—will applying early decision increase my chances? It was previously believed that applying early decision or early action offered no significant advantage to applying regular decision at most colleges. Is this still the case? Keep reading to find out how applying early decision can impact your odds of acceptance. It’s easy enough to look up acceptance rates, and anyone who does so will notice that most schools have higher acceptance rates for early decision applicants, sometimes significantly so. To the untrained eye, this might make it seem like early decision is an easier round of admissions, but this ignores a big piece of the puzzle. Students who apply early decision might be more qualified overall than those who apply regular decision. After all, they are the students who have decided months ahead of time where they want to attend college. Maybe this also means they are the same students who have been ahead of other curves throughout their high school years. While it’s hard to find statistics about the average SAT or GPA of early decision applicant pools, it’s safe to say that students who apply early are forward thinking planners who pay close attention to detail. Could this alone account for the sometimes very large discrepancy between acceptance rates? At , we have experience working with thousands of college hopefuls and we have access to thousands of other data points gathered through our own research. While we used to believe that the higher acceptance rates of early decision programs were accounted for by more highly qualified applicants, we now believe that the difference in acceptance rates between early and regular decision cannot entirely be accounted for by differences in the applicant pool. Our data shows that applicants across the board have a higher chance of gaining acceptance when they apply through early decision, even when differences in candidate strength are accounted for. This means that the average student is more likely to get in when he or she applies early decision than when the same student applies regular decision to the same school.    Estimating your chance of getting into a college is not easy in today’s competitive environment. Thankfully, with our state-of-the-art software and data, we can analyze your academic and extracurricular profile and estimate your chances. Our profile analysis tool can also help you identify the improvement you need to make to enter your dream school. Early decision applicants are a sure thing for colleges, many of which want to accurately predict their yield. Yield is an important factor for colleges. Essentially, it is the percent of accepted students who end up enrolling. Not only is this an important factor to predict accurately for financial purposes (since a full class brings more tuition), but it is also weighed by many college rankings. Early decision applicants help a college to more accurately predict yield because they have committed to attending even before they are offered an acceptance. As Karen Richardson, the dean of undergraduate admissions and enrollment management at Tufts says, â€Å"The biggest difference between ED and students is that those who apply ED have already decided that Tufts is the place that they want to be. As the ED pool has grown and gotten stronger, it’s difficult to say ‘no’ to good students who are good fits and who have made the commitment to attend if accepted.† Richardson goes on to note that Tufts specifically does not offer Early Action, because its non-binding nature makes yield projections difficult. With so many qualified candidates now applying through early decision programs, it’s easy to see why colleges are apt to favor them. In fact, at many schools, early decision applicants are accepted at rates 10-12% higher than regular decision applicants. While it doesn’t offer as significant a boost as early decision, most early action programs still provide some admissions advantage. For Single-Choice Early Action or Restrictive Early Action programs, the admissions benefits can be around 6-8%, while for normal Early Action, the admissions benefits hover around 4-6%. While these might seem negligible, keep in mind that the overall acceptance rate at many top schools is now below 10%. A 6 point advantage can be significant when we’re talking about such low acceptance rates. Early action programs probably don’t offer as big of an advantage as early decision because they don’t offer as big of an advantage to colleges, either. Early action, even single-choice or restrictive early action, still leave room for accepted students to change their mind and attend another school. While the applicant’s demonstrated interest is still seen as an advantage to admissions committees, it isn’t as significant as the sure bet that early decision applicants represent. Of course, to every rule there is an exception, and this is no different. While most colleges do accept early decision and even early action students at higher rates, this isn’t true of all schools across the board. Most notably, the early action acceptance rate at MIT is just 6.9%, compared to the regular decision acceptance rate of 6.7%. So, while most colleges do favor early decision candidates, the degree to which this occurs varies from one school to another, and at some schools, it can even be insignificant. To learn more about optimizing your chances of getting into your top choice school, consider enlisting the help of ’s Applications Guidance service. Here, you will be paired with a personal admissions specialist from a top a college who can provide step-by-step guidance through the entire application process.

