Overview of the Animals Called Monotremes

Overview of the Animals Called Monotremes Monotremes (monotremata)  are a unique group of mammals that lay eggs, unlike placental mammals and marsupials, who give birth to live young. Monotremes include several species of echidnas and the platypus. Monotremes Most Obvious Differences From Other Mammals The most striking difference from other mammals is that monotremes lay eggs. Similar to other mammals, they do lactate (produce milk). But instead of having nipples like other mammals, monotremes secrete milk through mammary gland openings in the skin. Monotremes are long-lived mammals. They exhibit a low rate of reproduction. Parents take close care  of their young and tend to them for long periods of time before they become independent. Monotremes also differ from other mammals in that they have a single opening for their urinary, digestive, and reproductive tracts. This single opening is known as a cloaca and is similar to the anatomy of reptiles, birds, fish, and amphibians. Differences in Bones and Teeth There are a number of other less salient characteristics that distinguish monotremes from other mammal groups. Monotremes have unique teeth that are thought to have evolved independently of the teeth that placental mammals and marsupials have. Some monotremes have no teeth. Monotreme teeth may be an example of convergent evolutionary adaptation, however, because of similarities to other mammals teeth. Monotremes also have an extra set of bones in their shoulder (the interclavicle and coracoid) which are missing from other mammals. Brain and Sensory Differences Monotremes differ from other mammals in that they lack a structure in their brain called the corpus callosum. The corpus callosum forms a connection between the left and right hemispheres of the brain. Monotremes are the only mammals known to possess electroreception, a sense that enables them to locate prey by the electric fields generated by its muscle contraction. Of all monotremes, the platypus has the most sensitive level of electroreception. Sensitive electroreceptors are located in the skin of the platypuss bill. Using these electroreceptors, the platypus can detect the direction of the source and the strength of the signal. Platypuses swing their head from side to side when hunting in water as a way of scanning for prey. Thus, when feeding, platypuses do not use their sense of sight, smell, or hearing: They rely only on their electroreception. Evolution The fossil record for monotremes is rather sparse. It is thought that monotremes diverged from other mammals early on, before marsupials and placental mammals evolved. A few monotreme fossils from the Miocene epoch are known. Fossil monotremes from the Mesozoic epoch include Teinolophos, Kollikodon, and Steropodon. Classification The platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) is an odd-looking mammal with a broad bill (that resembles the bill of a duck), a tail (that resembles the tail of a beaver), and webbed feet. Another oddity of the platypus is that male platypuses are venomous. A spur on their hind limb delivers a mixture of venoms that are unique to the platypus.  The platypus is the only member of its family.   There are four living species of echidnas, named after a monster of the same name, from Greek mythology. They are the short-beaked echidna, the Sir Davids long-beaked echidna, the eastern long-beaked echidna, and the western long-beaked echidna. Covered with spines and coarse hair, they feed on ants and termites and are solitary animals. Although echidnas resemble hedgehogs, porcupines, and anteaters, they are not closely related to any of these other mammal groups. Echidnas have short limbs that are strong and well-clawed, making them good diggers. They have a small mouth and do not have any teeth. They feed by ripping apart rotten logs and ant nests and mounds, then licking up ants and insects with their sticky tongue.

Argumentative Research Paper on Censorship Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Argumentative on Censorship - Research Paper Example nts for and those against censorship citing various examples of countries where censorship has been applied and the resulting consequences of those censures. Censorship will be defined and its various forms identified and defined. Positive attributes will be examined on the backdrop of human welfare and society as well as the negative attributes. Upon evaluation, a conclusion will be reached as to the significance and overall effect of censorship. Censorship is the omission or suppression of material/ information deemed harmful, objectionable and inappropriate from the general public. The restricting party can be a government, a government institution or media outlet. These organizations judge whether material released or to be released is offensive directly or indirectly to any section of the public such as children, women, a specific ethnic community and workers. However, reasons for censorship can vary dependent on the censoring body and the target population. Censorship can be of several forms. They include moral censorship, military censorship, political censorship and political censorship. OReilly and Parker (2003) note that, â€Å"In moral censorship, material of obscene nature and questionable morally is removed, while in military censorship tactical and military intelligence and secrets are kept from the public to prevent the information from being available to the enemy and used against or to the detriment of the n ation† (p.2). Political censorship involves the withholding of information by governments and political leaders from their subjects/ citizens as a means primarily of exerting control and dominion over the population. In religious censorship, material deemed objectionable by a sect or its leaders is removed. Information may be from another sect or religion. Corporate censorship conducted and executed mostly by media executives who remove or prevent the publishing/ distribution of information that portrays their businesses or business partners in

