Child Brides Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Child Brides - Essay Example Doll represents the child - dolls are often used as puppets or symbols. Children are very often manipulated like dolls by their parents at a still young age as they are too young to be able to understand what is really happening. The female characters in â€Å"A Dolls House† by the author and playwright Henrik Ibsen project the idea that women are merely self-sacrificing entities of society. A woman can only justify her existence on earth by dedicating herself to others. It is a reality in most societies, where child marriages are still practised, that women practically have no rights whatsoever and are held in a condescending or patronizing manner by the men. The husband in the play â€Å"A Dolls House† treated her wife as a mere object or plaything, that made his wife feel depressed and trapped in the marriage (Ibsen, 2009:50). This â€Å"burka dolls† idea came from my last video project and how women are manipulated. This doll represents Islam although I am looking for a symbol towards my work; however my intention is not against Islam. According to my peers and my audience, its seems this is against Islam because I have been looking at Sara Maples works (haram or forbidden painting) who is against Islam and shown holding a pig, in which it is considered a sin to hold a pig because it is a dirty animal and therefore forbidden to cradle or handle it.

Gloal corporate strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Gloal corporate strategy - Essay Example It has been estimated that Asia will witness the highest growth in the retail food market. To become market leaders, Walmart, Carrefour and Tesco have adopted several innovation strategies which have ultimately helped them to become global leaders. Walmart’s growth under the leadership of Lee Scoot needs special mention as the company has made significant breakthroughs after he became the company’s CEO in 2000. Kapner S., February 2009, Changing Of The Guard At Wal-Mart, Cable News Network: A Time Warner Company, [Online], Available: http://money.cnn.com/2009/02/17/news/companies/kapner_scott.fortune/index.htm, [2 May 2009] 21 The Unending Woes Of Lee Scott, January 2007, Cable News Network: A Time Warner Company, [Online], Available: http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2007/01/22/8397972/ , [2 May 2009] 23 Carrefour has grown to become one of the global food retail giants by expanding both domestically and internationally. It started off by entering into joint ventures with the local companies. The company was the first to introduce the concept of hypermarkets and its first international foray was marked by setting hypermarkets in Brazil in the year 1975. (Holtreman A, n.d). Carrefour and Promodes merged forces in 1999 to form the largest food retailer within Europe. This merger made them the second largest global retailer with their presence stretched to cover almost 26 countries. (Merger Carrefour – Promodà ¨s, n.d.) This merger promised to have an overall beneficial effect on the business of the two merged entities. The aftereffects of the merger were supposed to benefit the stakeholders of the company at large. Suppliers would be able to reap the advantages of increased export opportunities and customers would be able to get their hands on an array of new products. This deal was mainly drafted by Carrefour to save itself from falling prey to Walmart, the leading US food retail giant, as the latter

Field Effects of Climate Change: Literature Review

Field Effects of Climate Change: Literature Review Preliminary review of literature A preliminary review has been compiled to cover on field effects of climate change and agronomical responses to irrigation methods. The literature was reviewed in association mapping studies of durum wheat and for dissection of Global Warming traits. QTL analysis studies for agronomical traits was also reviewed. The literature reviews also covers the current status of research and agriculture status of Mauritania and Senegal. We presented also the material and methods to be used in this study. 