Lord Of The Flies :: essays research papers

In the novel, Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, Simon is the most powerful character. Although he is peaceful and shy, Simon closely resembles the role of Christ in many of his ways. He tries to show the boys there is no monster on the island except the fears that the boys have created in their minds. During a meeting, Simon shares what he believes is the truth by saying the beast, "Is only us." When he makes this announcement, he is ridiculed by the boys, "The laughter beat him cruelly and he shrank away defenseless to his seat." This is an uncanny parallel to the misunderstanding that Christ had to deal with. Later in the story the savage hunters are chasing a pig. Once they kill the pig, they put its head on a stick and Simon experiences an epiphany in which he comes to understand the truth of his theory. As Simon rushes to the campfire, "Stumbling through the thick sand," to tell his discovery to the boys, he is hit in the side with a spear, his prophecy rejected and the word he wished to spread ignored. Simon falls to the ground and dies. The description of his death, the manner in which he died, and the cause for which he died are remarkably similar to the circumstances of Christ’s life and ultimate demise. The major difference is that Christ died on the cross, while Simon was speared. However, a reader familiar with the Bible may recall that Christ was stabbed in the side with a spear before his crucifixion. A Link to the Outside World In the novel, Lord of the Flies written by William Golding, a large spiral shaped sea shell, known as a conch shell, became crucial for society developed by the surviving boys. Similarly, in Greek mythology Triton, the son of Neptune, uses the conch shell to stir or calm the seas. Here, Ralph, following the instructions of Piggy, uses the shell to subdue and control the animal spirits of the boys. Living on a small, unnamed island, with no adult figures, the conch shell became their symbol of authority. The influence of the conch kept the children’s hopes of being rescued going, for it reminded them of the order there was in the world where they had come from. It seemed to be the only link to the world of order and civilization. Events that went along with the finding of the conch shell started with Ralph being named the chief of the island because he was the first boy to blow

The Rainforests of Our Oceans Essay -- Marine Biology

The first thing that comes to mind when we think of coral reefs is either an image of Nemo swimming through those finger-like plants in the ocean or a jumble of those plants we see on postcards and on television, thinking that one of them (but which one?) must be a coral reef. On the contrary, however, coral reefs are far from being plants but are in fact, an ecosystem filled with corals, both hard and soft, and endless reef species. The coral itself is made of many coral polyps, delicate limestone-secreting animals, which serve as a skeleton for the coral. The impact of these reefs on both marine life and humans is immense, but as of today, we have lost almost twenty to twenty-five percent of the world’s coral reefs and about another sixty percent are being threatened by human activities. Consequently, coral reefs should be protected because they benefit us greatly, both economically and biologically, and if we leave them unprotected, we face numerous consequences that will be detrimental to both our economy and the biodiversity of the ocean. Though coral reefs don’t seem like much, it’s impossible to deny the importance of the roles they serve as indicators of the salinity of water and its nutrient levels in our coastal watersheds and oceans. Because corals can only survive in clear and unpolluted tropical or sub-tropical waters that have a relatively normal salinity and that are low in nutrient levels (Thurman), they help local resource managers to understand how activities on land impacts the reefs and to identify changes in water quality, which is a major benefit to us because the reefs are able to detect even the slightest change in water that some of the best manmade technologies can miss (U.S. EPA). They also act as mo... ...ier-reef.html>. Talbot F., and Wilkinson, C., 2001, Coral Reefs, Mangroves and Seagrasses: A Sourcebook for Managers. 29 Mar 2012. Print. Thurman, H.V. Essentials of Oceanography: Coral Reefs. 4th Edition. New York: Macmillan Publishing, 1993. 336-341. Print. U.S. EPA, . "Water: Habitat Protection." Coral Reef Protection: What Are Coral Reefs?. United States Environmental Protection Agency, 06 Mar 2012. Web. 25 Mar 2012. . U.S. EPA, . "Water: Oceans, Coasts, Estuaries & Beaches." Coastal Watershed Factsheets - Coral Reefs and Your Coastal Watershed. United States Environmental Protection Agency, 06 Mar 2012. Web. 25 Mar 2012. . Zubi, Teresa. "ECOLOGY: Reefs at Risk." . N.p., 21 May 2009. Web. 26 Mar 2012. .

