Characteristics of Spiders

Characteristics of Spiders Spiders are the largest entirely carnivorous group of animals on the planet. Without spiders, insects would reach pest proportions throughout the entire world. A spiders looks, preferred foods, and prey-capturing skills set it apart from other arachnids. What Do Spiders Look Like? Spiders are not insects. Like insects and crustaceans, they belong to a subgroup  within the phylum arthropod, which means they are invertebrates and have an exoskeleton. Spiders belong to the  class Arachnida. Like all arachnids, spiders have just two body regions, a cephalothorax, and an abdomen. In spiders, these two body regions join at a narrow waist, called a pedicel. The abdomen is soft and unsegmented, while the cephalothorax is harder and includes the eight legs that spiders are known for. Most spiders have eight simple eyes, although some have less or even none at all. Not all arachnids are spiders. Spiders belong to the order Araneae.  Scorpions and daddy longlegs, which are usually confused for spiders, belong to different orders. Preferred Food Spiders prey on other organisms, usually insects. Spiders use a wide range of strategies to capture prey: trapping it in sticky webs, lassoing  it with sticky balls, mimicking the prey to avoid detection or running it down. Most detect prey mainly by sensing vibrations, but active hunters have acute vision. Spiders can only consume liquids, as they lack chewing mouthparts. They use chelicerae, pointed appendages, like fangs at the front of the cephalothorax, to grasp prey and inject venom. Digestive juices break down the food into liquid, which can be ingested by the spider. Web-Making Silk All spiders make silk. Usually, the spinnerets that make the silk are under the tip of the abdomen, allowing them to spin a long strand of silk behind them. Spider Habitat More than 40,000 species of spiders inhabit the earth. They are found on every continent except for Antarctica and have become established in nearly every habitat, with the exceptions of air and sea colonization. They have been found in the Arctic as well. The vast majority of spiders are terrestrial, although a few specialized species live in fresh water. Common Spiders Some of the most common spiders include: Orb weavers, known for weaving large, circular websCobweb spiders, including the venomous black widowWolf spiders,  large spiders that hunt at nightTarantulas, huge, hairy hunting spidersJumping spiders,  tiny spiders with big eyes and bigger personalities Interesting Spiders There are some spiders that have interesting features that set them apart. Female flower crab spiders, also known as Misumena vatia, change colors from white to yellow to match flowers, where they lie in wait for pollinators to eat. Spiders of the genus Celaenia resemble bird droppings, a clever camouflage that keeps them safe from most predators. The ant spiders of the family Zodariidae are so named because they mimic ants. Some use their front legs to mimic antennae. The magnificent spider, so called the Ordgarius magnificus, tricks its moth prey by setting a silk trap with a pheromone. The pheromone mimics a moths reproductive hormones, which lures male moths with the prospect of a female.   Sources: Insects: Their Natural History and Diversity, by Stephen O. Marshall

Famous Inventors and Inventions - E

Famous Inventors and Inventions - E Charles Eames - Ray Eames Ranked among the most important of industrial designers. They are best known for their groundbreaking contributions to architecture, furniture design, industrial design, manufacturing, and the photographic arts. George Eastman Invented dry, transparent, and flexible photographic film Presper Eckert Behind the history of the ENIAC computer. Harold E Doc Edgerton Doc Edgerton invented high-speed stroboscopic photography. Thomas Edison All of Thomas Edisons major inventions. Also - The Life of Thomas Edison, Biography of Thomas Edison, An Animated Luncheon Brendan Eich Created JavaScript. Gustave Eiffel Built the Eiffel Tower for the Paris Worlds Fair of 1889, which honored the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. Albert Einstein Einstein developed the special and general theories of relativity and won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921. Einsteins theories lead to the invention of nuclear power and the atomic bomb. Gertrude Belle Elion Invented the leukemia fighting drug 6-mercaptopurine, drugs that facilitated kidney transplants and drugs for the treatment of cancer. Thomas Elkins African American inventor - view his three U.S. patents. Philip Emeagwali In 1989, Emeagwali won the Gordon Bell Prize for inventing software for supercomputers. John Emmett Received a patent for Tagamet - inhibits the production of stomach acid. Douglas Engelbart Invented the computer mouse and the first GUI software before Microsoft or Apple. John Ericsson The history of the propelling steam vessels. Oliver Evans Pioneered the high-pressure steam engine. Ole Evinrude Invented the outboard motor. Try Searching by Invention If you cannot find what you want, try searching by invention. Continue Alphabetically: F Starting Last Names

