Allocating Tasks in an organisaton Essay

When allocating work and drawing up work plans there are many aspects to be considered. These include Goals and objectives, Competence, Operational needs, efficiency, cost effectiveness and consultation. GOALS AND OBJECTIVES The desired outcome of the task needs to be clearly communicated. This is to ensure that staff can align the work they are doing with an outcome to keep them on track. Small task orientated goals will help the staff work toward the larger picture and will keep them motivated and interested. Just the same as the objective, goals will help keep the staff aligned to final outcome. Setting SMART goals will help achieve this. COMPETENCE The competence of the staff needs to be taken into consideration when allocating work. This is because giving work that is too above a staff members level of expertise is going to disengage them as they work toward something that is unattainable. Further, this staff member will not do the task correctly which may result in letting not only themselves down, but also their team and their manager. The same is true with giving staff work that is too below their skill level. They can become disengaged very quickly. While they may not do the task incorrectly, it is a waste of resources. Staff need to know that they are valued, that their work is valued and that they aren’t wasting their time. Allocating work to someone who is too skilled to do does not ensure that the staff being is valued. Staff should be allocated work that is a small stretch beyond where they are now and in line with their development plan. OPERATIONAL NEEDS Work needs to be allocated in accordance with operational needs. There’s no sense EFFICIENCY Work must be allocated in accordance with a staff member’s knowledge and their experience. Efficiency ties in very closely with competence, as allocating work inefficiently will result in the same consequences as allocating work that isn’t in accordance with a staff members competence. SMART goals Communicate goals – seek clarification, ask questions Understand KPIs Break goals down, with time frames Competence of staff members is important to ensure that the work is allocated to staff members who can do the work efficiently and effectively. It is necessary to develop KRAs and KPIs that meet the organisations needs because†¦. The development and implantation of effective performance management systems is important because CODE OF CONDUCT It is necessary to have a code of conduct for the organisation because it gives each employee the same foundation of expectations both of them as an employee and of the company as an employer. The code of conduct sets out very clearly what is acceptable behavior from an employee and it also sets out the consequences should the code be broken. Without a code of conduct employees will not necessarily be treated fairly and will be subjected to personal opinions of their people leader, meaning that was is acceptable in one team may not be acceptable in another which will lead to unfair dismissals and a disengaged workplace. MONITOR AND EVALUATE WORK It is important to regularly monitor and evaluate the works of employees to ensure that they are working towards the desired objectives. It is necessary to give feedback and reinforcement to employees to acknowledge good work, as this is a motivator. It ensures that employees’ efforts are recognised and they feel valued. This will then motivate them to continue doing what they are doing, or even improve.

Analysis of Obama’s Victory Speech

The presidential victory speech delivered by Barack Obama who is the president to be was held on November 4, 2008, in Grant Park, Chicago. It is about his won election for the office as the president. I will take a closer look on how Obama emphasizes his speech with stylistic devices. The speech is divided into four parts. The first part is from ll. 1-26, the second from ll. 27- 70, the third from ll. 71-9 and the last from ll. 95-105. In the first part of the speech Obama uses many stylistic devices. He makes repetitions (â€Å"three hours, four hours†, l. 0), (â€Å"Blue States†, l. 20, â€Å"United States†, l. 21) to underline his ideas and to emphasize that people waited long to have the chance to vote even for the first time (ll. 7-13) and that the USA is one state (ll. 18-21). He also uses a metaphor (â€Å"arc of history†, l. 25) to evoke the picture of a unity that hopes together and that believes as one in the American Dream. Obama also refers to the American Dream in the first lines where he wants the audience to think about it and he wants the listeners to ask themselves if they believe in it.He tries to get the attention by addressing the audience (â€Å"If there is anyone out there†¦ †, l. 1). In addition to that he makes many anaphoras (â€Å"who still†, ll. 1,3,4) to underline the importance of the American Dream to the Nation. With an enumeration (ll. 14-17) he shows that everyone not only the rich but also the poor have something to say and have a choice. In the middle section of the speech Obama uses personifications (â€Å"†¦ the enormity of the task that lies ahead. †, l. 40) to point out the importance of the things that have to be done.With an enumeration (â€Å"l. 45) he involves the audience to show them which work they have to expect. Another point is that he uses repetitions (â€Å"I will† , ll. 51, 52, 53) and (â€Å"There†, l. 50) to make the listeners understa nd that he will be there for everyone and that he will never leave them with no hope. With a metaphor (â€Å"†¦ if Americas beacon still burns as bright-†¦ †, l. 67) he tries to give the people hope that America will always be the same strong Nation as it was.The third part starts with an example of a women (ll. 3-79) with which Obama wants the listeners identify with him and wants to show that he is just a human being as everyone else. After the example fallows an enumeration (ll. 80- 82) which emphasizes the strengths with which the women stands for her country because there were many things which she had seen but it is an example which says that she never lost her faith and that everyone else should act like her. The repetition (â€Å"New†, l. 86) shows that Obama wants to create something new and wants the audience to feel so, too.He arouses the audience`s emotions in giving the anaphora â€Å"Yes we can† (ll. 82, 84, 86, 88, 90, 94, 104) which he uses very often to stabilize the feeling of triumph in the listeners and to make them want to feel supported that they want to and can change something. With another enumerations (ll. 91-92) Obama wants to tell everyone what happened in the world which was from importance and that this little thing a women did (â€Å" And in this year, in this election, she touched her finger on a screen, and cast her vote,†¦ †, ll. 92. 3) is as important as moving events in the world`s history.The last part is emphasized by Obama because he gives rhetorical questions (â€Å"†¦, what change will they see? †, l. 97, â€Å"What progress will we have made? †, ll. 97-98) that should make the people think about what they did, what they changed and what they will change. In the last sentences Obama uses many anaphoras (â€Å" This is our†, l. 99), and repetitions (â€Å"to†, ll. 99, 100, 101, â€Å"we†, l. 102) to give the importance of his last words an d to make the readers listen to what he has to say what is important.He tries to wake the readers up and wants to give the message of of his speech across. That nobody has to be afraid to loose because if he tries he can win. In the last sentence he thanks the audience in the way if saying that God watches everyone. To say this he uses another repetition (â€Å"God†, l. 105) to make the audience clear that he really wants the best for everyone. To conclude Obama wants to make his speech understood and he wants to get his message across by using many stylistic devices and examples where he always refers to the American Dream.

Andy Goldsworthy – Essay

Andy Goldsworthy Andy Goldsworthy is able to create something aesthetically pleasing or conceptually pleasing out of absolutely nothing. He takes what he can from the land and produces sculptures by melting ice together, collecting wood or piling rocks in unique ways. Andy Goldsworthy creates his art using his bare hands alone, and while the art is still standing, he creates his own significant places. His art would often erode or collapse but for the brief time they are standing, his creations show bure beauty and amazement. Andy attempts to get closer to nature in all of his artworks. He portrays to the audience the importance of nature by recreating the different sculptures to remind us of the beauty nature holds. â€Å" â€Å"As with all my work, whether it's a leaf on a rock or ice on a rock, I'm trying to get beneath the surface appearance of things. Working the surface of a stone is an attempt to understand the internal energy of the stone. †- Andy Goldsworthy Goldsworthy tries to keep things simple in what he does. He uses only the materials and tools he is provided with by nature. If it is snowing, he will use the snow as his material, if it is autumn he works with the colours of falling leaves, a falling tree is a source of twigs and branches. Goldsworthy works with the land and not against it. He believes that the he has to learn about the lands surroundings and portray them through his artworks so that when others see the art they instantly feel the emotions of what is around them. He causes us to get sucked into the nature of the artwork and its serenity. â€Å"At its most successful, my ‘touch' looks into the heart of nature; most days I don't even get close. These things are all part of a transient process that I cannot understand unless my touch is also transient-only in this way can the cycle remain unbroken and the process be complete. † -Andy Goldsworthy Touch is an important element in the process of Andy Goldsworthy’s art making. He likes to touch before he places any material in order to get connected with the piece and feel the energy of his artwork. He learns from nature and f the piece doesn’t fit right, it could all come crumbling down. This fragile art is what makes his art so interesting to viewers and is what holds to emotion of the piece. Andy often takes photos of his artwork just after he creates them. He then sells the photos and not the artworks as the artworks often erode or fall. In his photographs, he still manages to portray the emotion seen in all his works. In making this art Goldsworthy must be extremely patient and rely completely on nature. He has had to try again many times after something has not worked and his art has come crashing to the floor. The materials used are very delicate and need to be handled with care, but again, this is what makes his art so interesting and exciting. Andy believes in the way nature can teach you many things and overwhelm you with such grace and beauty. Each of Andy’s artworks provides a story or portrays information in order to make the audience wonder. Andy takes interest in creating land art because of the serenity he produces through nature and because of what he can learn from his art. He is interested in finding the figure or picture to suit that area. He uses subtle amounts of colours in his artworks to create a contrast in what is real and what is art. His artworks vary in size, they could cover large mounts of land or could just consist of a small rock pile behind a tree. The size will vary on what the atmosphere of the land holds. Goldsworthy just works with what he has. Every choice counts in his artworks and he has to take his time to create them but in the end, what he produces is magnificent. Emily Kame Kngwarreye- Emily Kame Kngwarreye is an aboriginal artist who strives on creating her work on the emotions and nature of the land. Her land and the closeness and connection she shares with it inspire her work. Emily is an Elder in Anmatyerre, her aboriginal community, and uses this cultural experience as a basis for her artworks. Her artworks are also based on her lifelong custodianship of the women’s dreaming sites in her clan country Albalkere. The beliefs in the dreamtime stories that have been passed down by ancestors and portray them in her artworks. It was her Dreaming that was the source of the creative power, of her knowledge. So profound was her identification with Alhalkere that it infused her life and her belief system. Alhalkere was the source of her paintings. Even physically, Emily's pierced nose bore homage to the ancestor Alhalkere, a pierced rock standing on the Country of the same name. Emily believed purely in this ancestor and gained the knowledge for her paintings form her belief. | Emily tried to convey her land through her art by using colours and symbols in her artworks. Because of her strong Aboriginal connection with the land, she presented this as her significant place and acknowledged this throughout all of her artworks. Often she would use materials found in the land such as what she painted on or with and sometimes even painted using her hands, but mostly she used paint and a brush. The colours she used were to portray her land and symbolize her connection with the ‘Sunburnt’ country. She would use colours such as warm yellows, reds, pinks and orange to portray her land and chose to represent the nature of the land through rough strokes and dots. Usually she painted what came to mind when she thought about her dreamtime stories or chose to tell the story in her artwork using a number of colours and figures. Her land is what is most important in her belief system and she cherishes her connection with nature and the dreamtime stories. In her artworks, each action is carefully chosen to portray her belief in the land. They demonstrate the connection between Aboriginals and their nature. Emily’s art also displays the relationship between Indigenous Australians and the dreamtime stories they tell which usually involve their land and ancestors. Emily’s art tells the story of her life. It displays her beliefs and inspirations and also the significance of the land in Aboriginal culture. So by looking at her artworks we feel an overwhelming respect for Emily and her heritage. We feel the landscape of her land and the hidden reasures that are held close to her community. Emily’s art displays a sense of pride for her land and helps us to convey the same proudness in our lives. Although some of her artworks display sadness and loss, most demonstrate beauty and love. This sense of happiness enters the viewers mid as soon as they set eyes on her artworks. This feeling is what Emily was trying to convey I her artworks. She tries to capture the unseen beauty of the land and reproduce it so that it is no longer hidden to the viewers eye. Emily paints out of pure adoration to her land.

