Tuesday, November 26, 2019
Raccoon Facts (Procyon lotor)
Raccoon Facts (Procyon lotor) The raccoon (Procyon lotor) is a medium-sized mammal native to North America. It is easily recognized by its pointed masked face and banded furry tail. The species name lotor is neo-Latin for washer, referring to the animals habit of foraging for underwater food and sometimes washing it before eating. Fast Facts: Raccoon Scientific Name: Procyon lotorCommon Names: Raccoon, coonBasic Animal Group: MammalSize: 23 to 37 inchesWeight: 4 to 23 poundsLifespan: 2 to 3 yearsDiet: OmnivoreHabitat: North AmericaPopulation: MillionsConservation Status: Least Concern Description A raccoon is characterized by the black mask of fur around its eyes, alternating light and dark rings on its bushy tail, and pointed face. Except for the mask and tail, its fur is grayish in color. Raccoons are able to stand on their hind legs and manipulate objects with their dexterous fore paws. Males tend to be 15 to 20% heavier than females, but size and weight varies dramatically depending on habitat and time of year. An average raccoon is between 23 to 37 inches in length and weighs between 4 and 23 pounds. Raccoons weigh roughly twice as much in autumn compared to early spring because they store fat and conserve energy when temperatures are low and food is scarce. Habitat and Distribution Raccoons are native to North and Central America. They prefer wooded habitats near water, but have expanded to live in marshes, mountains, prairies, and urban areas. In the mid-20th century, raccoons were introduced into Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, Belarus, and Azerbaijan. Raccoon natural range (red) and introduced range (blue). Roke, Creative Commons License Diet Raccoons are omnivores that feed on small invertebrates, nuts, fruit, fish, bird eggs, frogs, and snakes. They tend to avoid larger prey as long as their usual food source is available. Many raccoons are nocturnal, but it is not unusual for a healthy raccoon to seek food during the day, particularly near human habitation. Behavior While captive raccoons often douse their food in water before eating it, the behavior is less common in wild animals. Scientists hypothesize the dousing behavior stems from the species foraging pattern, which typically involves an aquatic habitat. Once thought to be solitary creatures, scientists now know raccoons engage in social behavior. While each raccoon lives within its home range, related females and unrelated males form social groups that often feed or rest together. Raccoons are highly intelligent. They can open complex locks, remember symbols and problem solutions for years, distinguish between different quantities, and understand abstract principles. Neuroscientists find neuron density in raccoon brains comparable to that in primate brains. Reproduction and Offspring Raccoon females are fertile for three or four days between late January and mid-March, depending on the duration of daylight and other factors. Females often mate with multiple males. If the female loses her kits, she may become fertile in another 80 to 140 days, but most females only have one litter each year. Females seek a protected area to serve as a den for raising young. Males separate from females after mating and are not involved in raising young. Gestation lasts from 54 to 70 days (usually 63 to 65 days), resulting in a litter of two to five kits or pups. Kits weigh between 2.1 and 2.6 ounces at birth. They have masked faces, but are born blind and deaf. Kits are weaned by 16 weeks of age and disperse to find new territories in autumn. Females are sexually mature in time for the next mating season, while males mature somewhat later and typically start breeding when they are two years old. In the wild, raccoons typically only live between 1.8 and 3.1 years. Only about half of a litter survive the first year. In captivity, raccoons may live 20 years. Baby raccoons resemble their parents. Janette Asche / Getty Images Conservation Status The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List categorizes the raccoons conservation status as least concern. The population is stable and increasing in some areas. The raccoon occurs in some protected areas, plus it has adapted to live in close proximity to humans. While raccoons have natural predators, most deaths are from hunting and traffic accidents. Raccoons and Humans Raccoons have a long history of interaction with humans. They are hunted for their fur and killed as pests. Raccoons may be tamed and kept as pets, although keeping them is prohibited in some locations. Pet raccoons are best kept in pens to minimize property destruction and are usually neutered to reduce aggressive behavior. Orphaned unweaned kits may be fed cows milk. However, becoming accustomed to humans may make it difficult for them to adjust if the raccoons are later released into the wild. Sources Goldman, Edward A.; Jackson, Hartley H.T. Raccoons of North and Middle America. North American Fauna 60 Washington: U.S. Deptartment of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, 1950.MacClintock, Dorcas. A Natural History of Raccoons. Caldwell, New Jersey: Blackburn Press, 1981. ISBN 978-1-930665-67-5.Reid, F. A. A Field Guide to the Mammals of Central America and Southeast Mexico. Oxford University Press. p. 263, 2009. ISBN 0-19-534322-0Timm, R.; Cuarà ³n, A.D.; Reid, F.; Helgen, K.; Gonzlez-Maya, J.F. Procyon lotor. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T41686A45216638. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T41686A45216638.enZeveloff, Samuel I. Raccoons: A Natural History Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Books, 2002. ISBN 978-1-58834-033-7
Saturday, November 23, 2019
If-Then and If-Then-Else Conditional Statements in Java
