Ch 6 General Discussion Essay Example

Ch 6: General Discussion Paper Overview The effects of biodiversity on ecosystem functioning, hereafter called biodiversity-function, is a vast field of study. It connects the maintenance of diversity in species communities with the fluxes of energy and matter in ecosystems. Biodiversity-function relationships found in experiments are a major development in basic ecological science, which can bridge the gap between population, community and ecosystem scales of study. They highlighted an indirect consequence of biodiversity loss, that the functioning of entire ecosystems may be threatened, including those that provide services for humans. But to improve both our ecological understanding of the functional role of biodiversity in ecosystems and our applied understanding of how real-world ecosystems are affected by biodiversity change, we need further developments. Firstly, we need to explain what biological mechanisms drive the biodiversity-function relationships found in controlled experiments. Secondly, we need a next generation of long-term, field-scale experiments conducted in complex landscapes, which will have direct relevance to real-world ecosystems and their management. The work I have presented has an ambitious scope: beginning with the study of interactions between populations and the mechanisms for biodiversity effects, and ending with human impacts on biodiversity and how we might use this research to improve the conservation of real-world ecosystems. In chapters 2 and 3, I tested a method for measuring plant interactions in natural communities and then analysed how those interactions might determine properties of plant communities. These chapters firstly give a potential resolution to debate on what forces shape the diversity and composition of plant communities and then improve our understanding of the mechanisms by which diverse plant communities can enhance ecosystem functioning. I found that a major method for measuring competition in natural communities is flawed, and recommended that different approaches are required to truly measure the role of species interactions in structuring plant communities. I then used simulation modelling to connect experimental evidence with relevant theory, to assess when we might expect to find definitive evidence of positive biodiversity effects. These two chapters dealt with the mechanistic basis for biodiversity-function relationships and our technical ability to describe them—vital f or interpreting past experiments and as a basis for progressing into real-world ecosystems. We will write a custom essay sample on Ch 6: General Discussion specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Ch 6: General Discussion specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Ch 6: General Discussion specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer In the remaining chapters, the concern was firstly to push the frontier of biodiversity-function research into complex landscapes, where this research can have more applied impact. And secondly to equip ourselves with the knowledge on biodiversity change that is required to comprehend the real-world importance of this research. I analysed results from one of the first experiments in complex landscapes, where biodiversity change has been severe and the potential cost to ecosystem functions and services is great. I found initial evidence, from a long-term experiment, that diversity could help improve the effectiveness of forest restoration. I then scaled up even further to focus on global biodiversity change, rather than its functional role in ecosystems. To know how biodiversity change will impact real-world ecosystems we must know what change is occurring. I found that intensive agriculture reduces the diversity of farmland wildlife by a third overall. We might use this information to meet 6.131 global food requirements whilst minimising its cost to wildlife. Other work that I have been involved with looked at the effects of land use more widely and found that the impacts of human land use on biodiversity are severe, but there is scope for future mitigation (see Appendix III). Measuring interactions in plant communities In chapter 2, I tested the predominant method for measuring the effect of competition in natural plant communities. The method is an observational approach that assumes we can infer the effects of interactions from natural variation in the densities of co-occurring species. The effect of competition between species is estimated by predicting how the population size of each species would respond to the removal of competitor species. We performed this observational analysis on experimental mixtures and compared the prediction with our test: monocultures, where species grow without competitor species. The method consistently underpredicted the effect of competitor removal, undermining any inferences that can be made using this method regarding how interactions structure plant communities. If plant species did not interact, understanding the effects of diversity on ecosystem functioning would be simple. We would only need information on the abundances of each species in a community and their performance in monoculture. But this is clearly not the case. Even selection effects of diversity are the product of interactions. Huston (1997) described the selection probability effect—that diversity increases the probability of including any species—as an artefact of experimental design. But others showed that this probabilistic side-effect is not in itself sufficient to create any effect of diversity (Loreau Hector 2001; Cardinale et al. 2004; Weis et al. 2007). For any species to contribute to a diversity effect, they must alter the per capita performance (e.g. relative yield) of other species through interactions like competition (Loreau Hector 2001). Thus, regardless of debate on what mechanisms drive diversity effects (see Mechanisms of diversity effects), competition is key to understanding how species combine in diverse communities to influence ecosystem functions. The method tested in chapter 2 estimates the effect of competition by predicting the impact of species loss. Such a method is clearly relevant to the study of the impacts of biodiversity loss on the community-level properties that drive ecosystem functions. Understanding the role of competition in structuring plant communities and consequently driving ecosystem functions requires tried and tested methods for quantifying the strength of competition. Evidence of interactions in biodiversity experiments is clear, because the biomass of multi-species communities cannot be described as just the additive combination of monoculture biomasses (Cardinale et al. 2011). But taking biodiversity-function research out into natural ecosystems means that we need robust methods for measuring interactions in natural communities, which can reliably predict the effects of losing species. There are many methods for measuring competition—some are experimental, some are observational—but overall they do not give the same results (Gurevitch et al. 1992; Rees et al. 1996; Martorell Freckleton 2014). We therefore need to understand why different methods give different results, which methods accurately predict the effects they intend to quantify, and what causes any inaccuracies in these predictions. The flaws in the major experimental methods are well documented (Connell 1983; Freckleton Watkinson 2000), but until now the observational methods had received less scrutiny. The method tested in chapter 2 is predominantly conducted using observational data, but interestingly the approach was first taken using experimental data (Mack Harper 1977). An experiment could control for confounding variables like soil nutrients, moisture, light and temperature. Confounding variables can obscure the effects of the density of one species on the future density of another species, because correlation in the environmental responses of two species can be misconstrued as an effect of species interactions. This is one of the potential reasons why the observational method poorly predicted the effects of competitor removal. If true, it would highlight where experiments can help in the study of plant competition. However, we underpredicted the effect of competitor removal even in our semi-controlled experiment. Our primary explanation, that it is impossible to infer the fundamental role of competition in natural communities because of the ghost of competition past, suggests the problem is more profound. This would explain why experimental and observational evidence do not generally agree, but it would not yet provide a solution. Further modelling is required to confirm this idea. Perhaps such modelling will suggest new methods, but it may potentially show that we will never be able to use observational techniques to quantify whether plant communities are fundamentally competitive. Debate on the importance of interactions will continue unless this matter is resolved. Debate over methodologies and interpretation have made species interactions perhaps the most contentious topic in all of ecology. The role of local interactions in shaping the assembly and composition of plant communities has been a dividing line in many of the field’s important developments (Lewin 1983; Connor Simberloff 1984; Gilpin Diamond 1984; Abrams 1986; den Boer 1986; Roughgarden 1986; Adler et al. 2007; Vellend 2010). Much of community ecology is based on the idea that niche partitioning and competition are key to understanding the maintenance of biodiversity (Darwin 1859; Hutchinson 1957; Macarthur Levins 1967; Chesson 1991, 2000; Levine HilleRisLambers 2009; HilleRisLambers et al. 2012). But others have claimed that large-scale forces like dispersal and drift are more important (Connor Simberloff 1979; Ricklefs 1987; Ricklefs Schluter 1993; Hubbell 2001). Study of competition is important for biodiversity-function research, because much of the ecological theory invoked to explain diversity effects is based on coexistence between competitive species, often involving competition for resources (Tilman Downing 1994; Tilman et al. 1997a; Loreau 1998a, 2010b). However, just as with