What Was Ambrose s View On Free Will And Grace - 1507 Words

What was Ambrose’s view on free will and grace? Prior to the Augustine and Pelagian war on free will versus grace, there was a Milan bishop with not quite clear beliefs, but a definite point of view. Many believe Saint Augustine of Hippo was highly influenced by Saint Ambrose of Milan and would therefore assume an exact belief correlation, though it does not seem quite true. Augustine would argue that humans are flawed and dependent. Within his book On Grace and Free Will, Augustine states, â€Å"So now let us see what are the divine testimonies concerning the grace of God, without which we are not able to do any good thing.† (On Grace and Free Will 1.7) Opposing Augustine is Pelagian who would argue that humans are radically free and can achieve perfection through that of â€Å"good works.† In the same book by Augustine it is stated, â€Å"Pelagian argued that God’s grace is given according to our merits.† (On Grace and Free Will 1.10) Ambrose neve r wrote regarding free will and grace but one can closely analyze his writings in attempt to determine a belief. Before discussing the concepts regarding free will it is first vital to understand the meaning of the term. Free will involves the ability and potential for one to be saved by God through good works; a concept found numerous times within the writings of Ambrose. It is clear that Ambrose believes people must do good in order to experience salvation. In De Officiis, Ambrose states, â€Å"He will be our judge, whom hidden things do notShow MoreRelatedThe Birth Of The Monastic Movement Affect Augustine s Thinking About Marriage1020 Words   |  5 Pagesthe confessions †¢ Monica- Augustine’s mother and a devoted Christian †¢ Adeodatus- He was a â€Å"gift from God† and was very unhappy when he lost his partner after 13 years †¢ Manicheism- a new religion, Augustine became part of this religion when he was about 20 years old. †¢ Elect- Special people were vegetarians and are certain fruits and vegetables. †¢ Hearers- People that were forbidden from the Elects. †¢ Ambrose of Milan- a Christian bishop and also a provincial governor. †¢ Donatists- were the opponentsRead MoreSummary : The Emperor Trajan 2012 Words   |  9 Pagescommunity within the Roman province of Bithynia. This ancient document provides what David Music calls, one of the earliest post-New Testament references to Christian singing. Certainly, the Old Testament, and New Testament point to the practice as well, (2 Samuel 22:1-51, Matthew 26:30), indicate that the expression of song has consistently operated at the heart of the liturgical, communal, and devotional life of God s people. In fact, without the utterance of song, religious worship becomes sterileRead MoreAn Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge By Ambrose Bierce Essay1499 Words   |  6 Pagesnarrative structure in Ambrose Bierce’s â€Å"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge†, if to be fully understood requires and deserves a vast amount of attention to detail. Once the narrative structure behind the plot is acknowledged and comprehended, only then can the story truly be ju stified for what is it is: a complex, multi-layered and cleverly deceiving story. The amount of detail put into creating Peyton’s fantasy, whilst still subtly keeping in touch with his harsh reality, is what makes the story so engaging;Read More Women, Beauty and Self-Esteem Essay5143 Words   |  21 PagesAmbrose Bierce (1958) once wrote, â€Å"To men a man is but a mind. Who cares what face he carries or what he wears? But woman’s body is the woman.† Despite the societal changes achieved since Bierce’s time, his statement remains true. Since the height of the feminist movement in the early 1970s, women have spent more money than ever before on products and treatments designed to make them beautiful. Cosmetic sales have increased annually to reach $18 billion in 1987 (â€Å"Ignoring the economy. . . ,† 1989)

Business Cycle Free Essays

Tanzania Business Cycle. Tanzania is one of the poorest countries in the world. According to the United Nations’ data approximately 36% of the global population (43. We will write a custom essay sample on Business Cycle or any similar topic only for you Order Now 7 million people) lives below the poverty line. This signifies that the per capita income of Tanzania is relatively low. The Tanzanian economy depends highly on agriculture, which makes up 40% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), provides 85% of exports and employs about 80% of the labour force. The remaining 20% is employed either in tourism, construction, mining or the service sector. Although agriculture has boosted Tanzania’s economy, hurdles still exist due to the poor infrastructure of the country. However, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), together with private foreign companies are adopting measures to develop the country in order raise its GDP, and have a sustainable growth rate. (Roubin Global Economics 2012). The business cycle represents four phases that the economy of a country goes through over a period of time, moving away from it actual growth trend as suggested by Grant 2000. These include a) depression, b) recovery, c) boom and d) recession. The graph (1) in Appendix A shows, how a economy moves through the four stages, moving away from the actual growth trend. At each stage the economic activities and the total output produced by the economy fluctuate. In addition to that, at each stage the macro economic variables, which include inflation and unemployment, also fluctuate. The wealth of the country also fluctuates at each stage signifying that at each phase of the business cycle the level of consumption, investment, government expenditure, exports and imports fluctuate. (Gant 2000). Below the graph represents Tanzania’s business cycle from 1960 to 2011. The graph represents the four phases of the business cycle according to Tanzania’s economy, also represents how the economy moves away from its actual growth trend. Graph 1: Bigsten and Danielsson(2011) This essay will firstly describe Tanzania’s progress through the four economic phases over the time frame of 1960-2011. Thereafter it will discuss how the various macro economic variables