Gender Differences :: Gender Sex

Gender Differences In today’s world, women are taking a more active role in their careers. There are women who lead large companies, own their own businesses, and are very active in their community, but there are also those women who are just laid back better known as gals. Gals take on their responsibilities, but they are not as serious about their lives as women. Gals tend to live their lives to the fullest. They attend sporting events, go to bars, and do not care what people think about them. Women are always concerned about their appearance and what other people think. Women take life very seriously. They see the world as a challenge everyday whether they are at the office or at home with the family. They always have an agenda for everything that they do, and a certain way of doing it. For example, a business woman has to wear a certain type of suit, shoes and drive a certain car. Women have a reputation to uphold. On the other hand, gals wear what makes them feel good and dress for themselves rather than dressing for others. Gals drive cars they can afford rather than driving a car they have no way of paying for. Gals are basically the average woman. They go to work everyday, come home and take care of the family and then take care of themselves. This means that they take time out of their busy day to satisfy some of their needs. Gals go out on the town with their friends, to volunteer their time for the needy, and they just make the best out of what they have. Women take care of themselves but its not the same. They take care of their inner needs. Women tend to ignore their emotional needs because there is no room in their agenda. Gals go with the flow and don’t worry about an agenda. Gals are seen as women, but gals do not act as women. Gals act as themselves not someone else. Women put on faces for different people and do not show their true feelings. When women are compared to each other, women are seen as petty and insecure while the gals are seen as being easy going and free-spirited. Gender Differences :: Gender Sex Gender Differences In today’s world, women are taking a more active role in their careers. There are women who lead large companies, own their own businesses, and are very active in their community, but there are also those women who are just laid back better known as gals. Gals take on their responsibilities, but they are not as serious about their lives as women. Gals tend to live their lives to the fullest. They attend sporting events, go to bars, and do not care what people think about them. Women are always concerned about their appearance and what other people think. Women take life very seriously. They see the world as a challenge everyday whether they are at the office or at home with the family. They always have an agenda for everything that they do, and a certain way of doing it. For example, a business woman has to wear a certain type of suit, shoes and drive a certain car. Women have a reputation to uphold. On the other hand, gals wear what makes them feel good and dress for themselves rather than dressing for others. Gals drive cars they can afford rather than driving a car they have no way of paying for. Gals are basically the average woman. They go to work everyday, come home and take care of the family and then take care of themselves. This means that they take time out of their busy day to satisfy some of their needs. Gals go out on the town with their friends, to volunteer their time for the needy, and they just make the best out of what they have. Women take care of themselves but its not the same. They take care of their inner needs. Women tend to ignore their emotional needs because there is no room in their agenda. Gals go with the flow and don’t worry about an agenda. Gals are seen as women, but gals do not act as women. Gals act as themselves not someone else. Women put on faces for different people and do not show their true feelings. When women are compared to each other, women are seen as petty and insecure while the gals are seen as being easy going and free-spirited.

John Proctor change during the course of the play Essay

How does John Proctor change during the course of the play? How might this change be communicated on stage? In Act one we first see John Proctor. He appears to be a very sharp and nasty man. We can see this in the way he talks to his servant, Mary Warren: â€Å"Be you foolish Mary Warren? Be you deaf? I am looking for you more than I am looking for my cows!! † If I were producing this play on the stage I would have Mary warren cowering away from John Proctor. This would give the audience an impression that he is quite a nasty man. But this all changes when he meets Abigail as she realises that he is still a powerful man even though he committed adultery with her: â€Å"Gah, I’d almost forgot how powerful you were John Proctor! † In the same conversation he shows he has feelings for Abigail and that he is a deceitful person: â€Å"Oh, how you sweated like a stallion whenever I come near. † This language creates a sense of a passionate relationship. If I were producing this on stage I would have Abigail trying to hold John while he is looking away and checking no one is around. Even though he has committed lechery he is still protective over is wife as he tells Abigail that she ‘will not speak anything of Elizabeth’ to him. He also shows that he is in denial and a liar as he denies anything ever happening between him and Abigail: â€Å"Aye but we did not† The language from the conversation with Abigail creates a sense of confusion with John’s personality as he does one thing and says another. Although he is a well-respected member of the community, as the audience we don’t really know whether to trust him or not. He has a high expectation of Hale before he meets him and when he first meets him he is shocked by him: † Why, Mr. Hale! Good evening to you, sir. Come in Come in. † If I were producing this play then I would have John looking quite flabbergasted. This would show that Mr. Hale impresses him and that he respects him. He is also respectful to him: â€Å"I’ve heard you be a sensible man, Mr. Hale† This concludes how John is respectful to his fellow villagers. He is well respected in the community and this may be why. In Act 2 we see the relationship between him and his wife, Elizabeth. The relationship in their marriage seems to be quite distant as john arrives late home. This could suggest that he stayed away