Topics in cultural studies Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Topics in cultural studies - Research Paper Example Western civilization was often founded on the ideal of the existence of some form of hierarchy that determined the manner in which cultures related on the score of power. Stronger cultures have a tendency of influencing weaker cultures in the multiple discourses that bring both cultures into contact with each other. On this score, it is often assumed that cultural expression of one culture will necessarily determine the nature and extent to which such a culture expresses its own values with other cultures. Western cultures adopted a central perspective in which they assumed that all other cultures were essentially inferior. The discourse of culture was considered in terms of the hierarchy that existed between western cultures and the other cultures (Hause & Maltby, 2004). The manifestation of the struggle often entailed an active engagement with the hierarchical determination of the relative strength and weaknesses between the cultures. As a result, only the cultures that had their i nternal structures managed to overcome the stifling influences of western cultures. The power of cultural expression worked in a manner that brought together the various discourses that embraced western cultures and non-western cultures. ... Western civilization adopted philosophies that determined perspectives on other foreign influences. It might be argued that some of the discourses that defined the world outside the boundaries of western civilization essentially determined the manner in which these civilizations engaged with other forms of civilization. The discourses of orientalism, racism, and colonialism were necessarily conditioned by cultural perceptions of the presumed superiority of western civilization to other forms of civilization (Sherman, 2006). For instance, the west considered the East within the discourse of orientalism. There was a sense in which the East was considered as an alien culture and necessarily inferior to western culture. Such perceptions also underpinned the desire to conquer and subdue any other cultures that were perceived as inferior. The deliberate misrepresentation of cultural facts was meant to make the other cultures subordinate to western civilization. Such cultural perceptions ju stified the need to conquer foreign lands and to subdue other races that were defined by the relative weaknesses of cultural civilizations. Matters of cultural superiority might be considered in terms of the manner in which they engaged with processes that determine the relative strength between cultures. Essentially, other cultures were considered as inferior and deserving to be conquered and subdued. It might be necessary to consider the element of civilization within the broad perspective of cultural relationships. Assumptions of strength within the framework of cultural expression were considered as the pivotal point, which determined the kind of relationship between the west and

God-Centered Identity in a Me-Centered Culture Essay

God-Centered Identity in a Me-Centered Culture - Essay Example However, lip service from believers in stating their belief in God is never enough, as God requires the total translation of passion in his word and actions. In the event of God’s intervention to most situations of that human command His presence, people continue speaking of His greatness, but in normal situations, belief in God is just an assertive statement. This controversy between the saying and the actual belief of God in human lives dictates the direction of life that individuals have and their conception of spiritual identity. An assessment of the literature on spiritual identity God, Freedom and Human Dignity: Embracing a God-Centered Identity in a Me-Centered Culture by Ron Highfield comprehend if God’s embodiment in human life restricts spiritual freedom and diminishes human spiritual dignity. Assessment of the Literature Development of a Me-centered Culture In the process of development from childhood to adulthood, humans experience transitions in their self- identification processes. In the phase of childhood, children are never concerned about their role and impact in their society. Children are also never worried concerning the relationships they build with themselves and with others. In terms of spirituality, children freely follow their parents or guardians and conform to the teachings approved and certified by them. However, the transition into teenage hood makes the mind of one conscious about the decisions, activities and relationships development. This phase enables humans to understand their preferential habitual traits, beliefs and specific interests that results into talents. â€Å"The choices and actions chose during the teenage phase dictate the king of life that one maintains in adulthood† (Ron 17). Perception of God in Modern Self-Identity Culture Changes in modernity have transpired the self-identification process that enabled humans to discover and ascertain if their life preferences are worth the journey. Conven tional cultures allowed an individual to be authentic and experience life fulfillment by adhering to the natural and socially allocated relationships and roles. One was expected to conform to the terms and regulations provided by the seniors. Responsibilities were also implicated upon people, hence just conforming to their role in life development. However, the advent of modern culture has changed the perception of self-identity. Deep assessment concerning self worth are expounded to enable a human decide on the aspect that he or she will live with. Happiness is also considered as an aspect of helping people reconstruct themselves to the kind of life they would like to live. These strongly advocate for the denial of imposition of social relationships since one would end up building a fake identity not proposed by his or her expectations. According to Ron, this assessment of life reconstruction through identity creates the self me-centered phenomenon. Creating an appropriate me-cente red identity advocates for will power by rejecting the imposition of conferring social relationships. This phenomenon is responsible for clouding oppression and resentment of certain issues when confronted to a person. Self-identity makes one conscious of the role of religion, traditions, and morality among other things in his or her life. Self-identity makes one decide freely on the spiritual journey to follow, habitual traits to adopt but at the same time threatens

Summary 1 234 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Summary 1 234 - Essay Example Similarly, this can foster peer cooperation. Music can also help children to understand the emotions of others and help them to build relationships with other children, family and teachers. If you introduce music from other cultures in to your classroom, you can even increase the cultural awareness of your little ones! Music has a great impact on social-emotional skills, but it also strengthens physical skills. Dancing is a common music-related gross motor activity that young children love to do. If you play dancing games like "the Twist" and "Freeze", children can also practice their balance. There are also many ways to incorporate fine motor activities with music, like finger plays and interactive motion songs, like "Wheels on the Bus". Songs like "Hokey Pokey" and "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" , when done regularly, can also increase a child's body awareness and help them to learn the names of body parts. "Hokey Pokey" can also increase a child's bilateral coordination, or the ability to use both sides of his body together. Cognitive skills are another group of skills that are enhanced by music. Songs such as "One, Two, Buckle my Shoe" and "Five Little Monkeys" build counting skills and repetitive songs build pattern skills. Music activities can also foster pretend play, which begins to develop in toddlers at around 18 months of age. Literacy skills can also be developed through music.

Stereotypes in Advertising Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Stereotypes in Advertising - Essay Example This paper shall now discuss stereotyping in advertising. It will first explain what stereotyping means; second, it will show two different examples of stereotyping (gender and age); and third, it will discuss the role of stereotyping in future advertising. Stereotyping is about sharing beliefs and values, based on personal qualities, personalities, behaviour, and traits distinct to a specific group of people (Gafencu-Bandiul, 2006). Stereotype was first used by Lippmann in 1922 in psychosociological applications where he evaluated images of the mind needed in order to sift through complicated and objective realities (Gafencu-Bandiul, 2006). At present, most researchers in psychology declare with the definition used on Leyens and colleagues (1994) who suggest implicit discussions on personality seen for specific groups of people. In terms of personalities, stereotyping relates to associated variables, mostly visual and unique, variables which assist cognitive functions. In the same vein, the direction of data from the environment supports these stereotypes (Gafencu and Bandiul, 2006). Expressing stereotypes is based on premises where behaviour is based. However, as pointed out by Cuddy and colleagues (2009) this often is not confined to behaviour alone, but on the way people express and support stereotypes within groups. Language used to describe what is observed may sometimes be different from the abstract concepts. Speech is sometimes applied to image, not so much on the written language; however stereotypes can also be manifested through written speech, film, sports, concerts, and advertisements where the stereotype would impact significantly on utterance (Gafencu and Bandiul, 2006). There are numerous gender stereotypes across the world. Due to globalization trends around the world, consideration unification of these stereotypes has been seen. Social trends like women’s emancipation, feminism, and the thirst for human rights have

A Concept to Avoid and Minimize Security Risks in Cloud Computing Essay

A Concept to Avoid and Minimize Security Risks in Cloud Computing - Essay Example This project declares that the existing protection mechanism like encryption failed to provide sufficient security especially from the insider attacks within the cloud network. To overcome this issue a new technology has been introduced called Fog Computing. After doing deep analysis it is apparent that fog computing is not considered as a substitute for cloud it is just an addition of the cloud computing system and introduce new applications and services. These applications ensure safety by isolating user data from each other. The foremost goal of this technology is to put data near to the ultimate consumer. This paper makes a conclusion that Cloud Computing is a technology based service which is used for protecting data and for making use of the cloud resources anywhere anytime. Further Cloud Computing is designed with a collective pool of resources which manages private data centers for clients who are utilizing web application and batch processing services. Fog computing is a virtual platform which offers computing, networking and storage resources to the end-users. Fog computing is a new standard which provide a virtual IT infrastructure. The security solutions which are designed for cloud computing does not allow fog computing devices to balance their connectivity load at the verge of the network. Fog computing offers greater security and benefits while working with cloud. In this the user has to first register and sign up fog computing.