Are Marketers to Blame for Fat Kids Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Are Marketers to Blame for Fat Kids - Essay Example The researcher states that in accordance with the data of Australian health and fitness survey it identified that 11% of children’s are suffering from overweight problems. These children’s are subjected to more diseases and illness which may affect their quality of life in adulthood. Marketers cannot be blamed for fat children’s. There can be other aspects which can make a child fat one cannot blame just marketing such as parents influence, social factors etc. So parents should try to protect their children’s from having unhealthy food. Parents have vast influence on the diet of children. They are the one who shapes their diet because a child firstly learns to eat from home. Parents have more effect on the child’s diet rather than the marketers. It is believed that marketing of food contributes to the rising level of obesity in children’s, which is partly true. Obesity prevention mostly starts at school life of a child. First years of life th at is from a child age to adult age, requires continuous prevention from parents. These periods are most significant which involves rapid transactions and high plasticity and mainly parents are the one who controls child experiences and environment. The main tasks parents possess in early development points to their child potential are the key targets and likelihood of change in early preventive interventions. Mainly parent’s behavior and their feeding practices affect a Childs eating habits and risk related to obesity. They are the one who is responsible to take preventive measures in case a child becomes too fat. Social media, advertising, television etc cannot be considered as the basic reason for Childs fatness or eating unhealthy food. A report identified that 67.3% of parents are concerned about their children’s having unhealthy food. If a child is not subjected to eat unhealthy food and snacks in a home, he gets habitual of it outside in the society, school etc. because each child has different family patterns than the other. Influence of parents is also subjected to the economic status of the family, in case if the family has low income or parents are not educated, so they would be less concerned about weight-related behaviors. This means children would be watching more TV, consumption of fast food, and junk food every day. This will lead to unhealthy eating and weight problems.

History homework Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

History homework - Assignment Example 7. Overseers were responsible for supervising slaves in large plantations. Overseers were you and ambitious southern whites. Overseers were only hired by rich planters so they could relieve themselves from the duty of supervising. The rich planters used to indulge in other activities such as finance and marketing affairs while they were not supervising slaves. 8. According to historians, the relationship between the slaves and the planters was paternalistic. This means that the planters awarded slaves with food and clothing for their hard work and obedience. 9. According to George Fitzhugh, women and children had only one right and that was the right to protection. According to George Fitzhugh, the right to protection was that it was obligatory for women to obey. 10. During plantation life the southern white women had to experience the issue of miscegenation. Miscegenation refers to the number of children produced by the relationship of female slaves and their owners. This issue was very painful for the slave owner’s wives. 15. The small farmers of the southern regions were producing cash crops and cotton, they were helped by the rich farmers in their plantation activities and the rich farmers even provided them with machines for farming purposes. 16. The farmers living in the upcountry areas were not able to prosper due to their geographical location. Their means of transportation were limited and their land was not very fertile. They used to rely on production of tobacco, subsistence crop and low amount of cotton. 2. The proposition given by David Wilmot was that slavery should be prohibited in the territories obtained from Mexico; the idea was supported by Northerners. On the other hand, Southerners were against this idea. Thus, Senator Cass proposed that the new territories should decide themselves whether they want to prohibit or accept slavery. 4. The Compromise of 1850 consisted of 4 propositions, the compromise