longer because he wanted to avoid Elizabeth due to the fact that he has a guilty conscience: â€Å"What keeps you so late its almost dark† In a production of this play I would have the room very dark with just a few candles on the table. There would be food on the table but it would not look appetising, as it would have gone cold. There would be family pictures on a dresser at the side. This indicates that john is a family man, or so Elizabeth thinks. Even though there are pictures of their family presented in the kitchen, this is due to their appearance in Salem. They are well respected so if they tell people that John has been unfaithful then the village will look down on them. As readers it seems that Elizabeth knows about John’s affair as they had an argument about ‘forgiving and forgetting’ but John is nasty to Elizabeth and shouts at her: â€Å"Oh, Elizabeth, your justice would freeze beer! † Although he is irate with her he still wants ‘to please her’ as he was unfaithful to her. He does this by complimenting her cooking even though he changed it so it would taste better. John’s temper also increases when he has arguments with Elizabeth. He constantly takes his anger out on Mary Warren even though she hasn’t actually done anything wrong: I’ll whip you if you dare leave this house again! † This language creates a sense of him being a bully. Mary Warren always seems to be the victim. Proctor shows he is bossy also when he orders Mary Warren to ‘go to bed’. This is what adults say to young children not to 18 year olds. This gives us a sense that he is treating her like a child and is disrespectful to her. Mary Warren is also more than John’s servant in the house as he tries to get her, along with himself, to overthrow the court to free Elizabeth. This also enables him to get revenge on Abigail for accusing his wife. If I were producing this play then I would have Mary trying to run away shouting that she ‘won’t do it’. This would indicate that she is scared of John and doesn’t feel safe near him. His anger also is shown in this Act as he ‘rips the deputy governors warrant’ up. This is very disrespectful and rude to Mr. Hale, Mr. Danforth and Cheever as they are the people giving out warrants, leaving Mr. Danforth to sign them. John has destroyed legal documents that have been given out by these 3 men. John also shows that he is religious and is part of the belief of Christianity as he shouts at Mr. Hale: â€Å"Pontius Pilate! God will not let you wash your hands of this! † If I were producing this play on stage I would have John with lots of anger shown on his face looking like he was going to hit Mr. Hale. Mr. Hale would turn around and start to run towards Cheever. This would indicate that John is a scary man and that getting away from him is probably the best thing to do. His emotions suddenly change when Elizabeth appears. He turns into a caring man when they are taking her away: â€Å"I will bring you home, I will bring you home soon† This language shows that John can be caring, as he has forgotten about Mr. Hale and Cheever and is now concentrating on his wife. Proctor has faith that his wife ‘never lies’. She confessed that she doesn’t believe in witches even though her religion says she should believe in them. At the end of act 2 John feels quite scared as he is trying to make Mary overthrow the court and she doesn’t want to do it: † My wife will never die for me! I will bring your guts into your mouth but that goodness will not die for me! † John character has gone from being angry to being scared in Act 2. In Act 3 John’s attitude changes, as he becomes quite a false man. This is shown when he is in the court introducing his case to Danforth: â€Å"She has signed a deposition† The language indicates that he is playing a court game as he has written a legal statement. When he is presenting himself he is very polite to Mr. Danforth, this is probably in his attempt to overthrow the court. He responds to questions very politely and doesn’t appear violent: â€Å"John Proctor, sir, Elizabeth Proctor is my wife† Even though John stays calm, Danforth constantly tries to interrogate him. This slowly increases his temper; he keeps to his words without erupting with anger, as he knows this will do him more harm than good. When John speaks Danforth is constantly interrupting him, this is frustrating for him, as he cannot finish what he is saying: â€Å"I come not to hurt the court, I only-†¦ † The technique that Danforth uses to interrogate John suggests by John’s reaction that it is annoying and could start an argument. If I were producing this play then I would have John dressed smartly so he looks professional and Danforth sat higher up than John so he looks more important. John would try to avoid looking Danforth in the eyes. This would indicate to the audience that John is a little fearful of Danforth, as he knows that he could sentence himself and his wife to death at any time. When Elizabeth Proctor was accused of witchcraft due to the poppet that was found and Abigail’s accusation this made John angry. In court John is sarcastic about this and tries to change the subject and make it funny: â€Å"There might also be a dragon with five legs in my house but no one has ever seen it! † This language also shows that John is biding time with the court. If I where producing this play then I would have John laughing, looking around the court but no one else would be laughing. This could indicate that he is scared and is trying to laugh it of or this could be so he can think of more negatives about Abigail and prove that she is lying. John is also indiscreet as he tells Danforth about how Abigail laughed during Prayer: â€Å"†¦ she were twice this year put out of this meetin’ house for laughter during prayer! † John also shows that he is nasty as he calls Abigail a ‘whore’. Consequently this proves that John Proctor wants to seek revenge on Abigail. Even though this makes Abigail sound like the victim she is not as she is the one who is making false allegations against honest, well respected members of the community. When John is presenting his own case to save his life he is like a hero and he is very brave. He tells Danforth what he actually thinks of him: â€Å"I see the boot of Lucifer, I see his dirty face, and it is my face and yours Danforth! â€Å"

Key problems at Edit 4U and recommendations

