Describe an historical evolutionary concept and its impact on that Term Paper

Describe an historical evolutionary concept and its impact on that population(ie.Genetic drift or founder effect).Include how th - Term Paper Example However, these lacunae in no way takes away from the fact that evolution was and still is an ongoing, dynamic process. The inability to chart the human evolutionary process in a categorical manner does not mean that the specie human sapiens is not subject to the laws of evolution, in spite of the diverse assumptions and hypotheses to the contrary. The very first such assumption is to do with the fossil records, the findings of which did not occur in a chronologically uniform manner. The earliest fossil record known to science is said to be Aegytopithecus  sp a small animal, the size of a spaniel. This fauna is believed to be an ancestor of the humans, as also the modern apes, although quite distinct from all the other primates. It existed in the latter part of the Oligocene era, around 30 million years ago. Since the animal represented the dawn of apes as well as humans, it was termed the ‘dawn ape’. 10-15 million years passed before the lines leading to the great apes and humans began to diverge. 20 million years ago Dryopithecus  appeared exhibiting ape like features and 5 million years later Ramapithecus entered the evolutionary arena. It is exactly these rather long intervals of time about which we are completely dark about the onward momentum of the evolutionary process that make some people think that scientists have failed to categorically chart the human evolutionary process. ... 2001). The term is Leakey’s own way of recognizing the intimate evolutionary relationship that existed among human beings, chimpanzees and gorillas (Gee, 2001). This he did in spite of the already mentioned gaps in time. There are other assumptions and arguments going around denying the importance or even prevalence of the laws of human evolution. This is a deliberate attempt to establish that humans are not subject to the laws of evolution and most are far fetched in the extreme. One theory going around and gaining ground, particularly in the United States subscribes to the Creationist view of all living beings as depicted in the Genesis of Old Testament. They are more interested in discrediting evolution by the simple expedient of ignoring all discoveries of hominid fossils. As in many a field of human endevour, hoaxes and mistakes can at times occur in science too. Creationists cherry pick such examples in an effort to prove that these hoaxes and mistakes are proof enough t o establish the weakness of science and its theories, particularly the theory of evolution. This is a gross misinterpretation of the very nature of science which advances by learning from its mistakes and drawing confidence from its successes. The scientific method has this built-in, self- correcting mechanism which is a potent asset of science. All scientific hoaxes are soon exposed and rectified and those who do so are not creationists but the scientists themselves. All that the creationists do is to read about such exposes in the newspapers and watch them on TV and claim that it was they who exposed them in the first place. Ironically, the modern Indian savant Osho, whose disciples hail more from the Occident rather than from the nation of his birth, when asked whether there was a

