Technology And Society Essay -- Society Technology Innovation Change

Technology and Society Historical evolution of technology and its impact on society In society today, technology plays an important role in people's lives and in businesses and organizations around the world. "Most technologies existing today were designed to expedite the way we manage, store, handle, analyze, and communicate information." It has evolved over many years and the beginning of it can be traced back to the Industrial Revolution where machines began to replace the manual labor of skilled workers. Since then, technology has brought about many changes that have affected businesses and people both in a positive and negative manner. However, getting employees and managers to accept it hasn't always been an easy task. "Even when employees think technology is a good idea, many don't take to it naturally." The reason that employees resist change with technology varies from employee to employee. Whether they are concerned about how foolish it can make them look, don't understand the need for it, or worried that it could be replacing them in the future, there's usually some sort of hesitance. Nonetheless, many accept and welcome the challenge because it can make many jobs and lives easier. The evolution of technology has provided for faster communication methods, has made storing data easier, and has made some jobs less complicated. Before the telephone was invented in the late 1800's by Alexander Graham Bell, communication over long distances could take considerable amounts of time. The process was usually very slow by way of a messenger or through the mail. There was not the ease of picking up a telephone, sending a... ... of a nuclear war. The creation of robotics has replaced many workers around the world therefore causing more people to look down upon it. Many have also been reluctant due to the fear of the unknown. "If employees don't understand the reason for change and they aren't involved in planning for it, they're going to resist it." With all its advantages and disadvantages one main question still remains, is technology good or evil? That's a topic that is always open for debate, however no one can argue that technology will continue to evolve and play a crucial role for many people and business organizations around the world.

The Only Fish I Wanted To Catch :: essays research papers

The Only Fish I Wanted To Catch A sensation of astounding warmth enshrouded my mind and body as I blankly stared out on to the choppy lake. I realized that the blinding sun was sure to burn me by the end of the day. I was completely clueless as to where the day would take me. At first I was a little apprehensive about climbing into the small rowboat and heading out there for the entire day. What if I didn’t make it back? I had never been fishing alone. All I craved was to catch the perfect fish. It didn’t have to be big or fat, just perfect for me. So I mustered up the courage and took a chance. The last time I had taken a chance I had paid for it dearly.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sarina was the perfect girl, and I was determined to let her know how I felt about her. She didn’t make me happy. Happiness was not exactly the emotion she brought out in me. Her presence brought out something within me that was much deeper and more sincere. She was the foundation of my utopia. She had a special quality about her. Most people I know walk around with their souls being held prisoner by their bodies. She was one of those unique people whose body was held captive by her soul. Thirty seconds out of every minute I thought about her. I always made sure she had everything. It took me six months before I could even tell her how I felt. When I finally told her how I felt she took the news really well, but I knew she wasn’t interested. After telling me that our friendship was too close for us to get involved romantically, I swept up the pieces of my shattered heart, put them in my pocket and walked away. I had her snagged on my hook but she thr ew it. I used kindness, and patience, and she used me. I gave her everything she asked of me. She took the bait and ran. She avoided me at all costs for the next two months. Suddenly, I was at the mercy of the wide-open water of my misery, and was fearful of drowning. Had I been coerced into believing we were best friends? We squandered for hours and hours resolving each other’s personal dilemmas. We called each other religiously on the phone when we were apart.