Drury ( 2008 ) has defined direction accounting as â€Å"†¦ the proviso of information to people within the administration to assist them do better determinations and better the efficiency and effectivity of bing operations.† Making the most effectual and efficient determinations is one of the most critical things to make because this leads to a successful growing and profitableness of the company. Assorted places like the Board of Directors make these important determinations every twenty-four hours in order to function the shareholders’ involvements and to do certain that the concern will go on to run in the hereafter. The determinations are made utilizing competent direction accomplishments, different managerial experiences and whether the direction chose to be a hazard taker or a hazard averse. Edit 4U ( E4U ) is a household owned concern who provides redaction and layout service for magazines. The concern was set up with the purpose to be profitable and to vie with other concerns in the same field whilst the economic system of Ireland is dining. As a get downing business- jobs and troubles could non be avoided which is the ground why this study has been commissioned. The study will supply information and concern advice to decide jobs that Mr. and Mrs. O’Sullivan is presently sing. The cardinal issues of the concern will be analysed and examined to be able to give the right solutions and recommendations to Mr. Sean O’Sullivan. Different direction accounting techniques would be endorsed in order to better the public presentation of the concern. KEY ISSUES The cardinal issues that have been found whilst the analyzing the concern is as follows: I.Costing Method Pricing occupations or merchandise costing is one of the cardinal issues that Sean and Mary are presently confronting. Sean does non cognize how to be a service per column occupation which has led to inaccurate fiscal statements and false figure of gross ( Banker & A ; Hughes, 1994 ) . A direction accounting research by Brignall, et Al ( 1991 ) have mentioned that merchandise costing are used for ‘ †¦ stock list rating, merchandise pricing, mix determinations and for direction planning and control’ . It is indispensable that a concern cost their service right because it helps the direction make better determinations towards the profitableness of the concern. The cost-plus pricing could be an option that Edit 4U could utilize because this determines the merchandising monetary value and costs of the service they offer. This is calculated based on Sean’s chosen net income border for the company. Furthermore, Edit 4U could utilize a merchandise costing system which helps to be products/ services based on the demand for the occupation. Marginal costing, soaking up costing and activity based costing are some of the bing methods that Sean could utilize to accurately monetary value the column services that they offer to their clients. The Activity Based Costing ( Garg & A ; Rafiq, 2002 ) method `†¦aid strategic determination devising, it act as a lens into the concern procedure leting resources to be expeditiously allocated and to enable cost decrease and in conclusion, it is an allotment mechanism that transfer pricing internal and external to the organisation’ . This indicates that the footing of allotment which a theoretical account is shown in Appendix 1should be considered to be implemented throughout the company because this will divide up the costs that are allocated consequently to its cost Centres. The method ensures that costs are being driven by the right cost Centres and they are exactly measured. Enforcing a direction accounting technique will ensue to a better service pricing based on the customization of each client ( Caplan, 2014 ) . However, in order to make these more information is needed from the concern. For illustration, Sean should account for all the relevant costs because this will back up him to take the most efficient determination with respects to the hereafter of the concern. Options should besides be considered because this will move as insurance in instance the first determination fails. In add-on, more information like how much work is allocated to a customized redaction service ; the type of merchandise mix that they are traveling to offer that could give high soaking up rate and how much is the demand for their service. These are some of information that would be required from Sean and Mary to to the full set a monetary value on services that they offer. Equally good as supplying extra information it is recommended that Sean and Mary use the client profit ableness analysis ( Epstein, 2000 ) which is shown in Appendix 2. II.Planning and Control The following cardinal issue to be raised is the deficiency of separation between the family and the business’ disbursals since Sean utilizations portion of their place as an office. The Activity Based Costing will assist Sean and Mary to allocate the cost more accurately with respects to the disbursals used in the concern. The deficiency of planning and control in the concern could take to hapless determinations being made, hapless hard currency flow, and they could be taking the business’ objectives to a incorrect way ( Lucey, 2009 ) . The Cost Volume Profit ( Drury, 2013 ) analysis â€Å"examines the relationship between alterations in activity and alterations in entire gross revenues gross, costs and net profit.† The analysis is a direction accounting technique that determines how many products/ services can a concern green goods in order to breakeven. This means that the analysis could let the direction to happen out how much services they can offer in order for the concern to gain net income. The analysis is besides used to pull the border of safety that will demo the scope of units before the concern will happen some loss. Using this sort of direction accounting technique could forestall Sean from doing the incorrect determination for the company. However, the analysis will non work if there is non adequate information available which makes it impossible for the concern to build the cost volume net income analysis right ( ACCA, 2014 ) . Some of the information that will be needed to bring forth the analysis is the expected gross revenues of the concern, the variable cost, the fixed costs and the part per unit of the merchandise. Therefore, it is recommended that the concern should go on on utilizing the accounting system that they already have because this will guarantee that the grosss and disbursals are accurately accounted for. Furthermore, this will do certain that the books remain balance and their VAT returns