The Process of Pursuing the New Brett Werner :: Essays Papers

The Process of Pursuing the New Brett Werner As we thought about past and current innovations, I always felt like something was missing. Right now, the conclusion I've made is that we were considering only "the New" in our discussions. I am sure that our unintentional omission of "Pursuing" the new wasn't absolute - we talked about it, especially in LivKarin's presentation of traditional/conventional/alternative/sustainable/organic farming practices. But much of our time was more devoted to the innovations of society than to the process of innovation that I think is so important. This gives me a chance to tell a few stories that I hope will increase the clarity of my distinction. My first consideration is the business ethics (perhaps interesting to Ike's CIS major) demonstrated by Siddhartha in a book by Hermann Hesse of the same name. Siddhartha goes on a business trip, which for all economic purposes is a failure. However, Siddhartha approaches the trip with an attitude of enjoying the process. In doing so, he comes back feeling good about the trip rather than upset, and since he took the time to make friends with the potential business partners, he thinks that the future business opportunities will be bright rather than carrying a stigma of disenjoyment in the eyes of others. When I started learning about undergraduate research and education, my dad introduced me to a new understanding of purpose. He said the goal of undergraduate research was to learn the process of academic contribution more than the actual contribution. By learning how to do original research and formulate (hypo-)theses, we learn not only the material, but also the process. I've tried to take this approach for my educational experiences. Some topics came up while discussing innovations that dealt with the potential for dehumanization. Visionaries and doomsayers are at odds because some feel that the new has the wonderful potential to solve all the world's problems while others believe that new innovations are dangerous and threaten the fabric of society and existence in general. In some cases it could be possible for things to be inherently evil, but more often it is a person's responsibility to use the things in a good way. Having said this, a short consideration of historical innovators and innovative processes will shed light on the subject.

New Orleans :: American Melting Pot

New Orleans   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In a country containing so much diversity and history, it is practically impossible to locate one city which embodies American diversity. A colony started by the French was the first area to fully integrate culture and religion. The city of New Orleans, now prosperous from its diversity, epitomizes the "American Melting Pot". It is complicated to relate such different backgrounds, but with an overview of history, culture, religion, and integration on a small scale, a reader is capable of applying the values to the American culture as a whole.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1699 the first plans for New Orleans were born. French-Canadian, Pierre le Moyen, Sieur d'Iberville left France to found a colony on the Gulf of Mexico. Sieur d'Iberville set up a fur trading for originally on the north gulf coast, then moved the establishment to Dauphin Island. Once again, he moved the fort and created an inland colony near Louisiana. Sieur d'Iberville was in charge of all of France's responsibilities in the southern portion of the territory. Wen Iberville died in 1706 the land under his jurisdiction was given to ho brother, Jean Baptiste de Moyen Sieur de Beinville.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Beinville had great plans for the development of the French colonies and in 1717 he submitted plans for a new settlement to the Company of the West. In 1718 France agreed with Beinville's plans and authorized him to establish the settlement, according to his plans, one hundred miles up the Mississippi. Four years later the capitol of the Louisiana territory was transferred to the new settlement now know as New Orleans.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The new colony was called "New Orleans'; in honor of the Duke d'Orlean. Duke d'Orlean supposedly had something to do with the funding for the new colony. The Duke favored John Law, the founder of the Company of the West, and supported many of the company's ventures, the construction of New Orleans inclusive.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The new, growing colony needed a government, so a democratic council was formed. New Orleans was under the rule of a law making body called the Superior council which was first formed in 1712. The Superior Council was well liked by the people because it was a small representative democracy. During the 1720's and 30's Beinville was replaced as mayor by Sieur de Pierre. The colony did not experience much growth between these years so Beinville was reappointed governor in 1733 and left the colony permanently in 1742.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Spain took over the government of New Orleans in 1766. The Spanish sent the new governor, Antonio de Ulloa, to reign over their newest asset.

