Rodhocetus Facts and Figures

Rodhocetus Facts and Figures Name: Rodhocetus (Greek for Rodho whale); pronounced ROD-hoe-SEE-tuss Habitat: Shores of central Asia Historical Epoch: Early Eocene (47 million years ago) Size and Weight: Up to 10 feet long and 1,000 pounds Diet: Fish and squids Distinguishing Characteristics: Narrow snout; long hind legs About Rodhocetus Evolve the dog-like whale ancestor Pakicetus a few million years, and youll wind up with something like Rodhocetus: a larger, more streamlined, four-legged mammal that spent most of its time in the water rather than on land (though its splay-footed posture demonstrates that Rodhocetus was capable of walking, or at least dragging itself along on solid ground, for short periods of time). As further evidence of the increasingly marine lifestyle enjoyed by the prehistoric whales of the early Eocene epoch, the hip bones of Rodhocetus werent fully fused to its backbone, which endowed it with improved flexibility when swimming. Although its not as well-known as relatives like Ambulocetus (the walking whale) and the above-mentioned Pakicetus, Rodhocetus is one of the best-attested, and best-understood, Eocene whales in the fossil record. Two species of this mammal, R. kasrani and R. balochistanensis, have been discovered in Pakistan, the same general locality as most other early fossil whales (for reasons that still remain mysterious). R. balochistanensis, discovered in 2001, is especially interesting; its fragmented remains include a braincase, a five-fingered hand and a four-toed foot, as well as leg bones that clearly couldnt support much weight, further evidence for this animals semi-marine existence.

Does the EU suffer from a democratic deficit Essay

Does the EU suffer from a democratic deficit - Essay Example The ECSC was transformed into European Economic Community (EEC) in 1957 with the signing of Treaty of Rome that created a single market and aimed at removing all barriers to freedom of good, movement and trade. The EEC was hence a unique institution whose sole aim was to reduce barriers, decrease hindrances and increase integration within the member states. The EEC started off as a unique legal and political supranational institution that operates over and above the national governments of member states: it is an over arching government in itself that makes laws, takes decisions and creates circumstances for greater integration. This could not have been achieved with 27 member states without the presence of institutions: the treaty of Paris created four major institutions in 1951: a High Authority, Council of Ministers, European Assembly and a European Court of Justice. The Treaty of Rome 1957 followed this method and added to the list of institution a EURATOM (European Atomic Energy Commission) and renamed it as European Economic Community. However, the EU has gone through massive changes since then as subsequent treaties kept adding to the overall structure of it. The institutions as they stand now are as follows: The European Council, European Parliament, The Commission, European Court of Justice, The Court of Auditors and the Euro pean Central Bank. It is with EU’s structure that democratic deficit has been alleged to have seeped in. The term has been used since many years and according to Milev it has been accorded different meaning in all senses. The real meaning given to this term relates to alleged distance between the European government and the people that are rules: it is alleged that it neither has a proper democratic mandate nor proper democratic legitimacy that gives its actions validity. Initially the term was used to make way for direct elections to the Parliament, later on the debate kept surfacing repeatedly on different issues of constitutional importance, particularly where further integration and greater cooperation was concerned. Evidence is found in literature relating to the referendums, the rejected constitution etc. This democratic deficit has basically been seen because the key decisions that are taken in EU are taken within executive-controlled institution, the European Council and European Commission: there is no parliamentary form decision making with proper legitimacy and accountability. The European Council yields no legislative powers but has immense political powers as it comprises of all heads of the states, the ministers for foreign affairs, the president of the commission and the high representative for foreign affairs and security policy. The council is headed by a President of the Council who is elected through Qualified Majority Voting procedure for a term of two and a half years. Second, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) is the legal arm of the EU as it deals with all cases arising from and about EU law. The main function of ECJ has been enshrined in Article 19(1) of the Treaty of European Union (TEU) as to ensure â€Å"

Electrical Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Electrical - Essay Example This section explains how to measure the velocity of propagation of a signal in a transmission line. This is done by using the step response method. Also, determining the relative permittivity of the dielectric material used to construct this line, which is based on the measured velocity of propagation. This section focuses on the actions of a transmission line terminated by various resistive load impedances when voltage steps are introduced into the line. Also, checking the characteristic impedance of a line can be carried out by two different methods: (1) with a variable load resistor; or (2) through measurement of the rising edge of the launched step. The definition of attenuation and distortion is provided in this section. The causes of attenuation and distortion, and how they affect the shape of the transmitted signal are also discussed. Finally, evaluating signal quality in high-speed transmission systems by using the eye-pattern method is explained in detail. This instruction booklet gives students the necessary theory and measurement skills to implement and test transmission lines. First, students will learn the principles and operational characteristics of transmission lines. Then, they will discover how to perform transmission line measurements through step testing and a sinusoidal steady-state setting. Lastly, students will build a foundation in theory and practice of time-domain reflectometry (TDR) as well as impedance matching and transformation. Another inclusion is an exercise that focuses solely on troubleshooting. For this exercise, students must establish and recognize the nature of faults introduced by the instructor along the transmission lines through using TDR. This way, students can develop their troubleshooting skills and test what they have learned. – Detailed laboratory procedure where the student

