Typhus Infectious Disease and South America Free Essays

Pandemics are disease that spread over a country or the world. Typhus is an example of a pandemic. Typhus is a bacterial disease that is spread by lice and fleas. We will write a custom essay sample on Typhus: Infectious Disease and South America or any similar topic only for you Order Now Brill Zinsser is the discoverer of the disease and typhus is also known as â€Å"Brill Zinsser Disease†. Two types of most common typhus are endemic and murine. Endemic typhus is usually seen in places with cold temperature, endemic typhus are sometimes called â€Å"jail fever† or â€Å"camp fever† because typhus killed hundreds of thousands of people of prisoners in the Nazi concentration camp in World War II. The other type of typhus is murine. Murine typhus is mostly seen during summer or fall. It mostly occurs in southern part of U. S and areas around the equator because the temperature is hot. Typhus is first recorded typhus epidemic was the Plague of Athens in 420 B. C. This epidemic killed a lot of people because so many people were infected. It had killed thousands of people during the Plague of Athens because of typhus. It was spreading throughout places because of the infected rat and mice. It was later spread to South America afterward. Some of the symptoms of typhus are backache, headache, muscle pain, and it also causes a red rash at the center of the chest few hours after infection. It also causes low blood pressure. There are also ways to prevent getting typhus. One way is to avoid areas with fleas and lice, another way is to just be clean, and use insecticide to kill lice. If people really have lice, they can boil their clothes for around 5 days to kill lice. There are few antibiotics treatments for typhus, doxycycline, tetracycline, and Chloramphenicol, which is the less common. Typhus had impacted society in many ways. It had changed many things in the society. Typhus had killed a lot of people throughout the history. It also led to many development of medicine. The medicines are still used in the society today to cure other disease. Since typhus mostly occur in places that have poor hygiene and dirty areas, now people aware more about their cleanness. This makes people keep their houses, areas clean so they can prevent typhus from affecting them. How to cite Typhus: Infectious Disease and South America, Papers

Human Resource Management for Thai Hotel- MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about theHuman Resource Managementfor Royal Thai Hotel. Answer: Introduction The Royal Thai Hotel is a prestigious hotel that is known for its wonderful services they offer to their customers. The aforesaid firm has existed in the market for 15 good years making it a very reputable organization in the hospitality management. This work will now delve on the management issues centering on the firm considering the fact at the firm has now got a new general manager. It will further evaluate the success of his mode of leadership in the firm in comparison with the previous management and how it impacts on the employees of this venture. In the case study, there are symptoms of problems within the hotel that may have led to its downfall as explained during its post-acquisition period. These symptoms will be fully explicated in this work and provisions of the recommendation. The Succeeding Managers Managing background This is about the general management background of new incoming manager following the acquisition of the Thai hotel by the American hotel company. The mindset of the new manager, Williamson, is that what has worked in all his previous management positions will work in this case too. He therefore went ahead to implement his management technique, which was based on employee empowerment (Hendry, 2012).He failed to ask or investigate on the cause of success of the pre-existing management technique and weigh its profitability and employee satisfaction with it. Even as he proposed the new management system, his subordinates did not argue but most of them agreed to the idea to support it and others, who were clearly dissatisfied, still could not disagree but simply nodded, showing clearly that they were still rooted to the pre-existing management technique in which the superiors word was final. This therefore shut him out on useful feedback on whether it was worth the change of management t echnique. Mind you that it is never the case that one management technique that succeeds in one organizational structure will succeed in all to which it will be applied. This move by the new General Manager to turn things around without proper evaluation of the past experience is therefore a symptom that there are problems in this work place (Legge, 1995). It is indeed clearly evident that there are multiple problems that besieges this firm as there are some lapses on the part of the management in that he cannot be able to easily get feedback from his employees as he set a wrong precedent to his staff and the organization. Lack of Proper Training on the New Management Techniques This is from the perspective of the employees of the Royal Thai Hotel. In as much as Manager Williamson knew that there was a different management technique before his taking over and that the employees had not been used to any other technique, he introduced his technique without prior exhaustive training of the employees (Fee, 2014).He did not make it clear enough on who was to do what in this structure and how to do it. This led into an environment in which the employees were simply guessing around on what decision was minor and which one was major. This is a symptom of a problem in this work place. Similarly, the manager failed to assign different employees role for efficacy of the organization. According to Ulrich, Brockbank, Yeung and Lake (1995) it is always important for the management to delegate duties and ensure that the employees have the capacity to dispense the said duty effectively. It has been observed that the type of management employed in any organization matters a lot as it determines the relationship of the staff and the management in the bid of attaining the objectives of the business. Misunderstanding of Decisions In the previous purely bureaucratic structure, the communication between the managers and subordinates was quite clear as the managers word was final and the subordinate had no say as all was expected of them was to follow instruction passed on from above. However, in the newly introduced less bureaucratic structure, the subordinate employee had a say in the decision-making process and therefore their opinion counted (Khanka, 2007).Misunderstanding came about during the down-top communication whereby the subordinate employees could not distinguish between a major and minor decision as they partook in the making of the decisions. More so, their superiors oftentimes reverted their decisions claiming that they were major decisions, hence they themselves could not understand the difference between them. Laurent (1986) asserts that this could be a symptom that there is a problem of lack of proper understanding of decisions at the various levels of the organizational structure. On the same breath, this