Tuesday, November 26, 2019

The evolutionary reason reading is hard †and why thats good news

The evolutionary reason reading is hard – and why thats good news This is why reading most documents feels like hard work There’s one thing about reports that people never seem to talk about. Even after 21 years, and training more than 50,000 people to write well, I really cant recall anyone bringing it up. And that secret is this: reading is hard. I don’t mean we find it difficult to read our email or text messages, or even social media. (Though there’s an awful lot more to doing that than you think.) No, I mean reading reports, official guides or any other vaguely technical document is hard. Hard reading is a feeling that’s familiar to us all. We’ve all been there. It’s Friday afternoon and you’re hunched over a dense document, trying in vain to decipher page after page of turgid text. Each sentence seems like an effort as you strain to wrap your head around just exactly what it is the author is meaning to say. More coffee hasn’t helped. You’re now on your third attempt to read the current paragraph and yet – somehow – the words just aren’t going in. And you’re still on the first page. It’s about as enjoyable and effortless as trudging around Ikea on a wet Saturday afternoon – with a hangover. And yet, those words that seem to get lost between the page and your brain are exactly the same ones that someone else thought were the best way to convey important information from their head to yours. Mind-boggling cost I’m not saying this is a new issue – far from it. But these days we have the technology to create these things in vast numbers. Just think how many times something very similar to the above scenario must play itself out in an organisation. The mind boggles at how much that must cost. Yet this is an opportunity as well as a challenge. Reports that are easy to read rise to the top and make way more impact than the rest. They stand out simply because they are different from the majority. And, rather than being a drain on mental resources, they leave us plenty of brain space to consider their implications and make quick decisions on what to do about them. Producing them is easier said than done though. If that were not the case, then everyone would write them and I would have no need to write this blog post. A report thats easy to read is the exception – simply because that’s the type that most people struggle to produce. But theres one important factor here thats easy to overlook. Reading anything is something of a miracle of biology. Understanding that is the key to getting your documents to the top and really making an impact. As you’re reading this, something incredibly complex is going on in your brain. You are looking at greyscale symbols on a screen and converting them into ideas. Abraham Lincoln called it ‘the greatest invention of the world’ – communicating thoughts to the mind through the eye. A human invention And yes, it is an invention. This is not something we evolved to do. We actually evolved to communicate vocally and face to face, over hundreds of millions of years. We’ve been communicating through symbols, what we now call reading, for less than five-and-a-half thousand years. That’s barely a heartbeat in evolutionary terms, and certainly not long enough to have evolved brain structures dedicated to the task. Instead, we take apparatus that we evolved for a whole variety of other situations and co-opt it into deciphering a seemingly endless string of squiggles and dots. We are utilising our brain’s structure for something it was never meant to do. (And on that Friday afternoon, it probably feels like it.) No artificial intelligence can match this feat, even now. You see proof of this every time you answer a website’s demand to confirm that you’re not a robot. That simple statement placed on the site as a graphics file rather than text is all it takes to differentiate you from a cyborg. Narrow focus: your eyes scan text by taking four or five narrow snapshots every second (Dahaene, 2009) Even capturing the words to process is incredible in itself. The fact that you seem to do it easily is just an illusion. In reality, as you are scanning this text, your brain is instructing your eyes to take four or five snapshots every second (known as saccades). There’s only one small area of your retina that has a high-enough resolution to take these pictures (called the fovea), which means that the snapshots themselves are small, too – occupying only about 15 per cent of your visual field. If you stop and freeze your gaze at any one point, you’ll see that you’re only actually focused on one or two words. Each word is then split into fragments, to be reassembled later. And that’s just the start of it. Next, the brain processes the words in the area that all primates – not just us but our monkey and ape cousins – use to recognise symbols and shapes. It’s no coincidence that the shapes most commonly found in nature are also the most common shapes across all written languages – T and L. These shapes (in various orientations) are the most frequent not just in those that use the Roman alphabet – such as English, French, German or Spanish – but Bengali, Thai, Chinese and even the hieroglyphs of the ancient Egyptians. We then cross-check this information against our database of words. Those we recognise get processed down one neural pathway; those we don’t, we mentally pronounce before checking to see if we recognise the sound pattern. We then choose which words we think we’re reading and that (finally) triggers the thought process. Its incredibly complex and to complete it in a fraction of a second takes a lot of brainpower. With most documents, it probably feels like it. You can almost hear the cogs grinding round as it happens. But not all reading feels like hard work. Sometimes you simply don’t notice the cognitive effort going on behind the scenes. In fact, there are many things we read that don’t feel like reading at all. We simply get lost in the flow (even if we didn’t intend to). And that’s the stuff we return to again and again. This doesn’t mean writing that material is easy, of course. Far from it. The old saying ‘easy read, hard write’ has never been more true than when it comes to writing good documents. Make it easier The trick is to write them with the brain in mind. Use good design to make them easy on the eye. Incorporate lots of white space. Use narrow columns that are easy for the eye to scan across and move onto the next line quickly. Use short, powerful words in between the technical ones. Note that this is not the same as eliminating all jargon. Jargon is fine as long as you’re sure that your audience will understand it. But don’t make the process of reading any harder than it needs to be by trying to impress your reader with flowery language. (As Leonardo da Vinci said, simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.) Instead, state things as simply as you can, so that the brain doesn’t have to waste cognitive energy on deciphering what you mean. Devise a structure that flows logically. Draw people in at the beginning with a captivating introduction and then keep your reader reading with a document that flows easily from beginning to end. And then finish as powerfully as you started, so that your interaction with the reader doesn’t stop there. You want them to continue thinking about what you’ve written long after they’ve closed the document. Your aim should be to get into their heads, to set up camp in their brains. Communicate your thoughts to their minds through their eyes in as straightforward a way as possible and you’ll really get them thinking. Take this approach consistently and your documents will be in the small minority that resonate with your readers. They may even thank you for it. But even if they don’t, they won’t forget it. And that will put you in a very strong position. References Dehaene, S (2009). Reading in the brain: the science and evolution of a human invention. London: Penguin Liversedge, SP, and Findlay, JM (2000). Saccadic eye movements and cognition. Trends in Cognitive Sciences 4(1): 6-14. Kemmerer, D (2015); The cognitive neuroscience of language. Hove: Psychology Press Rubin, GS, and Turano, K (1992). Reading without saccadic eye movements. Vision Research 32(5): 895-902. Spoehr, KT, and Smith, EE (1975). The role of orthographic and phonotactic rules in perceiving letter patterns. Journal of Experimental Psychology Human Perception and Performance 104(1): 21-34. Image credit: LookerStudio / Shutterstock

