biology of plant essays

biology of plant essays I believe that some plants produce as much heat for their weight as birds do, which are the greatest heat producers of all. It is even harder to believe that some are able to thermoregulate, which means that they actually alter their heat production to keep their temperature constant in fluctuating air temperatures. This is similar to what mammals do. The article I am reviewing tells about few a plants that do this, and how they do it. There are only three plants which have yet been shown to regulate their temperature. They are the Philodendron selloun, the Skunk Cabbage, and the Sacred Lotus. The most extensive testing has been done on the P. selloun. The earliest testing aimed to do little more than determine whether the inflorescence actually had become hot. In the experiment spadices were impaled with temperature probes into the plant and the probes were connected to a machine that recorded the temperature continuously. During the measurement period the temperature outside averaged 20 degrees Celsius and the temperature in the plant remained 20 degrees higher. This proved that the inflorescence was hotter than its environment. The next experiment aimed to show the range of the P. selloun's heat producing capabilities. Some specimens were cut and put into indoor cabinets where the temperature could be varied. The reason the plants were placed in indoor cabinets was so that the plants rate of heat production could be measured by the expedient of measuring its rate of consumption of oxygen. Then the inflorescences were examined at air temperatures from low freezing to temperatures that are uncomfortably hot for humans. At the coldest extremes some of the inflorescences could not heat up at all. But their temperatures went to as high as 38 degrees Celsius when the environment temperature was still 4 degrees C. The cuttings became hotter as the air temperature rose further. The inflorescences peaked at 46 degrees C w...

TO CLONE OR NOT TO CLONE- A RESPONSE TO JONATHAN COLVIN essays

TO CLONE OR NOT TO CLONE- A RESPONSE TO JONATHAN COLVIN essays I have often wondered what I would be like if certain things in my checkered past had not occurred. What would I be like if I had been brought up in a stable environment or had gone to a different school, or not walked out the door on a specific day? What ifs of life that if we actually sat and thought about them all would drive us insane. This is the reason why human cloning interests me so greatly. The ability to clone gives rise to the creation of a rather diabolical plan- to create a copy of yourself and plot its life course so that everything you wished had happened to you would happen to it and see what kind of person you'd be, or wouldn't be. Would such a plan even be possible to carry out? Animal cloning has produced some remarkable results within the last few years, which has suggested to some that there should be a way to produce a human clone within the next year. Many news articles have appeared recently highlighting the potential to clone a human baby in order to replace a loved one who died. In Me, my clone, and I- or in defense of human cloning published by American Humanist Association, Jonathan Colvin states that many of the attitudes concerning human cloning are reminiscent of the arguments against in vitro fertilization in the 1960s when accusations of playing God and interfering with nature were common. First, Colvin expresses his opinion on the issue by stating the result of his own impromptu survey of friends and strangers. Then the author argues that clones are found in nature, in the form of identical twins, and that there is nothing wrong to make the deliberate ones. He believes that human cloning does not go against nature or God creation because clo ned people are unique and have their own personalities. Furthermore, says Colvin, human biological evolution has become meaningless compared to cultural evolution . Next, he talks about his dream to clone himself because he has cystic fibr...

Compare coming of age ceremonies for Christanity, Judaism and Islam Research Paper

