Anorexia Nervosa Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Anorexia Nervosa - Essay Example The patient thinks that he/she should not eat because if he/she does, he/she would gain weight and ruin his/her looks consequentially. Methods commonly employed to lose weight include but are not limited to excessive exercise, dieting, and medication. Anorexia Nervosa means "nervous loss of appetite". This definition is not particularly good since it is based on misunderstandings. The people who suffer from Anorexia Nervosa do not at all have lack of appetite, they are only scared of putting on weight. Anorexia nervosa was first explained in 1684, though it was not determined with its own diagnosis until 1870 (Gehlin, 2008). Birth of this new health disorder generated was associated with the changes that took place in society over the centuries. Young women began to idealize extremely slim and smart women. Slimness became the measure of beauty, and to be called beautiful, a woman had to be necessarily thin. Much of the history of anorexia nervosa is shaped by the looks conscious cult ure. That is the reason why anorexia nervosa is more common today than it has ever been in the past. Another evidence for the role of culture in the spread of anorexia nervosa is that a vast majority of the victims of this disease are models from the fashion industry, which sets the trends for people to follow in general. In the contemporary age, to be thin is to be fashionable. Media advocates slimness. Various slimming techniques are employed to achieve the ideal figure, the unsuitable ones of which lead to such eating disorders as anorexia nervosa. In addition to the belief that slimness is something to take pride in, the immense reliance upon the technology in the modern age reduces the body’s need to consume food as no energy is wasted in doing things manually. Media is ingrained in the life of an individual living in the modern era. Media’s emphasis on exercise and fitness naturally inculcates an urge to become smart, and the eating habits accordingly developed i ncrease the individual’s susceptibility to acquiring anorexia nervosa. Media’s influence upon society has made anorexia nervosa an important community issue. Treating the patient of anorexia nervosa requires the community health nurse to exhibit a unique and enhanced level of health care. The community health nurse needs to be more of a counselor than a regular health care provider. In order to start the treatment, the patient needs to be made aware of the fact that he/she is ill, both physically and mentally as the patients usually deny having any disorder at all. Most patients do not opt for the treatment unless the case becomes extremely obvious and dangerously severe. Healthypeople.gov is an organization that sets up healthy objectives for our nation. Some of the objectives identified by Healthypeople.gov (n.d.) for 2020 are 1. Increasing the adolescent population that takes part in the out-of-school and extracurricular activities. 2.  

Philosophy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5

Philosophy - Assignment Example Through this statement, we are able to know that human beings are superior when compared to animals, i.e. pigs (Hamilton, 73). Furthermore, through this statement, we are able to know that within human being, there are classes, and this class is between the wise and the fools. Socrates is a well respected philosopher, and he is considered as one of the wisest men, to have ever lived, and therefore, through this statement, Mills uses him as a symbol of wisdom. The principle of utility denotes that the behaviors or actions of people are right and good, only if they are able to promote the pleasure or happiness of an individual. This principle further denotes that the actions or behavior of people are unjust, if they are able to produce pain, or unhappiness. As a human being, there are instances whereby I have been faced with the moral dilemma (Troyer, 12). An example is a circumstance, when I was in a restaurant, and unfortunately, I had forgotten to carry my wallet with, which consisted of money. I ordered food, with the knowledge that I would pay, but unfortunately, I realized that I had no money, and a wallet had just fallen down, and the owner did not realize it. This situation, was a dilemma to me, because I had two choices, the first choice is to pick the wallet, remove money, and pay for my bill, while the second option was to pick the wallet and return to the owner (Troyer, 12). While analyzing these options, I had to choose an opt ion, that would make us both happy, my-self, and the owner of the wallet, and this option was to return the wallet. Utility appears in this sense, when I was able to act rightly, satisfying my conscious, and the happiness of the owner of the wallet, when I returned it to him. This theory denotes that workers will lose the control of their lives, and this is because of the loss of control over the work that they are doing. Therefore, a worker ceases

Even though getting news from Facebook is quick and easy, newspapers Research Paper