Kite Runner of Khaled Hosseini Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Kite Runner of Khaled Hosseini - Essay Example Comparison between Amir and Hassan The comparison between Amir and Hassan shows that Amir is a jealous person as opposed to Hassan. This is because, whenever Amir sees his father loving Hassan more than him, he gets jealous. As a result, he seeks methods aimed at attracting his father’s affection by trying hard and winning the local kite-running tournament. To ensure that he remains alone with his in their home, he frames Hassan as a thief by planting some money and a watch under his mattress so that when his father finds out Hassan is a thief, he will force him out of the family. In addition to jealousy, Amir is cold and a coward. For instance, when Hassan takes long after going to look for the blue kite, he goes searching for him and when he finds him in the hands of Assef who bullies Hassan and sexually abuses him, he does not help him (36). Besides, he hides and watches helplessly but thinking if he does get the blue kite to his father, he will approve him. In the other en d, Hassan is a true successful kite runner. Hassan is also a brave boy and loving friend. For instance, when Assef tries to attack Amir, he steps forward to defend Amir simply because he is brave and a caring friend for he defends his closest friend Amir. Similarities between Amir and Hassan The novel portrays Amir and Hassan as closest friends despite Hassan being a Hazarajat and therefore not allowed to stay close to Amir traditionally. The novel gives a number of similarities between Amir and Hassan. For example, within the context of their close friendship just as portrayed in part of the novel, it is deducible that both Amir and Hassan are friendly (44). Hassan is a Hazarajat and their tradition does not approve of his friendship with Amir. On the other side, Hassan does many things to help Amir due to their friendship. He defends him from bullies and helps him win the local kite-running tournament (59). All this happens because they are both friendly. When Amir returns to Paki stan after Rahim Khan who is ailing calls him, he establishes something that portrays another similarity between him and Hassan. Khan tells Amir that, for all that time he was not aware but as of that time, he knows. Khan is certain that Ali was not the true father of Hassan; his real father was Baba, Amir’s father. On that note, Amir finds out that Hassan was his half brother and they both shared the same biological father. This shows that, apart from being closest friends, they are also brothers. It is therefore agreeable that Amir and Hassan have another thing in common which is, they share the same father (64). Furthermore, both Hassan and Amir have talents. The novel portrays Hassan as a talented kite runner while Amir has talent in locating where the kite will fall even without looking. Thus, their talents are also part of the similarities that they share. How do their differences ruin their relationship? Amir and Hassan relate as friends and share the same home. Howeve r, they are not relatives. Baba, Amir’s father is rich and Amir gets almost everything that he wants. Hassan on the other hand ails from a poor family and can only get what is necessary. Since Amir feels that his father does not love him as much as he loves Hassan, he resolves to do things that ruin his relationship with Hassan. For examp

Global Population Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Global Population - Essay Example Taking into consideration the expected future data till 2050, population growth estimation can be viewed till 2020 in the figure below, showing fast growth till 1656 until the Flood of Noah decreased the population. At the time of Christ, world population was between 200 to 300 million. The world population would be 12,000,000,001 by the year 2200 if we take into consideration the recent history of population growth (Dolphin). Due to uncertainty regarding the population growth 2000 years before, logical bounds on the value of world population in AD1, for example, can be put with a lower bound of 50,000,000 and upper bound with 200,000,000. Population in AD 1000 can be bounded for lower and upper at 250,000,000 and 350,000,000 (Dolphin). According to the Press Release (11 March, 2009) of the UN population division, the world population currently at 6.8 billion will touch the mark of 7 billion by early 2012, and reach to 9 billion people by 2050, as revealed in the 2008 Revision of the official United Nations population estimates. The data indicates certain trends in world population like the population in developing countries will be young with children under the age of 15 accounting 29 percent of the total population and between 15 to 24 years age accounting to 19 percent of the total population. It would be a bigger challenge for the governments in developing countries to face education and employment challenges with the economic and financial crisis surmounting. Another trend would be seen on the growth rate of population above the age of 60 increasing more than 3 percent per year. Controlling HIV/AIDS would be another challenge linked to continuous growth. There is vast difference in the data of developing countries and developed countries on population growth. Let’s take the example of United Kingdom to analyze the population growth data, as given below

Ethics Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Ethics Philosophy - Essay Example Second, Mill considers the possible grounds of justification for this mindset: the higher party's position, he says, could be attributed to pride, love of freedom, love of autonomy, or to the love of power or excitement. But, he returns, justification of holding onto one's position, refusing to trade places regardless of the degree of happiness of the pig/fool that surpasses his/hers, rests in human dignity. This, Mill reasons, is so imperative to intelligent, superior beings, that they would for no reason outside it compromise it. Further, Mills admonishes anyone contesting his approach as one who is confusing the definitions/conditions of happiness and contentment. He concedes that 1) a higher being has higher (and/or greater) needs-he/she needs more to make him/her happy; and 2) a lower being with a lesser range of (and thereby need for) the capacity for happiness will have a better chance of complete happiness, whereas one with greater needs is at risk for having a smaller percentage of his/her needs fulfilled. If a person has only one bucket to fill as opposed to twenty, for example, the person with only one bucket will have a better likelihood of walking away from the fountain of happiness and saying, "I have successfully filled all of my buckets." But after conceding, Mill returns to the higher party's ability to tolerate more, and therefore to bear greater burdens. Such is the opinion of the higher, intelligent being-with the capacity to tolerate, appreciate, and understand that to be a superior being who is momentarily unhappy is far better than to be an inferior being with constant happiness. And, he claims, if the other party does not agree, it is only because he/she is incapable of understanding Mill's position and is therefore basing his/her [inferior] contention on a lack of information. That is, the lower being cannot fully comprehend the options of both sides, does not have the capacity or range to choose, even, and does not, therefore, understand what it is to have the dilemma of choosing in the first place: if you are not smart enough to understand the difference in stations (the higher and the lower's stations in life), then you have not the ability to choose between the two-and do have, as Mills does, the grounds upon which to base your opinion. 2. For Nietzsche, anything which intrudes upon or impedes one's will to power is suspect. In this case, two select characteristics threaten this will to power-weakness and humility. Nietzsche grants the possibility that within a collective, it might be good and possible to not hurt others and protect oneself from being hurt, if everyone in the group "mutually" "refrains from injury, from violence, from exploitation." (Solomon, 392) But, Nietzsche notes, the moment the practice is made a principle, a law, the effort becomes one of a kind of anarchy, of "dissolution and decay"-what he calls a "Will to Denial." (392) This is for him in direct

The last supper by leonardo da vinci Essay Example for Free

The last supper by leonardo da vinci Essay In human history, it is hard to find another so gifted person, as Leonardo da Vinci was. He serves as a symbol of Renaissance person, an ideal of harmoniously developed human. His heritage consists of works of art, sculptures, works on mechanics, physics and natural science. Leonardo da Vinci is, undoubtedly, the most prominent representative of Renaissance art period of Italy. This paper is to examine only one of his outstanding masterpieces – The Last Supper. This work of art is made in a form of a huge fresco, performed by order of Louis Moro for refectory of the church Santa Maria della Grazie in Milan in 1495-1497. It began to acquire its unique reputation immediately after it was finished in 1498 and its prestige has never diminished. Despite the many changes in tastes, artistic styles, and rapid physical deterioration of the painting itself, the paintings status as an extraordinary creation has never been questioned nor doubted. It’s fortune is dramatic. The paints started chalking already during Leonardo’s life. In XVII century a door was made in the wall of refectory, which partially ruined the composition, and in XVIII century the room was turned into grain warehouse. Later the fresco was damaged by poor reconstructions. In 1908 certain jobs on cleaning and consolidation of the painting were made. During WWII the ceiling and southern wall of the refectory were ruined by a bomb. Restoration in 1945 saved the fresco from further destruction, however, now we can see only the general shapes of Leonardo’s masterpiece. Much of the detail can be learned from a copy, made with oil and canvas by unknown artist of the XVI century . A huge fresco, which is about 15 feet high and 29 feet long, covers the entire back wall of the refectory. The perfection of this work lies not only in the artistic merits of the painting, but also in Leonardos expressive mastery. Leonardos Last Supper is an ideal pictorial representation of the most important event in the Christian doctrine of salvation the institution of the Eucharist . Leonardo painted The Last Supper on a dry wall rather than on wet plaster, so it is not a true fresco. Because a fresco cannot be modified as the artist works, Leonardo instead chose to seal the stone wall with a layer of pitch, gesso and mastic, then paint onto the sealing layer with tempera. Because of the method used, the piece has not withstood time very well – within several years of completion it already began showing signs of deterioration . Master’s idea was to create an illusion, that the room, where the Last Supper takes place is a part of the refectory itself, and thus to turn a spectator into a participant of one of the most important events in the history of Christianity. Leonardo depicted the dramatic culmination of the Supper, the very moment that Jesus has said to his disciples: â€Å"Now when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve. And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I? And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me. Matthew 26† Jesus words inspire a number of feelings in His adepts: anger, fear, despair, some of them stand up from their places and gesticulate. In order not to create an impression of a clutter, Leonardo united the characters into four groups with three persons in each of them, symmetrically placed around the Savior. The first group consists of Bartholomew, James the Lesser and Andrew, all of them appearing surprised. Andrew holds both of his hand up in front of him in a frightened gesture. The second group: Judah Iscariot, Simon Peter and John. Judah is holding a bag of silver in his right hand, while reaching for a piece of bread with his left. Simon Peter is leaning over the shoulder of John, a knife held in his right hand, symbolizing his zealous defence of Jesus. John appears to be swooning. In contrast to traditional depiction of Judah opposite to Christ, Leonardo placed him near God the Son, however, the traitor can be easily recognized with his pulled back figure, convulsive gesture of his hand, fastening a purse and dark profile. Da Vinci presented a realistic explanation of Christs prophetic words that the first man to share bread with him would also be the betrayer: Jesus and Judas are shown reaching for the same piece of bread, although everybodys attention is riveted elsewhere. The third group is made of Thomas, James the Great and Phillip. These three appear in different degrees of shock; Thomas, with his hand raised, and Phillip seem to be requesting some sort of explanation, while James the Great, between them, appears to be recoiling from Jesus in horror. The last group of three is formed by Matthew, Jude Thaddeus and Simon the Zealot and theyappear to be discussing the matter with each other, in a rendition of Luke 22:23: They began to question among themselves which of them it might be who would do this. The figure of Christ is not only spacial, but also a spiritual centre of the painting. He is alone in his wise eupathy and acceptance of fate. His figure seems to be the only stable element of the painting, symbolizing the sanctity of faith and imminence of His mission. References 1. Pietro C. Marani. â€Å"Leonardo Da Vinci: The Complete Paintings†, Harry N. Abrams, 2000 2. David A. Brown â€Å"Leonardo da Vinci: Origins of a Genius†. Yale University Press, 1998 3. Roderick C. Morris â€Å"Shock Waves of Leonardos Last Supper†, International Herald Tribune, May 26, 2001.