other topics in community ecology, the role of niche partitioning caused by competition has been hotly debated in biodiversity-function research (Tilman et al. 1996; Aarssen 1997; Huston 1997; Tilman 1997; Loreau 1998b; Hector et al. 1999; Hector 2000; Huston et al. 2000). There is still a lack of strong evidence for niche partitioning as the major cause of diversity effects, perhaps because such specific mechanisms are rarely cited when diversity effects have been measured (Cardinale et al. 2011). The early debates were addressed by quantifying complementarity and selection effects (Loreau Hector 2001), but in order to develop a mechanistic understanding of diversity effects we now need to move beyond these terms (Carroll et al. 2011, 2012; Loreau et al. 2012; Turnbull et al. 2013). Doing this will require further modelling, measuring, and testing of species interactions. By improving methods to infer competition from natural communities, we can better inform hypotheses about how diverse plant communities in nature can sustain ecosystem functions. For other work I have contributed to, that examined the predictability of plant–soil interactions rather than plant–plant interactions, see Appendix II (Mehrabi Tuck 2015). Mechanisms of diversity effects In chapter 3, I explored the modelling that will be required to understand what mechanisms drive biodiversity effects. I presented a model of the seasonal growth of species that competed for one shared limiting resource. Species differed according to a functional trade-off between their rate of resource capture and the volume of resource pool they can access. This trade-off enabled stable coexistence and complementarity effects. But it was not possible for diverse mixtures to reach a higher yield than the best monoculture of its component species without extra niche differentiation. We hypothesised that mixtures might yield more than the best monoculture if we included environmental resource leaching throughout the season. We assumed that resources not yet locked up in plant tissues could be leached from the soil profile. We simulated growth of communities with varying species richness and measured how much of the resources had been captured and leached by the end of the season. We expected mixtures to capture more and leach fewer resources, because species that could capture resources quickly would minimise leaching early in the season, whilst species that could access more resources in total would continue to exploit the remaining resource pool later on. As we expected, some species mixtures did capture more resources than the best monoculture in the presence of leaching—although this was only a small proportion of all mixtures. Resource leaching differentiated species in time by making some resources accessible only to those species that can capture resources quickly enough. Mixtures that combine the strengths of different species along the 6.136 trade-off could capture resources effectively throughout the entire season, thereby reaching a higher season-end yield. Whilst it was rare for mixtures to outperform the best monoculture, they frequently performed as well as the best monoculture due to the same mechanism. This mechanistic model offers a biological explanation for biodiversity effects observed in long-term experiments. The modelling presented was intended to draw directly from long-term biodiversity experiments, where there is greatest opportunity for measuring and testing how species interact and what effect this has on ecosystem functions. The case for complementarity effects such as resource use of species in mixtures has been demonstrated in theory. Models have shown that mixtures should commonly yield more than expected from the properties of its component species, which is known as overyielding. Experiments have verified this expectation, and some biological mechanisms for overyielding have even been elucidated. A greater number of models have been used to explore when we should expect mixtures to yield more than its highest yielding monoculture, also known as transgressive overyielding. But the mechanisms that could generate this most definitive effect of diversity have been less well explored and, as transgressive overyielding has mostly been found in long-term experiments, it is not clear how often we should expect to see it. By now much experimental evidence has shown that complementarity effects are common, even though the role of niche differentiation is still unclear (Cardinale et al. 2007, 2011). Multiple species usually contribute to the increased biomass in diverse mixtures (Tilman et al. 2001; Hector Bagchi 2007). Positive complementarity effects often increase over time (Reich et al. 2012; Ravenek et al. 2014)—sometimes with concomitant decreases in selection effects (van Ruijven Berendse 2003; Fargione et al. 2007). These patterns suggest that the complementarity effects observed, at least in these experiments, are not a transient effect of artificial species mixtures (but see Turnbull et al. 2013). Various mechanisms for complementarity have been suggested. At the Jena Experiment, some suggested mechanisms have been that species differ in rooting depth and architecture (Dimitrakopoulos Schmid 2004), but more recently that higher diversity might reduce the effects of plant–soil feedbacks (Ravenek et al. 2014). Similarly at Wageningen, diverse mixtures were shown to use nitrogen more efficiently (van Ruijven Berendse 2005) but negative density-dependent effects may also be important, for example species-specific root herbivory by nematodes (De Deyn et al. 2004; van Ruijven Berendse 2009). Other experimental work in similarly agricultural contexts found that transgressive overyielding was common and linked to having a diversity of functional traits regarding resource acquisition and growth strategies (Finn et al. 2013). Perhaps the best evidence of transgressive overyielding has been from Cedar Creek (Tilman et al. 2001), where diverse communities showed increased input and retention of nitrogen due to complementary rooting and belowground resource use, primarily between legumes and C4 grasses (HilleRisLambers et al. 2004; Fargione Tilman 2005; Fargione et al. 2007; Mueller et al. 2013). Thus, belowground rooting and resource capture mechanisms were a natural choice to explore transgressive overyielding in mechanistic models. Loreau (2010a) showed what conditions are required to find transgressive overyielding using a two species Lotka-Volterra model. Stable coexistence, and hence 6.138 overyielding, requires that the inferior competitor is limited more by itself than by the competitive effect of the superior competitor. In this case, the inferior competitor would overyield but the superior competitor would not, resulting in a lower yield than the superior competitor in monoculture. Transgressive overyielding requires the additional condition that both species are limited more by themselves than by the other species. To summarise the relationship between coexistence and overyielding: overyielding can occur even in transient mixtures and hence does not guarantee persistent diversity effects (Carroll et al. 2011, 2012; Loreau et al. 2012; Turnbull et al. 2013); if mixtures stably coexist, it follows that they will overyield—there is sufficient niche differentiation for a community to yield more than expected from the properties of its component species; but for a community to yield more than its highest yielding species in monoculture, i.e. show transgressive overyielding, even stronger niche differentiation is required than that necessary for stable coexistence (Loreau 2010a). Therefore, in simple Lotka-Volterra models, the conditions for coexistence and diversity effects are clear. Nevertheless, measuring competition in plant communities remains problematic (see chapter 2) and measuring the effects of niche differentiation has rarely been achieved (but see Levine HilleRisLambers 2009). Wi thout strong measurement it will remain difficult to know when conditions for diversity effects are fulfilled. In more complex models of plant competition, that for example allow nonlinear per capita population growth rates, the relationship between coexistence and diversity effects can be less clear (Gilpin Justice 1972; Loreau 2010a). It is still not known how frequently populations exhibit nonlinear population growth functions. And some mechanisms for species coexistence, such as transient nonequilibrium coexistence, do not predict the same functional consequences of diversity for ecosystem functions (Loreau 2010a). So question marks remain on the generality of such a simple set of conditions to necessitate persistent effects of diversity in plant communities. The model presented in chapter 3 helps identify the conditions under which we might expect to find transgressive overyielding. It appears that even when mechanisms for transgressive overyielding are at work, we should not expect mixtures to yield more than the best monoculture very often. This gives new light in which to consider the rarity of transgressive overyielding observed in experiments. Future work combining experiment and theory should continue to elucidate when and how mixtures outperform monocultures. Doing so will strengthen our understanding more broadly of the functional consequences of species diversity for ecosystems. Understanding theory and small-scale experiments is an important platform for scaling up to the experiments in complex landscapes that can inform management of real-world ecosystems. Diversity effects in complex landscapes In chapter 4, I presented initial results from one of the first long-term biodiversity-function experiments that will be conducted in complex environments, at landscape level, with real-world application. I analysed the first decade of survival and growth at the Sabah Biodiversity Experiment, which is situated in selectively logged lowland forest in South East Asia. The experiment will elucidate biodiversity-function effects in tropical forests, and will help inform the restoration of these degraded ecosystems. The experimental seedlings were planted into the background forest in a way that replicated the restoration practice. By analysing the survival