10 Astonishing Facts About House Flies

10 Astonishing Facts About House Flies The house fly, Musca domestica, may be the most common insect we  encounter. But how much do you actually know about the house fly? Here are 10 fascinating facts about house flies: 1. House Flies Live Almost Everywhere There Are People Though believed to be native to Asia, house flies now inhabit nearly every corner of the globe. With the exception of Antarctica and perhaps a few islands, house flies live everywhere people do. House flies are synanthropic organisms, meaning they benefit ecologically from their association with humans and our domesticated animals. As humans throughout history traveled to new lands by ship, plane, train, or horse-drawn wagon, house flies were their travel companions. Conversely, house flies are rarely found in the wilderness or in places where humans are absent. Should humankind cease to exist, house flies might share our fate. 2. House Flies Are Relatively Young Insects in the World As an order, true flies are ancient creatures that appeared on Earth during the Permian period, over 250 million years ago. But house flies seem to be relatively young, compared to their Dipteran cousins. The earliest known Musca fossils are only 70 million years old. This evidence suggests the closest ancestors of house flies appeared during the Cretaceous period, just before the infamous meteorite fell from the sky and, some say, triggered the extinction of the dinosaurs. 3. House Flies Multiply Quickly Were it not for environmental conditions and predation, wed be overrun by house flies. Musca domestica has a short life cycle – just 6 days if conditions are right – and a female house fly lays an average of 120 eggs at a time. Scientists once calculated what would happen if a single pair of flies were able to reproduce without limits or mortality to their offspring. The result? Those two flies, in just 5 months time, would produce 191,010,000,000,000,000,000 house flies, enough to cover the planet several meters deep. 4. House Flies Don't Travel Far and Aren't Fast Hear that buzzing sound? Thats the rapid movement of a house flys wings, which can beat up to 1,000 times per minute. Thats no typo. It may surprise you to learn, then, that theyre generally slow fliers, maintaining a speed of about 4.5 miles per hour. House flies move when environmental conditions compel them to do so. In urban areas, where people live in close proximity and there is plenty of garbage and other filth to be found, house flies have small territories and may only fly 1,000 meters or so. But rural house flies will roam far and wide in search of manure, covering up to 7 miles over time. The longest flight distance recorded for a house fly is 20 miles. 5. House Flies Make Their Living in Filth House flies feed and breed in the things we revile: garbage, animal dung, sewage, human excrement, and other nasty substances. Musca domestica is probably the best known and most common of the insects we collectively refer to as filth flies. In suburban or rural areas, house flies are also plentiful in fields where fish meal or manure is used as fertilizer, and in compost heaps where grass clippings and rotting vegetables accumulate. 6. House Flies Are on an All-Liquid Diet House flies have sponge-like mouthparts, which are good for soaking up liquefied substances but not for eating solid foods. So, the house fly either seeks out food that is already in puddle form, or it finds a way to turn the food source into something it can manage. This is where things get kind of gross. When a house fly locates something tasty but solid, it regurgitates onto the food (which may be your food, if its buzzing around your barbecue). The fly vomit contains digestive enzymes that go to work on the desired snack, quickly predigesting and liquefying it so the fly can lap it up. 7. House Flies Taste With Their Feet How do flies decide something is appetizing? They step on it! Like butterflies, house flies have their taste buds on their toes, so to speak. Taste receptors, called chemosensilla, are located at the far ends of the flys tibia and tarsa (in simpler terms, the lower leg and foot). The moment they land on something of interest – your garbage, a pile of horse manure, or perhaps your lunch – they start sampling its flavor by walking around. 8. House Flies Transmit a Lot of Diseases Because house flies thrive in places that are teeming with pathogens, they have a bad habit of carrying disease-causing agents with them from place to place. A house fly will land on a pile of dog poop, inspect it thoroughly with its feet, and then fly over to your picnic table and walk around on your hamburger bun for a bit. Their food and breeding sites are already overflowing with bacteria, and then they vomit and defecate on them to add to the mess. House flies are known to transmit at least 65 diseases and infections, including cholera, dysentery, giardiasis, typhoid, leprosy, conjunctivitis, salmonella, and many more. 9. House Flies Can Walk Upside Down You probably knew that already, but do you know how they perform this gravity-defying feat? Slow motion video shows that a house fly will approach a ceiling by executing a half roll maneuver, and then will extend its legs to make contact with the substrate. Each of the house flys legs bears a tarsal claw with a sticky pad of sorts, so the fly is able to grip almost any surface, from smooth window glass to a ceiling. 10. House Flies Poop a Lot Theres a saying, Never poop where you eat. Sage advice, most would say. Because house flies live on a liquid diet (see #6), things move rather quickly through their digestive tracts. Nearly every time a house fly lands, it defecates. So in addition to vomiting on anything it thinks might make a tasty meal, the house fly almost always does poop where it eats. Keep that in mind next time one touches down on your potato salad. Sources: The Encyclopedia of Entomology, 2nd edition, edited by John L. Capinera.Encyclopedia of Insects, 2nd edition, edited by Vincent H. Resh and Ring T. Carde.Vector Control: Methods for Use by Individuals and Communities, by Jan A. Rozendaal, World Health Organization.Physicians Guide to Arthropods of Medical Importance, 6th edition, by Jerome Goddard.Elements of Entomology, by Dr. Rajendra Singh.Time Flies, a New Molecular Time-Scale for Brachyceran Fly Evolution Without a Clock, in Systematic Biology, 2003.