fluctuate during each stage. In particular, this essay will focus on the macro economic variables of unemployment, inflation, investment, output growth (including the components of aggregate demand and supply) and will also consider exports. Depression is the period that falls between recession and recovery. This is the period when the economy faces high rate of unemployment, negative net investment, low levels of exports and falling demand for consumer goods and services, as well as capital goods. (Grant 2000) This is the period when the output level falls over a period of time and the economy of the country is at the lowest level of growth. This implies that the aggregate demand for commodities produced will be relatively low. At this stage the economy will experience a negative growth rate, thus the country will not experience economic development. Instead the country will experience poverty as the circular flow of income in the economy is at a minimum. (Grant 2000) As shown in the graph above, according to the Tanzania economic business cycle, it shows that during the period of independence in 1960’s, the economy experienced a negative growth rate of -4. 2% and had a per capita income rate of 7. 1%. In addition to this the inflation rate was relatively high at 7. 8% as stated by Bigsten and Danielsson (2011). The situation in which the rate of inflation is relatively high and the country’s growth rate is negative is known as hyperinflation. Hyperinflation occurs when the economy highly depends on imports and the country’s currency has lost its value. (Investopedia 2012). This occurred because Tanzania had just been freed from the colonial British rule and, had been taken over by the father of the nation, J. K. Nyerere. The country therefore had to adopt various reform policies in order to boost the economy. (Bigsten and Daneelsson (2011)). By the early 1980’s Tanzania was heading to an economic crisis, due to the war between Uganda and Tanzania, which climaxed in1978. (EISA2010). During this period of warfare, Tanzania faced a reduction in its exports. In addition to this, there were low levels of investment and low levels of production, which decreased the consumption level in the economy. All these factors led to a fall in the aggregate demand and supply in Tanzania. The negative growth also caused the Tanzanian Shilling to depreciate by 25% in 1984, where the wages level decline, thus implying there was a high rate of unemployment, together with that the inflation rate was at 40%, as can be seen on the graph (2) in appendix A. (EISA 2010). According to Rutasita 2004, the high rate of inflation occurred due to the depreciation of the Tanzanian Shilling, which was brought about by the situation of hyperinflation as the currency lost it value. The effect of this on the country was vast as there was a great dependency on imported products that included oil. Tanzania therefore fell into deep economic crises mainly due to the oil price shock, the war between Uganda and Tanzania; fall in exports and the depreciation of the local currency. (Noni 2011) Recovery is the period between depression and boom. This is the period in an economy when reforms occur which tends to boost consumption levels, increase production, increase net investment, increase inflation rates and decrease unemployment rate. Overall, during recovery period the government implements various reform policies, in order to boost the economy and have a positive stable growth in terms of the GDP growth rate (Grant 2000). According to the Tanzanian growth cycle, Tanzania has adopted several reform policies, to allow the economy to have a stable growth rate that would eventually lead to its peak period. Soon after its independence from British rule, as suggested by Noni (2011), Tanzania established commercial banks in November 1970,with the main aim to facilitate investment by providing medium and long term loans, in order to boost up the economy of the country, through the industrial sector. Tanzania however, is said to have a growth rate of 4. 2% after 1986 through the reform policy on macro stability (Shanghai Poverty Conference). In addition to this, in order to reform the economy, the Tanzanian government adopted various policies to reduce the poverty level in the county. Between the 1994 and 2002, through the adaptation of the policy, the level of poverty reduced by 28%. The rate of inflation reduced from 30% during the 1980’s and early 1990’s to a single digit in the late 1990’s, as seen in the graph (2) on Appendix A. As suggested by Shanghai Poverty Conference, the introduction of various policies by Tanzania boosted the economy, as it created new investment, both private and foreign direct. The policy also created employment began to expand the economy. The reforms also improved the balance of payment, which stabled the exchange rate to allow the inflation rate to reduce to a single digit in 1999 being 7. 9%, as the economy was less dependent on the imported productions, and also because of the improvement in balance of payment the shillings gained value, thus stabilizing the economy to a certain level (Rutasitara 2004). This implies that overall production level to increase, which signifies that the aggregate demand for the products’ production would also increase, bring an overall increase in the consumption level. Thus the country has experienced a steady rate of economic growth over the time frame of 1962 to 1976, 1984 to 1995 and finally from 1998 to 2011. The fact that the country’s overall economy has been growing signifies a steady flow of money circulation in the Tanzanian economy. Boom is the period in the economy that comes after recovery and before recession. During this stage of the business cycle, goods and services are at high demand. Also there is a high import and export rate, the inflation rate is relatively high and employment is at the peak. This stage of the economy is when production is at its highest level and thus the expectation of profit is relatively high. (Grant 2000) Referring to the graph above, between the years 1960 and 2011, the Tanzanian economy has been recovering showing a significant growth overall in the economy. Tanzania experienced a significant growth rate in 1966 when the growth rate peaked to 12. 