Even though getting news from Facebook is quick and easy, newspapers are more accurate - Research Paper Example Sensationalism in newsprint and on television is often blamed for the actions of, not only individuals, but entire nations and governments.† (joseph p.33) The most invaluable indicator used to evaluate the quality of news information is imbibed in its aptitude to actuate and appreciate the genuine motives bolstering events, occurrences and news items. With the current information backlog, dispensing of quality information involves understanding rather than exposing, giving explanations rather than mere reporting about facts, of which are already in the public domain through social media. It is with this that newspaper articles reign supreme in not only relaying accurate information but which is well researched. They therefore come in as a necessity in modern life. Reading newspapers comes with a myriad of advantages over utilizing Facebook and social media. Firstly newspapers ensure that we are up to speed with the current world affairs. They provide news which extends from our door step to the village, town, country and the globe with unchallenged professionalism. It stretches our knowledge base beyond the limit guaranteeing a feeling of owning the world. Through liaising with various news agencies newspapers remain in touch with different parts of the world. On the other hand information on Facebook in basically based on the administrators discretion. The administrator of a certain group chooses steamy topics to boost the group’s following based on their desires which pre-disposes those who rely on such information to erroneous info. â€Å"Why has elegance found so little following? That is the reality of it. Elegance has the disadvantage, if thats what it is, that hard work is needed to achieve it and a good education to appreciate it†Ã‚  (Hargitai p.4) A lot of information is passed across through newspapers. This extends to courtroom decisions. News on commerce is published for capitalist, Cinema, Radio and television lovers can look up in them for the

The Propaganda Model And Bias In The Media Media Essay

The Propaganda Model And Bias In The Media Media Essay The propaganda model is essentially a theory that seeks to formulate the pattern of biases expressed by the media and predict what principles and agendas will be prioritized and advanced according to the what news is deemed worthy or unworthy. News worthiness is characterized by several factors including ownership and control, advertising, sourcing, flak and anticommunist ideology, all of which act as filters that news passes through and is eventually diluted by. This paper will present a detailed explanation of the mechanisms of the propaganda model and use the paired case study method to provide a look into how news becomes distorted, as evidenced in past New York Times articles on Venezuela and Kyrgyzstan of whom are foe and friend to the United States government, respectively. Noam Chomsky and Edward Herman define the propaganda model as an analytical framework that attempts to explain the importance of the U.S. media in terms of basic institutional structures and relationships within which they operate.1 The model seeks to portray how and why U.S. mainstream media functions the way it does, functioning on the basis of several key factors at play that predict this behavior. First and foremost, to understand why a propaganda model even exists one must understand that the media is a business driven by profit. Whether it is just to remain competitive or to make a tidy profit, the prospect of financial gain inevitably grows to outweigh the ability or desire to produce quality, unbiased journalism. News firms require financial backing to compete among other news firms, and in order to gain such backing they must capitulate to the will of their ownership. What this means is that news companies cannot afford to make those who finance them look bad, and as result, journalism succumbs to the restrictions imposed by its ownership whether it wants to or not. Combine the regulations of ownership with the views and interests of powerful organizations such as the U.S. government and what you have as a result is a series of filters through which any and all news must pass before it is released to the public. Ownership, acting as a filter in itself, ties into a similar filter which is advertising and funding. Newspapers have to gather and maintain a significant degree of advertising in order to adequately cover production costs without increasing the price of the newspaper. Advertising creates competition among news media to attract advertisers, and as a result, news mediums such as newspapers attempt to get customers to pay attention to their ads more so than the news in order to please the companies who fund the paper. There is no doubt that media becomes distorted by this filter, as the newspaper companies have to please their advertisers in orde r to continue getting their support and finance. Further along the filter path is sourcing, which occurs when media outlets focus their resources on locations where they can count on major news stories to happen. This obviously demonstrates bias on part of the news company, but in a sense it is an unavoidable obstacle as even the largest news corporations could not possibly be everywhere that a news story might occur. Newsworthiness becomes a key player on this stage, in that news companies must carefully pick and choose which stories to investigate and where to be to get the facts they need. Corporate interests take control when journalists chose to obtain their information from these sources and, as a result, journalists typically avoid publishing stories which would damage the reputation of said sources and instead must publish the facts as given to them. When popular opinion comes into doubt or question, corporate interest make great attempts at countering any negative light she d upon them with the use of flak. Flak is basically any form of a targeted negative response to a damaging claim meant to discredit that claim and those who are behind it. Flak machines are often produced by corporations seeking to defend themselves, and media outlets can be targeted by these machines if their news is unfavorable. Media bias is strengthened by flak when news companies, who chose to avoid triggering it, produce stories with intentional distortions and omissions. Another filter powering the propaganda engine comes from the United States deep rooted hatred of all things communist. The U.S. government has a starring role in the manipulation of the media, often using its influence to sway public opinion