Polar Bears Their Habiat Essays - Bears, Apex Predators

Polar Bears: Their Habiat Polar Bear, common name for a white bear found on the sea ice of the Arctic throughout the North Polar basin. The only marine bear, it is longer than other bears and streamlined for aquatic life. It has the plantigrade feet (heel and sole touching the ground) typical of bears, with five sharp, curved claws on each foot for grasping the ice and holding its prey. Long hair between the pads protects the bear's feet from the cold and provides traction on the ice. Stiff hairs on the forelegs, and very broad front feet, help the bear swim. All polar bears are white, although their fur may yellow in the summer. The largest wild bears ever weighedmore than 800 kg (more than 1800 lb)have been polar bears. However, most male polar bears weigh an average of about 350 kg (about 880 lb), and most females weigh about 250 kg (550 lb). Polar bears have a strong navigational sense, an extremely good sense of smell, and they are unusually clever at solving problems in order to obtain food. They eat primarily ringed seals, and occasionally bearded seals, walruses, or white whales. They also feed on berries, sedges, mussels, and kelp. As with other true bears, polar-bear mothers and young form strong bonds. The young are very small when born: about 1 kg (about 2 lb). Their eyes remain closed for about 40 days and they must nurse every few hours. The mother holds them close to keep them warm. Except during the breeding season, male polar bears are solitary and roam over vast expanses of sea ice while hunting. During the breeding season (May to June), the males fight furiously over females. Both the male and female may mate with other individuals as well. Polar bears have little interest in other Arctic species, and they often ignore people entirely. Polar bears are hunted extensively in Canada and Greenland, and less so in Russia and Alaska. They are protected in Svalbard, Norway. Polar-bear populations are relatively secure because few people share their habitat, but shipping and offshore drilling for oil threaten their status. The polar bear, the largest of the terrestrial carnivores, is found along the northernmost coasts of the northern hemisphere as well as on sea ice floes and islands. Strong swimmers, polar bears paddle with their front legs and steer with the rear and have been known to swim as far as 80 km (50 mi). On land polar bears easily cover distances of up to 80 km (50 mi) a day and 1100 km (690 mi) a year. Science

The Cahaba River essays

The Cahaba River essays For thousands of years, the Cahaba River, with the other rivers and streams of Alabama, has moved unceasingly to the sea. And just beneath the normally peaceful waters exist perhaps the greatest collection of plant and animal life in North America. Overstatement? Hardly. While Alabama is the 29th largest state, it ranks fourth in the number of plant and animal species. Fully eight percent of all the freshwater flowing through the continental United States flows through this state. Only Florida can rival Alabama in the number of species per square mile. Alabamas waterways host 38 percent of all the freshwater fill-breathing snails, 52 percent of all turtle species and 60 percent of all the freshwater mussel species. Since 1991, three new fish species previously undescribed by science have been found in the Mobile River basin. The Cahaba River has more fish species per mile, 131, than any river its size in North America, including 18 species that exist only in the Mobile River drainage area. To put this in perspective, the Cahaba has more native species of fish than the entire state of California. The Cahaba River basin supports 69 rare and imperiled species, including 10 fish and mussel species listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. In 1992, botanist Jim Allison discovered eight new species of plants in the limestone bluffs of Bibb county overlooking the Cahaba that were previously unknown to science. His discovery rivals the great expeditions to the heart of Africa or up the Amazon River in the 19th Century. Perhaps the best known of the Cahabas endangered inhabitants is the Cahaba Lily, also known as the Shoals Lily. The Cahaba Lily is unusual in that it grows literally in the middle of the river, wedging its bulbs between cracks in the rocks that comprise the riverbed. Each spring, in May and June, the Lillies rise above the flowing current in an explosion of white and green. ...