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Revisiting that question - Emphasis

Revisiting that question Revisiting that question Write Now reader Simon Lewis joins the great that debate: Definitely one of my bugbears, that. Take this example: The teaching medical students receive also leaves them with an incomplete picture. I started interpreting this as The medical students who teach and then obviously realised [that] it was supposed to be interpreted The teaching *that* medical students receive. Im all for brevity, but not at the expense of clarity, and definitely not at the expense of causing the reader to re-start the sentence! Thanks, Simon. So it looks like there needs to be a context-specific clause added to our rule. If the that doesnt add any clarity to the sentence, as in the watch [that] my father gave me, then cutting it is fine. But if the that distinguishes the word preceding it as, for example, a noun (as it does for the word teaching in Simons example) rather than an adjective (which is how Simon interpreted the word to begin with, as a way of defining the medical students) then for goodness sake leave it in. This does, at least, reinforce the importance of another thing we stand for: proofreading!

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Jesus and Mohammed Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Jesus and Mohammed - Essay Example The lives and deaths of these two individuals had a tremendous impact on their respective religions. On the one hand, Jesus' death was essential to the central doctrine of Christianity whereby Christ is believed to have died in order to save God's children from their sins. On the other hand, Mohammed's life was more important than his death in terms of spreading Islam, as he became the leader of an effort to spread the doctrine of the new religion based upon God's revelations that were believed to have been communicated to him through the Angel Gabriel. Jesus did not purport to espouse a new religion, but rather sought to teach a new covenant of Judaism whereby God's will would become clearer to his fellow Jews. It was Jesus' followers after his death that spread the teachings and the story of his life, death and resurrection as a distinct religion from Judaism in its own right. By contrast, Mohammed, with knowledge of the new Christian religion and its Jewish precursor, affirmatively sought to establish and aggressively spread Islam as a new religion during his own life. Thus, the lives of Jesus and Mohammed had a wholly different kind of influence on the religions each spawned. The lives of JThe Lives and Teachings of Jesus and Mohammed The lives of Jesus and Mohammed were marked by some very key and fundamental differences. The choices both individuals made regarding their lifestyles and their teachings evidenced dramatically different attitudes and values pertaining to violence, sin and repentance, the place of women, and their overall views regarding the will of God. Their teachings and example are so profoundly different that it may be difficult to understand how they can both purport to convey the word and will of the same God. Even their dying words illustrate a quite different attitude toward nonbelievers, with Jesus praying that they be forgiven "for they know not what they do," while Mohammed cursed and blamed the Jews and Christians upon his death for building "the places of worship at the graves of the prophets" (http://answering-islam.org.uk/Silas/founders.htm). Essentially, the attitude both men had toward those whom they perceived as misguided nonbelievers were exactly the opposite in tone. "Christ asks God to forgive His enemies, while Muhammad utters a bitter curse against those who rejected his assertion of prophethood." Their views on slavery were also fundamentally different. Jesus did not own slaves, and the New Testament specifically lists the trading of slaves as being criminal in nature. 1 Timothy 1:8-10 states, "law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious; for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, for adulterers and perverts, for slave traders and liars and perjurers..." The so-called "Golden Rule" of the Gospel of Luke (6:31), whereby Jesus teaches to "do to others as you would have them do to you," could also be construed as a directive against enslaving people. By contrast, Mohammed owned many slaves and specifically condoned their less than dignified treatment. The Koran is replete with examples of Mohammed's practice of enslaving many different types of people, and condoning the mistreatment of them. For example:

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

OSCE's new Vision under the chairmanship of Kazakhstan Article

OSCE's new Vision under the chairmanship of Kazakhstan - Article Example The organization is a primary instrument for warning, conflict prevention, crisis management and post conflict rehabilitation dealing with three dimensions of security – the politico – military, the economic and environmental and the human dimension, which are also referred to as three baskets on OSCE which addresses the wide range of security related concerns, including arms control, confidence – and – security building measures, human rights, national minorities, democratization, policing, strategies, counter – terrorism, and economic and environmental activities. Politico – military aims at formulating mechanisms for conflict prevention and resolution while seeking to enhance military security by promoting greater openness, transparency and cooperation. The economic and environmental dimension includes the monitoring of developments among participating states while alerting them of any threat of conflict and assisting the creation of econo mic and environmental policies and related initiatives to promote security in OSCE region. The human dimension aims at ensuring full respect to human rights and fundamental freedoms; to abide by the rule of law, to promote the principles of democracy by building, strengthening and protecting democratic institutions, and to promote tolerance throughout the OSCE area (www.osce.org). McKenzie and Rupp (1998, 119) stated that OSCE reflects the challenges facing multilateral cooperation in new and volatile era. The members of OSCE have committed themselves to promote security operation. Freire mentioned that post 9/11, most of the countries were concerned about the terrorism issues and OSCE was no exception in focusing on the need to respond to terrorism as a source of instability and an obstacle to the spread of democratization and rule of law principles (190). According to Cordell (1999, 62) the organization was the only international forum that

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Halal and Haram Issues in Food and Beverages Essay Example for Free