The management accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

The management accounting - Essay Example This shift in orientation has brought with it the requirement to induct new practices and upgrade exiting practices. In this endeavour, a change in the orientation of management accounting is required. Rather than just supporting internal processes and providing information for decision making by top management, management accounting has taken a more strategic outlook (Baines and Langfield-Smith, 2003). Management accountant, from just being focused on operational issues have added new responsibilities in their job description. These responsibilities are more strategic and have to do with knowledge regarding customers, financials, human resources, and processes. Thus, management accountants have become strategic accountants in this new and evolved business environment (Dixon, 1998). In reaction to a more pronounced competition, companies have started doing competitor appraisals, changing from its previous practice of internal assessment. A framework for strategic management accountin g, based on contingency theory has been adopted by companies. This framework allows companies to better adapt their internal business processes to fit the underlying variables in the external business environment (Langfield-Smith, 2008). The internal business processes should correspond with factors like the firm’s size, business strategy, and market orientation etch. In order to design business processes in this way, the urge is to use management accounting techniques which have strategic applications, and use the insight of management accountants in strategic decision making. The second point requires giving management accountants a more active role in the strategic management processes (Cinquini and Andrea, 2007). These changes, although very dramatic, are essential to maintain a sustainable business. Businesses from being mechanical have become more organic, making them sensitive to the slightest of change. But in order to maintain a competitive business operation changes in the way things are done is required. The development of commercial management expertise, including marketing, general management and financial management, has become essential (Atkinson, Banker, Kaplan, and Young, 2011). This has given rise to the concept of looking at the business holistically. This concept of looking at the business from a 360-degree viewpoint has given precedence to the build-up of cross-functional teams, team-based structure and horizontal integrations. This new approach has blurred the line between boundaries and has lead to a culture build around information sharing and collective decision making. Firms who believe in this have merged their activities across their supply chain to become more customer and competitor focused (Bisbe, Batista-Foguet, and Chenhall, 2007). As mentioned earlier, management accounting has taken a more strategic outlook, with a focus on strategy, long term future oriented time frame, and an external focus, whereas previously, this focus was more towards internal processes and a short-term time frame. Thus this change is more of a strategic nature rather than of any other reason (Potter, 2005). Consequences of the changes: As highlighted earlier, businesses in order to face the hostile business environment effectively and efficiently have become more nimble and strategic in orientation. Traditional functional departments have been dissolved to form cross functional teams. Functional areas are working keeping in

Minimum wage essay Essay Example for Free

Minimum wage essay Essay Minimum wage has been a very controversial topic. Nowadays people just can’t survive on minimum wage. Prices are rising but yet the pay is still the same. How do they expect us to survive on eight dollars and twenty five cents? Minimum wage workers in Chicago land locations had joined others across the country for a one-day strike, which was held August 29, 2013 outside the ROCK N ROLL McDonalds in the River North neighborhood, demanding their wage to be at least . 00 an hour. There was a worker there named Tyree Johnson who said he has been working on McDonalds for a total of 21 years and still earning a total of eight dollars and twenty five cents an hour. He states â€Å"Every time I would ask for a raise they would just tell me you shouldn’t have joined that union, were not giving you any raise†. The workers who had gathered up there said that they were tired on choosing between paying the rent or paying the groceries. Another minimum wage worker named Dejun Jackson says it takes him three jobs to raise a family. He gets up at 4:30am to start his shift at 5:45am. He ends his first job around 1 O’clock and has to be in his second job around 1:15. He does not end his second shift until 9 or 9:30pm. He states he has no time to see his kids except the weekends for the same reason that he has two jobs. Between his two jobs he works a total of 70 hours a week. Within a year he makes an average of $50,000. Dejun Jackson is also in school hoping one day he would be able to work just one shift and spend more time with his family. But just by having just one job he wouldn’t be able to make it through since one job helps him pay the pills and the other the cost of his school. I agree that people cannot live on minimum wage since the cost of living has gone up drastically. This has always been a conflict and will continue to be unless they raise minimum wage. The type of life we are living now days won’t simply just get us through by working on minimum wage. People have things to pay for example rent, food transportation, clothes, bills; school etc. People that get pay minimum wage are usually on government assistance which means everybody who is paying taxes are actually paying for the food stamps or any type of services that they are receiving from the government. It would be better if the companies would just pay their workers a decent amount of salary instead of other people having to pay for whatever the company is not paying them. The authors’ argument is very logical since it states why people can’t survive on minimum wage. This makes people have two jobs just too sustain a family. People wouldn’t be able to make through just by having one job, since the cost of living has gone up drastically.