Kathakali make up Essay Example for Free

Kathakali make up Essay Like all performing arts, Kathakali require facial make up. Professional Kathakali make up artists usually classify the make up process for Kathakali characters into five basic sets. These are the Pacha which is reserved for the mythological characters that belong to the hero Dhirodatta; Nala, Yudhishtra, Rukmangada, Arjuna and Bhimsena are just some of the characters who are treated with the Pacha make up. The next one is the Kathi or Katti which means ‘Knife’ and is characterized by the marking on the nose and forehead. Following it is the Kari which is characterized by the make up style that involves the putting of black in the face and red colors on the cheek bone complimented by the elongated black eyes like those found in characters like Ravana, Kamsa and Duryodhana. The Thaadi or Tadi is the one that refers to the beard of characters like Rakshasas and Dussasana (red beard), Vali and Sugriva which are the monkey kings and Kali (black beard), and Minukku. Female characters in Kathakali which are generally good-natured, like the Sages, Sadhus, Brahmins and Rishies, rendered with the Minukku make up, which represents the characters’ traits of spirituality, piousness, restraint, simplicity and equipoise. Make up for Kathakali is difficult, taxing, tedious and elaborate. It is difficult to make and create as it is difficult to remove too. A webindia123. com article on the make up of Kathakali characters notes how ‘it takes about four hours to wear and two to take it off’. The make up artist should be very particular with the colors since it symbolizes the emotions and the ‘gunas’ or their attributes. The make up artist should know when to make the eye appear lotus like and when to apply a square patch of black collyrium to make the character look more frightening. Looking at the performance of the Dryodana-vadham play, a section taken from the Mahabharata and conducted in the classical Kathakali way, a prospective make up artist can see not just the need for the consistency in make-up between characters who needs to appear with similarly shaded faces. In the Dryodana-vadham, two characters are featured in the performance namely Arjuna and Krishna. Both characters are wearing green base make up with white beard and reddish lips. During the play, war has broken out involving members of the same clan and Arjuna, the third of the five Pandava brothers, was the chosen leader. Arjuna is depicted as riding towards battle atop his war chariot. He is accompanied by Krishna who serves as his driver. They stop to look out over the enemy and Arjuna was distressed to see many of his relatives in the enemy chariots. Because of this, he tries to stop the battle. Arjuna is the one wearing the gold and red adorned circular head dress while Krishna is the one wearing the silver-hued head gear. From the dancing of the characters, their elaborate bodily movements and the sometimes severe heat brought about by the spotlight when performing inside a poorly air-conditioned theater, it is clear that the make up should be done perfectly so that it will hold and not melt or disintegrate throughout the performance. A Chouttikkaran can guide a make up artist in putting make up. The Chouttikkaran is tasked with this along with his other tasks since he has an active role in both the training stage and the performing stage. There are several characters in a Kathakali plays and all of them deserves different make-up treatment. There are characters in Kathakali play that portray men who are endowed with positive attitudes like piousness, or Satvik, and majestic, kingly air or Rajasic. For this particular type of character in the play, a make up which is predominantly green is expected. Acting as adversaries to these kinds of men are equally kingly and majestic male characters but is endowed with what is called a ‘tamasic’ characteristic. This means that these characters are those who are possessing evil characteristics in the play, and to be able to distinguish them from the pious, kingly men, those who have evil inclinations in the play like Ravana who is the popular demon king in Kathakali plays are colored with a very dose of red applied over a green background. But the mark of the true evil is found in the Chuvanna Thaadi or the Red Beard, the characters in Kathakali which is adorned by a very heavy red make up along with a red beard. Kathakali plays also features other characters aside from those mentioned earlier. Some other Kathakali characters include the uncivilized hunters Kari/ Karutha Thaadi or the black beard. The required make-up for these characters is usually characterized by a heavy black base complimented by a black beard. Kathakali plays also feature women characters, and for these women characters, the typical predominantly yellow make up on the face is required. For characters like the Monkey God Hanuman and the Sun God Pazhuppe, make up artists decorate the faces of the individuals portraying these characters by using a white beard or Vella Thadi to indicate their roles and characteristics. Aside from the colors of the make up particularly in the face, a Kathakali play also requires its make up artists to be knowledgeable in the enhancements of several facial parts of the different characters which adds depth and personality in every character. Some of the common facial parts that require elaborate exaggeration and enhancement include the moustache and the nose. The teeth are also exaggerated as some characters require appearing bearing fangs protruding from the mouth. The chin is another important aspect of the facial make up and design since the beards of the characters are supremely important in the successful portrayal of innate characteristics of each Kathakali persona. Make up artists craft a chutti or a chine mask for the characters, and this is one aspect of Kathakali make up that requires a very thick application of make up as well as other facial attachments. The usual way for the making and application of the chutti requires the make up artist to create a series of white ridges starting and developing evenly from both parts of the chin until it reaches the cheek. The stress of applying the makeup on the actors takes its toll on both the actors and the make up artists as well. Because of this, the make up artist and the actor / actress are expected to be truly dedicated to the performance of the Kathakali for them to be able to endure such stress. Stress generally results from the fact that first, Kathakali make up is usually long, the quickest procedure finished after three hours. The long work usually strains the muscles involved in the delicate and precise application of the make up. Some artists experience strain in the muscles found in the eyes, the lower back and the arms. The eyes are strained because for hours, the eyes are generally focused on the detail of the make up on the face as it develops. Actors are usually lying on a sleeping position, making it impossible for make up artists to sit down while providing the make up. They instead spend the entire time putting the make up on the character standing up and moving around as they decorate the face from one side to the other, straining the back. Make up artists are usually expected to be ambidextrous, meaning they can use both hands with equal results. This is important in applying make up especially if the process takes a long period of time like in Kathakali since this allows for the other arm to rest. Using just one arm in applying the make up can tire the make up artist faster. Another reason for the build up of stress is the need to combat fatigue. Fighting off tiredness and fatigue especially during the long and tedious hours of putting make up for Kathakali characters so that the focus on detail and make up aesthetics is constant can build up stress since the body is not relaxed anymore. Five main colors are very noticeable in Kathakali character’s make up, and these colors are designated because they represent the characters’ ethos. Green is the representation of the character’s ‘Sattivika’ nature, or the characteristic of the character to be pious and god-fearing. Red is the representation of the character’s ‘Rajasic’ nature, which refers to the disposition of being violent and totally ambitious. The ‘Tamasic’ nature is represented with the use of the color black, which is commonly used to refer to persons with evil personalities, although this is not always the case since sometimes it is also the color used to represent characters in the Kathakali which are aborigines as well as off-beat characters. Example of which is the character Kirata, who is actually Siva disguised as hunter. Yellow is the representation of the passivity of the characters, which is why it is commonly found in women characters in Kathakali. Yellow is also the similar coloring of other characters in the story like Narasimha, the Lion-God, the yellow hue used for the make up of the character representing adbhuta or wonder. White is the representation of the spirituality of the character. White is the basic make up of Hanuman and other half-human gods in the Kathakali which are characterized as benign sometimes and ferocious in other times. The make up in Kathakali plays is characterized by the use of vibrant and wide range of colors, and this is because colors in the face of the characters are generally symbolic as these colors indicate who they are and what the characters’ particular characteristics are. These colors indicate whether they are male (the use of pacha or green color in the face) or female (for female, the face make-up is usually that of yellowish tone, but aside from the yellow hue, female characters also wear black and red make up colors on their face, including the character Surpanaka of the Ashuras), human or god (god characters are assigned with the white beard) and good or evil (like the use of the red color in the face of Ravana and the and the uncivilized hunters who are considered as evil in the play).