towards a particular agenda. From this sprouts the concept of worthy and unworthy victims, where the government will chose which stories to publish and in what way such that it can garner the necessary emotion towards a specified cause. This is a critical component to the propaganda model and with it we can see media bias at work, as we investigate news reporting on two countries that are quite similar to one another in their relationship to the U.S. With the help of the propaganda model, we will examine Venezuela, which is a considered a foe to the U.S., and Kyrgyzstan, a friend to the U.S. The paired case study method takes these two countries, which have similar populations, possess important assets for the U.S., and have both endured social unrest against their respective government, and compares news reports from the past few months about each as published by the New York Times. This method makes it possible to observe the fairly strong media bias that goes largely unnoticed. Following the rise to power of President Hugo Chavez, U.S.-Venezuelan relations have dwindled amid rising tensions between the two countries, especially after a U.S. attempt to overthrow Chavez failed resulting in Venezuela cutting off all ties with the U.S. In this light, the U.S. considers Venezuela a foe, and the propaganda model would predict that past news stories would reflect the country in a mostly negative light with minimal coverage regarding victims or sympathy and primary focus on criticizing the countrys president and government. The following page portrays a compilation of news articles that have been written within the past 11 months covering different topics from both Venezuela and Kyrgyzstan. The table shows how the articles produced by the New York Times follow the propaganda model. After examining several articles, this table clearly shows that a strong focus is placed on criticizing the Venezuelan government. The U.S. is attempting to sway public opinion against Venezuela, as most of the articles are targeted towards President Hugo Chavezs rule and how his regime has negatively affected the country. In complete contrast to this trend can be observed in the New York Times reporting of events in Kyrgyzstan, who are considered friend to the U.S. With the many valuable resources offered by Kyrgyzstan, such as air space and fuel, the U.S. is on good terms with the country and provides humanitarian and military assistance to support political, educational, and economic reform. The table shows that a majority of the articles concentrate on support of the country, including several news stories about victims in the country in order to garner sympathy. Almost all of the articles examined shed Huge Chavez in a negative light; two articles discuss the arrest of an opposi tion figure by President Chavez, and several also talk about his control over newspapers and cable television as well as the government mandated black outs that occur daily in Venezuela. The articles written in Kyrgyzstan make a lot of mention to opposition and violence within the country, in an attempt to divert focus from the countrys government and convert them to victims. Examining the articles more in depth one finds several examples of unsupport for Venezuela, such as the case in one article about the critic of Chavez who was arrested, where the NY Times writes The arrest of Mr. Zuloaga comes at a time when Mr. Chavezs government is adopting an increasingly harsh approach to dealing with the presidents critics. This displays a direct criticism of the Chavez government, and in that same article the NY Times further goes on to hurt the image of Venezuela when they say Mr. Alvarez Paz also said that Venezuela had been transformed into a center for drug trafficking in South Americ a. That assertion has also been made repeatedly by the United States government and in independent media investigations.2 In following the propaganda model, the NY Times is highlighting the bad in the country, such as when they make several references to the fact that civil liberties are slowly being eroded in the country, as when they quote A coalition of more than a dozen opposition parties said in a statement that Mr. Alvarez Paz had been arrested for a crime of opinion in an attempt to silence criticism and encourage a climate of self-censorship.3 As the propaganda model would suggest, very little sympathy and support is reflected upon for Venezuela and from the news articles examined, only three make any reference to tragedy or hardship in the country. In one of the few articles regarding victims or sympathy for the country, one article that talks about 9 deaths in a Venezuelan cargo ship fire is only 97 words long, whereas an article discussing a government satire newspaper th at has angered President Chavez and lead to his threatening of tighter Internet controls has 1,157 words. Compare this to the articles written about Kyrgyzstan, where one particular article discussing victims of violence in Bishkek has 1145 words describing the event in strong detail to convey sympathy. A glaring example of worthy and unworthy victims can be seen in a comparison between the two countries in reference to the articles of violence: in the story about the 9 deaths on the Venezuelan cargo ship, the NY Times writes Six of the dead crew members were from the Philippines and three were Greek, the Venezuelan Navy said. One of the injured crew members was reported in delicate condition.5 However, in the article about the violent protests in Kyrgyzstan, the NY Times shows significantly more sympathy and detail when they go as far as to include an account of one victim; Taland Borgulev, a 36-year-old mechanic, had a blood-soaked bandage wrapped around a bullet wound on his thig h. All had joined the crowds in capital for what they thought would be a peaceful protest against a corrupt and authoritarian