Dissimilation and Haplology in Phonetics

Dissimilation and Haplology in Phonetics Dissimilation is a general term in phonetics and historical linguistics  for the process by which two neighboring sounds become less alike. Contrast with assimilation.  According to Patrick Bye, the term dissimilation entered the field [of phonology] in the 19th century from rhetoric, where it had been in use to describe the variation in style required for good public speaking (The Blackwell Companion to Phonology, 2011). Dissimilation and Haphology As discussed below, one type of dissimilation is  haplology- a sound change  involving the loss of a syllable when its  next to a phonetically identical (or similar) syllable.  Perhaps the best known example is the reduction of  Anglaland  in Old English to England in Modern English. Haplology is sometimes called  syllabic syncope.  (The counterpart of  haplology  in writing is  haplography- the accidental omission of a letter that should be repeated, such as mispell for misspell.) The Phonetics of English ElisionLanguage ChangePronunciationSegment and SuprasegmentalSound ChangeWhat Is the Correct Pronunciation of February?Word Boundaries Examples of Dissimilation [An] example of dissimilation is the substandard pronunciation of chimney as chimley, with the second of two nasals changed to an [l]. The ultimate dissimilation is the complete loss of one sound because of its proximity to another similar sound. A frequent example in present-day standard English is the omission of one of two [r] sounds from words like cate(r)pillar, Cante(r)bury, rese(r)voir, terrest(r)ial, southe(r)ner, barbitu(r)ate, gove(r)nor, and su(r)prised.(John Algeo and Thomas Pyles, The Origins and Development of the English Language, 5th ed. Thomson, 2005) Dissimilation of Liquid Consonants ​Consider [an] example of dissimilation of liquid consonants that took place when the suffix -al attached to some Latin nouns to make adjectives. The regular suffixation process gives us pairs like the following: orbit/orbital, person/personal, culture/cultural, electric/electrical. However, when an /l/ precedes the ending anywhere in the root, the ending is changed from -al to -ar as a result of dissimilation: single/singular, module/modular, luna/lunar. (Kristin Denham and Anne Lobeck, Linguistics for Everyone. Wadsworth, 2010) Assimilation v. Dissimilation ​Assimilation is far more common than dissimilation; assimilation is usually regular, general throughout the language, though sometimes it can be sporadic. Dissimilation is much rarer and is usually not regular (is sporadic), though dissimilation can be regular. Dissimilation often happens at a distance (is non-adjacent) . . .. (Lyle Campbell, Historical Linguistics: An Introduction. MIT Press, 2004) Causes and Effects of Haphology ​We say that assimilation and dissimilation are changes that result in an increase or decrease, respectively, in the degree of phonetic similarity between two segments. It is tempting to think that such changes in the one segment are somehow caused by the phonetics of the other, and for generations that is actually how the matter has usually been presented. . . . But this is a confusion of cause and effect. It is true that the effect of the change is a net increase/decrease of similarity between two segments, but it is begging the question (to say the least) to assume that the degree of similarity is also somehow the cause of the change. The fact is that very little is known of the actual mechanisms of these changes, commonplace as they are. (Andrew L. Sihler, Language History: An Introduction. John Benjamins, 2000) Haplology Haplology  . . . is the name given to the change in which a repeated sequence of sounds is simplified to a single occurrence. For example, if the word  haplology  were to undergo haplology (were to be haplologized), it would reduce the sequence  lolo  to  lo,  haplology  Ã‚  haplogy. Some real examples are: (1) Some varieties of English reduce   library  to libry [laibri] and   probably  to probly [prÉ”bli].(2)   pacifism  pacificism (contrast with   mysticism  mysticism, where the repeated sequence is not reduced and does not end up as   mystism).(3) English   humbly  was   humblely  in Chaucers time, pronounced with three syllables, but has been reduced to two syllables (only one   l) in modern standard English.  (Lyle Campbell,   Historical Linguistics: An Introduction, 2nd ed. MIT Press, 2004) The Haphology Effect The  haplology  effect can often be heard in the casual  pronunciation  of each of these words: February, probably, regularly, and similarly.  The words  library  and  necessary, especially as spoken in Southern England, are often heard by foreigners as  libry  and  nessary. But when they repeat the words as such, they do not sound right, since there should be a lengthened  r  and  s, respectively, in those words. It shows that foreigners notice the beginning stages of  haplology  in those words, when there is as yet no complete haplology. (Yuen Ren Chao,  Language and Symbolic Systems. Cambridge University Press, 1968)