1. On field effects of Climate Change The climate change can increase variability and change the seasonality of rainfall, reduce soil moisture, change the dynamics of pests, diseases and weeds, increased heat shock/stress, reduced grain quality or nutrient content. The higher temperatures induce also earlier or extended ripening on the plant. Climate change is projected to have a significant impact on temperature and precipitation profiles in the Mediterranean basin. The incidence and severity of drought will become commonplace and this will reduce the productivity of rain-fed crops such as durum wheat. The major environmental constraints limiting the production of durum wheat in this region are drought and temperature extremes with productivity ranging from 06 t/ha (Nachit and Elouafi, 2004). Changes in total seasonal precipitation and its pattern of variability are both important, and the occurrence of moisture stress during flowering, pollination, and grain-filling is harmful to wheat. Drought at the tillering–booting developmental stages has had a negative impact on durum wheat production (Belaid et al., 2005). Furthermore, crop duration has been shortened by almost one month since 1970 in some areas of southern Morocco. Warmer and drier winters have also exacerbated the effect of some diseases and insects whic h target wheat and are major biotic constraints on production (A Yahyaoui, personal communication). 2. Agronomical responses to irrigation methods The relationships between crop yields and water use are complicated. Yield may depend on when water is applied or on the amount. Information on optimal scheduling of limited amounts of water to maximize yields of high quality crops is essential if irrigation water is to be used most efficiently (Al-Kaisi et al., 1997). The various crop development stages possess different sensitivities to moisture stress (FAO, 1979; English and Nakamura, 1989; Ghahraman and Sepaskhah, 1997). Timing, duration and the degree of water stress all affect yield. Other studies have reported that the relationship between yield and water consumption, including irrigation, is not linear (Yuan et al., 1992). The results of a study showed that crop yields initially improved with increased water consumption, but that beyond a certain water use level yields decreased over irrigation reduced winter-wheat production. (FAO, 2002). The simulated results showed that a single irrigation in wet years, two irrigations in  normal years and three in dry years produced maximum profits. The timing of the irrigations would be: at jointing to booting for the single irrigation, at jointing and heading to milky filling for the two irrigations; and before over wintering, jointing, and heading to milky filling for the three irrigations. (FAO, 2002). Water deficits may also affect crop management and production other than the direct effect on plant growth. The efficacy of many herbicides and other pesticides depends on soil moisture. Plants under moisture stress may not respond to foliar applied chemicals, or in some cases, may be damaged by chemical burns. Nutrient utilization and fertilization practices are influenced by the moisture status of the crop plants. Application of pesticides must be scheduled according to irrigation applications or to moisture stress in the crop.(UF/IFAS, 2008) 3. Association Mapping studies of durum wheat A collection of 134 durum wheat accessions, representative of the major gene pools, was assembled and characterized with 70 SSRs for genetic diversity and level of long-rangelinkage disequilibrium (LD). Results evidenced the presence of a structured diversity and high level of LD (M. Maccaferri et al., 2005). A collection of 164 elite durum wheat accessions suitable for association mapping has been tested for leaf rust response at the seedling stage and under field conditions. The collection has been profiled with 225 simple sequence repeat (SSR) loci of known map position and a PCR assay targeting Ppd-A1. Associations showing highly consistent experiment-wise significances across leaf rust isolates and field trials were mainly detected for the 7BL distal chromosome region and for two chr. regions located in chrs. 2A and 2B. Additionally,isolate specific associations and/or associations with smaller effects in the field trials were identified in most of the chromosomes(M. Maccaferri et al., 2009). The genome location of a resistance gene to the stem rust Sr13 was determined in four tet-raploid wheat (T. turgidum ssp. durum) mapping populations involving the TTKSK resistant varieties Kronos, Kofa, Medora and Sceptre. Results showed that resistance was linked to common molecular markers in all four populations, suggesting that these durum lines carry the same resistance gene. Based on its chromosome location and infection types against different races of stem rust, this gene is postulated to be Sr13. Sr13 was mapped within a1.2–2.8 cM interval (depending on the mapping population) between EST markers CD92604 and BE471213, which corresponds to a 285-kb region in rice chromosome 2, and a 3.1-Mb region in Brachypodium chromosome 3. (K. Simons et al., 2010). Association studies were effective for identifying markers associated with host plant resistance to rust and powdery mildew,as well as Grain Yield with five sets of historical breeding wheat germplasm (Crossa et al.2007; Terraciano et al.2013). For the mining of allel that contribute to the tolerance of abiotique stresses, a germplasm collection of 189 elite durum lines was tested across 15 environnements at different regime of water. Association mapping studies with 186 DNA markers identify many of them linked to alleles enhancing adaptation to water stress.