and growth of these seedlings, we could estimate how many replanted trees remain and at what stem density. We found that species differed in survival and growth, following a survivalgrowth trade-off. Species also responded differently to the wide range of conditions throughout the landscape. These differing responses could create a spa tial insurance effect of diversity, thereby ensuring successful restoration throughout the complex landscape. The effect of plant diversity on ecosystem functioning has been extensively studied in small-scale, controlled conditions that usually strive to minimise environmental heterogeneity (Cardinale et al. 2011). In previous chapters I explored the methodological and theoretical developments required to refine our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the biodiversity effects already observed. These developments provide a platform for another frontier in biodiversityfunction research: taking experiments out into natural plant communities, with a more complex range of life histories, in complex landscapes, that directly relate to real-world conservation management (Duffy 2009; Hillebrand Matthiessen 2009; Brose Hillebrand 2016). The experiment in chapter 4 is one example of this growing effort. Tropical forests are important for, amongst other things, their rich diversity, the locally and globally valuable ecosystem services they provide, and economically valuable products such as timber (Sodhi et al. 2010; Maycock et al. 2012; Edwards et al. 2014). Changes in land use, particularly due to agriculture and logging, have drastically changed tropical forests and will continue to do so (Newbold et al. 2015, see   Appendix III). Much biodiversity is threatened or has already been lost. In addition to the direct costs of this biodiversity change, there may also be knock-on effects at the ecosystem level, on the functioning of tropical forest ecosystems and the services these functions provide us. But the functional consequences of biodiversity change for tropical forest ecosystems is not clear because very few experiments have explored these regions (but see Potvin Gotelli 2008; Yang et al. 2013). Because changes in tropical forest are current and due to human activity, they also present a useful setting to explore the real-world applications of biodiversity-function research. In South East Asia, vast areas have been selectively logged and already restocked by enrichment planting programmes. The enrichment planting was partially intended to aid forest restoration by helping reproduce the emergent canopy of old growth forest. But the effectiveness of this technique has not been fully tested, despite its widespread application. The history of land use, enrichment planting, and the natural variation in environmental conditions that is inherent to the systems is complex, producing a landscape that is fragmented and patchy at varying spatial scales. In chapter 4, I showed that enrichment planting with diverse mixtures of trees may spread the risk of failed restoration in complex landscapes, by utilising speciesspecific responses to variable environmental conditions. The average restorative effect of enrichment planting would be maintained throughout the whole landscape. Whereas monocultures might, in unfavourable areas, fail to achieve any restorative effects (or retain overly dense stands of trees, potentially leading to wasteful selfthinning that would undermine efficient enrichment planting across large areas). The results in chapter 4 show the potential improvements in enrichment planting, as informed by biodiversity-function research. Improving this practice may help sustain the functioning and conservation value of these forests. How much of this potential is realised will only become clear as this long-term experiment continues. Further monitoring needs to observe future survival and growth until the planted trees mature and reproduce. It will then be interesting to see how interactions between mature trees affect mixture performance relative to monocultures, and whether planting boosts recruitment of future dipterocarp generations. The restorative effect of this practice on the background degraded forest, which seedlings were planted into, is not yet clear. This is an important step for quantifying how replanting more diverse plant communities can boost functioning of the wider forest ecosystem over time. It has been shown that effects of biodiversity on ecosystem functioning not only increase over time, but also with increasing spatial scale (Dimitrakopoulos Schmid 2004; Venail et al. 2010; Cardinale et al. 2011), and increasing environmental heterogeneity (Finke Snyder 2008; Tylianakis et al. 2008). This suggests that smallscale controlled biodiversity experiments may have underestimated the impact of biodiversity loss on ecosystems, and that study in large-scale, complex environments will be needed to estimate the full effects (Cardinale et al. 2012). Such heterogeneous environments, with multiple sources of variability and more opportunities for niche differentiation, will be ideal settings to study the effects of biodiversity on multiple ecosystem processes at the same time (Duffy 2009; but see Wardle Jonsson 2010). There are many challenges for biodiversity-function research in complex landscapes. It will be harder to control external factors, reducing our power for inference. Many factors affect ecosystem processes and there is mixed evidence on their relative importance as drivers of ecosystem change (Grace et al. 2007; Hooper et al. 2012; Tilman et al. 2012). One solution could be to analyse biodiversity-function relationships within a constrained set of conditions. The constraining effect of productivity on biodiversity has been measured correlatively at large scales (Mittelbach et al. 2001; Adler et al. 2011; Fridley et al. 2012; Grace et al. 2012, 2016; Pan et al. 2012). Though this correlative work fundamentally differs from experimental work, it might aid research in complex landscapes. If external factors cannot be controlled it would help to know how they interact with the biodiversity-function relationship. Then they may be controlled post hoc and the biodiversity-function relationship can be examined, constrained within the conditions found in the landscape (Loreau 2010a). Globally distributed experiments are a more controlled way to find general patterns in forest ecosystems (Borer et al. 2014). Our experiment is part of such a network (Verheyen et al. 2015). There are also emerging methods and topics that will help extend biodiversity-function study into complex landscapes (see What is the future?). The scale of the problem In chapter 5, I quantified the effects of different farming strategies on farmland biodiversity, including plants and many other taxa. I did this by meta-analysing 30 years of published studies that compared the farmland biodiversity found on intensive conventional farms and extensive organic farms. I found that 34% of overall farmland wildlife is lost on conventional farms relative to organic farms—for plants alone, 73% of species are lost. The biodiversity experiments in grasslands, often rooted in landscapes with agricultural history, show large effects of plant species loss on ecosystem functioning (Tilman et al. 2001; van Ruijven Berendse 2003; Roscher et al. 2005). There is still debate on the relative merits of extensive and intensive farming for global biodiversity (Foley et al. 2011; Phalan et al. 2011; Tilman et al. 2011), but evidence suggests that intensive farming is especially damaging for the functioning of the ecosystems in which the farms are situated. This r esearch was successfully communicated to European policymakers (see Appendix IV). To understand the real-world relevance of biodiversity-function research, we need to know how biodiversity in real-world ecosystems is changing. Global biodiversity is undeniably changing and the predominant cause is human activity (Pereira et al. 2010; Barnosky et al. 2011; Pimm et al. 2014; Ceballos et al. 2015). The problem is so serious that rates of biodiversity loss might exceed the boundaries of a planetary â€Å"safe operating space for humanity† even more dramatically than climate change (Rockstrà ¶m et al. 2009; Mace et al. 2014). Thus, we should measure how human activity drives biodiversity change and then understand the knock-on effects of this change for natural ecosystems—I have provided such measurements of biodiversity change within agricultural systems. To understand the functional consequences of global biodiversity for ecosystems, we need to solve problems about describing biodiversity and measuring its change. Species diversity is changing in a multitude of ways: the composition and structure of species communities, the dominance of species groups, species invasions and biotic homogenisation, and species being driven to rarity and ultimately extinction (Butchart et al. 2010; Magurran 2016). Extinction is irreversible—and the effects of species loss is the domain of biodiversity-function research—so it is crucial we understand how much extinction is going on. Out of the 5–10 million species that might exist on Earth, 1.9 million have been described (Mora et al. 2011)—though misidentification and synonymies present great uncertainty in our knowledge (Goodwin et al. 2015). According to IUCN (2015), 903 known species have gone extinct since 1600. Whilst this may comprise a small fraction of global biodiversity, it represents a rate of extinction 1000 times greater than that documented in the fossil record (Pimm et al. 2014). But lacking information on the most diverse taxa means this extinction rate could be grossly underestimated (Rà ©gnier et al. 2015). Uncertainty remains on the scale of global biodiversity and how it is changing, and what types of biodiversity change most impact ecosystem functioning. But wherever truth lies within that uncertainty it seems the scale of the global biodiversity crisis is severe. Within this global context, there is a current debate on how local species diversity has responded to recent pressures (Vellend et al. 2013; Dornelas et al. 2014; Newbold et al. 2015; Gonzalez et al. 2016). Some claim that there has been no overall