If-Then and If-Then-Else Conditional Statements in Java The if-then and if-then-elseconditional statements let a Java program make simple decisions about what to do next. They work in the same logical way as we do when making decisions in real life. For example, when making a plan with a friend, you could say If Mike gets home before 5:00 PM, then well go out for an early dinner. When 5:00 PM arrives, the condition (i.e., Mike is home), which determines whether everyone goes out for an early dinner, will either be true or false. It works exactly the same in Java. The if-then Statementà Lets say part of a program were writing needs to calculate if the purchaser of a ticket is eligible for a childs discount. Anyone under the age of 16 gets a 10% discount on the ticket price. We can let our program make this decision by using an if-then statement: if (age 16) isChild true; In our program, an integer variable called age holds the age of the ticket purchaser. The condition (i.e., is the ticket purchaser under 16) is placed inside the brackets. If this condition is true, then the statement beneath the if statement is executed in this case a boolean variable isChild is set to true. The syntax follows the same pattern every time. The if keyword followed by a condition in brackets, with the statement to execute underneath: if (condition is true) execute this statement The key thing to remember is the condition must equate to a boolean value (i.e., true or false). Often, a Java program needs to execute more than one statement if a condition is true. This is achieved by using a blockà (i.e., enclosing the statements in curly brackets): if (age 16)ââ¬â¹{ isChild true; discount 10;} This form of the if-then statement is the most commonly used, and itsà recommended to use curly brackets even when there is only one statement to execute. It improves the readability of the code and leads to fewer programming mistakes. Without the curly brackets, its easy to overlook the effect of the decision being made or to come back later and add another statement to execute but forget to also add the curly brackets. The if-then-else Statement The if-then statement can be extended to have statements that are executed when the condition is false. The if-then-else statement executes the first set of statements if the condition is true, otherwise, the second set of statements are executed: if (condition) { execute statement(s) if condition is true}else{ execute statement(s) if condition is false} In the ticket program,à lets say we need to make sure the discount is equal to 0 if the ticket purchaser is not a child: if (age 16){ isChild true; discount 10;}else{ discount 0;} The if-then-else statement also allows the nesting of if-then statements. This allows decisions to follow a path of conditions. For example, the ticket program might have several discounts. We might first test to see if the ticket purchaser is a child, then if theyre a pensioner, then if theyre a student and so on: if (age 16){ isChild true; discount 10;}else if (age 65){ isPensioner true; discount 15;}else if (isStudent true){ discount 5;} As you can see, the if-then-else statement pattern just repeats itself. If at any time the condition is trueà , then the relevant statements are executed and any conditions beneath are not tested to see whether they are true or false. For example, if the age of the ticket purchaser is 67, then the highlighted statements are executed and the (isStudent true) condition is never tested and the program just continues on. There is something worth noting about the (isStudent true) condition. The condition is written to make it clear that were testing whether isStudent has a value of true, but because it is a boolean variable, we can actually write: else if (isStudent){ discount 5;} If this is confusing, the way to think about it is like this we know a condition is tested to be true or false. For integer variables like age, we have to write an expression that can be evaluated to true or false (e.g., age 12, age 35, etc..). However, boolean variables already evaluate to be true or false. We dont need to write an expression to prove it because if (isStudent) is already saying if isStudent is true... If you want to test that a boolean variable is false, just use the unary operator!. It inverts a boolean value, therefore if (!isStudent) is essentially saying if isStudent is false.
Thursday, November 21, 2019
Evaluation of Statistical Data Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
Evaluation of Statistical Data - Term Paper Example The main objective of this study is to determine significant factors that influence the overall academic performance i.e. GPA of a student. The major possible factors identified initially include Class, Age, IQ and the study time a student contributes for learning and acquiring knowledge after class hours. The sample of this study comprised of 30 students gathered from different class intakes. The cumulative GPA of each student was used to measure their overall performance. In this particular case study, our independent variable is Cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) on a scale of 4.00 while our dependent variables include class of the student, age of the student, his or her IQ level and study time that a student consumes after class hours for learning. In this study, Minitab 16.2.1 Statistical Software was used to carry out statistical calculations. Initially, descriptive statistical analysis was carried out for all dependent and independent variables to study their distribution pa ttern to draw any meaningful interpretation. Further, correlation and regression analysis was conducted to determine if there is a relationship between the independent and dependent variables. ... Descriptive Statistical Analysis First of all descriptive statistics of independent and dependent variables was carried out using Minitab 16.2.1 Statistical software to study the distribution pattern of the values contained within these variables for a sample size of 30 i.e. n=30. According to Kirk (2008), mode is highest score value in the data sample that has the maximum frequency of occurrence, median is the center value in the order data sample that divides the sample into two halves while mean is the average of all data points and is the center of gravity of the sample. Kirk (2008) highlights that the standard deviation is the most important and widely used value that helps to identify the dispersion of the data. The square of standard deviation is called variance. Skewness is the measure of extent to which distribution of the data leans to one side of the mean. A negatively skewed data indicates that the distribution leans to right while positively skewed data indicates distrib ution leaning to the left of average value. Kurtosis, on the other hand, is the measure of peakedness of the sample data. Below is detailed analysis of the independent and dependent variables: Class of Students The pie chart indicated that 10% of the students from our sample of 30 students were from Class 1, 20% were from Class 2, 23.3% from Class 3 and 46.7% from Class 4 as shown below. Figure 1 : Pie Chart of Percentage of Students Sampled from Each Class Grade Point Average The descriptive statistical analysis of the GPA sample revealed that the mean value of GPA was 3.2317 with a standard deviation of 0.3597. The Skewness of the sample is -0.04 which indicates that data is nearly uniformly
