The communication of Ants Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The communication of Ants - Essay Example Pheromone is a chemical signal that helps in the identification of the location of other ants. For purposes of receiving smell, ants use their mobile, thin and long antennae (Oller, 2008). Their paired antenna is able to provide information regarding the intensity of scents, and their direction. Because majority of these insects live on the ground, they are able to use the surface of the soil, for purposes of leaving a trail of pheromone, so that other ants may follow (Oller, 2008). For instance, when an ant finds a source of food, it will mark a trail of the source back to the colony. Other ants are able to follow this trail, and reinforce it when heading back with the food, to their colony. When the source of the food is exhausted, they will no longer leave a new trail, and the scent will slowly disappear (Oller, 2008). This behavior by ants is able to help it adapt to the various environmental changes that affects it. For example, when the source of food is blocked, an ant will explore new routes, and leave a trail of the new route for other ants to follow. Other ants would explore this route, for purposes of identifying other better

Describe the Role and Status of Women in the 1940s and 1950s Essay Example for Free

Describe the Role and Status of Women in the 1940s and 1950s Essay After the First World War women had gained a huge step towards having equality with men. In 1918 married women over the age of 30 were given the right to vote. During the war women had proved themselves as capable as men, not only as nurses near the front lines working in very dangerous positions but also back in Britain working to help the war effort in jobs that before the war they could never have even had a chance of getting. However women were still a long way of having any vague equality with men, and when the men returned from war things changed as men were still considered far above women. Although it had got worse since the end of the war it should be recognised that womens role in society had been greatly improved since the days before the First World War. During the Second World War many of the men were conscripted to go away to war. This meant that their jobs now needed to be filled in order for the country to work., women got jobs in all areas of employment from working in manual labour to working in banks. They also managed to prove that they could do the jobs just as well as men and were able to work in jobs that had previously been for men only. Gaining all these new jobs had been a huge leap towards women gaining equality with men, however when the men returned from war most if the women lost their war time jobs. This happened because of a number of reasons. Firstly, public opinion in general believed that the soldiers who had been fighting deserved to come back to jobs and not have to struggle with unemployment. Also some bosses of small and large companies felt that men were still better and didnt want to employ women over men. A women who had worked as a welder during the war years was told, Oh my goodness, youve got the best qualifications that we ever had apply for the job, but your a woman, and I wonder what the boys would say if I employed a woman A newspaper editor was told when she was dismissed,Oh its nothing wrong with your work, but we have to safeguard the succession and the successor has to be a man. Bosses who were taking this line, and most of them were were infact taking and supporting the governments line. The governments official line said it is doubtless true that there are many jobs done during the war by women for which men are better suited, both mentally and physically. And, if there is to be a nation in the future, there must be children and children mean homes and endless chores. So that there must naturally be a drift back from the services and the factories to domestic work. I believe that this is showing that men and the government (dominated by men) were showing an incompetence to realise that women were able to do the jobs that men traditionally did. So although women had again gained a further step towards equality after the war they had again lost some of that newly gained freedom when the war ended in 1945. However not all women were displeased at societys attitude as after the war many women wanted to start families and now the men had come back from the war they were able to do this. The evidence for this lies in an area known as the baby boom, when the birth rate soared dramatically after the war. Even after the war when women were gaining more equality with men they did not have equal pay rates as men. A woman doing the same amount of work as a man would be paid two thirds of what a man would be paid. Women didnt, understandably find this fair and in August 1943 them women who worked at a Rolls Royce factory went on strike and after a week on strike they were given equal pay. However all over the rest of the country women continued be exploited by societies views. Even the government were not willing to even think about women being equal to men. When female school teachers asked for equal pay with men, Churchill dismissed their demand with one word. Even though now he was falling out of favour with the people and was soon to lose the general election, it showed that some men and in incredibly important positions within society, had no respect still for womens role in society. This meant that their status remained below a mans status even though in some cases they had become more equal, such as the right it do certain types of jobs. Before 1948 the government offered no medical assistance to women or their children only a small amount to men. In 1942 the Beveridge report was published which illustrated the importance of setting up a Welfare State which would look after all citizens equally. In July 1948 the National Health Service Act and the National Insurance Act were introduced for a weekly payment by all people earning wages. This was a huge advance for womens equality and their place in society as it now made them equal. In the first few months thousands of women went to the NHS to be treated of illnesses that they had previously had to suffer in silence. The introduction of the Welfare State also brought about the Butler Education Act. This meant that the minimum age to leave school was now raised to fifteen for all children. This was another huge advance for girls in school as it meant that there was now not only had free secondary education, and therefor this meant that the government recognised girls ability to thrive within a working and intellectual environment. It also meant that they were being put on the same level platform and being given equal opportunities in schools as boys, which would then go onto to effect the whole generations and its way of dealing with women as equals. However the system was slightly corrupt and it was not entirely equal. When pupils went up into secondary schools they had to take an 11+ exam to determine which type of school they would go in to. There were three different types, grammar for the most academic, secondary modern and technical for pupils who would be more suited to manual and primary sector jobs. Although the system seemed to give equal opportunities for both girls and boys there were infact more grammar schools for boys than there were for girls. The Welfare State also introduced family allowances to try and deal with poverty among families with a large numbers of children. It meant that for each child a small payment was paid to the women to help keep the child. This meant that the women now had some control over the finances within the household and that the man could not just go out and spend the money needed for the children. I believe that in the 1940s and 50s womens role in society improved greatly and that there were huge leaps made towards equality. However there were still some major issues that still had not been resolved and needed to be if there was going to get equality between men and women