results to differences which greatly affects the functionality of the activities in the venture. Once the employees find that it is very difficult for the management to take into consideration their plight they would tend to fully distant themselves from the management and as such the working environment would not be conducive to. inspire the workforce for better productivity. Lack of Motivation of the Subordinates As the new method of management was introduced, there was a significant number of managers that were not necessarily happy with the whole idea of empowerment as it would take away a considerable amount of their say over their subordinates. This is a sign of dissatisfaction and therefore a problem. As some of the subordinates went out of their way to take initiative and make good decisions to satisfy guest needs, their efforts were simply ignored by their superiors (Schuler and MacMillan, 1984). Their superiors did not commend them on their good work. This lack of positive feedback drained the subordinates morale and confidence and therefore, they stopped this practice and started depending on their superiors on decisions. This is a symptom of a problem in this work place due to the lack of subordinate motivation which hampered further innovative and creative ideas from the subordinates that could work for the good of the hotel. It is common knowledge that the role of the subordinate staff in any institution cannot be understated as they really play a major role in seeing to it that the organization realizes its goals (Sparrow, Brewster and Chung, 2016).It is for this reason that they are supposed to accord chance to air out some of the setbacks bedeviling the firm so as to expunge them for efficacy of the operations in the venture. Now that they are alienated from the superior this becomes the genesis of the firms failure as the employees at this particular level feel fully demotivated as their issues is not given prominence. Increasing Number of Guest Complains As time went by, the empowerment that the new manager, Williamson, thought would work for the good of the organization seemingly was working in contrast. The overall performance of the hotel began to deteriorate. Customer complaints became more formal and increased in writing by the day. The guests voiced their dissatisfactions to the employees and this was because the number of mistakes made by the employees was on the rise. This litany of complaints by the guests were a symptom of a significant problem in this work. They were symptoms of lack of proper decision-making skills by the subordinate employees which amounted to poor decisions that affected the guests experience in the hotel negatively (Storey, 2014). Negative Feedback by Local and Overseas Newspapers on the Service Standards of the Hotel Finally, with the increasing customer complaints and dissatisfaction about the hotels overall dwindling performance in service provision, another indication of a problem in this work place emerged. Two local and one overseas newspaper published negative feedback about the hotel (Purce, 2014). The empowerment that was introduced just increased the stress levels of the employees since they had no prior knowledge and training on the art of decision-making. Moreover, more of them took sick leaves from the organization and employee turnover reached an all-time high. The good working relationships that had been established during the previous management had been choked by this empowerment and employees settled on pointing fingers on each other instead of supporting each other. They were no longer united and backstabbing, instead of encouraging, became the order of the day whenever mistakes were made due to the decisions of some of the employees (Renwick, Redman and Maguire, 2013). This sev ere strain to the working relationships destroyed the togetherness of the employees, which is never a good thing to the success of any business. Williamson as the General Manager was profoundly distressed and therefore his leading morale was also dented. Message Disconnect In as much as empowering a workforce encourages employees to think, be innovative and creative on their own, it can be a significant cause of confusion by developing varied messages from the employees in a view to solve a problem. It is important to note that each employee has a best way to solve a problem and therefore what may work for one employee may not work for another, and rather than creating a cohesive company message, you can end up with different and fragmented messages from the different employees (Oke, 2016). The major differences in the system arises as a result of the staff not willing and able to cooperate together. This in turn would generally affect the service rendered to the customers as the staff would not work for a common goal of the organization due to their differences (Daniels, Wang, Lawong Ferris, 2017). In this case study, the subordinate employees decided to make decisions but their decisions were not corresponding to their superiors. This messaged disco nnect led to lack of understanding and demotivated the employees. Insufficient Training The problem of insufficient training of the subordinates and managers on decision making procedures has led to the downfall of the hotel as the employees could no longer handle the pressure of making sound decisions on their own without directions from above. Whenever the decisions failed.The employees could no longer handle it and therefore their stress levels went up to the point that the employees started taking sick leaves. There is always need for proper training which is geared towards empowering the staff for better production in the venture. However, lack of that makes it difficult for the staff to dispense their services well, as entropy will always be the order of the day due to the uncertainty in the system and how best one ought to conduct their work (Wilton, 2016). Once the top management has instituted a proper training in the organization, there is higher likelihood of the whole business in that firm to be carried out in a more professional way due to clear understandi ng of every ones role and duty (Korff, Biemann Voelpel, 2017). Reluctant Managers This is a problem that caused the demoralization of the subordinate employees in the sense that the decisions made by them were not taken into account whether or not they were profitable to the organization. More so, when Williamson proposed his new strategy of management by empowerment, some of the managers could not concur with him and only agreed to support it passively (Sparrow, Brewster Chung, 2016).This reluctance was one of the major issues that caused the organization to get the negative reviews, though indirectly. The reluctance showed only lack of preparation for this new change. The challenges in some empowered environments can come from the managers. Full involvement of the management in the ventures operations is very crucial as they do set the pace for working. Therefore, reluctance on their part may greatly hinder the productivity of the organization since they will be unwilling to support nay effort put in place by the current General Manager and thereby affecting th e whole system due to sabotage