Essay --

One group of people that are accused of killing the president are the Cubans. The Warren Commission found â€Å"dozens of allegations of a conspiratorial contact between Oswald and agents of the Cuban Government† but they did not find any indication showing that Cuba was a part of the murder of the president. However, conspiracy theorists often accuse Fidel Castro of organizing the murder of Kennedy in revenge for the CIA trying to kill him. Basically, the Cubans were trying to kill Kennedy because the CIA plotted to assassinate Fidel Castro all the way back to 1960. Furthermore, on separate occasions, Lyndon Johnson expressed to two major television men that he assumed Castro had prepared the president’s elimination in vengeance for the CIA's efforts to execute Castro. Finally, in 1971, Johnson told his former writer, who operated with Time Magazine, that he never believed Oswald was the lone gunman. In 1975, Clare Luce, the spouse of a Time reporter, said that on the evening of the killing, she got a call from a representative of a commando group. According to her, a man by the name of Julio Fernandez expressed to her that Oswald had communicated with his group in an effort to help kill Castro. He further claimed that he and his contacts discovered that Oswald was a communist and a follower of Castro. Finally, according to Luce, he told her that there was an assassination team that had Oswald as their gunman. Another tie to the JFK assassination was the mafia. The reason why this group stood out was because Jack Ruby, who killed Oswald, was tied to the mafia. Ruby established close ties to many Dallas police officers that visited his nightclubs. Here he entertained them with large amounts of alcohol and women. This made the officers... ...y things wrong with what the Secret Service did on the horrible day of Kennedy’s assassination. First, they testified that president Kennedy had not been given enough protection in Dallas. Second, the Secret Service had information that was not properly examined or inspected by the Secret Service connecting to the Kennedy's trip to Dallas. Finally, the Secret Service agents in the motorcade were ill equipped to shield the president from a gunman. The HSCA specifically noted that the agent in the right front seat of the president’s limousine did not engage the president when he was shot. He should have covered Kennedy’s body in this case. Furthermore, they specified that the main purpose of the agent was to remain in close vicinity to the President at all times in case of disaster. This caused controversy and sparked ideas of conspiracy that could have been involved.

Redbull Marketing Communications Essay

Redbull Marketing Communications Digital Campaigns Clarisonic launched a campaign in October 2010, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, in which the company promised to donate 1$ for every new like they received on their facebook fan page. Clarisonic used Facebook advertising, email blasts, twitter, youtube and even their own blog â€Å"Sonic Chatter† to spread the word about their new ‘like’ campaign. Clarisonic objectives included adding a thriving social media section to Clarisonic’s traditional cause marketing for nonprofit. Furthermore, Clarisonic wanted to increase awareness of their brand and products, as well as increase awareness of their Facebook page. Another objective, which was the most direct objective, was to raise money for â€Å"Look Good†¦Feel Better. † Attaching their name to this cause also allowed them to increase sales for their specialized products like Pink Clarisonic, which also benefits the â€Å"Look Good†¦Feel Better† charity. Clarisonic also aimed at marketing beyond their typical target audience of women in their late 20s-50s. Some limitations that were faced was that it was only a two month project and although it attracted a lot of views, interactions, and new Facebook fans, they would have to constantly engage the new fans that were outside their target market, who may not be interested in their actual products being sold. Partnering with â€Å"Look Good†¦Feel Better† was a perfect fit for this campaign because both companies focused on transmitting a message of empowerment. Redbull: On October 14, 2012 the world witnessed a breathtaking experiment; Red Bull Stratos. It took viewers to the edge of space and it was all organized by a private organization, Red Bull. The Red Bull Stratos mission was a record breaking event, one which saw Felix Baumgartner free fall from more than 23 miles above the earth, breaking a free falling world record while becoming the biggest digital live event on record. It reignited a yearning for the extreme, and created a distinct association with what was Extreme and Redbull. The objectives of Redbull marketers was to reach a lot of people, to excite them, give them something to talk about and look forward to and then to directly relate this â€Å"coolness† to drinking their product. They wanted to break world records, not only in the actual freefalling aspect but the hype around the event. This hype could then be translated hopefully in an increase of brand awareness and in turn, an in crease in sales for Redbull. Clarisonic: Clarisonic targeted current consumers of their product by advertising about the campaign on their blog, which users of their product read, as well as non users by making the campaign goal not just relevant for women or those that are in their 20s, 30s. The campaign therefore targeted a much broader audience, those that frequent charity events and support a good cause, not simply women in the beauty care sector. By making their campaign about much more than a physical beauty care product but something that benefits the greater cause, they were able to target men and women of all ages who support cancer organizations and link this support of a good cause with their brand. Redbull: The audience that was targeted in the Redbull campaign was extreme sport enthusiasts as well as the entire world that