Nicotine Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the world today, Nicotine is one of the most frequently used addictive drugs. The impact it has on society is like no other. It is one of more than 4,000 chemicals found in the smoke of tobacco products such as cigarettes, cigars, and pipes. This addictive drug is the primary component in tobacco that acts on the brain.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tobacco can be found two ways, it can be dried brown leaves of various sizes or it can be a grown form of tobacco. When extracted from the leaves, nicotine is colorless, but quickly turns brown when exposed to air. It then becomes a poisonous, pale yellow, oily liquid with a pungent odor and acrid taste. The amount of nicotine contained in tobacco leaves ranges from 2% to 7%.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are four ways in which you can use tobacco. They are cigarette smoke, dry or wet snuff, and chewing tobacco. The cigarette smoke is inhaled through the mouth. Most cigarettes in the US contain 10 milligrams or more of the nicotine. Since most of the nicotine is destroyed by the heat of burning the actual concentration of nicotine in smoke is low. So, when inhaling the smoke you actually only take in 1 to 2 mg of nicotine per cigarette. Nicotine is absorbed through the skin, lining of the mouth and nose, or by inhalation in the lungs. Depending on how the tobacco is ta ken, nicotine can reach peak levels in the bloodstream and brain rapidly. Cigarette smoking, for example, results in quick dis...