8% (ESED International). Thereafter, the economy has also peaked from the year 2000 to 2011, with an average growth rate of 6. 6%, over a period of 11 years. During this period the average inflation rate was 7. 25% (ESDE International). During this period Tanzania had found natural resources including gold and natural gases which has led to the development of its infrastructure. The industrial sector grew by 9. 2% in 2007, and was estimated to grow by 10% in year 2008, as suggested by Campbell and Christie (2010). Tanzania also showed a great improvement in 2010, performing well in foreign exchange reserves tourism sector. The country has collected $3. 7 billion reserves by September 2012 (The Citizen 2010). Furthermore, the country has taken various measures to improve its growth, as stated by Business Development Gateway (2012). For example, in the year 2010, there had been more development under private sectors, which benefit the investors, and allow investment to occur in the country, which would bring about employment opportunities. Overall, since the beginning of the twenty-first century Tanzania has experienced a great improvement in terms of the GDP growth rate. (Campbell and Christie 2010) Recession is the period between boom and depression. This is the period when the economic growth slows down eventually attaining a constant level in the economy. This is the phase where the rate of unemployment would rise, while the rate inflation rate would decrease. During the recession period the economy is growing but at a low rate. (Grant 2000). According to the graph above, Tanzania’s economy faced a recession during the year 2008. This occurred due to the global financial crises of 2008 that originated from the United States of America caused a general fall in the level of output. This effected Tanzania’s economy as this caused fuel prices to increase, which led to an increase in price in all the sectors of Tanzania’s economy, causing poverty to increase. According to Ngowi (2010), the crises mainly affected the low income earns countries (such as Tanzania) as they are highly financially dependent on the developed nations. Furthermore, due to the financial crises, according to Ngowi (2010) the growth rate predicted by Tanzania reduced from 7. 8% to 7. 5%, in 2008. The investment level also decreased by 10%, together with the level of exports reduced by 44% in cotton industry, 30% in the tourism industry and 50% in the coffee industry. The reduction in all the main economic activities of the country caused the growth rate of the country to decrease. The average inflation rate over the period 2009 to 2011 was 8. 2% (ESDS International). Overall the consumption of in the economy reduced considerably. The financial crises of 2008 did effect the economy of Tanzania, but not at a vast level, as stated by Ngowi (2010). In conclusion this essay has discussed the four phases of a business cycle, showing how an economy of a country (Tanzania) moves through the four stages over a period of time. Overall, Tanzania’s economy has been stable since the country redeemed its independence from British rule However according to president Kikwete (2011), the government has come up with a 5-year government plan in order to ameliorate the country’s economy to a middle income country, with an average GDP growth rate of 8% for next 5 years and targeted growth rate of 10% from 2016 to 2025. Appendix A Graph 1 Graph 1: Google image, the business cycle. Graph 2 Graph 2: ESDS Data Change in inflation rate on27th July 2012. REFERENCE 1. Bigsten A. , Danielsson A. (1999) â€Å"Is Tanzania an emerging economy? A report for the OECD project†Emerging Africa†Ã¢â‚¬ . [Online]. Available at: http://www. investmentcompact. org/dataoecd/40/30/2674918. pdf [Accessed on: 12th July 2012]. 2. Business Development Gateway (2009) Your Gateway to Business success; Fanikiwa ki-Biashara. Available at: http://www. bdgtpsf. com/ [Accessed on: 12th July 2012] 3. Christie T. , Campbell J. 2010) â€Å"Tanzania† [Online] Available at: http://fic. wharton. upenn. edu/fic/africa/Tanzania%20Final. pdf [Accessed on: 12th July 2012] 4. ESED (2012) The CPI % Change. Available at: http://esds80. mcc. ac. uk/wds_ifs/TableViewer/tableView. aspx [Accessed on: 12th July 2012] 5. EISA (2010) Electoral Institute for the Sustainability of Democracy in Africa: Tanzania: failure of Ujamaa (19 76 – 1986). Available at: http://www. eisa. org. za/WEP/tanoverview9. htm [Accessed on: 12th July 2012]. 6. Grant, S. J. (2000) Stanlake’s Introductory Economics. 7th edn. Harlow: Essex. 7. Google images (2012) The Business cycle. Available at: http://www. google. co. uk/imgres? q=the+business+cyclehl=ensa=Xtbm=ischprmd=imvnstbnid=jagFpjAAwB55EM:imgrefurl=http://monevator. com/investment-clocks/docid=J2v1d2NUFnqmMMimgurl=http://monevator. com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/businesscycle_1. jpgw=515h=427ei=9uIBUPyBAqbC0QXX0uCIBwzoom=1biw=930bih=440 [Accessed on: 12th July 2012] 8. Investopedia (2012)Hyper Inflation: Definition of Hyper inflation. Available at: http://www. investopedia. om/terms/h/hyperinflation. asp#axzz20XRP0LOi [Assessed: 12th July 2012] 9. Ngowi (2010) â€Å"The Current Global Economic Crisis and its impact in Tanzania†. African Journal of Business Management. 4(8) pp 1468 – 1476. [Online] Available at: http://www. academicjournals. org/AJBM/PDF/pdf2010/18July/Ngowi. pdf [Accessed on:12th July 2012] 10. Noni, P. (2011) â€Å"Implementing Successful Reforms and Transformations in DFIs: The Experience of Tanzania Investment Bank Limited†. Tanzania Investment Bank Limited. [Online] Available at: http://www. adfi-ci. org/news/Presentation_by_Mr_Noni_TIB. df [Accessed on: 12th July 2012] 11. Roubin Global economics (2012 )Tanzania: Economic profile: Back ground. Available at: http://www. roubini. com/briefings/119199. php [Accessed on 12th July 2012]. 12. Rutasitara, L. (2004) â€Å"Exchange rate regimes and inflation in Tanzania†. Africa Economic Research consortium. Paper 138 pp. 1-23 [Online] Available at: http://dspace. cigilibrary. org/jspui/bitstream/123456789/32127/1/RP138. pdf? 1 [Accessed on: 12th July 2012]. 13. Shanghai Poverty Conference Tanzania’s Economic Reforms and Lessons Learned. Online] Available at: http://info. worldbank. org/etools/docs/reducingpoverty/case/31/summary/Tanzania%20Country%20Study%20Summary. pdf [Accessed on 12th July 2012]. 14. United Republic of Tanzania Presidents office planning Commission (2011). The Tanzania five years development plan 2011/201 2 – 2015/2016. Available at: http://www. tanzania. go. tz/pdf/FYDP-2012-02-02. pdf [Accessed on 12th July 2012] 15. The Citizen (2010) â€Å"Economy on Course after global recession†. [Online] Available at: http://thecitizen. co. tz/magazines/31-business-week/6759-economy-on-course-aft How to cite Business Cycle, Essay examples