would also be excited to watch a world record breaking event. The target audience was broad and expanded past extreme sport enthusiasts which most of Redbulls marketing targets. Clarisonic: Clarisonic campaign was extremely ethical as it raises awareness of a certain cancer fund, donates money to the fund, and through these actions is able to also increase awareness of their brand and better their image. Had most of this money not gone to a cancer organization, and just gone to supporting the brand, perhaps it would be less ethical. Redbull: One could argue that the risk involved in this campaign was too much to be considered an ethical campaign for Redbull. Yes, it attracted a lot of new consumers and created record-breaking brand awareness but it was at the risk of being at the cost of a human life, which is unethical. Clarisonic: They were extremely successful in one of their main objectives, which was to raise money for the Look Good†¦Feel Better cancer organization seeing as they raised $1 million dollars and increased awareness of this great organization. â€Å"Likes† as well as interaction on their Facebook page continued to grow even after the two month campaign and n 2010 alone, their selling of their â€Å"Hope† Mia skincare brush more than doubled compared the previous year. Clearly no one can know for sure if it was directly because of the â€Å"like† campaign but it is safe to say that the increased awareness did contribute to an increase in sales of Clarisonic products. The like campaigne increased Clarisonics fan page by 80 percent. Redbull: Without a doubt Redbull achieved its objectives of showi ng the world something that has never done before and reemphasizing their brand motto â€Å" Redbull gives you wings. This event had a huge brand impact on Redbull. Not only did this campaign beat records and was unprecedented scientifically, it was also beating records in a brand marketing perspective. 1,000,000 distinct user accounts were involved in the conversation regarding RedBull Stratos with a suggested audience of this content being up to 90,000,000. 2,000,000 new accounts were subscribed for Red Bull updates within a span of 15 days surrounding the event, these updates included all brand presences in the digital world. These represent engaged consumers that could possibly one day turn into paying consumers of RedBull. Most campaigns, much like Clarisonic are dominated mostly by likes or â€Å"neutral commentary† yet Red Bull Stratos had unmatched positivity and meaningful interaction from people around the world; more specifically 820,000 pieces of extremely positive content was created in regards to Redbull Stratos. 50,000 distinct links were shared about Red Bull Stratos. More than 8 million concurrent live streams of the Redbull Stratus jump on YouTube was had which was the largest in Youtube’s history. This kind of huge reach transcends RedBull Stratos and reaches Red Bull branding in almost ever single comment or interaction, which till this campaign and to this extent was unheard of. According to Vocus, sales of Redbull increased by 55% in the first few months following the campaign so already here we can see that not only did this boost brand awareness and image, it had a direct impact on offline consumer behavior. Clarisonic was always tied to cancer awareness funds in the past, their product line, Pink Clarisonic previously donated some proceeds to the Feel good, look better fund so this new â€Å"like† campaign wasn’t a trigger of some outside market force, it was more an expansion of what was already underway internally in their brand image and concept of empowerment. Furthermore Breast Cancer awareness month was also somewhat of a trigger to tie their brand with this month awareness. Clarisonic competitors are low priced beauty products such as Olay Pro X which did not stray from their traditional marketing ways despite the success of Clarisonics like campaign. Personally, I would make this marketing communication campaign longer than two months, allowing the attention that Clarisonic was receiving to be exploited further. I would also allow fans that mentioned Clarisonic on twitter to receive small samples of new products Clarisonic has, thereby engaging target consumers with the actual product at hand. Timing of this campaign was definetly in Clarisonics Favor. Breast cancer awareness month is a time where many want to donate themselves to the cause and this like campaign allowed them to do so effortlessly and without their own money, simply their participation in a brand they may not have been aware of. Connecting themselves with Breast Cancer Awareness month also lends greatly to a better image for Clarisonic. Twitter did not participate greatly in this campaign other than to advertise for the campaign on facebook. Salespeople were not utilized in this champagne either which also could have further helped promote their products as well as their like digital campaign. Redbull: Redbull was always tagged with an idea of extreme sports, they sponsored athletes, had their own extreme sport web episodes, and could be found at most sporting events. Therefore, the fact that this was the company that decided to do something so extreme and create so much digital hype around this event was definetly no surprise considering past records of RedBull. It was not triggered by stunts pulled by their competitors. The Redbull Stratos was able to reach millions more than their usual marketing antics. I would not recommend a thing to the Redbull Stratos campaign, I think everything they did digitally to boost this campaign was genius. The message was simple; Redbull gives you wings and with a record-breaking free fall, they proved this. Millions will always associate the feeling of â€Å"cool† and â€Å"extreme† with drinking RedBull, and that in my opinion, can only be done by indirect selling of their drinks. No commercial or online campaign could create such brand association by simply telling consumers how cool their drink is.