Compare coming of age ceremonies for Christanity, Judaism and Islam - Research Paper Example Notably, this practice is valued and honoured by all the three religions given its importance in a religious setup. ‘Coming of Age’ is a very important function in the history of religion as it dates back as old as the religions. This is a fundamental stage in one’s life that is initiated and conducted differently by different religious institutions. Coming of Age represents the transition process to adulthood from childhood in the society. The nature and the age of this transition often vary from one religion and divide to another, but with some aspects being similar. In nearly all the three religions, this transition is commonly associated with the sexual maturity age or early adolescence. However, in other religions like Judaism, ‘Coming of Age’ is only associated with the religious responsibility and age. The attainment of this age marks an important stage of an individual within the religious institution. It is after the ‘Coming of Age’ period that a believer crosses over to adulthood with full responsibility and getting more spiritual recognitio n within the group (Coogan, 2003). Being an adult after undergoing this ritual gives the member the rights, responsibilities, and obligations that had been limited. Christians, Judaism, and Islam conduct ceremonies to mark this important occasion that comes with benefits and other adulthood packages, which are strictly served for adults. As notes the Rite of Passage Institute of Cleveland, â€Å"The final entrance into adulthood has been provided from time immemorial by the ‘coming of age’ ceremony†¦.. It marked a critical expansion moment, the entrance into larger responsibilities, large privileges, larger secrets, larger institutions, and larger understandings.† (Coogan, 2003, pp.67) The Western Christians and the Roman Catholic Church conduct the ‘Coming of Age’ ceremony differently.

The Debate Between Darwinism and Creationism Essay

The Debate Between Darwinism and Creationism - Essay Example Twenty years after the publication of On the Origin of Species, a crusade against this heretical doctrine came forward by the name of Creationism. Liberal churchmen and evangelical Christians had started embracing the evolution theory laid down by Darwin and his supporters. The creationists took upon themselves the task of outlawing the doctrines of evolution in the 1920s. Presently, they continue with this battle in the name of religion. William Jennings Bryan, a Presbyterian layman, made a huge claim about eliminating Darwinism from its roots in public schools. This strengthened the purpose of other creationists and the success encouraged them to continue with their efforts. Bryan was extremely disappointed to learn that Darwinism was used as a tool by the German military to cause war. Both democracy and Christianity were deeply affected by this havoc. He saw the whole of United States collapsing in this disbelief and the spread of the disease was far more rapid than he could imagi ne. He was â€Å"convinced that the teaching of Evolution as a fact instead of a theory caused the students to lose faith in the Bible, first, an in the story of creation, and later in other doctrines, which underlie the Christian religion†. In 1922, the same year in which Bryan started his crusade against the scientists who were the main cause; Will the I am Bell Riley stated the most important reason for the fundamentalists to oppose the scientific notions of evolution as being just a hypothesis and not a science.

Are you a regular smoker Within the context of your own experiences, Research Paper

Are you a regular smoker Within the context of your own experiences, discuss why anti-smoking campaigns have been largely ineff - Research Paper Example However, these strategies remain ineffective since teenagers continue to smoke irrespective of the numerous antismoking campaigns. Additionally, teenagers continue to be influenced to start smoking through marketing strategies used by tobacco industry. There are several reasons why antismoking advertisements remain ineffective in curbing teen smoking. This paper focuses on these reasons. The paper will entail use of introspection, data collection, and analysis and make recommendations on how the advertisements could be improved. Overview of the Topic Although, I am not a smoker, I have several young friends who started smoking at very young stages. Additionally, I have always had great concern on why anti-smoking campaigns have not eliminated teen smoking. Most young people engage in smoking at a very tender age. Some end up becoming addicted, which makes them vulnerable to the numerous smoking related diseases. To prevent addiction and such ailments, there have been several campaign s and funds set aside to curb smoking among the teenagers. This is because this is the stage at which quitting would be easier since continuous smoking leads to addiction making it hard for smokers to quit. From as early as in the 1960’s, several antismoking advertisements were adopted. ... In other cases, the government uses funds to finance airing of information aimed at alerting young people of the dangers of smoking. Although there has been great focus on antismoking campaigns through different media, several young people continue smoking. Moreover, there is no evidence to show that any campaigns convince the teens to quit smoking. Some studies show that the campaigns are ineffective and could have at times encouraged the young people to smoke. Some of these campaigns are conducted by the tobacco industry itself. It is illogical how a company manufacturing a product would be able to convince the users that the product is dangerous. Therefore, most of the advertisements are just a protocol used by the tobacco industry to convince the policy makers that the industry is following the regulations (Wakefield, Flay and Giovino 233-237). Additionally, cigarettes are sold at extremely low prices, which make them affordable to the teens wanting to experiment. Introspection a nd Data Collection Whenever I listen or watch anti-smoking advertisement, the first thing I try to figure out is the persons behind the advertisement. In case the advertisement is designed by the tobacco industry, I always ask myself how someone would make a product and then try to convince the users not to use the product. This makes me think that the campaigns could be untruthful and carried out ineffectively since they condemn the use of a product that they manufacture and export greatly for the benefit of the nation. Another aspect that makes me to consider the antismoking campaigns unbelievable is their nature. Most used antismoking campaign strategy is advertisements. The advertisements appear unrealistic to me. The