Halal and Haram Issues in Food and Beverages Essay Halal and Haram Issues in Food and Beverages In food industry, modern science and technology lead to creation of variety foods and beverages. The evolution comes together with booming of additives and ingredients to match with demands and perfections in food production. Different types of beverages as well as variety of foods offered in the market often confuse the consumers especially Muslims and most of them are unaware of what they have consumed. Generally Halal means clean and healthy food which has also being proven scientifically. In Islam, the consumption of Halal food and beverage and using Halal consumer products are obligatory in serving Allah, the Creator and the Almighty. Therefore, Muslims communities are very mindful of food ingredients, handling process and packaging of food products. The foods and beverages are only Halal if the raw materials and ingredients used are Halal and it is fully compatible to the Islamic guidelines. Nowadays, â€Å"Halal† oriented foods and beverages get food industry attention in all over the country as is expected to become a significant contributor to economic growth. It must be understood that the production of Halal food and beverage are not only beneficial to Muslims, but also to food producers, by means of increased market acceptance of their products. In food production, sugars are widely used as it could make the food and beverage taste sweet and delicious. There are many types of sugars such as glucose, fructose, lactose and maltose. A problem occurs as those sugars might transform to an alcohol named ethanol (or ethyl alcohol) by natural fermentation process which is not performed by enzymes. According to scientific review, both natural and manufactured products contain small amount of alcohol; for example, fruits, juices, vegetables, breads, cheeses, beef, and honey. Those food and beverage usually contain not more than 0. 5% of alcohol. Therefore, anything containing sugar is fermentable into alcohol. Other manufactured products such as Coca Cola, Pepsi, and Mirinda contain alcohol at percentage range of 0. 2% 0. 3% as Beta Carotene (the colouring used) is melted by using the alcohol method. In addition, according to Eastern Standard Time on July 8, 1999 (4:00 pm); â€Å"The oils that they use to make Pepsi have minute trace of alcohol which combined make up a percentage of alcohol. † The problem of alcohol that might contain in food or beverage has been debated by Mujamma’ Al-Fiqhi Al-Islami as certain types of alcohol are beneficial in food production. According to the Islam guidelines, Muslims are allow consuming ethanol as it is not harmful but only can be taken at small amount which is not more than the specified percentage.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Brain Tumors and Work :: Medical Workforce Lesion Essays

Brain Tumors and Work Going Home after a brain tumor or lesion can be exciting, joyous, and fearful for the whole family. It can be hard to leave the security of your doctors and nurses, even though they are only a phone call away. Luckily social services can help homecoming along with the many laws protecting people with disabilities. Employment The workforce includes many individuals with psychiatric disabilities who face employment discrimination because their disabilities are stigmatized or misunderstood. Congress intended Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) (1990) to combat such employment discrimination as well as the myths, fears, and stereotypes upon which it is based. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC" or "Commission")(2005)receives a large number of charges under the ADA alleging employment discrimination based on psychiatric disability. These charges raise a wide array of legal issues including, for example, whether an individual has a psychiatric disability as defined by the ADA and whether an employer may ask about an individual's psychiatric disability. People with psychiatric disabilities and employers also have posed numerous questions to the EEOC about this topic. The purpose of the ADA is to: (1) provide a clear and comprehensive national mandate for the elimination of discrimination against individuals with disabilities; (2) provide a clear, strong, consistent, enforceable standard addressing discrimination against individuals with disabilities; (3) ensure that the Federal Government plays a central role in enforcing the standards established in this chapter on behalf of individuals with disabilities; and (4) invoke the sweep of congressional authority, including the power to enforce the fourteenth amendment and to regulate commerce, in order to address the major areas of discrimination faced day to day by people with disabilities. The first employment lawsuit filed under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) was on behalf of a brain tumor survivor. In July 1992, Charles L. Wessel, Executive Director of AIC Security Investigations, was fired with one day’s notice after telling his company he had inoperable brain metastases from lung cancer. The Chicago-based company’s owner told Mr. Wessel that his position had been eliminated. On November 5, 1992, the EEOC filed this first federal ADA â€Å"test case† with their Chicago district office. The EEOC claimed Mr. Wessel was able to perform the essential functions of his role of executive director and that his firing violated Title I of the ADA. EEOC lawyers described the case as â€Å"a classic example of the type of

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Environmental Valuation Of Bako National Park Environmental Sciences Essay