Power within organization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Power within organization - Essay Example Referent power originates from being trusted and/or respected. One gains this power when employees in the organization trust what they do and respect them for how they handle various situations. For instance, a manager who uses his power positively to ensure policies are in place for ensuring employees is fairly treated. Sin, this form of power subordinate, comply since one is in authority, for instance, the boss. This power exists when employees recognize the authority of their leader. For instance, the executive manager who determines budgetary needs of the company. His positive or negative consideration boost his legitimacy Many junior workers are motivated by rewards and incentives to be submissive to the superior. This inner motivation is a positive example of reward power. Other examples would include salary increment, job promotion, etc. The role of reward power is to trigger that human feature that appreciates recognition for high achievement. Expert power originates from an individual’s experiences, knowledge, and skills. Whenever an individual gains experience they become thought leaders in those fields and gather expert power enough to get others to help them meet their goals. For instance, the senior engineer who is an expert designing various unique applicants can positively use his or her power to get

Compensation and Benefits Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Compensation and Benefits - Essay Example In this case, in order for an organization to appeal to such employees, and keep them after hiring them, it is essential for them to provide them with competitive compensation packages, including benefits (Ulrich, 2011). Nonetheless, provision of benefits cost money. For instance, health insurance in the United States is quite expensive. As such, it is true that benefits may result to increased costs, making a firm to incur higher costs and hurt its competitiveness. In this case, it is appropriate for firms to calibrate in a careful manner based on the number of benefits it wishes to offer its employees. An enterprise should be generous enough for it to attract qualified and competitive labor force. However, it should refrain from overpaying employees who are less productive and not worth additional money (Ulrich, 2011). In a firm, it is true that higher pay and benefits play a major role in attracting and keeping quality employees. Nonetheless, I do not belief that pay is the primary motivating factor for existing employees and job applicants. They look for those firms that are capable of providing them with benefits, such as health insurance, which are some of the most challenging areas for employees to