Diprotodons free essay sample

Introduction Diprotodon, meaning two forward teeth,  sometimes known as the  Giant Wombat  or the  Rhinoceros Wombat, was the largest known  marsupial that ever lived and the last of the extinct, herbivorous Diprotodontids. Diprotodon was the first fossil mammal named from Australia and one of the most well-known of the mega fauna. It was widespread across Australia when the first indigenous people arrived, co-existing with them for thousands of years before becoming extinct about 25,000 years ago. Distribution and Abundance Diprotodon is known from many sites across Australia, including the Darling Downs in southeastern Queensland: Wellington Caves, Tambar Springs and Cuddie Springs in New South Wales; Bacchus Marsh in Victoria; Lake Callabonna, Naracoorte Caves and Burra in South Australia. It is believed that Diprotodons could be found in all parts of Australia except in Tasmania. Until recently it was unknown how many species of  Diprotodon  had existed. Sir Richard Owen, a well- known palaeolontologist, studied them and gave the genus the name, Diprotodon in 1938. Wikipedia Reports 4 species : Diprotodon optatum, Diprotodon minor, Diprotodon laden, Diprotodon annextans. Timeline Evolution of the Flora The past 2 million years have been characterized by marked instability of the vegetation caused by dramatic cyclical fluctuations in climate. The remaining evergreen rainforest was further stressed. Evidence from southeastern Australia indicates that rainforest and Sclerophyll vegetation had very restricted distributions within a predominantly steppe vegetation during the cold dry periods of the ice ages. These colder conditions would have also made it easier for cold-adapted herbaceous plants from overseas to colonize Australia. By around 750,000 years ago, the vegetation had become adapted to the climatic changes. This pattern was broken within the last glacial cycle, possibly 140,000 years ago, with substantial replacement of the remaining rainforest and fire-sensitive sclerophyll vegetation by fire-tolerant communities, especially those dominated by eucalypts. This change was accompanied by significant increases in charcoal due to an increase in burning, perhaps the result of Aboriginal activities. Effects of this increase were probably greatest during the height of the last ice age, between about 20, 000 and 10,000 years ago. Today’s plant distributions have developed only within the past 10,000 years under higher temperatures and rainfall levels and have been affected by frequent fires. The Historical Development of Fauna The development of contemporary climatic patterns in Australia – of monsoonal rains across the north, Mediterranean winter rains across the south, year-rain only on the mountain ranges of the coast, and low erratic rain inland – has had the effect of zoning the flora and fauna. Fauna Today Within the concentric faunal zones, the climatic fluctuations of the past several million years created cyclic make-and-break connections around the fringe of the continent. During cold, dry spells, the regional faunas were split and compressed into refugia and the fauna specied into isolation. When conditions ameliorated during the warmer, wetter periods between the ice ages, the isolated stocks expanded with their habitat and remet, to overlap or, if the speciation had not been completed to interbreed. In this way, rings of species formed around the periphery of the continent. Many of the refugia are self-evident from the number of endemic forms now present there. Evolution of Climate In â€Å"Pleistocene Climate Variation† compline by J. Richerson from the University of California, Richerson states that, using a variety of proxy measures of past temperature, rainfall, ice volume mostly from cores of ocean sediments, and ice caps, paleoclimatologists have constructed an increasingly detailed picture of the climate deterioration over the last few million years, culminating in the Pleistocene ice ages. The trend of deteriorating began in the mid-Miocene, about 14 million years ago. By the Pleistocene, the Earth’s temperature had dropped several degrees and the amplitude of climate variation increased. Continental ice sheets began in the middle Pleistocene about 900,000 years ago. Pleistocene environments varied gently in complex ways that presented organisms with major adaptive challenges. The glacial environments were not only colder but drier and had lower carbon dioxide content. Hence, the overall plant productivity was lower. According to time series analysts, the climate record of the past few million years is highly non-stationary. Physical features of the Diprotodon compared with the wombat Like many large living herbivores, Diprotodon was heavily built, large-bellied quadruped. It is up to 3. 8m long from head to tail and 1. 