‘Marketing Malaysia as a finish of excellence and to do the touristry industry a major subscriber to the socio-economic development of the state ‘ This is Tourism Malaysia ‘s mission statement. It has been 37 old ages that Tourism Malaysia aims to promote the growing of touristry which will besides lend to state ‘s economic development and quality of life. The authorities began to take touristry earnestly in the late eightiess. Malaysia has launched ‘Visit Malaysia Year ‘ as the selling run in 1990, which contributed 54 % addition in international tourer reachings for that twelvemonth. The figure of visitants supports on increasing since so. Chart 1 below shows the tendency of tourer reachings and grosss to the state for the past 10 old ages. There was a rapid growing in both tourer reachings and grosss till the figure slowed down in the 2002 an 2003. This was due to worldwide frights of terrorist act, September 11 onslaught on the WTC in New York, followed by bird grippe diseases and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ( SARS ) onslaught. However the tendency continues to increase despite reverses in the undermentioned old ages till present which amounting to 22 million of tourer reachings and RM 49,561.2 million in grosss for 2008. At the minute, touristry is the state ‘s 3rd largest beginning of foreign exchange net incomes after fabrication and oil. Malaya, being situated within the tropical part, has many nature-based touristry attractive forces, for illustrations, caves, waterfalls, hot springs, beaches, coral reefs, mountains, and birds and wildlife sanctuaries. For these grounds, the authorities is really acute in advancing these nature-based attractive forces. To conserve these nature-based attractive forces, the authorities has established a web of protected countries for the preservation of biological diverseness. Malaysia has ever been recognized to be one of the richest biodiversity in the universe. This is in line with the National Policy on Biological Diversity whose vision is to â€Å" transform Malaysia into a universe Centre of excellence in preservation, research and use of tropical biological diverseness by the twelvemonth 2020 † ( MoSTE, 1998 ) . The World Conservation Union ( IUCN ) has defined national park as natural country of land and/or sea, designated to a ) protect the ecological unity of one or more ecosystems for present and future coevalss, B ) exclude development or business unfriendly ( harmful ) to the intents of appellation of the country, and degree Celsius ) provide a foundation for religious, instruction, recreational and visitant chances, all of which must be environmentally and culturally compatible ( IUCN, 1994 ) . These national Parkss are established for the intent of saving, hence leting and encouraging entree for instruction, diversion and touristry intents. The direction of touristry in sing the natural countries is complicated in Malaysia. Authority for assorted natural resources is randomly divided under different authorities umbrellas and several province governments ( Hall, 1994 ) . In Peninsular Malaysia, tellurian protected countries are chiefly managed by the Department of Wildlife and National Parks ( DWNP ) and the Department of Forestry. The Marine protected countries are managed by the Federal Marine Parks Section under the Ministry of Natural resources and the Environment. In Sabah, the tellurian protected countries are managed by Sabah Parks, Sabah Wildlife Department, Sabah Forestry Department and Sabah Foundation, while all the Marine protected countries are managed by Sabah Parks. In the instance of Sarawak, all tellurian and marine protected countries are managed by the Sarawak Forestry Corporation. Malaysia has 30 gazetted national Parkss which inclusive of 6 Marine Parkss. There are 8 national Parkss located in Peninsular Malaysia, 7 are in Sabah and 15 are in Sarawak. A sum-up of the national Parkss in Malaysia is in Table 1. Table 1: List of National Parks in Malaysia Location Parks Date established Size ( hour angle ) /area Attractions Peninsular Malaya Taman Negara National Park, within 3 province boundaries of Pahang, Kelantan and Terengganu 1939 434,300 hectares Largest in the state Canopy walk Wildlife observation Endau-Rompin National Park, Johor-Pahang boundary line 49,000 hectares Rock formation Sandstone tableland Tropical wood Tanjung Piai Johor National Park, Johor 2001 Wetlands Coastal Rhizophora mangle Bird observation and fishing Penang National Park, Penang 2003 2,562 hectares Meromictic lake Wetlands Mangroves Coral reefs Turtle nesting beaches Payar Marine Park, Kedah 1985 Screens 2 maritime stat mis of 4 islands Coral reefs Marine life Snorkeling Scuba diving Redang Marine Park, Terengganu 1985 25 square kilometer Coral reefs Marine life Snorkeling Scuba diving Tioman Marine Park, Pahang 39 kilometer long and 12 kilometers broad Coral reefs Marine life Snorkeling Scuba diving Cragged Mersing Marine Park, Johor White beaches Coral reefs North borneo Crocker Range National Park Assorted dipterocarp forest Montane forest Pulau Tiga Park Coral reefs Beach forest Kinabalu Park 4,101 meters above sea degree Mount mounting Tunku Abdul Rahman Park Beach forest Turtle Island Park Turtle nesting beach Tawau Hills Park 27,972 hectare Sarawak Bako National Park 1957 2727 The oldest park Heath forest Open scrubland Mangrove Kubah National Park 1988 2230 The universe of thenar Montane forest Assorted dipterocarp forest Heath forest Gunung Gading National Park 1983 4196 Home of rafflesia Montane forest Assorted dipterocarp forest Batang Ai national Park 1990 24040 Home of orang utan Assorted dipterocarp forest Riparian wood Regenerated forest Tanjung Datu National Park 1994 1379 The smallest park Assorted dipterocarp forest Beach forest Niah National Park 1974 3138 The archaeological site of Sarawak Assorted dipterocarp forest Limestone forest flora Heath forest Lambir Hills National Park 1975 6949 The virgin rain forest of Sarawak Assorted dipterocarp forest Heath forest Gunung Mulu National park 1974 52865 The biggest cave chamber in the universe Assorted dipterocarp forest Limestone forest flora Montane forest Similajau National Park, Bintulu 1976 8996 Where the rapids meet the sea Assorted dipterocarp forest Beach forest Mangrove forest Talang-Satang National Park 1999 Sarawak ‘s polo-neck islands Marine polo-neck preservation Bukit Tiban National Park, Bintulu 2000 Conservation and research presentation Water-based diversion Wildlife watching Jungle trekking Maludam National Park, Sri Aman 2000 Peat swamp The last feasible ruddy banded langur population ( monkey ) Rajang Mangroves National Park, Sarikei 2000 The Rhizophora mangle ecosystem Mangrove forest Gunung Buda National Park 2001 The newest national park Limestone forest Loagan Bunut National Park 1990 10736 The largest natural lake Peat swamp wood Assorted dipterocarp forest Beginning: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.malaysiamydestination.com Ministry of Natural Resource and Environment, 2006 In this survey, the range is limited to the tellurian protected country i.e. national park country, which is the most recognizable class of protected countries. As diversion is one of the grounds of the appellation of these national park countries, they are view as the of import subscriber to the touristry industry. Sarawak National Parks Modern Parkss and militias were established in the late 1800s. With this, Sarawak attempts began with the being of the National Park Ordinance in 1956 and the constitution of a Board of Trustees to administrate this. In 1973, there is a alteration in the disposal of national Parkss, where the Board of Trustees is replaced by the Conservator of Forests. Since so, Sarawak Forestry Corporation has been charged with the duty of implementing the regulation. Sarawak Forestry Corporation managed all 15 tellurian and marine Parkss in Sarawak province which covers the entire country of 184,922 hour angle. The aims of the National Parks and Wildlife Division ( NPWD ) are: – To set up and pull off the National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries, nature