loss in local species richness over recent times, because most loss is countered or even reversed by influx of species (Vellend et al. 2013; Dornelas et al. 2014). But others have criticised their approach for having spatial and temporal biases toward underestimating recent loss, and measuring change against inappropriate baseline conditions (Gonzalez et al. 2016). I contributed to work by Newbold et al. (2015), who took a different approach by using spatial variation rather changes over time (spacefor-time approach), and estimated substantial losses to local biodiversity across the globe (see Appendix III). More recently, others have suggested that this space-for-time approach underestimates the impacts of human land use on local biodiversity (Franà §a et al. 2016), so the projections put forward by Newbold et al. (2015) may well be conservative. The state of biodiversity change we see may also depend on what type or 6.146 metric of biodiversity we measure (Pereira et al. 2013; McGill et al. 2015). Ecosystem functioning depends more on local biodiversity than global biodiversity (Cardinale et al. 2012; Hooper et al. 2012). The biodiversity-function relationships from experiments are important results whatever current changes in local biodiversity may be, but the broad consensus is that local diversity is declining and the functioning of ecosystems may be threatened. Even when local diversity is supplemented by an influx of other species, this may only delay local diversity loss (Gilbert Levine 2013) or it may homogenise regional biodiversity (McKinney Lockwood 1999; McGill et al. 201 5). What is the future? Emerging methods When moving into natural communities, synthetic approaches between experimental and observational study may be useful in maximising inference from complex landscapes. For example, experiments in complex landscapes inevitably impose a simplistic and discrete nature to provide more controlled study. But the discrete nature of experimental design will not reflect the landscapes in which they are situated, which may harm their ability to provide meaningful recommendations. One option may be to impose less discrete experimental treatments, for example by planting more continuous gradients of diversity in a way that fits the landscape. The landscape would then be part of the experimental design, rather than randomised away. This would pose problems for inference, as it would inevitably undermine the advantages of experiments. But the synthetic approach would be complementary to such experiments and may provide extra realism to biodiversity-function studies. This change would also benefit from emerging analytical techniques. In the chapters presented here, there are a wide range of analyses implemented: predictive testing (using Bayesian inference), data-free simulation modelling, exploratory data analysis, and meta-analysis. There are many other analytical techniques that may become part of the ecologist’s standard toolkit, often because they offer new ways to tackle the fact that ecological effects are conditional on multiple causes. Smoothing techniques such as Generalised Additive Mixed Models (GAMMs) have become very useful, and the theory behind them is becoming more complete (Wood 2006). GAMMs could utilise the continuous nature of new experiments in complex landscapes, to not only account for variation in the landscape but also capture that information for further inference. This would be useful, for example, for estimating the spatial scale of species interactions or spatial variation in diversity effects. As well as GAMMs, structural equation modelling (e.g. Grace et al. 2016) and quantile regression (e.g. Grubb 2016) are among the techniques that will be useful in elucidating effects in dynamic, realworld ecosystems. Remote-sensing is another powerful tool that has emerged in recent decades, as new satellites were launched and started releasing freely available data (Pettorelli et al. 2014). Researchers interested in any global change can use the consistently measured, global yet finely grained, remotely sensed data to ask questions that would otherwise have been impossible to answer (Pettorelli et al. 2005; Asner et al. 2008, 2014). I have produced a tool to access and use one of these archives of remotely sensed data (Tuck et al. 2014a). To date, this tool has been used by over 4000 researchers. Emerging topics Spanning such a broad swathe of research means having to decide what not to study. For example, adding trophic complexity beyond plant communities will improve assessments of the functional consequences of biodiversity change in complex landscapes. Food webs provide a quantitative framework to connect community ecology—the study of species richness, composition and interactions—with ecosystem ecology—the study of fluxes of energy and matter. Biodiversity-function research sits between these two fields of ecology, so using food webs to move beyond single-trophiclevel communities could help build a quantitative framework for the ecosystem-level consequences of biodiversity change (Worm Duffy 2003; Hillebrand Cardinale 2004; Cardinale et al. 2006; Duffy et al. 2007; Thompson et al. 2012). These are rich areas for theory and experimentation, and challenges remain for this framework to become truly predictive. There is evidence that diversity loss among trophic groups has a greater impact on ecosystem functioning than loss within trophic groups (Duffy et al. 2007; Cardinale et al. 2012; Barnes et al. 2014). But the exact structure of trophic networks between consumers and predators can alter biodiversity-function relationships, and these trophic structures are not easily predicted (Yodzis 2000; Thompson et al. 2012; Digel et al. 2014). Network complexity and the food web approach is also a frontier for species coexistence and evolutionary ecology (Chesson Kuang 2008; Allesina Levine 2011). It is possible that mechanisms of coexistence, functional traits, and trophic networks could be combined to model entire communities from the individual- up to the ecosystem-level, and assess the functional consequences of biodiversity change, analogous to how General Ecosystem Models simulate properties of the biosphere (Purves et al. 2013). Community evolution models are a promising addition to research on community and ecosystem ecology (Loreau 2010b). These emerging models could be used to study the coevolution and maintenance of diverse food webs and its ecosystem-level properties (e.g. Brà ¤nnstrà ¶m et al. 2010). They could potentially deliver a more mechanistic and predictive understanding of the structure and functioning of ecosystems (Loreau 2010a). There is a growing trend to consider the effect of biodiversity on multiple ecosystem functions at the same time, so called multi-functionality (Hector Bagchi 2007; Gamfeldt et al. 2008, 2013; Allan et al. 2013; Soliveres et al. 2016). Ecosystem multi-functionality appears to present an even stronger positive role of plant biodiversity in maintaining the functioning of ecosystems (Isbell et al. 2011). When considering only one ecosystem function there may be relatively few important aspects of species niches, so many may seem functionally redundant—although this may be a by-product of the types of short-term experiments most often conducted (Reich et al. 2012; Delgado-Baquerizo et al. 2016). However, when multiple ecosystem functions are considered more niches axes may be relevant and species differences become functionally important. Some have suggested that true redundancy might not exist (Loreau 2004). Important work is still needed to discover how ecosystem multifunctionality responds to biodiversity change and crucially whether any functions trade off with one another, such that biodiversity loss may harm one important function whilst not affecting or even benefitting another. Traditional biodiversity experiments have been conducted under controlled environmental conditions and species composition treatments. The relationships that 6.150 emerge from these experiments might differ from those where the environment can vary, due to disturbances or climatic fluctuations, and species compositions can fluctuate accordingly—but the effect of environmental variation can be unexpected and depend on the ecosystem function being examined (Craven et al. 2016; Fischer et al. 2016; Flores-Moreno et al. 2016). Environmental changes might even result in less diverse mixtures that are originally more productive, but more vulnerable to future disturbance and hence prone to collapse (e.g. MacDougall et al. 2013). Measuring the effects of nonequilibrium conditions is an important step for future research in complex landscapes. This is particularly pressing in a world where human activity is rapidly changing landscapes (Drescher et al. 2016) and environmental extremes are becoming the norm (Fischer et al. 2016; Woodward et al. 2016). Concluding remarks The research presented here has helped make the study of diverse plant communities and their role in real-world ecosystems a more predictive science, rooted in mechanistic understanding. It has combined theory, experiment and observation in a range of ecosystems to improve both our fundamental understanding and our applied impact regarding the ecosystem-level consequences of global biodiversity loss. I have suggested methodological improvements to the study of natural plant communities, and used a suite of analytical techniques to inform European conservation policy and advise restoration strategies in threatened natural ecosystems. The future of biodiversity-function research is to continue down the same path: integrating multiple fields of ecology, solidifying our basic understanding of plant diversity and its role in functioning ecosystems, and verifying its relevance for the management of real-world ecosystems. The field will need to encompass a greater diversity of taxa, trophic interactions, ecosystems, ecosystem functions, and measures of biodiversity itself. Perhaps then this research might unify ecology, from populations up to ecosystems, and become an invaluable framework for the management of our environment and global biodiversity. Previous Page   Ch 5: The Effects Of Organic Farming On Biodiversity