The Tyger Symbol Analysis Essay Example for Free

The Tyger Symbol Analysis Essay The symbol of the Tyger is one of the two central mysteries of the poem (the other being the Tyger’s creator). It is unclear what it exactly symbolizes, the Tyger could be inspiration, the divine, artistic creation, history, the sublime (the big, mysterious, powerful and sometimes scary, or vision itself. Really, the list is almost infinite. The point is, the Tyger is important, and Blake’s poem barely limits the possibilities. Line 7: â€Å"Wings† are what the creator uses to aspire to the creation of the Tyger. Essentially, they are the power or inspiration that allows the creator to dare go about the task of creating the Tyger. Smith Tools (Hammer, chain, furnace, anvil) Stanza 4: In the poem, these tools make up an extended metaphor of the creator and his creation of the Tyger. A blacksmith uses these tools to make objects out of super-hot metal. The word forge – to create orform – is a smith term as well as another name for a smith’s furnace. The smith reference also ties into all the fire imagery associated with the Tyger, and heightens the energy and danger of the Tyger’s creation. If you don’t think forging metal is hot or dangerous, you might want to visit even a modern-day steel mill. Line 20: When you read the word lamb, always first think: symbol of Jesus Christ (the Lamb of God). As the tradition holds, animals such as lambs were sacrificed to God or gods in general until God offered his Son, Jesus Christ – his lamb – as the final sacrifice for the sins of mankind. In line 20, Blake references a version of Christianity that states that God created Jesus. Blake asks whether God, who created Jesus, also created the Tyger. Also, don’t forget that The Lamb is the title of another poem by Blake, from the Songs of Innocence. The body parts referenced in this poem – hands, eyes, shoulders, and feet – are examples of synecdoche. Synecdoche is when a part of something is used to refer to the whole thing. For example, when someone yells All hands on deck! he doesn’t actually mean that he wants a bunch of severed hands on the deck; rather, he wants the people and their hands to help with the ship. So, the phrase immortal hand references the whole being or person that the hand belongs to, while at the same time focusing on the hands as the means of creation. The eye is representative of the whole body and person, but lso focuses our attention on the faculty of sight. Also, by including only parts of the creator in the actually poem, Blake contributes to the mystery of who or what he actually is. It’s like having only a few extreme close-ups of a person: you can see the hands, shoulder, feet, and eyes, but you cant see the whole package, and that means you cant even tell who youre looking at. The fire serves multiple purposes as an extended metaphor. First, it’s often associated with the Tyger, which contributes to the Tyger’s ferocity and sublimity (the fact it’s big, powerful, and mysterious). Fire is also a source of energy, and since the Tyger seems to be filled with fire, then he must also be filled with energy. In another sense, the fire of the smith’s furnace is the fire of creation, the means by which the Tyger was formed. Setting An abstract setting; Forests of the night and distant deeps or skies The settings of â€Å"The Tyger,† or at least the worlds this poem seems to conjure up, are extremely varied. In general, though, it takes place in the abstract, without much more than Forests of the night, and distant deeps or skies, to give the reader any sense of location. However, the lack of a concrete setting is just as important as the presence. Think of watching a play in a theatre in which the whole stage is dark except for one spotlight. There is no setting in the sense of it taking place in a house or in a field – it’s abstract. The most important quality, then, is that it has no obvious setting, just like the poem. Blake has placed the spotlight on the Tyger, but where it is, or where the speaker is, are not part of the equation. Leaving the setting fluid keeps the themes fluid and abstract as well. It also highlights what setting is there, if fairly vague. The forests of the night are dark and mysterious, cloaking and hiding the fiery symbol of the Tyger. The distant deeps or skies bring to mind the notions of Hell being underground and Heaven being in the sky. Since the Tyger may have been created in either Hell (deeps) or Heaven (skies), it remains ambiguous as to whether the Tyger is good or bad. Regardless, it would seem to us that being in the forests of the night with a fearful, burning Tyger on the loose, is scary, whether abstract or not.