(Maccaferi et al, 2011). 4. Association Mapping studies for dissection of Global Warming traits The creation of suitable mapping populations and the development of molecular markers have enabled linkage studies in wheat and many QTLs have been identified for yield under drought environments (Varshney et al., 2006). The coupling of new genomic tools, technologies, and resources with genetic approaches is essential to underpin wheat breeding through marker-assisted selection and hence mitigate climate change. Many traits relating to the plant’s response and adaptation to drought are complex and multigenic, and quantitative genetics coupled with genomic technologies have the potential to dissect complex genetic traits and to identify regulatory loci, genes and networks. Mapping populations have been developed in durum wheat for the study of biotic and abiotic stresses (Blanco et al., 1998; Nachit et al., 2001; Nachit and Elouafi, 2004). Loci for yield, yield components, heading date, plant height, and physiological and developmental traits under drought have also been established in mapping populations (Maccaferri et al., 2008;DZ Habash et al., unpublished data). 5. QTL analysis studies for agronomical traits The genetic basis of grain yield (GY), heading date (HD), and plant height (PH) was investigated in a durum wheat population of 249 recombinant inbred lines evaluated in 16 environments. Among the 16 quantitative trait loci (QTL) that affected GY, two major QTL on chromosomes 2BL and 3BS showed significant effects in 8 and 7 environments. QTL specific for PH were identified on chromosomes 1BS, 3AL, and 7AS. Additionally, three major QTL for HD on chromosomes 2AS, 2BL, and 7BS showed limited or no effects on GY. For both PH and GY, notable epistasis between the chromosome 2BL and 3BS QTL was detected across several environments (Maccaferi et al., 2007). Besides some minor QTLs, one major QTL explaining both reduction of disease severity in the field and increased latency period was found on the long arm of chromosome 7B (Marone et al.,2009).Nine QTL for resistance to stem rust were identified on chromosomes 1AL, 2AS, 3BS, 4BL,5BL, 6AL 7A, 7AL and 7BL (Nachit et al., 2012). 6. Current status of research and agriculture status In Senegal Studies conducted in the 70 and 80 have shown the potential to lead the wheat in particular, in the Senegal River Valley (VFS) but there has been no transfer of results. Analyzing the situation, ISRA has undertaken in recent years, work on wheat and identified promising productive varieties for agro-climatic conditions of the VFS. According to Dr. Madiama Cissà ©, a researcher at the ISRA, the Senegal River Valley has huge potential and with the political willing of the state, Senegal will be a major producer of wheat. A research program was conducted on ten hectares divided between the experimental station Fanaye, located 160 miles from St. Louis, and Ndiole. These ten hectares were used to assess the plant material that comes from Morocco and we found suitable for the cold season and other varieties of Mexico that are being evaluated in order to increase the packet. Today we have over 75 varieties under observation at Fanaye and indicated for intensive cultivation; we will be able to get out a few that are adapted to the Valley. There is also a quarantine which were selected for their temperature tolerance. Technically, the wheat crop is possible. Water is available in the Valley, as this area has not only water resources, but the agro-climatic conditions are very favorable. Thus, in light of the available results, lines of progress is possible by optimizing production techniques to terms should improve the performance of wheat under the conditions of the Senegal River Valley. These performances are conditioned by: Good timing of crop calendar Improved fashion and seeding The optimization of nitrogen fertilizer, phosphate and potassium The weed management Control of pest pressure (pests and diseases) Optimal water management Place the wheat in crop