Cyber Squatting and Domain Speculation †A Global perspective :: Argumentative Persuasive Internet Essays

Cyber Squatting and Domain Speculation – A Global perspective Introduction and definitions ‘Cyber squatting’ has become an increasing source of annoyance and problem in the internet world. Apart from some of the other issues such as internet security, hacking and frauds, which usually occur after going online, ‘Cyber Squatting’ is the first major problem faced by any company well before they even setup an internet web site. Before moving on to the various issues, it is often unclear of what ‘Cyber Squatting’ actually is. Simply put, cyber squatting means the registration of a domain name in violation of a trademark or business name or other intellectual property of its owners. This includes the registration of a name deceptively similar to such business name or trademark. Usually, domain squatters register these domains before the company does and offer these domain names to such business houses at a premium 1. U.S. Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Judge Berle M. Schiller defined cyber-squatting or cyber-piracy as the "deliberate, bad-faith, and abusive registration of Internet domain names in violation of the rights of trademark owners.† 2. Using this definition put forward by Judge Berle some of the major cyber squatting problems, that directly violate the trademark of corporation, has been solved. But another increasing problem is the issue of Domain Speculation. Another practice that sometimes, and misleadingly, is called cyber-squatting is domain speculation: the registering of domain names based not on recognized brands but on generic terms (e.g. crocodile.com, homes-for-sale.com, cheapflowers.com). Speculators register generic domain names in the hope that a company will wish to buy a particular name for its own commercial use2. Current problems Going back to the problem of cyber squatting we can refer to a much earlier case in China. This was the time when Chinese corporations did not enjoy the protection of the law against cyber squatters. In the past few years, many cyber squatters registered the names of many famous Chinese companies in domain registrars in countries such as the United States. As a result, these Chinese companies were forced to pay large sums to 'reclaim' their domain names. For example, cyber squatters registered the domain name 'kelon.com'. The Chinese company that owned the trademark 'KELON' paid RMB1 million to reclaim the domain name from the cyber squatter3 In this case we can see that the only way Chinese companies could resolve the issue was to either pay large sums of money to the domain squatter or just get another domain.