Advanced Networking Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Advanced Networking - Coursework Example The huge size of the organisation can be guessed by its year 2007 volume of credit and debit card transactions which grossed to 4 billion.The organisation is looking for evaluation and strategies to improve grey in the fields of Fault management, Configuration Management, Network management, Security Management and Account Management. Finally, the organisation is interested in developing a network Management tool to automate & simplify the areas mentioned before. This paper attempts to provide a strategic solution in all the areas of Fault management, Configuration Management, Network management, Security Management and Account Management.Fault Management is defined as the process of monitoring, identifying, correcting the errors in any system. The Fault management is of two types - Passive and Active. The Passive fault management is also knows the breakdown management as in this case the designated person or system does not work towards correcting the fault until the system has brok en down.In case of the active fault management, the complete system is monitored by an automated system which keeps on checking all the network connections and keeps sending the report to an operator. The operator, through a set of parameter values, determines if the values are in "safe" range else the remedial action can be taken before the breakdown of the system happens. The Fault Management systems are designed to operate in auto modes i.e. the system takes action on its own to correct the problem or else it sends an SMS, automated call to the escalation for any kind of human intervention to correct the problem. The following schematic diagram explains this system more clearly. Diagram 1: Schematic of the Active Fault Management System Following techniques are used to repair the faults identified in the network of the IT System - Remove / neutralize fault, using redundancy Retry without intervention (time redundancy) Reconstruct data/state (data redundancy) Work-around (configuration redundancy) Substitution (code redundancy) Tolerate fault: reduce service quality Reduce speed, reduce precision Use default, omit faulty parts Supportive functionality: Checkpointing - Dynamic Reconfiguration Organization of Fault Management at XYZ enterprise XYZ enterprise would be using all the techniques mentioned in the previous section to efficiently handle the Faults at the enterprise's complex system. The management would be pro-active with the agreed safe parameters along with formal documentation on the escalation procedure. Configuration Management Configuration Management is defined as the process of managing the software source code or any "configuration" items in its integrated format. All the changes to the configurable items are version controlled and are stored in software which allows the configurable items to be updated only after a set of processes are followed. Configuration Management helps to identify at any point of time, the current software code version, essential characteristics of the codes and any dependencies amongst the codes, if any. Unless, there is a methodology to manage the software codes, the changes to software can be a minor discomfort to a major issue with a potential to bring down the mission critical business applications. Another important use of the Configuration Management process is the reduction of development effort in applications by re-using the existing software available in the organisation. The identification of the characteristics of the existing source in the organisat

DQ 10 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

DQ 10 - Essay Example The woman was jealously, controlling and cruel. The stepmother treated her stepdaughter in a cruel manner when compared to her own daughter. This can be seen from the paper clothing that she gave to the stepdaughter compared to the wool clothing that she gave to her own daughter when they went to harvest strawberries. In society, numerous issues and cases have been reported on the misunderstanding and attitudes between stepdaughters and stepmothers towards other members of the family. Even though the attributed is limited, it actual occurs with the society. The three dwarfs are the main male characters. The male characters read and understood the personality of the two daughters resulting in rewarding the good one while punishing the evil one. The male characters illustrate the importance of differentiating, understanding what is wrong from what is good, and proposing the appropriate strategy to acknowledged the virtues. From the story, it is evident good deeds are rewarded while the evil deeds are punished. The stepdaughter was rewarded since she had positive attributes while the stepmother was punished because she had negative attributes. Through life, the interpretation has not changed since it is a common approach that is employed in appreciating and punishing

Active Directory Benefits Essay Example for Free

Active Directory Benefits Essay Active Directory is Microsofts trademarked directory service, an integral part of the Windows 2000 architecture. Like other directory services, such as Novell Directory Services (NDS), Active Directory is a centralized and standardized system that automates network management of user data, security, and distributed resources, and enables interoperation with other directories. Active Directory is designed especially for distributed networking environments. A better representation of the network Centralization sums up my primary reason for implementing Active Directory. The Active Directory structure makes it possible for you to achieve truly centralized management of users, regardless of how big your client’s network has become. If youve worked with Windows NT before, you know that in Windows NT a domain is a completely independent entity. While its possible to create a trust relationship between domains that exist on a common network, the domains are never truly integrated with each other because there is no higher authority that manages the domains. Forests Active Directory uses domains, but rather than each domain remaining independent, you can place multiple domains in an AD forest. This brings the entire network under the control of a single domain that oversees the others. AD allows an administrator of a forest to administer multiple domains, reducing cost and complexity while providing greater security. This also can help to reduce the number of domain controller servers in the organization. User Management Active Directory forest architecture allows communication between domains and facilitates centralized user management. The users in one domain are known to the forest domain controller, improving the flexibility of user credential management. This allows much more flexibility for employees who must travel from site to site, each with its own domain. An employee in Domain A that travels to Domain B can just log in with his normal  credentials and gain access to his network resources. Organizational Units The Active Directory structure includes support for organizational units (OU) that represent business units within the organization. AD allows an administrator to delegate some amount of authority for administering organization units. For example, an AD administrator can delegate the authority to reset passwords to the administrative assistant in the Sales department OU. This relieves the network administrator and the help desk of spending time on routine tasks. Rights Management AD provides Rights Management Services to protect files and other resources from unauthorized access. Administrators grant file access and control rights for authorized users and unauthorized users are prevented from accessing those files. This is an essential feature for organizations that require higher levels of security