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe Essay Example for Free

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe Essay This is the story of Okonkwo, a renowned warrior and wrestler, who lives in the Ibo village of Umuofia in Nigeria, Africa. Respected by the elders of his clan, he hopes to become an elder himself someday. Due to his relationship with his father, Okonkwo has a hardened heart and thus, his actions throughout the novel are governed by anger and fear. Okonkwo, (per African tradition), has three wives and many children. He is prosperous and successful at the beginning of the story, but his heart does not soften. As a result, he makes many mistakes and is eventually exiled from his clan for seven years. While Okonkwo is away from Umuofia, white missionaries settle in his clan’s village and begin to preach Christianity. The tribe begins to change, especially its younger members, and when Okonkwo returns from exile, he sees the changes and attempts to reverse them. He struggles against the new laws of the white man and relations between the clan and the whites deteriorate until things finally reach a crescendo. Okonkwo’s fear Things Fall Apart, written by Chinua Achebe, is a story of a man whose life is dominated by his fears. There are many subtle themes throughout this book. One theme that cries out over the rest is Okonkwo’s, the main character, fear of weakness as seen through his childhood, his oldest son, and eventually his death. Since his childhood, Okonkwo was ashamed of his father, â€Å"In his day he (Unoka) was lazy and improvident and was quite incapable of thinking about tomorrow†(p.4). By the standard of his clan, Unoka was a coward and squanderer. When he was a child, a boy called Okonkwo’s father an agbala. This word means â€Å"woman† as well as a man who has no title. His carelessness left numerous debts unpaid at his death. Ashamed of his father, Okonkwo worked hard and fought well to gain a reputation of high status and influence in his clan. He acquired three wives, one whom gave him his first son. Okonkwo’s first wife, whose name is never mentioned, gave birth to his first son, Nwoye. Okonkwo saw Nwoye weak and lazy from an early age. For this, Nwoye was beaten constantly. Okonkwo was highly demanding of his family because of his obsession not to be like his father. He mistook this behavior as masculinity. He wished his son were a promising, manly son like his friend Obierika’s son, Maduka, who was also a great fighter. One night the town of Umuofia was told that someone in Mbaino had killed one of their â€Å"daughters†. The woman was Ugbeufi Udo’s wife. The blood price for the murder was a virgin and young man to Umuofia. The virgin was given to Ugbeufi Udo as his wife. They did not know what to do with the young boy, Ikemefuna. Okonkwo was asked on behalf of the clan to take care of the boy. Secretly, Okonkwo grew fond of Ikemefuna, â€Å"Even Okonkwo himself became very fond of the boy-inwardly of course. Okonkwo never showed any emotion openly, unless it be the emotion of anger†(p.28). Ikemefuna lived with Okonkwo and his family for three years until the time came when the Oracle said that Ikemefuna had to be killed. Okonkwo was warned not to have any part in killing the boy who called him father. He ignored this and upon returning sank into a deep depression which kindled the affliction inside of him. Not only the death of Ikemefuna, but also the accidental killing of Ogbeufi Ezeudu’s son, which gets Okonkwo and his family exiled for seven years, aides in his depression. To atone for the killing of his clansmen’s son, Okonkwo and his family were cast out of Umuofia and were forced to go live with his mother’s clan in Mbanta. In their second year a group of six missionaries traveled to Mbanta and tried to persuade the people from their false gods of wood and stone to the one true God. They captured Nwoye and he later joined their congregation. When Okonkwo was informed of the news he strangled Nwoye in anger. He questioned how he could have fathered such a weak son. At the end of the seven-year exile, Okonkwo was able to return home. However, the church had taken over Umuofia also. Nothing was the same. Okonkwo refused to integrate with the new visitors. He thought that the clan’s failure to remove them was â€Å"womanly†. Almost happy again, Okonkwo began to accept the new Umuofia. Then the leaders of the clan, including Okonkwo, were taken for ransom by the church. Deeply angered by what was happening, Okonkwo killed one of the leaders at a meeting. The pacification of Okonkwo’s clan is what depressed him. He knew his clan would not go to war. This desire to act violently all goes back to his father’s lack of desire. In the end the violence settled on Okonkwo, when he hung himself. In conclusion, all these aspects: his childhood, his first son and Ikemefuna, and his death contribute in explaining Okonkwo’s fear of weakness. Okonkwo’s life was controlled by his fears. He valued the success of his family and the community with his own success. If Nwoye was weak it was because he had failed as a father. The pacification of the town was a reflection of Okonkwo’s failures, he thought. Not being able to control those events, Okonkwo, out of desperation or either out of the pride in his manhood or perhaps both, killed himself. In spite of Okonkwo’s beginnings in poverty and misfortune, he has risen as one of the most respected elders of the clan. Yet others remark on how harshly he deals with men less successful than himself. For example, at a meeting to discuss the next ancestral feast, Osugo—a man without titles—contradicts Okonkwo, who in turn insults Osugo by declaring the meeting are â€Å"for men.† When others at the meeting side with Osugo, Okonkwo apologizes. Okonkwo’s hard-earned success is evident because the clan chooses Okonkwo to carry the war ultimatum to their enemy, the enemy treats him with great respect in the negotiations, and the elders select Okonkwo to care for Ikemefuna until they decide what to do with him. Once the young man is entrusted to Okonkwo’s care, the rest of the clan forgets him for three years. At first, Ikemefuna is very unhappy—he misses his mother and sister, he tries to run away, and he won’t eat. After Okonkwo threatens to beat him, Ikemefuna finally eats, but then vomits and becomes ill for twelve days. As he recovers, he seems to lose his fear and sadness. Ikemefuna has become very popular in Okonkwo’s house, especially with Nwoye and the other children. To them, he seems to know everything and can make useful things like flutes, rodent traps, and bows. Even Okonkwo has inwardly become fond of Ikemefuna, but he does not show affection—a womanly sign of weakness. He treats Ikemefuna with a heavy hand, as he does other members of his family, although he allows Ikemefuna to accompany him like a son to meetings and feasts, carrying his stool and his bag. Ikemefuna calls Okonkwo â€Å"father.† During the annual Week of Peace just before planting time, tradition permits no one in the village to speak a harsh word to another person. One day during this week, Okonkwo’s youngest wife, Ojiugo, goes to a friend’s house to braid her hair, and she forgets to prepare Okonkwo’s afternoon meal and feed her children. When Ojiugo returns, Okonkwo beats her severely. Even when he is reminded of the ban on violence, he doesn’t stop the beating. Because Okonkwo’s violation of peace can jeopardize the whole village’s crops, the priest of the earth goddess orders Okonkwo to make offerings at his shrine. Although Okonkwo inwardly regrets his â€Å"great evil,† he never admits to an error. His offensive breaking of the peace and the priest’s mild punishment are talked about in the village. After the sacred week, the farmers of the village begin to plant their harvest. Okonkwo allows Ikemefuna and Nwoye to help him collect, count, and prepare the seed-yams for planting, though he continually finds fault with their efforts. He believes that he is simply helping them learn the difficult and manly art of seed-yam preparation. Soon, the rainy season begins and the planting takes place, followed by the intense period of care for the young plants. During the resting time between planting and harvest, the friendship between Ikemefuna and Nwoye grows even stronger. Reference * Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