7m at the shoulder. While wombats are short-legged, muscular  quadrupeds, approximately 1m in length with a  tail  that is a mere nubbin. Diprotodons had an oversized skull, like those of other Diprotodontids, was lightweight and filled with numerous air spaces while Wombats have the most developed brain of any marsupial The skull contained four molars in  each jaw, three pairs of  upper incisors, and one pair of lower incisors. From this dentition, we can deduce that the diprotodons were herbivorous like wombats. The Diprotodons were probably browsers, rather than grazers, as their incisors enabled them to strip vegetation from branches. The molars, with their ? at surfaces, ground the food before it was swallowed. The limbs of  the Diprotodon  were sturdy and pillar-like. The upper limb bones were longer than the lower limb bones. The distinctive feet of  Diprotodon  were remarkably small for its size, and were in turned, as in wombats. At just under 4 metres in length and up to 2800 kilograms in weight, the  Diprotodon, although massive, was smaller than either a hippopotamus or rhinoceros, to which it is often compared. Unlike the Diprotdon, all four limbs of the wombat are short and powerful, the forelegs being the strongest. They also have powerful shoulders which help them dig. The hind legs are longer than the front; this can best be seen by examining a wombats skeleton. Both the front paws and the rear feet are wide and each have five digits. All digits are armed with broad claws except the first toe which is shorter than the others. The claws are long, strong, and well-designed for digging. Like all marsupials, diprotodons had a pouch. There are even bones of adult female diprotodons that are accompanied by the tiny skeletons of their joeys, which were in the pouch when their mothers died. Marsupial babies are born at a very early stage of development. Little more than embryos, they struggle through their mother’s fur to the pouch and latch onto one of the teats inside. The teat expands in their mouth, and they’re locked in place for the next few months, feeding on their mother’s milk. When the diprotodon baby outgrew the pouch, it ventured out into the wide world, keeping close to its mother and retreating to its furry refuge at the ? rst sign of danger, in much the same way as a kangaroo joey. In the case of the wombats, the pouch on the female wombat opens to the rear. This not only prevents it from filling with dirt and debris when the mother digs, it also provides greater protection to the young when the mother walks or runs as wombats have minimal ground clearance. Climate in the Pleistocene epoch and the current Climate in Australia The Pleistocene dates from 2. 88 million to 12,000 years ago before present, the era in which the Diprotodons lived. The overall climate of the Pleistocene could be characterized as continuous El Nino. Prolonged differences in Pacific Ocean surface temperatures compared with the average value define El Nino. Repeated glaciations occurred during the Pleistocnee with 30% of the earth’s surface being covered by ice at maximum glacial extent. During glacials plant productivity was lower but a high percentage of plants being tundra, shrub desert and steppe which favour herbivores like the Diprotodon. Huge volumes of water in continental ice sheets about 1500 to 3000 metres thich resulted in temporary sea levels drop of approximately 100 metres over the entire surface of the earth including Australia. Australia today experiences a relatively harsh and variable climate. Temperature ranges from above 50 degrees Celsius to well below zero unlike in the Pleistocene era. Due to the lack of mountains and the influence of surrounding oceans minimum temperatures are moderated. Rainfall patterns in Australia are highly seasonal. More than three quarters of the continent receive less than 600 mm of rainfall and less than 300 mm of rainfall is experienced in half of the continent. Northern Australia however, has heavy monsoonal rains in Summer and occasionally destructive tropical cyclones. Southern Australia enjoys a generally mild but still highly variable climate with predominantly winter rains and frequent spring and summer bushfires in the south eastern states. Australia’s tropical/ subtropical location and cold waters off the western coast make most of Western Australia a hot desert. These cold water produce moisture needed on the mainland. A 2005 study by Australia and American researchers investigated the desertification of the interior, maintain that regular burning by early settlers could have prevented monsoons from reaching interior Australia. ` Extinction Diprotodonts, along with a wide range of other Australian  megafauna, became extinct shortly after humans arrived in Australia about 50,000 years ago. Three theories have been advanced to explain the mass extinction. They are : a) Climate change Australia has undergone a very long process of gradual aridification since it split off from  Gondwanaland  about 40 million years ago. The recent  ice ages  produced no significant glaciation in mainland Australia but long periods of cold and very dry weather. This dry weather during the last ice age may have killed off all the large Diprotodons. Critics point out a number of problems with this theory. First, large Diprotodons had already survived a long series of similar ice ages, and there does not seem to be any particular reason why the most recent one should have achieved what all the previous ice ages had failed to do. Also, climate change apparently peaked 25,000 years  after  the extinctions. Finally, even during climatic extremes, some parts of the continent always remain relatively exempt: for example, the tropical north stays fairly warm and wet in all climatic circumstances; alpine valleys are less affected by drought, and so on. b) Human hunting The blitzkrieg  theory is that human hunters killed and ate the diprotodons, making them extinct. The extinctions appear to have coincided with the arrival of humans on the continent, and in broad terms,  Diprotodon  was the largest species that died out.. Recent finds of  Diprotodon  bones which appear to display butchering marks lend support to this theory. But critics of this theory regard it as simplistic, arguing that there is little direct evidence of hunting, and that the dates are too uncertain to be relied on. c) Human land management The third theory says that humans indirectly caused the extinction of diprotodonts, by destroying the  ecosystem  on which they depended. In particular, early Aborigines are thought to have been  fire-stick farmers  using fire regularly and persistently to drive game, open up dense thickets of vegetation, and create fresh green regrowth for both humans and game animals to eat. Evidence for the fire hypothesis is the sudden increase in widespread ash deposits at the time that people arrived in Australia, as well as land-management and hunting practices of modern  Aboriginal  people as recorded by the earliest European settlers before Aboriginal society was devastated by European contact and  disease. Evidence against the hypothesis is the fact that humans appear to have eliminated the megafauna of  Tasmania without using fire to modify the environment there. Although they are hotly and sometimes acrimoniously debated by specialists, few would argue that it is necessary to choose one single explanation for the extinction of many different animals in a wide range of different environments, from tropical to temperate, from desert to rainforest. The Giant Beaver Castoroides ohioensis  was a species of  the Giant beaver,  huge members  of the  family  Castoridae  (Rodentia), endemic to  North America  during the Pleistocene  epoch (1. 