An Exploration of Different Theories of Evolution Essay -- Life Evolut

An Exploration of Different Theories of Evolution Where did we come from? It is a question that has haunted the entire history of humanity. Thousands of years ago, our ancestors sought to answer the question with myths. Today, we are still struggling with the same question—only today we seek to answer this mystery with science. Given various observations, it seems plausible that all life arose from a few very simple organisms millions of years ago. Observations of life will raise two important (though almost paradoxical) questions: Why are there so many different kinds of life? And why do there appear to be some over-riding similarities among organisms? The diversity of life is apparent in the vast number of different species of plants and animals that exist on earth. By the mid 20th Century, there was an estimated 1 to 2 million different types of organisms. (12) Now, however, the number is even higher and is expected to continue to climb as more discoveries are made. That there are prevailing similarities among organisms is equally apparent. (13) All organisms use the same biochemical mechanisms to function. For example, all organisms use DNA and many proteins that make up cells and serve as enzymes are the same across species. (12) Also, organisms that are supposed to be closely " related" tend to s hare certain characteristics. For example, the bones in a whale's front flipper are arranged in much the same way as the bones in human beings' arms and both whales and humans are mammals and therefore more closely related than say humans and squid. (12) Evolution - as defined as - the theory that the various types of animals and plants have their origin in other preexisting types and that the distinguishable diff... ...) The Limits of Darwinism , by David Berlinski http://bostonreview.mit.edu/bostonreview/br22.1/berlinski.html 18) The RNA World , by Brig Klyce http://www.panspermia.org/rnaworld.htm 19) Viruses: Imported Genetic Software , by Brig Klyce http://www/panspermia.org/virus.htm 20) Encyclopedia Britannica Online http://www.panspermia.org/virus.htm 21) http://search.eb.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?va=Evolution , Encyclopedia Britannica Online http://www/panspermia.org/virus.htm 22) Article from US Environmental Protection Agency; published in May 1998 http://www.epa.gov/radiation/ionize.htm 23) Mutation: Causes and Repair , by McAllister; slide presentation http://www.uta.edu/biology/mcallister/3315/17_HTML%20Folder/tsld001.htm 24) Duke Study Finds New Causes of Mutation , by Marko Djuranovic http://www.netlink.de/gen/Zeitung/2001/010131.html An Exploration of Different Theories of Evolution Essay -- Life Evolut An Exploration of Different Theories of Evolution Where did we come from? It is a question that has haunted the entire history of humanity. Thousands of years ago, our ancestors sought to answer the question with myths. Today, we are still struggling with the same question—only today we seek to answer this mystery with science. Given various observations, it seems plausible that all life arose from a few very simple organisms millions of years ago. Observations of life will raise two important (though almost paradoxical) questions: Why are there so many different kinds of life? And why do there appear to be some over-riding similarities among organisms? The diversity of life is apparent in the vast number of different species of plants and animals that exist on earth. By the mid 20th Century, there was an estimated 1 to 2 million different types of organisms. (12) Now, however, the number is even higher and is expected to continue to climb as more discoveries are made. That there are prevailing similarities among organisms is equally apparent. (13) All organisms use the same biochemical mechanisms to function. For example, all organisms use DNA and many proteins that make up cells and serve as enzymes are the same across species. (12) Also, organisms that are supposed to be closely " related" tend to s hare certain characteristics. For example, the bones in a whale's front flipper are arranged in much the same way as the bones in human beings' arms and both whales and humans are mammals and therefore more closely related than say humans and squid. (12) Evolution - as defined as - the theory that the various types of animals and plants have their origin in other preexisting types and that the distinguishable diff... ...) The Limits of Darwinism , by David Berlinski http://bostonreview.mit.edu/bostonreview/br22.1/berlinski.html 18) The RNA World , by Brig Klyce http://www.panspermia.org/rnaworld.htm 19) Viruses: Imported Genetic Software , by Brig Klyce http://www/panspermia.org/virus.htm 20) Encyclopedia Britannica Online http://www.panspermia.org/virus.htm 21) http://search.eb.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?va=Evolution , Encyclopedia Britannica Online http://www/panspermia.org/virus.htm 22) Article from US Environmental Protection Agency; published in May 1998 http://www.epa.gov/radiation/ionize.htm 23) Mutation: Causes and Repair , by McAllister; slide presentation http://www.uta.edu/biology/mcallister/3315/17_HTML%20Folder/tsld001.htm 24) Duke Study Finds New Causes of Mutation , by Marko Djuranovic http://www.netlink.de/gen/Zeitung/2001/010131.html