Jane Eyre Essay -- essays papers

Jane Eyre The novel, Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte delivers a strong feminist message. Jane was a strong woman in a time when women were not meant to be strong. She was very out spoken (even as a child) and very sure in her values and opinions. She would not change them for anyone. She did not even let men control her, which is what was expected of women in this era. Jane’s father died when she was a little girl, leaving her basically on her own. The only kin she had that she knew of was an aunt that saw her as nothing but a burden and treated her cruelly. Her three cousins were just as bad, which further distressed her situation. Jane’s only escape from living with these awful people was the solitude she found in books. Any time she had spare time she would read. It is Jane’s love for reading and the knowledge she gained from them that gives her the power to finally stand up to her aunt. Her aunt ultimately gets rid of Jane by sending her to a very strict boarding school designed for orphans called Lowood. At Lowood Jane befriends a girl by the name of Helen Burns. When she first meets Helen, she sees her being punished in front of her entire class for virtually no reason. After witnessing this incident, Jane talks to Helen about it because she does not understand why she did not resist the teacher she says: You are good to those who are good to you. It is all I ever desire to be. If people were always kind and obedient to those who are cruel and unjust, the wicked people would have it all their own way: they would never feel afraid, and so they would never alter, but would grow worse and worse. When we are struck at without a reason, we should strike back again very hard; I am sure we sho... ...he now has complete financial independence which I believe makes her more secure in returning to Thornfield because she is in need of nothing but peace of mind in knowing that Mr. Rochester is alright. When she gets to Thornfield she finds it burnt to the ground. Mr. Rochester has gone blind and is very deformed after he went into the fire to try and save his wife from the burning house. His attempt had failed and his wife died. So in the end, Jane can now be with the person that she loves - Mr. Rochester. The irony of their marriage is that Jane will be the one taking care of Mr. Rochester instead of the other way around. Throughout the novel, Jane stands up for what she believes in even though in some cases it hurts her very badly. By her not being scared to do what it takes to follow her beliefs she went from a girl who had nothing to a woman who had it all.