Success is in the Attempt :: Graduate College Admissions Essays

Success is in the Attempt    I may not know exactly what I'm going to be when I grow up but I have embarked on a path of self-discovery and I have discovered that I am a writer.    I am a writer! It took a long time for me to admit that writing was more than a hobby, it was a passion. Writing is what I was meant to do. I was so afraid that my desire to make writing into a career was a frivolous, unrealistic fantasy. I never took any risks to make it happen.       When I started thinking about college and a career I filled my journal with ideas and desires. And as I wrote I imagined a lifestyle with the flexibility to work at home, getting paid to do a job that I loved. But through all of my writing, I was always grasping to figure out what it was that I would be doing at home. I never realized the answer was right in front of me - I would write.    Writing in my journal nourished my spirit and made me feel alive. In my journal I shared my deepest desires, shared thoughts I'd been keeping inside and got lost in the rhythm of my words. And as I began to write, stories emerged. Ideas came to life for more stories and articles and essays. I felt whole.    I wanted the feeling of wholeness to continue forever. To do that, I had to take an enormous leap of faith and share my work with others. I began searching for avenues to submit my work, the entire time worrying that I wasn't good enough.    I was fortunate to receive support and encouragement from editors who read my work. After submitting several pieces of writing to different websites, I received some very wonderful news. My work would be published. To date my work has been published on several websites. I have a short story appearing in an upcoming edition of BeRealMag.com, and I continue to submit stories and queries for publication. Recently, when an editor approached me to write a piece for her website, I knew I had succeeded - I am a writer!    I believe that writing is my life's work and I'm actively seeking ways to make a living writing.

