A Report on the Foraging Behavior among the Chameleon Species Research Paper

A Report on the Foraging Behavior among the Chameleon Species - Research Paper Example Chameleons are predominantly omnivorous though some species exhibit more preference for carnivorous diet while others are more herbivorous. Some smaller species are preyed upon by some predators like birds and snake making them. Chameleons have a unique feeding strategy due to the wide variety of diets and foraging habit. Aerts Herrel, Meyers and Nishikawa observed that the retraction of the chameleon tongue pad creates suction on the prey and enhances adhesion of the tongue (3262). This report focuses on the foraging behavior of the chameleon. Objectives of the Report The specific objectives of this report are to; I. Provide an in-depth understanding of foraging mode exhibited by different chameleon species II. Examine the prey capturing mechanism in chameleons and how it is associated with the chameleon foraging mode III. Establish whether chameleons exhibit a unique prey capturing mechanism and foraging mode Characteristic Features of the Foraging Mode in Chameleons Foraging mode is one of the most crucial aspects in animal life. Foraging mode is used to describe the manner in which animals obtain food within its ecological habitat. Foraging is usually associated with other natural and behavioral traits like locomotive ability, energy utilization and reproduction among others. More importantly, foraging mode plays a critical role in determining prey-predator interactions among animal species. The chameleon’s feeding behavior is often defined in terms of foraging mode which has been mainly classified as either active or ambush (sit-and-wait) type (Hagey, Harmon and Losos 1). With regards to behavior, there are observable differences between active and ambush foragers. Active foragers exhibit a high frequency of movement, tend to prey on sedentary prey, use more energy and possess small clutch size (Butler 797). As a result of their highly motile behavior, active foraging chameleon species are likely to obtain their prey through encounter. On the other hand, the sit-and-wait foraging chameleons exhibit less movements, tend to remain still for longer periods and often run to the prey as they spot it. Active and ambush foraging is largely determined by other factors including morphological and behavioral characteristics, the type of prey and habitat use among others. It has been found that variations exist among active and ambush foragers in terms of activity levels, body temperatures and intake of calories. Most active foragers have higher levels of activity, high caloric intakes and higher body temperatures than their ambush counterparts (Hagey, Harmon and Losos 1-2). This phenomenon is true for chameleons as such differences have been observed among different chameleon species. Chameleons have unique morphological and behavioral characteristics which influences their foraging behavior. In a study aimed at investigating chameleon foraging mode in the dwarf chameleon (Bradypodium pumilum), Butler suggested that in addition to the u sual active versus ambush foraging strategy in chameleons, some species have adapted an alternative cruise mode

Supply chain strategies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Supply chain strategies - Essay Example Especially in the recession stricken economic situation of today, new innovative ways of managing supply chains have to be devised. What follows are five such prominent strategies. Strategy 1: Adopting a demand-driven approach to production based on inputs from real-time demand data. This strategy quite useful both when applied to pre-production and post-production supply chain processes. A key aspect of SCM is the ability to accurately predict likely future demands. But it is equally important to be able to fall back on contingency plans that could mitigate the effects of natural disasters, political instabilities and suppliers going out of business, etc. By planning for these, â€Å"companies then can adjust pricing and promotions strategies to shape demand, move additional product quickly, drive revenue growth, or further expand margins for a high-demand product with limited market supply. The key is to have the foresight to leverage opportunities and mitigate challenging events so that your business not only survives, but succeeds.† (Muzumdar, 2010) Strategy 2 is Optimization of product designs for supply, manufacturing and sustainability so that innovative processes could be applied. In the highly competitive business environment of today, innovation can make the difference between survival and bankruptcy.