Elements of Small Business Environment

THE ELEMENT OF THE SMALL BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT Entrepreneurship Individual Assignment THE ELEMENT OF THE SMALL BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT Entrepreneurship Individual Assignment NGUYEN THAI HA B0074 – BA505 ETR401   |   LECTURER: MR. NGHIAHT NGUYEN THAI HA B0074 – BA505 ETR401   |   LECTURER: MR. NGHIAHT CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION of ENVIRONMENT II. INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT III. EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT 1. Task Environment 2. General Environment IV. CONCLUSION V. PREFERENCES I. INTRODUCTIONIn order to start up or become effective, each new and current companies have to use a number of elements within the environment to gauge the path by which they ought to steer. So what is environment? â€Å"Environment is the sum total of forces outside of the entrepreneur and the firm† According to BRIE, the entrepreneur have to create a â€Å"Boundary within the environment, setting firm apart from the rest of the environment†. The Resources, says, knowledge, money are gathered from the environment. It is also at the core of Exchange because Exchange is the firm/entrepreneur dealing with the atmosphere – buying, selling, trading, etc. Similar article: KFC Macro EnvironmentIn short, a firm’s operation activities always involves with environment or environmental factors. It’s divided into 2 elements: Internal and External Environment. The Task & the General Environment are subset of External Environment. II. INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT In accordance with the definition of Internal environment in the text book, â€Å"Internal environment are the people & groups within the boundary of firm, including the owners, managers, employees, and board members of the firm†. Understanding the Internal context is essential to confirm that the risk assessment approach meets the needs of the firm and of its owner.It is the environment in which the firm operates to achieve its objectives and which can be influenced by the firm to manage risk. The internal context is considered having more factors than just all members involved * Internal stakeholders: owners, managers, etc. * The policies, vision, mission and strategic plan in place to achieve them Vision and mission are vitally important to a business because of the direction, guidance and purposes, even inspiration they give to both employees and entrepreneurs. * Perceptions, value and culture Culture factor inside the firm can make or break the business.At best, the corporate culture can be a competitive advantage; at worst, it can be a significant drag on business results. â€Å"Companies with an adaptive culture that is aligned to their business goals routinely outperform their competitors. Some studies report the difference at 200% or more†. Mostly, it is the owner, entrepreneur who shape business culture. The leaders who are able to shape their culture â€Å"have a strong understanding that creating thriving, high-performance culture aligned with their company’s mission, vision and values is vital strategy for success†.HP (Hewlett Packard) coped with some problems few years ago and was forced to change its culture. Eac h staff has to point out their own personal and professional objectives for a year and are encouraged, supported to meet the goals. After the change, HP no longer loss in productivity despite shorter working time and increase in staff retention rate. * The capabilities in term of resources & knowledge: people, physical assets, technologies, etc. * Standards and reference models in system, enterprise, software engineering * Structures: governance, roles, etc.III. EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT A business has to interact to what happen outside internal environment to fulfill Exchange in BRIE model. It is External environment surrounding the business operations and the internal environment of business. External environment may include Task Environment which can be called Micro Environment and General Environment or Macro Environment. 1. Task Environment – Micro Environment a. Element of Task Environment The microenvironment is made from components that are close to the company and directl y impact the business.For examples: * Publics group â€Å"can have an  actual or potential interest in or impact on an  organization’s ability to achieve its objectives†. Publics can  be: * Media publics: carry news, features, and editorial opinion * Local publics: neighborhood residents and community organizations. †¦ * Customers: Company must study its customer markets closely since each market  has its own special characteristics. Customers can be B2C, B2B or B2G * Suppliers: Provide the resources or input needed for the business to produce goods and services that play key roles in â€Å"value delivery system† for customers.Suppliers can leave huge impact on business due to supply shortage or the bargaining power of suppliers * Competitors: A company has to face with wide range of competitors and secures its strategic competitive advantages over competitors by technologies or selling point of the products or wipes out the marketplace. †¦.. W almart case will serve as an example. â€Å"Walmart’s Micro environment would be very much focused on immediate local issues, local public. It would consider how to recruit, retain and extend products and services to customers.Walmart should pay close attention to the actions and reactions of direct competitors: local markets, etc. Walmart would build and nurture close relationships with key suppliers for pricing factors and time of delivery. † b. Porter five forces Task environment elements also appear in Porter five forces which is a framework for industry analysis and business strategy development. It derives five important forces that determine the competitive intensity and therefore, the attractiveness of a market. 