government only to be cut down in a hail of bullets.5 There is a very apparent distinction in here in the level of detail that the NY Times gives when describing the violent stories from each country. The victims in Venezuela, being considered a foe to the U.S., have become an unworthy, and those in Kyrgyzstan, a friend to the U.S., are worthy victims so they sympathy can be evoked from their tragedy. The propaganda model, while quite accurate, is not always perfect at predicting the trend of news stories about a particular country. One article discusses a rather lengthy news story discussing grave robbing in Venezuela. A lot of attention is also given to Venezuelas budget and energy crisis including several quotes from people who are angry at President Chavez, such as, Were paying for the mistakes of this president and his incompetent managers, said Aixa Lopez, 39, president of the Committee of Blackout Victims, which has organized protests in several cities.6 The propaganda model, accurate as it may be, is not always correct, whereby the model would predict that only minimal coverage would be granted to news involving tragedy, however, over 1000 words are written in this particular article entitled Cemetery Plunder Shows That in Venezuela, Even Death May Not Bring Peace. This is the only article of its kind in the series of Venezuelan news stories examined as shown by the ratio of support to criticism of 1:6.3. Similarly, the propaganda model is not followed in an article entitled Jet Fuel Sales to U.S. Are an Issue in Kyrgyzstan because it discusses Kyrgyzstan accusing the U.S. of allowing family members of the exiled president to obtain significant contracts in supplying jet fuel to a base outside of Bishkek. With the propaganda model in place, it seems quite apparent that the NY Times does in fact pick sides, and object journalism seems to be a near impossibility. Further proof of this media bias comes from back in 2003, where a man named Francisco Toro was hired by the NY Times as an editor even when it was well known that he was a very strong anti-Chavez activist. A news article from that period talks about how that very reporter quit his job as a NY Times editor over conflict of interest, and it was further mentioned that hiring a biased news reporter to cover Venezuelan news was not the first time the company was in violation of their standards of o bjective and disinterested reporting.7 Toro was well known as an opposition activist, and his participation in numerous protests and organizations against Hugo Chavez was not only known by the NY Times prior to his hiring, but they tried to hide this information as well.7 With so much energy spent criticizing the policies and cabinet of President Chavez, several reports are laden with distortions and misconceptions on policies being implemented in the country. Take for example a NY Times editorial from Venezuela which criticizes a statement regarding the nationalization of an electric company and the telephone company CANTV. The NY Times fails to mention that CANTV has a monopoly on telecommunications, as it is the only non-cellular telephone company in the country, and it was privatized during the term of impeached former President Carlos Andres Perez resulting in massive protest and violence.8 The NY Times is quick to condemn the policies of a foe country, and in doing so fail to understand why the country implements such policies, where in the aforementioned example, a nationalized phone company would prevent monopoly and ensure Venezuelans have access to telecommunication services.8 The distortions made by the NY Times very much supports the propaganda model, and with Kyrgyzstan as a friend country, the model would predict little to no distortions or omissions, as news sources generally try to tell few lies if possible. So can we ever hope to have unbiased media? With so much dependence on advertising, the constraints of ownership and the multitude of other filters that clean up our news, it is likely that the answer to that question will remain an indefinite no. How does this reflect upon our society? The beauty of enlightenment is that it is there when we finally realize and chose to accept it, but it seems that we may be unable to grasp onto enlightenment in the media even when we are ready and willing to receive it. This paper has shown that bias in the media simply cannot be avoided; a journalist who wishes to remain purely objective and unbiased will always be chained to his cave no matter how close he gets to the exit. As long as there is bias in the media, we will be continuously subject to an illusion that manufactures false consciousness, with tuning out as our only hope of avoiding it. Sources 1Chomsky, Noam, and Edward Herman. Manufacturing Consent. 2nd. New York: Pantheon Books, 1988. xi. Print 2 Chavez Critic Is Arrested, Then Freed, In Venezuela: [Foreign Desk] Simon Romero.   New York Times.   (Late Edition (east Coast)). New York, N.Y.: Mar 26, 2010.   p. A.4 3 Venezuela: Arrest of Opposition Figure Is Criticized: [Brief] The Associated Press.   New York Times.   (Late Edition (east Coast)). New York, N.Y.: Mar 24, 2010.   p. A.8 4Venezuela: 9 Die In Cargo Ship Fire: [Brief] The Associated Press.  New York Times.   (Late Edition (east Coast)). New York, N.Y.: Dec 26, 2009.   p. A.10 5Kyrgyzstans Deposed President Is Urged to Seek Exile: [Foreign Desk] Michael Schwirtz.   New York Times.   (Late Edition (east Coast)). New York, N.Y.: Apr 10, 2010.   p. A.3 6As Blackouts Hit Energy-Rich Venezuela, the President Tells People to Cut Back: [Foreign Desk] Simon Romero.   New York Times.   (Late Edition (east Coast)). New York, N.Y.: Nov 11, 2009.   p. A.6 7Giordano, Al. NY Times Reporter Quits Over Conflict of Interest. Narco News Bulletin 1.27 (2003): Web. 1 May 2010. 8Golinger, Eva. Confused About Venezuela? NY Latina Journal (2007). Web. 1 May 2010.