Pro- Cell Phones and Ipods in School Essay

Alex Hightower Cell phones are taking over high schools, let’s face it. In this day and age cell phones and mp3 players are almost a necessity. Have you ever been sitting in the middle of class and you hear a cell phone go off? The common reaction is to look and see whose phone it was, then you lose focus and the teacher has to repeat what they were saying. This gets most teachers mad and many students upset. Students believe that teachers taking their phones away are not fair, when really you should have been paying attention to the lesson instead of distracting another student from learning. The teachers do not want to take the  cell phone  or mp3 players away from you but it is part of their job duties. They just want what is best for you and they want you to succeed in life. Many school administrators have taken the position that school rules should prohibit the use of  cell phones  and mp3 players during class, tests, and exams and in the bathroom. I disagree. I think that they should allow cell phones and mp3 players in school. For one, it is safer to let children have their phones so they can contact their parents during the day, that way the parents know that their child is safe at school. If there is an emergency or accident the parents would want to know about it and if everyone is okay. The school board can only send out a voicemail so quickly and it would have all the information that their child would. It also wouldn’t give specific information pertaining to the child. It would send them into a panic, worrying that their kid is injured. If they were allowed to use their phones, they would call their parents and tell them that everything is okay. That would also relieve the stress of the school board about having to tell the parents because the kids would have already done it. Most kids these days have low attention spans. Those same kids also listen to music in their spare time. For example, while they read or do homework and likely concentrate better while doing this. So if we let them listen to music on their iPods or mp3 players during silent work, they would talk to other class mates less and they would finish their work more accurately and faster. Using iPods in class during silent work would help the kids do their work more accurately. Another concern is that a class mate might steal another class mate’s cell phone or mp3 player. This can happen but might be less likely if the student is allowed to use it. If the student is allowed to text in class he or she is going to check their phone or mp3 player more often than they would if they weren’t allowed to text or listen to music in class. Cell phone and mp3 players can be distracting in class, while teaching, but that’s why, rather than banning them, there should be a guide line set. The cell phone or mp3 player doesn’t need to be out the entire day or the entire class period but they also don’t need to be banned altogether. They should be used appropriately throughout the school day and emergencies. They also shouldn’t be taken if the student is caught with a cell phone or mp3 player. The ones that get caught are usually the ones contacting a parent because they are sick and not paying attention to the teacher. Having the phone sit in the office makes the school directly responsible for whether or not the cell phone is stolen or broken, which could result in a law suit, depending on the parents and the type of cell phone. Whoever pays the bill for the cell phone wouldn’t be happy if they can’t get to it because they have to work and it just sits in the office, causing them to pay for something that’s not being used. There is no real downside to letting students have their cell phones mp3 players in class. It’s better for parents who may need to contact their kids during school hours. It’ll help kids concentrate in class. It could make them use their phones less; we are more likely to do something were not allowed to do. That’s why we should allow cell phones and mp3 players in school.