Packet Classification: Problem and Resolution

Packet Classification: Problem and Resolution INTRODUCTION This chapter covers the introduction to packet classification. Problems for packet classification, objectives to overcome the problem involved in packet classification, motivation to do the project on packet classification and also the organization of the project. The development of the internet grows for every year, because of the easy access of the internet. The gain of the internet can be obtained through the smartphones, netbooks, notebooks. For processing the packets, network processor is used, and it will carry out the tasks as to convert the packets into fragments, reassembling these fragments, forwarding, encryption and packet classification. Due to increased line rates, pressure is increased on line rates and it in turn pressure on network processor. The pressure can be relieved in two ways: By inserting more processing cores and it increases power consumption. Increasing the clock speed, but it creates difficulty due to the physical limitation in the silicon. So that it can be relieved in two different ways: Insert the clock gating, which reduces the power consumption. Insert the buffer, to form the pipelining and it also increases the speed. 1.1  PROBLEM DEFINITION Network processors are getting more strain, due to more use of internet and the strain needs to be reduce. To give the security for the network packets. To minimize the power required for packet classification. To achieve high speed and also high throughput for packet classification. 1.2  OBJECTIVES Understood the concept of hypercut algorithm for packet classification and also analyzed the flow chart for packet classification. Understood the verilog code and Xilinx tool. Wrote the verilog code for hypercut algorithm. The simulation results for hypercut algorithm is verified in Xilinx tool. Clock gating circuit is inserted in the architecture of the classifier, it reduces the power consumption. Pipelining concept is used in proposed architecture of the classifier and the simulation results are verified in Xilinx. 1.3  MOTIVATION The network traffic is doubling for each six to nine months. Also traditional algorithms are not supporting the increasing network traffic on core and edge devices. Large number of rulesets: Due to increased access of the network, the more services need to be implement in network device, so that more number of rules are needed. It creates the difficulty for classifying the packets. Flexibility: Traditional algorithms are particularly designed for IPV4, so that novel solutions are required to manage both IPV4 and IPV6 addresses. Scalability: As the network services are increasing, there is requirement to add or delete the rules. So that, good scalability is required for packet classification. 1.4  Organization of the thesis The thesis contains 6 chapters Chapter 1, it will covers the introduction of packet classification, problems involved in packet classification, objective to the packet classification and motivation for choosing the packet classification. Chapter 2, it will covers the basics of existing packet classification and also the basics of proposed packet classification. Chapter 3, it will covers the method used to do the packet classification, proposed architecture and also it tells how proposed architecture is better compared to previous algorithms. Chapter 4, it discusses the simulation the simulation results obtained for existing and proposed architecture of the classifier. Chapter 5, it covers the conclusion and future scope of the project. Chapter 6, It lists the reference papers used for literature review of the packet classification. Chapter 2 BASICS It covers the basics of packet classification. It also explains the structure of packet header, brief introduction to internet, the mode of information transmission through the internet, OSI layers, the type of matching, software and hardware implementation of packet classification , Clock gating and pipelining are also discussed. It also covers the review of different packet classification algorithms, by reading this the user can select the algorithm, which is best suit for his application. The internet is a global system. It is consists of inter connected computer networks, which uses the protocols(TCP/IP), to match several billion devices all over the world. It is also termed as networks of network. Access of internet is a process of connecting mobile devices, computers and computer terminals to the internet. Internet access will enables the users to access the internet services such as email and world wide web. Using various technologies, internet service providers will access the internet. A packet is a formatted unit of data, which is carried by the packet switched network. By formatting of the data, the bandwidth of communication medium can be increased. The structure of the packet contains the two varieties of data Control information User data 2.1  Control information This will provide the information, on where to send the data. Example, It provides the source and destination IP addresses, sequencing information and error codes. Fig 2.1 shows the structure of the packet Fig 2.1 structure of the packet 2.2  Payload The maximum size of the packet is 64 K bytes. The payload of the packet is variable. Example IPV4 typically adds the 20 bytes of payload to every packet. The packet is passed through the network using three devices such as hub, switch and router. 2.3  The modes of information transmission through the internet 2.3.1  Hub Hub is a central device, for which all other devices are connected. It is called the star system. It is very simple, when any device sends the data, it will send the data to all other devices and all other devices needs to decide whether the data is belonging to them, if it is not belonging to them, they will ignore it. It will present in physical layer. Fig 2.3.1 shows the structure of the hub. . Fig 2.3.1 shows the structure of the hub 2.3.2  Switch The switch is smarter compared to hub. First it creates the table, which records the IP/MAC addresses of the devices(PC’s) connected together. At the start, when any device sends the data, that time switch will not be knowing the destination IP addresses. So it will forwards the packets to all other devices, which are connected to it and it also records the IP address of the device. Next when packet belonging to those destination IP addresses comes, it will directly forward the packets to destination devices It is present in data link layer of OSI layer. Fig 2.3.2 shows the structure of the switch. 2.3.3  Router It is the smartest device compared to hub and switch. The router will record the address of all the devices which are connected to it. The router will read the information present in packet header and it will decide , where the packet needs to be sent and how to process the packet. It provides the security. While in hub, switch the destination IP address is known, hacker may hack the destination device, it will consider both destination and source IP address of the devices and it will decide whether the source device is hacker or not. If it is hacker, it will deny the packet. Fig 2.3.3 shows the structure of router. Fig 2.3.3 shows the structure of router. 2.4 OSI LAYERS It consist of seven layer Application layer Presentation layer Session layer Transport layer Network layer Data link layer Physical layer The Fig 2.4 for OSI model is shown below as Fig 2.4 OSI layers Application layer: This layer will provide the interface to application programmes. Presentation layer: In this layer , it converts the data from system specific format to the format which is suitable for application. It also provides encryption and compression. Session layer: Which facilitates the starting, managing and ending of connection between the two nodes. Ex: For a video session, it will synchronize the related stream of data such as audio and video. Transport layer: It will break the data into segments It will decide about how much information can be sent to email server and how much information can be received back. The responsibility of transport layer are: Reliability Flow control Fragmentation Network layer: Here the segments are broken into packets by adding the source and destination IP address to them. Next the packets are sent to data link layer. Here router is working in this layer. Data link layer: In this layer, the packets are broken into the frames, which are created for the specific network. The frames are assigned the address of two nodes, the data is moving in between. Physical layer: The frames given by the data link layer are converted into bits in physical medium. UDP: User datagram protocol It is light weight and connectionless. Advantages: The packet size is small. UDP header- 8 bytes TCP header- 20 bytes There is no requirement to create and maintain the connection. It has more control over the data Disadvantages: It does not provide error recovery. It does not compensate for lost data packets. Packets can arrive at out of order, so that data loses meaning. There is no control of congestion. Transmission control Protocol: It is reliable and connection based. Advantages: It delivers the acknowledgements. It provides retransmission. It provides in order delivery. It will delays the transmission when the network is busy. It provides error recovery. Disadvantages: It has bigger header. It doesn’t always get sent out quickly. It is the side effect of congestion. It has bigger overhead. UDP is message oriented It sends the data in distinct chunks. Ex: Email. For multimedia applications, UDP is used, because of these reasons as: It has less overhead. Data loss can be masked. UDP is used in small transmission. It is also used in bandwidth intensive applications, that tolerate packet loss. TCP is stream oriented It can be used in continuous flow of data. Ex: Phone conversation. For text communication, TCP is better. Ex: File transfers, Remote access. TCP is used when delivery acknowledgement are needed. In physical layer, information is transmitted in bit stream using hub. In data link layer information is