Occurrence of distress Essay Example for Free

Occurrence of distress Essay According to Bandura (1976), depression arises from frightful events that are anticipated rather than those that have occurred or are occurring. Hence, any person’s solution to depression is to plan in advance so that the events that occur are taken to be normal, with no adverse impacts. In much the same way, Beck’s theory highlights the future as a cause of anxiety among individuals. Beck (1971) noted that individuals who look at the future with diminished hope are likely to achieve little in their lives and live under perpetual fear. In addition, such individuals are prone to committing errors in their work and are full of negative beliefs about whatever they do. Random thoughts and distortion of thinking In relation to Bandura’s social cognitive theory, people act the way they do because of the patterns of thought and emotional reactions that they develop. Hence, the ability to tackle distressing events skillfully is vital in fending off conditions of depression. Bandura (2006) opined that random thoughts could make people to perceive some tasks to be too tedious, while the same thoughts can also make some people develop an urge to take more diverse and difficult tasks. Therefore, people’s performance in various tasks depends on how well their pattern of thought functions. This pattern of thought is nothing but the organization of the mind at any time in readiness for work. Bandura noted that individuals who are well prepared to work accomplish their tasks fast and derive much satisfaction. The converse is true for individuals who lack vigor and are always outdone by difficult situations. Seemingly supporting Bandura’s idea is a point in the description of Beck’s theory, which says that people usually have schemas of distress in their mind albeit in a latent state. Hence, if an individual if provoked, the schema becomes engaged and the person becomes irritated. Nevertheless, the level of irritation or depression depends on the character of the person involved. In this perspective, Beck (1979) noted that depression is usually a systematic dysfunction of the mind that leads to the development of negative opinions about oneself, other people or the environments, and the future. Further distortion of thinking hinders proper development of concepts in the mind and leads to depression. Comparing the two theories with reference to depression, it is notable that distress or depression arises among people because of failure to properly coordinate the faculties of their minds. Whilst adults are more affected by depression, both theories recommend that training children to overcome depression should be done early enough in order to avoid future occurrences of the problem. Inasmuch as the triads used as models for Bandura’s Cognitive Theory and Beck’s Cognitive Theory have different constituents, the arguments and illustrations to elucidate both theories seem to be unified in the context of behavior, personality, character and so on. Nonetheless, the two theories still portray differences, which are discussed in the next sessions.