Sound on Disc :: essays research papers

Sound-On-Disc: From Inception ‘til Death From the Kinetophone to the Vitaphone, the sound-on-disc format dominated the pioneering stage of sound in movies. For the first time ever, people were able to hear sound synchronized with the images on the screen, and the revolution had begun-the talkies were here to stay. It was the sound-on-disc format that helped create many of Hollywood’s â€Å"talkie† classics, including The Jazz Singer and The Singing Fool. However, another format, sound-on-film, would soon take reign of the talking motion picture movement, as the audience and the exhibitors started to become more demanding as technology was slowly improving. Sound-on-disc was simply beleaguered with too many technical and economic problems to continue to stay relevant. Thus, the competing sound-on-film format eventually became widely-accepted in the motion picture industry and is used even to this day.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There were many different technologies in the beginning of the 20th Century that were able to incorporate sound with film, including the Chronophone and the Cameraphone. However, the most influential film-phonograph combination in terms of the impact on the developments in the 1920s was Thomas Edison’s Kinetophone, which featured an automatic synchronizing system (Gomery, 27). Numerous identical gears linked the phonograph and projector to cause both machines, if manually operated, to move at the same rate. He also created an adjustment dial to correct synchronization problems. The Kinetophone was indeed advanced for its time.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On February 19, 1913, the Kinetophone premiered at the Colonial, a vaudeville theatre on Broadway. The film opened with a lecturer who proceeded to explain the system. He also smashed a plate, played the violin and piano, and had a dog bark-all of which demonstrated the power of Edison’s technology (28). A minstrel act followed, and the film eventually ended with the chorus of the â€Å"Star Spangled Banner.† It was a huge hit, and the audience gave the film a 15 minute standing ovation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Despite it’s successful opening night, the promise of the Kinetophone never materialized. During the second week of its New York Presentation, the audience booed the Kinetophone, as the synchronization was off by as much as 10 to 12 seconds due to an inexperienced projectionist. There were also other problems that plagued it. The phonograph emitted a â€Å"harsh, metallic sound†, and its volume was never sufficient to fill a large vaudeville theatre (29). Eventually, by 1915, all operations of Edison’s Kinetophone had ceased. Edison’s failure marked the end of the pioneering phase of the phonograph- based sound pictures.