Candide by Voltaire Essay

Through Candide’s perplexing adventures and enlightening encounters, Voltaire illuminates the numerous diverse cultures of which Europeans consider themselves superior. Yet rather than supporting the foreign practices of cannibalism, bestiality, and the abolishment of priests, Voltaire is ridiculing the Europeans’ own methods of torture in an abusive social hierarchy. Therefore, while freedom of expression and a consensus of the majority constitute faucets of good behavior, the European practice of elitist rule and inequitable punishments is revealed as unjust. This criticism suggests the need for reform by deriving authority from somewhere other than the traditional roles of the royalty, clergy, and nobility, a rather radical move at the time. Voltaire at first reveals the fault of Europeans through his description of the savage land of Oreillon. Upon their dissent from Paraguay, Candide and Cacambo come across two women, completely nude, who cry out and â€Å"spryly† run away from two monkeys who snap â€Å"at their buttocks† (73). Instantly sympathetic, Candide shoots his musket and kills the monkeys, thinking that he has redeemed himself from earlier sins by saving these distressed women. However, to his surprise he discovers that he has just killed the ladies’ lovers. Without questioning the practices of this foreign society, Candide reacts based on his own perceptions of right and wrong. His actions reflect the naivety of Europeans concerning what is thought to be normal based on their own â€Å"superior† culture. As punishment for Candide’s rash actions, the Oreillons attempt to roast the travelers over a spit to eat, justifying this through the proclamations that Candide and Cacambo are Jesuits and thus deserve to die. This behavior is explained by Cacambo as being â€Å"appropriate† because â€Å"if we Europeans do not exercise our right to eat others, it is because we have other ingredients for a good meal† (pg. 74). He recognizes that each society contains its own equally valid practices which cannot be altered or condemned by those who think they are predominant. In addition, Voltaire is not justifying that bestiality and cannibalism constitute a righteous society, but rather satirically commenting on the Europeans own practices, for it would be hypocritical to condemn these practices without evaluating whether the European’s own forms of punishment are just. As the innocent Candide ventures to Eldorado, he is once again introduced to a land unlike that found in contemporary Europe. Upon their arrival, the travelers bewilderingly walk upon pavement made up of rubies, emeralds, and gold and rapture in the delights of a free feast at a common inn. The generous, humble citizens then guide them to an old man and, later, even the approachable king, in order to answer their many questions. Through these communicators they come to realize that the most striking aspects of the village do not constitute its physical features, but rather its ideology. They are told that all men are free, and thus there is no need for the establishment of courts, trials, or prisons. While Candide is quite baffled by these assertions which completely contrast the structured social organization of Europe, he is even more confused by the lack of priests or an enforced religion, upon which he exclaims, â€Å"What! You have no monks who lecture, debate, govern, conspire, and burn people who don’t agree with them?† (79). These seemingly sarcastic remark is a reflection of the binary thinking in which the Europeans have taught their citizens to believe. Candide had always considered the church as an institution which interjects in every aspect of life and constantly ridicules and punishes others while denying the fact that there are other practices and religions besides the order of the church and Catholicism. Voltaire is not suggesting the elimination of priests, which would be a radical idea at the time, but is rather demonstrating a deeper criticism of Europeans who assume that they are superior and must punish all those who defy this idea. Although Oreillon and El Dorado are societies completely unlike that of the Europeans in law and culture, they are seen as portraying decent human behavior because they allow their citizens to express free will and they derive authority from the consent of the masses. For instance, in Oreillon, women are allowed to mate with whomever they please without judgement or persecution from others. This freedom of expression illustrates that the culture seeks to facilitate the happiness of its people. Additionally, when the two monkeys are murdered by Candide, the leaders instantly capture and attempt to punish the travelers, reflecting the society’s dedication to protect its citizens from harm and condemn those who impinge on basic freedoms. While this culture may seem bizarre compared to more civilized nations, the fact that it derives its authority from the people illustrates that bestiality and cannibalism are enforced as appropriate human behaviors so long as there is a general consensus. Similarly, good behavior does not necessarily need to be derived from praise towards the king or daily sacrifices to a church, as portrayed in Eldorado. Unlike in Europe, the king is humble, approachable and genuinely concerned with the welfare of his citizens. For example, the feast the travelers consume at the inn is free because the state is said to assist business, thus revealing that the government is willing to contribute to the success of its people despite their class or wealth. Therefore, despite their practices, these societies emulate good behavior. However, Voltaire forms a critic of the Europeans due to the unjust practices in which they derive and maintain authority. In Candide’s hometown of Westphalia, for example, the naive Candide is exiled from the castle of