Consultant Report For London Taxis International Limited

Consultant Report For London Taxis International Limited This report is being produced to investigate whether a move towards electric vehicles will be beneficial to London Taxi International limited. This report has focused on PESTEL analysis, Political, Environmental, Social, Technological, Economical and Legal regions using SWOT (Strengths, weaknesses, Opportunities and threats) methods to analyse each of these regions. The political aspects to focus upon on making a change to electric vehicles are the implantations of the laws that benefit electric vehicles. One of the main regions these taxis operate around is London and the main disadvantage of driving in London is congestion charge the government has implemented a law that states that for electric vehicles congestion charges are to be scrapped. Generally per vehicle congestion charges implemented by transport of London is  £10 for the day and from the London Black cabs figures there is an assumption of 17000 licensed cabs on the road. Therefore within a year this company will be saving approximately in the region of thousands of pounds and making a profit on the electric vehicles they produce and sell as they are more attractive to purchasers. Continuing with the money this change would account for savings as an electric vehicle is immune from paying road tax because its emissions are below 100g/km under the new lows, this is one of the ways t o promote electric cars to more people, and in addition to that the electric vehicle is immune from the raising taxes put on petrol. The reason for rising the issue of Carbon emissions is due to new laws that are due to come into effect. The car currently being produced by London Taxi International limited would become obsolete as the TX4 is producing CO2 emissions of 233g/km. Therefore even if the switch to electric is not made a new car concept that produces less pollution will have to be considered. Finally as the government are constantly introducing new schemes to promote the electric vehicle they have offered grants for purchasing electric cars. The latest innovative idea by the government is to offer  £5000 towards the price of the electric vehicle. Therefore if we are producing electric vehicles consumers are more likely to purchase the electric vehicle over the existing model as along with the road tax, free parking and other schemes the government are offering will be saving a great deal more money in both the short and long term. Referring back to the SWOT method with the political aspects however laws in other countries consider electric vehicles as a hazard due to the fact they create no artificial noise. These countries have implemented a law that says all vehicles must make some noise for safety reasons. This makes cause a problem when approaching these companies with our new electric design. Considering threats to the political aspects of this report times are changing. Therefore at the moment the government are happy to promote electric vehicles in a positive light. However once the switch over happens, the reaction to electric vehicles may change as there may be an advancement that could show them to be hazardous. One of the biggest issues in the motoring these days is the environment which is being destroyed day by day. One of the main reasons for this destruction is co2 which as we know comes mainly from the use of fossil fuel in motor vehicles. There are new legislations concerning co2 emissions from vehicles and the European commission has issued emission standard known as euro 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and the Mayor of London has introduced a taxi emission strategy that requires all London taxis to meet at least euro 3. There is no debate on how electric vehicles help the economy and save money; but electric cars dont just protect your wallet. They also stop oil companies from drilling offshore or in environmentally protected areas. Offshore drilling is very hazards to the environment for example the Gulf of Mexico spill , and spills from ships such as the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska, and the Torrey Canyon in the UK have illustrated the harm oil spills can cause to ocean-based ecosystems. Most people may not understand exactly how these alternative vehicles contribute to save the planet. One of the main problems to the environment is produced by using vehicles that depend mainly on fossil fuel. Not only that, there are other hazards materials that can harm the environment, like the batteries of the vehicle which after its been used fully it bosses a high risk to the environment and it has to be disposed of properly. LTI has been trying to reduce the use of hazardous substances to levels lower than those demanded by new European Legislation and the recyclability targets which came into force in 2006 are comfortably met. A number of components in LTI vehicles are already produced from recycled material and LTIs policy of promoting increased use of these materials will ensure the impact of their vehicles on the environment will be reduced. Also LTI has been thinking of a way to dispose of the hazards materials by using modern disposal facilitates that will do this in an environmentally friendly manner. LTI Vehicles has partnered with Auto green Ltd. Auto green, will take charge of disposing off disused LTI vehicles, and they will provide a contracted network of take back and Authorised Treatment Facilities (ATFs) throughout the United Kingdom. This process ensures that re-use, recovery and recycling targets are met. The economic factors include consideration of economic growth for the company, interest rates affecting cost of capital, exchange rates of exporting goods and finally inflation rates. All these factors affect how the company will operate and what