Have advances in bioscience lead to the greater risk of a biological Essay

Have advances in bioscience lead to the greater risk of a biological attack by a non-state actor - Essay Example One of the reasons why that is so is that very few cases of the individuals or groups in possession of the biological weapons have conventionally been identified. Nevertheless, a review of the practices and trends of the non-state actors in the past provides a very subjective idea of the tendency of the contemporary non-state actors to cause harm to the society through the biological weapons, given there has occurred a noticeable increase in the body of knowledge about the harmful effects of the pathogenic micro-organisms for humans over the decades. Even though, to the extent that the review of the historic cases is beneficial for understanding the current trends and capabilities of the non-state actors, one historic cases of the biological attack carried out by the non-state actors successively in 1984 is discussed in this paper. Using the pathogenic micro-organisms as a destructive tool exposes both the society and the non-state actors to various kinds of challenges. This paper an alyzes the extent to which the non-state actors involved in the biological attacks are a threat to the society. The most popular biological attack in the history of the USA was made in 1984 by a religious cult Rajneeshees that stole an Oregon-based country election. The Rajneeshees lived in the rural Wasco County and had become politically strong in Antelope, a small town whose name was thus changed to Rajneesh.

Zizeks Concept Of Two Revolutions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Zizeks Concept Of Two Revolutions - Essay Example Zizek’s work has been criticised for inconsistency and Parker argues that â€Å"there is no Zizekian system of philosophy because Zizek, with all his inconsistencies, is trying to make us think much harder about what we are willing to believe and accept from a single writer† (Parker, 2004, p.120). Indeed, to this end Zizek argues himself that we should constantly challenge our ideologies and philosophies. This is particularly evident with Zizek’s extrapolations pertaining to the concept of the two revolutions as highlighted by his discussion in â€Å"Revolution at the Gates, A Selection of Writings from February to October 1917† (Edited by Zizek, 2002). To this end, it is submitted at the outset that at the heart of Zizek’s argument for the necessity of two revolutions is the idea that the first revolution challenges the pre-existing form and the second revolution ensures that the form itself is revolutionised to attain the true purpose of the intended objectives of the â€Å"revolution† in what Zizek terms the â€Å"utopia†. Directly correlated to Zizek’s perception of the two revolutions is the use of Lenin as a symbol to highlight the flaws of traditional social theory highlighting historical circumstance and context as the significant causal triggers for revolution.