the Thunder-ten-tronckh because he kissed the Baron’s daughter, Cunegonde. He was unfairly punished because he stepped out of the social hierarchy to which he was born, while Cunegonde was not disciplined for her actions due to her rank. Similarly, in places like Paris, the elites haughtily criticize their fellow man’s creations and do not hesitate to manipulate and greedily conspire against others. When Candide is led into a ploy by the despicable Abbe and arrested even though he had not committed any crimes, he is able to buy his freedom with three diamonds. The officer then exclaims, â€Å"Ah sire, even if you committed every crime imaginable, you’re still the best man in the world† (97). One’s fate depends on the inconsiderate word of the elite, one’s wealth, and the act of bribery. Since Candide had money, he was able to secure his freedom while the majority of peasants who are near penniless would have to suffer. These scenarios represent the unjust rule of the elites over the consensus of the majority. While Voltaire formulates the components of good behavior based on the legitimacy the authority derives from its citizens, he also constitutes bad behavior as punishment without just cause. For instance, when Candide and Martin arrive in Portsmouth, they view the execution of a British Admiral. The Admiral’s crime was explained in that he had stayed too far from the French enemy and that his death would encourage others to fight more fervently during war. This nonsensical behavior represents the paradox of European punishments which reduce war heros to criminals. Another such scene is presented when Candide and Pangloss reach the city of Lisbon in which a haphazard earthquake kills thirty thousand people. Faculty of a university decide that, in order to prevent another earthquake, they must â€Å"roast several persons over a slow fire†¦ They had therefore seized a man from the Basque province who had been convicted of marrying the godmother of his godchild, and two Portuguese men, who when eating a chicken, had removed the bacon seasoning† (52-53). As a manner of electing their sacrifices, they choose those who had committed even questionable offenses, though even those forms of misconduct can be viewed as unsubstantial enough to deserve punishment, much less death. While it is firstly completely unreasonable to attribute a natural phenomenon to personal actions, Voltaire goes so far as to satirically illustrate that this is a commonsense European belief, for both offenses appear inconsequential to the victims’ punishment. Meanwhile, most Europeans would be disgusted with the culture of the Oreillons who engage in cannibalism after enacting a punishment. However, Candide’s death penalty after murdering two of its citizens is a much more equitable offense in terms of its punishment than removing bacon seasoning from chicken, such as in Europe. Furthermore, once a body has been burnt, it seems inconsequential whether it is eaten or not. Voltaire is thus able to portray the irony as well as the unjust nature of European punishments as a bad behavior of society. The figures of the time who would be most notably perturbed by Voltaire’s suggestions constitute the royalty, the nobility, and the clergy. Firstly, for centuries the royalty had uncontestedly derived authority through lineage and from claims to divine right. Candide’s embrace with the King of Eldorado would probably be perceived as strange because the royalty was considered far above the common people in class, stature, and rights, and thus did not need the consent of its citizens to govern. Thus, the monarchy would be opposed to Voltaire’s ideas because they undermine his authority. This is reflected in eighteenth century Europe when the National Assembly made a radical move by sending Louis XVI to the guillotine as a symbol of the growing dissatisfaction of the peasants and workers. Secondly, the nobility consisted of a small number of elites who mainly derived their elevated status from patronage. Voltaire’s view of this social class, at least in Paris, is illustrated in the abode of Marquise de Parolignac, in which these morose intellectuals portray that their sole interests are to spread slander, hypocritically belittle art, and greedily take advantage of Candide’s treasures. Similarly to the monarchy, Voltaire’s proposal that society’s values and laws should be supported by the consensus of the masses was a scandalous assertion because it would undermine the power of the elites and force them to surrender their privilege. Finally, the clergy’s word penetrated all aspects of life in eighteenth century Europe while Religious Orthodoxy formed local allegiances and bound communities together by preaching sacred traditions. However, it can also be said that the institutions of the church hypocritically valued their own self-preservation over educating the masses. Therefore, these religious authorities would not consent in being forced to adhere to stricter laws by having to give proper, legitimate reasons as a means to punish nonbelievers or delinquents of the church. Despite these opponents, Voltaire suggests a need for reform by deriving authority from somewhere other than the norm. Although European society appears far more advanced than that of the savages and more structured than Eldorado, that does not necessarily determine that its laws and people are superior. In fact, Voltaire constitutes good behavior in a society as something that has been consented upon by its people, while bad behavior derives from unjust punishment and the dangerous rule of elites. Voltaire thus forms a critic of Europeans through comparisons to these foreign lands and furthermore questions whether a reformation of authority is a necessary means to benefit society. Source Voltaire. Candide. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 1999.