Mary Wollstonecraft`s Vindication of the Rights of Woman

Mary Wollstonecraft is considered as the â€Å"mother of feminism† or rather the ‘first feminist†. Her book, â€Å"A Vindication on the Rights of Woman†, published in 1792, revolves around the central issue of women’s rights especially with respected to women education. The book is addressed to Edmund Burke and is considered a milestone in the history of feminism. Mary Wollstonecraft was born in London, in 1759, to John Edward Wollstonecraft and Elizabeth Dickson.She had an older brother, Edward (Ned), and four younger siblings. Mary Wollstonecraft lived in Paris during the most climactic episode of the French Revolution: the trial and beheading by guillotine of King Louis XVI. Mary's father was gruff and abusive and her mother passive and neglectful. Despite this, Mary acquired her education in Yorkshire and made friends with clergyman Mr. Clare who recognized her intelligence and introduced her to the Bible, the works of Jonathan Swift, William Shak espeare and John Milton. In 1788 Wollstonecraft began to establish herself as a writer.She was a prolific writer and she wrote for Joseph Johnson’s monthly periodical, The Analytic Review. In 1790 Mary wrote â€Å"A Vindication of the Rights of Men† in response to Edmund Burke's â€Å"Reflections on the Revolution in France,† and thereby established her credentials not only as a woman of opinion, but as a woman who was happy to voice her opinions on an equal platform with other intellectuals of the period.Edmund Burke, a champion of American Independence as saw the Glorious French Revolution of 1688 as a moderate and cautious settlement. In his â€Å"Reflections on the Revolution in France†, (1790), Burke aimed to denounce Price, to attack the French revolutionaries and their principles, and to defend the British constitution and the notion of prescriptive right. He argued that vice and individual selfishness rather than government were the cause of socia l unhappiness.Supporting the aristocracy, Burke made part of his argument through sentimentalized pictures of sexual and familial relationships, especially of the French queen Marie Antoinette as mother and lady, worthy object of chivalric devotion. These pictures were particularly revolting to Wollstonecraft, who did not admire much, the aristocratic families. This book, then, is a reply to the arguments of Edmund Burke.In â€Å"A Vindication of the Rights of Woman†, Wollstonecraft calls for a revolution in female manners.   Wollstonecraft argued that females are in all the most important aspects the same as males and women are superior in the context of strength of mind, perserverance and fortitude. On the basis of these philosophical arguments of sexual equality Wollstonecraft called for the reform of female education, arguing that girls should be educated in the same subjects and by the same methods as boys.She further advocated a radical revision of British law to enab le a new, egalitarian marriage in which women would share equally in the management and possession of all household resources. She demanded that women be paid equally for their labor, that they gain the civil and legal right to possess and distribute property, that they be admitted to all the most prestigious professions. And she argued that women should be given the right to vote.On Love, Sentiment, Passion and Emotions:Wollstonecraft accuses men of sentimentally viewing women as females rather than human beings and hence has been â€Å"more anxious to make them alluring mistresses than affectionate wives and rational mothers† (Wollstonecraft, xxxi). Wollstonecraft questions why females should always be degraded by being made subservient to love or lust. Wollstonecraft says that love is indeed a noble emotion but it should not be allowed to act as a block to reasoning. Sentimentally, a woman is considered as someone who needs to be trained to be a good wife.However, a woman who is trained only in pleasing her husband will not be able to appeal to a man’s sexuality in the long run. When her sentimental and sexual appeal fades off, she is likely to seek approval from other men and become bitter. The author eloquently says: â€Å"love, perhaps, the most evanescent of all passions, gives place to jealousy or vanity† (Wollstonecraft, page 27). Thus, Wollstonecraft indicates that there must not be too much sentiment should not be considered in the context of women education.Wollstonecraft points out to women who tend to acquire a certain artificial mode of behavior because of popular sentiment as to how they should behave. These people under the cloud of sentiment tend to lose their original powers of thinking. â€Å"The greater numbers of people take their opinions on trust to avoid the trouble of exercising their own minds, and these indolent beings naturally adhere to the letter, rather than the spirit of a law, divine or human† (Woll stonecraft, 185).She says it’s because of their foolish sentiment that makes them fear the â€Å"eye of man†. Their sentiment based behavior is based on having a good reputation and not because of chastity or other virtues. To prove the above conclusion, Wollstonecraft cites the examples of affairs that married women of high class society indulge in, and contrasts it to the degradation suffered by a young woman in love. This is mainly because of the sentiment that married women have good reputation.The respect for the sentiment of the world has, however, been termed the principal duty of woman in the most express words, for Rousseau declares, ‘that reputation is no less indispensable than chastity. According to Wollstonecraft, â€Å"A sentiment that often exists unsupported by virtue, unsupported by that sublime morality which makes the habitual breach of one duty a breach of the whole moral law† (Wollstonecraft, 197). Thus, according to the author, sentim ent should be one that is supported by virtue and values. Only such sentiment based on values can lead to morality and truly great character. This value-based sentiment can be had only through education and a thinking mind, which is why the author supports the right of women to education.The author also points to the fact that the sentimental image of a woman is provided through novels. She feels that women rights in particular write works of fiction that are all steeped in sentimental jargon, which tend to corrupt the mind and the heart. The female characters are often stereotyped and shown as submissive and having no thinking brain of their own. Women writers tend to prefer unnatural sentimental flights of fantasy in their works and in the process they create damaging stereotypes.   