Economic Demography - Economic on Fertility Essay

Economic Demography - Economic on Fertility - Essay Example Since the survey tracked their aspirations over the period of 35 years, it was seen that the participation rate amongst young women in human capital increased to 0.75-0.80. The survey also observed that a higher number of young women continued their education and graduated that in early 60s. During 1970s-80s, there was a remarkable decrease in the gap between boys and girls academic participation in maths and science courses at schools and colleges. In fact by late 40s, there was negligible difference between male and female college attendance and graduation rates. The median age of marriage for women increased by 2.5 years in early 70s-80s indicating that women were giving more serious thought to their higher education and building a career. 2. According to the Human capital theory, education, coaching or training increases the efficiency of workers by imparting valuable knowledge and skills, therefore raising employees’ future income by increasing their lifetime earnings. It hypothesizes that spending on education is expensive, and should be taken as an investment since it is commenced with a view to raise personal incomes. In part a, we discussed the evidence of expanding horizon amongst women in the late 70s era leading to a rise in their educational awareness and participation. As more and more women evolved from managing their homes to doing job driven by monetary reasons to finally building a career, the role of on-the-job trainings would also increase. Vocational training would ensure that women are acquiring the skill sets to perform their duties to their utmost levels. This is of course linked with the rising number of female workforce since 1970s. With higher investments in education and vocational trainings, higher penetration in the job market, it is evident that the earnings for female labor force will increase over the period of time. 3. In the write-up â€Å"Intra- and inter-national imbalances and migration†, Michael Teitelbaum de scribes the similarities and differences between the historical East-West migration wave and the current South-North wave that have attracted a lot of scholarly attention. The author reflects that the movement of people between countries and different lands is compelled by the collaboration of two factors: the negative and tough actuality of life at home (usually due to political violence and instability, social insecurity, economic challenges, or a combination of these) and the perception that a better life exists somewhere else. International migration stimulated by a failure of social welfare or internal political unrest has become more common over the past decades and would resume to drive the migration movement of many individuals. The author suggest that as a result, international migrations such as east-west and north-south, the most expected economic response to population explosions and deteriorating living conditions in developing nations, is the major challenge to worldwi de stability well into the twenty-first century. The similarities between east-west and north-south mass migrations also dwell on the fact that the aspects of hiring â€Å"cheap labor† for labor-intensive industries and services drove both. 4. The fundamental principle underlying most microeconomic models of migration policymaking is that ‘a person migrates in the expectation of being better off by doing so’ (DaVanzo). This premise is similar to the evidence found

Multi-generational Sustainability Perspectives and Practices Research Paper

Multi-generational Sustainability Perspectives and Practices - Research Paper Example In addition, this study aims at identifying the similarities and differences between the environmental perspectives between the two generations. The respondents were asked to rate the environment in their local community, their nation, and the world. Data was obtained through interviewing grandparents, parents, and fellow students. The data obtained was qualitatively analyzed to determine the similarities and differences in environmental perspectives between the two generations. The results, except for few surprises, were what one would expect. Most of the respondents believed that their local environments were to some extend satisfactory, while the global environment was in immense trouble. In addition, the respondents differed and concurred on some perspectives towards the environment Discussion People hold different perspectives about the environment. The way people perceive the environment determines the way they use natural resources, their consumption practices, recreation, tra vel, and food sources and storage. People’s perspectives on the environment have been divided into four classes: imperialism, utilitarianism, stewardship and romanticism. These groups of perspectives account for majority of the opinions and perspectives that most individuals hold about the environment. The opinion of stewardship holds that people have a certain responsibility and privilege in relation to their surroundings, as stewards of the environment. This is similar to what nearly all the grandparents and parents hold towards the environment. Most of the elderly noted that they believe that it is their duty, as human beings, to take care of the environment, and to treat anything that is on it with respect. One thing that came out of the interview with the elderly is that, the environment consists of both the living and non living things. The elderly consider the environment as sacred and that it is biblical to take care of it. They consider it a religious duty of every i ndividual to take care of the environment. These respondents viewed the environment as uncontrollable, unpredictable and powerful, and the only thing they can do is to be fatalistic, and accept the good and the bad that comes from it. This view implies that people can only be submissive in the face of environment. This submissive nature of the environment dates back to history, according to Nash (1967), and is based on the inability of the people to control nature and on the association of the environment with the supernatural. Just like stewardship, imperialism is connected to the biblical perspective of the environment. Some of the fellow students believe that the environment was created and given over to mankind to explore and rule over it. Among the youth and the parent respondents, they feel that there is no sacred bond that exists between God and the environment. They believe that by ruling over the environment and controlling it would earn them respect from God. This gives th e reason for the extreme actions against the environment while trying to control and rule over it. This can be attributed to the rapid increase in environmental degradation among the youths. Ancient imperialists practiced and offered sacrifices to God. One of the ancient imperialists suggested that conquering nature is the highest aspiration an