Essays Essays - Essay, An Essay On Criticism, Thomas Robert Malthus

Essays Essays - Essay, An Essay On Criticism, Thomas Robert Malthus Essays are generally scholarly pieces of writing giving the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of an article, a pamphlet and a short story. Essays can consist of a number of elements, including: literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author. Almost all modern essays are written in prose, but works in verse have been dubbed essays (e.g. Alexander Pope's An Essay on Criticism and An Essay on Man). While brevity usually defines an essay, voluminous works like John Locke's An Essay Concerning Human Understanding and Thomas Malthus's An Essay on the Principle of Population are counterexamples. In some countries (e.g., the United States and Canada), essays have become a major part of formal education. Secondary students are taught structured essay formats to improve their writing skills; admission essays are often used by universities in selecting applicants, and in the humanities and social sciences essays are often used as a way of assessing the performance of students during final exams. The concept of an "essay" has been extended to other mediums beyond writing. A film essay is a movie which often incorporates documentary film making styles and which focuses more on the evolution of a theme or an idea. A photographic essay is an attempt to cover a topic with a linked series of photographs; it may or may not have an accompanying text or captions.

Women Involved in Social Reform in the 19th Century Essay - 1

Women Involved in Social Reform in the 19th Century - Essay Example However, this role is not enough, as they are also required to be career oriented and ambitious. The ‘Cult of True Womanhood’ that entitled women as deities of the household enabled women to regard their self-importance, as the whole theory attached with the concept of womanhood was self-destructive. There was a strategy to make women acknowledge their role associated with their families and homes only. However, according to the concept, women were regarded morally and virtually superior to men. The concept accommodated men as creatures prone to do wrong and entitled women as the guardians of the household who not only tried to safeguard men from flawed lives, but also kept graceful nature to bear the uncertainties of their husbands. This paper discusses American women’s involvement in social reform in the 19th century and women formed a good total of American population. The ‘cult of true womanhood’ encouraged women in the 19th century to become invo lved in social reform by standing with men in terms of running their households and they witnessed promotion of their gender ideologies through education. The ‘cult of true womanhood’ arrested women in their houses and assigned them the role of managing their households domestically only. â€Å"When depicted within households, women were romanticized as â€Å"Republican mothers† and cultivated companions† (Boydston, 1996). The women were required to tend to the needs of the men of their homes, their children and their families. In fulfilling their standardized roles defined as per the concept deprived of their right to work outside. However, due to economic pressure on the society, they continue to work outside for their household management. This approach of the women and their financial requirements brought men against them and they regarded working women as morally deprived and inferior to other women.   

Implementing Cloud Computing Programs Research Paper

Implementing Cloud Computing Programs - Research Paper Example The process of implementing cloud computing programs is detailed particularly because of the several steps that the interested parties need to go through in the course of undertaking the project. As such, all entities should consider employing strategies that are in line with their ventures. The next section highlights some of the strategies that are far-reaching in ensuring a successful implementation of cloud computing programs. Â  Planning is particularly imperative because it provides the interested parties with the opportunity to analyze and re-evaluate their ability to handle the key steps of the implementation process contentedly. This includes forecasting on the entire process and the parties who will be involved in procuring all the needed hardware and software as well as the mechanism of going about the installation process. Similarly, planning entails forecasting on how the installed software, hardware, and the backup systems will be tested (Gulla, 2013). Also, planning is far-reaching given that it enables the interested parties to understand the alternatives at its disposal, the scope of technology and the business model. Â  Given the number of cloud installation programs that are currently going on as well as the planned ones, it is important to take note of the fact that there may be lack of enough expertise and talent to handle all of them. In that regard, it is imperative for organizations to ensure that they have key cloud computing experts at their disposal. Interested entities should, therefore, consider not only recruiting, but also training and retaining available staff.

Project Management of F16 Software Code Update (SCU) Research Proposal

Project Management of F16 Software Code Update (SCU) - Research Proposal Example F-16 has many classified information and has several versions and type of weapons for operational flight program. The whole F-16 system hardware is enabled by the Operational Flight Program which is made up of a series of software modules. Each software module of Operational Flight Program codes the functions of a separate weapon system or operational systems. This study is aimed at analyzing the software capabilities of Operational Flight Program of F-16 aircrafts and its upgrades made from time to time. Introduction F-16 aircraft was designed to strengthen the combat capabilities of Air Force of United States. It was developed originally by the General Dynamics and later developed further by Lockheed Corporation which was then became Lockheed Martin. Fighting Falcon is one of the most significant fighters of the latter part of the 20th century. The development of F-16 began with the concept for an experimental lightweight fighter. It then fostered into an aircraft fighter that oper ated in all types of weather and had capabilities of attacking precisely to any enemy target. The manufacturing of F-16 is done at five different production lines. Over 4,000 F-16 aircraft fighters have been built for the Western World and it has become their largest fighter program. The F-16 aircraft is used in war and its design and development is mostly classified. The software technology used in embedded computer system is the most critical, accurate and zero tolerance code. The automation of warfare management is done with the operation flight program of F-16 aircraft. The Operational Flight Program (OFP) is a computer program written for computer hardware fixed inside the F-16 aircraft. The Operational Flight Program needs to be updated and upgraded as and when new needs for improvements of F-16 aircraft are identified and consequently weapons are improved or changed. Methods F-16 Operational Flight Program The F-16 Operational Flight Program is written in the form of modules. Each module executes and performs the functions of the weapon system. The coding of the functions is done such that each function describes the phases of the mission a weapon system performs. The phases which are included in the mission are â€Å"preflight, takeoff/time to cruise, outbound cruise, SAM (surface to air missile) evasion, descent, penetration, bomb delivery, climb, air-to-air combat, inbound cruise, loiter, and approach and landing.† (Charles P. Satterthwate, 1994) â€Å"Function types include communication (external/internal), IFF (identification friend or foe), navigation, guidance, steering, control, target acquisition/identification, stores management, weapon delivery and threat warning.† (Charles P. Satterthwate, 1994) â€Å"The modules of the F-16 Operational Flight Program include executive; control and display; air-to-air; air-to-ground; navigation; communication; heads up display; vertical situation display; gun, missiles; overload warning and v isual identification.† (Charles P. Satterthwate, 1994) â€Å"A module type, such as controls and displays, might contain multiple modules which are prioritized according to the timing requirements of the functional calls of the OFP. The OFP is required to process real time interrupt driven schedules, which are handled by the executive