5 typical factors have direct impact on the business. . General Environment – Macro Environment The General Environment can be described by PESTEL model. It refers to all forces that are part of society, affect business and micro environment. * P olitical factors include: * Government’s stability * Social policies: welfare, etc. * Trade regulation: EU & WTO, etc. * The Government set the laws, regulations and policies that can promote or limit the individuals and organizations in a society * Economic factors: * Economic growth * Unemployment rate * Interest rate†¦ Economic factor can effect purchasing power and spending patterns. â€Å"Element like interest rates affect a firm’s cost of capital and therefore a business grows and expands. Exchange rates affect the export and import goods in an economy. † * Social factors: * Demographics Demographics studies population patterns: sizes, age, sex, occupation, ethnicity, etc. Those patterns are investigated for companies to change various strategies to adapt to these social trends, such as recruiting staff or design suitable products for each segmentLet take an example of age changing structure in US: * Generation Y: born 1980 – 1995 -> technology wise, optimistic, confident, sociable, flexible and changing in its fashion, style consciousness   * Generation Z: born after 1995 -> life with internet, phones,†¦ communicate through social media rather than personally meeting * Technological factors: R&D, automation, etc. This factor can affect cost, quality and lead to innovation of a business. * Environmental – Eco factors: Climate, energy consumption, waste disposal, etc.Awareness of the potential impacts of climate change affects how companies operate and the products/services they offer. There is a strong connection between a healthy economy and a healthy environment. Business should build environmental sustainable strategies for a life-long span. * Legal factors: Antitrust law, consumer law, employment law, etc. Legal factors can shape the way companies operate and interact with employees, customers, etc. IV. CONCLUSION In summary, elements from environment have undeniable vital impacts on the business.Therefo re, entrepreneur should be prepared carefully with full analyzed information from those elements to help their business be able to survive and develop. V. REFERENCE Jerome A. Katz, Richard P. Green II. Ed. 2011. Entrepreneurial Small Business. 3rd Edition. China: The McGraw Hill. Jerome A. Katz, Richard P. Green II. 2011. The element of the small business environment. China: The McGraw Hill. Ch. 2. Figure 1. Jerome A. Katz, Richard P. Green II, 2011. Four elements needed to get your business started. Entrepreneurial Small Business Figure 2. Jerome A. Katz, Richard P. Green II, 2011.The organization’s environment. Entrepreneurial Small Business Figure 3. The planning context environmental scan. Available at: http://www. publicsafety. gc. ca/prg/em/emp/emp-2010-11-eng. aspx [accessed on 20 March 2012] Figure 5. Michael Porter’s 5 forces model. Available at: http://business-fundas. com/2011/michael-porters-5-forces-model/ [accessed on 20 March 2012] Figure 6: Pestel analy sis. Available at: http://pmmagsmartech. blogspot. com/2011/10/pestel-analysis. html [accessed on 20 March 2012] Culture Shaping [e-journal]. Available at: http://www. senndelaney. com/cultureshaping. tml [access on 20 March 2012] Company culture [e-journal]. Available at: http://management. about. com/cs/generalmanagement/a/companyculture. htm [access on 20 March 2012] Emergency Management Planning Guide 2010-2011 [e-journal]. Available at: http://www. publicsafety. gc. ca/prg/em/emp/emp-2010-11-eng. aspx [access on 20 March 2012] Marketing Micro and Macro Environment [e-journal]. Available at: http://www. scribd. com/doc/22543929/Marketing-Micro-and-Macro-Environment [access on 20 March 2012] Porter five forces analysis [e-journal]. Available at: http://en. wikipedia. rg/wiki/Porter_five_forces_analysis [access on 20 March 2012] Veterans, Baby Boomers, Gen X, Gen Y, Gen Z [e-journal]. Available at: http://suite101. com/article/veterans-baby-boomers-gen-x-gen-y-and-gen-z-a185353 [a ccess on 20 March 2012] What is PESTEL framework? [e-journal]. Available at: http://www. businessmate. org/Article. php? ArtikelId=16 [access on 20 March 2012] PEST analysis [e-journal]. Available at: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/PEST_analysis [access on 20 March 2012] Market environment [e-journal]. Available at: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Market_environment [access on 20 March 2012]

Why Do Whales Beach Themselves

The Scientific American article â€Å"Why do whales beach themselves? † published on June 1, 2009, bring the polemic and controversial reasons about the phenomenon observed in the last years when more than Fifty-five false killer whales were stranded on a South African beach over the weekend. The scientists still do not fully understand why mass stranding happen, and if we should be worried about this event. Whales are the largest marine mammals in the world — the smallest species weigh in at several tons. When whales beach themselves, they can die simply from the crushing weight of their own bodies or from overheating due to their blubber, which is needed for insulation in cold ocean waters. Stranding are of several types, said Susan Parks, a research associate in the Environmental Acoustics program in the Applied Research Laboratory at Penn State. Individual stranding often are caused by isolated incidents such as sickness, injury, or old age Said Parks, â€Å"Entanglement in fishing gear is one of the leading causes of mortality for marine mammals, many of which wash up on shore dead or injured. The tide carries these whales into shallow water, depositing them on the beach. Then there are multiple-species stranding, explained Parks. â€Å"This occurs when different species of marine mammals beach themselves at the same time and place, suggesting that they all died from the same cause,† she said. Scientists have been researching possible causes of this phenomenon. One explanation involves the whale â€Å"pod† social structure. For instance, whales that travel in pods use a â€Å"strength in numbers† survival strategy, but this can backfire when the dominant whale runs aground. According to Parks, â€Å"The rest of the pod may follow a disoriented or sick whale onto shore. † Another theory is that pods may venture too close to the beach when hunting prey or evading predators and become trapped by low tides. Weather also may play a part in beaching. Explained Parks, â€Å"In 1998, there was a major stranding on the West Coast of the United States where many different