African Americans Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

African Americans - Thesis Example The slave trade was a legal practice in America from the early days of colonialism. By 1877, therefore, a considerable number of Africans had settled in the United States as a result of the slave trade. The blacks who established themselves in the United States by the end of the slave trade intermarried and gave rise to the African Americas. The second significant event within this given timeframe was the world war. In both world wars that ended in 1945, Africans played a central role in the battle for supremacy between nations. African soldiers were trained and deported on battlefields to defend the United States. The world wars were a significant turn of events as many Africans in America died, and those who survived remained with permanent physical and emotional scars. Between 1945 to present, events that took place in African history in the United States included the great second migration. Although it started in 1941, it was a significant all through 1945 to 1970. Africans moved into states like California, where job opportunities were being offered in the defense industry. This movement was in search of employment opportunities and better living conditions. The second event that took place in the United States was the Urban Settlement, where most Africans settled in major cities and towns in the United

Reflective Skills Essay

Reflective Skills Essay Reflective Skills Essay Do people develop professional skills only at their workplace? I would be writing about the skills and knowledge I have gained in the last 10 15 years. You dont have to work in an organization to gain skills and knowledge. Even while at home you can learn something that might help you at your workplace. Sometimes people dont realize that they have developed skills that can be used effectively in their workplace. In this essay I am going explain the skills and knowledge I have developed through work, education and other activities how this could help me in a workplace. First Im going to talk about the skills I have developed from my hobbies and day to day activities. Its actually surprising to know how much you can learn while having fun. After that Im going to talk about the skills I am developing academically at present. Playing cricket is one of my biggest hobbies and as a cricketer I am a wicket keeper. Being a wicket keeper, my role isnt just to collect missed deliveries and score runs but is also to motivate and inspire the team every minute so that my team members dont get sluggish in their respective roles and perform towards success. Once familiarized with the team I can act as a good motivator. This skill can not only help me to motivate other employees in my workplace but it also gives me the ability to work with little or no supervision as I can motivate myself to work towards achieving my goal. In todays workplace, team leaders have to encourage and motivate their teams in order to perform well. A strong motivator can act as the backbone of the team. This skill is one of the essentials required to be a good leader in any kind of workplace. Employers are also looking out for people with creative minds. By nature I am a very creative person. I look at things in a very different prospective. Usually I would take an original idea and expand upon it using my creativity, which can also sometimes lead to something else completely new. It has to do with thinking beyond the obvious. This is the secret to how the minds of creative people work. For instance, with music, the first type of genre was baroque music played during the 1600s and from that evolved a lot different genres. In todays date we have more than 400 music genres. This was possible only because of some creative minds who thought of doing things differently. Employers want their employees to have the ability to solve problems using their creativity and reasoning skills. An innovative problem solver can take an organization, irrespective from which industry, to the next level. One of my other favorite hobbies is travelling and I would often find myself in a situation of convincing some friends to come along. Usually I would succeed 9 out of 10 times, as they say I always manage to get things my way. This can also be called the art of diplomacy. Now having employees with the ability to persuade people can be very useful for an organization as they can face situations in which they might have to persuade a client or a trade union to reach an agreement. This skill can also be related to the sales ability of an employee. Travelling has also shown me that I can be a responsible person as I would make all the plans in detail, do the math for the expenses to be occurred, make sure every one is having a good trip and everything else is under control. One of the basic yet most important skills is to communicate effectively with other people. Everyone has been naturally practicing this skill since they were able to speak, listen or write, yet communication gap between the employers and employees still seems to be one of the major concerns in many organizations. In order to have a productive workplace, they should always be effective communication between the employee and employer. Successful communication is critical in business. I have developed good communication skills over the time. I can easily converse and make the other person understand and communicate with me either verbally or written. Along with this my listening skills are good as I listen to the other person patiently and then engage in communication with what that other person was speaking about. I can improve upon this skill by practicing more. A few other basic skills that I have acquired are computing and numeracy. Schools in India never allowed the use of calculators. I always wondered why we couldnt use calculators while schools across the world were allowed, but now when I look back, I realize why. Doing basic calculations mentally, without the use of a calculator has helped me sharpen my numeracy skill. Each day, people use simple math skills in their jobs and personal live in order to complete projects and other job duties. A recent large scale survey in the UK showed that people who have better literacy and numeracy skills tend to have better wages and come to work more often. One way of improving this skill is by avoiding the calculator when whenever a need of calculation arises. My interest in IT has enabled me to carry out all the basic computing tasks at ease. I always had an interest for it and I utilized everything taught at school like Web designing, HTML, QBASIC, SQL and a lot more. Almost every job now requires some basic understanding of computer hardware and software, especially word processing, spreadsheets, and email. Lack of IT knowledge can affect the performance and future prospects of an employee. While I did my schooling in India, our knowledge gained was always tested in the unseen exam format. After joining university I was exposed to new tasks like conducting presentations and writing report. When I was first assigned to conduct a presentation I was a bit nervous as I had never done this before in front of people I dint know. Later I was advised to practice in front of a mirror and it did work. My second presentation went better than the first. Being able to conduct a presentation with confidence is a very important skill to develop especially in the field of HR. One effective way by which I can improve upon this skill is by preparing my self well in advance so that I dont get nervous and referring to books and articles relating to improving presentation skills Another skill I developed while conducting presentations and writing reports in university is Teamwork. Working in teams is probably one of the most vital skills required to succeed in a workplace, especially with regard to how you communicate with the people you work with. 9 out of 10 jobs require you to work with teams. Working in teams with a diverse group of people has helped me understand how to communicate with my different co-workers and understand their views when solving a problem. Teamwork has a lot of benefits to offer, one of it being it helps to generate a lot of different ideas which leads to a creative solution and it definitely speeds up the process. Having more projects involving teamwork will surely prepare me once I start working at a professional level where my skill would be tested. Since Ive started an independent life after shifting to the UK I learnt how to be organized. Being organized has a lot of benefits attached to it. It has proven to be both cost and time effective. It also helps to boost confidence and give more energy to work. Employers would love to have all their employees being organized in their work.