Retirement plans

Abstract A good retirement plan should be one that would provide retirees with the most benefits. These benefits should ideally provide tax advantages. Tax savings can be realized in the short run or in the long run depending on the type of scheme selected. It should also provide a secure investment that offers attractive returns. This paper looks into the retirement programs highlighting the advantages of these schemes to different players. This paper opines that despite the few disadvantages of these schemes, They provide an great avenue through which employees can plan their futur. Definition These are a programs established by employer or employee or both aimed at providing the retirees with a source of income when they are no longer in employment. Retirement plans basically are set up as a form of savings plan to cater for the future i.e. by providing some form of income when a person has retired. Types of retirement plans There are several retirement plans available in the market today. The employees should therefore select a plan that meets their expectation and suits their needs. Below is a list and explanation of some of the available retirement plans. i) Individual Retirement Accounts plans It is one of the simplest retirement programs that can be set by an individual. It is also worthwhile to note that IRAs be established by employers. Therefore IRAs can be established with little employers’ involvement to those that they establish and contribute to the scheme. The retirement benefits depend on the contributions and subsequently the income earned by these funds. There are four IRA plans Payroll Deduction IRA- formed by the employee either under traditional or Roth IRA in conjunction with a financial institution. The financial institution (banks, insurance companies) then deducts the contributions towards the plan under the authority of the employee. Traditional IRA contributions are partly or wholly tax deductible and therefore present tax savings to the employee. The other advantage is that the earnings on the plan are not taxed unless distributed. The same applies to the contributions to the plan. Roth IRA deductions are not tax deductible and also distributions are not part of the income (Internal Revenue Service 2008) Salary Reduction Simplified Employee Pension Plan (SARSEP) – It is a simple plan that involves salary reduction agreement which enables the employers to contribute to the IRAs set by them and also to the employees IRAs. There contributions are subject to a limit. Simplified Employee Pension Plan (SEP)-Employers contribute towards the plan Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees (SIMPLE IRA) – employers make contributions towards their own retirement plan and also that of the employees. The employees reduce their salaries with the employers making similar contributions. ii) IRC 401 (K) Plans. Can involve employees delaying their salaries and these money is taken to 401(k) plan supported by their employers. The deferred salary is not taxed unless distributed. The benefit of having a 401(k) plan is that one can have other plans as well The employee/employer contribution is subject to a limit with withdrawals being permitted but subject to taxes. iii) TRC 403(b)-Tax sheltered Annuity Plans This plan are operated by public schools and certain tax exempt organizations. This plan is same as 401(k) in the sense that contributions are in form of salary delays with the employers sponsoring the plan. The potential benefits of this plan are that the contributions and earnings on retirement are tax deferred with annuities being carried by the employee on retirement or change of employers (IRS: 2008) iv) IRC 457(b) Deferred Compensation Plans Established by state or local government or tax exempt organization under IRA (501(c). Employees or employers contribute to the plan through salary reductions up to a certain set limit under IRC 402(g) These plans can be eligible under IRC 457 (b) or illegible under IRC 457(f). Eligible plan allows tax deferral on contributions and earnings on the retirement funds (Ryterband &Alpem: 2005) v) Designated Roth Accounts in 401(k) or 403(b) plans 401(k) and 403(b) can be designated as Roth plans since 2006. These plans are allowed under Code section 402 A added by the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act 2001. Designated Roth contributions are included in the gross income and are also elective. A designated Roth account is where with contributions is made with separate accounting of contributions, gains and losses being maintained (IRS 2008) Designated Roth contributions are subject to limit with employee and employers contributing up to certain determinable limit. Advantages and Disadvantages of good retirement plan As discussed above, there are different types of retirement plans that employees and employers can chose from. The plan to be selected should provide the most benefits to both the employer and employee and most importantly suit the needs of both the employee and employers (Scotto, D., J et al: 2008) Therefore, in discussing the advantages and disadvantages of retirement plans, it important to approach it from the employees and employers point view. Advantages-Employees Tax saving-A good retirement plan should be able to provide the most tax savings and advantages. Tax advantages can be in the form of tax-exempt and tax deferrals. A good number of retirement plans offer these tax advantages and therefore employees and employers can select a plan that meets their needs (Maddock J, 2007) The tax savings can be realized in the short run or in the long run depending on the type of scheme selected. Many investment options and opportunities-The contributions (funding) to the retirement plan are invested in various investment options. A good retirement plan should therefore put the money in investments that offer attractive returns while at the same time safeguarding the