Making money whilst travelling

Making money whilst travelling 1.Get Sponsored to Travel! Getting sponsored is an innovative and new way to travel around the world. By using fundraising sites such as Kickstarter, GoGetFunding, and FundRazr, you can raise all of your travel and expense costs to travel the world for free – all you have to do is to have an idea and to develop a proposal. Crowd funding means using the resources of the crowd (that means you, me, and the billions of other users on the net) to finance your project. All it takes is for everyone to sponsor or donate a dollar, and before long, you can have thousands of dollars to fulfill your dreams! When you upload your proposal, you can set the time span that you want it to run for, usually somewhere around 1–3 months. During this time of marketing your idea, you will receive steady bids and sponsors, with people offering to pledge as little as 5 dollars or as much as $500! When you set up your proposal, you get to describe the different funding options. These are usually organized into levels, with different bonuses or advantages to each level. You might set the lowest option at $10 and the highest at $1500! Each funding level should have a perk or advantage for the patron. Perhaps, you want to offer them a personalized guide brochure or limited-release prints or pictures of your travels. Some inventive proposals even offer T-shirts courtesy of CafePress, key rings, or mugs courtesy of Zazzle.com. Be inventive! The better the prize, the more likely you are to get funded! 2.Write a Travel Guide Why not get paid to travel around the world? One of the ways that you can do this is by writing travel guides, for which you either will have your transport fees paid for you or will be paid in retrospect. If you have ever heard of the Lonely Planet guide series, then you will know just how popular and successful travel writing is. In today’s world, there are now many more opportunities to become a travel blogger, or someone who writes articles and short journal pieces about where they are and what is happening to them for travel and adventure websites. If you manage to land a major gig like working with Lonely Planet, then they will often pay your travel costs for you to locations that they need updated books for. 3.Review Hotels An increasingly popular way to travel or more accurately to get paid to travel is to review travel locations. The theory is simple; hotels, hostels, and BnBs are always looking for positive reviews, so much so that they will ask online copywriters to write fake adverts for them if they are forced to! Remember that a negative review – just one – on an online travel site can sink or seriously damage hotels’ profits that season, so they need a constant stream of positive reviews from travelers just like yourself. If wine reviewers and restaurant critiques get paid to write professional reviews, then why shouldn’t you do too, as a professional world traveler? The first thing you have to do is to start an online blog or review site, talking about your experiences around the world. If you run an attractive, professional-looking blog with complimentary pictures, true stories offering well-sourced information, and links, then the chances are that you are already offering just the sort of service that a hotel needs. What makes your proposition even more attractive is if you have an engaged readership and an established presence on social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, Google, or Pinterest. One of the most important things that you can do to achieve your goal is to research your destination. If you are going to travel to any of the world’s major cities, then you will be looking at hotels, holiday apartments, and studios, most of which will have websites. More rural locations will probably mean BnBs, resorts, or estate houses. Always go direct to the website or hotel itself rather than through a third party. The closer you get to the owner, the better chance you are likely to have of making an impression! Remember to only target places to stay that you actually want to stay in! There’s no point settling for accommodation that you know you might hate, and thus, you and they have a bad experience! A part of this is also selecting places that suit your travel style – whether adventurous, luxurious, self-catered, and family. Choose accommodation that already has some sort of social media presence, even if it is only a website and a Twitter. These are the ones who are actively going to be aware and familiar of travel blogging. Medium to large hotels and resorts are more likely going to have spare rooms that need filling than small, family-run BnBs. To put it bluntly, the small, family-run business probably depends on every individual visitor’s income! 4.Free Transport Abroad Now that you are abroad on your free holiday, something to think about is how you plan to travel from one place to another. If you didn’t bring your own vehicle as a form of community taxi or car delivery, you’ll have to find ways to get about which isn’t going to burn a hole in your pocket! How to Travel Abroad on the Cheap! Hitching: Hitching is still the number one resort for groups of travelers, but not generally advisable for single travelers. If you are traveling as a couple or as part of a group, then I would certainly recommend it. If you are staying at a hostel or on a farm, you will probably find that there are others there who are willing to hitch, and you should soon get a lift to where you want to go. You will probably find that the further into the developing world that you travel, the more that hitching becomes a natural mode of travel, as many people cannot afford to own or run cars and instead operate them collectively and expect to give hitchhikers a lift. As ever, you should always keep your wits about you and keep your money secure in a money purse when traveling. Walk or Cycle: Remember that the cheapest and easiest way to see the world is under your own steam! Many European cities now offer bike rental schemes, where you can unlock a free bike at just the cost of a pound or token, which you will get back as soon as you finish with your bike. There is always walking too – the best way to see a city! 5.Where to go for free? While the travel, flights, and the accommodation are usually the biggest obstacles to your goal of traveling for free, the next most important concern is how you are going to survive and what you are going to do while you are out there. If you are already using one of the schemes like WWOOFing or hosting, then the chances are you already have got access to meals and a kitchen or indeed are even getting paid! It is worth, however, taking advantage of these other free opportunities. Remember to Find the Free Days: Most of the world’s biggest attractions such as the Guggenheim or the Louvre have free days. This is usually part of their civic requirement for their own state- or government-level funding, so why not take advantage of this? By looking through the museum or attractions’ own website (sometimes only by signing up for a newsletter), you will be told when the free days, nights, or mornings are. There is almost always once a month and more around Christmas time! Special Promotions: Remember that most attractions bring in not only tourists from abroad but also visitors from their host city and have to market to their host city. Remember to check local newspapers (i.e., if you can read the language) and the notice boards for special promotions, free meal tickets, and discounts. Most of these kinds of offers are coupon deals, so all that you have to do is cut out the coupon and offer it at the desk of where you are going!

things fall apart and the spirit world :: essays research papers

When turmoil comes about, many have merely one attribute to rely on to help them overcome certain disasters: their faith. The characters of Things Fall Apart are no exception. The people of Umuofia call upon representatives of the spirit world as a means of hospitality. They rely on their religion to settle resolutions with other tribes and to answer questions. They depend on the spirit world also to take care of punishments and in addition play a significant role on new born babies. Unfortunately, the strong reliance with the spirit world collapse when the White Christians invade.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is clearly seen just how important the spirit world is to the people of Umuofia. The kola nut is used as a social ritual of hospitality among the tribe. Representing vivacity, the nut is used as a welcoming snack. The kola nut is passed back and forth between the guest and the owner of the hut until one does the honor of finally cracking the nut. The people of Umuofia believe these actions will please their gods. They believe that â€Å"He who brings kola brings life.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The people of Umuofia depend on the spirit world to help them with troubles or problems. When a nearby village has killed an Umuofian woman, they turn to their gods to see what is fit as punishment. The gods order that the village do penance for their sins towards their people. Mbaino offer a boy and a young virgin as payment. Another example of when members of the clan call upon the representatives of the spirit world is when consulting with Agbala, the Oracle of the Hills and Caves. Asking for her help is a common part ritual of their religion. Villagers come to the oracle when they have questions of their future or hardship and get answers through its priestess.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many beliefs follow the religion that the people of Umuofia practice. The people rely on the spirit world to provide punishments when sacred laws of their religion are broken. Okonkwo is forced to make sacrifices to the earth goddess when he violates the Week of Peace. Twins are thought to bring bad luck for parents, therefore are left to die in the Evil Forest to please the gods. Ekwefi, Okonkwo’s daughter is forced to find the stone that is linked to the spirit world. The people rely on this because it is thought that the spirit of an evil child re-enters its mothers womb, as punishment they are mutilated, but if the stone is found, then the cycle of dieing babies cease.