The Success of Wemmick in Great Expectations Essay examples -- Great E

The Success of Wemmick in Great Expectations  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚      Wemmick provides a complicated, yet interesting separation of his home life and work life. His home and work lives are as different in physical appearances as they are in personality differences. Many of his home habits allow him to express his care and decency, which contrasts with his mechanical work which lacks good value. Wemmick dedicates himself to separating the two so that he may keep his virtues intact while he works in the filth of Newgate. Wemmick is alone in his success of separation when compared to others such as Jaggers and Pip. Such dedication to keeping good values alive gives Wemmick so much integrity that he immediately becomes a favorite character.   The castle in Walworth has a drawbridge, a cannon, and a fountain. We see the effects of these defenses first when he raises the drawbridge "it was very pleasant to see the pride with which he hoisted it up and made it fast; smiling as he did so, with a relish and not merely mechanically"(229). He "relishes" or gains pleasure in the working of the drawbridge; as opposed to his mechanical office mode, he really smiles. With this first insight into Wemmick's other side, a simple integrity is revealed. The cannon, named Stinger, is mounted upon "a separate fortress, constructed of lattice-work. It was protected from the weather by an ingenious little tarpaulin contrivance in the nature of an umbrella"(229). The latticework and umbrella cover express Wemmick's imagination in planning the castle. Another of Wemmick's contraptions is his fountain. A mill and a cork run it. The water splashes out enough that it lands on any viewer of the fountain, which the Aged greatly enjoys. He lists his skills and says "and ... ...s the victor in the battle of lifestyles, because his is definitely much more agreeable. In regards to Pip, he cannot separate his home life from his expectations. He is uncaring towards his family and doesn't associate with them. He lives only in expectations as Jaggers does work. Only Wemmick succeeds in separating the two. Those of us who are suffering from a work-centered life should look to Wemmick for inspiration. We can learn from him how to allow ourselves to be able to enjoy life at home, without sacrificing out integrity at the workplace. Wemmick attains a freedom to live life to the fullest and he does it with incredible integrity. He is alone in his success, all the other characters have failed miserably, and have been left unfulfilled. Works Cited: Dickens, Charles. Great Expectations. Ed. Janice Carlisle.Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1996.