of the senior management who are the major driver of the organization. Conflict Conflict among the employees was the reason as to why the employees of the hotel could no longer handle the pressure as they were no longer united. All they did was backbiting each other and not building each other up in terms of improving their decision-making skills. In this sense, interpersonal relations may suffer because there can be a clash between employees (Budhwar Debrah, 2013). Indifference of the Incoming Manager The fact that the incoming manager, Williamson, never cared to check and see how the previous management method, which was authoritarian, worked for the good of the organization, was an act of indifference. This act of indifference is the problem that instantiated all the succeeding issues because it meant the manager walking into the position blindfold (Krishantha Mohan, 2016). He did not have sufficient information to act as a guide to his actions and the kinds of management decisions that he was yet to undertake. He simply equated his past management decisions that led to a successful experience to this and applied all the things he had done in the different environment to this, in a view to replicate success. This too is an act of negligence. The differences that exists between this manager seems to be the major factor that would affect the organization (Chen, Tang, Lee Jin, 2016). This is simply because the senior management are the ones who set pace for the activities to be c onducted in the organization. Most importantly they are the ones who oversee different activities and its feasibility in the organization (Wilton, 2016). This will also open a leeway for the subordinate staff to do their activities sluggishly knowing that there is no senior management who would be supervising their duty on basis and as such it may in incredibly affect the business. Cultural Indifference Williamson is well conversant with the US hotel development considering that he has worked in different capacity in the said field within the parameters of USA. However, he has very little knowledge on International Hospitality (Melton Meier, 2017). This is very explicit in the manner in which he employs his leadership style. It would be very prudent for Williamson to have known the previous way of administration before administering his to see how best he can be able to integrate every member of the organization with his new approach. It is always common knowledge that any new manager in a firm has to undergo some sort of challenges before adopting the current system in the organization (Ones, Viswesvaran Schmidt, 2017). Nonetheless, the cultural indifference may be averted if the manger is ready and willing to adjust to the previous approach so as to fully accommodate the divergent view from different parties in the venture. Conclusions and Recommendations I would recommend the following solutions to the problems and symptoms in this case study: Investigation on the benefit of the preceding method of administration. It is important that before implementing a new management style in a business, the management should have perfect knowledge of the previous one. This is important because it would ensure that the manager knows the feasibility of the new proposed system and its impact on the success and employee acceptance. Recognition approach: empowerment should involve recognition which in turn boosts the employee motivation and confidence to make new and better decisions each time. Some others define Empowerment as giving decision making authority to employees by managers. Any kind of participating management almost, treated as empowerment. Training-It is essential that the owners of any system are trained and given the right skill set to fit in and carry the new integrated system to success. Lack of training on proper decision making pr ocesses is one of the key factors that led to the downfall of the hotel in question. Educate the employees on the importance of the new system- this may boost employee acceptance of the new system as they are able to see the benefit that the proposed culture would have on their lives and the business. Through this education, they are able to own up the proposal and therefore view it as part of their responsibility and not just a single persons vision. References Budhwar, P.S. and Debrah, Y.A. eds., 2013.Human resource management in developing countries. Routledge. Chen, Y., Tang, G., Lee Cooke, F. and Jin, J., 2016. How Does Executive Strategic Human Resource Management Link to Organizational Ambidexterity? An Empirical Examination of Manufacturing Firms in China.Human Resource Management,55(5), pp.919-943. Daniels, S.R., Wang, G., Lawong, D. and Ferris, G.R., 2017. Collective assessment of the human resources management field: Meta-analytic needs and theory development prospects for the future.Human Resource Management Review,27(1), pp.8-25. Fee, M.C., 2014. Human resources management. Hendry, C., 2012.Human resource management. Routledge. Khanka, S.S., 2007.Human resource management. S. Chand Publishing. Korff, J., Biemann, T. and Voelpel, S.C., 2017. Human resource management systems and work attitudes: The mediating role of future time perspective.Journal of Organizational Behavior,38(1), pp.45-67. Krishantha, P.D.D.M. and Mohan, D.U., 2016. Level of Adaptation of Green Human Resource Management Practices in the Apparel Industry in Sri Lanka. Laurent, A., 1986. The cross?cultural puzzle of international human resource management.Human resource management,25(1), pp.91-102. Legge, K., 1995. What is human resource management? InHuman Resource Management(pp. 62-95). Macmillan Education UK. Melton, E.K. and Meier, K.J., 2017. For the Want of a Nail: The Interaction of Managerial Capacity and Human Resource Management on Organizational Performance.Public Administration Review,77(1), pp.118-130. Oke, L., 2016. Human resources management.International Journal of Humanities and Cultural Studies (IJHCS)? ISSN 2356-5926,1(4), pp.376-387. Ones, D.S., Viswesvaran, C. and Schmidt, F.L., 2017. Realizing the full potential of psychometric meta-analysis for a cumulative science and practice of human resource management.Human Resource Management Review,27(1), pp.201-215. Purce, J., 2014. The impact of corporate strategy on human resource management.New Perspectives on Human Resource Management (Routledge Revivals),67. Renwick, D.W., Redman, T. and Maguire, S., 2013. Green human resource management: A review and research agenda.International Journal of Management Reviews,15(1), pp.1-14. Schuler, R.S. and MacMillan, I.C., 1984. Gaining competitive advantage through human resource management practices.Human Resource Management,23(3), pp.241-255. Sparrow, P., Brewster, C. and Chung, C., 2016.Globalizing human resource management. Routledge. Sparrow, P., Brewster, C. and Chung, C., 2016.Globalizing human resource management. Routledge. Storey, J., 2014.New Perspectives on Human Resource Management (Routledge Revivals). Routledge. Ulrich, D., Brockbank, W., Yeung, A.K. and Lake, D.G., 1995. Human resource competencies: An empirical assessment.Human Resource Management,34(4), pp.473-495. Wilton, N., 2016.An introduction to human resource management. Sage.