investor’s money. Retirement plans are long term in nature and therefore the contributions should be invested in the long term also (Perlinger Financial Services: 2008) Provides a ‘nest egg’-Retirement plans provide employees with an opportunity to slowly but constantly contribute towards their retirement. The benefit of this arrangement is that it does not strain the employees financially and thus they are able to make contribution which they are comfortable with. All these contributions are invested in stocks, bonds and other investment opportunities which earn interest and appreciate in value and therefore the retirement benefits will accumulate and become substantial upon retirement. Employer contributions-Contribution to the retirement benefits plan can be by an individual or by the company or both depending on the type of plan. A good retirement benefit plan should allow both contribution of employee and employer. The employer contributions are usually elective in nature. Contributions by both employer and employee ensure that the fund accumulates faster and thus on retirement the fund will be huge. Performance of the fund-The contributors to the retirement scheme should be able to monitor the performance of the fund. A good retirement benefits plan should provide regular updates on the performance of the fund so that any surplus or deficit can be appropriately dealt with. Advantages- Employer Employee retention-A good retirement plan can act as an incentive to the employees and also attract better employees. The company can retain its top employees by offering them a good retirement scheme and since it is for the long term, the company is able to retain them. The company is also able to attract employees who are better qualified in terms of experience and skills and thus the company will benefit (Business Owners Toolkit: 2008) Financial security of employees-Employees is able to perform optimally if they know that their financial future is guaranteed.   A retirement benefit plan that provides this perceived financial security is good Employee morale-Since most pension schemes are based on the salary earned by the employee, a good retirement plan therefore, serves to motivate and encourage all employees to work hard and hence earn more wages. Higher salaries subsequently means ‘handsome’ retirement package and this enhances staff morale. Tax savings-The contributions to the retirement scheme in most plans is tax allowable and this provides the company with the most tax efficient way of rewarding its employees. The contributions are deducted when calculating the taxable income. Reduced recruitment costs-As seen above, a good retirement plan helps the company retain most of its employees and therefore the costs associated with recruitment and replacing the employees who left the company is minimized (Perlinger Financial Services:2008) Disadvantages of retirement plans Despite all the numerous advantages of setting up a retirement plan, there are several disadvantages associated with it. Some of these are discussed below. Some of the retirement plans are time consuming, expensive and complex to set up. The result of this is that the company incurs extra expenses and thereby squeezing the profit margins. The complexities in establishing the plan will also present more costs apart from being time consuming (Business Owners Toolkit: 2008) The operations of the retirement plan needs professional expertise e.g. that of actuaries and accountant. These professionals offer their services at a fee which is usually expensive. The administrative costs of running a retirement plan may pose a challenge to the company in terms of extra costs. Early retirement by the employee could reduce the amount received. This in essence means that the employee has to work his full employment term in order to receive all his retirement benefits. This could mean being trapped in employment even if one is not comfortable. Joining a retirement plan late on in one’s employment i.e. when there are a few years till retirement may not accumulate a large amount enough to sustain the retiree. Therefore the retirement plan will not improve the financial security of the employee (Scotto, D., J et al: 2008) In some of the retirement plans, the contributor has no role in deciding where to invest the fund’s money. This means that the money could be invested in assets that are not in line with one’s investment strategies. This essentially means that the contributor has no control of his money. Employees are responsible for ensuring that they have enough savings for their retirement in some of the plans. This means that the employee is the one in charge of all the investment assets and therefore bears the responsibility of any losses incurred by these investments. Reference: Maddock, J (2007) Advantages of Offering a Pension Plan to Your Employees: Retrieved On 29/1/2009 Perlinger Financial Services Ltd (2008) Pension Plans: Retrieved on 29/1/2008 Internal Revenue Service (2008) Types of Retirement Plans: Retrieved On 29/1/2008 Business Owners Toolkit (2008) Pros and Cons of Retirement Plans: Retrieved On 29/1/2008 From http://www.toolkit.com/small_business_guide/sbg.aspx?nid=P05_4640 Scotto, D., J.   Maglio, V., T. & Maglio, M. (2008) Choosing a retirement plan that meets the needs of employees and employer: Retrieved on 29/1/2008 from Retrieved On From http://view.fdu.edu/default.aspx?id=2333 Chang RuthenBerg and Long Pc (2003) Types of Retirement Plans retrieved on 29/1/2008 from  Ã‚   http://www.seethebenefits.com/CRLframeset800x600.asp?targetPage=http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:AO6rPS-WpS4J:www.seethebenefits.com/content/CWHY/typesretireplans.htm%20types%20of%20retirement%20plans Ryterand, D., J. & L. Alpem, R., L. (2005). The Hand Book of Employee Benefits: Design Funding and Administration, section 457, Deferred compensation plans 6th Edition (NY) Mc Graw-Hill Professional.         