Mapping an Argument Essay

The real issue here is rather or not marijuana should be legalized. There are both pro’s and cons with legalization of marijuana, many would argue that alcohol is more dangerous and damaging to the body that marijuana is while others would argue that marijuana is an addictive drug, and a gateway to other more serious drugs. The pros of medical marijuana seem to outweigh the cons being how more and more states are starting to legalize the use of it. Also, it was found that it does help with serious medical issues. The premise would be the fight for legalizing marijuana, and the unstated premises would be medical marijuana. The federal government says that marijuana has a high potential for abuse and has no medical value but â€Å"As of 2012 sixteen states, including Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington, and the District of Columbia have legalized medical marijuana†. The bottom line is that a large group of Americans support the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes and many Americans support marijuana for recreational purposes as well. In fact, the state of Colorado was the first state to legalize marijuana for recreational purposes therefore in my opinion that has to soften a lot of people’s opinion regarding the use of medical marijuana. According to the Great Falls, Montana,  Tribune, at an October 2009 medical marijuana health screening in that city, a Dr. Patricia Cole of Whitefish examined 150 patients in 14 and half hours who were there to see if they qualified to receive medical marijuana. Many find it hard to believe how easy it is to receive medical marijuana, â€Å"Some submitted paperwork and payment for the â€Å"examination† and an additional $25 registration fee is all it takes to be issued a card, as no formal medical records are required, only a stated complaint such as chronic headaches or insomnia or back pain†. Urban and small towns are affected the most by these medical marijuana controversies â€Å"Missoula, population 70,000, is home to the University of Montana. There are a dozen storefront outlets and 400 registered caregiver/growers serving 1,800 (and growing) card carriers. † The premise would be medical marijuana and the unstated premise would be the legalization of medical marijuana. Since the legalization of medical marijuana many small towns across America have been affected in a negative way. A lot of people started to see dollar signs and a lot of medical marijuana dispensaries were open. The opening of these medical marijuana dispensaries in these small towns and all across America caused a huge uproar and made many people go against it. The bottom line is that a lot of these small towns learned their lesson and made tougher standards regarding medical marijuana and started to do a better job in regulating the use of it. http://ic. galegroup. com. ezproxy. apollolibrary. com/ic/ovic/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow? failOverType=&query=&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&mode=view&displayGroupName=Reference&limiter=&currPage=&disableHighlighting=true&displayGroups=&sortBy=&source=&search_within_results=&action=e&catId=GALE%7C00000000LVXO&activityType=&scanId=&documentId=GALE%7CPC3010999128 ttp://ic. galegroup. com. ezproxy. apollolibrary. com/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/ViewpointsDetailsWindow? failOverType=&query=&prodId=OVIC&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&mode=view&displayGroupName=Viewpoints&limiter=&currPage=&disableHighlighting=true&displayGroups=&sortBy=&source=&search_within_results=&action=e&catId=&activityType=&scanId=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ3010753218

Online Marketing Example

Online Marketing Example Online Marketing – Article Example Online Marketing Online Marketing The industry that will be discussed in this essay is the mobile telephone industry. Companies today, including those in the mobile telephone industry utilizes the various social media platforms to increase their market share. Some of the common social media platforms used by companies are Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Twitter, and Digg (Swee, 2012). Samsung, a global mobile phone leader is one company which employs social media to build up its customer base. Samsung uses an official Twitter and Facebook account in announcing its new products. An example of this is when Samsung posted photos of its billboards in its Twitter account (Sadauskas, 2013). Furthermore, it showed photos of their flash dance event in Times Square â€Å"Be ready 4 the next Galaxy† on Twitter (Sadauskas, 2013). Aside from Twitter, Samsung also uses Facebook to boost its sales. The company posted a teaser picture of its Smartphone on Facebook (Sadauskas, 2013). It is very evident that Samsung extensively uses social media to promote its products. Their social media campaign even comes ahead of the actual launch of their Smartphones (Sadauskas, 2013). In order to increase their followers on Twitter, Samsung has encouraged their fans to tweet with the  #Unpacked  hashtag to create an event buzz and push their marketing campaign (Boies, 2013). A proof that Samsung is successfully using social media is the number of followers they have on Twitter and Facebook. It has 20 million followers on Twitter and 15 million Facebook fans (Turner, 2013). According to mobiThinking, a resource for global digital mobile marketing agencies, the reason why Samsung is number one in mobile phones is because they â€Å"fit their mobile strategy to suit consumer choice† (Turner, 2013). The Vivaldi Partners Group says that the secret to the success of Samsung Mobile’s digital marketing success is their â€Å"use and understanding of social currency, or the degree to which customers share a brand or information about a brand with others†, which is the use of a social media strategy (Turner, 2013). This is the reason why Samsung has moved forward as compared to its competitors such as Sony and Nokia. Samsung effectively makes use of the six degrees of social currency which are affiliation, conversation, information, advocacy, utility and identity (Turner, 2013).ReferencesBoies, J. (2013, March 14). Unpacking the social media conversation around Samsung’s Galaxy S4. Retrieved from salesforcemarketingcloud.com: salesforcemarketingcloud.com/blog/2013/03/social-media-conversation-around-samsungs-galaxy-s4/Sadauskas, A. (2013, March 13). Samsung’s Galaxy S4 social media assault. Retrieved from smartcompany.com: smartcompany.com.au/information-technology/054601-samsung-s-galaxy-4-social-media-assault-4.htmlSwee, K. (2012). Top social media sites & how you can benefit from them. Retrieved from hongkiat.com: hongkiat.com/bl og/top-social-media-sites-how-you-can-benefit-from-them/Turner, H. (2013, May 21). Global digital & social media strategy at Samsung Mobile. Retrieved from intelligenthq.com: intelligenthq.com/social-media-posts/global-digital-social-media-strategy-at-samsung-mobile/