The Night And A Long Way Gone By Ishmael Beah Essay Example For Students

The Night And A Long Way Gone By Ishmael Beah Essay Some of the most fabled stories of our time come from individuals overcoming impossible odds and surviving horrific situations. This is prevalent throughout the Holocaust. People are fascinated with this event in history because the survivors had to overcome immense odds. One, of many, of the more famous story about the Holocaust is Night by Elie Wiesel. Through this medium, Wiesel still manages to capture the horrors of the camps, despite the reader already knowing the story. In addition to him having to overcome difficult odds in order to survive for himself, he also had to care for his weakening father. A similar situation occurs in A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah, however, Ishmael accepts the situation and is able to defend himself. While they differ in their ability to defend themselves, they both relate in that they need to fight, both mentally and physically in order to survive. In both Night and A Long Way Gone, Ishmael Beah and Elie Wiesel are stripped of their identity and are forced to change and adapt in order to survive a new and hostile environment which changes them for the rest of their life.During the Holocaust, the prisoners were stripped on who they really are, due to no longer being able to express who they are. This is due to self-expression not being accepted in the camps. We will write a custom essay on The Night And A Long Way Gone By Ishmael Beah specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now All of the Holocaust prisoners were forced to wear the same exact clothing, with no exception. â€Å"We were handed winter clothing: striped shirts that were a bit heavier† (Wiesel 77). Most people represent themselves by wearing clothing that express themselves, but this restricts that expression. If any prisoner was seen showing any sign of individuality, they were punished with harsh beatings. â€Å".a Kapo came in to check if, by chance, some. .a. He, like Wiesel, does speeches for the people who want to listen to his wise words and amazing stories. Elie Wiesel and Ishamel Beah, as well as many others, had to change their character and who they are as a person simply to survive another day. They were stripped of a basic human right, their identity and had to adapt to this. They also had to change their morals and priorities in order to survive. Even after all the hardships they face, how traumatizing the events were can be difficult to live with. During the events as well, they feel regret on how they could have avoided the entire situation. However, if they survive, they often become stronger and successful from the stories they tell and the lessons they learn. While many people enjoy criticizing how people could have done things better to survive, it is much easier said than done, just ask these people.

The impact of Climatic Change on the Decline of Black French Truffle The WritePass Journal

The impact of Climatic Change on the Decline of Black French Truffle Introduction The impact of Climatic Change on the Decline of Black French Truffle ). However, the Tuber melanosporum is becoming scarcer, and there is a common idea that this scarcity is due to global change of the climate (Jolly, 2012). This has led to a sharp price increase of this rare commodity, but most of all is the concern of the gradual decline in its availability.   Europe, and more so, the Mediterranean basin has seen a steady decline of this rare species over the last 40 years (FAIR, 2000). This decline has been both in quantity, as well as quality, however this paper will examine the former. 1.3 Project Aims and Objectives This project’s principle aim is to collect and analyse data using both quantitative and qualitative methods to understand the increasing decline in the production of black truffles from France also referred to as Pà ©rigord truffle and Tuber melanosporum.   In this regard, the project will adopt cause-effect deductions, hypothesis testing, and observations to develop understanding this decline in truffle production and in particular whether it affects the natural occurring or cultivated truffles. A secondary aim of this project considers the reasons for the decline of production of the black French truffle. This project, through careful analysis of related research acknowledges the fact that there is a general decline in natural occurring truffle and that this decline is associated with various factors. The study seeks to identify the main reason for the decline in production and harvesting of black French truffles.   The study also aims at providing recommendations to ad dress the decline in truffle production. This study will be documented accurately in order to provide subsequent researchers with all the information necessary to further the development in this field of study. Literature Review In consideration of Truffles biological and ecological growth and development Smith and   Read (1997), assert that root symbionts are most significant in checking the ecosystem function   in most temperate forests of the world, and this includes the rare ectomycorrhizal fungi.   Their main function is the provision of the much needed trace minerals to the truffles as well as protection from drought, disease causing agents and pests (Garbaye, 2000; Govindarajulu et al., 2005). Smith and Read (1997) further add that truffles reciprocate provision of food and protection from disease with provision of carbon to the micro-organisms. The ecology in these temperate regions is complexly interconnected, the mushrooms that are produced by the micro-organisms and are significant sources of food for the animal populations in the forests (Carey et al., 2000). However, according to FAIR (2000), the black truffles production in Europe has dramatically declined over the last half century, this is both in quality as well as quantity.   Furthermore, efforts have been made to increase the vegetation that promote truffle growth, but the decline has persisted.   This trend had been identified earlier by Cherfas (1991), and in his research, he claimed that the decline had begun over 100 years ago in the natural habitat, in the temperate forests. The cause of this decline in the growth and development of black truffles has been the subject of inquiries and research. There is still little explanation for these long term decline in both natural and cultivated   truffle.  Ã‚   Research is needed to help understand this decline, the real difficulty lay in understanding the underground microbial since experimental environments fail to match the necessary real world conditions (Macdonald et al., 2005). As a matter of fact Lamon et al (2009) agree that there is scarcity of much needed extended observations of quantitative data generated from natural the natural setting. Chevalier et al. ( 2001), assert   that   both Tuber melanosporum and Tuber magnatum are the most valuable species in the market. These varieties are also the endangered species at the brink of extinction. Hall et al. (2001), in their findings explain that geographically, Tuber melanosporum naturally occurs   in France, Italy, Bulgaria and certain areas in Europe.   