Religious Themes in Roman Polanskis A Knife In The Water and Rosemary’s Baby :: Movie, Film

Religious Themes in Roman Polanski's A Knife In The Water and Rosemary’s Baby Roman Polanski incorporated religious themes into his films, â€Å"A Knife In The Water† (Poland 1962) and â€Å"Rosemary’s Baby† (U.S. 1968). â€Å" A Knife In The Water† contains some Christian imagery that is not incorporated into the plot or theme of the film. In contrast, the central theme of â€Å"Rosemary’s Baby† is religion. I believe this difference illustrates the fact that Polanski desired to make a radical religious film but was unable to do so until he came to The United States. â€Å"A Knife In The Water† is a film about money and power. A wealthy couple picks up a young hitchhiker and invites him to spend the day with them on their yacht. Through out the day the older man, Andre, and the boy struggle for power. The struggle ends with Andre thinking he has killed the boy, and the boy sleeping with Andre’s wife. (Polanski 1962) Christian imagery, and illusions to Biblical mythology, are subtly woven into this film. The boy is portrayed as somewhat of a Christ figure. At one point he is seen lying on the deck of the yacht in a crucifix position with the sun forming a halo around his head. He hangs off the boat while it is moving and attempts to walk on the water. The boy has wounds on his hands from holding the hot saucepan. Like Christ the boy wanders from place to place on foot. The most obvious comparison Polanski makes between the boy and Christ is that the boy is presumed to be dead after Andre plunges him into the water. He then â€Å"rises from the dead† after Andre swims ashore to contact the authorities. (Butler 39) â€Å"Rosemary’s Baby† is very different from Polanski’s first film. This film is about an expectant mother whose husband allows her to become impregnated by the devil in exchange for success in his acting career. When Rosemary begins to catch on to the fact that her husband and neighbors are witches and worshipers of the devil she becomes afraid for her baby. She suspects that they are going to take her baby from her and use it in a satanic ritual. Both Rosemary and the viewer are shocked to discover that the coven of witches doesn’t plan to give her baby to Satan. Religious Themes in Roman Polanski's A Knife In The Water and Rosemary’s Baby :: Movie, Film Religious Themes in Roman Polanski's A Knife In The Water and Rosemary’s Baby Roman Polanski incorporated religious themes into his films, â€Å"A Knife In The Water† (Poland 1962) and â€Å"Rosemary’s Baby† (U.S. 1968). â€Å" A Knife In The Water† contains some Christian imagery that is not incorporated into the plot or theme of the film. In contrast, the central theme of â€Å"Rosemary’s Baby† is religion. I believe this difference illustrates the fact that Polanski desired to make a radical religious film but was unable to do so until he came to The United States. â€Å"A Knife In The Water† is a film about money and power. A wealthy couple picks up a young hitchhiker and invites him to spend the day with them on their yacht. Through out the day the older man, Andre, and the boy struggle for power. The struggle ends with Andre thinking he has killed the boy, and the boy sleeping with Andre’s wife. (Polanski 1962) Christian imagery, and illusions to Biblical mythology, are subtly woven into this film. The boy is portrayed as somewhat of a Christ figure. At one point he is seen lying on the deck of the yacht in a crucifix position with the sun forming a halo around his head. He hangs off the boat while it is moving and attempts to walk on the water. The boy has wounds on his hands from holding the hot saucepan. Like Christ the boy wanders from place to place on foot. The most obvious comparison Polanski makes between the boy and Christ is that the boy is presumed to be dead after Andre plunges him into the water. He then â€Å"rises from the dead† after Andre swims ashore to contact the authorities. (Butler 39) â€Å"Rosemary’s Baby† is very different from Polanski’s first film. This film is about an expectant mother whose husband allows her to become impregnated by the devil in exchange for success in his acting career. When Rosemary begins to catch on to the fact that her husband and neighbors are witches and worshipers of the devil she becomes afraid for her baby. She suspects that they are going to take her baby from her and use it in a satanic ritual. Both Rosemary and the viewer are shocked to discover that the coven of witches doesn’t plan to give her baby to Satan.