Effective Use Of Problem Solving Techniques Philosophy Essay

Effective Use Of Problem Solving Techniques Philosophy Essay It is our applied management syllabus in business management course. We were doing a project in this subject. We have to do that select any kind if business and find and identify a problem in that and then by using problem solving techniques make a solution for that identified problem. Before started it was looking a difficult job but when we did started it was making easy step by step. We had chosen DLF Construction Company. In this project we used many techniques. We used swot analysis and porter 5 forces to identify a problem .it all were included in our first assessment. In our second assessment we did a work on identified problem. We used cause and effects, 5 whys also in problem solving techniques. We got many solutions to solve it. Change in design and estimation skills we found to solve identified problem. In this project we selected DLF construction Ltd. It is an Indian construction company. When we were doing this project then it was necessary that our selected business should have any major problem. For eg. If we select Burger King. Then customer service is the main problem. And then we had to do that analyse the problem by using tools cause and effects. Then we had to need that find solutions by using problem solving techniques. There were so many solutions to solve the problem but we did search for some main solutions to get the decision. Problem indemnification We select DLF construction Ltd. Company to do our project. We did many researches to get more knowledge about this company. We used swot analysis and make a list about its strengths, weaknesses. Opportunities, and treats and porters 5forces to analyse the problem. We got in our search that estimation was the major problem in our selected company. This problem exist universally, estimation problem cause the profit of DLF group decline. Estimation is a very important practical work in construction project. Solutions:- When we were searching for suitable solutions, we used some problem solving techniques. We used 5 whys to get a perfect solution for identified problem. we used cause and effects and we got four factors which effect estimation problem. These four factors are:- Change in design. Inappropriate technology. Estimation skills. Documentations. When we were searching about solutions we also got some knowledge from our class. Because in our class our tutor also was helping us in our project. He discussed every groups project in every lecture one by one. We got so many different points of views from there. We got the cause documentations from our class. Strategies used to get solutions:- In our research about solution for DLFs estimation problem, we got DLF has some internal and some external factors by 5 whys, which can effect by change management. DLF have to do use change management in their business. It has to change design by analysing changes in design. It has to analyse estimation skills to solve poor estimation skill problem. When we were searching about estimation skills that what we have to do in this research or what kind of job has to have estimation skills? And the answer was estimator. Then, to understand estimation skill better we did search about estimator duties in construction in Googles search engine. We read so many entries; finally we picked up five entries. These five entries are:- The Responsibilities of a Construction Estimator[5] Construction Estimator Job Description[6] Construction Estimator Job description and activities[7] Construction Estimator Job Description [8](it is the same title with second entry, but they have different content). CONSTRUCTION ESTIMATOR CLASS CLASSIFICATIONSAN DIEGO CITY CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION[9] We identified these all entries in our second assessment. We used 5 whys in estimation skills also. We got that company have to need to give prefer to experience staff, because old employees have better experience than new employees. DLF has to do check qualification of estimator every three years, make sure they have enough skills and their experience match with new technologies and industrial standard. Teams role Introduction:- We have group no.4.we are four members in our group. Our names are below:- Daljit Kaur (me). Liu Xiong. Kiran Gullapalli. Sukhwinder Kaur. In our group we all are hard worker and intelligent but Liu Xiong, he is a Chinese boy. He is very intelligent and smart in our group. So we select him as a leader of our group. He did such a real leadership role in our project. He is very helpful and kind person also. I have no internet at home and I have a baby also so I was unable to type my assessment but he did a great job me he and Kiran both typed our assessment. I am very thankful to them for this act of kindness. In our team we all did a good job in our project. We are four members in our team. We three are from India and one from china. We have different ethnic culture in our team. We got some problem to communicate with each other, because we are living so far to each other. So we make contact by phone to each other. We can also use internet but there is no internet at my home. And i was unable to go at internet cafe. On the other hand we did also many meetings after our classes also. It is our each team members role below:- Liu Xiong: he is our team leader. He is very smart and intelligent person of our team. We did all research by own and send it to him and then he select an appropriate research and type it .we can say he gave final touch to every commitment. He also made a chart about change management in our project. Kiran Gullapalli: He is very intelligent person. He told us about this company when we start our whole project. He gave us a lot of knowledge about their business. Sukhwinder: she is an intelligent girl. She did some good jobs in our project. She did business problem in our project. Daljit: its me. I did a better job in our project. I did many researches and made the part of change in design. I did very hard work in our project. A change can make best to any design and a change also can make failure to any design also. So it is very necessary that which change you are going to do, Make sure that it is best for your design. So I did this part of project with the help of my members also. On the other hand it was a