Ecosystem Services In Human Systems Environmental Sciences Essay

Ecosystem Services In Human Systems Environmental Sciences Essay Ecosystem services in human-environment systems: What is the problem? Ecosystems deliver goods and services of enormous value to the human society (Pearce and Moran, 1994; Costanza et al., 1997; Daily, 1997). However, intensive land and water use, extraction of natural resources, and chemical emissions into the environment lead to a worldwide degradation of biodiversity and of the supporting services, provisioning services, regulating services and cultural services which ecosystems provide (Hooper et al., 2005; Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005b). On a global scale the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005b) found that 60% of global ecosystem services (ES) surveyed are currently being degraded or used unsustainably. Future scenarios are promising no relieve. Only the projected doubling of food consumption for the next 50 years (Tilman et al., 2002), in combination with the growing demand for biofuels and other biophysical products will challenge decision-makers dealing with ecosy stem management worldwide. They need to optimize ecosystems with respect to multiple needs. Climate change has even intensified the dynamics of this human-environment interaction (McCarthy et al., 2001). Ecosystem services are defined as functions of ecosystems with value for human well-being. Thus the concept of ecosystem services, establishes a relationship between ecosystem service suppliers (the producers) and demanders for ecosystem services (the beneficiaries). Those supply-demand interaction can be distinguished on three levels: i) upstream downstream relations, ii) north south relations and iii) poor rich relations. i) Because of topographical complexity and altitudinal gradients mountain ecosystems are particularly sensitive to global change compared to the lowland (Becker et al., 2007; Bugmann et al., 2007). Socio-economic vulnerability to loss of ecosystem services tends also to be higher because of generally more difficult socio-economic conditions in mountains. But also the lowlands are influenced by undesired changes in mountain areas, because of their importance for biodiversity and for providing ecosystem services. Downstream actors benefit from the supply of upstream ecosystems with respect to clean water, flood control, reduced sedimentation, scenic beauty and many more positive mountainous ecosystem services. ii) Similarly, pressure on ecosystem services is high in the south because of continuous land use change, land degradation and impacts of climate change. Until now, such damages to ecosystems services are not sufficiently taken into account in the environmental decisions along the global value chains linking consumer, retailer, processor, and producer in the north and the south. Fair trade is a first step into this direction, but global trade basically masks the constraints of regional ecosystems. To increase the ecological transparency and foster sustainable ecosystem management, the involved public and private actors need to develop, improve and use instruments for ecological assessment and management of global value chains damaging regional ecosystem services. Lately ideas have been developed for international payments for ecosystem services and international biodiversity off-sets (see for a review in German or French language Koellner and Engel, 2008b; Koellner and Engel, 2008a). iii)In both cases mentioned before the relationship between upstream-downstream and north-south are potentially equivalent to a poor-rich relationship. Especially in developing countries with weak environmental legislation and enforcement, the activities of the primary sector (agriculture, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture, but also oil, gas and mining) lead to deforestation, cause severe damages to biodiversity and finally limit the capacity of ecosystems to deliver bundles of services at the landscape scale to the local people. This is especially objectionable, if biotic resources are produced unsustainably in poor countries in the south and exported to rich countries in the north with strict environmental regulation, but only for the own territory. I am not saying that global trade per se is bad for the environment, but innovative solutions are needed if the poor are affected, because they cannot buffer losses of ecosystem services with purchased human-made services. To replace missing legislation pro-poor payments for ecosystem services were discussed in the past (Landell-Mills and Porras, 2002; Duraiappah, 2006; Ravnborg et al., 2007; Bulte et al., 2008; Proctor et al., 2008; Tallis et al., 2008). To successfully manage such supply-demand relations for ecosystem services under pressure of global change requires a collaboration of science and practice. New strategies for local, regional and global management of ecosystems are necessary, which are based on ecosystem services quantification; design of finance, policy and governance systems; and the implementation of those in various biophysical and social contexts (Daily and Matson, 2008). Within this general framework the three main objectives of my habilitation thesis on Ecosystem Services in Human-Environment Systems are Part A) to model land use and its impact on biodiversity and ecosystems and their services Part B) to analyze the decision-making that drives supply and demand for ecosystem services, and Part C) to explore the ecosystem impact of the financial sector national and international payments for ecosystem services (PES) and their linkages to the financial sector. In this introduction I reflect first the recent discussion about the definition of ecosystem services. Then I develop a general framework to organize research on ecosystem services. Finally, for each of the three objectives I provide a short review of existing research and describe my contribution to fill the gap. What are ecosystem services? Much confusion about their definition. Daily (1997) and the contributing authors from natural and social sciences introduced the term and concept of ecosystem services in order to stress the dependency of human-well being on nature. This milestone work defines ecosystem services on page 3 as follows: Ecosystem services are the conditions and processes through which natural ecosystems, and the species that make them up sustain and fulfill human life. They maintain biodiversity and the production of ecosystem goods, such as seafood, forage, timber, biomass fuels, natural fiber, and many pharmaceuticals, industrial products, and their precursors. (Daily, 1997, page 3). In this definition ecosystem goods and biodiversity are an output of natural functions in sensu de Groot (1992). Interestingly, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment MA (2005b) skips the distinction between tangible ecosystem goods. It defines ecosystem services broadly as the benefits people obtain from ecosystems. It does distinguish supportive services (like nutrient cycling and soil formation), provisioning services (like food, fresh water and fibers), regulating services (like erosion control or water purification), and cultural services (like provision of opportunities for recreation and spiritual or historical purposes). That means what is a good under the definition of Daily is in the MA defined as an ecosystem services. Exactly around this issue, there is currently a scientific debate ongoing (see Boyd, 2007; Boyd and Banzhaf, 2007; Wallace, 2007; Costanza, 2008; Fisher and Turner, 2008; Wallace, 2008).