decisions it will make. As we propose to the London Taxi Company a new electric engine concept for their taxis, we have to bear in mind what effects this will have on the company economically if they decide to go ahead with our idea. The advantages of our idea include that there is a small but stable market for the electric engine concept so large sale or purchases of supplies wont cause major changes; also the product is attractive to the company as it will cut down their running costs and hopefully increase profits. London Taxi Company has relationships with partners all over the world international relations. This is an advantage to the taxi company as the production rate of taxis will remain high as they supply electric taxis across the world to countries such as Egypt, Ghana, Kosovo and Lebanon. The company also has a number of European partners with plans to introduce the iconic London taxi to Rome, Milan and Istanbul. These all increase the companys economic growth. As London Taxi Limited already has international relations, they would need to keep ahead of their competition. If this is done, they would appeal more to customers for their greener vehicles and because the electric cars costs less to run. The taxi firms would also want the electric cars as they cost less to run than petrol vehicles. This means London Taxi Limited would sell even more electric taxis and therefore boost their capital and profit levels. Also when new laws on green house gases and co2 emission are introduced in the different countries, (such as America, South East Asia and Australasia) London Taxi Limited will appeal more to the taxi firms. This will give them a new business opportunity, especially if they have electric taxis that are known to be reliable. So London Taxi Limited would be the first choice for taxi production from taxi firms. The disadvantages with this proposition consist of costs of research and development, funding during conversion of petrol to electric engines and exchange rates affecting the cost of importing goods and the supply of exported goods to the international and European cities. As a result inflation rates could have either beneficial or detrimental effects in the long term. As the market for electric cars is fairly young, research and development into new and more efficient ideas is still being done which the London Taxi Company would be interested in doing to improve their electric engines generally. Concerning the conversion to electric for the whole production line, complete factories would need to be adapted to suit the installation of electric engines into the taxi cars. This process would be quite costly and might require borrowing of money to fund it. As exchange rates are fluctuating all the time, importing and exporting costs might have an effect on the business. The inflation ra tes depend on the country that is involved in business with London Taxi Company where, at the moment, inflation rates are highest in Ghana at 15 25 %. In short term, the process might be quite costly, yet if we look at the long run, these costs will only pay off eventually due to no fuel or running costs. The social aspect upon making this decision to change to electric is extremely important as the image is what will encourage both the public and consumers to change to or use electric vehicles. One of the main reasons LTI should convert their cabs to electric power is because although they do have a world renown image, that image is of a loud, expensive, heavily polluting vehicle. Converting their vehicles to electric power will hugely improve this image, reduce running costs and make them much quieter for running in tight residential areas, making taxi companies more likely to buy the taxis. For most emerging electric cars, such as the Nissan Leaf, the government provides subsidies to consumers who want to buy the electric car. If LTI are quick to enter the market, then this government subsidy may be offered to consumers wanting to buy the new LTI electric car. This would be hugely beneficial because taxi companies looking to buy taxis would see this and hopefully take action to get the reduced price while they can. The larger the city, the more pollution occurs due to more vehicles and industries emitting co2. If the taxis that run in the cities were powered by batteries, then a large chunk of these pollutants will be diminished, as well as setting the standard for the rest of public transport. Other companies will be demanding LTI to provide them with the cleaner taxis if they are the first to enter this niche market, which gives an excellent foothold for LTI to establish them in this growing industry. Also, if LTI have battery powered cabs, then they may attract the attention of environmental enthusiasts that would otherwise prefer to use other modes of transport, such as cycling or walking, thus creating a much larger customer base and hence higher revenue. Most people wanting a taxi in London will always choose black cabs over any other taxi model as London is largely associated with Black cabs; because black cabs an are large brand image of London. Therefore consumers will have a bigger market of not only tourists but environmentally friendly people may convert to using their service and therefore will increase LTIs production demand. However, the number of cities you see LTIs black cabs in isnt great. It tends to only be larger cities that have them so only a small percentage of people will get to use them on a regular basis. Smaller cities and towns will miss out, unless of course, LTI expand to more cities, which will be easily done with the reduced running costs of converting to battery power. A problem arises also when considering the current state of the economy. People and firms dont have enough money spare to take huge risks. Converting from combustion to battery is a large risk