great job which we did successfully in individual. Own role: when we did start our project we did contribute our assessment that who will do what. Kiran did first part of assessment. He did introduction and we all give him help in that. Second part was done by Liu Xiong.he did the main body. And we all give him our research and views. Third and last part is conclusion, which was done by me and Sukhwinder also. We did limitations, implication and summary. On the other hand it was a great job which we did successfully in individual. I got one thing from this job that team is a very good part or key to get solution of any problem. We can get knowledge from different minds. Because everyone have different point of view in their mind. It makes the easier to your work. I got more knowledge from my group members about business management during this project. As i mentioned that I have no internet at my home so we discussed this project in meeting at my colleges library. Because we all members are living far away to each other so we did all meetings after every class. It was two to three hours period every day. We debate some time during our project. Because when we discussed our researches then after that we find an appropriate answer for our project. I did really hard work in this project. I think internet is very necessary in this time. I feel that internet is the main key of any study during period. Without it we cant find any research about any project and we cant communicate with anyone also. So it is very necessary that if you want to do any study then it is necessary that you have internet at your home which you can use any time. Because sometime when you are at home anytime and you are thinking about your project then any ideas can come in your mind, for save you can type it and send to your group members and discus it at the moment also. May be it should be perfect for your project. Some time I also did many calls to my members but you cant expose your thoughts by wording every time. So we all did very hard work in this project. It was really an interesting job. I like it very much. I got so many different energetic ideas from our team work. I got team work can discover the advantage of success. I also discovered that even the simplest things on earth could be turned into something amazing if we put enough creativity and effort into working on them. In this assignment, we practiced using scientific method to solve a real problem. The process include Problem identified, Analyse the root factor, search solution for root factor and get integrated solution. Especially in the stage of analyse root factor, the 5 Why method was used to find root factors, before to do that i was thinking that it is really a hard job but after started it all questions were coming in front one by one. There were so many solutions make an appropriate solution for identified problem. We put all solutions together and then select a perfect solution for that. Review our assignment, we used Brainstorming and 5 Whys looking for solution, due to the limitations of Brainstorming and 5 Whys, our solution couldnt completely solve problem. E.g. in the stage of Brainstorming, although we listed some causes, but these causes cant cover all of the causes whilst we only chose two major causes to analyse, it leaded to information loss once again. When we were doing the 5 Whys, we found some solutions, but these solutions are still lock of details. In the real production actives, DLF need do more detailed work. On the other hand, our constructions experience affects the quality of solutions as well Recommendation:- After we finished our work, we learned that choose a good method is the first step to success, master the tool is a guarantee to success, besides these, gather information is also very important during the problem solving, more information you gathered more helpful to help you fix real problem. Team work is a good job .you can contribute your burden with whole team in it .It gives you different views to know something. It makes your path very easy. On the other hand team work has more interpersonal communication problem. We are three members from India and one from china. It makes us sometime difficult to understand him. When we did start our project then we all was unable to know anything about it. But after start it all things were coming in front one by one. It was not an easy job but now I can say it was a good and easy job. Our one member Sukhwinder, she was unable to do anything but we all give her help to do all projects researches. One time we were stuck in fish bone that how we can use it to identified the problem. We did so many things but finally we made a decision that we will not use it. So we use swot analysis and porters 5 forces in it. It was a good decision to make easier to our project. When we did start our project i was feeling unable to myself to do this project. I was so worried about my role that how could I do these all jobs. But now I am very happy with our jobs in whole project. I learned that every project has some weaknesses and some strengths and working with a group can help discover what they are. We faced many challenged in our project. It was a difficult job but now I can say if in future I will meet any problem like this with an individual work on it then I can face it very easily. Because this job make me able to face any problem very nicely. I can solve my problems with good skills. Now, I like challenges. I can prove my ability to do any project. I can make any change in design with confidence. I can handle any situation at any place because this assessment gives me a lot of skills to do any project within a group. It was a great opportunity to learn anything about applied management. If in future I will face same project, then i will not tensed like this. It will be easy for me. I can understand my all group members point of view easily because of this group assessment. I get more confidence after this project. I can expose myself and my feelings easily now. I can use my decision making skills easily, which are improved by this project. I can prove myself in similar project in future. I am interested in team work and I can make any decision with team project. In shortly i can say this project improve my decision making skills and problem solving skills also, which can help to find problem and then make a decision also.