Dell Computers Essay

Dell Computer pioneered a new way of making and selling personal computers. Its customers â€Å"custom-design† their computer over the Internet or phone. Dell reengineered its â€Å"supply chain† as it coordinated its efforts with its suppliers and streamlined its order-taking and production process. It can ship a computer within two days of taking an order. Personal computers lose 1 percent of their value every week they sit on a shelf. Thus, having virtually no inventory is a great advantage to Dell. Compaq tried to adopt Dell’s approach, but with limited success. Dell’s CEO Michael Dell understood that kind of execution. His direct-sales and build-to-order approach was not just a marketing tactic to bypass retailers; it was the core of his business strategy. Execution is the reason Dell passed Compaq in market value years ago, despite Compaq’s vastly greater size and scope, and it’s the reason Dell passed Compaq in 2001 as the world’s biggest maker of PCs. As of November 2001, Dell was shooting to double its market share, from approximately 20 to 40 percent. Dell turns its inventory over eighty times a year, compared with about ten to twenty times for its rivals, and its working capital is negative. As a result, it generates an enormous amount of cash. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2002, with revenues of $8. 1 billion and an operating margin of 7. 4 percent, Dell had cash flow of $1 billion from operations. Its return on invested capital for fiscal 2001 was 355 percent—an incredible rate for a company with its sales volume. Its high velocity also allows it to give customers the latest technological improvements ahead of other makers, and to take advantage of falling component costs—either to improve margins or to cut prices. These are the reasons Dell’s strategy became deadly for its competitors once PC growth slowed. Dell capitalized on their misery and cut prices in a bid for market share, increasing the distance between it and the rest of the industry. Because of its high velocity, Dell could show high return on capital and positive cash flow, even with margins depressed. Its competition couldn’t. The system works only because Dell executes meticulously at every stage. The electronic linkages among suppliers and manufacturing create a seamless extended enterprise. A manufacturing executive we know who worked at Dell for a time calls its system â€Å"the best manufacturing operation I’ve ever seen. In 1998, Dell Computers launched its first global brand advertising campaign, beginning in the United States and Canada, to further highlight the advantages of its direct business model. The brand advertising campaign carries the theme â€Å"Be Direct. † The campaign highlights Dell’s unique business model, which helps to eliminate barriers between customers and the manufacturer, providing Dell with the means to enhance the overall customer experience. Dell’s advertising has focused primarily on its products and has been targeted largely at computer-enthusiast and industry trade publications, cable and local television and a few national newspapers. The â€Å"Be Direct† campaign will be in addition to the company’s ongoing product-oriented advertising. The new brand campaign emphasizes the strengths and advantages of Dell’s direct-to-customer business philosophy. The direct model, pioneered by Dell in the computer industry, enables Dell customers to have computer systems built to their specifications; a single point of accountability; award-winning service and support; and fast access to the latest relevant technology. Presently, the growing number of orders comes in over the Internet. The order-taking system interfaces with Dell’s own supply chain control system, which ensures that inventory is where it needs to be for the computer to be manufactured quickly. In addition, Dell stores very little inventory. Instead, Dell’s suppliers have built warehouses close to Dell’s facilities, and Dell orders parts on a just-in-time basis. By implementing these strategies, Dell has been able to provide customers with exactly what they want very quickly. In addition, inventory costs are low, and Dell minimizes the danger of parts obsolescence in the rapidly changing computer industry. In this way, Dell has become a dominant player in the desktop PC market and is well on its way to doing so in the laptop and server markets. References Cravens, D. W. & Piercy, N. (2003). Chapter 1: Strategic Planning and Decision Making. NJ: McGraw-Hill Companies. http://www.dell.com