will be addressed right. III.Business Venture The last issue that will be analysed and discussed is the prospective concern venture that Sean will come in with Fergus. There are Numberss of concerns that would necessitate to be resolved in order to do the right determination for Edit 4U’s concern venture ( Datar, et al. , 2012 ) . The first concern is the loan that Fergus will borrow from Sean to pay for the printing and distribution costs. I would propose to Sean to make a full background and recognition cheque on Fergus before he agrees to make a concern venture with him. The ground for this is that Sean demands to do certain that Fergus is a believable individual and has a clean repute amongst Bankss and edifice societies. If Fergus has a bad repute as a man of affairs, so this could post great menaces and hazards to the concern venture and could stain Sean’s concern repute. However, if Sean wants to prosecute the concern venture so he would necessitate to come in into a contract with Fergus that contains all the conditions that Sean has with respects to any jobs in the hereafter sing Fergus’ credibleness. Sean will necessitate to retrieve that even though they have a contract, he could non alter the public’s sentiments towards him if there was a dirt about the concern venture. The 2nd concern would be the failure to budget the hard currency flows of the concern. Budgeting is a direction accounting technique which ensures that the hard currency out flow and inflow will be accounted ( Russell, et Al, 2001 ) C. Using this technique Sean and Fergus would be able to be after and do determinations about the hereafter of the concern and they can accurately cognize the costs and predicted grosss. If the concern does non utilize any accounting technique so it will be hard for the direction to find the public presentation of the concern and they will non be able to run into their aims. Last, Sean should be cognizant on how many yearss their creditors are giving them because if the company fails to pay these creditors in clip they will be given non to swear the company and discontinue making concern with Edit 4U. The worst instance scenario is the company traveling to travel on bankruptcy ( Agarwala & A ; Taffler, 2008 ) . Using personal recognition cards and overdraft installation as a capital is non the most efficient manner to finance a concern because this could take to paying higher involvement rates that will incur each month. In order to avoid losing the creditor’s yearss a direction accounting technique called ‘accounting ratio’ should be practiced. Patton has mentioned on his Accounting reappraisal in 1982 that ratio analysis could be really utile in countries like ‘analysis of concern minutess in markets that may non be efficient ; contractual bounds based on accounting rations and public presentation anticipation and hazard rating in an efficient market’ . Some people might believe that accounting ratios are non utile but in fact these ratios could steer the direction of the company to whether the concern is executing good and it could besides uncover how many yearss their creditors would necessitate to be paid and when they are traveling to have hard currency influxs from their debitors. However, if more information like the fiscal studies is available, it is possible for the company to to the full analyze and see the public presentation of the company. The accounting ratio could assist the company pull off its hard currency flows efficaciously. Therefore, I would propose for Sean and Fergus to utilize the ratio analysis technique whether they go in front or non with the concern venture. CONCLUSIONS & A ; RECOMMENDATIONS After analyzing and measuring the cardinal issues of Edit 4U, I conclude that Sean who started the concern along with his married woman Mary should utilize and implement a figure of direction accounting techniques in order for their concern to be enhanced, to turn and to place the costs expeditiously. As a direction adviser, I would urge for Mr. and Mrs. O’Sullivan to utilize the undermentioned: Activity Based Costing to be the service that Edit 4U offers and to apportion the costs efficaciously to each cost drivers. The Profitability Analysis should be used to calculate the profitableness of a undertaking and the concern. Cost Volume Profit ( CVP ) Analysis ( CSUS, 2014 ) should be used to be able to cognize when the units of end product and the sum of grosss breakeven. Budgeting and accounting ratios are used to analyze the concern venture between Fergus and Sean. These direction accounting techniques could give the two parties a better image of the public presentation of the concern. In add-on, these techniques could give them the most of import information needed to do determinations and send on their program. Therefore, after accounting the most of import key issues, it has been identified that more information is needed from Sean with respects to the past records and past public presentation of the company in order to utilize the direction accounting techniques and to acquire the most accurate consequences. The more accurate the consequences are from utilizing these techniques, the more accurate the determinations are made for the company.

A Freshwater Aquatic and Terrestrial Food Web

————————————————- Food web From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia A  freshwater  aquatic  and  terrestrial  food web. A  food web  (or  food cycle) depicts feeding connections (what eats what) in an  ecological communityand hence is also referred to as a  consumer-resource system. Ecologists can broadly lump all life forms into one of two categories called  trophic levels: 1) the  autotrophs, and 2) the  heterotrophs. To  maintaintheir bodies, grow, develop, and to  reproduce, autotrophs produce  organic  matter from  inorganicsubstances, including both  minerals  and  gases  such as  carbon dioxide.These  chemical reactionsrequire  energy, which mainly comes from the  sun  and largely by  photosynthesis, although a very small amount comes from  hydrothermal vents  and  hot springs. A gradient exists between troph ic levels running from complete autotrophs that obtain their sole source of carbon from the atmosphere, to  mixotrophs(such as  carnivorous plants) that are autotrophic organisms that partially obtain organic matter from sources other than the atmosphere, and complete  heterotrophs  that must feed to obtain organic matter.The linkages in a food web illustrate the