Complex Visual Hallucinations and Macular Degeneration :: Optometry Psychiatry Neurology Essays

Complex Visual Hallucinations and Macular Degeneration Located in the center of the retina, the sensitive macula provides us with sight in the center of our field of vision. When we look directly at something, the macula allows us to see the fine details. This sharp, straight-ahead vision is necessary for driving, reading, recognizing faces, and doing close work, such as sewing. Macular degeneration is the impairment of this central macular area. Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of vision loss in the Western world in the over 50 age group. It most commonly affects those of northern European descent and is uncommon in African-Americans and Hispanics. The prevalence increases with age. It affects about 15% of the population by age 55, and over 30% are affected by age 75 (Miller, 1992). In macular degeneration a layer beneath the retina, called the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), gradually wears out from its lifelong duties of disposing of retinal waste products. Eventually the capacity of the RPE layer to handle these metabolic products is overwhelmed and the RPE begins to degenerate (Miller, 1992). Other deep layers involved in development of macular degeneration are Bruch's membrane and the choroid layer. Additional factors that may hasten loss of the RPE layer, and the resulting degeneration of the central retina (macula) include hereditary factors, ultraviolet rays from sunlight, and blue iris color (more UV rays reach the retina in blue-eyed patients, probably because of the lower pigment density in the eye). There are basically two forms of macular degeneration. So-called dry (or atrophic) macular degeneration, which accounts for 90% of cases, is caused by the aging and thinning of the tissues of the macula (Miller, 1992). This type is characterized by tiny yellowish deposits under the macular part of the retina. These deposits are known as drusen and may increase in size and number over time. Areas of loss of retinal and RPE layers in the macula may gradually appear. Small clumps of brown pigment from the degenerating RPE layer also are commonly seen. The other major form of this disease is wet (or exudative macular degeneration) which is a much greater threat to vision loss even though it accounts for only 10% of cases. This type can be associated with a more sudden loss of vision due to leakage or bleeding under the macula from abnormal vessels, called the choriocapillaris, arising from one of the deeper layers.

21st Century man is no more knowledgeable than his 19th Century predecessor: he simply thinks he is