Militias, Forest Parks and other tantamount militias throughout Sarawak. To supply recreational and other installations in National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries, nature Militias, Forest Parks and other tantamount militias. To develop an effectual promotion and extension service on nature preservation. To set about research in the ecology, saving and extension of wildlife and their natural home ground. There are four subdivisions within the NPWD, viz. Parks and Nature Reserves Branch, Wildlife Branch, Planning & A ; Development subdivision and Interpretation & A ; Conservation Education Branch. The chief duties of Parks and Reserves Branch include overall direction of all Parkss and militias. The Wildlife Branch chief activities are wildlife direction and research. These include home ground direction, confined genteelness, species direction veterinary, enforcement and licensing. The research is chiefly on Primatess, big and little mammals, birds, reptilians and amphibious vehicles. The Planning and Development Branch is responsible to pull off the Planning and Investigation Unit and the Design and Implementation Unit. Last, the Interpretation and Conservation Education Branch is responsible for four units which are Interpretation Unit, Conservation Education and Extension Unit, Research Unit and Administration Unit. Bako National Park ( BNP ) was the first to be gazetted as a protected country on 1 May 1957 among all the 15 national Parkss in Sarawak. It is located 37 kilometres to the E of the capital metropolis of Kuching. Covering an country or 2727 hectares of a rugged sand rock, in the map, BNP is at the tip of the Muara Tebas peninsular. It was merely until 1985, the route from Kuching to BNP was completed and in order to entree to the park, it requires a short express boat journey of about 25 proceedingss ride along the Bako River. BNP is one of the smallest national Parkss in Sarawak, yet recorded as one of the highest rate of visitants to day of the month. BNP is celebrated for its rain forest, forest wildlife, jungle watercourses, waterfalls, works life, secluded beaches and trekking trails. The jungle trekking trails are good maintained web of 16 colour-coded walking trails, from easy ambles, full twenty-four hours treks to overnight bivouacing expeditions which allows the visitants t o acquire to the most out of its alone environment. The undermentioned tabular array provides inside informations of trekking journey in BNP. No Name of trail Trail length ( kilometer ) One manner clip & A ; Distance from HQ Colour Code 1 Tanjung Sapi 0.5 30 proceedingss ( 0.8km ) White/Red 2 Telok Paku 0.8 1 hr ( 1.2 kilometer ) White 3 Ulu Assam 0.8 1 A? hours ( 1.4km ) Blue/Red 4 Telok Delima 0.25 45 proceedingss ( 1km ) Blue/White 5 Telok Pandan Besar 0.75 1 hr ( 1.75km ) Yellow 6 Telok Pandan Kecil 1.5 1 A? hours ( 2.5km ) Yeloow 7 Serait 1.25 1 A? hours ( 2.2km ) White/yellow 8 Lintang 5.25 3 A? hours return Red 9 Tajor 2.75 2 A? hours ( 3.5km ) Red/White 10 Tanjung Rhu 1.8 2 A? hours ( 4.2km ) Red/Yellow 11 Bukit Keruing 2.25 3 A? hours ( 5.5km ) Blue 12 Paya Jelutong 0.2 3 A? hours ( 5.7km ) White/Blue 13 Bukit Gondol 2 4 A? hours ( 7.7km ) Yellow/White 14 Ulu Serait 2.75 3 hours ( 4.8km ) Blue/yellow 15 Telok Sibur 0.8 3 A? hours ( 5.3km ) Red/Black 16 Telok Limau 5.75 7 hours ( 10km ) Red/Blue 17 Telok Kruin 1.5 7 A? hours ( 10.5km ) Blue/Black 18 Pa ‘ Amit ( Lakei Island ) 1.0 30 proceedingss ( from Base ) OrangeRevised Fess and Accommodation ChargesEffective 1 July 2002Entrance FeesVisitor Category Single Entry ( per individual ) Multiple Entry ( Non-transferable ) ( per individual ) 5-Entry Base on balls ( Movable valid for 1 individual ) 1-month cogency 3-months cogency Adult RM10.00 RM50.00 RM100.00 RM40.00 Student/Senior Citizen/Disabled individual RM5.00 RM25.00 RM50.00 RM20.00 Assorted Group* n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. Child, 6 old ages and below Free Free Free FreeType of accomodationFacilitiesRate per darkNo. of units availableForest Lodge, Type 5 2 suites with 3 individual beds each Non-air conditioned Fan merely Shared bathroom and lavatory RM100+ per room or RM150+ per house 7 Forest Lodge, Type 6 2 suites with 2 individual beds each Non-air conditioned Fan merely Attached bathroom and lavatory RM50+ per room or RM75+ per house 2 Forest Hostel 4 suites with 4 individual beds each Non-air conditioned Fan merely Shared bathroom and lavatory RM15+ per bed or RM40+ per room 3 Camp site ( bivouacing equipment is non provided ) Public bathrooms and lavatories RM5 per individual 18 sites + Plus 5 % authorities service revenue enhancement Beginning: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.forestry.sarawak.gov.myRules and RegulationsThe regulations and ordinances are at that place to protect the park for the benefits of visitants. It is an offense to: – Enter without a license ; Kill, gaining control, toxicant or upset any animate being ; Cut, take, destruct or put fire to any object ; life or inanimate, dead or alive, Introduce any animate being or works onto the park ; Damage, erect any edifice or other constructions ; Litter Punishments: The minimal mulct for the above offenses is RM1,000 and six months imprisonment. License: Visitors must obtain a certified license before come ining the national Parks, nature Militias or Wildlife Centre from the nearest engagement offices. For professional movie shapers and those transporting out expeditions, a particular permission from the Sarawak State Secretary must be acquired in progress. Exclusion of liabilities: Any individual sing Sarawak ‘s national Parkss, nature militias and wildlife Centres enter at their ain hazard. The license to come in is granted capable to the status that the Forest Department and/or the State Government and/or Officer shall non be responsible for any physical, mental or emotional hurt sustained, or any loss of life, or belongings or whatsoever sort within these countries. The State Government of it Officer disclaims any act ( s ) or skip nevertheless caused or originate within these countries. LITERATURE REVIEW Economic Evaluation of Environment Policy shapers in developed states have realized that it is of import to take into history the economic rating in the procedure of determination devising. However, in developing state like Malaysia, the rating of environmental good is regarded as unfamiliar. Though researches sing this issue in Malaysia published are found to be rare, the determination proved that our state besides give values on environmental goods. Economic rating refers to the measuring on footings of money values to non-marketed goods and services. Non-marketed goods and services include those which can non be straight bought and sold in the unfastened market topographic point. Goods and services which have economic value contribute positively to human well-being. This is determined by the penchants of the persons which show the degree of satisfaction. These penchants can be revealed in the context of willingness to pay ( WTP ) . On the contrary, human well-being will besides necessitate to digest with the unwanted values which revealed in the context of willingness to accept ( WTA ) . Economic rating technique aims to find the entire economic value ( TEV ) . TEV identifies the alterations in human well-being that accrue from a alteration in the proviso of the good. These values may accrue to users and non users. The illustrations for this would be the willingness to pay for the saving of the forest in the national park and the preservation of endangered species like the proboscis monkey, even though the person may non hold seen the species while in the national park. TEV is made up of the amount of usage and non-use value. Use values may be direct or indirect. An illustration for this would be a wood in a national park. Visitors to the forest brand direct usage of it and the fact that the forest protecting the water parting of the part is an illustration of an indirect usage. A non-use value, besides known as inactive usage values, is