feeding pathways, such as where heterotrophs obtain organic matter by feeding on autotrophs and other heterotrophs. The food web is a simplified illustration of the various methods of feeding that links an ecosystem into a unified system of exchange. There are different kinds of feeding relations that can be roughly divided into  herbivory,  carnivory,  scavenging  andparasitism. Some of the organic matter eaten by heterotrophs, such as  sugars, provides energy.Autotrophs and heterotrophs come in all sizes, from  microscopic  to many  tonnes  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ from  cyanobacteria  togiant redwoods, and from  viruses  and  bdellovibrio  to  blue whales. Charles Elton  pioneered the concept of food cycles, food chains, and food size in his classical 1927 book â€Å"Animal Ecology†; Elton's ‘food cycle' was replaced by ‘food web' in a subsequent ecological text. Elton organized species into  functional groups, which was the basis for  Raymond Lindeman's classic and landmark paper in 1942 on trophic dynamics.Lindeman emphasized the important role of  decomposer  organisms in a  trophic system of classification. The notion of a food web has a historical foothold in the writings of  Charles Darwin  and his terminology, including an â€Å"entangled bank†, â€Å"web of life†, â€Å"web of complex relations†, and in reference to the decomposition actions of earthworms he talked about â€Å"the continued movement of the particles of earth†. Even earlier, in 1768  John Bruckner  described nature as â€Å"one contin ued web of life†. ————————————————-Food webs are limited representations of real ecosystems as they necessarily aggregate many species into  trophic species, which are functional groups of species that have the same predators and prey in a food web. Ecologists use these simplifications in  quantitative  (or mathematical)  models  of trophic orconsumer-resource systems  dynamics. Using these models they can measure and test for generalized patterns in the structure of real food web networks. Ecologists have identified non-random properties in the  topographic  structure of food webs. Published examples that are used in  meta analysis  are of variable quality with omissions.However, the number of empirical studies on community webs is on the rise and the mathematical treatment of food webs usingnetwork theory  had identified patterns that are comm on to all. Scaling laws, for example, predict a relationship between the topology of food web predator-prey linkages and levels of  species richness. Trophic levels Main article:  Trophic level A trophic pyramid (a) and a simplified community food web (b) illustrating ecological relations among creatures that are typical of a northern  Boreal  terrestrial ecosystem. The trophic pyramid roughly represents the biomass (usually measured as total dry-weight) at each level.Plants generally have the greatest biomass. Names of trophic categories are shown to the right of the pyramid. Some ecosystems, such as many wetlands, do not organize as a strict pyramid, because aquatic plants are not as productive as long-lived terrestrial plants such as trees. Ecological trophic pyramids are typically one of three kinds: 1) pyramid of numbers, 2) pyramid of biomass, or 3) pyramid of energy. [4] Food webs have trophic levels and positions. Basal species, such as plants, form the first level a nd are the resource limited species that feed on no other living creature in the web.Basal species can be autotrophs ordetritivores, including â€Å"decomposing organic material and its associated microorganisms which we defined as detritus, micro-inorganic material and associated microorganisms (MIP), and vascular plant material. â€Å"[11]:94  Most autotrophs capture the sun's energy in  chlorophyll, but some autotrophs (the  chemolithotrophs) obtain energy by the chemical oxidation of inorganic compounds and can grow in dark environments, such as the sulfur bacterium  Thiobacillus, which lives in hot  sulfur springs.The top level has top (or apex) predators which no other species kills directly for its food resource needs. The intermediate levels are filled with omnivores that feed on more than one trophic level and cause energy to flow through a number of food pathways starting from a basal species. [12] ——————— Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€- In the simplest scheme, the first trophic level (level 1) is plants, then herbivores (level 2), and then carnivores (level 3). The trophic level is equal to one more than the chain length, which is the number of links connecting to the base.The base of the food chain (primary producers or  detritivores) is set at zero. [3][13]  Ecologists identify feeding relations and organize species into trophic species through extensive gut content analysis of different species. The technique has been improved through the use of stable isotopes to better trace energy flow through the web. [14]  It was once thought that omnivory was rare, but recent evidence suggests otherwise. This realization has made trophic classifications more complex. [15] Energy flow and biomass Main article:  Energy flow (ecology) See also:  Ecological efficiencyThe Law of Conservation of Mass dates from Antoine Lavoisier's 1789 discovery that ma ss is neither created nor destroyed in chemical reactions. In other words, the mass of any one element at the beginning of a reaction will equal the mass of that element at the end of the reaction. [24]:11 Left:  Energy flow diagram of a frog. The frog represents a node in an extended food web. The energy ingested is utilized for metabolic processes and transformed into biomass. The energy flow continues on its path if the frog is ingested by predators, parasites, or as a decaying  carcass  in soil.This energy flow diagram illustrates how energy is lost as it fuels the metabolic process that transform the energy and nutrients into biomass. Right:  An expanded three link energy food chain (1. plants, 2. herbivores, 3. carnivores) illustrating the relationship between food flow diagrams and energy transformity. The transformity of energy becomes degraded, dispersed, and diminished from higher quality to lesser quantity as the energy within a food chain flows from one trophic s pecies into another. Abbreviations: I=input, A=assimilation, R=respiration, NU=not utilized, P=production, B=biomass. 