Martin, F. et al (2010), specifically examines the decline in the production of Tuber melanosporum, however, he also adds that they naturally occur in the Mediterranean   habitat.   Sourzat (2002), in the french publication, explains that T. melanosporum’s fruits best in its natural setting characterized by rocks, forests that are open that are generally warm with mild winter seasons, as well, as regular precipitation in the summers. In addition, best production is expected on the slopes where the produce receives protection from excessive cold and dry wind. According to Hall et al. (2001), research rev eals that truffià ¨res grown in rainy areas with lower temperatures and have not yielded any truffles. In fact, truffles of the T. melanosporum species grew best in climatic regions with between 600-1500 mm average precipitations, average temperatures of 18-21 degree Celsius in the summer and the winter, an average of 1-8 degree Celsius (Zambonelli Di Munno, 1992). It seems areas that continuously have frozen ground in the cold seasons are not suited for the growth of T. melanosporum because the fruits spoil when frozen. Fontana and Bonfante (1971) in their publication introduce the idea of growing truffle fungi in an artificial environment. They explain that this idea was to supplement the deficit of the produce collected in the natural habitat. This method was developed back in the 1970s indication that the decline of truffle had already been the cause of concern in the market. By the turn of the millennium,   truffle grown in orchards accounted for half of the truffle produced around the world (Hall et al., 2003). It also important to note that a majority of these orchards are developed within truffles natural geographic areas. Having highlighted the required natural habitats for the truffles, and in reference to their decline, there are several suggestions based on various research on this decline.   Cherfas (1991) traces back the history of this decline by asserting that the number of mushroom species gathered in every foray dropped from 72 to 38 between 1912 and 1982 in the Netherlands.   In the same publication, it is revealed that chanterelles in central European market in mid 1970s were found to have reduced in size 50 times than those in 1950s. Hall et al.(2003) in their publication reveal that, by the 20th Century, T. melanosporum in the French market had dropped to 2000 tons annually and a further decline was witnessed by the turn of the 21st Century by 150 tons. It is true that the truffle harvesting in France has been an affair by a small number of people who mainly collected them from their natural setting. As seen in the previous paragraph, there is an increase in production of truffles in orchards as a supplement to the dwindling natural supply. In a later publication Hall et al., (2007), affirm that the decline in natural truffle harvest has persisted and is at an all time low of between 12 to 150 tonnes per year from the 1000 to 2000 tonnes in the 1990s. The steady decline in the production of   truffle has led to the rise in price per unit over the last decade with an increase in demand (Lee, 2008). The decline of French Truffle has been a point of concern in the scientific research circles with some as Hall et al. (2003) in their study, pointing at water and air pollution, in addition to other factors including, the dynamism in forest structure and the lack of knowledge in traditional gathering as a result of world wars. Similar findings have been published in a report by Amaranthus (2007) citing destruction of truffle natural habitat, urban development, among the reasons for the decline. Such factors are most likely to continue reducing the production figures and specifically those in their natural settings (Amaranthus, 2007; Hall et al., 2007).   Garvey and Cooper (2004), in their report further allude that this decline in natural habitat has resulted in the production of truffles on cultivated farms where the trees or truffià ¨res are inoculated. However, these remedies cannot beat the native oak and hazel vegetation as the major producer of the French black truffles in F rance. In the recent years, the decline in truffle has been experienced in many regions of the world and especially the fast declining French black truffle or the Tuber melanosporum. However, it appears that most researchers are turning to climate as the main culprit. Bà ¼ntgen et al.(2012) in their study on drought induced truffle decline explains the effect of climate on the   production of truffle.   They claim in their research that the effect of climate can either be directly or through the truffles symbiotic host vegetation. This literature review delves much into this article because of its relevance to the topic. Bà ¼ntgen et al. (2012), provide in depth review on the yearly inventory of regional collection of truffle from Spain consisting of Aragà ³n, France mainly a Pà ©rigord or Tuber melanosporum, and Italy a combination of Piedmont and Umbria.   In this analysis, they indicate that the change in truffle production between 1970 and 2006 was similar between the species from Spain and France that is Aragà ³n and Pà ©rigord respectively. Their analysis also found a lack of similarities in changes of production between Pà ©rigord and Piedmont–Umbria from France and Italy respectively. This observation from the regional-scale coherency is consistent with Sourzat (2002) observation that western mediterranean basin is the home of truffle fruiting.   In addition, the harvests of Aragà ³n and Pà ©rigord have revealed significant correlation, this the authors relate to the similarity in summer precipitation, whereas lack of correlations was found between Piedmont and Umbria production and precipitation (Bà ¼ntgen et al., 2012). The difference in levels of sensitivity here is understandable because the Piedmont and Umbria experience double summer precipitation than Spanish Aragà ³n with Pà ©rigord ranging in between (Zambonelli Di Munno, 1992). The average of   the three, truffle production outcomes, their regional mean correlated both p ositively and negatively at higher significant level of 99.9 percent with between June and August rainfall totals as well as maxima temperatures. The authors, Bà ¼ntgen et al.(2012), posits in their analysis that both the natural and the cultivated truffles in the Mediterranean are seasonal and are subjected to the season between November and February a claim supported by Mello et al., (2006).   In addition, this is dependent on the summer condition with rainy and cold weather instrumental in the fruit body development as supported by Gallot, (1999) in his publication more than a decade prior to Bà ¼ntgen et al., (2012).   Bà ¼ntgen et al. (2012) postulate that given the relationship between fungi and host vegetation, there is bound to be competition for moisture due to the amount of rainfall in this season and this correlate significantly at 99.9 percent level with the yield. Fischer and Schr, (2010) present a suite of a dozen climatic models leading to rise in mean temperatures and decrease in rainfall totals for the Mediterranean region until the end of the 21st Century. This is indicative of the increased summer eva potranspiration. It is interesting to note that the simulated southwest European climatic conditions representing the last ten years are consistent to the drop in the production of truffle harvest (Bà ¼ntgen et al., 2012).   