Integration and Animal Farm by Orwell :: Free Essay Writer

Integration and Animal Farm by Orwell Integration of Education in the United States Throughout history, education is recognized as one of the key components of any civilized society. It is a natural instinct for man to learn, and feel the need to pass on that knowledge to their young and to all those who come behind them. People have a passion for education, and will fight for the opportunity to gain the valuable knowledge that education provides. The importance of education in a society is illustrated in two aspects. The first being the actual events in American history regarding the desegregation of schools, and the second being the action of the animals in George Orwell's Animal Farm upon receiving their liberation on Manor Farm. In recent times we have witnessed a struggle in American society for the opportunity of minorities to realize the education that their white counterparts received. It began with slavery, when blacks were prohibited from obtaining even the basic skills to read and write. When blacks were finally allowed this liberty, we began our own makeshift schools, and were content with this opportunity. As time progressed, and more formal schools were established, minorities realized that they were not receiving the same quality education as those of the majority. This sparked a legal battle that lasted over fifty years. The first landmark was the case of Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896. It established the doctrine of "separate but equal." This concept stated that separate public facilities of equal quality do not violate the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution. This amendment says that no state may "abridge" the privileges of any citizen, nor may any stat e deprive any citizen of life, liberty, or property without due process of the law. In 1954, fifty-eight years later, the Case of Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka finally settled the debate of whether or not blacks and whites can receive an education integrated with or separate from each other. This time the Supreme Court unanimously ruled to overturn the Plessy v. Ferguson decision. In his opinion, the Chief Justice wrote, "We conclude that, in the field of public education, the doctrine of "separate but equal" has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." The Brown case signaled the end of segregation of public places mandated by law.

Organizational Culture Essay

This essay/assignment is a solution paper on Organizational Culture. It reviews the Hofstede Model and Schein Model as well as tries to understand the the dynamics which influences the occupational cultures. This is a sample paper. The definition of culture remains quite ambiguous with researchers assessing it utilising different methodologies. The common understanding of culture is a way of doing things, or the norm by which a society organizes its tasks. However, the terminology tends to be classified more distinctly when looked upon in the aspect of organizations and their systems of performing actions. Two of the most prominent researchers on this aspect of organizational behaviour are Geert Hofstede and Edgar Schein. Each has presented the concept of organizational culture using a paradigm based on the values and thinking exhibited by the workers of an organization, but has assessed different levels of adaptation and integration that bind this aspect of culture. According to Hofstede, ‘culture is the collective programming of the human mind that distinguishes the members of one group from another. Culture in this sense is a system of collectively held values’. On the other hand, Schein has taken a slightly different approach and states ‘culture is the deeper level of basic assumptions and beliefs that are shared by members of an organization that operate unconsciously and define in a basic â€Å"taken for granted† fashion an organization’s view of its self and its environment’. The common notion among researchers is that every organization exhibits certain values and norms in the business environment and a company will likely end up portraying two things; organizational culture and corporate culture. The former is based on what the company ‘is’, while the latter principle is an embodiment of the vision and character of the company, making up what a company ‘has’. Both Schein and Hofstede showed similarities in their presentation of the concept of organizational culture by applying a focus on the mental assumptions that shape the ideology of culture and give rise to the norms and values that end up being regarded as the primary character of an organization. However, the anthropological approach adopted by them towards organizational culture varied greatly. Hofstede favoured the ‘etic’ or dimensional approach, where the description of behaviour is very neutral and can be applied to various cultures. A key reasoning for this is the linkage he presented between the national culture  prevalent in the business environment that an organization operates in, and its resulting effects on the shaping of the norms that are applied by the organization itself. On the other hand, Schein looked upon organizational behaviour with an ‘emic’ approach, describing the dimensions that affected companies by viewing it from the aspect of a person within the culture. Hofstede undertook an extensive research process within IBM, to understand the behaviour it and its employees exhibited across the many offices it had in the world. His ideology was that organizational behaviour was greatly influenced by national and regional cultural groupings. The conclusion from the research conducted allowed Hofstede to present five characteristics of culture that he believed were exhibited by organizations in one way or form across the world. These included power distance, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity vs. femininity, long vs. short term orientation, and individualism vs. collectivism. Schein’s organizational model looked at culture from the standpoint of an observer and presented three levels to describe the complex workings involved in a company. At the first level were the observable artefacts, pointing to those attributes which could be seen, heard or felt by the observer. The second level was the exposed values, which referred to the professed culture of the organization by its members. At the third level lie tacit assumptions, which are made up of the unseen elements of culture of an organization that become the unspoken rules of the company. While Hofstede’s model of organization culture relies on the tried and tested ideology of cultural theorists by underlying the determination of culture in an organization from core values and assumptions of a given national culture, Schein’s model brings about more functionality to the subject area by delving into a deeper understanding of the factors that influenced the exhibited culture in the organization. Hofstede’s IBM study developed linkages between personality and culture, by relating to individuals as components of societies, and organizations a resultant of both. Schein presented the notion of learning as a part of the organizational culture, and one of the building blocks that courted different operators in its assimilation and establishment. In both models, the common factor remains the individuals who form the organization, and in many ways are responsible for providing the behavioural traits to the company in order to portray a sense of belonging. The divergence in its  initiation relates to the variance held by Hofstede and Schein, with the former attributing the national culture being the driving force, while the latter focuses on the various actors who play a role in the creation of the organizational entity as the contributors to the culture of that establishment. While personality will play a part in the integration between the original and acquired culture, the need for understanding the dynamics which influence the occupational cultures is important in order to become aware of the human factor and its role in the process. References Hofstede, G. & McCrae, R. (2004) ‘Personality and Culture Revisited: Linking Traits and Dimensions of Culture’, Cross-Cultural Research, Volume 38, No. 1, pp. 52 – 88 Schein, E. (1996) ‘Culture: The Missing Concept in Organization Studies’, Administrative Science Quarterly, Volume 41, Issue 2, pp. 229 – 240