transmitted in frames using switches. In network layer information is transmitted in packets using router. A router is a device that forwards the packet. A router is connected between two networks namely LAN’s or WAN’s. network processors are specialized CPU, which is optimized to support the implementation of network protocols at maximum speed. The function of network processor is to carry out the tasks such as packet separation, reassembly, encryption and classification. Packet classification is the process of categorizing the packets into flows in internet router. Packet will be classified in network layer. Packet has five fields as shown in fig Source IP address: It indicates the IP address of the sender . Destination IP address: It indicates the IP address of the destination. Source port: It indicates the port number of sender. Destination port: It indicates the port number of destination. Protocol: Which specifies the type of transport packet being carried. The incoming packet to router will matches the specific rule if the distinct field in the packet will match corresponding field in the rule. There are three matches Exact match: The values present in rule field header are same as the values present in packet header. Prefix match: The values of rule field header are prefix for header fields of the packet. Range match: The packet header field values must be lie in the range which is specified by the rule. 2.5  The types of packet classification algorithms Packet classification algorithm can be implemented in two major types Software based Hardware based 2.5.1  Software Implementation This can be used with general purpose processor and network processor. The software based algorithm can be divided into two types as Field dependent Algorithm Field independent Algorithm Field Independent Algorithm: For each field in the rule, these algorithms will build the index table separately. Ex: RFC Field dependent Algorithm: In these algorithm, the fields of the rule will be matched in dependent manner and there is no need to group the result in final stage. The memory requirement for these algorithms is less than field independent algorithms. Ex: Hypercut, Hicut 2.5.2  Hardware based implementation This is used with ASIC or with FPGA. This implementation is used with internet routers for the high speed that supports to handle the packet. The reasons to use software implementation Programmability: ASIC architectures has small Programming capacity, Because ASICs have special design. Special chips: To accelerate the packet processing speed, special chips called TCAMS are used. The proposed algorithm uses clock gating circuit to reduce power consumption and pipelining to increase the speed. 2.6  Clock gating Clock gating is a technique, which is used in synchronous circuits to minimize the power consumption. This technique is used to prune the clock, it disables the port of the circuitary, so that flip flops present in the circuitry will not switch the states. When switching is absent, the dynamic power consumption is reduced, but the leakage currents are present. Clock gating works by taking the enable signal of the circuitry, so that flip flops or devices present in latches will not switch the states, so that switching power reduces. So it is necessary to have enable conditions in order to get benefit from clock gating. The clock gating saves the power. Clock gating can be added in two ways: By writing the RTL code, the synthesis tool automatically translates the RTL code into clock gating logic. In order to gate the clock of specific modules or registers manually clock gating circuit can be inserted by instantiating library the specific ICG cells. Using automated the clock gating tools, clock gating is inserted in semi automatic fashion. These tools will insert ICG cells to RTL code or directly add the enable conditions to RTL code. 2.7  Pipelining It is group of data processing elements, which are connected in series, so that output of one element is the input to next element. We build a pipeline by dividing the complex operation into simple operation. Here instead of taking bulk thing and executing it, the bulk thing is break up into smaller pieces and process it one after another. For example Consider a calculation c= log(|a+b|), which consist of three operations, which are shown in fig 2.7. Fig 2.7 Pipelining example Add a and b to get a+b, it takes 40ns. Take the magnitude, we get as |a+b|, it takes 35 ns. Take the log we get as log(|a+b|), it takes 60ns. Consider a situation when we need to carry out for 100 such pairs. Without pipelining , it would take a total of 100*135= 13500ns. By realization, it is found that it is whole sequential process. Let the values evaluated to be a1 to a100 and we need to add values to be b1 to b100. In first evaluation, ( a1+b1)is calculated, In next evaluation, |a1+b1|,(a2+b2) is calculated, in third evaluation log|a1+b1|,|a2+b2|, ( a3+b3) is evaluated. After the first output data that is log|(a1+b1)|, the subsequent outputs are log|(a2+b2)|, log|(a3+ b3)| will now start arriving at a gap of 60ns . All the 100 inputs can be applied in 199*60=5940ns and the total time taken to evaluate 100 data will be 5940+180= 6120ns. This time is half compared without pipelining. This process of evaluation is called pipelinlng. 2.8 Literature review Algorithms are classified in 4 classes: Basic structures Geometry based Heuristics Hardware based 2.8.1  Basic structures a. Linear search: This algorithm[1], is very simple. It contains all the rules. Here each packet is matched opposite to all the rules until the corresponding fields of the packet should match to the rule. Although, it is simple, it is not widely used. Because, it takes the large time for matching with the rule. Consider N is the number of rules, â€Å"the worst case space and time complexity is O(N),where O is the order and N is the number of rules. Fig below shows the linear structure. Fig 2.8.1.a Linear search algorithm b. Hierarchial trie: It is an extension part of the binary trie. By using the individual bits of the search key, the branches of the trie can be traversed. In the d dimensional hierarchial trie[2], first bulid the one dimensional hierarchial trie which is called F1 trie. Foe each prefix P in the F1 trie, there is a recursively (d-1) dimensional hierarchial tries are present(Tp). For example, if the data structure is 2 dimensional the only one F1 trie is present. Hierarchial tries are also termed as multilevel tries or backtracking tries or tries of trie. Womens Roles in Anime: The Reflection of Japanese Society Womens Roles in Anime: The Reflection of Japanese Society What do the portrayals of women in Japanese animation reveal about the role of women in Japanese society today? The role of women in Japanese culture is an important topic amongst when discussing contemporary Japan. While it is important to consider traditional methods of analysis that come from statistics and surveys, you also need to look at how popular culture defines the modern Japanese woman. Japanese animation can provide a tool to analysis of the role of women in Japanese society. Through looking at women and they are portrayed in Japanese animation over the decade, we can begin to see the role of women in contemporary Japanese society. The purpose of this discussion is to determine a connection between Japanese animation (a form of popular culture) and the role of women (whether this role is shifting or remaining conservative) in contemporary Japanese society. In order to understand the link between Japanese animation and society, it is important to consider the meaning of these terms and how they relate to each other. Martinez defines popular culture as the culture of the masses; which does apply to the Japanese culture. Nevertheless, other opinions raise the point to how popular culture is a problematic term when translating it into the Japanese context. According to Hidetoshi Kato, a Japanese scholar, the term popular culture as taishu bunka; translates into mass culture. However, Martinezs definition is a middle of the road definition for the terms offered by Kato. In addition, Martinez defines the anthropology of popular culture as the study of the interaction between the apparently separate realms of the material and the symbolic. Other anthropologist such as Roger Buckley agrees with Martinez, stating that popular culture should tell us something about contemporary Japanese behavior. The images presented by Japanese animation including its related cousin, manga, or Japanese comics have helped shape the identity of modern Japanese women. Japanese animation, or anime, is useful when studying the role of women in society. Popular culture serves to reflect and instigate change in Japanese society, by observing the changes and themes in anime, these trends are identifiable. Popular culture also helps one to understand the dynamics of Japanese society and culture. While the behaviors identified are not Japanese, such as conformity, loyalty and deference8, there are certain subtle undertones that make themes and characters that make them Japanese. Lastly, Japanese animation industry caters for both sexes across a wide age group. This is important, because unlike the animation industry in the United States whereupon childrens programming is largely aimed at young boys. Japanese animation makes it possible to gain an insight into the role of women in society because both sexes views are represented. This provides a foundation for observing how the role of women in Japanese society can be studied through examining their role in Japanese animation. Japanese animation is interesting to study when observing the roles of gender because of the way it written for diverse tastes and it differs from Western animation. Anime has often been described as edgy, provocative, and documentary-like; these industry buzzwords describe anime as a different expression of animation, when it is not. In reality, the Japanese have embraced animation as an expression that goes beyond the standard set by Disney. Anime includes animation catered for all age groups. Anime content ranges from superb works to