species, particularly sea lions, starved to death. † This mass stranding, she added, was thought to be caused by El Nino's effects on sea-water surface temperatures. Many marine mammals depend on plankton and kelp that thrive in cool, nutrient-rich waters. In the case of sea lions, when food is scarce, the adults wean pups earlier and leave them behind while they hunt for fish in colder waters further offshore. These young seals are often the ones that become stranded. Some theories about beaching suggest that defects in a whale's navigation system may be the cause. According to Parks, â€Å"The problem with these theories is that we don't know exactly how whales navigate. † Some species travel vast distances every year and find their way back to where they started. Right whales, for example, travel more than a thousand miles from the Gulf of Maine to the coastal waters of Florida and Georgia to give birth, and then swim back to northern waters. Said Parks, it is known that some whales use echolocation to identify objects in their environment but â€Å"it is unclear whether these species need to rely on it for navigation. † Some researchers have proposed that whales navigate by using passive listening to hear waves crashing against the coast or steer themselves via undersea topography or the angle of the sun. However, as interjected Parks, â€Å"the distance that animals can see is often very limited in the ocean, and isn't thought to be a useful for long-distance navigation. † Another navigation theory proposed recently is that whales have a bio-magnetic sense, which allows them to sense magnetic fields in the earth's crust. â€Å"This would be similar to how homing pigeons orient themselves,† explained Parks. Whales following magnetic field lines could beach themselves in areas where the field lines intersect with the coast. A study in the UK by Margaret Klinowska found a correlation between local magnetic field lines and sites where whales were stranded alive,† added Parks. However, more research is needed to solidify the connection. Several multiple-species stranding have occurred following military use of mid-frequency sonar, sparking public outcry. â€Å"One reason for the level of concern about these incidents is that they involved the rarely seen beaked whales,† explained Parks. â€Å"These whales were found beached five, sometimes 10 at a time. The problem with the sonar theory,† she added, â€Å"is that we still don't fully understand the cause and effect mechanism of how sonar might affect whales or why it might affect beaked whales in particular. † For many years, professor Chris Parsons has been tracking the patterns of mass whale stranding around the world. In his most recent paper, â€Å"Navy Sonar and Cetaceans: Just how much does the gun need to smoke before we act? † Parsons and his co-authors bring together all of the major whale and dolphin stranding in the past eight years and discuss the different kinds of species that have been affected worldwide. They also strongly argue for stricter environmental policies related to this issue. â€Å"Generally, if there is a large whale stranding, there is a military exercise in the area,† says Parsons. â€Å"Sonar is killing more whales than we know about. † Parsons is a national delegate for the International Whaling Commission’s scientific and conservation committees and on the board of directors of the marine section of the Society for Conservation Biology. He has been involved in whale and dolphin research for more than a decade and has conducted projects in South Africa, India, China and the Caribbean as well as the United Kingdom. Research into the cause of stranding is ongoing, noted Parks. Meanwhile, many coastal areas have rescue groups to find and rehabilitate these stranded mammals and to release them back into the wild. When the rehab patient weighs in at more than 40 tons, which can be a whale of a job. As the article stand, statistically, we are only able to determine the cause of a stranding in about 50 percent of all cases worldwide. In some cases, it is obvious, like a ship strike leaving an animal in poor condition. In the northeastern United States, pneumonia is a common cause of stranding. We see other diseases and trauma, such as shark attack on whales or dolphins or attacks by members of the same species. Poisonous â€Å"red tides† will also affect marine mammals. Some stranding have been speculated to be related to anomalies in the magnetic field, or from parasitic worms in the brain affecting co-ordination and balance, to whales being trapped as they follow prey inshore. There are other possible causes: Predators such as orcas or sharks may force the marine mammals inshore. In a 1993 pilot whale stranding at Golden Bay, orcas were seen patrolling outside the spit. The whales might have sought sanctuary in shallow waters because of the threat. Deep-water toothed whales with strong social bonds become stranded in a group more frequently than other species. If an individual is sick, or old and dying, the rest of the herd will come to its aid, even if they endanger themselves by venturing too close inshore. These are species that are unusual, that are beautiful, and important for the ecology of our seas. If there is an activity humans are doing precipitating these stranding we need to know about it—we need to make decisions about pollutants, shipping noise and sonar. Are we in some way contributing to declining health of critical populations, like the northern right whale? is asking the author of the article himself. More articles in the newspapers like the â€Å"Nearly 200 whales stranded on Australian beach† published on 03/01/09 in USA TODAY, or the statistics found in New Zealand where almost 9,000 whales and dolphins were stranded between 1978 and 2004 give us the idea of how serious this phenomena became . The concern is that only about a quarter of them were saved for all the whales in New Zealand. Species included Grey’s beaked whale, the Pygmy sperm whale, the sperm whale, the long-finned pilot whale, and the false killer whale (which is actually a dolphin). All the article and scientists are giving vague explanation about those events, but nobody found with certitude way the whales are stranding, which give us the uncertainty if we know well our ecosystem and its functions, and how we can avoid those tragedies.