Hotel Revenue Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 153

Hotel Revenue Management - Essay Example The assessment should be done from different perspectives, which include customers, organisation, and from the human resource point of view. Evaluation strategy enhances acceptability of the changes and has the potential of improving a quality of services offered. Hotel revenue management is fundamental to success in the competitive hospitality industry. Hotels revenue management implies selling the appropriate room to the best client at the most competitive price on the right supply channel. Hotel rooms are considered as perishable products owing to their limited number. Hence, the satisfaction of customer needs and settling for the right price are the main variables to be considered. Revenue management will strive to achieve equilibrium of demand and capacity by predicting and setting prices that ably maximise the utility of all the resources in the hotel (LegoheÃŒ rel, Poutier and Fyall 2013: 96) Emphasis has to be placed on two very important concepts in hotel revenue management. These are rooms’ revenue per available room (RevPAR) and gross operating profit per available room (GOPPAR). RevPAR is used in analysis as a reflection of revenue accrued per available room. The parameter is got from dividing the net revenue collected from a hotel room and the total number of rooms present in the particular hotel. Besides, the value can be arrived at by multiplication of the daily average room rate (ADR) the occupancy of the room. It is, therefore, able to monitor the performance of the system inventory management of the hotel room. Maximisation of RevPAR is the main objective of hotel managements, thus the trade-off between average rate and occupancy. It is very evident that revenue collected from rooms in the hotel constitutes a large portion of the overall revenue generated. Thus, more emphasis should be placed on revenue management in regards to rooms.