The Mayans †Popol Vuh Summary

The Mayans – A Basic Summary on Popol Vuh and Xibalba Information on the Popol Vuh The Popol Vuh is one of the only remaining texts we have of ancient Mayan cultures. It is, for lack of a better word, their bible. In English its most direct translation is â€Å"Book of the Mat† but it can translate into its more meaningful name, â€Å"Book of the Community†. It encompasses a variety of stories and legends as well as a history of the mayan ancestors.Its most famous story is the creation myth of the Hero Twins. This myth explains how two abandoned twins ventured into the Mayan underworld called Xibalba and defeated the â€Å"bad† Gods and the arrogant Xibalbans people. They then ascended out of Xibalba to the sky where they became the sun and the moon. This book was an important source of cultural heritage to the Mayan people and the religions they practiced.It explains the importance of Maya as a divine place and culture, as well as introduces important fig ures such as the Maize God. After Bishop Diego de Landa’s eradication on Mayan literature, it is an extremely valuable source of information. Information on Xibalba Xibalba is to the Mayans what Hell is for us. It translates to something along the lines of, â€Å"the place of fear†. However, it has many important differences.For instance, instead of eternal damnation in one endless fiery pit (aka: Hell) there are seven chambers. Each chamber is a different challenge or nightmare that you have to face. The Mayans believe a person has five souls, one of which ventures into Xibalba. Depending on how evil you have been depends on how deep into Xibalba your soul goes. Again, the deeper you go, the worse it becomes. Xibalba has cultural significance because it develops the idea of key gods, religions and practices such as the Mayan ballgames.

Economies of scale Essays

Economies of scale Essays Economies of scale Essay Economies of scale Essay As can be seen from the information above Granada has been losing money recently, with a negative net profit (i 132), this means that it has no profit margin, and a negative return on capital employed (-7. 3%). More detailed information on Granada and current trading and prospects can be found in the appendix. Both of these two companies have made large losses recently, but Carlton has suffered from the larger losses, Carltons net loss was i 156 million compared to a loss of i 132 million for Granada. Carlton also has a much lower return on capital employed, although they both have a negative ROCE, Carltons is far lower than Granadas. Both of these companies have been losing money, and this gives them an incentive to merge, and to attempt to cut their losses by benefiting from economies of scale. Economies of scale Economies of scale are the reasons why the average cost of production may fall with an increasing level of output. I believe that if Carlton and Granada merge they will create one larger company which will benefit more from certain economies of scale. Carlton and Granada believe that though economies of scale they should be able to save i 35 million per annum. * In the appendix, there is an article titled Advertisers warn on ITV merger, in this it is stated by the head of broadcast at Media Planning Group that the merger will provide economies of scale, this is independent, unbiased evidence that the merger will provide economies of scale. The most important economies of scale in my opinion are: Financial economies of scale allow larger businesses to obtain money for expansion easier and cheaper. If Carlton and Granada merged they would create one much larger business. This larger business would thus benefit from financial economies of scale, the merged company would find it much easier to borrow or obtain money for new ventures of expansion plans. Managerial economies of scale occur when a business grows large enough to appoint specialists to its management team. Both of these companies are already large enough to benefit from this economy of scale, however they would benefit from it much more if they were to merge. The merged business would be much more efficiently managed and would therefore save money. This is one of the most important economies of scale because it will mean that the merged group would have one combined and specialised managerial team. Marketing economies of scale occur when the costs of marketing can be spread over a larger output. Both of these businesses produce television and cinema content. If they were to merge their output would be bigger, therefore they would benefit more from this economy of scale, it would be easier to produce new products, advertising rates would be lower, and bulk distribution would bring down the costs of delivery. This is another very important economy of scale for these two companies because they both have large outputs, and if they were to merge it would cut many costs and would help them to produce new television content cheaper and more effectively. The larger business that Carlton and Granada would create by merging would benefit from research and development economies of scale. It would be much easier to create new television programmes, and if any of their ventures should fail, then the larger business would be more able to cope with the loss because it will have other projects that will succeed, the risks have been spread. An example of this is Carlton and Granadas recently failed joint venture ITV digital. This venture was a failure which cost both of these businesses a lot of money. If they were one company, while dealing with this crisis they would have found it easier to cope with because jointly they would have more other successful projects running. Diseconomies of scale Diseconomies of scale are the opposite of economies of scale. Sometimes an increased output will not result in lower costs of production per unit but higher costs. Diseconomies usually occur when a business has become so big that it is no longer well managed. Diseconomies usually occur because of a breakdown of communication. In a large business it is often hard for the workers to find out who they should talk to about any problems they may encounter. This will often result in disputes between management and employees and the employees may feel less motivated to work hard. I do not believe that if Carlton and Granada were to merge they would suffer from any of these diseconomies of scale. This is because if anything the workers will become closer to the management as a result of this merger because the merged group should be more efficiently managed1**by better channels of communications between the two previous companies and decentralization which will bring decisions closer to the people that they affect. Stakeholders outside the businesses The main stakeholder group outside the two firms are the television viewers. Viewers should benefit from better television programmes. According to the article titled QA: ITV merger found in the appendix: The merger is intended to free up more money to plough into the schedules because better programmes bring in more viewers, which brings in more money from advertisers. A press release published by the boards of Carlton and Granada says that: Viewers will benefit from enhanced programming investment designed further to improve quality and choice. 1* Opinion is unanimous on the fact that the merger should bring better programmes for viewers, which provides a positive externality, and a good reason for the merger to go ahead.