Hobbes and Locke Social Contract Theory Essay

Thomas Hobbes and John Locke are two of the most influential political philosophers of the modern age. Their ideas on political philosophy, among other ideas, have helped shaped the Western World, as we know it. One of the most important theories that the two have both discussed, and written in detail on, is the idea of the social contract. Social Contract Theory is the view that moral and/or political duties depend on a contract that leads to the formation of a civil society. Thomas Hobbes was the first person to come up with the idea of a social contract in his text, Leviathan. As with any concept in history, other political philosophers have used Hobbes’ theory as a stepping-stone. One of those men is John Locke, who presents a very different account of how it is civil society is formed. Although both men have very different accounts on the social contract notion, there are some similarities between the two. Before putting pen to paper Hobbes had a front row seat to a quintessential moment in early English history—the English Civil War. The war was a dispute between King Charles I and his followers, the Monarchists and the Parliamentarians. The Monarchists preferred the traditional authority of the king, while the Parliamentarians demanded more power for Parliament, England’s quasi-democratic institution. Hobbes is somewhere in between the two groups with his own set of views. Hobbes believed that political authority is based on the self-interest of the members of the society, all of who are considered equal. He argued that no single individual had the power to rule over the rest. He also backed the conservative point of view that the sovereign must have absolute authority in order for society to last without disruption. It is in the rejection of the Monarchist point of view, that Hobbes and Locke find their first similarity. Both authors sought out to refute the positions presented by Robert Filmer’s Patriarcha, regarding the issue of the Divine Right of Kings. Filmer believed that God gave absolute authority to the king. Since God gives the power to the king, political society focused on obeying God unconditionally. Although Hobbes did agree that it was necessary for a king to have absolute authority in order to keep the people in line, he believed that authority came from the people living in the community and not God. Locke’s most influential political writings come from his Two Treatises On Government. His First Treatise is focused almost entirely on rejecting Filmer’s theory. Locke is in line with Hobbes in his belief that political authority comes from the consent of the governed. Along with this similarity, both men also agree on the idea that those people in a State of Nature will willingly consent to coming together to form a political society. They also agree on the belief that people would live in fear of each other regardless of their ability to use reason. Human nature allows men to be selfish. All people have the natural right to defend their own life, liberty, health and property. This fear is what leads many people to come together and form a state so that there would be a central authority to protect their life, liberty, health and property of all people within society. Along with creating the outline for the social contract theory, Hobbes was also a major contribution to the idea of the State of Nature, a hypothetical situation used to show how people lived before the establishment of society. In the State of Nature, life was â€Å"solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short,† characterized by self-interest and the absence of rights and laws (Hobbes 89). Hobbes believed that man was fundamentally evil and required a central authority to keep them out of the conditions of the state of nature. Locke, on the other hand, saw individuals as exercising moral limits over their actions. In order to answer the question of why the people should be willing to submit to political authority, Hobbes uses the idea of a State of Nature. This is a completely hypothetical situation through which he imagines what life was like for men before the establishment of civil society. In the State of Nature, men are naturally and entirely self interested, resources are limited and there is no power that forces the people to follow the rules of society. Men are also considered equal to one another in that even the strongest man can be killed in his sleep. There is no ability for men to ensure the satisfaction of their needs and desires as humans, and no prolonged systems of cooperation among men. The state of nature is a state of constant fear and distrust, or as Hobbes puts it â€Å"a state of perpetual and unavoidable war† (Hobbes 90). Based on the previous definition of the State of Nature, it would seem that mankind is doomed for eternity. However, hope is not lost. Using the power of reason, they are able to understand the laws of nature, which lead man out of the state of nature and into civil society. A Law of Nature, (Lex Naturalis), is a Precept, or generall rule, found out by reason, by which a man is forbidden to do, that, which is destructive of his life, or taketh away the means of preserving the same; and to omit that, by which he thinketh it may be best preserved. (Hobbes 91) The first rule of nature is to seek peace when others are also willing to follow in the quest for peace, â€Å"That every man, ought to endeavour Peace, as farre as he has hope of obtaining it; and when he cannot obtain it, that he may seek, and use, all helps, and advantages of Warre† (Hobbes 92). In the pages leading up to the natural laws, Hobbes describes what it is that drives us to seek peace. â€Å"The Passions that encline men to Peace, are Feare of Death; Desire of such things as are necessary to commodious living; and a Hope by their Industry to obtain them† (Hobbes 90). These are the things that lead people out of the state of nature and into forming a political society. People want protection of their bodies, property, and commodious living. It is through reason that men are led to the construction of a Social Contract, allowing for a life better then in the State of Nature. The social contract is formed through the establishment of two other contracts. The first contract is that they must agree to establish society by renouncing the rights that they had in the State of Nature. The second is that they must choose a single person, or an assembly of people, that will have the authority to enforce the various parts of the contract. The sovereign has the power to punish those who violate the social contract, which leads people to adjust themselves to the rules of their society. In order to understand the purpose of the Social Contract, Hobbes sets forth a definition of a commonwealth, or civil society: And in him consisteth the Essence of the Commonwealth; which (to define it,) is One Person, of whose Acts a great Multitude, by mutuall Covenants one with another, have made themselves every one the Author, to the end he may use the strength and means of them all, as he shall think expedient, for their Peace and Common Defence. (Locke 121) Without a common power to exercise force, society would be the same as it was while in the State of Nature. The Social Contract is considered to be the fundamental source within society for all that is good, along with being the force that allows us to live well. On the opposite side of the spectrum is another major figure in political philosophy, Locke. Locke’s views are very different from that of Hobbes, besides the fact that Locke uses the State of Nature concept created by Hobbes. For Locke, the State of Nature is a state of complete and perfect liberty to live the best life possible, while being free from interference from others. We must consider what state all men are naturally in, and that is a state of perfect freedom to order their actions and dispose of their possessions and persons as they think fit, within the bounds of the law of nature, without asking leave or depending upon the will of any other man. (Locke 5) In this state of equality no person has any power over any one else—everyone is subjectively equal. â€Å"The state of nature has a law of nature to govern it, which obliges every one; and reason, which is that law, teaches all mankind who will but consult it that, being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions† (Locke 5). The state of nature is not a state of license, or a state of authority, in that individuals have the ability to do whatever they want. Although this society is pre-government, morals guide the laws of nature. God gives the natural laws to commands and us that we do not harm others, since we are all equal in the eyes of God. For Locke, the State of Nature is more like a state of liberty that allows the people to pursue their own interests free from interference. It is considered a peaceful state because of the natural laws and its restrictions on the people. Hobbes saw the State of Nature as being a state of constant war, a drastic change compared to the views presented by Locke. Although Locke’s state is predominantly peaceful, there is potential for a State of War. According to Locke, the State of War starts between two or more people when one person declares war on the other. This is usually done by stealing something from the other, or trying to make another man a slave. Since there is no central power to mediate the dispute and the laws of nature allow for self-defense, people are allowed to kill anyone that brings force against them. Without a force to mediate, the duration of wars is much longer and more brutal. Political societies form when men come together in the State of Nature, and agree to give up their power to punish those who disobey the laws of nature and give that power to a central authority. It is through this that the people consent to the will of the majority. Through leaving the state of nature and forming a society, the people create a â€Å"one body politic under one government† and are thus subjected to the will of that particular â€Å"body† (Locke 55). The only way for one to become part of society is through our own individual consent, meaning we cannot be forced to join the society. By joining a society, people gain a few things that they lacked in the State of Nature. These aspects consist of laws, a judge to settle disputes regarding laws and most importantly an executive power to enforce the law. The executive power is created for the protection of the people, their property and general well being. It is when this protection is non-existent, or the King becomes a tyrant by acting against the interest of the people, that the contract can be thrown away. It is with this that the process of establishing a social contract can begin once again, and also the power. Both Hobbes and Locke agree on the fact that people living in a state of nature will come together to form a contract amongst themselves, which ultimately leads to the establishment of society. Both Hobbes and Locke also agreed that people living in a state of nature would be living in a constant state of fear of one another before society is established. Hobbes has a much darker view of Human Nature, seeing them as inherently evil, while Locke viewed man as being guided by â€Å"rational self-interest† with the ability to self-govern without the Leviathan watching over you. These two figures have helped shape our modern systems of government among many other things.

Understanding Parenthetical Elements

Understanding Parenthetical Elements A parenthetical element is a word or group of words that interrupts the flow of a sentence and adds additional (but nonessential) information to that sentence. This element can be long or short, and it can appear at the beginning, the middle, or the end of a clause or sentence. John, the second batter in the lineup, is a fast runner.Mildred is an excellent cook, as a matter of fact.Just this once, you should try mustard on your peanut butter sandwiches.The dog, after guarding the chewed-up toy for more than an hour, finally got tired of waiting for me to play with him. Types of Words or Word Groups that Can Be Parenthetical Elements: Appositives Example: The book, a 758 page monster, was required for my history class. Relative clauses Example: My professor, who eats lunch every day promptly at noon, was not available for discussion. Prepositional phrases Example: The turkey, after moments of deliberation, ate the bug. Phrases as examples Example:  Foods that are hot or spicy, e.g. jalapenos or hot wings, make my eyes water. You might think of the parenthetical element as a sudden thought that pops into your head as you are making a statement. Because it provides additional or supporting information to a complete sentence, the main part of the sentence should be able to stand alone without the words stated in the parenthetical element. The name parenthetical might cause confusion because it resembles the word parentheses. In fact, some parenthetical elements are so strong (they can be quite jolting) that they require parenthesis. The previous sentence provides an example! Here are a few more: My sister (the one standing on the chair) is trying to get your attention. The strawberry tart (the one with the bite taken out of it) belongs to me. Yesterday (the longest day of my life) I got my first speeding ticket. Punctuation for Parenthetical Elements The examples above show that parenthetical elements are usually set off by some form of punctuation in order to avoid confusion. The type of punctuation used actually depends on the degree of interruption caused by the interrupter. Commas are used when the interruption is least emphatic. If the sentence containing the parenthetical element flows pretty smoothly, then commas are a good choice: My friend, who doesn’t like to wear socks, is trying to give me his tennis shoes. Parentheses are used (as stated above) when the interrupting thought represents a bigger diversion from the original message or thought. Pizza is my favorite food (the brick oven kind is best).I think Ill go home now (the walk will do me good)  before I fall asleep on the job. But there is one more form of punctuation that you may use if you use an interrupting parenthetical element that really jolts the reader from the main thought. Dashes  are used for the most emphatic interruptions. Use dashes to set off a parenthetical element for a more dramatic effect.   My birthday party- what a surprise!- was a lot of fun. The frog- the one who jumped on the window and made me jump a mile- is now under my chair. I bit my lip- ouch!- to keep from speaking my mind.