trashy soap operas or pornography; however, they play an important role in Japans popular culture by providing a legacy of past ideals. Respected writer Frederik Schodt has split the anime available into two distinct halves as defined by the gender, Boys comic [shonen] anime carefully balance suspense with humor, dramatic stories of sports, adventure, ghosts, science fiction, and school life. Girls comic anime [shojo] also strive for balance but are distinguished by their tales of idealized love. Given the range to choose from, it is important to analyze a number of sources to see how anime reflects the position of women in Japanese society, but to examine them with an open mind. Reaction to anime has been filled with distaste. Film critics have both embraced and criticized Japanese animation. Mamorum Oshiis theatrical adaption of Shirow Masamunes Ghost in the Shell, regarded as a movie that questions what it is that makes us human by many, has been lauded as a spectacular-looking Japanese animated film, but like so many of its kind, involves a confusing narrative and peculiar metaphysics that reduce interest16. To avoid generalizations it is important to look at works from a several genres to how anime portrays Japanese women in society. To observe the role of women as portrayed in anime with a female-specific target audience, Komodo no Omocha (1996) will be used to analyzed. To see how women are being represented in anime that is targeted at a male demographic, Dragon Ball Z (199?) will form the basis of analysis. Finally, a recent work from Japans most respected and successful animation studio today, Studio Ghibli, will be analyzed Mononoke Hime (1997). The importance of studying Studio Ghiblis work is to see how women are portrayed by an animation studio whose works reach a very wide audience, that typically cross the gender and age boundaries. While this analysis will not prove to be the final answer, it will prove an interesting investigation when considering what images of femininity have been projected onto Japanese society over the past decade. Kodomo no Omocha was a popular series that aired on Japanese television in the mid 1990 is, compared to many shojo anime, Kodomo no Omocha is radical, though it is by far not the only one. The story is a comedy fused with typical shojo elements love interests, and pretty artwork. The female lead is a young girl named Sana, who lives with her eccentric, but loving, mother and Rei, her personal manager. Unlike other female characters that will be analyzed, Sana is loud, outspoken and is not intimidated by anyone. She is works hard to do her best at her job (she is a famous star of a childrens TV program), friends and family. While she exhibits traditionally female qualities, she is not the stereotypical wholly subservient female character. Even though she is only a child, she stresses the importance of her job. Her mother is another strong female role within the anime. She is intelligent, in control and the men are more likely to be subservient to her than anything else is. Other fema les in the show lean towards conservative Japan, such as when Sanas female teacher cries and runs to another male teacher for assistance whenever the class acts up. The male characters are traditionally empowered, though like many a shojo anime, have soft sides to their personalities. The depiction of the two main female characters, Sana and her mother, offer an insight into the modern Japanese woman as having the capacity to be strong, yet gentle and compassionate. Dragon Ball Z offers an interesting insight into the portrayal of women in anime aimed at a male demographic. The reason this is an interesting series to look at is its popularity and the way it portrays gender roles. Women are portrayed in few roles in this anime. The female roles are dismally backwards. Dragon Ball Z has portrayed the role of women as subservient/secondary at their core. It has pointed out that fundamental beliefs about gender roles are difficult to change in any society, including Japans, The show is very male-centric, emphasizing strength, discipline and hard work as the key to being successful in the world. On the other hand, this is a martial arts anime, so this should not be a surprising aspect. One of the women who appear regularly is the protagonists female friend Bulma, an intelligent scientist. Bulma is a gifted inventor and often creates something that will aid her group of friends in whatever plight they are in. Bulma is portrayed as a confident, intelli gent woman who, while not of equal status, remains an important part of the team. However, when she is put in a position of danger, she falls into the damsel in distress stereotype all too common in male-orientated anime. She is rescued one way or another, but is often the least of the groups priorities she is often rescued as an after-thought, as opposed to being a genuine critical concern. This is a good example of what Eri Izawa determines as the Unequal Relationship genre, where women are second to men in a world dominated by patriarchy. Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata founded studio Ghibli in 1985. The importance with studying work by Studio Ghibli is because their productions (which are theatrical) have such widespread appeal in Japanese society. A large number of Japans populace sees the stories that are created here. The films cross the divides of age and gender. The movie that is I am looking at is Mononoke Hime. It grossed approximately US$150 million at the box office, beaten only by Titanic. In Mononoke Hime, the story centers on three principle characters San, the Wolf Princess, Lady Eboshi and prince Ashitaka, the pillar between which these two women are placed. One of interesting strengths of this film is the way in which the opposing characters, San and Lady Eboshi, are portrayed. Both are strong, powerful women, sure of themselves and their world. Lady Eboshi is a superlative example of the new woman of Japan. She is in charge of a profitable ironworks that employs people regarded as beneath society (prostitutes and lepers), leading by compassion, returning dignity and purpose to their lives. San is the other extreme; she lives in the forest of the Deer God, raised by the great wolf gods who dwell there. San is a strong female character who follows a more natural way of life; as opposed to the entrepreneurial mindset of Lady Eboshi, San is dedicated to preserving the forest and the creatures that dwell within. Miyazaki is portraying the capacity of women to be strong, competent and successful. San represents the capacity of women to be strong in the dwelling of the traditional while Lady Eboshi is an example of how women can be successful and entrepreneurial in the face of modernization. From three examples, it is easy to see these reflections on the role of women are present in contemporary Japanese society. Martinez admits that it is difficult to discover what the true role of Japanese women in Japanese society are in a perceived country where men are still dominant [and] Japanese women are held to be gentle, submissive and beautiful. Historically, Japanese womens suffrage was achieved in 1945 and it is noted that while Japanese women may be able to find jobs, it is far more difficult to find careers, even today. However, public opinion is changing. There is clear that the role of women in Japan is no longer the traditional housewife/mother. Surveys by the Prime Ministers Office in 1987 and 1995 show a shift in public opinion of women, while in 1987 over 50% of the men surveyed agreed with the traditional role of women in Japan, by 1995 the percentage had dropped to 33%. The state of Japanese animation over the past decade reveals a relative parallel between the co ntent of Japanese animation and these results. The role of women in anime such as Kodomo no Omocha gives girls a role model unlike the traditionally submissive, quiet woman in the face of Sanas eccentric, enthusiastic nature that is rewarded by success. Studio Ghiblis films have portrayed women as equal, confident and able to take charge in their lives. Anime aimed at boys retain the portrayal of women as bystanders, whether it be the token damsel in distress or cheerleader. However, that is changing; Japanese animation aimed at the boys has begun to portray women beyond this traditional stereotype. Several productions such as Ranma 1/2 and Love Hina offered a cast of characters that serve to put women on equal ground as men in some cases, though there is still the re-enforcement of traditional gender roles. Japanese animation is an established form of pop culture. It is consumed by both sexes and across all age groups, and offers a series of representations of women. While it has become apparent through observing trends in Japanese animation and contemporary Japanese society is an apparent shift, however, it is important to identify that the traditional role of women will probably always manifest itself in pop culture. This is because the traditional role of women is an option, just as choosing a career or being entrepreneurial are choices. What is encouraging to see is that those choices are being represented, either directly or indirectly, in anime. It speaks well for the future of Japanese society as alternative roles of women are being portrayed for both sexes in the culture of the masses. Reference: Martinez, D.P. (1998). The Worlds of Japanese popular culture: gender, shifting boundaries [UK, Cambridge UP, p. 3]. Hidetoshi, K. (1989). Some Thoughts on Japanese popular culture. Richard Gid Powers Hidetoshi, K. (1989). Handbook of Japanese popular culture. Greenwood Press. Buckley, R. (1990). Japan today. Cambridge: UP. Schodt, F.L. (1983). Manga! manga! the world of japanese comics. USA: Kodansha. Izawa, E. (2001). Japanese manga and animation: gender relations in manga and anime. Retrieved from http://www.uncc.edu/~medmoto/3209/anime/gender.html (abridged) Robertson, J. (1998). Takarazuka: sexual politics and popular culture in modern japan. University of California. Dimensions of Japanese society: gender, margins and mainstream. Great Britain: Macmillan Press Ltd.