Leadership in Ford

Influence of organizational contexts on leadership in Ford in the US and Europe. Introduction Nowadays organizational context is very important, because leaders have to make decisions relying on big amounts of information, which changes every day. Moreover depending on various situations leadership theories work different, it makes hard to predict the consequences of decisions relying only on theory. Depending on organizational context different leadership style can be used.Throughout the history of Ford, company distinguished itself by iron control of Henry Ford the first and the second. Their â€Å"great man† approach brought success to Ford, but eventually this approach became ineffective due to globalization and changing environment. This resulted in the need for followers of Henry Ford the second to introduce the big change for company, change in leadership approach and organizational culture. In addition Ford opened branches almost all over the world, so new approaches, vision and leadership is needed.This essay will cover questions about different styles of leadership in Ford in the US and Europe, key contextual issues that impact on strategic leadership in Ford and will consider main contextual challenges for Ford leaders. Depending on the context effective leader must be able to adopt his style to the demands and changing environment (Northouse, 2010). Question one The contextual issues significantly impact on strategic leadership. Two main contextual issues that impact on strategic leadership in Ford organizational culture and national culture.Organisational culture is a set of moral precepts, values, norms of behaviour in particular company accepted by members (Besanko et al, 2010). National culture is a set of values, rules, customs, traditions shared by people speaking the same language and having similar mindsets and moral principles (Northouse, 2010). Globalization has created many challenges for organizations including effective selection of leaders, adaptation to many cultures, creation of different approaches to nationally various employees (Northouse, 2010).It became necessary for top managers to take into consideration peculiarities, mentality, values and characteristics of different cultures to develop business abroad, because many problems in relationships between people can occur due to variations in norms, habits and values (Needle, 2004). Ford was not an exception and needed to turn the company around. As a company that was operating not only in US, but also in Europe and still doing it, Ford had to create unique strategy and organizational culture for both areas, which differ from each other.To build a successful strategy it is necessary to know national features of countries where organization is going to operate. According to GLOBE researchers who identified 10 clusters of countries (depending on cultural data), US were set into Anglo cluster and Europe was divided into four clusters: Eastern Europe, Lat in Europe, Germanic Europe and Nordic Europe (House, et al, 2004). These clusters have their own characteristics affecting leadership in particular areas, so demands for leaders in these clusters are different. Two describe how different cultures view leadership behaviors in others GLOBE researchers identified six global leadership behaviors†(House & Javidan, 2004 in Northouse, 2010, p. 348). First is charismatic/value-based leadership that includes being decisive, self-denying and performance oriented, being a motivator and inspirer (Northouse, 2010). Second is team-oriented leadership that includes team building, establishing common goals and such characteristics as diplomacy, collaboration (Northhouse, 2010). Third is participative leadership that means degree to which leader involves employees in decision-making ( Northouse, 2010).Next is â€Å"humane-oriented leadership that emphasizes being supportive, considerate, compassionate, and generous (Northouse, 2010, p. 348). Last is self-protective management that puts on top leaders who are face saving, conflict, aware of their status (Northouse, 2010). In that way Anglo countries including US want leaders to be charismatic, humane-oriented, extremely motivating and visionary, democratic, moreover leaders have to focus on team and to be independent (Northouse, 2010). For this reason Don Petersen and Harold `Red’ Poling with their mindsets perfectly corresponded this requirements.Europe, divided into 4 clusters has its own characteristics, but they are more complex due to peculiarities of clusters. Ideally it is better to have a particular approach for each cluster, nevertheless there are some common requirements for leaders in Europe such as charismatic and value-based person (Norhouse, 2010). As Ford has its offices and plants in Germany, England, Romania, Russia, Belgium, Spain, France and Turkey, it is necessary to consider Latin Europe cluster, Eastern Europe cluster and Germanic Europe clus ter. There are three branches in Germanic cluster: two in Germany and one in Belgium.For this cluster ideal leader is expected to be charismatic, inspirational and autonomous, to have participative style, to focus on team (Northouse, 2010). Two branches are located in Latin Europe Cluster: one in Spain and one in France. In this cluster leader has to be team oriented as well, has to be participative and self-oriented (Northouse, 2010). Two more branches operate in Russia and Romania. For the Eastern European countries it is necessary for leader to have self-protective leadership style, to be team-oriented, to make decisions independently (Nothouse, 2010).All this factors and characteristics of clusters make it very complex to find perfect leadership style, nevertheless there are some points of contact between these clusters. Moreover GLOBE identified 22 leadership attributes that are universally desirable (House, et al, 2004, p. 39). As a result leader is a person who is honest, cha rismatic, value-based and team-oriented (Dorfman et al. , 2004, in Northouse, 2010). In addition Hofstede (2010, in Needle, 2004) identified 5 characteristics on which countries differ from each other. Power distance is the extent to which members of society accept that power is distributed unequally† (Needle, 2004, p. 148). It was found that in France for example power distance is large, on the contrary Germany and the USA, where power distance is small. Individualistic societies are the US and the UK, but Germany and France have also high rate of individualism (Needle, 2004). It means that these countries prefer more to look â€Å"after yourself or your immediate family group† (Needle, 2004, p. 149). â€Å"Uncertainty avoidance is the extent to which members of society feel uncomfortable with uncertainty† (Needle, 2004, p. 