The Film A Whale of a Ride Essay Example for Free

The Film A Whale of a Ride Essay The film â€Å"Whale Rider† took me on a whale of an emotional ride. Though there is a recurrent and overarching feeling of â€Å"great-whale-in-the-sea† calm, strength and beauty, there is a strong undercurrent of emotional turmoil, with which each of the main characters struggle. Each experiences an Eriksonian/Psychosocial crisis: At 12 years old, the main character, Paikea â€Å"Pai,† has successfully navigated through Erikson’s first four stages. She exhibits much industry over inferiority, with more skills and competence than her peers. Riding her bicycle, she passes a bus full of boys, she beats hemi in a taiaha (fighting stick) challenge, she’s always a lead in local cultural performances, and her writing earns her a prestigious award. Pai’s struggle is in the Identity vs. Identity/Role Confusion stage. She wants so much to become the leader that she feels called to be, and is obviously equipped to be, but her father, and Maori tribe tradition, doesn’t allow a female to be chief/leader. She’s torn between her desire to lead, and her Paka’s and tribe’s refusal to allow her to lead. At one point, she nearly leaves for Europe with her father, before being called back to stay on the island by the whales. Pai stays true to her â€Å"true† self, and her virtue is fidelity. ï‚ · Grandfather, Koro (a.k.a. Paka), experiences Generativity vs. Stagnation, and Integrity vs. Despair. He’s obviously been very generative in raising Pai to be such an amazing young lady. However, due to his Maori tradition â€Å"blinders,† he begins to stagnate, because he won’t allow Pai to continue on her path to leadership. Along with his slide from generativity to stagnation, he moves from integrity to despair, despairing that as much as he wants it, and as hard as he’s working for it, a new Maori leader/chief escapes him. It’s not until the end of the story that Koro breaks free from his â€Å"inside-the-box† thinking, stagnation and despair, and embraces Pai as a gifted leader, saying to her â€Å"wise leader, forgive me. I am but a fledgling new to flight.† Now that’s generativity and integrity in action! It’s  uplifting to see Koro regain his caring and wisdom. Like Koro, grandmother, Nani, experiences Generativity vs. Stagnation, and Integrity vs. Despair. But unlike him, makes much more of an effort to stay in generativity and integrity. She slips into despair, only when it seems that stubborn Koro m ight never accept Pai, or any of his children, as they are, for who they are. This is when Nani leaves him, bringing Pai along with her. She possesses all of Erikson’s stages’ virtues, especially love, care and wisdom. Pai’s father, Porourangi, experiences Identity vs. Identity/Role Confusion, and Intimacy vs. Isolation. He affirms his identity as an artist based in Europe, in the face of Koro’s challenge that he should be leading, or at least staying with and supporting, his people. After obviously sharing deep intimacy with his wife, he found new love with a woman in Europe, with whom he fathered another child. It was clear that Porourangi shared intimacy and understanding with Pai, despite the fact that they lived so far apart. He also shared a love-hate intimacy with Koro, apparent in their greeting embrace, followed by their angry dispute. Uncle Rawiri, also experiences Identity vs. Identity/Role Confusion, and Intimacy vs. Isolation. He initially assumes the identity of his dead-beat friends: a â€Å"live-for-today† slacker. He seeks intimacy with his girlfriend, and to a lesser degree, with his buddies. When Pai asks him for help learning taiaha, Rawiri begins to recreate his identity as a strong, fit, Maori tribesman. He even starts jogging on the beach! In addition to establishing a stronger identity, he builds upon his intimacy with Pai, and gains generativity and integrity as he teaches her and helps her along. Koro’s parenting pattern seems to be a mix of Authoritative and Authoritarian Parenting (page 264). Based upon how well-adjusted Pai is at the age of 12, it’s apparent that Koro and Nani use plenty of authoritative parenting. However, when it came to Pai’s stepping out of the Maori traditional â€Å"box,† Koro took a much more authoritarian approach, disciplining Pai harshly, and giving her no opportunity to discuss her opinion or emotions. Part of Koro’s punishment was his aloofness and withholding of affection. Since Pai was likely more used to Koro’s and Nani’s authoritative approach, it must have been that much more difficult for her to bear Koro’s authoritarian  parenting. I appreciate that Pai reaches a stage of Kohlberg’s Three Levels and Six Stages of Moral Reasoning (page 336), that’s beyond her years. While most 12-year-olds would function in Level 2, Stage 3: â€Å"good girl† and â€Å"nice boy,† and some in Level 2, Stage 4: â€Å"law and order,† Pai achieves the morality of Level 3, Stage 5: â€Å"social contract,† and Stage 6: â€Å"universal ethical principles.† It would be much easier for her to follow Level 2 moral reasoning, following Koro’s wishes, and staying within the traditional Maori â€Å"good girl† and â€Å"law and order† moral boundaries. But urged on by a passion for her family, people, history and beautiful local sea and island wildlife, she rightfully breaks the Maori social contract and follows universal ethical principles, in order to bring hope and life back to the whales, her family and people. She does so by asserting her leadership, in opposition to Ko ro and her Maori community’s tradition of male leadership. I loved this movie because it was so visually and aurally beautiful, and the characters were passionate and believable. Pai has passion for her family, people, traditions and natural surroundings,. Koro has the same, but is forced to wrestle with the realization that there are no Maori boys or men qualified to lead. It was a joy to see him figure it out in the end, and head out to sea alongside Pai, who was everything he yearned for but couldn’t see that it/she was right in front of him. Nani is an amazing, passionate nurturer, who knows how to, for the most part, run things, while keeping Koro thinking that he’s in charge. Being an artist myself, I appreciated Porourangi’s passion for his art and family though it was obvious why he couldn’t live with Koro. It was fun to see Rawiri’s passion for teaching Pai the â€Å"old ways† carry over to influence him to clean up his own act. I dream of someday positively impacting people with my art, in the face of many voices (often including my own), which say that it’s not practical or possible. So it was encouraging for me to see Pai hold on to her dream and succeed. The scenes that stood out for me were the ones that showed Maori culture: Rawiri, and later, Pai, demonstrating their taiaha skills, Pai’s performances, and the final scenes of boat-launching festivities. I also appreciated the awkward, mostly silent dinner scene after Koro caught Pai taiaha fighting with Hemi, the humorous scenes with the under-achieving boys, and the imaginatively shot and magical  whale-riding scenes.