AP English III

In this mock press release from The Onion, the author satirizes the way products are marketed to consumers. He seems to think that the methods used by advertisers are exaggerated and manipulative. The author shows his contempt for marketing techniques by using Irony, diction, and hyperboles. The use of Irony Is evident In this mock press release. The author uses this Irony to point out logical flaws sometimes seen In advertisements. For instance, a woman claims that â€Å"after wearing MagnaSoles for seven weeks, [she's] noticed a significant decrease in pain† (lines 59-60).Customer testimonials are often used as an advertising technique. However, this particular one is showing irony because the injury of a sprained ankle could clearly be healed by time in seven weeks†not necessarily because of some miracle product. The audience recognizes this irony and finds it humorous. Another irony that the author is showing is the description of an â€Å"intelligent-looking man in a white lab coat† (lines 67-68). This is ironic because he is not necessarily intelligent, he merely appears to be intelligent.This parodies the advertising technique of using actors to sell products, as opposed to actual certified pecialists. All of these examples of Irony clearly show misleading tactics of marketers. The authors use of comical dlctlon emphasizes the audacious tone that real advertisements use to sell their products. However, this author flouts that bold tone by use of sarcastic and exaggerated word choice. For example, he mocks the scientific words typically used by using made up words. He creates terms like â€Å"pain nuclei,† â€Å"kilofrankels,† and â€Å"comfortrons. By inserting this satirical diction, the author is creating a connection to scientific vocabulary typically used in advertising. Consumers are often misled by vocabulary that they are unfamiliar with, and this author is satirically proving that. Specifically, he uses the term â€Å"pseudoscience† which sounds, to an uninformed ear, like a legitimate field of study. However, a clever reader will understand that â€Å"pseudff' means fake, and therefore the very term means â€Å"fake science† (not legitimate). By using such exaggerated diction, the author proves his satirical point that people will believe anything that sounds scientific.The author of this mock press release also uses hyperbole to mock real advertisements by ointing out their exaggerations. The article contains a quote by the product's creator that claims it is â€Å"not just a shoe insert†it's a total foot rejuvenation system† (line 16-17). This is an exaggeration of what typical advertisements say about their product. All advertisers want to sell their product as a â€Å"cure-all. † Through hyperbole, this article is mocking this convention. In addition, the article claims that â€Å"if the frequency of one's foot is out of alignment with the Earth, th e entire body will suffer† (lines 43-45).This is clearly a fantasy fact because we know that your entire ody is not necessarily Impacted by the biomagnetic connection of your foot to the ground. The author's hyperbole serves to further prove that advertisements often use bombastic exaggeration. The satirical devices used by the author poke fun at real advertising techniques. Through scientific-sounding diction, strong, humorous hyperbole, and ludicrous Irony, the author effectively makes his point that marketing techniques are deceptive and somewhat shady. techniques by using irony, diction, and hyperboles. The use of irony is evident in this mock press release.The author uses this irony o point out logical flaws sometimes seen in advertisements. For instance, a woman specialists. All of these examples of irony clearly show misleading tactics of marketers. The author's use of comical diction emphasizes the audacious tone that reader will understand that â€Å"pseudo' means fa ke, and therefore the very term means that claims it is â€Å"not Just a shoe insert†it's a total foot rejuvenation system† (line body is not necessarily impacted by the biomagnetic connection of your foot to the hyperbole, and ludicrous irony, the author effectively makes his point that marketing