Nostradamus :: essays research papers

Nostradamus   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Michel De Nostradame, otherwise known as Nostradamus was born December 14, 1503. His family was of Jewish ancestry. His grandfather, Pierre de Nostradame, had settled in Provence because by the mid-1400s, many Jews had come to live there. Nostradamus' father was Jacques de Nostradame. Jacques worked as a scholary, since most people didn't know how to write he wrote things for them, from love letters to formal documents. Jacques' income provided a good home at the time. Nostradamus' earliest recollection of his home was the following:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Typical of all provenà §al homes in the sixteenth century was the room where both domestic and social life was carried on. The center and symbol of the room's activity was the great fireplace, majestic, caver-   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  nous, holding a banked fire that never went out since his mother and   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  father moved in. Shining pots and pans of brass hung low from the   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  mantle shelf. At either angle of the fireplace was an oak settle were his grandfathers liked to laze and talk when they came to visit. On the walls hung light cabinet shelves holding salt and spices.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Nostradamus had one definite brother, Cà ¨sar who wrote Histoire de Provence, a book which sustains the myth of the Nostradamus royal line. Historians think Nostradamus had three other brothers, Bertrand, Hector, and Antoine, but they are not sure and almost nothing is known about them besides their names.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Nostradamus was educated by his grandfathers. First Peyrot, who had been a great traveler, brought Nostradamus up in his home. He taught Nostradamus the basics of mathematics, Greek, Latin, Hebrew, and Astrology. After Peyrot de Nostradamus' death Nostradamus moved back in with his parents, Jacques and Reynià ¨re. It is thought that his other grandfather took over his education for a while, but the family decided to send Nostradamus to Avignon, which at that period was the center of Renaissance learning. At Avignon, Nostradamus spent many hours at University libraries. Nostradamus' biggest interest was astrology. His interest in astrology began to worry his parents, and by the advice of his grandfather he was sent to the University of Montpellier to study medicine. The University of Montpellier was regarded as second only to that of Paris in all of France. Nostradamus arrived there in 1522 at nineteen years of age. In three years he studied all the subjects needed for his bachelor's degree. He was tutored by some of the finest doctors in Europe. The process of getting a degree was far more arduous than in the present day, and lasted much longer. A successful candidate was given his license to practice by the bishop of Montpellier.