Nonetheless, Bà ¼ntgen et al. (2012),   state that it is unclear whether the truffle will reach tipping points as a result of the projected shift in climate, this is regard to their physiological and biogeochemical fruit body development. In their assumption, the expected or projected summer dryness will result in a sustained decline, in truffle yield, while the regions north of Alpine arc are most likely to provide suitable habitat for the truffle due to their calcareousness. Based on their observations, Bà ¼ntgen et al.(2012), are inclined to the idea that climatic change and more so reduced summer precipitation and   increased temperatures are the cause for truffle yields in the Mediterranean basin the natural habitat of T. melanosporum. Mello et al. (2006), in their analysis claim that the reduction in future summer rainfall coupled with summer aridity will result in drought resistant strain of T. melanosporum within its natural setting or distribution range. Samils, et al, (2008) in their research predict that the expected drop in truffle harvest in the Mediterranean   region, will have a significant impact not only on   the local tourism, but the agriculture as well as the global prices of this valuable commodity.   This is most likely to increase the value of other varieties with artificial metabolism and not specific to the requirements of their ecological niche   as the T. melanosporum (Mello et al., 2006;Gallot, 1999). This might see an increase in T. aestivum cultivation in areas where traditionally T. melanosporum was predominant as well as an increase in demand of truffle from non-traditional T. melanosporum producing regions outside Europe (Bà ¼ntgen et al., 2012). Splivallo et al. (2012), in their analysis of the Burgundy truffle, suggest that the change in climatic conditions that were said to have begun a century ago has no impact on the current burgundy truffle distribution.   However, they concur with Bà ¼ntgen et al.(2012) on the impact of climatic change on species with narrower ranges such as the French black truffle, Pà ©rigord or Tuber melanosporum, and Italy a combination of Piedmont and Umbria. They support this by claiming that if the climate fails to restrict the distribution of these two species, then even a slight temperature increase in northern Europe as predicted by Bà ¼ntgen et al. (2012) might result in its northern expansion. They confirm what Chevalier et al.(2001) had outlined that rainfall, soil composition are also factors that contribute to the decline in the production of Pà ©rigord. Splivallo et al. (2012), concur with Bà ¼ntgen et al.(2012) assertion that other options will be needed to avert the looming sho rtage of this truffle species,   success cultivation lies in orchard farming as a change from the current empirical practices. They claim that cultivation of truffle in a bid to mitigate the effects of climate change which is a major cause of the decline should be based on scientific evidence. Therefore, the rise in temperature, in its self, will not be sufficient for the shift of truffle production in the northern European region (Splivallo et al., 2012). Methodology and Procedure 3.1 Research Design This study will adopt a mixed methods research design. This process entails collecting and analysing data using both quantitative and qualitative methods to understand the research problem comprehensively. When both qualitative and quantitative methods are combined in research, they supplement each other allowing a comprehensive analysis of the research problem (Tashakkori Teddlie, 2003). According to Charles Mertler (2002), quantitative methods deal with numerical data using cause-effect deductions, hypothesis testing, and observations to develop an understanding of the research issue. On the other hand, qualitative methods require the researcher to develop a complete picture of the research issues by conducting an in-depth analysis of words, as well as, compiled reports by the study participants. In this approach, the researcher adopts a constructivist approach to have a complete understanding of the problem centred on different contextual aspects (Charles Mertler, 2002). In the mixed research methods, the uses pragmatic philosophy by affirming that truth is what works. Therefore, mixed methods integrate both text and numerical data to give a clear overview of the research problem. In this regard, this study will use surveys and interviews since they are the most popular data collection research tools (Creswell, 2002). In the first step of data collection, a web-based survey will be used, and data analysed using discriminant function. The qualitative method will involve semi-structured interviews to collect textual data from people to regarding the decline of Truffles. 3.2   Research Sample The target population sample will be about 1,200 environmentalists and hoteliers in France regarding the decline of truffles. These individuals are people who have been working in the hotel and environmental sectors in France. For the first quantitative stage of the research, a convenience sample will be chosen comprising individuals studying truffles decline, locals, and environmentalists, as well as, hoteliers. For the qualitative phase of the research, a smaller sample will be used to   understand the main issue regarding the decline of French truffle (Creswell, 2002, p. 194). This is to ensure the selected participants will give appropriate answers to the research questions. Besides, for the qualitative part of the research, participants will be notified of their selection for voluntary follow-up individual interviews. Given the use of mixed methods research in the study, selection of participants for the qualitative part will rely on the outcomes of the quantitative stage. The use of this approach will ensure the researcher gets a multidimensional outlook of the research problem. For this research, the participants will be chosen centred on the statistically significant difference outcomes of the discriminant function analysis. 3.3 Data Collection For the quantitative phase of the research, a cross-sectional survey will be used; this implies that statistics will be gathered at one point in time (McMillan, 2000). The survey used for this research will be of different formats including multiple choices, yes/no questions, self-evaluation items, and open-ended questions. The questionnaire will comprise twenty four questions divided equally into six sections. The first section will contain questions regarding truffles and the participant’s understanding of truffles measured on a 7-point Likert scale. The second part will evaluate the participants’ awareness regarding the decline of truffles using a 7-point scale. The third part will provide information regarding the factors participants believe to cause a decline in truffles. The current issues regarding management of truffles will constitute the fourth part while the fifth segment will provide data answering how ecological factors influence truffles survival. Demogra phic questions will be in the sixth part of the survey regarding data about the participants’ age, residency, gender, and