rotations In Mauritania AOAD (Arab Organization for Agricultural deveveloppement) conducts research for the production of wheat in the experimental stage in some areas of the country through the provision of experts to test the degree of adaptation of some varieties of wheat in the Mauritanias environment. Salem Merrakchi, the agricultural engineer who oversees the cultivation of wheat, says that good results are expected in the perimeters have met the technical processes. He says to expect a production of over 3,840 tons of wheat on 1,882 acres, but stresses that some regions have proven to be inadequate for this speculation. Recall that the experience of growing wheat introduced in Mauritania, there are three years, has allowed the use of 6,000 ha in irrigated area and 10,000 ha in rain-fed area with profitability improving season after season. Dr. Walid Al Zaki Yamani, a researcher in the wheat industry and expert AOAD in improving the productivity of wheat cultivation, noted that four experienced variety in Mauritania have a record productivity. Furthermore 29 speculation wheat were tested in four seasons to determine which is best suited to the Mauritanian conditions. Following the results, Mauritania is a fertile land suitable for the cultivation of this species, whether in the area irrigated or rain-fed agriculture. 7. Material and methods Phenotypic characterization In this study the germplasm is a core collection of 380 durum wheat accessions (elite, advanced, wild relatives, and landraces) selected from the ICARDA durum breeding program. The material will be accurately phenotyped for their response to abiotic stresses (drought and heat) and WUE (Water Use Efficiency) under a short cycle. The phenotyping will be conducted along the Senegal River at national experimental stations in Mauritania (Kaedi) and Senegal (Fanaye) were wheat planting will always be performed on lands previously sown with rice to provide indications about wheat-rice crop rotation. We will use the augmented design to control error with 4 checks completely repeated in each of the19 blocks that will accommodate the genotype in a small plot 2.5mx 6 rows. We will record the agronomical responses to short cycle and high temperatures and under various water regimes by annotating on-field data (germination, flowering time, plant height, lodging occurrence of disease and pests) and post-harvest data (yield and thousand kernels weight). Screening for WUE will be conducted in the irrigated trials by providing two water quantities throughout the growing season: ideal amount (500 mm) and sub-ideal (250 mm) and then phenotypic values will be recorded. Genotypic characterization Leaves from this above core collections are collected after growing the 380 lines in the green house. DNA extraction will be effected for the further genotyping. First an approximately 50 PCR-based markers associated with â€Å"drought† traits in wheat will be selected and used in screening the ICARDA core collection to provide a first glimpse at the useful stress tolerance alleles embedded within this collection. In the second time the germplasm will be deeply genotyped with 25,000 markers SNP (Simple Nucleotide Polymorphism) using the AXIOM (Affimetrix) platform available commercially at INRA (Clermont Ferrand). Genetic Studies and statistical analysis We will use GWAS that use the genotypic data in combination with the phenotypic performances to identify the genomic regions and the specific SNP/alleles associated with the response to abiotic stresses. From these associations, the genomic estimate of breeding value (GEBV) can be calculated. This GEBV will allow to design targeted crosses and to merge all the useful alleles found by GWAS in single cultivars. Further, the SNPs found to be associated with the positive traits will be converted into  readily available PCR-based assays through the KASPar technology. These assays will be use in further studies using MAS (Marker Assisted Selection) to tag germplasm with useful alleles of interest. To perform GWAS and GWS (Genome Wide Selection) we need to apply statistical models. In this study we will use a specific software (STRUCTURE, Pritchard et al.2000; TASSEL) in combination with Linear Mixed model witch take on account population structure and genetic relatedness and reduce the rate of false positives. We will use R statistic witch is a free and easily software where all statistical commands will be ran. ANOVA table, chi-square, t-test, F-value, P-value and others statistical tools will allow us to identify differences between treatments and all what we need to know in this study.