The Wisdom of Crowds

The Smartest People May Not be as Smart as a Crowd, but Who can Find a Smart Crowd? In The Wisdom of Crowds, author James Surowiecki contends that the â€Å"smartest people† are often not as smart as a group of individuals formed under the right circumstances (XIII). Surowiecki backs up his claim by giving numerous real life examples of crowds that meet the criteria of having diversity of opinion, independence, decentralization and aggregation, and have proven to be smarter than almost any one individual in the group.Surowiecki has proven that he has a strong case for his theory of smart crowds but the exclusivity of this group of people has me wondering just how easy it is to identify or form such a group for practical purposes if no expert is available to mitigate a situation. I feel that such ability would take practice and an increase in awareness to master, but still, I do believe it can be done by almost anyone.Without addressing the specific argument of the reasonable e ase of any one person being able to form a smart crowd, Surowiecki does provide a persuasive example in favor of my theory when he tells the story of the missing submarine Scorpion in May 1968. With no experts immediately available, naval officer John Craven assembled a group of men with a wide range of knowledge and asked them to submit their best guess on questions about the submarine’s disappearance from a variety of scenarios he concocted (XX).The result of his survey was a calculation of the answers that led to a location found to be only 220 yards away from where the submarine was found five months after it disappeared (XXI). Craven did this on the fly and without the help of any of the â€Å"smartest people† and found a better solution than any one expert ever did. Although an expert like Surowiecki finds it easy to identify examples of a wise crowd, I had to ask myself if I could do the same.I found myself thinking back to when I had been placed on a committee at work whose goal it was to come up with a good solution on how to integrate personnel from different departments on a volunteer basis only. On this committee were two representatives from each respective department (filling the diversity of opinion and decentralization requirements) and one Supervisor sent to guide the group.As a group, we developed several possible solutions to this issue and were sent back to our departments to deliberate on our own as to what we thought was the right course of action so that we could come to a decision at our next meeting. By the next meeting it was found that the majority of us had independently decided that by allowing employees the most freedom, by way of being able to travel to any department they liked, we would get the most participation through volunteerism.We were soon overrided by the supervisor and told the most beneficial way to go about it was to narrow the option down to only allow travel to one department where it was believed tho se who did volunteer would potentially learn the most; this is the option that was adopted. Over the next few months, employees were allowed the opportunity to travel to the specified department, and few took advantage of it. It was soon after decided, by a group of supervisors, that in order to get better participation employees should be allowed to travel to which ever department they liked and by allowing this freedom they did receive more participation.What this proved to me, was that our small group of independently thinking people were able to identify a solution that the employees saw as a correct one and that the smart person in the group, counting on his expertise, forced our hand in a less desirable direction. Despite the smart person taking over our group, I can say with confidence that I was indeed part of a wise crowd. Since I consider myself an amateur at developing or identifying a wise crowd, and Surowiecki an expert, I next sought a source I deemed to be novice to s ee what imput they could they could offer on my theory.My sister Abby and her husband Carlos are owners of a boutique custom cake and cupcake shop called Nadia Cakes, and last year they decided to expand their business from California to another state; in July they drove across the country in search of the perfect place to open their new shop. They stopped in several states, casually talked with local communities and surveyed surrounding areas before coming to the tentative solution that Minnesota was in need of a custom cake and cupcake shop and would be a great place to call home.In an effort to make as informed a decision as possible, they decided to do market research in the form a survey in the community they had identified as a promising location. They chose two different shopping centers they were considering for their store and surveyed 100 shoppers in each. The shoppers were asked multiple questions during the survey including where they usually buy cakes, and if a boutique cake and cupcake shop were to open in the area how likely they would be to purchase cakes there.Through this diverse, independent crowd who drew on their local knowledge, they were able to aggregate the information they collected and learned which shopping center would be best for their business and that the community was highly in favor of a shop like theirs opening in the area. The information my sister and her husband collected led them to move to Minnesota where they have had an overwhelming response from the community even though it will be several months more until the shop opens.In just the two months they have been there they have been featured live on CBS, Fox and NBC morning shows and their following on their Facebook Advertising page for Minnesota has risen to 2,000. And if that isn’t enough proof that the crowd was right, the fact that they can hardly keep on top of all of the future cake and cupcake orders pouring in via Facebook and email is. Although I still s truggle to identify a wise crowd on my own, I am happy that I was able to identify these few examples from an expert, novice and beginner, and am confident that others can as well.My experience with the wise crowd at work was a strong example to me of how anyone can be involved in one and good evidence that the smartest person isn’t always right. My sister is simply a small business owner with good work ethic and without even knowing it, created her own wise crowd with great results and no need for an expert. Surowiecki is surely correct that the smartest people aren’t always right and his method to finding a solution without them is certainly valid in my book. Works Cited Surowiecki, James. The Wisdom of Crowds. New York: Random House, 2005. Print