The Bonsai

Bonsai All that I love I fold over once And once again And keep in a box Or a slit in a hollow post Or in my shoe. All that I love? Why, yes, but for the moment — And for all time, both. Something that folds and keeps easy, Son’s note or Dad’s one gaudy tie, A roto picture of a young queen, A blue Indian shawl, even A money bill. It’s utter sublimation A feat, this heart’s control Moment to moment To scale all love down To a cupped hand’s size, Till seashells are broken pieces From God’s own bright teeth. And life and love are real Things you can run and Breathless hand overTo the merest child. – Edith L. Tiempo * * * A first reading of Edith L. Tiempo’s signature poem is a tad confounding, for the first lady of Philippine poetry in English deploys the centripetal-centrifugal-centripetal (or inward-outward-inward) motion in expressing her profoundest thoughts and deepest feelings about love. The title itself, â€Å"Bonsa i,† is a bit misleading, since nowhere else in the poem are there any further references to plant life or the ancient Japanese technique of cultivating miniature trees or shrubs through dwarfing by selective pruning.Some might even argue that â€Å"Origami† is the better title choice, for at least the persona’s act of folding objects is a bit analogous to the Japanese art of paper folding to make complicated shapes. But this reader will prove at the end of this essay that â€Å"Bonsai† is the most appropriate title for the poem, something that is not quite obvious to most people after their perfunctory appraisal of this often misread literary masterpiece. However, despite the false lead, even a cursory perusal of the poem reveals to the sensitive and sensible reader that â€Å"Bonsai† is about love, if only because the four-letter word is mentioned in all four stanzas.In the first stanza, the persona declares that she folds everything that she loves and keeps them hidden in secret places: â€Å"a box,/ Or a slit in a hollow post,/ Or in my shoe. //† What then are the things she considers imperative enough to keep? At first glance, the catalogue of her beloved objects in the second stanza appears to be disparate, unrelated, almost random, if not completely aleatory. But since a literary sorceress like Tiempo seldom commits mistakes in conjuring appropriate images, then there must a be reason for singling out these particular items and not others.The more important query therefore is this: What do â€Å"Son’s note or Dad’s one gaudy tie,/ A roto[i] picture of a young queen,/ A blue Indian shawl, even/ A money bill. //† share in common? Besides being foldable and thus easy to keep, they must symbolize for the loving female persona important individuals and incidents in her life. For as the semiotician Roland Barthes correctly observes in A Lover’s Discourse: â€Å"Every object touched by the lo ved being’s body becomes part of that body, and the subject eagerly attaches himself to it. [ii] If we are to assume that the speaking voice of â€Å"Bonsai† closely resembles the poet’s own, then the first three objects must represent members of her immediate family: son Maldon; husband Edilberto (It is a well-known fact among writing fellows and panelists of the Silliman Writers’ Workshop that Edith fondly called the late fictionist and literary critic â€Å"Dad,† while being addressed by her husband as â€Å"Mom,† which is a common practice among Filipino couples. ; and daughter Rowena (Unknown to many, the current Program Administrator of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop is a former winner of the Miss Negros Oriental beauty contest sometime in the 1970s, another indicator of the Filipino flavor of the poem, since the Philippines is a pageant-obsessed Third World country. ). The referents of the last two items are more covert and thereby more difficult to decipher. At best, we can only speculate on the persons and/or events that make the two things significant: blue Indian shawl (Edith’s engagement date with Edilberto, her first winter in Iowa, her last autumn in Denver? ; money bill (Her initial salary from Silliman University, cash prize from the Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature? ). In the long run though the indeterminacy of the allusions does not really matter, for the opaqueness of the symbols leads not to generic obscurity and obfuscation, but to personal mythology and mystery. Perhaps part of the poem’s message is that the things a person considers memorable