Analysis of “He” by Katherine Anne Porter

Katherine Anne Porter’s â€Å"He† In Katherine Anne Porter’s short story, â€Å"He†, Mrs. Whipple has the misfortune of a mentally retarded son. While struggling to feed and clothe the hungry mouths of her family, Mrs. Whipple tries to camouflage hatred toward her son by putting up a facade of love and concern for him in an attempt to look like a better individual. Mr. Whipple and Mrs. Whipple’s neglect toward their son is evident right from the start by his lack of a name. He is only acknowledged as â€Å"He† or â€Å"Him†. Nance explains that this, â€Å"failure of the boy’s parents to recognize his personality, symbolized by their failure to give him a name, is the root of their error and suffering† (Nance 19). If Mr. and Mrs. Whipple would take the time to understand their son as a person and recognize his abilities, they would be able to accept his situation more easily and Mrs. Whipple could be less concerned with what people say. The distortion of Mrs. Whipple’s concern for her son is first evident when she says, â€Å"I wouldn’t have anything happen to Him for all the world, but it just looks like I can’t keep Him out of mischief. He’s so strong and active;He’s always into everything; He was like that since He could walk. It’s actually funny sometimes, the way He can do anything; it’s laughable to see Him up to His tricks. † (Porter 493) The truth is that Mrs. Whipple fails to put any considerable effort into keeping Him out of trouble in the first place. Mr. and Mrs. Whipple give the boy more chores because they say that He is bigger than average, and wont think twice about taking some of his blankets if the other children get cold in winter. On more than one occasion she intentionally puts Him in harms way. After receiving a letter saying that her brother and his family is coming for a visit, Mrs. Whipple insists on sacrificing a baby pig that would be worth a substantial amount of money by Christmas. With the mama pig being a great fighter, Mrs. Whipple asks Adna to retrieve the piglet. After Adna refuses the challenge, Mrs. Whipple believes it would be a great joke to make Him do it. After the boy manages to steal the pig, with the sow raging at His heels, Mrs. Whipple takes the pig from the boy without showing gratitude for the great favor He did. On another occasion, Mr. and Mrs. Whipple allow the boy to lead a full grown bull home. Both knowing that the bull could easily tear the boy to pieces, they still allow him to bring the animal three miles home. She mustn’t make a sound nor a move; she mustn’t get the bull started. The bull heaved his head aside and horned the air at a fly. Her voice burst out of her in a shriek, and she screamed at Him to come on, for God’s sake. He didn’t seem to hear her clamor, but kept on twirling His switch and limping on, and the bull lumbered along behind him as gently as a calf. Mrs. Whipple stopped calling and ran towards the house, praying under her breath: â€Å"Lord, don’t let anything happen to Him. Lord, you know people will say we oughtn’t to have sent Him. You know they’ll say we didn’t take care of Him. Oh, get Him home, safe home, safe home, and I’ll look out for Him better! Amen. † (Porter 497) Without concern for the boys safety Mrs. Whipple cries out at the boy to hurry up knowing that her actions could startle the bull. She then runs inside, not waiting to make sure her son made it all the way safely, and prays. Her prayers to get Him home safely bear more on what people will say about her if he does not make it. â€Å"[This] is a prime example where Mrs. Whipple’s superficial mask of love and concern is taken over by her abhorrence toward Him because of her personality flaw† (Makoid). Year after year the Whipple’s condition slowly dwindles. Adna and Emly move to the city for jobs, and He gets more chores placed upon his shoulders. One winter the boy slipped on some ice and fell over and started having convulsions. From then on He had to stay in bed. His legs swelled up and his condition didn’t improve. With the Whipples on their last legs, the doctor suggested they put the boy into the County Home. Mrs. Whipple, still worried about what people will say, refuses to see the boy go. She thinks that with Adna and Emlys’ help the family will be able to get back on their feet by next summer and take care of the boy. Eventually Mrs. Whipple understands what has to be done. Her neighbor and the doctor drive Mrs. Whipple and Him to the hospital. On the ride to the hospital He starts to cry. This is when Mrs. Whipple realizes that He is going away forever. His tears signify that maybe He knew that He was going away and He was finally happy; Happy to get away from the distortion and confusion of his parents. Mrs. Whipple understands her err, and is now truly concerned about his feelings. Mrs. Whipple and her family are poor southerners struggling to feed and clothe their children. With the addition of a mentally retarded second son, situations