Free Essays on Alcatraz

â€Å"You are entitled to food clothing, shelter and medical attention. Anything else you get is a privilege.† (Number 5, Alcatraz Prison Rules and Regulations, 1934) This rule was one of the realities of life inside the walls of the U.S. Federal Penitentiary, Alcatraz Island. The island is in the heart of San Francisco Bay, just a mile and a quarter away from one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The subject of many movies and books, Alcatraz became a symbol of America’s dark side. There are a lot of documentaries, movies, articles and books about Alcatraz. From fiction rather than fact, we have stories of the prison and of some of the real men who lived in its cells: Al â€Å"Scarface† Capone and Robert Stroud, the â€Å"Birdman of Alcatraz†. Jolene Babyak, the author of Eyewitness on Alcatraz and a former resident of the island, says that the residents of the island were rarely interviewed and the truth of Alcatraz has often been overlooked, lost in the fog of its myths. Alcatraz has been so much more than just a notorious penitantiary. In the time allowed I’d like to tell you about the major purposes the island served throughout its history. Welcome to Alcatraz. It all started on July 18, 1850 when a military board proposed a three-point defensive strategy for San Francisco Bay. This approach required that a massive brick fort be built on each side of the Golden Gate. Alcatraz was selected as the third site with smaller fortification. The city and its rich port were very tempting for Confederate raiders and during the Civil War Alcatraz was an important part of the U.S. Army’s western defense plan. However military technology advanced quickly and the island’s defense became obsolete. In 1907 the Army formally decommissioned Alcatraz as a fortification. When the fort was decommissioned, regular army troops were replaced by the U.S. Military Guard. They tore down the citadel built during the war and start... Free Essays on Alcatraz Free Essays on Alcatraz â€Å"You are entitled to food clothing, shelter and medical attention. Anything else you get is a privilege.† (Number 5, Alcatraz Prison Rules and Regulations, 1934) This rule was one of the realities of life inside the walls of the U.S. Federal Penitentiary, Alcatraz Island. The island is in the heart of San Francisco Bay, just a mile and a quarter away from one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The subject of many movies and books, Alcatraz became a symbol of America’s dark side. There are a lot of documentaries, movies, articles and books about Alcatraz. From fiction rather than fact, we have stories of the prison and of some of the real men who lived in its cells: Al â€Å"Scarface† Capone and Robert Stroud, the â€Å"Birdman of Alcatraz†. Jolene Babyak, the author of Eyewitness on Alcatraz and a former resident of the island, says that the residents of the island were rarely interviewed and the truth of Alcatraz has often been overlooked, lost in the fog of its myths. Alcatraz has been so much more than just a notorious penitantiary. In the time allowed I’d like to tell you about the major purposes the island served throughout its history. Welcome to Alcatraz. It all started on July 18, 1850 when a military board proposed a three-point defensive strategy for San Francisco Bay. This approach required that a massive brick fort be built on each side of the Golden Gate. Alcatraz was selected as the third site with smaller fortification. The city and its rich port were very tempting for Confederate raiders and during the Civil War Alcatraz was an important part of the U.S. Army’s western defense plan. However military technology advanced quickly and the island’s defense became obsolete. In 1907 the Army formally decommissioned Alcatraz as a fortification. When the fort was decommissioned, regular army troops were replaced by the U.S. Military Guard. They tore down the citadel built during the war and start...