25] Food webs depict energy flow via trophic linkages. Energy flow is directional, which contrasts against the cyclic flows of material through the food web systems. [26]  Energy flow â€Å"typically includes production, consumption, assimilation, non-assimilation losses (feces), and respiration (maintenance costs). â€Å"[5]:5  In a very general sense, energy flow (E) can be defined as the sum ofmetabolic  production (P) and respiration (R), such that E=P+R. The mass (or biomass) of something is equal to its energy content. Mass and energy are closely intertwined.However, concentration and quality of nutrients and energy is variable. Many plant fibers, for example, are indigestible to many herbivores leaving grazer community food webs more nutrient limited than detrital food webs where bacteria are able to access and release the nutrient and energy stores. [ 27][28]†Organisms usually extract energy in the form of carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins. These polymers have a dual role as supplies of energy as well as building blocks; the part that functions as energy supply results in the production of nutrients (and carbon dioxide, water, and heat).Excretion of nutrients is, therefore, basic to metabolism. â€Å"[28]:1230-1231  The units in energy flow webs are typically a measure mass or energy per m2  per unit time. Different consumers are going to have different metabolic assimilation efficiencies in their diets. Each trophic level transforms energy into biomass. Energy flow diagrams illustrate the rates and efficiency of transfer from one trophic level into another and up through the hierarchy. [29][30] ————————————————-It is the case that the  biomass  of each  trophic level  decreases from the base of the chain to the top. This is because energy is lost to the environment with each transfer as  entropy  increases. About eighty to ninety percent of the energy is expended for the organism’s life processes or is lost as heat or waste. Only about ten to twenty percent of the organism’s energy is generally passed to the next organism. [31]  The amount can be less than one percent in animals consuming less digestible plants, and it can be as high as forty percent in  zooplankton  consuming  phytoplankton. 32]  Graphic representations of the biomass or productivity at each tropic level are called  ecological pyramids  or trophic pyramids. The transfer of energy from primary producers to top consumers can also be characterized by energy flow diagrams. [33] Food Web A  food web  is a graphical description of feeding relationships among species in an  ecological community, that is, of who eats whom (Fig. 1). It is also a means of showing how  energy   and materials (e. g. ,  carbon) flow through a community of  species  as a result of these feeding relationships.Typically, species are connected by lines or arrows called â€Å"links†, and the species are sometimes referred to as â€Å"nodes† in food web diagrams. Relationships between soil food web, plants, organic matter, and birds and mammals. â€Å"The  herbivores  are usually preyed upon by carnivores, which get the  energy  of the  sunlight  at third-hand, and these again may be preyed upon by other carnivores, and so on, until we reach an animal which has no enemies, and which forms, as it were, a terminus on this food cycle. There are, in fact, chains of animals linked together by food, and all dependent in the long run upon plants.We refer to these as ‘food-chains', and to all the food chains in a community as the ‘food-cycle. ‘† A food web differs from a food chain in that the latter shows only a portion of the food web involving a simple, linear series of species (e. g. ,  predator,  herbivore,  plant) connected by feeding links. A food web aims to depict a more complete picture of the feeding relationships, and can be considered a bundle of many interconnected food chains occurring within the community. All species occupying the same position within a food chain comprise a trophic level within the food web.For instance, all of the plants in the foodweb comprise the first or â€Å"primary producer† tropic level, all  herbivores  comprise the second or â€Å"primary consumer† trophic level, and carnivores that eat  herbivores  comprise the third or â€Å"secondary consumer† trophic level. Additional levels, in which carnivores eat other carnivores, comprise a tertiary trophic level. Elton emphasized early on that food chains tend to show characteristic patterns of increasing body size as one moves up the food chain, for example from  phytoplankton  to inv ertebrate grazers to fishes, or from insects to rodents to larger carnivores like foxes.Because individuals of small-bodied species require less  energy  and food than individuals of larger-bodied species, a given amount ofenergy  can support a greater number of individuals of the smaller-bodied species. Hence, ecological communities typically show what Elton called a pyramid of numbers (later dubbed the Eltonian pyramid), in which the species at lower trophic levels in the food web tend to be more numerous than those at higher trophic levels.A second reason for the pyramid of numbers is low ecological efficiency: some  energy  is lost at each transfer between consumer and prey, such that theenergy  that reaches top predators is a very small fraction of that available in the plants at the base of the food web. Although there is wide variation among types of  organisms  and types of  ecosystems, a general rule of thumb is that available  energydecreases by about a n order of magnitude at each step in the food chain.That is, only about 10% of theenergy  harvested by plants is consumed and converted into herbivore  biomass, only 10% of that makes it into  biomass  of primary carnivores, and so on. Thus, the structure of food webs is dictated in part by basic constraints set by  thermodynamics. The predictable dissipation of  energy  at each step in food chains is one of the factors thought to limit the length of most food chains to a maximum of four or five steps. Cohen et al. (2003) emphasized that the correlations mong body size, abundance, and trophic level produce a characteristic trivariate structure to (pelagic) food webs (Fig. 2). The pyramid of numbers is less obvious at the most basal levels in terrestrial communities based on trees, which are typically much larger than theherbivores  that feed on them. Pyramids of numbers or  biomass  may even be inverted in cases where the microscopic plants that support the web s how very rapid turnover, that is, where they grow and are eaten so rapidly that there is less plant  