8  MYA—11,000 years ago) It was also the period the Diprotodons existed on the face of the Earth. However, the Diprotodons lived in parts of Australia. The Giant beaver is the largest rodent in North America and second largest in the world while the Diprotodon was the largest marsupial in the world during that time. Castoroides  ranged from Florida to the Yukon, and from New York State to Nebraska, but it has not been found outside of North America like how the Diprotodons not sighted outside of Australia. The giant wombat and the giant beaver, both lived in the Ice Age existed in the Ice Age started in the Pleistocene Period. Giant beavers seem to have preferred lakes and ponds bordered by swamps as their habitat, because their remains have been found in ancient swamp deposits so often. While Diprotodon  preferred semi-arid plains, savannahs and open woodlands, and is generally absent from hilly, forested coastal regions. These giant Ice Age beavers had a length up to 8 feet and an estimated weight of 130-220 pounds; while the giant wombats were 10 feet tall and weighed about 6000 pounds. The teeth of the giant beaver are bigger and broader, prominently ridged outer surfaces and blunt, rounded tipped incisors. Generally, the teeth were well adapted to grinding up the plants that made up the animals diet. Conversely, the giant wombats possessed four pairs of  incisors   which continued to grow throughout its life. Each of its four  molars  was high-crowned, meaning that it ate harsh types of foods. In addition, the giant beaver has short hind legs and it is assumed that its feet were also webbed. However, the giant wombat’s legs were sturdy and pillar-like; the feet were small and turned in like the wombat’s feet. The main difference between the two megafauna is that the Giant wombat had a pouch but the beaver does not due to the fact that the giant beaver is a rodent and the giant wombat a marsupial. The Giant Beaver family can be seen at its favorite haunt—around a pond where cattails and sphagnum moss grow in abundance. Unlike the beavers of today, these giants were not capable of chopping down trees as their teeth tapered to a blunt point. Their diet consisted of water plants such as cattails. However, Diprotodon  was probably a browser, feeding on shrubs and forbs. One skeleton from Lake Callabonna had the remains of saltbush in its abdominal region. Diprotodon  may have eaten as much as100 to150 kilograms of vegetation daily. Its chisel-like incisors used to root out vegetation. The giant beaver played an important role in the ecosystem perhaps by altering the soil structure and micro topography, nutrient cycling and water flows over local or regional areas. It also had dramatic effects on the growth and species composition of plant communities. The Giant Beaver impoundments affect nutrient cycles and water flow, and consequently the species richness of aquatic invertebrates, fish and riparian vegetation at local and catchment scales. Similarly, the giant wombats were important in maintaining ecosystem productivity, as native grazers and ecosystem engineers, they increase soil turnover thus impacting soil nutrition. Mechanism of evolution of Australian Animals Both  geologic  and climatic events helped to make Australias fauna unique. Australia is home to many unusual animals, bugs and creatures that are found nowhere else in the world. Australia was once part of the southern supercontinent  Gondwana, which also included South America, Africa, India and Antarctica. Gondwana began to break up 140  million years ago (MYA); 50 MYA Australia separated from Antarctica and was relatively isolated until the collision of the  Indo-Australian Plate  with Asia in the  Miocene  era 5. 3 MYA. The establishment and  evolution  of the present-day fauna was apparently shaped by the unique climate and the geology of the continent. As Australia  drifted, it was, to some extent, isolated from the effects of global climate change. The unique fauna that originated in Gondwana, such as the marsupials, survived and  adapted  in Australia. After the  Miocene, fauna of Asian origin were able to establish themselves in Australia. The  Wallace Line—the hypothetical line separating the zoogeographical  regions of Asia and Australasia—marks the tectonic boundary between the  Eurasian  and Indo-Australian plates. This continental boundary prevented the formation of land bridges and resulted in a distinct zoological distribution, with limited overlap, of most Asian and Australian fauna, with the exception of birds. Following the emergence of the circumpolar current in the mid-Oligocene  era (some 15 MYA), the Australian climate became increasingly  arid, giving rise to a diverse group of arid-specialized organisms, just as the wet tropical and seasonally wet areas gave rise to their own uniquely adapted species. Therefore, being situated a long distance from other parts of the world, and having many climatic changes throughout each part of the country, Australian animals have had to adapt to this. This has led Australia into being one continental country that boasts many unusual types of species, land and sea dwelling. Distributional patterns differ according to whether the fauna which already belonged to the Australian landmass or a fauna that immigrated. Much of the old endemic component of the fauna, dates from the time when the Australian landmass was still joined to the super-continent Gondwana. Old endemic groups show marked evolutionary diversification into different environments with numerous species and genera ranged about all corners of Australia. New immigrants show little evolutionary diversification. Most are represented by only one or two itinerant species of genera that are diverse in Eurasia. Most of the species are wide-spread in Australia or limited to the tropical north, the region in which they are arrived from Eurasia. Another distributional characteristic of the new immigrants is their common occurrence in habitats that also are recent developments in Australia. Australia was home to many giant species of animals, but evolution and hunting by the indigenous people wiped out many of the larger or giant species of kangaroo and wombats. Today we still have smaller versions of these creatures, but they are still unique to this land and habitat. Many of these strange animals cannot be found anywhere else in the world, although certain characteristics of each can be seen in animals that may be extinct