become more complicated for the family. Mrs. Whipple tries to mask the neglect of her disabled child by showing false love and concern for him. Only if she could grasp reality and accept her situation, would she be able to overcome her position and truly be happy. Instead Mrs. Whipple insists on hiding her conditions and doing whatever is possible to appear as a great family that is better off than they actually are. Works Cited Makoid, Terence. (2003, April 23). Katherine Anne Porter: Analysis of Mrs. Whipple in â€Å"He†. Retrieved April 24, 2011, from University of North Carolina website: http://www. unc. edu/home/tmakoid/english/he. html Nance, William L. Katherine Anne Porter & the Art of Rejection. University of North Carolina Press. Chapel Hill , 1964. 18-23. Porter, Katherine A. (1927). He. In L. McDougal, American Literature (pp. 493-498). Evanston, IL: McDougal.

What Does It Mean to Be Well-Educated Essay

In the article â€Å"What Does It Mean to Be Well-Educated† Mr. Kohn point out 6 points on being educated. Point 1.The Point of Schooling. (Nel Noddings the professor emerita at Stanford University, urges us to reject â€Å"the deadly notion that the schools’ first priority should be intellectual development† and contends that â€Å"the main aim of education should be to produce competent, caring, loving, and lovable people.†) I like this quote on the purposes of education. I work in a Christian School the maine goal for us as teachers and coaches is to participate in the development of a well-rounded student so they can learn the knowledge and skills they need to be successful in life. The next point that I would like to discuss is the concept of evaluating people as a whole vs. someone’s education. In this point Mr. Kohn talks about the difference in being well educated and the difference from simply being provided with a poor education. Is there a difference? I personally believe there are different types of education and not all people learn the same way. In the city that I live in there are many choices for schools from private to public. In some cases people move multiple times to keep their children in the district with the best schools. You must look at the person and where they came from in some families unfortunately education is not a main concern survival as a whole may be. Therefore we must look at the whole person not just the education someone may have. The next point is the absence of consensus, in this point Mr. Kohn discusses what a high school student should know or be able to do. He goes on to talk about the local and state and national standards. Should they all be the same? I believe it would be hard for every state to have the same standards across the board for education. There are going to be obvious areas where education is valued and areas where simply surviving is important. The district in my area is too large and some of the same standards do not make sense and applied to each town and county. I think that having standards is a good thought but there should be a better way of measuring these standards than simply testing the students sometimes individuals are not very good at test taking. Another important point Kohn discusses is all the definitions used for accommodations and school terms that do not make sense. The concept of seat time, which is the idea of being in a seat for a specific amount of  time dose not mean that you are well-educated. Just by setting in a lecture or listening to a new concept doesn’t always mean that you will retain that information that was being taught. The average person forgets or can’t remember what was said to them 48 hours ago. Another term is the term job skills Kohn states that â€Å"It would be a mistake to reduce schooling to vocational preparation, if only because we can easily imagine graduates who are well-prepared for the workplace (or at least for some workplaces)† In this statement he is telling us that someone with just one skill will be at a disadvantage, throughout life because of the way the world is changing with new technology that is making everything move quicker. The idea of test score is a point that interests me as well, just because you scored well on tests does not necessarily mean that you will be able to retain information from what you read. I think that some people have anxiety when it comes to tests specifically those with time limits and the added pressure of scoring well. In some cases teachers are under so much pressure to teach what will be on the test more then the concepts formulas of the material of the class. They are not always teaching what the proper foundations are of the subject. They are required to have certain scores for their classrooms to be successful. Another interesting point that is made is the Memorization of a bunch o’ facts. Kohn explains, â€Å"Familiarity with a list of words, names, books, and ideas is a uniquely poor way to judge who is well-educated.