Philosophy and Politics

Philosophy has enabled human life to study the general and everyday problems which concern many matters to include beauty, truth, mind, validity, language, existence, language and even truth. While Philosophy is a general term that is highly acceptable to address and answer questions by using systematic approaches and its credibility on the grounds of reasoned arguments, there is a tension that is apparent between Politics and Philosophy which Ancient Greek Origin means â€Å"love of wisdom†. Good governance needs laws that are mandated and initiated through Politics. The ways a society is being governed highly affects the kind of living the citizens’ experience. Politics are made up of group of people that formulate decisions for the betterment of the populace. It has also been palpable in many group interactions such as the religious, academic and even in the corporate world. Despite the fact that both exist to fulfill the needs of man for order, it is evident that a man in one point of his life or another might choose whether to live under the influence of Politics or Philosophy. The issues had been explored in Plato’s masterpieces â€Å"Apology† and â€Å"The Republic†. But although, the strain is perceptible, the end result for the mixture of both may lead to a more wonderful life to all mankind. The researcher wishes to address any reconciliation that may occur between the rivalries of the two approaches in human regulation, if Philosophy and Politics can be practiced at the same time. Philosophy and Politics in Plato’s Works Justice is necessitated by human in all walks of life. An individual is honed by the cultural and social norms that craft his totality as a whole. Many factors attribute on how a person behaves or acts. The life in the world has sought to deal on existence necessitated of man as man to survive and subsist. You may choose to live a political life or you can pursue a life that is committed in finding contemplation and truth. Apology The Apology by Plato is his version of Socrates’ speech during the time Socrates defends himself in opposition to the charges. The accusations against Socrates brought up were; living his life that refuses to adulate and worship the gods, corrupts the mind of the young and makes new deities. The main theme of the entire speech proposes that Philosophy instigates when one admits that he is ignorant. Socrates dramatically states that the wisdom he has, originates from his mere knowledge that he doesn’t know anything (23b, 29b). Politics in this part conducts a lawful proceeding that is made out of informal charges that only stanched out of gossips and prejudices against Socrates: â€Å"Socrates is committing an injustice, in that he inquires into things below the earth and in the sky, and makes the weaker argument the stronger, and teaches others to follow his example (18b-c)†. Socrates refuted the accusations through voicing out that he should not in any way be mistaken as a sophist or a scholar that is highly paid and wise. He then expressed his philosophical inspiration that he is poor and does not know anything that is good and noble. Socrates believed that the accusations against him rooted with his compliance with the oracle he received in Delhi. He had the mission of solving the paradox which is â€Å"the ignorant man could be the wisest of all men† (23e). It is apparent that Politics has an indirect connection to Philosophy because both aim to provide a good human life course. In this part reconciliation is quite evident since Politics is ruled out by people or humans that present the way to righteousness and lawfulness based on human perception enacted by the law while Philosophy which Plato deals with dwells more with the spiritual and divine intervention as the correct path to rectitude and uprightness. Socrates perceived that his questioning to many people gained him the reputation as an annoying person. His life mission interpreted in the speech that true wisdom comes from the gods while wisdoms of man together with their achievements have diminutive or are not valuable at all. It was greatly stressed that Socrates accepts as legitimate that the power of his lawful superior, may it be divine or human should be followed. But when there is a discrepancy or conflict between the two: Politics or Philosophy, he deems that the divine authority should take precedence and primacy: â€Å"Gentlemen, I am your grateful and devoted servant, but I owe a greater obedience to God than to you; and as long as I draw breath and have my faculties I shall never stop practicing philosophy† (Plato, Dialogue Part 1). Socrates articulated that he will not stop his aspiration for his fellow Athenians to have greater awareness of moral truth and goodness. Though, people might impede his questioning or arguing and even if they withdraw all the charges against him, Socrates put across his plan of not bringing an end to his inquiries for the pursuance of truth. Socrates was charged as guilty by a very small margin (36a). He was sentenced to death through drinking Hemlock. Though, Socrates can resort to emotive tricks to appease the juries. He