Effects of Vegetation on Freshwater Shrimp

Effects of Vegetation on Freshwater Shrimp The aim of this experiment was to discover whether the presence of vegetation affected the abundance of the species of freshwater shrimp Gammarus pulex. To do this an experiment was carried out involving samples taken from a variety of vegetated and non-vegetated areas. The abundance of the species in each environment was measured and compared and found to be statistically significant. Freshwater shrimp do prefer vegetated areas over non-vegetated areas due to either; increased availability of detritus, increased oxygen content or additional protection from predators. Introduction: Gammarus pulex: (freshwater shrimp) are Crustaceans that are members of the Amphipoda order. Their bodies are curved into a C shape and they average approximately 20mm in length. As seen in figure 1, Gammarus pulex have 7 pairs of legs, two of which perform a grasping function similar to humans hands whilst the other 5 are adapted to swimming. The species gills are provided with oxygen by the vibrations of their legs and the 3 pairs of structures seen on the abdomen, the gills are located on the inside of the back five legs. Gammarus pulex have a high oxygen requirements and as a result are typically found in faster flowing, oxygen rich water. They are hatched from eggs and emerge fully developed and ready to reproduce. This results in a fast rate of reproduction. The offsprings sex is determined by the temperature of the water. These shrimps mate whilst the male carries the female on its back, this will occur several times per year. Gammarus pulex Have no natural defence mechanism o ther than their camouflage and as a result they are primarily active during low sunlight periods and under shelter. As a result of Gammarus pulexs lack of a defence mechanism they are typically found under and within the aquatic fauna and rocks within rivers. Gammarus pulex are primary consumers that typically consume detritus, i.e. they consume dead and decaying matter in order to provide energy for themselves. Gammarus pulex main predators are fish which that rely on them as one of their primary sources of food, fish commonly found to consume these shrimp include: Trout, Bullheads and Salmon. Rationale: Gammarus pulex can be used as an indicator species due to their affinity for highly oxygenated water. They (Gammarus Pulex) are intolerant of polluted waters or reduced dissolved oxygen concentrations, and can therefore be used as an indicator species for water quality. A decrease in the oxygen content of an ecosystem can have serious adverse effects on the other species within the ecosystem and is one of the most common causes of Fish Kills as a result it is a variable regularly monitored by fishing agencies Due to increasing awareness of the impact humans are having on their environment and the ecosystems that we interact with, biological indicator species will become increasingly important in the identification of suitable habitats for species to be introduced to. In addition to Gammarus pulex acting as an indicator species, they also require highly oxygenated water to survive and reproduce. A lack of oxygen within the water could potentially lead to anaerobic conditions within the water. Due the fact that they require oxygen for respiration (Aerobic) this would reduce the population of the shrimp within an area. This would have a knock on effect on the secondary and tertiary consumers within the food chain that also rely on Gammarus pulex as their primary food source such as trout and salmon. As a result, the abundance of the species is of key ecological importance within these ecosystems and steps should be taken to ensure high oxygen content of the water and adequate foliage and vegetation for the species to thrive within its niche. These goals can be achieved relatively easily through the planting of vegetation for cover. This would also provide raised oxygen levels due to the respiration of the plant life to produce oxygen as a by-product . In a study by H.H Costa on investigating the affect of low concentrations of oxygen on the number of reactions per minute in Gammarus pulex, strong correlations were made between the concentration of oxygen within the water and the number of reactions taking place per minute. Low levels of oxygen would lead to decreased metabolic activity, resulting in slower growth and reproduction. As a primary consumer this would have a detrimental effect on the rest of the ecosystem as a lower population of the species would result in food being a limiting factor for fish that relied on the species as a source of food. This could also lead to the gradual decline of other primary and secondary consumers as they are used as a source of energy by the tertiary consumers to sustain themselves. Aims: The aim of the experiment was to determine whether the presence of vegetation within the water at Nettlecombe church pool would have a significant impact on the abundance of Gammarus pulex measured within an area and whether any changes in abundance could be attributed to the independent variable (presence of vegetation) by controlling or measuring the other abiotic factors within the ecosystem. Null hypothesis: Statistically, there will be no significant correlation between the abundance of freshwater shrimp and the presence of vegetation within the stream. Alternate hypothesis: Statistically, there will be significant correlation between the abundance of freshwater shrimp and the presence of vegetation within the stream. Prediction Gammarus pulex will likely show a significantly higher presence in the vegetated areas of the stream due to several key biological factors: Defense: Due to the lack of any inherent defense mechanisms, the species relies on its camouflage as its sole mechanism for defense. Naturally, high amounts of vegetation present in an area provide an aid to the protection of the freshwater shrimp from its predators and allow a greater chance of the survival of the species. Oxygen content: The oxygen within water is derived primarily from submerged plants present within the water. As these plants photosynthesize, Oxygen is released as a byproduct and dissolves into the surrounding water. This increased oxygen content would attract freshwater shrimp to an area, as they are reliant on the surrounding water for the oxygen that is necessary for them to respire aerobically. Detritus: Organic material such as decaying plant material is the primary food source of Gammarus pulex as detritivores. If vegetation is present in an area an increased amount of detritus will also be present due to the death and decay of the submerged plants. This provides an ideal food source for the Gammurus pulex and increases the chances of survival and reproduction. As a result you would expect to see an increase in the abundance of the species in areas with vegetation. Independent variable The independent variable within the experiment was the presence of a significant (+10cm) amount of vegetation submerged within the water and the lack of +10cm of vegetation present. This was varied by locating two areas, one with +10cm of submerged vegetation and another without. Dependent variable The dependent variable within the experiment was the relative abundance of the species within the two separate areas per sample. This was measured through obtaining a sample and counting the number of Gammarus pulex present per sample. Control variables Several abiotic variables were controlled within the experiment to ensure that any changes in the abundance of the freshwater shrimps could be assigned to the changing in the independent variable. In the cases in which an extraneous variable could not be controlled without compromising the integrity of the experiment, the variable was measured and any anomalous readings recorded could possibly be assigned to that abiotic factor. PH: The acidity (concentration of hydrogen ions) within the water was measured by obtaining a sample in the two areas and measuring the sample through the addition of universal indicator. The PH of the water was measured as Gammarus pulex have an aversion to water with more extreme Phs. In Responses of Gammarus pulex to modified environment II. Reactions to abnormal Hydrogen ion concentrations H.H Costa states that at the PH values of 9.6. These negative reactions can be explained through the inability of the shrimps enzymes to function at these extreme PHs. Temperature: Temperature was measured in degrees centigrade through the use of a digital thermometer that was placed in each sample, allowed to stabilize and a reading was taken. Temperature was controlled due to the reaction of Gammarus pulexs offspring to temperature, at lower temperatures, offspring within eggs will hatch as male, whilst above this they will hatch as female. This would lead to one sex becoming dominant at extremely hot or cold temperatures, which would result in a reduced abundance as the difficulty of locating a mate increased. Light: The amount of light in each sample was recorded through the use of a lux meter as close to the water as possible. This variable was measured in lux and was measured as it is likely the shrimp will be more abundant in darker areas due to the increased effectiveness of their camouflage in these areas and increased protection this offers. Depth: The depth of each location was measured through the insertion of a ruler to measure the depth of each location. The ruler was placed on the surface of the sediment to stop it being pushed too far into the soft sediment and producing an inaccurate reading. Areas were chosen as close to 10cm deep as possible to rule out the depth of the water having any significant impact on the results produced. Pilot study: Introduction: Before carrying out the main study, a pilot study was used to determine the final procedure and method of the study. This pilot study was used to identify the best sampling technique to use to collect a sufficient number of shrimps per sample. This technique had to be efficient enough to collect enough data for a statistical significance to be shown and collect the maximum number of shrimp within an area to ensure that the true abundance of the species was actually being measured. In addition, the method used to collect the shrimp had to be standardized, so that the identical technique could be carried out in different areas to ensure the reliability of the technique. This meant the same technique could be carried out again to produce as similar results as possible. In addition, the best local spot to produce enough shrimp to state a significant difference had to be located. This pilot study was used to locate the areas that would be sampled in the main experiment by locating the areas with enough vegetation to have an impact on the dependent variable. This meant looking for areas with high levels of submerged vegetation within several different rivers until enough within as Single River was found. This was to make the control of extraneous variables easier as the variation in the variables would be far larger in separate bodies of water. Within the pilot study, I also had to assess the extraneous variables that would have to be measured in my final study to prevent them interfering with the data produced. During the pilot study, I identified that the amount of light in an area seemed to be having an effect on the abundance of the species within that area. This was potentially reducing the validity of the experiment. This was because any results produced were no longer necessarily down to just the independent (presence of vegetation) variable. As a result, I included the use of a light meter in the final experiment to control and limit the impact on the data produced. Along with deciding the variables to be measured, I also had to finalize the equipment used to measure the variable in a standardized manner. The pilot study was also used to identify any potential risks or hazards within the area. Once these were identified, appropriate controls could be taken to reduce or nullify the risks from these sources. Equipment list: A 15cmx10cm Scoop net A 1 meter long ruler A digital thermometer A square 1025 cm tray that was not filled with pond water A digital stopwatch Freshwater identification sheet Pipette Method: Whilst 3 rivers were found in close proximity, only one, the church stream, contained an appropriate number of vegetated areas to non-vegetated areas close enough to carry out the experiment expediently. In addition the proximity of the locations reduced any extraneous variables that were acting on the study. Thus the church stream was used for the final experiment. 2 methods of sampling with the net were carried out, the figure of eight sample (A)and the Kick sample'(B) A) This involved locating an area to sample and standing still whilst moving the net in a figure of eight through the water. This was timed for 10 seconds and 20 seconds .This method did not disturb the sediment of the area. B) The kick sample involved placing the net downstream of the area to be sampled and kicking up the sediment into the net without moving the net. This was timed for both 10 seconds and 20 seconds using the stopwatch. After collecting each sample the contents of the net was upturned and placed into the empty tray. The tray was then filled with water from the stream. Using the identification sheet, I timed for 1 minute on the stopwatch and counted all of the Gammarus pulex present in the tray within the time. Using a pipette to move them to a separate bucket once counted A variety of sampling techniques for the control variables were then carried out in the area. The ruler was used to measure depth at a variety of locations. This provided practice at accurately measuring the depth of the water without disturbing the sediment on the bed of the stream. The digital thermometer was then placed in the water, however not placed at the bed of the stream. Risk assessment: Before carrying out the pilot and main study, a risk assessment of the risks that could pose a threat to me or those in the surrounding areas was carried out. Through this I identified the hazard (negative effect 1-10) and the risk factor (chance of the hazard actually occurring 1-10) to control this I also decided on sensible controls to minimize the chance of the hazard occurring or minimize the severity of the hazard. The risk rating was calculated by multiplying the chance of the hazard occurring with the severity of the hazard (1-100). Hazard Severity of the Hazard Chance of occurring Risk rating Control Slipping and falling. 2 6 12 Ensure the muddy parts of the bank are noted and avoided. Wear appropriate footwear to avoid tripping/slipping. Drowning in unexpected deep water. 