† Just because you can talk about great authors remember some quotes and tell some theories doesn’t mean you are well informed. Kohn also talks about the hierarchy of the graduation process and who is in charge of deciding who passes and fails because of a standardized test. It seams to be problem in multiple states. To be able to graduate you must fit in the required credits courses requirements. â€Å"This is disturbing not merely because of the inherent limits of the tests, but also because teaching becomes distorted when passing those tests becomes the paramount goal. Students arguably receive an inferior education when pressure is applied to raise their test scores, which means that high school exit exams may actually lower standards.† With this statement you can see that Mr. Kohn feels that’s the test scores are not actually relevant to all. He goes on to tell us more about the â€Å"Pass this standardized test or you don’t graduate,† If we look at most states we see that they are using curriculum standards to help students graduate with  the same standards as others students in other states. Students are learning facts, skills, and sub skills that they are expected to master at the grade level to continue on to the next grade level. The final point Kohn brings about talking about what it takes to be well-educated. Kohn, lists some qualities that are used to help you to succeed. â€Å"Schooling is organized around problems, projects, and questions – as opposed to facts, skills, and disciplines.† If teachers can focus on this and apply this to there classroom then knowledge and learning become exciting for the students. â€Å"Teachers are generalists first and specialists (in a given subject matter) second;† With this statement you can see that if you can apply this to your class room that you can succeed and continue to have a great learning environment. Well-educated people have general knowledge of world needed for making rational decisions in personal and intellectual life and basic skills, which develops the analytical ability to order and adapt to the changing environment. With an open mind, which helps to set up new and different goals in life, and with experiences and the skill to analyze and value the others’ ideas or thoughts. In Proverbs 1:7–9. 7 the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. 8 Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. 9 They will be a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck. This verse speaks to the lessons you have learned not only from your parents and the Bible but also from your time in school. Learning never ends to be well-educated you need to have the desire to learn and grow as the world continues to change.

Why Queen Should Be Musical Canon Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Why Queen Should Be Musical Canon - Essay Example Their music has appeared in many movies, television shows and commercials, and many of their songs have become part of American culture in other important ways. They changed the way that people thought about music, the way music was presented to the public, and the way that music is made. By exploring these uses of Queen's music in film and television and establishing their important role in modern social history I hope to explain why their music should be considered part of musical canon. Everyone who has attended a sporting event in the US in the past 30 years is familiar with the songs We Will Rock You and We Are the Champions by Queen. We Will Rock You, in particular, is so well known that if you play it for any crowd in America they will immediately begin singing and clapping along, for every group from elementary school assemblies to professional sporting events. It is hard to find anyone unfamiliar with the drums and clapping which open the song. The sound of We Are the Champions inspires cheers and shouts of victory all over the country. Everyone in the country knows the refrain by heart, and associates it with winning, particularly in sporting events: We are the champions, We are the champions! No time for losers 'Cause we are the champions of the world! (Queen, 1977) The movie Wayne's World, released in 1992, helped to make Queen's epic anthem of operatic rock Bohemian Rhapsody even more popular than it already had been and introduced the band to a whole new generation of fans. Originally released in 1975, Bohemian Rhapsody was Queen's first top-ten hit in the United States. In the United Kingdom, where the band was already well established, it stayed at #1 on the pop charts for nine weeks-- a record at the time. Though the song only reached #9 on US charts when it was originally released, the re-release after Wayne's World peaked at #2. (Songfacts) The popularity of this re-release led to greater demand for the rest of the band's work, and the release of several greatest hits albums in the late 90s. Bohemian Rhapsody is still one of the most complex and elegant musical pieces to achieve broad popular appeal in modern times. The background track