Wollstonecraft complains of Elizabeth Inchbald's A Simple Story (1791).She points out that all female writers tend to give a sanction to the libertine reveries of men, poison the minds of their own s ex, and strengthen a male prejudice that makes women systematically weak? Contrary to sentimental novels, novels of sensibility matter because they shape behavior and serve as an index to broader cultural ills. Woman is â€Å"made by her education â€Å"the slave of sensibility,† Wollstonecraft observes (174). She holds that novels, music, poetry, and gallantry make women â€Å"creatures of sensation† (78) through their sentimental content. Thus she holds that sentimental stereotypes of women tend to create emotional women: â€Å"All their thoughts turn on things calculated to excite emotion; and feeling, when they should reason, their conduct is unstable, and their opinions wavering† (77). She says that education that tends to inflame the passions must indeed be miserable. Education should strengthen the passions and not inflame them.The sentiment of being always a woman is the â€Å"very consciousness that degrades the sex† (135). Here, Wollstonecraft points out the subtle connection between emotion and reason. She agrees that a man, or a woman, of any feeling, must always wish to convince a beloved object that it is the caresses of the individual, not the sex, that are received and returned with pleasure; and, that the heart, rather than the senses, is moved. â€Å"Without this natural delicacy, love becomes a selfish personal gratification that soon degrades the character† (135). She carries the sentiment still further.She says, affection can justify many personal gestures, but accepting liberal gestures in the name of gallantry is despicable. â€Å"When a man squeezes the hand of a pretty woman, handing her to a carriage, whom he has never seen before, she will consider such an impertinent freedom in the light of an insult, if she has any true delicacy, instead of being flattered by this unmeaning homage to beauty† (135). The understanding can come only by eradication of sentimental notions. She questions Roussea u as to how he can expect women to be virtuous and constant when reason is not the foundation of their character or truth the pursuit of their inquiries.Wollstonecraft opines that women must try to improve their character but they cannot do this as long as they are attached to their sentiments. They need to â€Å"curb the wild emotions that agitate a reed, over which ever passing breeze has power?† (28). According to the author, love, the common passion replaces choice and reason with chance and sensation. This passion however subsides like a fever once the security of marriage sets in. On the other hand, reasoning can allow a man and woman to enjoy the calm tenderness of friendship and the confidence of respect.Underlining the fleeting nature of love, eloquently Wollstonecraft says: â€Å"Passions are spurs to action, and open the mind; but they sink into mere appetites, become a personal and momentary gratification when the object is gained, and the satisfied mind rests in enjoyment† (28). She even says wickedly, that â€Å"caresses which should excite confidence in his children are lavished on the overgrown child, his wife† (28) thereby indicating in a subtle manner that all emotions only serve in keeping her stagnant at her childhood state of mind.She describes the sentiment of a woman as the outcome of â€Å"a mistaken education, a narrow uncultivated mind, and many sexual prejudices† (31) that tend to keep a woman loyal to her husband; if sentiments were to rule, she says, life is better spent in eating drinking and loving. But then, it is only a fleeting shadow. She says that reasoning should be able subside love into friendship. But here, the author clarifies that she does not allude to romantic passion which cannot be clipped, but rather she refers to the small enjoyments of life.Thus we find that the book â€Å"A Vindication of the Rights of Woman† is one that surpasses the test of time. Women today still remain tie d to their emotions either by choice or by society. This makes the book relevant even in the modern day context. A revolutionary figure in a revolutionary time, Wollstonecraft took up and lived out not only the liberal call for women's educational and moral equality, but also virtually all of the other related, violently contested questions of the 1790s– questions pertaining to the principles of political authority, tyranny, liberty, class, sex, marriage, childrearing, property, prejudice, reason, sentimentality, promises, suicide, to mention only a few. Clearly, she struck many a raw nerve and faced huge opposition. That her views are relevant till today, mark Wollstonecraft and her book as classics in feminist literature. The book is a must read for anyone interested in the history of feminism. Bibliography:Wollstonecraft, Mary (1792). A Vindication of the Rights of Woman.