Biography of Katherine Johnson

Biography of Katherine Johnson This autobiography is focused on Katherine Johnson, the human computer and mathematician. Her triumphs were a part of the civil rights movement, as she was one of the few federally employed African Americans specifically by NASA. While continuously fighting for the betterment of her education and career, she was successful in helping put the first man into space. In fact, it was John Glenn himself who requrested Mr. Johnsons confirmation of the BMIs calculations before boarding Friendship 7. She was a necessity in the launch and landing of Americas first space shuttle, providing to millions of Americans that a black person was just as capable as any. She was also the first black women integrated into West Virginia Universitys college. Her contributions to our country rewarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015. Katherine Johnson was born in our very own home state on August twenty-sixth in the early fall of nineteen eighteen. She was born and raised in White Sulphur Springs, Greenbrier County, West Virginia. Her mother and father were Joshua and Joylette Coleman. She wa the youngest of four siblings, and both of her parents worked; her mother was a teacher and her father worked at the Greenbrier Hotel. They both loved Katherine dearly and wanted to further her education once they realized the great potential that she had. Many African Americans her age did not go past the eighth grade. Quickly, her parents enrolled all four of their children into high school on the campus of West Virginia State College. Traveling back and forth one hundred and fifty miles to White Sulphur Springs and Institute gave Katherine the opportunity to dream big just at the age of ten. Once Katherine graduated high school, she applied and was accepted into West Virginia State College which may also be known as West Virginia State University today. During her childhood she loved numbers, growing up she loved numbers, and as she aged she grew into a mathematician. While attending college, Katherine took advantage of every opportunity given to her. Many of Katherines professors recognized her determination as she took every math course available. A woman named W.W. Schiefflin Claytor even went to lengths to create her new math courses. At the age of eighteen, Katherine graduated college and accepted a teaching position at an African American public school in Virginia. Shortly after graduation, she met her first husband, James Goble, and married him in year of nineteen thirty-nine. Being the first African American in history to desegregate West Virginia University, Katherine enrolled into the graduate program. After one session, she decided to quit and start a family. Luckily at a family gathering, thirteen years later in nineteen fifty-two, a relative mentioned that the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics was hiring mathematicians. The next year, she was offered a job which she accepted and became a part of NASA. Until nineteen fifty-eight, Katherine worked as a computer analyzing topics such as gust alleviation for aircraft. She was then assigned to help the male flight research team temporarily. Blowing away her bosses and colleagues with analytic geometry proved her position there, so she stayed. Taking on racial and gender discrimination was hard for Katherine; however, she persevered by ignoring them and sticking to her work. Throughout her career, she worked as an aerospace technologist, and was promoted to the Spacecraft Control Branch. She contributed and took place in major historical events and accomplishments for America such as John Glenns orbit around Earth, the Mercury mission, and putting the first man into space! She was expected to calculated trajectories, launch windows, and to plot navigational plots for astronauts in case of electronic failures. John Glenn specifically asked officials to have Katherine verify the calculations made by the computer, stating that he refused to fly otherwise. Her work ensured Alan Shepards Freedom 7 Mercury capsule would be found after it had landed. Her trajectories were required for the nineteen sixty-nine Apollo 11 flight to the moon. She helped creating a one-star observation system that would allow astronauts to determine their location with accuracy; After all, her concern was getting them (astronauts) back. Since there, she has worked on the Space Shuttl e program, the Earth Resources Satellite, and on plans for a mission to Mars. West Virginia University presented her with a Presidential Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters for attaining national and international preeminence in the field of astrophysics and providing distinguished leadership and service in her field while the former President of the United States awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

A Comparison of London and Ozymandias :: Poems Poetry Civilization Essays

A Comparison of London and Ozymandias A theme of Mortality lives in both poems. In "London" Blake talks about the death and suffering of people, and in "Ozymandias" Shelley talks about the death of a civilisation. A sense of someone dominating, someone with greater power occurs in both poems. In "London" the rich have this upper hand against the poor, in "Ozymandias" this great leader is said to have this strength over his enemies and his own people. In "Ozymandias" Shelley writes about a fallen empire, a civilisation that must have gone down hill because now there is no sign of it. In "London" Blake tells us that the poorer people of this city are going through a bad time, their empire has fallen like Ozymandias's empire, but in this case London has not collapsed. Blake writes about how London had drifted to a time of poverty and disease. Moods ----- The two poems, both give a feeling of depression and melancholy to the reader. Shelley uses different words to create this effect, while Blake writes how everyone is sad and weak. Great arrogance is shown in both poems. In "Ozymandias" the king shows that he is arrogant, he describes himself on the pedestal, he talks about how great and powerful ruler he is. In "London" the arrogance of the church compares to this. In "London" the rich betray the poor, because they have put their name on everything. In "Ozymandias" the sculptor betrays the king when the statue is being made. Styles ------ Both poems have phonological techniques like alliteration, rhyme and onomatopoeia. They are both concisely written and although short in length are packed with layers of meaning and content. Strong modifiers are used throughout both poems, which creates tension. Good adjectives also help with imagery give a clear mental picture; for example when Ozymandias's face is described, with its sneer and frown. Differences ----------- Themes ------ In "Ozymandias" Shelley writes about an ancient civilisation. The poem is written in past tense. Blake writes about the London he is witnessing; "London" is written in the present tense. An obvious difference is that Blake writes about a civilisation, which is in existence while Shelley writes about a civilisation that has been disintegrated. The strength of authority is maintained in "London" while in "Ozymandias" it has dissipated. Moods ----- "Ozymandias" fills you with mystery about where the traveller came