Current Topic in Ethics Essay

The article speaks about a recent incident that took place in Brazil, which brought in to light the ethical and moral values of humans. The story had a two sided approach the first one being from the church of Brazil and the second one from the government side. The incident is regarding a step father raping her 9 year old daughter. The girl confessed that she was under a sexual assault from her step father since the age of 6(Yahoo News, 2009). The man was also convicted of sexually abusing the girl’s 14 year old handicapped sister. Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, head of the Catholic Church’s Congregation for Bishops said that the abortion carried out by the doctors under the decision of the girl’s mother was totally wrong and the twins that the girl carried had a right to live. On the other hand President Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva had other views on the matter. He said that according to the law of Brazil where abortion is illegal and allowed only in case where the health of the child bearing women is endangered the Bishop is totally wrong. The girl had actually been brought to the hospital after several stomach cramps and it was found that she is pregnant and carrying twins. At the age of 9 doctors commented that it was impossible for the girl to bear the children and an abortion was the only viable option left. As the doctor involved in the abortion Rivaldo Albuquerque said that it was important for us to save the life of the girl(Yahoo News,2009). Ethical Issues The article raised several ethical issues regarding human rights and social rights. Firstly the rape case as the man had committed was illegal and should be punished according to the government law of the country. Secondly the issue of child abuse as an ethical issue is also being raised by this incident which is another offense of the law and needs to be punished. Third and the most important issue which has been raised by this incident are of abortion which according to the law of Brazil is illegal. The fourth issue has been raised to contradict the third one which is another face of the same law of abortion which is banned. Abortion is only allowed in case the health of the child bearing women is endangered. The fifth ethical issue is the sexual assault of the other handicapped girl sister of the girl which was actually sexually assaulted. All these ethical issues have come forward due to this incident and need to be taken care of by the Brazilian government. Ethical Theories There are many ethical theories and fields of ethics that are present but only some that are relevant would be applied to this case. We will consider each theory one by one and apply it on the case to deduct a result. Greek Philosophy Socrates emphasized that a person to be ethically correct needs to realize the importance of human life and existence. A person would act rightly and correctly if he or she is self aware and knows the importance of life. Bad deeds or evil deeds are a result of ignorance and if the person knows the consequences of doing wrong he or she would never commit that act (MacKinnon, 2008). According to the theory of Socrates the man who committed the assault was unaware of the consequences of the act to be specific he thought that he would get away with his actions but only the pregnancy of the girl brought up the matter. The case of abortion according to this Greek philosophy is a bit controversial as the importance of human life needs to be considered and in this case whether to save the girl or the twins she was carrying was a decision to be made. Normative Ethics This field of ethics focuses on the rightness and wrongness of actions to judge whether they are ethical or not. The theory says that actions were mainly judged by the intentions of a person as in whether they are right or wrong (Kagan, 1997). According to this theory the man in the case is found guilty of committing a crime and should be punished accordingly as his intention was truly wrong and hence his actions also become wrong. Then the abortion of the child was also morally ethical as the life of the girl was endangered by her pregnancy, hence according to this theory the decision of abortion is also ethically correct. Meta Ethics This approach of ethics is a bit different from other approaches as it looks at the reasons for the truth and decides up on the validity of the reasons as to whether the actions that led to the truth were ethical or non ethical (Miller, 2003). According to this theory the actions of the man were totally unethical as the man had committed an immoral act, which is the truth. The reason for this act was his uncontrollable desires, which were unethical. Abortion was performed because it was the only option through which the girl could be saved. The reason for the abortion was the fact that the doctors had to save the life of the girl and could take no risks, hence the act of abortion was morally ethical. Descriptive Ethics This is a newer field of ethics than normative ethics and focuses on the choices that were available to the person and the one he or she picked according to that his or her actions are judged to be ethical or not. According to this theory the man is still found to be guilty and should be punished as the choices he made were ethically incorrect and on the other hand the abortion done by the doctors was also morally ethical as they had limited choices and needed to save the girl. The doctors agreed on the fact that the girl who was only 9 years old could not carry the burden of pregnancy and hence had to be saved through abortion. Conclusion During this paper we looked up on different theories and fields of ethics. These fields and theories were applied on the case and the deduction of whether this ethical issue were correctly dealt or not was focused. The conclusion is not merely my own decision but the result of applying the ethical theories on the case. These theories when applied clearly highlight the fact that the man should be punished according to the law of Brazil and the decision of abortion made by the mother of the girl and carried out by the doctors was a correct one in the circumstances that were presented. References: Kagan S. (1997) Normative Ethics, Westview Press. MacKinnon B. (2008) Ethics: Theory and Contemporary Issues. Wadsworth Publishing. Miller A. (2003) An Introduction to Contemporary Metaethics, Polity. Yahoo News (March 8, 2009). Vatican defends Brazil excommunication. Retrived on March 10, 2009 from http://au. news. yahoo. com/a/-/world/5375029/vatican-defends-brazil-excommunication/

The Nursing Profession Has Gone Through Numerous...

The nursing profession has gone through numerous transformations throughout the years; dating back to Florence Nightingale. She began the movement of professionalism. This movement marked a time when nurses were eager to get an education and had the opportunity to acquire it through a nursing program (Alligood, 2010). From this movement on, nursing has continued to change at a very rapid pace. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) report describes patient needs and environment being much more complex in the 21st century versus the 20th century; not to mention all of the technological advances (Institute of Medicine, 2010). These factors make it vital for both current and future nurses to obtain an even higher education. The government†¦show more content†¦It is essential for nurses to live up to their full potential so they can deliver the best patient outcomes and be successful in the continually changing healthcare system (Institute of Medicine, 2010). To what extent does the Af fordable Care Act affect the nursing education system and ultimately nurses being able to live up to their full potential in the 21st century? In order to advance the education system continued education is important to keep up with current nursing issues and protocols to keep patients safe. Nurses should never stop learning. Nurses who do not have a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) are encouraged to do so in order to advance their practice. The goal is to transform nursing education from 50% of nurses with a BSN to 8o% by 2020 and the number of nurses with a Doctorate to double by 2020 (Institute of Medicine, 2010). The number of nurses with a BSN or currently working towards a BSN has in fact increased thanks to added resources to make these goals more attainable. However, increasing the number of nurses with a BSN to 80% by 2020 is a little overzealous due to the overwhelming demands and time-frame; only 5 years away. There has been a significant rise of insured Americans who will be needing care because of the ACA. In addition, nearly 40% of working registered nurses (RN s) were nearing retirement in 2010 and if this trend continues nursing shortages could be around 400,000 by 2020 (National Advisory Council on