Summary paper with outline Essays

Summary paper with outline Essays Summary paper with outline Essay Summary paper with outline Essay Name: Instructor: Course: Date: Outline of the Article Energy vehicles are becoming increasingly popular these days Research on new energy for automobiles is not new and has been in existence in china since 2001 Countries continue to encourage new energy vehicles 2008 is the year that saw a full bloom of new energy vehicles in China New energy technology as unconventional energy Energies that are still under development and utilization Energy that is not the usual traditional energy such as fossil fuel Include wind energy, biomass energy, nuclear fusion, solar energy, and geothermal New energy vehicle is one that uses unconventional sources of energy Vehicles can come with newer technology principles as well as new structures Main problem is researching how to use some of the unconventional energy sources Electric vehicles need more battery capacity and complex electric engine controls Name: Course: Lecturer: Date: Summary of the Article 1. Traced back, exploring the new energy vehicle’s development way The article â€Å"Exploring the history of new energy vehicles† by Shuying Li suggests that new energy vehicles are becoming more and more popular these days. The article traces the start of the new energy vehicles. He further suggests that research on new energy for automobiles is not new and has been in existence in china since 2001. This presents the new vehicles that are increasing in the market with an aim of reducing energy consumption. This also presents the development in the automobile industry where engines first used steam energy. More and more focus on developing new energy for automobile industry continues to emerge in many parts of the world. China has seen a class of research in new energy vehicles that was incorporated in their 863-science subject (Li 1). More so, countries continue to encourage new energy vehicles and lay strategies that aim at reducing the use of gasoline fuel in vehicles and encouraging hydrogen as a better fuel for vehicles. Governments have laid more strategies as well as emphasized the importance of developing new energy vehicles. 2008 is the year that saw a full bloom of new energy vehicles in China, where even management rules for the production of new energy vehicles have taken effect. More research has been introduced in the country. 2. Present situation Currently, facts suggest that new energy vehicle technology has a broad future ahead, but one cannot be sure that it will be ideal. Thus, it requires a factual analysis in order to understand the present situation. In order to have a clear view of the present situation about new energy vehicles, it is crucial to understand what it means to say a new energy vehicle or technology. 2.1. What is the new energy technology? New energy technology can as well be referred to as unconventional energy. This means an energy that is not the usual traditional energy such as fossil fuel. It especially refers to those energies that are still under development and utilization but new, or those in research institutions. Some of them include wind energy, biomass energy, nuclear fusion, solar energy, and geothermal amongst others. The energy could also be in existence, but its use not fully realized, such as how to fuse wind energy in vehicles. 2.2. What is new energy vehicle? The article says that new energy vehicle is one that uses unconventional sources of energy such as hydrogen or combines both conventional and unconventional energy sources (Li 2). Therefore, the vehicles can come with newer technology principles as well as new structures. The main problem is researching how to use some of the unconventional energy sources in vehicles. Electric vehicles are considered the future most widely used new energy vehicles. Currently, electric vehicles are the most widely known of the new energy vehicles currently. However, the main problem in electric vehicles is the battery capacity as well as electric engine controls. The latest focus in new energy vehicle technology is use of thermal magnetic oscillation power technology, which can be used in portable power equipments including vehicles. While in use, it could be turned into an alternative of hydrogen fuel battery. However, it is currently in its early stage development. Therefore, it would be hard to know on the future status of new energy vehicles. However, by looking at the current situation where more research on different alternative energies is underway, the future is prospective. Work Cited Shuying, Li. Exploring History of New Energy Vehicles. Advances in Automation and Robotics, 2.123, 2011: 141-146. Print.

Firm€™s operations, management structure, corporate Essay

Firmâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s operations, management structure, corporate governance industry, competitors, business particulars and its motivation to operate as a MNC - Essay Example s been positive for the years 2004 up to 2008 – see Figures 2 & 3 in the Appendix sector; this increase of the firm’s profitability for the specific years is also proved by its financial ratios for the years 2004 to 2008 (see Figure 4, Appendix). The success of the firm has been related with its structure; furthermore, the style of its governance supports the firm’s continuous expansion. Another factor that led to the growth of the company in the global market is the firm’s motivation to operate as an MNC. The effects of the recession on the firm’s performance can be identified in Shell’s financial reports for the previous years – also to the performance of its share. It seems that the effects of the global crisis on the firm’s performance have been limited. As noted above, Royal Dutch Shell Plc operates in the energy and petrochemical sectors; however, initiatives have been taken regarding the expansion of the firm’s operations in new areas – and the development of its existing areas of operations: more specifically, through the firm’s new facility in China it is expected that the firm will further improve its performance in the lubricants market; at a next level, the firm has established new processing units in Singapore (Royal Dutch Shell Plc, corporate website, 2010); Among the firm’s key policies for the expansion of its operations has been ‘association with Iogen and Codexis to develop better enzymes and processes for the production of biofuels from straw’ (Royal Dutch Shell Plc, corporate website, 2010). All the above activities are considered as particularly important for the development of the firm’s operations and the further improvement of its position against its competitors. The management structure of the firm is quite simple; in fact the firms is based on ‘a single-tier Board of Directors chaired by a Non-executive Chairman, Jorma Ollila; the executive management is led by Chief Executive Officer, Peter Voser’

Human Resource Organizational Development in a Company Research Paper

Human Resource Organizational Development in a Company - Research Paper Example olo Machiavelli once said that â€Å"There is nothing more difficult to carry out, nor more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to handle, than to initiate a new order of things† (Hitt, 1988, p. 20). This paper therefore is a discussion of the essential elements in implementing organizational change, the role of the human resource during change, and a brief on the factors that brings change. Organizational development (OD) is about a long-term change that involves either the entire system or a sub-system of an organization towards more productivity. It necessitates dealing with culture and learning and of change agents internally and externally. The OD is a â€Å"change management strategy† known to be based on behavioral sciences that looks into the purposes and roles of the people and the organization for a better efficiency and productivity using â€Å"human and social processes† (Wamwangi, 2003, p.2). The OD practice develops â€Å"continuing capacity for learning and deepening understanding through practice† (Polotan-dela Cruz, 2008, p.4) Since 1950s, three change models have been known and applied by OD professionals in accordance to the development goal of the institution. One of the famous is Kurt Lewin’s change management model which concentrates on three developmental stages: unfreeze, change, and freeze. The unfreezing stage happens during organizational diagnosis when data shows discrepancies of organizational behavior or output desired versus what is currently exhibited (Cummings and Worley, 1993, p.53). Change stage is the process of introducing and developing the desired behavior while the freezing stage is the establishment of mechanisms like policies and new organizational structures to sustain the attained changes on behavior and attitudes. The other famous change model is the planning model by Lippitt, Watson, and Westley which approach is on the viewpoint of the external OD agent. This model with seven stages that includes scouting, entry,