and therefore valuable most other people might think of as debris, detritus or dirt. Note that the adverb â€Å"even† modifying â€Å"money bill† is used to indicate something unexpected or unusual, which in the context of the poem seems to suggest that a money bill is not a conventional object to collect and treasure even by the most sentimental of persons. ) Suffice it to say that all five objects, which are outwardly ordinary and nondescript, acquire associative significations because they serve for the poetic persona as conduits of recall, like mementoes, souvenirs and keepsakes.Interestingly, the second stanza commences with what appears to be a rhetorical question (â€Å"All that I love? †), which the persona answers with a paradox: â€Å"Why, yes, but for the moment —/ And for all time, both. † The significance of these seemingly self- contradictory lines will be discussed towards the end of this essay, but for now this reader will focus on the fact that the persona pauses to contemplate on the germane issue of the scope of her love, before she proceeds to enumerate her loved ones’ memorabilia that she has decided to vouchsafe.Love for the female persona therefore is a conscious choice, a cognitive act not only an affective one, a motif that recurs in v arious degrees in most of her other love poems. In the third stanza, the persona explains the rationale behind her action: It’s utter sublimation A feat, this heart’s control Moment to moment To scale all love down To a cupped hand’s size, The keyword here is sublimation, which in psychology is the deflection of sexual energy or other atavistic biological impulse from its immediate goal to one of a higher social, moral or aesthetic nature or use.In chemistry, on the other hand, sublimation is the process of transforming a solid substance by heat into a vapor, which on cooling condenses again to solid form without apparent liquefaction. Inherent in both definitions is the act of refinement and purification through fire, since to sublimate in a sense is to make something sublime out of something sordid. In the latter a literal fire dissolves through a crucible the dross from the precious metal, while in the former it is furnace of the mind that burns away the supe rfluous from the crucial experiences.The second most important idea in this stanza is the procedure of scaling love down, which Tiempo asserts is a feat by itself, an exceptional accomplishment of the female persona’s sentimental heart which is achieved through utmost discipline and restraint. But aside from mere manageability, why is it necessary to miniaturize love, to whittle it down to the size of â€Å"a cupped hand†? The answer to this pertinent question is given, albeit in a tangential fashion, in the fourth and last stanza: â€Å"And life and love are real/ Things you can run and/ Breathless hand over/ To the merest child. Love as â€Å"real things† or concrete objects rather than as abstract concepts is easier to pass on, since it has become more tangible and thus more comprehensible to most everyone else, including children and one’s beloved offspring. It also underscores the importance of bequeathing the legacy of love to the next generation, since as the cliche goes â€Å"children are the future of the world,† which makes â€Å"the merest child,† and not the wisest woman nor the strongest man, the ideal recipient of such a wonderful gift.The image of the cupped hand also emphasizes the idea that in the act of giving the one offering the bequest is also a beggar of sorts, since the beneficiary can always refuse to accept the heirlooms being proffered. But another important element is introduced in the ultimate stanza, for the persona by some extraordinary leap of the imagination perceives the seashells on the beach as â€Å"broken pieces/ From God’s own bright teeth,† which for a better understanding of â€Å"Bonsai† must be elaborated on, so that readers of Philippine poetry from English can fully appreciate the tight structural organization of the poem.Gemino H. Abad in his remarkable essay â€Å"Mapping Our Poetic Terrain: Filipino Poetry in English from 1905 to the Present†[i ii]connects this image to the paradoxical lines of the second stanza â€Å"for the moment —/ And for all time, both. † This reader cannot help but agree, since indeed the five objects mentioned by the persona being mementoes of the people she loves are metonyms of memory, shattered but shimmering fragments of chronology, captured important moments immortalized in the heart and mind, if we are to visualize Time itself as a manifestation of God.Of greater consequence, thought, is that this divine figure completes Tiempo’s poetic picture about love and remembrance by adding the spiritual detail, for love like the unmentionable Hebrew name of the Almighty is also a Tetragrammaton, a four-letter word, which has probably engendered the often-quoted adage that â€Å"God is Love, and