biomass  than herbivore  biomass  present at a given time. ————————————————-Decomposers are an assemblage of small  organisms, including invertebrates,  fungi, and  bacteria, that do not fit neatly into any trophic level because they consume dead  biomass  of organisms from all trophic levels. Decomposers are a critical component of the food web, however, because they recycle nutrients that otherwise would become sequestered in accumulating detritus. All food chains in a community constitute a food web. A  food web is simply the total set of feeding relationship amongst and between the species composing a biotic community. These relationships may achieve considerable complexity.With many food chains and cross connecting links, there is greater opportunit y for the prey and predator population in an ecosystem to adjust to the changes. ————————————————- The producer-consumer arrangement is one kind of structure known as trophic structure(trophic = food) and each food (nutritional) level in the food chain is called trophic level  or energy level. The first trophic level in an ecosystem is occupied by the plants-producers (green plant-primary producers), because they utilize solar energy which is transformed to chemical form during photosynthesis.The energy stored in food or green plants is consumed by the plant eaters (herbivores) which make the second trophic level. Herbivores are also called primaryconsumers. Primary consumers in turn are eaten by carnivores (also known as secondary consumers) which occupy third trophic level. Secondary consumers (Primary carnivores) may be eaten by other carnivores (secondary or top carn ivores) which are known as tertiary consumers and occupy fourth trophic level. Decomposer occupy fifth trophic level in an ecosystem.Food Web- In nature, food chain relationships are very complex. They never operate as isolated sequences, as one organism may form the food source of many organisms and so on. Thus, instead of a food chain, a number of food chains are interconnected with each other and form a web-like structure known as ‘food web'. For example, grass may be grazed by grasshoppers as well as cattle, rabbits and each of these may be eaten by different type of carnivores, such as birds, toads, snakes, foxes, depending on their food habit.Thus, a particular organism may not occupy the same tropic level in every food chain; it may simultaneously behave as secondary, tertiary or a top consumer. Organisms, whose food is obtained from plants by the same number of steps are said to belong to the same tropic level. Thus, green plants occupy the first tropic level or the pr oducer level. The plant grazers occupy the second tropic level or primary consumer or herbivore level (all plant-grazing insects, cattle, deer, rabbits, etc. ).Flesh-eaters, that eat herbivores, form the third tropic level or the secondary consumer or carnivore level-1 (frogs, small fish, etc. ). The third tropic level is the tertiary consumer or carnivore level-2, which eats the flesh of herbivores and secondary consumers. In a similar fashion, tropic levels can be expanded based on the food habits of organisms. Charles Elton, a British ecologist, however, concluded that the number of links in a food chain rarely exceeds five, because in the process of energy transfer there is always the loss of energy to the environment.It is the energy transfer mechanism which determines the number of links in a food chain. Man and many other animals who are omnivores occupy different tropic levels in food chains in relation to pure carnivores. The food web maintains the stability of the eco-syst em. For example, green land can be grazed by different organisms like insects, rabbits, rodents, etc. The insects then can be eaten by frogs which can be eaten by snakes. Snakes can either be eaten by hawks

Americanization in Poland

These days in Poland we can notice that the process of Americanization has proceeded. Every step we take, we face the influence of the American culture in our country and it does not surprise anybody or we do not even surmise that we take part in this phenomenon. Firstly, I have noticed that more than 90% of the music I listen to is in English. Even if the bands come from Sweden or Hungary the lyrics of their songs are still in English, usually in American English. Some people say that it overshadows Polish music a bit but it also makes us study the language to understand foreign lyrics. What is more, most of the movies I watch are American. They are from Hollywood and the cast of each movie is also American. It makes our national movies look a bit poorer than these from the USA but we have to admit that some of the American motion pictures are astonishing. However, really bad tendency is that we eat more and more junk food. Fast-foods are tasty but really unhealthy, full of carbohydrates and fats which in too big amounts can be dangerous for our lives. All in all, the phenomenon of Americanization is present in Poland. Its’ influence on our culture is huge but we can not define it as unequivocally good or unequivocally bad. It has a lot of good aspects but also many disadvantages. Tomasz Tomaszewski photo exhibition â€Å"Rzut beretem† Every young person who likes photography should visit the photo exhibition of Tomasz Tomaszewski called â€Å"Rzut beretem† which can be seen in CK Zamek in PoznaÅ„ from the 6th to the 26th of February, 2009. It is the summary of all the photographer’s work that he did in 2008 when he was traveling around Poland. As soon as we enter the hall of CK Zamek, we can notice that all the photographs are black and white. That discoloration was done deliberately to make the photos look more amazing and to present the topic of the exhibition as best as possible. All of the 60 most interesting photographer’s pictures show the forgotten places in Poland such as old villages, homesteads, etc. It refers to the name of the exhibition, which means that the places shown on the pictures seem to people who live in the city to be far away from them but the truth is that they are nearby being undiscovered and underestimated. Photographs presented on the exhibition are of incredibly high quality, the contrast is also high and the frames are considered, they were not made accidentally but to present the photographer’s point of view. I recommend this exhibition to every young people interested in photography. â€Å"Rzut beretem† is worth seeing it to discover the forgotten and underestimated places in Poland.