Difference Between the Canadian and the American Movements

Canada's fight for independence was difference from that of the United States. Canada gradually evolved peacefully as a nation while the United States became an independent country through a war. During 1867, a Confederation of six colonies of the British North American joined to form a new country, Canada. Gradually, the military, financial and administrative support from the British slowly reduced as the new formed country took charge and more responsibility in the control of its future and destiny.This was strengthened by Canada sending many troops to fight with Britain and its participation in the First World War. Great Britain's application of the Statute of Westminster to its dominions from the Acts of Parliament, granted along with Canada, New Zealand, the Irish, Newfoundland, Union of South Africa, and Australia full independence. This statute only consecrated practices that had already been established firmly by Great Britain. With Canada, the road to independence began with Britain's grant of a responsible government and finally legislature to its colonies from the period of 1847 to 1848.The crowning of the Confederation in 1867 had the intention and purpose of giving Britain's dominions the complete control of their governance and internal affairs. These lead to the gradual takeover of the colony's governments from Great Britain's control. The most critical event that fostered Canada's independence was the withdrawal of British Armies in 1871 from Canada, followed by the Washington Treaty which took place in the same year. The treaty included a Canadian who joined the British negotiating team that would lead to deliberations and the signing of the treaty on Canada's behalf.These events led to the development and establishment of a Supreme Court in Canada in 1875. This process was accelerated by the First World War with the support of Canada to Great Britain's troops in the war. Canada grew and evolved in the international scene during the period of p ost-World War. The country participated in the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 and was also elected to be a member in the League of Nations. Great Britain recognized its former colonies to be autonomous communities as was the British Empire through the Balfour resolution of 1926.The Dominions were considered as equal in status and were not subordinate in any way with reference to aspects that pertained to their external or domestic affairs. They were recognized to be members of the British Commonwealth of Nations united by their common allegiance by 1931. The American Revolutionary War occurred between the period of 1775 and 1783. This conflict erupted and war broke out between the revolutionaries who were the thirteen British colonies and Great Britain, who declared their intention for independence like the United States of America in the year 1776.The war was accelerated by the rising revolutions that were undertaking in the colonies in the struggle against economic an d political policies imposed by the British Empire. The war spread out far and wide, further than the British North America. The conflicts made many Native Americans to be divided along the war lines and they fought on each side of the conflict. The British used their naval superiority to capture territories and occupy them, mostly the coastal cities. They could not control the countryside where the majority of the people lived.In 1777, America gained victory at Saratoga which compounded the revolution and escalated with the entrance of Spain, France and Netherlands war against Great Britain. With the participation of the French, triumphant naval victory was witnessed in Chesapeake in 1781 leading to a decisive surrender of the British army at Yorktown. In 1783, the independence of America was recognized by the Treaty of Paris. Colonists were divided in the American revolutionary on which side they would support the war with some areas experiencing civil war in their struggles.The c olonists loyal to Britain departed from America and settled in other British colonies mostly Canada, to evade the conflicts with the revolutionaries. When the war commenced, the American revolutionaries did not have a standing army and relied on traditional defense systems where each colony used local militia tactics and methods. This affected their extended operations in the fight coupled with the fact that the militia groups did not have the adequate training and discipline that is mandatory for regular soldiers.Though they sometimes succeeded to suppress loyalist activity and occasionally against the British troops. This plight led Americans to seek ways that they would coordinate military efforts and train a regular army. In 1778, the North America colonial rebellion translated into an international war, where France joined United States after learning the Saratoga victory. Spain joined the war as allies of France in 1779 while Netherlands in 1780 as combatants. The three countr ies were disquietly giving financial aid to the revolutionaries since the commencement of the war, to mitigate Britain's emerging status as a uperpower. Britain had superior naval strength over the American revolutionaries, but with entrance of the French, it contested the British superiority. Spain joined the war with the mission of invading England to recapture Minorca and Gibraltar. The Canadian government was created based on parliamentary democracy which had strong democratic traditions with the Queen of Canada as the head of state and a federal system of government. Canada's constitution governs the lawful structure of the country's traditions and conventions.The Senate of Canada does not have adequate power to oppose or initiate legislation because it is selected by the Prime Minister. However, the United States has a regionally elected senate therefore there is equal power in the regions which make it more unified as a country as opposed to Canada which lacks the balance. Th e president's power in the U. S is balanced in the Senate and the House of Representatives. Historians have often developed theories that would explain the loss of Great Britain in the war which they were expected to win.The Empire had military advantages from the beginning primarily because of the naval superiority and professional regular military over its Dominions like America. The major disadvantage that faced them was the distance in shipping supplies and troops across the Atlantic Ocean. The Americans had the advantage of local sources of food and manpower and knowledge of the territory unlike the British who were compounded by logistical problems. Bibliography Black, J. (2001). War for America: The Fight for Independence. Analysis from a noted British military historian. Sutton Publishing. UK.