Colombia :: essays research papers

Colombia Climate The climate, however, varies with the elevation. The low regions along the coast and the deep Patà ­a and Magdalena river valleys are torrid, with mean annual temperatures of 75 ° to 80 ° F. From about 1500 to 7500 ft the climate is subtropical, and from about 7500 to 10,000 ft it is temperate. Above about 10,000 ft is the cold-climate zone, where temperatures range from 0 ° to 55 ° F. The average January and July temperatures in Bogotà ¡ are 58 ° F and 57 ° F, respectively. The averages for the same months in Barranquilla are 80 ° F and 82 ° F. Throughout the year, three-month periods of rain and dry weather alternate. Along the Pacific coast precipitation is heavy. At Bogotà ¡ the annual rainfall averages about 40 in, and in Barranquilla it averages about 32 in. Dry weather prevails on the slopes of the Eastern Cordillera. Government Colombia has a Republican form of government. Colombia has a president who is elected by popular vote. He is chosen by any man or woman 18 years or older. The president can serve one four year term. He appoints a cabinet which has to be approved by congress. Congress is composed of a House of Representatives (199 members) and a Senate (112 members). Land Area The total land area of the country is 440,831 sq. mi. The capital and largest city is Bogota. Population Characteristics, Religion, and Language The population of Colombia (1993 estimate) was 34,942,767, giving the country an overall population density of about 79 per sq. mi. About 95 percent of the people are Roman Catholics. Small Protestant and Jewish minorities exist. The official language of Colombia is Spanish. The racial makeup of the Colombian population is diversified. About half the people are mestizo (of mixed Spanish and Native American ancestry), about 20 percent are of unmixed European ancestry, and about 14 percent are mulatto (of mixed black and white ancestry). The remaining 8 percent is made up of blacks, Native Americans, and people of mixed race. History In 1538 Spanish conquistadors founded New Granada. In 1717 Bogota became the capital of the Viceroyalty of New Granada which consisted of present-day Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, and Venezuela. In 1819 Simon Bolivar defeated Spanish troops near Bogota and became the first president of the new republic of Gran Colombia. Currency The basic unit of currency is the Colombian peso (829 pesos equal U.S.$1; 1994).

Is Television Addictive? Essay

Television viewing is comparable to drug and alcohol addiction as illustrated by Marie Winn in her essay entitled â€Å"TV Addiction†.   In some cases â€Å"addiction† is good-humoredly referred to as a propensity to overindulgence of oneself on something pleasurable like cookie or mystery book addiction but watching television programs results to negative effects in people that somehow consume their lives and leave them feeling a void that can never be fulfilled.   Although it offers momentary reprieve from reality which people sometimes need, it can also become a destructive compulsion. (Winn)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚        Ã‚  The author has quite significantly suggested the perils of excessive television watching.   Instead of offering us a way to relax from our busy daily routine, it may just be contradictorily a contributing factor that intensifies the stress we encounter every day.   In the paper, Winn cited some testimonials of a college instructor, a pre-school teacher, a filmmaker and a lawyer who have directly experienced being â€Å"hooked† on watching television shows as well as mothers who has observed this dilemma on their own young children to the point that the hours they could have spent on more meaningful things are wasted on watching the shows that they do not even like.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The author likened these testimonials to those shared in meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous. Based on the testimonials from parents, its effects became even more alarming when they witnessed their children’s restlessness when unable to watch television just like a withdrawal symptom of an addict.   At some point in a person’s life, overindulgence in watching television happens. For some, it happens during bouts of depression, boredom, procrastination, hibernation or whatever period it is called but when it becomes habitually a part of our daily lives, it may become destructive mentally, psychologically and even physically.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The author presented a different perspective to television viewing.   It gives people a glimpse of how life can become when faced with such a predicament.   For most people, reading these pages is a wake up call since an individual is usually unaware when he or she is in the midst of an addiction such as this. Some people may have gradually increased the number of hours spent in front of their television sets unconsciously and this reading could really open their eyes and give everyone a nudge to change it. Television is a very significant instrument of worldwide communication and information that aids everyone in the awareness of what is happening around us.   It is a tool of improving our knowledge in a lot of things and it has its own purpose. Similarly, legal drugs or medicines and alcohol exists because it also has its uses and is actually beneficial at times but unfortunately,   just like most things in this world, it can be addictive and hazardous to people’s lives when dealt with excessively. It is undeniable that television is a part of our lives but moderation of time spent in watching television should be practiced and parents should also impose this strict rule to their children.   Parents may introduce other ways of recreation to them to reduce their viewing time but before this can be implemented in a household or a community, parents should as well apply this to themselves. Addiction can really be avoided if proper time management and self-restraint is given more focus. A firm decision in employing moderation to the things that people do can truly prevent this to happen.   It may seem impossible for addicts but it can always be done if a person is determined never to be controlled by such weaknesses.   Eradicating addictions can change people’s lives and can enormously generate a more productive, healthy and fulfilled world. Works Cited Winn, Marie. â€Å"T.V. Addiction.† Connelly, Mark. The Sundance Reader, Fourth Edition. Boston, Massachussetts: Thomas Wadsworth, 2006. 193-198.   