Custom Chip case Management

Introduction Custom Chip, Inc. is a manufacturing company that specializes in components and custom chips that are used in satellite transmitters, radars and radio frequency apparatus. The company was established in 1977 and has been flourishing swiftly ever since. Frank Questin, one of the managers at Custom Chip under the Product engineering department is facing a lot of challenges while trying to carry out his duties and responsibilities.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Custom Chip case: Management specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The challenges sometimes made him query his efficiency and effectiveness in accomplishing his managerial responsibilities. This paper analyses the key problems that faces Frank, Pros and cons of Frank’s managerial style, source of conflicts in different departments, advantages and disadvantages of Custom Chip organizational structure and steps that Frank should take to im prove this situation. Key problems facing Frank One of the problems facing Frank is inadequate time to accomplish his duties and responsibilities due to frequent disruption and problems brought to him by his colleagues. He lacks the time to develop a proposal that would help in resolving difficulties of documentation in manufacturing. Secondly, lack of accessibility to application engineers is another problem that faces Frank. Frank’s department has to work hand in hand with other departments to accomplish the company’s objectives. The lack of accessibility to people working in other departments leads to poor coordination of activities which eventually affects the final output of the organization. Thirdly, Frank also faces the problem of understaffing in his department. This exerts a lot of pressure on the few employees to accomplish the numerous tasks more effectively and efficiently. Pros and Cons of Frank’s managerial style According to Custom Chip case, Fran k tries to solve a number of conflicts that arise among the people in the different departments. He uses collaborative managerial style to handle and solve the conflicts. Collaborative style allows the participation of all the people involved in solving the conflict. Some of the advantages of collaborative style include trust building among team members through discussion and dialogue. The collaborative process also enables the people involved to gain access to new and superior information and ideas from each other. Furthermore, collaborative style ensures a better chance for substantive outcomes. On the other hand, collaborative style is time consuming and is likely to lead to a lot of friction among the people involved.Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Source of conflict among the different departments The major source of conflict lies in the objectives of the departme nts. The departments in Custom Chip Company include product engineering department, manufacturing department and application engineers department. Each department might compromise quality of work just to achieve their objectives. For instance, the product engineering department is responsible for improving and maintaining outputs hence they have the mandate to stop production if it is not up to standards. Stopping production may prevent the manufacturing department from achieving its objective of meeting standards of productivity and working within a time frame. Pros and cons of Custom Chip Inc.’s organizational structure Custom Chip Company operates under a functional organization structure where the organization is partitioned into the different functional areas. The different areas are headed by specialists who have authority over other employees in that function. Advantages of functional organizational structure include better departmental control due to specialization. T he structure also encourages simplified training and follows principle of career specialization. On the other hand, functional structure may lead to poor coordination between functions. Moreover, the structure might limit the growth of the organization due to overspecialization and narrow perspectives of the key staff. Furthermore, the organizational structure may encourage conflict of interest between the different functions of the company. Steps for improving Custom Chip Company Frank being the product engineering manager, he is responsible for all the employees and functions under his department. In order to improve the situation of the company, Frank should mobilize his team to coordinate with application engineering department during the design phase. The product engineers can make use of their expert knowledge to provide valuable input in order to improve the yields of new products. Moreover, Frank’s department should engage in intensive research in order to help in imp roving the end product. In addition, they should accurately document the steps of manufacturing their products, particularly those that are in high demand in order to avoid any delays.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Custom Chip case: Management specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Conclusion From the Custom Chip case, it is evident that Frank faces a lot of challenges while carrying out his duties at the company. He tries very hard to have an amicable relationship with fellow colleagues despite their disagreements every other time. In every organization especially that with functional structure, there are many activities that need proper coordination with other departments in order to be accomplished more efficiently and effectively. One or more departments may feel that their work is being sabotaged if the other does not fulfill their assigned objectives. This might lead to a lot of friction and conflict whic h in the long run might interfere with the ultimate performance of the company as a whole. This case study on Custom Chip case: Management was written and submitted by user Kailey Decker to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Review of Aristotle essays