To answer this question entirely and accurately it is necessary to define quite what we mean by knowledge. Knowledge is the state or fact of knowing; the familiarity, understanding or awareness gained through experience or study; the sum or range of what has been perceived, studied or learned; learning, erudition: teachers of great knowledge or specific information about someone. This question needs to be answered before we can say whether a layman has become more knowledgeable since the 19th century or not. I will focus on the first definition that states, â€Å"Knowledge is the state or fact of knowing. † A man's knowledge consists of facts and we cannot say whether these so-called facts are true because if somebody tells us something we merely take it for granted that it is the truth. We can mainly tell what the macroscopic properties of something are i. . if someone confronted us with a red baseball bat we would be able to see that it was red and metallic looking and nobody would be able to disprove these facts. If we looked at the baseball bat closer though, going into the realms of science and the theories surrounding it and somebody said that the rod was steel and the atomic structure of steel was such and such and the properties of it were such and such we wouldn't be able to see these things in reality. What we are taught in schools and elsewhere is basically the thoughts of other supposedly clever men and women and we cannot that they are true – to be very honest we cannot prove that anything is true not even that the world we live in is real and that we actually exist as people. An instance of everyone believing the words of some supposedly clever men is when before the time of Galileo (who proved this to be utter rubbish) it was widely believed that the world was flat and anyone who disagreed with this was joshed and laughed at, as everyone knew that the fact was that the earth was flat. This leads to my belief that in years to come things that we take for granted such as that we have landed on the moon will be proved to be complete rubbish and an immense cover-up by an embarrassed nation who could give its people what they wanted and so had to trick them into believing about space flight. From this we discover that knowledge is purely subjective and could not be any other way. Our knowledge of science or at least our layman's grasp of it is in fact a jumble of half-remembered â€Å"facts† which we regurgitate when necessary. My view at the moment would be that a layman in the 21st century does know more a bout science than his predecessor in the 19th century. In the 19th century education was neither compulsory nor state-funded as it is today and so only the rich would have the benefit of a sound education and they could not be counted as lay. Even if they could be counted as lay though due to the fact that there has apparently been extremely large amounts of scientific discoveries made, such as that of electricity, between the 19th century and the present day. Other resources such as the media and the internet help to make information more widely available to us today and these certainly wouldn't have been available or even existed in the 19th century. Every bit of this contributes to our so-called knowledge making us a more knowledgeable human being. We at Winchester College are in a slightly different situation to the your Joe Public on the street but even we have no idea what Phenyl Cyclo Hexyl Hyperidine (otherwise known as PCP) actually is. Now we ask ourselves do the scientists who do these things actually know that they are true or are they merely making educated guesses about them. They don't; they merely speculate and that is the most that anyone can do. The fact that these scientists are always improving their theories suggests even more so that they are speculatory, as a fact cannot be changed in such a way by definition. The only thing that can be said to be a fact upon this apparently realistic earth, actually a simulation, is the Ultimate fact – that God exists. Unfortunately this is only the Ultimate fact to those who believe in God so even this can be argued against. Humans, at least in my knowledge, has not evolved at all since the 19th century thus our brains have no more capacity for extra knowledge, merely that we have extra information crammed into our head due to the fact that information is more readily available to us, rather than actually having more knowledge than we did in the 19th century. We could thus be called more knowledgeable but we don't even know whether this so-called information is actually true or not.

Discuss in Scholarly Detail the Benefits and Risks Associated with Strategic Management Essay

Strategic management allows organizations to be more proactive than reactive and to initiate and influence internal and external activities to gain control over its own destiny. It allows executives at all levels to participate in analyzing a firm’s current practices in order to formulate and implement shorter and longer term strategies for growth and development. Historically, this participative approach has produced better results. Another benefit of strategic management has been to formulate better strategies through the use of the more systematic and proven methodologies. Organizations of all sizes have recognized and realized the benefits of strategic management. While financial benefits include increased sales, profitability and productivity, non-Financial benefits include, better understanding of competitor’s strategies and reduced resistance to change across the organization. Strategic planning with risk awareness has always been difficult. According to Rick Funston & Bob Ruprecht (http://bpmmag.net), Success demands excellent risk management as a core competency. Risk intelligence enables an organization to respond to rapidly changing circumstances with greater agility and resilience. Risk handled well becomes a source of competitive advantage; handled poorly it can severely hamper a company’s prospects. The greater the risk, the less complacent organization can afford to be. More often executives who are responsible for strategic planning lack an integrated view of risk due to the unavailability of business intelligence when needed. Many organizations fail to consider a range of time horizons when incorporating risk considerations into the planning process resulting in uncertainty down the chain-of-command with each expanding time horizon. Unavailability of an integrated decision-support framework that links key performance metrics with business and risk intelligence multiplies the risks exponentially.