49). According to Hofstede (1994, in Needle, 2004) France and Germany tend to be more anxious about the future than UK and US. Masculine soc ieties like USA, UK and Germany used to prefer material success and achievement, while France is more anxious about quality of life and equality between sexes (Needle, 2004). Long-term orientation is not common neither in Germany, or US and UK, so these countries more used to short-term strategies (Needle, 2004). Taking all this facts into consideration becomes clear it is not easy to find appropriate leader for multinational companies like Ford.Leadership style has to be very adaptable and leader has to be competent and skilful. Organizational cultures in Europe and US were different and impacted leadership style in particular way. In US reorganized organizational culture, which was based on employee involvement and participative management demanded leadership style, based on participation, team-orientation, humane-orientation, such qualities as visionary, motivation and inspiration were necessary for leader. In Europe organizational culture has to be perfectly balanced due to the difference in national cultures.In that way organizational culture context in Ford in Europe is closely linked with national culture context and it is very complex mission for leaders to create strong organizational culture in Europe. It is not good for company, if its organizational culture is weak, because it â€Å"sets the scene for the determination of strategy and hence the operational aspects of organizational life† (Needle, 2004, p. 238). Question two There were different contextual challenges for leaders in Ford in Europe and US as a result they managed with them in a different way.One of the most important challenges for leaders in Ford in the US and Europe was getting power in company and control over staff. Power in terms of leadership means â€Å"capacity or potential to influence† (Northouse, 2010, p. 8). They all had position power and it was necessary for them to strengthen their positions in company by getting more power. Petersen with his leadership st yle engaged people feelings, introduced participative management and managed to strengthen his position in company by this approach.This approach perfectly corresponded to main values of Ford, because Petersen obtained ideas and opinions of employees, integrated their suggestions into top decision-making (Northouse, 2010). As a result he got not only position power, but also a personal power. It made possible to influence followers as they saw him as knowledgeable and likable (Northouse, 2010). Moreover it helped him to bring control over employees, who were happy, because they could participate in top-decision making.From that moment he knew the ideas of his followers, and he was using them in the interests of Ford. While Don Petersen was using participative leadership and reshaping goals of employees through mission of Ford, Harold `Red’ Poling was controlling final goal setting. Petersen and Poling managed to brought to Ford’s top team an intuitive and feeling appro ach to decision-making, something which is rarely found at that level (Starkey, 1996, p. 379), because participative leadership and management helps employees learn what leads to what (House & Mitchell, 1974, p. 92, in Northouse, 2010).As Peterson and Poling received more power and control over their followers, there was no need to find new cadres, this resulted in formation of strong team, which was easy to lead. Billy Hayden, Europe’s Vice President of Manufacturing was in other situation. He had to get used to peculiarities of leading in Europe and to adopt his own leadership style. Moreover the situation was more complex than in the US due to high standards of the main rival Toyota. Billy Haeden was going to change behavioural patterns and mindsets in Ford in Europe, but nothing really changed.It caused many problems afterwards. As a result there was no strong team with an intuitive and feeling approach to decision-making which was needed even more than in the US, his lea dership style was backward looking, so the whole organization was not able to compete with Toyota. The only power he had was legitimate power, and without balance like in case with Harold `Red’ Poling and Don Petersen, he was using it in a wrong way. Billy Hayden did not managed to create strong team, because he has given a steady turnover of top cadres and nobody could be a counterbalance for him.Eventually the change in organization, which brought success to Ford in the US, was introduced in Europe, but it was too late. Moreover values, mindsets, norms, patterns that were introduced in the US should be adapted to Europe and leadership style of Billy Hayden did not match these approach. Conclusion Organizational context became very important to every leader, manager and company on the whole. Without taking into consideration organizational context it is very hard and risky for any leader to make important decisions and lead company to success.Organizational contexts influenc e on leadership style, and depending on different peculiarities of context, appropriate leadership style can be chosen. Due to globalization culture context has great impact on leadership style, it became necessary for leader to know main features of mentality of nation in country, where he operates. Ford as a company, which has its branches almost all over the world, faced challenges and it was crucial to find a leader with appropriate leadership style. Don Petersen and Harold `Red’ Poling with their tandem led Ford US to success mostly due to perfect balance of power and participative management.Their style perfectly matched need of Ford in visionary leadership with necessary control. Petersen and Poling also showed the importance of power context. They managed to use not only position power, but personal power as well. Billy Hayden was in different situation, he did not managed to get personal power, and as a result he did not create a strong team, he did not adopt to the national cultures and his leadership style was not able to bring success. These situation emphases on the importance of cultural context, if company operates worldwide.Reference list Besanko, D. , Dranove, D. , Shanley, M. , Schaefer, S. , (2010). Economics of strategy, John Wiley & Sons House, R. J. , Hanges, P. J. , Javidan, M. , Dorfman, P. W. , Gupta, V. , & Associates (Eds. ). (2004). Culture, leadeeship, and organizations: The GLOBE study of 62 societies. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Needle, D. , (2004). Business in context, an introduction to business and its environment, Thomson Learning, London. Northouse, P. G. , (2010) Leadership: Theory and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage

Calaveras Vineyards

To: Dr. Lynna Martinez Subject: Calaveras Vineyards Valuation As per your request, my associates and I have calculated a valuation for Calaveras Vineyards using the present value of cash flows. We used the valuation of future cash flows method in order to value to value the company. We have come to the conclusion, based on a number of future projections, that the best valuation of the vineyards is $4,356,000 in assets and $1,104,000 in equity. The process at determining this valuation was as follows: 1.First, using the projected EBIT forecasted income statement; we took out the 37% tax, change in working capital, and CAPEX for 1994-1998 and added back the depreciation and amortization expenses to arrive at free cash flows. We assumed that 1996-1998 would need an extra 100k in CAPEX in order to project the reinvestment necessities for the company. 2. In order to discount those free cash flows, we had to find the discount rate of the company using a weighted average unlevered Beta, and the risk free rate vs. the market risk premium: a.Beta: This was determined by using the three comparable companies and their unlevered betas as a percentage of what product lines they relate to. b. The risk free rate was taken from the standard 30 year T-bonds rate of 5. 85%. c. The risk premium used was the expected return of small companies less the return of long term government bonds, which was 7. 4% historically from 1926 to 1992. All of these values were used to calculate a discount rate of 14. 5% for Calaveras which was used to discount the cash flows. The total discounted cash flows equal $1,585,000 for 1994-1998. 3.Next, the tax shield for Calaveras was calculated by using the interest payments for each year and multiplying each value by the company’s tax rate of 37%. It was assumed that we used the 9. 5% interest rate, per your suggestion, instead of the average interest expense provided in the projected income statement. These future values were then discounted u sing the interest rate. The total PV of tax shield for 1994-1998 valued at $383,000. 4. For the terminal value calculation, we chose to use a range of growth rates. The range that we chose to use for growth rates was 1%, 1. 5%, 2%, and 2. %. We believe that Calaveras will continue to produce a high quality wine upholding a strong brand name and position in the market. Along with this, we believe that the wine industry as a whole will be growing into the future because of a growing economy. These rates represent indefinite growth; therefore, we are positioning your company to be growing slightly above the industry average. The free cash flow that we used to calculate the terminal value was from the year 1997. We did this because we felt that the cash flow in 1998 was not a true representation of future cash flows.In 1998, there was a large drop in current liabilities due to the drop in current loans; this caused the change in working capital to be unusually high. We believe, Calavera s will return to normal levels of working capital. This will be after the new marketing push and establishment of more revolving line of credit for planned future growth in sales. 5. We discounted the terminal values of free cash flows at the same discount rate that we discounted the free cash flows. We then averaged the range of present value terminal values to get an average present terminal value of free cash flows. This value was $1,820,000.We then calculated the terminal values of the interest tax shields by taking the 1998 interest tax shield and using the terminal value equation, with a discount rate of 9. 5% because we discount interest tax shield using the interest rate. This then gave us a range of terminal values of the interest tax shield. The average was $568,000. In conclusion, the PV of FCF (1585k), the PV of TS benefits (383k), PV of TV of CF (1820k), and PV of TV of TS (568k) all total to a current asset value of $4,356,000 for Calaveras Vineyards. Please feel free to let us know if you have any further questions or requests per the Calaveras’ valuation.

Free Essays on Public Or Private

In today’s society, education is a necessity for anyone wanting to earn a decent living. Without a high school diploma, and more recently a college degree, a person will probably never be financially independent enough to enjoy most of life’s comforts. High school is a very important time in a student’s life. It is the time when a young person begins to think independently. It is also a time when teens are very impressionable and face tons of peer pressure. That is why the environment in which a young person attends high school plays a major role in who that person will develop into. Many parents are now choosing to send their children to private schools, as opposed to public schools, with the idea that their children will receive a better education and also have a greater chance of becoming successful. These ideas, however, are not always accurate. The following paper discusses the positive and negative attributes of public and private schools and include s my personal experience with a private parochial school. Public education has many perks to it. The greatest is probably the access to government funds. Some, if not most, public schools have state of the art computer labs, updated and renovated facilities, brand new uniforms for the athletic teams, and much more. Academically, public schools offer more classes and educational opportunities than private schools (with the exception of the upper class elite academies), largely in part to the financial resources available to them. It is believed that sending one’s child to a private school will insure that they receive a better education, which in turn will result in higher test scores on the ACT and SAT. This is not a true statement, however. Statistics have proven that the average scores of public high school students are higher than those of high school students attending private schools. Despite the numerous advantages of public schools, there are disa... Free Essays on Public Or Private Free Essays on Public Or Private In today’s society, education is a necessity for anyone wanting to earn a decent living. Without a high school diploma, and more recently a college degree, a person will probably never be financially independent enough to enjoy most of life’s comforts. High school is a very important time in a student’s life. It is the time when a young person begins to think independently. It is also a time when teens are very impressionable and face tons of peer pressure. That is why the environment in which a young person attends high school plays a major role in who that person will develop into. Many parents are now choosing to send their children to private schools, as opposed to public schools, with the idea that their children will receive a better education and also have a greater chance of becoming successful. These ideas, however, are not always accurate. The following paper discusses the positive and negative attributes of public and private schools and include s my personal experience with a private parochial school. Public education has many perks to it. The greatest is probably the access to government funds. Some, if not most, public schools have state of the art computer labs, updated and renovated facilities, brand new uniforms for the athletic teams, and much more. Academically, public schools offer more classes and educational opportunities than private schools (with the exception of the upper class elite academies), largely in part to the financial resources available to them. It is believed that sending one’s child to a private school will insure that they receive a better education, which in turn will result in higher test scores on the ACT and SAT. This is not a true statement, however. Statistics have proven that the average scores of public high school students are higher than those of high school students attending private schools. Despite the numerous advantages of public schools, there are disa...