Love is God. † Structurally speaking, her most famous poem can thus be diagrammed in this manner: TREE/SHRUB ——- bonsai LOVE ————- sonâ€⠄¢s note, Dad's one gaudy tie, etc.GOD ————– seashells MAN/WOMAN ——– merest child On the left side of the chart are the huge objects, concepts or people: full-size flora (Tree/Shrub), big abstract words (Love, God) and grownups (Man/Woman). Their miniature analogues, in contrast, are found on the right side of the chart. However, these diminutive parallels, especially the mementoes, retain the spirit of their larger versions, since the process of sublimation reduces things only in terms of size but not in essence.Ultimately, this makes â€Å"Bonsai† the perfect title of the poem, for a bonsai has all the necessary parts that make a tree or a shrub what it is: roots, a trunk, branches, leaves and flowers, albeit in smaller portions; in the same manner that love even if sublimated by the heart and the mind still preserves its sum and substance, its lifeblood in the truest sense of the written word and the word made flesh.

HMs Entry Strategy into Japan - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 7 Words: 2022 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Marketing Essay Type Research paper Level High school Did you like this example? D ­ana Dgg Gunnarsd ³ttir kt. 250593-2799 Gerur Dra Aalsteinsd ³ttir kt. 200993-2339 Nada r Emilsd ³ttir kt. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "HMs Entry Strategy into Japan" essay for you Create order 090893-3439 International Business Teacher: ÃÆ'Ã… ¾orgeir PÃÆ' ¡lsson Contents Brief introduction of HM Employees Turnover International operations Sustainability HMà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s entry strategy into Japan Choosing a market, timing and scale Entry mode Greenfield vs Acquisition References Brief introduction of HM Hennes Mauritz (HM) is a Swedish multinational retail-clothing company. It was founded in 1947, when Erling Persson opened the first store in VÃÆ' ¤sterÃÆ' ¥s, Sweden. It is ranked the second largest global clothing retailer. Their business concept is offering fashion and quality at the best price. HM has grown into a leading global fashion company. The company has over 116,000 employees and 3,132 stores in 53 countries. HM does not own any factories but instead outsources its production to around 900 independent suppliers, mainly in Asia and Europe. These facilities are used for horizontal division of labour, rather than being integrated.. Many of their products are made in some of the worldà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s poorest countries, this creates millions of jobs for developing countries and therefore is not a bad thing. A clear business concept and strong values have taken HM from a single store to a leading global fashion company, with a passion for fashion, a belief in people and a desire to always exceed customersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ expectations. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“In a globalisised world, it is not a question for a company like ours to be present in emerging markets. Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a matter of how we do ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ . Employees HM has around 116,000 employees, 77 percent of the employees are women and 23 percent are men. HMà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s design department employs 160 in-house designers and 100 pattern makers. The team is large and diverse, representing different age groups and nationalities who draw inspiration from every corner of the globe and a wide variety of sources. Turnover HMà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s yearly turnover grew 6% from 1 December 2012 to 30 November 2013). HM Group had a 14.6 billion euro turnover last year, while gross profit grew from 8.1 billion euro to 8.6 billion euro and net profit reached 1.95 billion euro. The group has also opened another 356 new stores last year. Fourth quarter turnover grew from 3.7 billion euro to 4.1 billion euro, resulting in a 0.63 billion euro net profit. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“2013 ended strongly with well-received autumn collections, which increased our sales in the fourth quarter by 13 percent in local currenciesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ , CEO Karl-Johan Persson said in a press release. International operations The company has a strong global presence. In 2013, 356 stores were opened around the world. That means on average more than one store opened each day in 2013. Before they open a store in a new country or city an assessment is made of the marketà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s potential. Factors such as demographic structure, economic growth, infrastructure, political risk, human rights and environmental sustainability