relied ultimately to the truth in the presentation of his case. Socrates prophesied that the younger and harsher critics will pursue what he started that can aggravate them even more (39d). The Republic by Plato The Republic by Plato is also a Socratic dialogue. The main topic of the dialogue centers at the issue of who is happier between the just and the unjust man that was pictured through creating a make-believe city that is ruled by philosopher-kings. For most part, the dialogue tackles justice in different ways. Like in one part of the first book where two types of justice are presented but both were deemed inappropriate. First, talks about returning debts that someone owed while the second one embarks upon helping out friends at the same time harming the enemies. These were common definitions of justice that Socrates reckons to be derisory in isolated cases and as a consequence lack stringency stipulated of a definition, though he does not wholly decline them because each, in some way or another conveys a universal sagacity of justice. Justice when implemented with Philosophy encompasses goodwill to all mankind. This was evident in the end of Book I where Socrates approved Polemarchus insight that justice embraces helping out friends but the just man would never do any harm to anybody even an enemy. Thrasymachus on the other hand provides his perception of justice as â€Å"what is good for the stronger† (Book I), which reflects those people in Politics who have power over the society. This also echoes Thrasymachus belief that rulers are the primary resource of justice in every city where in they enact laws that benefit themselves the most. Philosophy is widely tackled in The Republic to influence Politics on what it should build within the society to provide a just community. In this dialogue, it can be seen that Philosophy and Politics can be reconciled though Philosophy still takes supremacy over Politics. Correspondingly, Socrates describes justice as â€Å"working at that which he is naturally best suited,† along with â€Å"to do one's own business and not to be a busybody† (433a-433b). He then continues by presenting how to sustain and perfect justice through three cardinal virtues to include Temperance, Wisdom, and Courage (433a-433b). Philosophy correlates with Politics through creating a society that divides people in to three distinct types which are the soldier, producer and ruler. Books II to IV mainly carry out that if a ruler can create just laws, and when the soldiers or warriors follow the orders of their rulers, and if authorities are obeyed by the producers, then it will formulate a society that is rightful and just, thus creating a happier life. Three arguments were presented by Plato why he sees that it is better to be just rather than for the individual to be unjust. The arguments were: An oppressor’s nature will allow him to incur â€Å"horrid pains and pangs† and that the conventional tyrant has a lifestyle that is mentally and physically challenging on a ruler which is the total opposite of a philosopher king that is truth loving (Book IX). Another argument in Book IX that Plato puts forward is that the Philosopher is the only type of ruler that can best run a society since he is acquainted to the Form of the Good. The last one that Plato contends is that â€Å"Pleasures which are approved by the lover of wisdom and reason are the truest† (Book IX). The Republic’s main ideology is to form the government and politics that is governed by philosopher-kings. In this, it is highly susceptible that Philosophy and politics could in some way or another worked hand in hand. Socrates believes that the four types of ruling such as timocracy, democracy, oligarchy and tyranny can lead to corruption of power. The Republic by Plato also contains his Allegory of the Cave where he elucidates how a former prisoner from a cave came to realize that the sun which illuminates the surrounding and which initially blinded him is the Form of the Good that causes the brightness. He also came to realize that it is the sun that made him see and appreciate the beauty and goodness in the things that surround him. Plato considers the caveman as the philosopher, who knows the Form of Good and therefore should educate others to spread the same light he achieved. The dialogue narrates conversations and arguments concerning an Ideal State by manipulating politics through Philosophical ideas and how other forms of governance could not properly and adequately sustain its ruling. Conclusion Though Plato’s â€Å"Apology† and â€Å"The Republic† mainly discuss how Philosophy or love of wisdom should be adhered over and above anything else, it also manifested that Philosophy and politics can reconcile to the betterment of the society. The â€Å"Apology† chiefly venerates Philosophy over politics but in some parts evidently address that people involved in Politics should be respected and followed, hence, when a clash between the two takes place Philosophy should win against the other. Plato’s â€Å"The Republic† on the other hand, points out a Political institution that is to be ruled by a Philosopher towards a just society.