alone, with piano, bass and drums took two days of recording to complete. Sessions for the song lasted nearly three weeks, with the opera section alone taking seven days to complete. Queen sang their "Galileos" continually for ten to twelve hours each day, producing a staggering 180 vocal overd ubs. The tapes required another two days of mixing before the band agreed that the song was complete. (Davis) The message behind the lyrics of Bohemian Rhapsody are very elegantly stated, if somewhat controversial. Most fans agree that the song is about a murderer who confesses his crime to his mother and is eventually caught and sentenced to death. Still there is some speculation as to the true meaning of Bohemian Rhapsody, the lyrics of which can be interpreted in several different ways. In interviews, Freddie Mercury, lead singer of Queen and the writer of Bohemian Rhapsody, is quoted as having said that much of the song is â€Å"random rhyming nonsense.† (Songfacts) The extremely complex vocal harmonies and guitar riffs made Bohemian Rhapsody especially difficult to perform live, so the band created a music video-- one of the earliest music videos ever created-- in order to popularize the song while avoiding playing it live for a UK television audience. In doing so they c hanged the way that music is consumed. Today music videos are considered necessary for commercial musical success, but in 1975 they were almost unheard of. The video used camera effects which were

The Effects of Global Warming on Polar Bears Research Paper

The Effects of Global Warming on Polar Bears - Research Paper Example Despite ongoing activism this decrease in numbers still continues up to the present day. Indeed, it is a frightening possibility that soon, polar bears will be just parts of history and will become another name on the list of extinct animals. The decline in Polar Bear population is due to many harsh realities in today’s world. With not only traditional adversaries in the wild to contend with, the additional factors of climate and the encroachment of man begin to play a big factor in the Polar Bear saga. Chief among the causes of the polar bear’s steep mortality rate is hunting by humans (Schliebe et al. 34). Another cruel by-product of the influence of man is the exposure of the bears to Persistent Organic Pollutants (POP), highly toxic chemicals. The high levels of accumulation of POP compounds cause impacts to the polar bear’s nervous system, reproduction, and even their immunity (IUCN Red List 1). This man made problem has begun to substantially threaten the health and well-being of the animals. Taken together, these problems alone would be hard for any species to face. However, overshadowing other issues is the advancing argument that the biggest threat to the existence of polar bears is the phenomenon of global warming. The continuous and intensifying climate changes have already made impacts on the polar bears’ sea – ice habitat. With entire shelves falling prey to the cracking and once mighty ice floes reduced to a mere shade of their former selves the ability to deny that the polar caps are warming is nearly impossible to dispute. As a result, their ice covered habitat has been disrupted in a complete and fundamental manner. With even the very fabric of their existence shifting under their feet, their instincts hold little recourse. This deeply affects their access to prey and den areas. It is a very strong position to state that the effects of global warming are seen to be critical to the polar bear’s extinction (IUCN Red List 1). This research will explore the possible effects of global warming on polar bears. The issue i s in need of special attention because the likelihood of polar bear’s extinction is a very important environmental concern. With the continuous climate changes, and the human population stuck in perpetual deadlock, affecting the habitat of polar bears, it is very likely that our environment will lose another biological component. This research paper will assess how the impacts of global warming are contributing to the likelihood of polar bear’s extinction. In order to gain a full understanding of the effects of global warming on polar bears, this paper will focus on three areas of literature. First, the study looks at the area that attempts to comprehend and illustrate that the polar bears are the bears of the sea. Second, the paper will examine the literature that discusses the effects of global warming on the earth in general. Third, the research will delve into the effects of global warming on polar bears specifically. By taking the time to examine all of these basi c facets, the picture of the plight of the Polar Bear begins to come into focus. First, we start by learning about the polar bear. Long regarded as the largest terrestrial carnivore in the whole world (World Life Fund for Nature’s Status Report), the bear has few natural enemies. According to Norris et al, its scientific name is Ursus maritmus (8) was