Understanding Dinosaur Combat

Understanding Dinosaur Combat In Hollywood movies, dinosaur fights have clear winners and losers, carefully demarcated arenas (say, an open patch of scrubland or the cafeteria in Jurassic Park), and usually a bunch of scared-out-of-their-wits human spectators. In real life, though, dinosaur fights were more like confused, chaotic bar brawls than Ultimate Fighting matches, and rather than persisting for multiple rounds, they were usually over in the blink of a Jurassic eye. (See a list of the Deadliest Dinosaurs, as well as Prehistoric Battles featuring your favorite dinosaurs, reptiles, and mammals.) Its important at the outset to distinguish between the two main types of dinosaur combat. Predator/prey encounters (for example, between a hungry Tyrannosaurus Rex and alone, juvenile Triceratops) were quick and brutal, with no rules except kill or be killed. But intra-species clashes (say, two male Pachycephalosaurus head-butting each other for the right to mate with available females) had a more ritualistic aspect, and rarely resulted in a combatants death (though one presumes serious injuries were common). Of course, in order to fight successfully, you need to be equipped with suitable weapons. Dinosaurs didnt have access to firearms (or even blunt instruments), but they were endowed with naturally evolved adaptations that helped them either to hunt down their lunch, avoid being lunch or propagate the species in order to restock the global lunch menu. Offensive weapons (like sharp teeth and long claws) were almost exclusively the province of meat-eating dinosaurs, which preyed on one another or on gentler herbivores, while defensive weapons (like armor plating and tail clubs) were evolved by plant-eaters in order to fend off attacks by predators. A third type of weapon consisted of sexually selected adaptations (such as sharp horns and thickened skulls), wielded by the males of some dinosaur species in order to dominate the herd or compete for the attention of females. Offensive Dinosaur Weapons Teeth. Meat-eating dinosaurs like T. Rex and Allosaurus didnt evolve big, sharp teeth merely to eat their prey; like modern cheetahs and great white sharks, they used these choppers to deliver quick, powerful, and (if they were delivered in the right place at the right time) fatal bites. Well never know for sure, but reasoning by analogy with modern carnivores, it seems likely that these theropods aimed for their victims necks and bellies, where a strong bite would cause the most damage. Claws. Some carnivorous dinosaurs (like Baryonyx) were equipped with large, powerful claws on their front hands, which they used to slash at prey, while others (like Deinonychus and its fellow raptors) had single, oversized, curved claws on their hind feet. Its unlikely that a dinosaur could have killed prey with its claws alone; these weapons were probably also used to grapple with opponents and keep them in a death grip. (Bear in mind, however, that huge claws dont necessarily connote a carnivorous diet; the big-clawed Deinocheirus, for example, was a confirmed vegetarian.) Eyesight and smell. The most advanced predators of the Mesozoic Era (like the human-sized Troodon) were equipped with large eyes and relatively advanced binocular vision, which made it easier for them to zero in on prey, especially when hunting by night. Some carnivores also possessed an advanced sense of smell, which enabled them to scent prey from far off (though its also possible that this adaptation was used to home in on already-dead, rotting carcasses). Momentum. Tyrannosaurs were built like battering rams, with enormous heads, thick bodies, and powerful hind legs. Short of delivering a fatal bite, an attacking Daspletosaurus could knock its victim silly, provided it had the element of surprise on its side and a sufficient head of steam. Once the unlucky Stegosaurus was lying on its side, stunned and confused, the hungry theropod could move in for the quick kill. Speed. Speed was an adaptation shared equally by predators and prey, a good example of an evolutionary arms race. Since they were smaller and more lightly built than tyrannosaurs, raptors and dino-birds were especially quick, which created an evolutionary incentive for the plant-eating ornithopods they hunted to run faster as well. As a rule, carnivorous dinosaurs were capable of short bursts of high speed, while herbivorous dinosaurs could sustain a slightly less brisk pace for a longer period of time. Bad breath. This may sound like a joke, but paleontologists believe that the teeth of some tyrannosaurs were shaped so as to purposely accumulate shreds of dead tissue. As these shreds rotted, they bred dangerous bacteria, meaning any non-fatal bites inflicted on other dinosaurs would result in infected, gangrenous wounds. The unlucky plant-eater would drop dead in a few days, at which point the responsible Carnotaurus (or any other predator in the immediate vicinity) chowed down on its carcass. Defensive Dinosaur Weapons Tails. The long, flexible tails of sauropods and titanosaurs had more than one function: they helped to counterbalance these dinosaurs equally long necks, and their ample surface area may have helped dissipate excess heat. However, its also believed that some of these behemoths could lash their tails like whips, delivering stunning blows to approaching predators. The use of tails for defensive purposes reached its apex with the ankylosaurs, or armored dinosaurs, which evolved heavy, macelike growths at the ends of their tails that could crush the skulls of unwary raptors. Armor. Until the knights of medieval Europe learned to forge metallic armor, no creatures on earth were more impervious to attack than Ankylosaurus