are analysed. HM stores are run by HM, with the exception of some markets where we collaborate with franchising partners. Franchising is not part of the general expansion strategy. https://about.hm.com/en/About/facts-about-hm/about-hm/expansion-strategy.html Online shopping has also increased rapidly over the last years. Hm.com is one of the most visited fashion website around the world. In 2013 HM offered online shopping in nine contries; Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, the UK and the US. HM business concept is to offer fashion and qua lity at the best price and its strategy is to always have the best customer offering in each individual market. They achieve the best price by having in-house designers, buying in large purchasing volumes, having no middlemen, buying the right product from the right market, being cost-conscious in every part of the organisation and through efficient logistics. HM is growing all over the world while maintaining quality, sustainability and high profitability. The general rule for expansion is that every store has to have the best commercial location. HM does not have any factory of its own; their products are manifactured by 900 independent suppliers, mainly in Asia and Europe. They work in close cooperations with the suppliers to guarantee that the quality of the products and that the manufacturing takes place under good working conditions. HM can be more flexible than many other retailers in lowering its costs, by not owning any factories. (International trade plays an imp ortant role in countriesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ development by creating job opportunities and economic growth. HMà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s business helps create more than a million jobs, mostly in the textile industry in Asia.) Sustainability Sustainability is an inseparable part of the business and includes aspects such as ethics, human rights and the environment. Around 100 expert sustainability specialists are working to support continual progress in the area of sustainability and carrying out regular audits to ensure that the suppliers are abiding by HMà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Code of Conduct. https://about.hm.com/content/dam/hm/about/documents/en/Annual%20Report/Annual-Report-2013_en.pdf On their website it says; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s our plan for making fashion sustainable and sustainability fashionable.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“ (https://about.hm.com/en/About/sustainability/commitments/our-seven-commitments.html) To do this they have to run the company in a way that is benificcial for the people, environment and their business. They have seven commitments to fulfill these standards. 1. Provide fashion for conscious customers 2. Choose and reward responsible partners 3. Be ethical 4. Be climate smart 5. Reduce, reuse, recycle 6. Use natural resources responsibly 7. Strengthen communities Companies that use a global standardization strategy focus on pursuing low-cost strategy on a global scale. They prefer to market a standardized product worldwide so that they can reap the maximum benefits from economies of scale and learning effects. They create value by reducing cost by using the ecpericence and operational skills gained from the whole operation. Locations are based on how and where parts of the value-chain are best located; Marketing at the headquarters and production in low cost countries. HM uses global standardization strategy. As stated earlier, HM focus on having the best price and uses outsourcing method in the production af the clothes. HMà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s entry strategy into Japan This chapter is meant to give the reader a little inside into HMà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"s entry strategy. A good example to cover this topic is HMà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"s greenfield venture market entry to Japan in September, 2008. Choosing a market, timing and scale A good and successful entry strategy consists of three main parts. The first part relates to which market to entry and the time and scale of the entry. The second part is choice of entry mode and finally the last part is the importance of strategic alliances. Considering that HM has a desire to grow and maximize its financial capabilities, it is only but logical that as it company it should consider increasing its stores in other countries. However which market to enter and when to take action can be a difficult decision to make. Naturally the decision is usually based on assessment of potential profits. The one thing in particular that made the Japanese market an attractive option for HM was the vast amount of potential new customers. It needed to be taken into consideration though that Japan is considered to be one of