Reagan Revolution Essay

CongressLecture Outline May 20, 2013 The Reagan Revolution & Cold War in the 1980s I. Reagan Revolution and the Rise of the New Right The new grassroots conservative movement. it focused on a few themes: 1) focus on physical restraint: reigning in spending of the economy, the great society programs 2) Tax code revision 3) government efficiency: sense of urgency for this, because of how transparent the government, and what it owed to the u. s. public. a. Reagan’s views and policies:: 1980’s high inflation and faltering economy, and regean promised to return the nation to economic promise. Campaign had focused on a strong military and a scaled back federal government. (he specifically wanted the federal government scaled back, but it was okay to undergo spending for national security (military). tensions between the national security state and the spending for the national government He wanted a return to traditional values that had been lost. he was enormously charismatic. He was good at delivering lines and delivering his speeches,. â€Å"government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem government needed to be scaled back.. ederal government needed to lessen itself in our daily lives. and in the business community too. he wanted a reversal of the programs in the great society. roll back big government. Roll back in domestic policy, expanding it in foreign policy with the military. 1989 when he concluded his presidency, economy debt had tripled. b. â€Å"Reaganomics† / Supply-side economics: seeking to increase the economies capacity to produce. the theory behind it was exxessive taxation was slowing things down in the economy, and it discouraged hard work? have economic growth by cutting taxes†¦so people could invest that money in another way. Trickle down economics: leave the money to the wealthy and it will trickle down into society. c. Economic Recovery Tax of 1981: lowered the taxes on the wealth to free up capital. 23% cut. then social security taxes went up d. Business expansion: capital was freed up, and there was an expansion and the government did grow. high employment, Anti-union stance. violating a law of federal worked fighting back. e. cut non-defense federal spending. it was hard to cut social security and medicare. US became a debter nation f. rapid growth and critique of the economy . Wall Street & Deregulation: dirty decade, stock speculation, corporate mergers, a lot of shady wallstreet dealing, and a lot of deregulation. These companies were too bogged down in regulation. so they deregulated business. and allow corporations to make risks they wouldn’t normally take. also allowed for greater abuses. laizze faire, leave business alone, big stores were growing during time, and have merger mania ( Microsoft when public in 1986, this environment was condusive) this also created a lot of tensions. class tensions were exacerbated. elebration of wealth for those getting richer, and the poor getting poorer. h. lifestyles for the rich and the famous II. The Cold War & Foreign Policy in the 1980s i. Reagan’s domestic vs. foreign policies: he had a foreign policy that was highly activist, but he wanted to stay small in domestic. he wanted to battle communism and leftism. he launched the biggest military expansion in peacetime history. More than 70% 1981 to 1986, Reagan was struck by wanting the united states to both be powerful military and symbolically. they wanted people to associate us as a military strength. He had a nostalgia for WW2, and how the US emerged out of ww2. j. Nuclear freeze movement: anti nuclear protest throughout this time in force in the early 1980’s activists one a lot of recruits. The entire world wold be blown up if we didn’t reduce the arms. This wasn’t just in the united states, it was in great Britain and Germany too. it was a world wide movement. it called a cause for a freeze, banning testing and building. june 1982 800,000 freeze campaign. it permiated all levels of society. in response to this he had the star wars speech k. Star Wars† & Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), 1983: this was a space based missile system, that was supposed to defend the united states from nuclear attack. it looked very futuristic, we do have some of this technology now however. don’t introduce this because we really don’t have this technology l. Anticommunism & Latin America: some critics that expressed fear, that hear we are repeating veitnam. Congress responded to the fears, and congress said do not fund this anymore. m. â€Å"Evil Empire† speech (1983) n. Iran-Contra Scandel i. Role of Oliver North: national security aid, stationed in the white house. e directed money from the Iranian arms sales to the contras. congress had banned this, do not fund the contras anymore. congress had forbidden this aid. North had circumvented this ban by raising money from wealthy conservatives from other governments, to fund this. (wealthy new right conservatives funded this) all in secret to the congress and to the people. New story broke, televised hearings in 1987, erased computer files right before the fbi arrived. he defended it by saying sometimes you need to go above the law for patriotism. he emphasized, I love my country and I am a patriot. Reagan praised north as a national hero, for undergoing this with American security in mind, but he also fired him. TV Reagan denied knowing anything about the scandal, but mistakes were made. criticized his lack management style. there was no evidence that he knew of this, but there was a lot of lax white house procedures. it diminished the credibility on a national scale of the us presidency, but he emerged form this unscathed. this is when historians lok back and he really was the Teflon president, the American public still supported him I. Conclusion: 1989, End of the Cold War & Post-Cold War Challenges