Free Essays on Majiruana

Marijuana should be legalized. Drug use is a major influential force in today’s world. The problem is so out of hand that many options are being considered to control it or even solve it. While ending the drug war is almost impossible, legalization of marijuana should be an option that should be considered to ease the burden. Although many people believe that making marijuana legal would increase the amount of use, Marijuana should be legalized because it will reduce the great amount of money spent on the related law enforcement and there are many benefits to be considered especially in pain reduction for the terminally ill. Legalizing marijuana would increase our country’s revenue. Marijuana should be taxed heavily. Marijuana and other drugs would be made by the same people who make aspirin so the quality would be assured, containing no poisons. These could be taxed heavily because the users would be assured of â€Å"clean drugs†. Making marijuana legal will reduce the great amount of money spent on enforcement each year. Drug dealers and users are one step ahead of the enforcement process. If a drug dealer is caught another will show up somewhere else. Do you think it is possible to win? Too much money is wasted on a cause that seems to have no end. All of this money could be spent on better things. By lifting the ban on Marijuana use and treating it like other drugs such as tobacco & alcohol, Australia as well as the rest of the world would gain immediate long-term benefits. This change in the law would improve the quality of life for many people. Victims of alaucoma & those needing anti-nausea treatment, for example would find marijuana easily available. Many drugs are bad for certain people to take and they should be told why in a sensible way. It might be possible to discuss the dangers of marijuana use without getting caught in the debate. Meanwhile the black market would disappear almost over night. Some arrangements ... Free Essays on Majiruana Free Essays on Majiruana Marijuana should be legalized. Drug use is a major influential force in today’s world. The problem is so out of hand that many options are being considered to control it or even solve it. While ending the drug war is almost impossible, legalization of marijuana should be an option that should be considered to ease the burden. Although many people believe that making marijuana legal would increase the amount of use, Marijuana should be legalized because it will reduce the great amount of money spent on the related law enforcement and there are many benefits to be considered especially in pain reduction for the terminally ill. Legalizing marijuana would increase our country’s revenue. Marijuana should be taxed heavily. Marijuana and other drugs would be made by the same people who make aspirin so the quality would be assured, containing no poisons. These could be taxed heavily because the users would be assured of â€Å"clean drugs†. Making marijuana legal will reduce the great amount of money spent on enforcement each year. Drug dealers and users are one step ahead of the enforcement process. If a drug dealer is caught another will show up somewhere else. Do you think it is possible to win? Too much money is wasted on a cause that seems to have no end. All of this money could be spent on better things. By lifting the ban on Marijuana use and treating it like other drugs such as tobacco & alcohol, Australia as well as the rest of the world would gain immediate long-term benefits. This change in the law would improve the quality of life for many people. Victims of alaucoma & those needing anti-nausea treatment, for example would find marijuana easily available. Many drugs are bad for certain people to take and they should be told why in a sensible way. It might be possible to discuss the dangers of marijuana use without getting caught in the debate. Meanwhile the black market would disappear almost over night. Some arrangements ...

Project management db5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Project management db5 - Essay Example The engineering team deals with product development and production processes and not product launch and this identifies poor audience visualization (Guffey and Almonte, 2009). Poor audience visualization is also evident from the fact that the audience lacked interest in the presentation and this led to conflict at the initial stages of the presentation. Terry could have better prepared for the presentation through audience profiling and through adequate response to the profiling (Guffey and Loewy, 2010). He could have identified appropriate message to the engineering team such as the team’s previous success in products’ development and possible need for improvement, and specific features that may be successful in the market. He should have also anticipated the team’s possible negative response and used communication skills to captivate the audience. Terry could have handled the questions by moderating them to respond to a question at a time, or by convincing the audience to wait until the end of the presentation (Krizan, Merrier and Logan, 2010). After Terry left the room, the project manager should assume the responsibility of bridging the created gap between the marketing team and the engineering team in order to foster future collectivity. In order to get the engineering group’s buy in, I would be sensitive to possible difference between the group and my marketing group and understand strategies for overcoming challenges from the differences (Karmakar, 2012). This would ensure an understanding and increase chances of getting the buy

Comparing and contrasting poems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Comparing and contrasting poems - Essay Example On the other hand, Claude McKay was born in another century, in 1890. He was a Jamaican who immigrated to America at the age of twenty three. Claude McKay is famous for his more of a renegade style that talks about liberation and equality for the oppressed minorities of America. While Morales’ poem instigates your mind to realize and acknowledge the ethnic and racial diversity in America, McKay’s poem truly brings forth the Harlem Renaissance where he embraces and denounces America at the same time. Hence, both poems are similar because of the immigrant blood both poets possess, yet different in the way they deal with this. The form of â€Å"Child of the Americas† and â€Å"America† by Morales and McKay respectively, differs. â€Å"Child of the Americas† has a very ambiguous form that also depicts the confusion of the poet. The first stanza is composed of eight lines while the following two are of six lines each. The poem ends with a single, sure line that comes after a couplet. â€Å"America,† on the other hand, is written in the format of a sonnet with three quatrains and a concluding couplet. Both poets although squabbling with the entity that is America, are proud of who they are. Their American identity as a colored person is something they cherish and acknowledge. While Morales speaks â€Å"English with passion,† McKay loves â€Å"this cultured hell.† McKay opines that although life in America is tough especially when one has to face segregation on the basis of race, he still loves this country because it makes him grow tough and resilient. And although it is a huge country compared to his smallness or the minority of his race, but still it makes him strong enough to be a rebel and stand up to its oppression. Morales and McKay are similar in their poetic expression: Morales has used the impersonation technique to symbolize different ethnicities as an American whereas Claude McKay has personified America as almost equivalent to a