the highest competitive markets when it comes to fashion but with good adaptation quality-wise Japan could be a feasible option. However timing might possibly ha ve been better. The year before in 2007 HM had made a successful invasion into China but at that time economy was blooming and it is safe to say that all criteria for successful invasion into a new market was met. That was not really the case with Japan. In 2008 economic growth had begun to decline, people had tighter budget than before and on top of that market reports showed that market for clothing was declining. That however was seen as an advantage as HM offered less expensive products than say Dior, Armani and even less expensive stores like GAP and Japanese chain Uniqlo. Another thing that is important to think about when entering a new market is the scale of entry. It is well known that companies that have spent large sums of money on say have struggled to tmake it due to the high cost. That was not the case for HM in Japan since the opted for just one store in September. Entry mode When the decision to enter a new market has been made the main question is which for to choose for the entry. There a couple of forms mentioned in the textbook including, export, the most simple form of entry, turnkey projects, licensing, franchising, joint venture and wholly owned subsidiaries. HMà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s overall global strategy consists mostly of wholly owned subsidiaries which is the case with the Japan store although the company has on some occasions gone for franchise agreements. A wholly owned subsidiary means that the store abroad is 100% owned by the parent company. The main advantage with such a form is that the company does not risk losing control over the competences that make their competitive advantage as control over operation. Besides having a wholly owned subsidiary gives firms a tight control over the operations overseas. However this the most expensive form of entry there is from a capital investment point of view. With increased cost come the inc reased risks. Also it is important to remember that companies expanding the operations abroad need to go through a certain learning process on how to do business in the market. This knowledge transfer process typically takes longer when the entry form is wholly owned subsidiary rather than partly owned by locals like in the case of joint ventures. (Gupta Govindarajan, 2000). Govindarajan, V., Gupta, A.K. 2000. Knowledge flows within the multinational corporations. Strategic Management Journal. Vol. 21(4), p.473-496. Greenfield vs Acquisition There two main ways to establish a subsidiary on a foreign soil. One option is to build the unit form the ground up. This is called the Greenfield strategy. The other way is in the form Acquisition where the firm acquires existing assets in the new market. When HM entered Japan the firm opted first the first one, the greenfield strategy. The book International Business: Competing in the Global Marketplace has these deffinitons for greendield and acquisition: Greenfield: A new facility built from scratch. Establishing a new operation in a foreign country. Building a subsidiary from the ground up Acquisition: Acquiring an enterprise in the target market. An acquisition of an existing one. Over most of the past two decades, between 40 and 80 percent of all FDI inflows have been in the form of mergers and acquisitions. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾The big advantage og establishing a greenfield venture in a foreign country is that it gives the firm a much greater ability to build the k ind of subsidiary company that it wantsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“. (bls 464 ÃÆ' ­ le bÃÆ' ³k). In the beginning the first store opened was given the name Hennes, which in Sweden means à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾Hersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“, and only clothes for women were sold there at that time. The year 1968 Persson bought Mauritz Widforss, which was a haunting and gun store. This led to that he began selling mens clothes in his stores and gave the company a new name; Hennes Mauritz, better known as HM. Last year, HM made its first acquisition since the company was founded in 1947, taking majority control of Swedens Fabric Scandinavien in May. The four-year-old company owned two hip Swedish properties: Monki, a 12-store chain aimed at teenage girls, and the smaller Weekday, whose six stores sell a mix of outside labels and house brands such as ÃÆ' ¼ber-trendy Cheap Monday jeans (which are also sold through 1,000 other retailers including Barneys New York). Both chains are still small in size and l imited to Sweden, at least for now. But theres huge potential to make the new businesses more efficient and expand internationally by having access to HMs sourcing and logistics.