employment among others. Besides, the final question in the survey will be open-ended asking for additional information about truffles decline in France. The survey will be web-based accessible through a URL address given to the participants. For the qualitative method, in-depth semi-structured face-to-face interviews will be used to collect data. Half of the research sample will be interviewed regarding the research question. Historical texts will be further used to validate the data collected from the interviews. The interviews will include twenty open-ended questions pilot-tested before the interviews. The interviews questions will be formulated based on the results from the quantitative method. During the interview, the participants will be debriefed to obtain reliable information for the interview questions though, they will be issued with the questions prior to the interviews. The interviews will be tape recorded with the participants’ consent and a copy of the transcript emailed to them after the interview. The respondents will also be allowed to review their answers for the interview transcripts to ascertain their correctness. 3.4 Data Analysis Prior to the statistical analysis of the survey results, the data will be screened on both univariate and multivariate levels. This will help the research detect any multicollinearity in the collected data. Any data that shows a high probability in another category will be excluded during the analysis since they may give a poor model fit (Tabachnick Fidell, 2000). The research’s data screening will entail descriptive statistics for the variables, linearity and homoscedasticity, normality, multivariate outliers, multicollinearity and singularity. The descriptive statistics will be tabulated, and a frequencys analysis conducted to determine the validity of the survey questions. The discriminant function analysis will be used to determine the proportion by which the variables differ, and classify the functions into predictable groups. The results will then be reported in the form of discussion. Nonetheless, all the statistical analyses will be conducted using Statistical Package for Social Sciences software (SPSS) version 11.0. In most qualitative research, data collection and analysis progress concurrently. For the qualitative analysis, data collected from the interviews will be coded and analysed for premises using the Qualitative Software and Research (QSR) N6 for qualitative data analysis. Furthermore, a visual data display will be used to identify the relationship in the data collected from the interviews. Data analysis for this phase of the research will involve creating a comprehensive description of the results; the researcher situates the cases in its context to make the case descriptions, and premises related to particular activities in the study’s outcomes (Creswell Maitta, 2002). The researcher will construe the meaning of the results and describe them in the discussion section of the research proposal. Bibliography Amaranthus, M., 2007. Independent Truffle Expert’s Report in Product Disclosure Statement for   the Oak Valley Truffle Project. Oak Valley Project. Bà ¼ntgen, U. et al., 2012. Drought-induced decline in Mediterranean truffle harvest. Nature   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Climate Change, 2, pp.827-29. Carey, A.B., Colgan, W., Trappe, J.M. Molina, R., 2000. Effects of forest management on truffle abundance and squirrel diets. Northwest Science , 76, pp.148–57. Charles, C.M. Mertler, C.A., 2002. Introduction to educational research. 4th ed. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon. Cherfas, J., 1991. Disappearing mushrooms: Another mass extinction?. Science, pp.254: 1448. Chevalier, G., Gregori, G., Frochot, H. Zambonelli, A., 2001. The cultivation of the Burgundy truffle. In Proc Second Intl Conf on Edible Mycorrhizal Mushrooms. Christchurch: Crop Food Research Limited. pp.1-12. Creswell, J.W., 2002. Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative approaches to research. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill/Pearson Education. Creswell, J.W. Maitta, R., 2002. Qualitative research. In N. Salkind, ed. Handbook of research   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   design and social measurement. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. pp.143-84. FAIR, 2000. Improvement of the organoleptic quality of European truffles (EUROTRUFFE). Cooperative Research Measures. Fischer, E.M. Schr, C., 2010. Nature. Geoscience, 3, pp.398–403. Fontana, A. Bonfante, P., 1971. Mycorrhizal synthesis between Tuber brumale Vitt.and Pinus nigra Arnold. Allionia, 17, pp.15-18. Gallot, G., 1999. La truffe. INRA. Garbaye, J., 2000. The role of ectomycorrhizal symbiosis in the resistance of forests to water stress. Outlook on Agriculture , 29, pp.63-69. Garvey, D. Cooper, P., 2004. Increasing the productivity of truffià ¨res in Tasmania. RIRDC. Govindarajulu, M. et al., 2005. Nitrogen transfer in the arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis. Nature   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   , 435, pp.819-23. Hall, I.R., Brown, G.T. Zamboneli, A., 2007. Taming the Truffle. The History Lore and   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Science of the Ulimate Mashroom. Timber Press. Hall, I., Byars, J. Brown, G., 2001. The Black Truffle: Its History, Uses and Cultivation. Christchurch: New Zealand Institute for Crop Food Research Limited. Hall, I., Yun, W. Amicucci, A., 2003. Cultivation of edible ectomycorrhizal mushrooms. Trends in Biotechnology, 21, pp.433–438. Jolly, D., 2012. $1,200 a Pound, Truffles Suffer in the Heat. [Online] Available at: nytimes.com/2012/12/21/business/global/is-climate-change-shrinking-the-luxury-truffle-crop.html?_r=0 [Accessed 2 December 2013]. Lamon, L. et al, 2009. Environmental Science Technology, 43, pp.5818–5824. Lee, B., 2008. Taking Stock of the Australian Truffle Industry. Barton: Canprint. Macdonald, R.W., Harner, T. Fyfe, 2005. Macdonald, R. W., Harner, T. Fyfe, J. Sci. Total Environ. J. Sci. Total Environ., 342, pp.5–86. Martin, F. et al, 2010. Tuber melanosporum. Nature , 464, pp.1033–38. McMillan, J.H., 2000. Educational research: Fundamentals for the consumer. 3rd ed. New York: Addison-Wesley Longman. Mello, A., Murat, C. Bonfante, P., 2006. FEMS Microbiol.. Lett, 260, pp.1–8. Ruffles Estate, 2013. An Internationally Recognised Gourmet Experience. [Online] Ruffles Estate Available at:   HYPERLINK http://canberratruffles.com.au/ http://canberratruffles.com.au/   [Accessed 2 December 2013]. Samils, et al, 2008. Econ. Bot., 62, pp.331–40. Smith, S. Read, D.J., 1997. Mycorrhizal Symbiosis. London: Academic Press. Sourzat, P., 2002. Guide pratique de trufficulture. Station dexpà ©rimentation sur la truffe. Le Montat: Lyćee professionnel agricole et viticole de Cahors. Splivallo, R. et al., 2012. Is climate change altering the geographic distribution of truffles. Front   Ecol Environ, 10, pp.461–62. Tabachnick, B.G. Fidell, L.S., 2000. Using multivariate statistics. New York: Allyn Bacon. Tashakkori, A. Teddlie, C., 2003. Handbook on mixed methods in the behavioral and social   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   sciences. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Zambonelli, A. Di Munno, R., 1992. Indagine sulla possibilit di diffusione dei rimboschimenti con specie tartufigene: aspetti tecnico-colturali ed economici. 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Lab5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Lab5 - Essay Example The coal is received in chunk form and is then crushed into powder and blown into a burner where it combusts and produces heat of about 1000 degrees. The heat made is used to heat water into steam. The steam is then used to revolve the blades of a turbine. The turning motion then generates electricity by releasing electrons into a circuit (exp.lcc.edu). The smoke seen is coming from the plant is actually the gases of combustion e.g. carbon dioxide. According to (Edward & Grossman, 18) the two major concerns of burning coal includes pollution caused by emissions of contaminants like sulfur dioxide nitrogen oxides and mercury. To control this kind of gas pollution, the plant uses electrostatic precipitators that have electrically charged plates and wires. These are used to attract airborne contaminates as the hot air passes through it thus controlling pollution of the atmosphere (exp.lcc.edu). The cost of electricity usually depends on the number of people living in a house. My bill shows that we pay $1.50 per day for electricity. This cost can be reduced by turning off the lights when, not in use, also using energy saving light bulbs and electronics that are in good working condition in the house. The Lansing Board is a plant that supplies drinking water, fire protection and electricity to the citizens of Lansing. The board is a municipally owned utility, and it is different since it is a public utility and the customers own the system. The citizens of Lansing own the plant since they are the plant’s customers. The plant does not make any profit a quality that also makes it different from other power producing plants (lbwl.com). To conserve water, I would fix leaking faucets and use a cup when brushing teeth. A lot of water usually goes to waste when brushing since we leave the water running the whole time. Using a cup saves water that could otherwise be

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Solution - Case Study Example However, this initiative was not successful and the league died after one season leading to a loss in the club. In addition, the company has also engaged in movie production through use of the varied characters in the WWE. Further, the company has also launched smart phone applications for the WWE programs aimed at boosting the company revenue. However, despite these ambitious business strategies, WWE has faced various strategic problems. To start with, the increased focus on social media has had a negative impact on business strategy of the company. Many non-televised shows were introduced in the official WWE website, You Tube and Facebook attracting a large number of viewers. As a result of the excessive online focus, other extension brands were limited. Secondly, there is reduced number of divas matches that have been focused on non-televised dark matches hence not receiving enough reaction from a wide WWE fan base. The competitive forces surrounding the WWE are vast but limited considering the fact that WWE is a sports entertainment industry. To start with, the supplier power in relation to the number of well known actors used to perform live performances is limited. This is because other rival firms such as TNA and WCW (later bought by WWE) also compete for the few outstanding performers. Secondly, WWE has a wide customer base hence reducing the buyer power. This was mainly achieved by expanding their audience by making shows that were more acceptable among families. Thirdly, WWE faces limited competitive rivalry in the industry because of adopting business strategies that have been hardly matched by other competing firms. On this note, the WWE was able to compete WCW effectively and even bought the firm later. Of more significance, WWE faces minimal substitution threat in the market. This is because the firm presents wrestling as a form of

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Personality psyc - Research Paper Example Jung believed that personality formation was due to archetypes in the unconscious mind that contributed to the development and balance of the psyche. Erikson's theory of psychosocial development places a strong emphasis on social development in conjunction with sexual factors. In contrast to Erikson, Jung believed that personality formation was shaped by memories and feelings that are stored in the individual's unconscious mind. Similar to Freud, Jung felt that there is a connection between the conscious and unconscious mind. In comparison, Erikson placed a stronger emphasis on environmental factors that affect the individuals' personality development. According to Dacy, Lennon & Kathleen (1998), "The whole (conscious and unconscious mind) then becomes an unusual believed that this process lends continuity to human existence while providing progressive advances to the human journey" (213). Both Erikson and Jung emphasized the development of the ego in different ways. Jung believed that the ego was the unconscious mind (Boeree, 2006). Erikson's theory of personality development concurs with Jung's on the notion of the ego. However, Erikson believed that parts of the ego are able to work independently of both the super ego and the id. In further, Erikson believed that the ego was able to adapt to situations. ... According to Boerre (2006), "It is the reservoir of our experiences as a species, a kind of knowledge we are all born with. And yet we can never be directly conscious of it." The collective unconscious effects the way people behave as the collective unconscious stores unconscious memories and feelings. Jung observed that the collective unconscious is similar in individuals regardless of cultures. For example, near death experiences are described summarily by individuals of different cultures. In many cases people that have a near death experience describe a happy place or seeing their passed loved ones. Erikson concluded that the individual's personality was formed based upon the resolution with eight psychosocial stages of development. Through the completion of the stage which is developmentally appropriate the individual either learns to accept the task or develops neurosis. In comparison to Freud's psychoanalytic theory, Erikson believed that the personality is continuously forming. Throughout each of the eight stages a new virtue is learned. The various virtues include hope, willpower, purpose, competence, love, care, wisdom and fidelity. However, the ego is never fully developed. According to Clifton (1995), "Developing trust is the first task of the ego and it is never complete." The first task of the ego is developed in trust vs. mistrust, Erikson's first stage of psychosocial development. At the resolution of this stage the new baby will either develop trust or mistrust. Differences: Jung's Archetypes in the unconscious mind/Erikson Jung believed that people had archetypes. Archetypes are parts of the collective unconscious. Archetypes further explain the unconscious drives people experience. Jung believed that