Universal Healthcare

Universal Health Care The issue of health care is a widely debated issue in the United States today. The United States spends more on health care than any other country in the world, but there are 48. 6 million people that do not have health insurance. The United States also has one of the lowest life expectancies in the industrialized world, and 45,000 people die every year due to a lack of health care. The United States Congress passed the Affordable Care Act in 2010 to try to correct some of these problems. Unfortunately, conservatives and Liberals cannot agree on the subject of health care (Kleinstuber).The health care system should be changed so that universal health care is enacted in the United States. With universal health care, citizens of the United States will become healthier, therefore, people have better opportunity to obtain human capital. Also, the benefits outweigh the detriments in the case for universal health care with some small changes with how it works. The imp lementation of universal health care would benefit the United States’ economy and society’s welfare. Thousands of US citizens suffer every day from a lack of health care.This has become a serious problem in the US, and it needs to be changed. There are over 45 million people who are uninsured in the US (Ireland). Of these 45 million uninsured people, about 9. 4 percent of them are children under age 18 (Todd and Sommers). Many of these uninsured people did not have the same opportunity to obtain human capital as others did, therefore, they are stuck in the lower class without employer-sponsored health care. With universal health care enacted in the US, these healthier people would have better chance at obtaining human capital.In effect, children grow up healthier, and they have better attendance at school and have a better chance to become successful in the future. Universal health care will lead to a more prosperous, opportunistic society. Universal health care has mo re benefits than it does detriments. Described by Jae Ireland in her article â€Å"Pros and Cons of Free Universal Health Care,† the pros of universal health care are extended care, reducing medical costs, and the proof of the success of universal health care (Ireland).The cons of universal health care are raised taxes, competition between doctors and hospitals would disappear, and there will be longer wait times at health care offices and emergency rooms. Of course, with universal health care, every citizen in the US will have free health coverage. This will result in a healthier and happier citizens. A disadvantage of the enactment of universal health care in the raising of taxes. This increasing of taxes could be eased by the decreasing of some other taxes. Although this is true, the cost of medical costs will go down without privatized health care.With the medical costs decreasing, the amount the US spends on health care per person would decrease from how much they pay fo r Medicaid and Medicare. A disadvantage of universal health care is the potential loss of competition between doctors and hospitals (Ireland). This does not have to happen though. The government could still pay doctors based on their skills and how important they are to society and the medical community. Also, make sure that patients can choose their own doctors so that doctors can still compete for patients.This ensures that doctors and hospitals still have good incentive to do adequate work for patients. Another benefit of universal health care is the proof of the success of universal health care with other countries such as France, Italy, and Spain. These countries show that it universal health care can work with many benefits. These countries are able to provide universal health care with a much smaller percentage of their GDP than the US is currently using. Also, many countries with universal health care prove its success with longer life expectancies than the United States.A d rawback of universal health care is that patients are put on waiting lists for appointments since there will be many more patients (Ireland). On the other hand, this may be able to be changed. Policies that make sure patients with more extreme reasons for the need of medical attention get treated before patients with less serious reasons for medical attention. With some of the changes to the harms of universal health care, the implementation of universal health care in the United States would be undoubtedly beneficial.In essence, universal health care can be very beneficial to the United States in multiple ways. With universal health care, citizens of the United States will have a better chance to attain human capital, and they will have a better chance to be successful. Also, with some minor changes to the universal health care system, the benefits outweigh the detriments. The implementation of universal health in the United States would create a better society and improve the well -being of their citizens.