Eggplant Domestication History and Genealogy

Eggplant Domestication History and Genealogy Eggplant (Solanum melongena), also known as aubergine or brinjal, is a cultivated crop with a mysterious but well-documented past. Eggplant is a member of the Solanaceae family, which includes its American cousins potatoes, tomatoes, and peppers). But unlike the American Solanaceae domesticates, eggplant is believed to have been domesticated in the Old World, likely India, China, Thailand, Burma or someplace else in southeast Asia. Today there are approximately 15-20 different varieties of eggplant, grown primarily in China. Using Eggplants The first use of eggplant was probably medicinal rather than culinary: its flesh still has a bitter after-taste if it is not treated properly, despite centuries of domestication experimentation. Some of the earliest written evidence for the use of eggplant is from the Charaka and Sushruta Samhitas, Ayurvedic texts written about 100 BC that describe the health benefits of eggplant. The domestication process increased the fruit size and weight of eggplants  and altered the prickliness, flavor, and flesh and peel color, a centuries-long process which is carefully documented in ancient Chinese literature. The earliest domestic relatives of eggplant described in Chinese documents had small, round, green fruits, while todays cultivars feature an incredible range of colors. The prickliness of the wild eggplant is an adaptation to protect itself from herbivores; the domesticated versions have few or no prickles, a trait selected by humans so that we omnivores can pluck them safely. Eggplants Possible Parents The progenitor plant for S. melongena is still under debate. Some scholars pinpoint S. incarnum, a native of North Africa and the Middle East, that developed first as a garden weed and then was selectively grown and developed in southeast Asia. However, DNA sequencing has provided evidence that S. melongena is likely descended from another African plant S. linnaeanum, and that that plant was dispersed throughout the Middle East and into Asia before becoming domesticated. S. linnaeanum produces small, round green-striped fruit. Other scholars suggest that the true progenitor plant has not been identified yet, but was probably located in the savannas of southeast Asia. The real problem in trying to resolve the domestication history of eggplant is that archaeological evidence supporting any eggplant domestication process is lackingevidence for eggplant simply hasnt been found in archaeological contexts, and so researchers must rely on a set of data that includes genetics but also a wealth of historical information. Ancient History of the Eggplant Literary references to eggplant occur in Sanskrit literature, with the oldest direct mention dated from the third century AD; a possible reference may date as early as 300 BC. Multiple references have also been found in the vast Chinese literature, the earliest of which is in the document known as the Tong Yue, written by Wang Bao in 59 BC. Wang writes that the one should separate and transplant eggplant seedlings at the time of the Spring equinox. The Rhapsody on Metropolitan of Shu, 1st century BC-1st century AD, also mentions eggplants. Later Chinese documentation records the specific changes that were deliberately wrought by Chinese agronomists in domesticated eggplants: from round and small green fruit to large and long-necked fruit with a purple peel. Illustrations in Chinese botanical references dated between the 7-19th centuries AD document the alterations in eggplants shape and size; interestingly, the search for a better flavor is also documented in Chinese records, as the Chinese botanists endeavored to remove the bitter flavor in the fruits. Eggplant is believed to have been brought to the attention of the Middle East, Africa and the West by Arabic traders along the Silk Road, beginning around the 6th century AD. However, earlier carvings of eggplants have been found in two regions of the Mediterranean: Iassos (within a garland on a Roman sarcophagus, ​the first half of the 2nd century AD) and Phrygia (a fruit carved on a grave stele, 2nd century AD). Yilmaz and colleagues suggest a few samples may have been brought back from Alexander the Greats expedition to India. Sources DoÄŸanlar, Sami. High resolution map of eggplant (Solanum melongena) reveals extensive chromosome rearrangement in domesticated members of the Solanaceae. Amy FraryMarie-Christine Daunay, Volume 198, Issue 2, SpringerLink, July 2014. Isshiki S, Iwata N, and Khan MMR. 2008. ISSR variations in eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) and related Solanum species. Scientia Horticulturae 117(3):186-190. Li H, Chen H, Zhuang T, and Chen J. 2010. Analysis of genetic variation in eggplant and related Solanum species using sequence-related amplified polymorphism markers. Scientia Horticulturae 125(1):19-24. Liao Y, Sun B-j, Sun G-w, Liu H-c, Li Z-l, Li Z-x, Wang G-p, and Chen R-y. 2009. AFLP and SCAR Markers Associated with Peel Color in Eggplant (Solanum melongena). Agricultural Sciences in China 8(12):1466-1474. Meyer RS, Whitaker BD, Little DP, Wu S-B, Kennelly EJ, Long C-L, and Litt A. 2015. Parallel reductions in phenolic constituents resulting from the domestication of eggplant. Phytochemistry 115:194-206. Portis E, Barchi L, Toppino L, Lanteri S, Acciarri N, Felicioni N, Fusari F, Barbierato V, Cericola F, Valà ¨ G et al. 2014. QTL Mapping in Eggplant Reveals Clusters of Yield-Related Loci and Orthology with the Tomato Genome. PLoS ONE 9(2):e89499. Wang J-X, Gao T-G, and Knapp S. 2008. Ancient Chinese Literature Reveals Pathways of Eggplant Domestication. Annals of Botany 102(6):891-897. Free download Weese TL, and Bohs L. 2010. Eggplant origins: Out of Africa, into the Orient. Taxon 59:49-56. Yilmaz H, Akkemik U, and Karagoz S. 2013. Identification of plant figures on stone statues and sarcophaguses and their symbols: the Hellenistic and Roman periods of the eastern Mediterranean basin in the Istanbul Archaeology Museum. Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry 13(2):135-145.

New Urbanism Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

New Urbanism - Research Paper Example Ryans article seems to be merely reporting, but contains an undercurrent of argument that things will be better by recreating the past in public places with new technology. Although Kunstler, Davis, and Ryan seem at odds with one another, they are arguing for the same thing: the revitalization of an urban America that will increase public happiness by re-integrating people with their environment and one another. James Kunstlers essay is essentially a lament for the America of the past. He makes his point by contrasting the American cities and towns of today with those of the past, with those of France, and with Disneyland. The reason that Americans find Disneyland so popular, he says, is that â€Å"The design quality of Disney World ... is about 1.5 notches better than the average American suburban shopping mall or housing subdivision† (Kunstler ). This is vastly different from the situation in France, where â€Å"the most mediocre French street quarter† is five times better (Kunstler ). The reason for this, Kunstler argues, is that after World War II Americans stopped building things to last. A related problem is that of zoning. Before World War II, zoning did not exist. Instead, people had â€Å"a popular consensus about the right way to assemble a town† (Kunstler ). This resulted in cities that reflected American culture, instead of a meaningless set of laws. As a solution to both problems—the decay of building to last and the rise of soulless zoning laws—Kunstler holds up what he calls Civic Art, but which our textbook calls New Urbanism. He defines the most important part of this movement as the neighborhood, which is â€Å"a five-minute walking distance †¦ from the edge to the center† and where â€Å"wheeled vehicles are permitted, but do not take precedence over human needs, including aesthetic needs† (Kunstler ). Only by moving away from the drab suburban sprawl which fills us with nostalgia and back to