The Shawshank Redemption Essays - Films, The Shawshank Redemption

The Shawshank Redemption Essays - Films, The Shawshank Redemption Based on the short story Rita Hayworth by Stephen King, The Shawshank Redemption claims an all-star cast and an ingenious plot. In this tale of hope, fear and wishful thinking, Tim Robbins conquers all with his incredible performance as Andy Dufresne, a respectable banker convicted of murdering his wife and her lover. Although pleading not guilty, Dufresne receives a life sentence to Shawshank. There, he befriends Ellis Boyd Red Redding (Morgan Freeman). Red is a respected inmate who knows how to work the system. Their bond quickly grows and Andy becomes respected by many inmates and even some of the guards. In time, Andy gets used to his new living arrangement, but still has hope that he will leave Shawshank. He reminds Red to be hopeful, but Red is less optimistic. Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane, he tells Andy. Although there are some violent scenes, they give the movie a sense of balance, and the audience is left with a sense of hope. See this movie not just for entertainment, but for education - it offers a look at prisons and the corruption behind closed doors. This film left me with a sense of warmth, hope and curiosity, and will do the same for anyone.

Third and Fourth World Countries Essays

Third and Fourth World Countries Essays Third and Fourth World Countries Paper Third and Fourth World Countries Paper It is true that malnutrition in children in Third and Fourth World countries have contributed to disease and death, but that is not the only factor affecting that area. Other areas of healthcare are also harming these countries.   Some of them involve malnutrition as well, while others involve poor sanitation.   It should be discussed that a look into a small subset of diseases is probably the best course in further assisting these poor nations. First, it is stated that if a child lives through childhood then the mothers in these nations will not have as many children.   This can be achieved by concentrating on a small grouping of diseases that are easily cured. Many people concentrate too much on every single affliction instead of realizing a bigger picture forms in these nations.   As the WHO reported â€Å"the prospects of the poorest billion in the Third World can be radically improved by targeting a relatively small set of diseases and conditions.† (Fogel Lee, 2002)   Many of the cures are easy to administer and should be universal for all members of the human race. Nutrition and other needs are considered to be the big killers among these populations.   The facts on Third World and Fourth World needs are staggering. The Commission on Macroeconomics and Health (CMH) of the World Health Organization estimates â€Å"87 percent of deaths among children under age five, 71 percent of deaths between ages five and twenty-nine, and 47 percent of deaths between ages thirty and sixty-nine† can be eradicated by using existing drugs and vaccines, easily delivering food, and by public-health programs that promote positive sanitation and health. (Fogel Lee, 2002) The solutions to the problems seem easy to solve when a person thinks about the big diseases instead of every single problem facing Third and Fourth World countries. References Fogel, R. W., Lee, C. (2002). Who Gets Health Care?. Daedalus, 131(1), 107+.