when persons are willing to pay even though they make no direct usage of it. There are two methods in gauging the economic values of non-marketed goods and services which are revealed penchants ( RP ) and stated penchants ( SP ) . RP and SP can be use to gauge the usage value, nevertheless non-use values can merely be estimated by SP techniques. RP is exercised when the penchant of the persons is revealed by their buying wont in the existent market, which is price-based. In contrast, SP measures the demand of goods and services which do non hold market monetary value as they are non straight sold. Normally, the study would inquire on how much money would persons are WTP or WTA to bask the benefit of the goods and services, for illustration, the being of the environment. Property market ( WTP ) Labour market ( WTA ) Contingent ranking Contingent ( conjoint ) evaluation Choice experiments Paired comparings Market monetary values ( WTP ) Contingent rating ( WTP/WTA ) Choice modeling ( WTP/WTA ) Debaring behavior ( WTP ) Random utility/ distinct pick theoretical accounts ( WTP ) Hedonic pricing Travel cost method ( WTP ) Benefit transportation Stated Preferences conjectural markets does response/production maps Entire Economic Value Non-use Value Use Value Revealed Preferences conventional and proxy Figure 1 Economic rating techniques Developed states every bit good as the developing states have accepted that environmental goods can be measured utilizing several methods. In developed states, the methods used are beforehand where they have applied the usage of benefit transportation into their researches. However in Malaysia, the most common is CVM and merely late CM was adopted in researches done byaˆÂ ¦aˆÂ ¦aˆÂ ¦aˆÂ ¦aˆÂ ¦aˆÂ ¦aˆÂ ¦aˆÂ ¦aˆÂ ¦.. Revealed penchants technique Stated penchant technique SP technique which ask conjectural inquiries, are categorized into contingent rating ( CV ) and multi-attribute rating ( MAV ) ( Anna Merino-Castello, 2003 ) . Contingent Valuation ( CV ) CV measures the WTP through direct inquiries such as â€Å" How much are you willing to pay? ‘ and ‘Are you willing to pay RMx? ‘ . The former estimates the single penchants utilizing the open-ended method which is penchant based. The latter inquiry estimates the single penchants utilizing the referendum or dichotomous pick evocation. The respondents are merely given the option of replying yes or no, which is choice-based. This implies the premise of random public-service corporation map where the coefficients value are obtained through the appraisal of binary logit utilizing the maximal likelihood process. However, an increasing figure of empirical surveies revealed that dichotomous pick consequences seemed to be significantly larger that open-ended values, perchance due to ‘yeah-saying ‘ ( Hanley et al. , 2001 ) . Both open-ended and dichotomous CV attacks have restrictions in gauging values. These restrictions are: 1. merely one property to be valued by respondent 2. respondents are improbable to give accurate response for conjectural market 3. May bring on some respondents to act strategically when public goods are involved Due to these restrictions, researches in rating of non-use value exchanging to the option stated penchant technique which is MAV. The chief difference between CV and MAV is that CV analyses one property of the merchandise at a clip whilst MAV analyses more than one property at the same time. This includes whether the properties are attached to one another or a trade-offs between them. Choice Modelling ( CM ) Similar to CV, MAV can be categorized into preference-based and choice-based method. In preference-based, the respondents are required to rate or rank each alternate merchandise in conjectural and existent market. On the other manus, in choice-based method, the respondents need to take one among several options merchandises which is more realistic because the respondents execute this mundane as a consumer taking a series of viing merchandises. In preference-based, the respondents does non necessitate doing any committedness to take a peculiar option, hence this is the ground why choice-based method is more preferable than preference-based attack. Preference-based method is by and large termed as conjoint analysis ( CA ) which comprises of contingent evaluation and paired comparing while choice-based method globally termed as pick mold ( CM ) which comprises of contingent ranking and pick experiment. CA and CM are differentiated by the signifier of the public-service corporation map. CA use a deterministic public-service corporation map and CM use the random public-service corporation map. Deterministic public-service corporation map is assumed to be related to an person ‘s evaluation via a transmutation map o : Uij = o [ Vij ( Xij ) ] This information is estimated utilizing ordinary least squares ( OLS ) arrested development techniques which implies the premise of the cardinality of evaluations graduated table ( Bateman et al, 2002 ) . In contrast, CM usage random public-service corporation map which represents the incorporate behavioural theory of determination behaviour and is composed of a deterministic constituent Vij and s stochastic I µij: Uij = Vij ( Xij ) + I µij This random public-service corporation theory ( RUT ) leads to the distinct pick theoretical accounts which describes the behaviour of respondents ‘ pick chances in response to alterations in properties that step differences across other respondents. This information is estimated utilizing the maximal likeliness method. All these four methods in multi-attribute rating differ in the quality of information they generate, in their grade of complexness and besides in their ability to bring forth WTP estimations that can be shown to be consistent with the usual steps of public assistance ( Bateman et al, 2002 ) . In contingent evaluation, respondents are presented with a figure of events one at a clip and are asked to rate each one separately in a numeral graduated table. The evaluation is so transformed into public-service corporation graduated table. This indirect public-service corporation map is assumed to be related to respondents ‘ evaluation via a transmutation map which leads to a typical analyzed utilizing OLS arrested development technique. As mentioned before, this implies strong premises of cardinality of evaluation graduated tables. This is inconsistent with the consumer theory. Hence, contingent evaluation does non bring forth public assistance consistent value estimations. In mated comparing, respondents are asked to take their preferable alternate out of a set of two picks and to find their penchant in a numeral graduated table. The public-service corporation map is besides estimated utilizing OLS. In a contingent ranking, respondents are required to rank a set of alternate options from most to least preferable. Each option has two or more properties, which are offered at different degrees across options. The respondents are required to rank their options. One of the options must be the current executable pick set of the respondent. The ground is, if the position quo is non included, the respondents may be forced to take the options which they non prefer at all. This rank order informations is estimated utilizing maximal likelihood process. In pick experiment, respondents are given a series of options and are required to bespeak their most preferable option. The baseline option, which is the position quo, need to be included in each of the pick set. This experiment gives welfare consistent estimations because, 1. the respondents needs to tradeoff alterations in property degrees against the cost of doing these alterations 2. the respondents can take the position quo 3. we can stand for the econometric technique used in a manner which is precisely parallel to the theory of rational and probabilistic pick. 4. we can deduce estimations of counterbalancing and tantamount excess. This conditional logit theoretical account can be estimated utilizing the maximal likelihood process.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Behavioral Genetics