10 1 10 Ensure all personal can swim. Identify any deep areas before beginning. Contamination from any water/aquatic life. 8 3 24 Wash hands before and after touching the water. Do not handle the aquatic life, use a pipette instead Tripping with net/ruler. 4 4 16 Wear appropriate footwear, I.e. hiking boots Discussion of results: The number of shrimp produced by using method B for 20 seconds produced the largest total number of shrimp in both vegetated areas and non-vegetated areas. In comparison, method A produced the fewest number of shrimp in both vegetated areas and non-vegetated areas. The temperatures produced seemed to be pretty constant throughout the pilot study however the two 9.8 readings were likely caused by the thermometer not being pressed to the sediment properly, reducing the reliability of those readings. The preliminary findings reflected that more shrimp were indeed found in the vegetated areas in comparison to the non-vegetated. Evaluation of pilot study: Through the use of the pilot study I was able to identify the main problems with the study and remedy them for the final study: The measuring of the temperature using the thermometer was standardized by pressing the thermometer to the bed of the stream on each measurement. The sample I chose to use was the 20 seconds kick sample This method of sampling was far superior to the figure of eight sample. This was likely to the freshwater shrimp inhabiting the upper layer of the sediment; the kick sample dislodged them into the net whereas the figure of eight did not disrupt the sediment at all resulting in only the swimming shrimp being picked up. As a result, only the number of shrimp swimming in a sampled area was being measured not the total number of shrimp in the area. I chose to use the 20 second sample as, although it was less expedient than the 10 second sample, it did provide more species and reduced the chance of anomalies cropping up through not all of the shrimp being collected. Whilst measuring the depth in step 8, I noticed that the vegetated areas where normally darker than the non- vegetated areas. To counteract this variable, I decided to control it in the main experiment by measuring the light using a lux meter. This was to ensure that the results were down to the vegetation present. During step 1 and the selection of the location of the samples, I realized that I hadnt set any specification on what classed as enough vegetation to qualify as a vegetated area. After discussing this with my tutor I decided to use 10cm measurements of submerged vegetation qualify an area as vegetated. In addition, I used areas without any vegetation for the final experiment. Whilst collecting the samples in step 4 I realized that I was disturbing the ecology further downstream on further kick samples. This was an unfortunate side effect of using the kick sample from the top of the stream down. As a result, I decided to reverse the direction for the final experiment and take the values from downstream before taking those upstream. This stopped earlier experiments influencing later ones. Main Experiment: My final experiment took into account the findings from the pilot study and used these to modify the final experiment to produce the best results I could. The changes listed above were introduced to tailor the results of the experiment into a form I could use to compare the effect of the independent variable. Intro: My final experiment consisted of 10 samples of each vegetated and non-vegetated areas being taken, with the variables light, depth, temperature, PH and number of shrimp present being measured. The revised aim of the final experiment was to measure whether the presence of vegetation affected the abundance of Gammarus pulex present and whether this difference was statistically significant. To do this I carried out a stratified sampling technique to locate areas to work in, I,e areas with +10 cm of submerged vegetation. I then used a systematic sampling technique to collect the data as I timed how many of the species I could count from a sample in 1 minute. Equipment list: A 15cmx10cm Scoop net A 1 meter long ruler A digital thermometer A square 1025 cm tray that was pre-filled with pond water A digital stopwatch Freshwater identification sheet Pipette 1 Lux meter 1 bottle of universal indicator, with a beaker to collect a sample of water A small bucket to place counted shrimp in Writing equipment and paper to record results Pipette to collect the shrimp with Method: 10 vegetated areas were first located. This involved measuring the total submerged vegetation present and ensuring it was over 10cm long. The non-vegetated areas were then located, these were areas within as close proximity to the vegetated areas as possible but without any vegetation present. Starting from downstream and moving upstream, the kick sample was performed in the first vegetated area. This involved placing the net downstream from the sampling area and kicking the sediment for 20 seconds into the net. This was timed with the stopwatch. The sample in the net was upturned into the tray. The Gammarus pulex were identified using the species identification sheet and removed from the tray and placed in the bucket using a pipette. The total number of shrimp counted in 1 minute was recorded. The contents of the tray and bucket were emptied back into the water. The depth of the sampling area was then measured using the ruler and placing it on the stream bed. The lowest value of the water rising up the ruler was measured as the depth. The thermometer was then placed lightly on the stream bed, this was left to stabilize for 10 seconds and the value was recorded The lux meter was then placed as close to the water as possible and held still. After 10 seconds the value was taken. This method was repeated for the non-vegetated areas. This procedure was carried out at all of the 10 areas. Table of results for main experiment Calculations of the means for Vegetated data: Mean PH: (7.5 x 10)/10 = 7.5 Mean temperature C: (9.8 x 2 + 9.9 x 8)/10 = 9.88 Mean Lux reading (Lux) : (240+234+194+30+13+109+603+719+560+335)/10 = 303.7 Average depth (cm) : (10.0+9.5+5.0+4.0+4.0+5.0+5.2+8.2+12.8+13.2) /10 = 7.69 Mean Shrimp (Arbitary units) : 341/10 = 34.1 Calculations of the means for Non-Vegetated data : Mean PH: (7.5 x 10)/10 = 7.5 Mean temperature C: (9.8 x 1 + 9.9 x 9)/10 = 9.89 Mean Lux reading (Lux) : (846+645+300+71+24+123+441+739+506+389)/10 = 408.4 Average depth (cm) : (12+11.5+10.5+12+8+10.5+12.4+14.5+12.4+13.3) /10 = 11.71 Mean Shrimp (Arbitary units) : 56/10 = 5.6 Anomalies: Both of the values highlighted in red, are examples of possible anomalous data that could have been caused by procedural errors. 6 is far below the average shrimp reading of 34.1, this could have been caused by the high light reading on this particular reading, reducing the shrimps camouflage and therefore their safety in this area. The value of 17 was far ahead of the mean value of 5.6 and could have been caused through the procedural error of the pipette not sucking the shrimp up and them being counted twice. These samples also could have had the random error of large amounts of sediment resulting in some shrimps not being counted or others being counted twice. The clear variation in the number of Gammarus pulex sampled in the two areas would indicate that the vegetation did have an effect on the abundance of the population. Likely due to the increased defense offered by these areas and also how much easier it would be to obtain decomposing plant matter (Detritus) as a food source. The largest value for a vegetated shrimp was 79, with the lowest being 6. This is in comparison to the highest value for non-vegetated areas being 17, with the lowest being 2. The similarities between the abiotic factors, primarily temperature and P.H also increase the validity of the results produced. We can be sure that the results are actually as a result of the presence of the vegetation. It should be noted that none of the samples contained no freshwater shrimp, leading to the assumption that the water likely has a high oxygen content and has few pollutants. This is backed up by the location of Nettlecombe, a relatively rural area with few large roads runnin g nearby. Statistics: Within this study I decided to use the Mann Whitney U test to ascertain whether the difference between the two values was enough to reject the null hypothesis and convey a significant difference between the two sets of data. Null Hypothesis: There will be no significant statistical difference between the data drawn from vegetated samples and non-vegetated samples in the Nettlecombe church stream on the 14/10/12 The lowest U value calculated was 6, The critical value at 0.1 is 16 meaning that the Null Hypothesis can be rejected at the 0.1 significance level This allows us to accept the alternate hypothesis, and although there were small overlaps in the data, the difference between the two sets of data values is significant. Evaluation: Throughout the experiment, every effort was made to control or measure extraneous variables that could have an effect on the results of the experiment. As a result, the validity of the experiment is quite high; the values for all the abiotic variables were measured and have similar values for both the Vegetated areas and the non-vegetated areas. As a result we can make the assumption that any changes in the dependent variable, were in fact down to the independent variable. The pilot study was carried out to aid in the identification of any confounding variables, risks or extraneous variables that could potentially impact on the validity of the results produced and as a result of the pilot study, controls were put in place to counteract these variables. In addition, due to the standardized methodology carried out within both the pilot experiment and the final experiment, the method could be repeated under similar conditions to produce similar results. Resulting in a high reliability of the data. As the Mann Whitney U test allowed us to reject the null hypothesis at the 0.01% significance level, we must assume that the results produced show a significant change between the two environments. Although the results proved to be statistically significant, several procedural errors should be considered. Even with a 20 second kick sample, not all of the shrimp in a certain area could be collected as the shrimp likely inhabit different layers of the sediment. The speed at which the shrimp were counted at could also vary considerably based on the amount of sediment present in a sample, in a sample with high amounts of sediment, it would take longer to count and remove all of the shrimp within a minute than it would be in a clear sample. To counteract this, a stratified sample could be put in place; all of the shrimp from a sample could be counted rather than just counting for one minute. Systematic errors within parts of the equipment could result in repeatedly wrong measurements, e.g the Lux meter may not be calibrated properly and give readings that are continually 50 higher than they should be. Percentage error can also become a problem and whilst small, can be noticeable when accounted for in multiple datasets e.g. 0.01/500 x100 = 0.002 % percentage error There are also several ethical considerations to take into account when using live organisms within experiments. For instance the ecosystem is being massively disrupted through the use of a kick sample. All of the layers of sediment are being removed and many organisms are being collected in a sample that didnt have to be. A more specific and less environmentally invasive procedure could instead be carried out using the figure of eight sampling method so as not to disturb the stream bed ecosystem as much. Conclusion From the data and evidence provided above, a reliable argument can be put forward that the species Gammarus pulex does favor vegetated conditions over non-vegetated conditions. This could be down to a variety of reasons: Gammarus pulex is an aerobic organism and thus favors oxygenated conditions. During photosynthesis in submerged plants, oxygen is produced as a byproduct which diffuses into the surrounding environment (the water) this results in increased oxygen content. The oxygen content at this point is not acting as a limiting factor in the population of Gammarus pulux and thus an increase in the activity within the reproductive cycle of the species. This is demonstrated in the image to the right. Gammarus pulex favors the vegetated environment due to the increased source of detritus present through the decomposition of the plants present in the environment. This increased source of food and energy means the species expends more energy within its reproductive cycle and fewer of the species die due to starvation. Thus the population of the species in these conditions increases. Gammarus pulex could also potentially favor the vegetated environment due to the increased camouflage and protection it provides it. This could be part of a behavioral adaptation the organism has developed to protect itself from the fish that hunt it. This would result in large numbers gathering in the areas that they were safe and fewer of them being consumed by secondary and tertiary consumers resulting in larger numbers of them in the vegetated areas. Source evaluation Within my experiment, I extensively referenced and used H.H Costas work into the differing effects of modified environments on Gammarus pulex. This work was published in the scientific, peer reviewed journal Crustaceana. This journal is is a leading journal in the world on crustacean research. As a result I feel the peer reviewed work is both reliable and accurate and although published in 1967, the more recent research (Field guide to the water life of Britain 1984) also agrees with the core principles described in H.H Costas work. In addition to several peer reviewed journals, one of my sources was an Information pack produced by the University of Florida, a well respected academic institute unlikely to publish inaccurate or unreliable information. As well as the paper sources listed, I used a variety of websites to gather data on various aquatic processes and mechanisms. Whilst I trust the majority of the websites, certain websites such as source 2, dont back up many of the claims with any real evidence which could be a sign of unreliable or inaccurate information. Further research Further research could be carried out into the preferences of Gammarus pulex through an experiment designed to ascertain the type of vegetation that they prefer and also the nutritional value of the varying types of detritus to the organism. In addition, research could be done into pinpointing the exact reason that the species prefers to reside within vegetative conditions rather than non-vegetative.