Review of Aristotle essays There are several different types of friendship and within those types, there are different levels. One of the basic types is between the rich class and the poor class. It seems as if the wealthy need friends in order to share their possessions and belongs. After all, what good are money and material items without anybody to share them with? Those living near poverty need friends on a more desperate basis. They feel much more secure if they have friends to protect them when the road gets rough. (p. 688). When we travel about, we may see a man with many friends. Often times we tend to think of this man as well liked, or possible a noble man. This thought is derived from the amount of friends around him. For example, there are two men. One has a single friend beside him. The other has five friends around him. Most likely, we will think of the man with five friends to be more noble and well liked than the man with one friend. It is always good to have friends, after all, arent two brains better than one? However, we must watch how we chose our friends. The ideal friendship, also known as the perfect relationship, is based on love and affection. How we choose our friends is all together different. It is like the old saying, Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. If we have a real friend we wish him well for his own sake, not for the conversations sake. This type of relationship is extremely rare; it takes two of a kind with similar interests and moral beliefs to form it. The beneficial relationship between friends is one that gives enjoyment, self-gain, and goodness to one party. It is often referred to as friendship based on utility (p. 690). In other words, we receive some type of pleasure out of it. This is a very unhealthy relationship and will, in time, degrade ones status if it becomes publicly known. In critiquing Aristotles work, ...

Bringing extinct animals back to life Assignment

Bringing extinct animals back to life - Assignment Example This project involves withstanding painstaking research and consumption of large sums of money in the project. It also involves fighting back ethical issues raised by environmentalists concerning the undertakings. Novak and Brand represent the group of new generation who are passionate about having the extinct animals back in the global ecosystem. The author is biased in the way he present the project Revive and Restore as the solution to the extinction problem. The mission and vision of the organization trying to launch the de-extinction program which would ensure the extinct birds and animals are restored back into the ecosystem. The underlying value is down to giving conservation measures a different approach as well as the restoration of beauty of having those birds and animals around. However, the writer fails to address the issues that lead to extinction in the first place. The project Revive and Restore will consume a lot of funds which can be channeled to more conservation measure to guards the animals which are already being faced by extinction. In addition, the author fails to address the repercussion of the extinct animal regenerate upsetting the current ecosystem balance as they struggle to adapt themselves to an environment tat have changed over the decades. It is worth mentioning that the article present some valuable information about the importance of conservation. It highlights how human negligence over animal conservation can lead to a very expensive and time consuming reversal process. So what ought to be done to conserve the existing endangered species should be put in place to avoid the expensive and unproven de-extinction

Problem Identification Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Problem Identification - Essay Example In 2011, the World Health Organization (WHO) argued that the risk of cardiovascular disease is increased by the lack of control or detection of hypertension. In that publication, W.H.O claimed that an increase in blood pressure by 20/10 mmHg from such a level as 115/75 mmHg doubles the risk of cardiovascular disease (WHO, 2011). The eighth Joint National Commission panel (JNC 8) developed an evidence-based guideline for managing high blood pressure in adults. The guideline was captured in nine recommendations. Each recommendation shows its target age bracket, strength and the treatment intervention appropriate for the said age bracket or section of the population. The aim of the current paper is to understand whether the JNC guideline can help reduce the future risk of cardiovascular disease. Rosendorff et al (2007) reckon that hypertension is a major independent risk factor for coronary artery disease. Based on JNC’s definition of hypertension as having a blood pressure of greater or equal to 140/90 mm Hg, Rosendorff et al (2007) concluded that sixty five million American adults have hypertension. This was equivalent to one fourth of the population of the United States as at 2007. The study also concluded that one fourth of the population of the United States was in prehypertension stage that the JNC stipulated as systolic blood pressure of between 120 and 139 mm Hg or a diastolic blood pressure ranging between 80 and 89 mm Hg (Rosendorff et. al., 2007). Rosendorff et al (2007) noted that blood pressure is strongly related to age but that the relationship is complicated. As one progresses through life up to age fifty, the systolic blood pressure rises in line with diastolic blood pressure. Systolic blood pressure continues rising after fifty years of age but diastolic blood pressure starts decelerating. According to their study, more than half of the American population above