because so little is known about the market due to it being relatively new. Reliability and range are the main concerns, but also costs of a vehicle are breaking down are unknown. This uncertainty may be enough to deter consumers and result in a major loss to LTI. We looked at the technology side of using London Taxi International Limited within the electric car market. The first main point is that this is an innovative idea. It hasnt been done before and therefore will mean the company would get the upper hand over their competition as well as a new image as being a cleaner and greener company from their customers. This is because the electric cars wont be producing as much of their green house gases. Times are changing and electric cars are becoming better and more useful. So its a matter of time before the black cabs need to change. This will get the business a head start into it and get ahead of their competition. If the London Taxi Company accepted our proposal, the first step would be to possibly look into borrowing some money to kick off the process of buying new engine parts and installing them to the taxis (having trained up factory staff to a suitable level to carry this out) this would then involve interest rates which would be predetermined. Then make contact with suppliers for electric engine parts such as batteries and organise prices for shipping and handling. The third task would then be to change the taxi car production line and make all the brand new taxis electric with batteries. The TX4 has already proven to be a reliable vehicle that has a high level of performance with few problems. Therefore a whole new concept design will not need to be considered to change to electric and we are able to keep the main body of the car and only change the drive chain. The design of the TX4 is already owned by LTI and therefore there is no cost associated with keeping this design. As the TX4s shape and parts will still be produced and only the engine will be changed, the machinery that is already producing that car can still function as usual and therefore a massive change will not be needed and money will be saved. It is essential for LTI to create relations with companies that produce electric motors and are researching into the length of the battery life. This is important as the battery makes up a significant proportion of the cost of the car and will change the retailing price in which it is sold at. It wouldnt be sensible for LTI to develop a battery itself as they dont have the resources and experience in this field and as a small company could not invest the necessary capital. Batteries are hazardous and this will introduce new health and safety regulations in the factory which will incur the costs of retraining. The main disadvantages that could affect consumers wanting to purchase into electric taxis is the battery life. As electric vehicles are becoming more common technology is increasing to help sustain these electric vehicles batteries. London are considering introducing new underground charging stations that while parked at lights will charge the battery to help sustain its life. As this technological advancement is being placed around London it enables LTI to promote the electric vehicle without being worried about the length of the battery life. Also stations where you just drive up to change the electric battery, which is robotically manned, are being used by America currently. So as interest increases for electric vehicles in the UK this idea will possible be introduced into the UK giving more cause for electric cars. For private use electric cars are at a disadvantage because of their short range. This is why the electric car market is growing slowly. This is not an issue when the vehicle is being used as a taxi because taxis are almost never used for journeys longer than 10 miles. In the end its the companies wish whether to take an order of a bigger distance or not. Therefore the slow affecting market for cars to change to electric will not have the same disadvantages as taxis changing to electric. Research has shown that there wont be any technological issues when putting the new drive chain (electric motor) into the current taxi models. LTI has introduced a new hydrogen and electric hybrid vehicle to support the 2012 Olympics. The car keeps the ionic shape the London black cab but uses a combination of a fuel cell, powered by a tank of hydrogen, and lithium polymer batteries. This reduces LTIs worry that the TX4s shell would not be able to support an electric motor change. The electric motor has less power than normal petrol/diesel motors. However this should not affect sales as the car will be brought by private companies rather than individuals who would be concerned with performance. There are legal implications that LTI should consider when changing to electric motors. An electric car requires a special fast charging station in order to charge it fully in a matter of hours rather than days. These would require planning permission to be installed on a companys property or if a taxi company lease the property they would need permission of the owner. There could be some safety concerns associated with such a high voltage supply which could provoke the government into bringing in new legislations regarding these charging stations Another factor to consider when thinking about legal implications is such as problems with brake lights; one of the benefits of the electric car is that it uses the cars momentum when free-wheeling to recharge the battery. However a drawback of this is that the cars slow down a lot quicker in comparison to a regular free-wheeling car. Hence there is currently debate with regard to whether the brake lights should be on at such a time. The decisions of such laws should not affect the possibilities to use electric cars for London Taxis.