The Natural Behavior of Wolves

The Natural Behavior of Wolves Introduction Wolves belong to the broad class of the carnivorous animals. They belong to the Canidae family and thus, they are related to other carnivores like dogs and cats (Harrington, Fred, and Paul 263). No wonder their physical appearance is similar to that of the dogs.Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on The Natural Behavior of Wolves specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More However, they are much larger than the dogs. An adult male wolf grows larger than their female counterparts of the same age do. Most of the wolves are in Asia, North America, and Europe among other locations on the globe. The largest type of a wolf is the gray or timber wolf, which can live in any habitat from hot deserts to cool areas in the mountains. Just like dogs, wolves are social predators as depicted in the way they move and live like a family in groups known as packs. A pack is normally made up of not more than seven wolves, which largely depend on their number and the amount of food available for them. The animals carry out all their daily activities, which are mainly dominated by looking for food as a group. A couple who give birth to new members of the group heads each pack. â€Å"Unlike many mammalian systems, whereby the dominant males have got many mates and the subordinate few or non, the dominant male wolves may only have only one mate while the subordinates have none† (Harrington, Fred and Paul 221). After the young ones have grown up and can take care of themselves, they can move out of the pack to find their mates to start a new pack. Alpha is the name given to the dominant male leader of the pack. The dominant female is referred to as the alpha female. Hierarchy in the pack is observed as members of the pack show respect to the dominant or the superior ones. They do that through exhibiting submissiveness by the use of body postures and facial expressions. There is a limitation in the breeding proc ess because only the dominant partners can breed. In order to survive, a wolf must strive to achieve three things in life, which include a mate, food resources, and an area or territory. It can do this by killing an established breeder. However, in doing this, the wolf puts itself at the risk of being killed by its fellow wolves. The other option it can take is joining a pack, luring out a mate, and dispersing to an area that is not occupied (Mech and Luigi 25).Advertising Looking for term paper on biology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More It takes approximately a period of two months after conception for a female to give birth. A female wolf can give birth to between four to seven pups. The pups are all born blind and it takes them about a year to reach physical maturity. Summer time is a very important period for the breeding of the wolves. â€Å"During the three to four months after parturition, the pups must be a dequately fed to ensure that their physical development is sufficient to survive the rigors of the late fall and winter† (Harrington, Fred and Paul 81). Nevertheless, the pups do not become sexually mature until they are two years old. Naturalistic Observation of the wolves While human beings make use of physical borders to mark their territories, some territorial mammals make use of scent marking to distinguish the boundaries of the places where they live. Some animals like dogs and wolves scent mark mainly through urination and defecation, while others like the cats rub their body parts against surfaces. This way, animals are able to pass a certain message from one animal to another (Alcock 51). All animals apart from human beings lack the ability to talk in order to pass messages from one to the other. As for animals, they have different forms of communication. By keenly observing the way they behave, one can easily tell that all animals do communicate with one another. The y make use of facial expressions, sounds, and body language to pass different kinds of information. The sounds made by certain animals are different from those made by others, depending on the kind of message that is being passed (Alcock 53). All these also apply to the wolves whose inferior members show submissiveness to the superior ones by encircling them with their noses raised up. Just like dogs do on sensing danger, wolves also erect their ears in times of danger and in addition to that, they open their mouths wide. Just like the other carnivores, the wolves have strong muscles. They also have a strong sense of sense of smell and sight. ‘The sense of smell is probably the most acute of the wolf’s senses. Unlike human beings, wolves are strongly reliant on odors to acquire information about food or danger, as well as, all that concerns the outside world (Mech and Luigi 80). That way, they are able to kill animals, which are larger than they are in terms of size. To make getting food easier, they prey on the sick and weak animals and in addition to that, they eat very fast to avoid being robbed off their catch. The wolves normally target the deer, moose, the beavers, and the elk as their prey (Harrington, Fred, and Paul 35).Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on The Natural Behavior of Wolves specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In case an enemy tries to steal their food, it will only be lucky to get the poor quality parts of the meat. This is because the wolves are very clever to feed on the best parts first once they get hold of their prey. In addition to their diet, the wolves feed on birds, berries, fish, worms, mice, and insects especially when they are not able to catch the large preys. There are rumors that wolves also eat people but it has not yet been proved true. The unique scent marking behavior of wolves Wolves are territorial by nature because they use their scents to mark their own territorial boundaries. It is the duty of leaders of the pack to urinate near the ends of their territories to mark them. â€Å"Wolf scent marking behavior used for territorial advertisement includes raised leg urination (RLU) and perhaps standing urination (STU) by males, flexed leg urination (FLU) and possibly squat urination (SQU) by female and perhaps defecation (SCT) and ground scratching (SCR)† (Mech and Luigi 25). The scent markings are said to reduce as one gets inside the territory. During patrols by the wolves in their territory, the number of scent markings is normally very high. The size of their territories depends on the nature of the habitat and the type of breed. It has been a little bit hard for researchers to track them down for study because of their frequent movements and their few numbers. There is a diminished wolf habitat and population because of the increasing human population and urbanization. The wolves’ natural habitat continu es to suffer from extinction as human beings use the habitants for settlement and other activities (Harrington, Fred, and Paul 120). The wolves spent most of their time at the core; a place that is approximately at the centre of the territory. For safety purposes, the places where the pregnant females give birth are always near the core. If the wolves loose all their off springs, they continue to live in the territory. Even when one of the breeding pair dies, the other one remains there until another mate comes (Mech and Luigi 28). The non-breeding members of the pack offer the protection to the breeding mother and the pups. When there is danger, wolves normally howl and bark to pass the message to the rest of the members of the pack. That does not mean that, they all gather there, they spread out in the vast territory only reassembling when the supply of food is scarce in order to fight for it.Advertising Looking for term paper on biology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Any wolf that does not belong to a certain pack is able to know the territories that have been occupied. This is because, by urinating near the edges of their territories, the wolves leave behind scent marks. They do it with one leg high up and that is followed by scratching the ground (Mech and Luigi 25). Additionally, it also enables them to know the presence of their prey and enemies, after which, they prepare themselves to deal with the situation at hand. The sad thing about their fascinating this natural behavior of wolves is the fact that it accounts for more than ninety percent of the lives lost by the wolves. Just as human beings behave when their territories are interfered with, the wolves fight for what belongs to them. Of course, the pack with the strongest or the largest number of wolves gets to win the fight leaving the members of the weak pack dead. â€Å"Wolves do fight to death in the wild and the losers are usually wolves encountered on a territory edge or inside a neighbor’s territory† (Harrington, Fred and Paul 5). A predator is more likely to kill one of the wolves if they are in a pack than when each is alone. Cases of deaths arising because of attacks by predators occur mainly when the animals are together. Implications of the Naturalistic Observation The observation made on the scent marking behavior of wolves indicates that it is one of their forms of communication. If they are able to sense the entry of an enemy into their pack and prevent other wolves from entering into their territory, then it only means one thing. They are able to pass a certain message by leaving scent marks through urinating at or near the edges of their territories. Once a foreign wolf senses the scent marks, it is able to understand that that particular territory is occupied by another pack. That way, a message has been passed, and the wolf does not interfere since it is aware of the consequences that could result because of crossing boundaries. Li mitations of the Research It has been difficult for researchers to do a thorough study of the natural behavior of wolves because of their low population and frequent movement (Harrington, Fred, and Paul 120). On the other hand, the scientific explanation behind the unique scent in the urine has not yet been established. Finally, it is not known if other animals, which are not wolves have the ability to recognize the scent of the wolves’ urine. Future Directions of the Research Researchers have been able to bring to the people’s understanding the scent marking behavior of wolves. The scientific explanation behind this unique behavior has not yet been ascertained. Therefore, researchers should go further in research to determine the chemical components present in the animal’s urine, which enables them to scent mark. In addition to that, they should also do thorough research to determine whether other animals apart from the wolves can be able to detect the scent. C onclusion From the above discussion, it is clear that almost all animals have their diversified ways of communicating with each other given the fact that they cannot express themselves through speech, as human beings do. As for the wolves, they communicate via scent marking. Scent marking is therefore, the unique way through which, wolves pass information to each other, especially with regard to marking their boundaries. This characteristic behavior is of great significance to the wolves because it enables them to survive, in other words, it is a survival tactic ((Harrington, Fred, and Paul). This is because the wolves are able to mark their territories and protect their prey from external predators. They are also able to note the entry of enemies and thus they can prepare to deal with them. Alcock, John. Animal Behavior: An Evolutionary Approach. Sunderland, Mass: Sinauer Associates, 2009. Print. Harrington, Fred H, and Paul C. Paquet. Wolves of the World: Perspectives of Behavior , Ecology, and Conservation. Park Ridge, N. J: Noyes Publications, 1979. Print. Mech, L D, and Luigi Boitani. Wolves: Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation. Chicago [u.a.: Univ. of Chicago Press, 2003. Print.