Multiple situations and conditions can impair or influence human behavior in individuals. My hypothesis was genetics has the strongest influence on human behavior because of the inability to have control over heredity. Without control, how can one improve or change their behavior? Mental disorders can be inherited through genetics. Examples of genetically acquired mental disorders are schizophrenia and bipolar disorders. My personal experience with individuals with those particular types of mental disorders exhibit different behaviors that those without the disorder. The way one interacts with other and the perception of that individual by society can be influences by mental disorders . My hypothesis was slightly changed after reading the article â€Å"Behavioral Gentics† by Joseph McInerney . McInerney provided in depth research that alluded to the fact that genetics alone does not influence human behavior. He believes that unless every person is tested a definitive correlation between genetics and behaviors will not exist. (J. McInerney ‘Behavioral Genetics† 24Aug2011) In case studies, researchers only test a select few and this does not provide enough information to prove or disprove genetics behavioral influence. According to McInerney, there may be others factors that may be present in conjunction with genetics that may influence human behavior. Behaviors are â€Å"the response of an individual, group, or species to its environment† (Merriam Webster Dictionary). Genetics are â€Å"a branch of biology that deals wit h the heredity and variation of organisms† (MWD). Through definition; genetics is not a factor for behaviors. Genetics can be a factor, but does not necessarily have to be a controlling factor that influences human behavior. McInerney provided multiple sources of other studies that solidified his view. I made my hypothesis based on my personal experience of people with mental disorders that had a historyof mental illness in their family. I only had access to a minimal amount of people with this disorder and made an inference without proper investigation. After reading this research; I feel that my hypothesis was just an opinion that could be perceived as judgmental. I believe that the source was creditable site because it was a overnment website. I will not say that I agree or disagree with the information presented. The information was from one source. I would have to read every source that McInerney provided and research other sources that oppose McInerney findings. I learned that solely from reading someone else’s opinion that it affected and influenced my behavior. I am usually ve ry decisive when I formulate an opinion. Normally my opinion is never altered due to someone else’s input. I have learned that many people make inferences and consider themselves expertise without more information from other sources. Behavioral Genetics Heredity and the environment produce an individual difference in development. Behavioral genetics has an impact in development. Behavioral genetics according to Francis Galton is based on â€Å"a man's natural abilities that are derived by inheritance, under exactly the same limitations as are the form and physical features of the whole organic world. † The role of behavioral genetics is based on human behavior influenced by genetics and the environment.For instance, Galton focused on the study of inheritance of gifted and talented families, and found that intelligence might be genetic, yet he also found that it has a lot to do with environmental factors. Galton researched in behavioral genetics including studies of twins and adopted children to compare environmental factors and biological factors. While contemporary behavioral genetics being the largest branch of human behavioral genetics covers phenotypes such as alcoholism, bipolar disorders, and schizophrenia however, inve stigations have not yet found genes associated to these mental illnesses but are rather environmental.Behavioral genetics has implications in society that affects a massive amount of physical behaviors that includes homosexuality, aggression, and nurturing, and intelligence. For example, the amount of tolerance that a trait would fur goes for prisoners or homosexuals such as getting treatment or prevent the birth of individuals affected. The only known fact is that no gene determines behaviors.This was proved by a study published in 1999 of the â€Å"smart gene† this gene was practiced on mice by injecting what is known as the high gene, and the study came to a conclusion that the learning enhancement only lasted a few hours, and was only retain in short memory. Having a certain trait does not mean that the trait will develop instead it can only be taken as a chance that it might or may not. Behavioral genes is still quite a mystery but can not be elapsed because there are ma jor possibilities that traits may exist. Behavioral Genetics Multiple situations and conditions can impair or influence human behavior in individuals. My hypothesis was genetics has the strongest influence on human behavior because of the inability to have control over heredity. Without control, how can one improve or change their behavior? Mental disorders can be inherited through genetics. Examples of genetically acquired mental disorders are schizophrenia and bipolar disorders. My personal experience with individuals with those particular types of mental disorders exhibit different behaviors that those without the disorder. The way one interacts with other and the perception of that individual by society can be influences by mental disorders . My hypothesis was slightly changed after reading the article â€Å"Behavioral Gentics† by Joseph McInerney . McInerney provided in depth research that alluded to the fact that genetics alone does not influence human behavior. He believes that unless every person is tested a definitive correlation between genetics and behaviors will not exist. (J. McInerney ‘Behavioral Genetics† 24Aug2011) In case studies, researchers only test a select few and this does not provide enough information to prove or disprove genetics behavioral influence. According to McInerney, there may be others factors that may be present in conjunction with genetics that may influence human behavior. Behaviors are â€Å"the response of an individual, group, or species to its environment† (Merriam Webster Dictionary). Genetics are â€Å"a branch of biology that deals wit h the heredity and variation of organisms† (MWD). Through definition; genetics is not a factor for behaviors. Genetics can be a factor, but does not necessarily have to be a controlling factor that influences human behavior. McInerney provided multiple sources of other studies that solidified his view. I made my hypothesis based on my personal experience of people with mental disorders that had a historyof mental illness in their family. I only had access to a minimal amount of people with this disorder and made an inference without proper investigation. After reading this research; I feel that my hypothesis was just an opinion that could be perceived as judgmental. I believe that the source was creditable site because it was a overnment website. I will not say that I agree or disagree with the information presented. The information was from one source. I would have to read every source that McInerney provided and research other sources that oppose McInerney findings. I learned that solely from reading someone else’s opinion that it affected and influenced my behavior. I am usually ve ry decisive when I formulate an opinion. Normally my opinion is never altered due to someone else’s input. I have learned that many people make inferences and consider themselves expertise without more information from other sources.