and Euoplocephalus (the latter even had armored eyelids). When attacked, these ankylosaurs would plop down onto the ground, and the only way they could be killed was if a predator managed to flip them onto their backs and dig into their soft underbellies. By the time the dinosaurs went extinct, even titanosaurs had evolved a light armored coating, which may have helped fend off pack attacks by packs of smaller raptors. Sheer bulk. One of the reasons sauropods and hadrosaurs attained such enormous sizes is that full-grown adults would have been virtually immune to predation: not even a pack of adult Alioramus could hope to take down a 20-ton Shantungosaurus. The downside to this, of course, was that predators shifted their attention to easier-to-pick-off babies and juveniles, meaning that out of a clutch of 20 or 30 eggs laid by a female Diplodocus, only one or two might manage to reach adulthood. Camouflage. The one feature of dinosaurs that rarely (if ever) fossilizes is their skin colorso well never know if Protoceratops sported zebra-like stripes, or if Maiasauras mottled skin made it difficult to see in dense underbrush. However, reasoning by analogy with modern prey animals, it would be very surprising indeed if hadrosaurs and ceratopsians didnt sport some kind of camouflage to cloak them from the attention of predators Speed. As mentioned above, evolution is an equal-opportunity employer: as the predatory dinosaurs of the Mesozoic Era become faster, so do their prey, and vice-versa. While a 50-ton sauropod couldnt have run very fast, the average hadrosaur could rear up onto its hind legs and beat the bipedal retreat in response to danger, and some smaller plant-eating dinosaurs may have been capable of sprinting at 30 or 40 (or possibly 50) miles per hour while being chased. Hearing. As a general rule, predators are endowed with superior sight and smell, while prey animals possess acute hearing (so they can run away if they hear a threatening rustle in the distance). Based on an analysis of their crested skulls, it seems likely that some duck-billed dinosaurs (like Parasaurolophus and Charonosaurus) could bellow to each other over long distances, so an individual hearing the footsteps of an approaching tyrannosaur would be able to warn the herd. Intra-Species Dinosaur Weapons Horns. The fearsome-looking horns of Triceratops may only have been secondarily intended to warn away a hungry T. Rex. The position and orientation of ceratopsian horns lead paleontologists to conclude that their main purpose was in dueling with other males for dominance in the herd or breeding rights. Of course, unlucky males might be wounded, or even killed, in this processresearchers have unearthed numerous dinosaur bones bearing the marks of intra-species combat. Frills. The giant head ornaments of ceratopsian dinosaurs served two purposes. First, oversized frills made these plant-eaters look bigger in the eyes of hungry carnivores, which might opt to concentrate on smaller fare instead. And second, if these frills were brightly colored, they could have been used to signal the desire to fight during mating season. (Frills may also have had yet another purpose, as their large surface areas helped to dissipate and absorb heat.) Crests. Not quite a weapon in the classic sense, crests were protrusions of bone most often found on duck-billed dinosaurs. These backward-pointing growths would have been useless in a fight, but they may well have been employed to attract females (theres evidence that the crests of some Parasaurolophus males were larger than those of the females). As mentioned above, its also likely that some duck-billed dinosaurs funneled air through these crests as a way of signaling to others of their kind. Skulls. This peculiar weapon was unique to the family of dinosaurs known as pachycephalosaurs (thick-headed lizards). Pachycephalosaurs like Stegoceras and Sphaerotholus sported up to a foot of bone on the tops of their skulls, which they presumably used to head-butt one another for dominance in the herd and the right to mate. Theres some speculation that pachycephalosaurs may also have butted the flanks of approaching predators with their thickened domes.

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Proposal - Essay Example However this report specifically analyzes the influence of IT in using latest marketing tools in the field of marketing, social media marketing. Social media marketing has become an important part of businesses today. Many big organizations today use social media marketing and formulate specific social media marketing strategies in order to attract new customers and make sure that they are in contact with them so that social media can help in satisfying the customers (Kim, and Ko, 1480-1486). Social media marketing is also important in building more long term customers and more loyal customers (Mangold, , and Faulds, 357-365). Different businesses have reported improvement in sales and profitability as well because of using social media marketing (Fisher, 189-195). Therefore this report aims to analyze the influence of IT in the marketing of businesses particularly with a focus on the role of social media marketing in businesses today. Social media marketing has been considered today as the latest emergence in the field of marketing and this platform has excited a large number of entrepreneurs and marketers. Many predict tha t the future of social media is very bright (Asur, and Huberman). Asur, Sitaram, and Bernardo A. Huberman. "Predicting the future with social media."Â  Web Intelligence and Intelligent Agent Technology (WI-IAT), 2010 IEEE/WIC/ACM International Conference on. Vol. 1. IEEE,

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