Thursday, November 7, 2019

Saddam is Back essays

Saddam is Back essays Saddam Hussein is back with vengeance, and his threats of world destruction aren't to be taken lightly. The United States tried unsuccessfully to target him during the Gulf War in February 1991; however, they confidently expected the Iraq leader to be gone within months. Now, eleven years later Saddam has shown a remarkable ability to survive and to rebuild his military to almost its peak potential and the US are threatening to lead air strikes over weapons inspections. Iraq is able to produce chemical and biological weapons within weeks, a long-range missile within a year and a nuclear weapon in five years. It would also be enough time to make up 350 liters of Anthrax a week, enough for two missile warheads, or enough to kill hundreds of thousands of people. The United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) has verified and destroyed 817 missiles, 30 warheads, 75 launchers and launch pads, 38, 537 munitions and 690 tons of chemical-weapons agents. In an extraordinary decade, the woman known as "Dr Germ" has led the production of 10 billion killer doses of toxins, including botalinum, a vicious food poisoning bug that provokes a swollen tongue, frothing at the mouth and dizziness before a victims rapid death. Dr Germ has produced 10 billion killer doses of toxins... However, they believe that a further 2 missiles, 45 warheads, 31 658 munitions and 130 tons of chemical-weapons agents still exist. Dr Rihab Taha, aged 46 is at the center of the growing Iraq crisis, and is the person who persuaded Saddam to launch his controversial germ warfare program back in the 1980's. UNSCOM has also established that Iraq has produced 8400 liters of Anthrax - which dissolves the kidneys, liver and lungs leading to death within two days - and 2000 liters of Aflatoxin, which can lead to liver cancer. The UN is hoping to avert powerful US-led air strikes against Iraq by persuading Saddam to settle for changes in the way the...

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

The Impotence of Proofreading

The Impotence of Proofreading The Impotence of Proofreading The Impotence of Proofreading By Daniel Scocco Its a fact that a spell checker will not catch all the mistakes on your text. More specifically, it will not catch misspellings that form other valid words. So how do you solve this problem? Proofreading, of coarse! Just read again through youre text trying to spot words that dont fit, and make sure to not loose the focus while you do it. Proofreading is sometimes more important then using the spell checker itself. You should proofread virtually any written piece, from emails to blog posts. Proofread your homework as well, since you dont want to drive the principle of your school crazy. Lets be honest, misspelled words are defiantly a sign of ignorance. The simple act of proofreading will have a great affect on the quality of your material, and I am sure that youll earn more complements from people. Their you go my friend, and take this advice seriously. After all, you dont want to look dumb in front of the general pubic! P.S. Can you find all the mistakes? Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Writing Basics category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:7 English Grammar Rules You Should KnowUsed To vs. Use To50 Synonyms for â€Å"Villain†

Sunday, November 3, 2019

The tool for market research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The tool for market research - Essay Example Test marketing gives significant insight which is needed by a company in order to compete effectively in its market. For one, this tool permits a business organization to test the impact of alternative marketing plans. Since a test market is typically smaller than the whole market, investing in a test marketing effort in 10 cities is more rational for a large company than getting into a full-blown nationwide product launch. Test marketing as the name implies provides companies with a clear idea of whether a marketing effort is strategic or not without shouldering the huge cost of the whole marketing campaign in the entire market. Test marketing also allows companies to test multiple strategies without affecting the overall image of its products. For example, a company which wishes to embark on a new marketing approach and is choosing on three different ones will find it impossible to launch the three strategies on the entire market. Thus, it will opt to use test marketing in order to ascertain the best approach for its product at lesser cost. However, the utilization of test marketing as a market research tool is dependent on the internal competency and external market situation of a company.   According to one of its executives, â€Å"In our field—primarily higher priced cosmetics not geared for mass distribution—it would be unnecessary for us to test the market. When we develop a product, say an improved liquid makeup, we know it’s full-Brownell because we are familiar with the field†.