Tuesday, November 19, 2019
Elasticity of demand Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
Elasticity of demand - Essay Example e behavior of price elasticity under monopolistic competition, oligopoly, and monopoly to determine the differences in price elasticity among the economic structures. Under monopolistic competition the price elasticity is high. One of the reasons this occurs is because there are many firms competing in the marketplace. Firms can enter easily into this market structure because there are no barriers of entry. An example of a firm operating under monopolistic competition is the fast food giant McDonalds. It is clear for customer that the prices between fast food chains change a lot based on the price moves made by others. When McDonalds introduced its one dollar value menu, competitors in the industry such as Burger King and Wendyââ¬â¢s followed with an economical menu of their own. The intense competition in under this market structure raises the price elasticity of demand for its players. In an oligopoly market structure the price elasticity of demand is medium. An oligopoly market is one in which there are a limited number of firms participating in the marketplace. Since there is competition the price elasticity of demand is affected by others. There are barriers of entry which limit the number of participants. The price elasticity of demand is lower in monopoly than in monopolistic competition since it now in the best interest of the participants for price wars to occur. Many fluctuations in price among participant in the market can be very damaging to the entire market structure. An example of an oligopoly is the airline industry. Airlines can not go in full price wars since their activities are interconnected as far as sharing resources from airports and the firm know the aggregate demand for flying is somewhat stable, thus a price war will only lower the total profits of all the participants in the market structure. The economic profits of firms participating in an oligopoly depend on the other players which lower the price elasticity of demand. A third market
Sunday, November 17, 2019
International Nurses in Canada Essay Example for Free
International Nurses in Canada Essay International Nurses in Canada Nurses play vital role in the personââ¬â¢s life. Nurses take care of health of all age group of Canadians and make the nation very healthy and wealthy. Nursing, as a career to both men and women offer varieties of opportunities for professional development and the personal satisfaction by helping people, when they really seek caring hand. Duties and Responsibilities of a Nurse in Ontario, Canada In Canada duties and responsibilities of nurses are well defined and listed with the emphasis on good ethics. The main duties of the Registered Nurses are as follows. Nurses assess patients to identify appropriate nursing interventions and provide medications and treatments according to policies and protocols . They collaborate with team members to plan, implement and evaluate patient care in consultation with patients and their relatives. They educate the patients and implement the institute policies for discharging patients. They assist surgeons, physicians in medical procedure or surgery and successfully monitor and operate medical equipments and supervise subordinates staff. (1. Employment Ontario). They maintain stock of supplies; prepare rooms, sterile instruments and equipments. They perform routine laboratory and office work. (2. Compassionate nursing care). In Ontario, there are two major groups in nursing profession. 1. Registered Nurse, 2. Registered Practical Nurse. The important differences between these two nursing professions are education and practice. RN requires studying a four year Bachelor of Nursing degree course and RPN requires studying, diploma program of four semesters. (3. RNAO). Working area of a nurse trained in Ontario, Canada A nurse trained in Canada can work in nearly 120 countries in the world. This is due to the Global nursing connections of Canadian Nursing Association with ICN (International Council Of Nursing). ICN is a federation of national nursesââ¬â¢ associations, representing nurses in more than 120 countries. CNA has very good leadership, which has represented ICN at various senior level for pretty long period. (4. CNA). Duties of a nurse in a Third World Country (ZAMBIA) Zambia is a member of International Council of Nurses (ICN) and nursing profession is regulated by the Nurses and Midwives Act No. 31 of 1997. Unfortunately, Zambia is among the 57 countries identified by WHO as experiencing critical shortage nurses and doctors as they are changing their profession or migrating to other counties. (5-ZUNO, 2008). Nurses in Zambia are working in highly unsafe and poor occupational conditions. In Zambia HIV/AIDS and other diseases such as tuberculosis and malaria are predominant. Due to the shortage of nursing staff, there is an overload of work on existing nurses. They work with inadequate protective clothing and instruments. They are offered very poor salary and deprived of basic needs of life. All these factors increase stress to nurses and deteriorate their physical, mental and financial condition. The nurses trained in Ontario can work in any part of the world, but the internationally trained nurse cannot work here as soon as they come here. At first glance this looks unpalatable and dominance of developed country over developing country and third world country. Here, the development in health care is very fast to keep the people healthy and provide faster recovery. So nurses will require keeping the pace with new technology and innovations. Nurses need to implement new health programs. Nurses need to work more independently. Nurses must be able to collaborate, the activities of the different disciplines for the patientââ¬â¢s benefit. Here, Nurses should be aware of consequences of ethical and legal issues, while treating the patient with their consent, relating nursing practice in the institute / hospital. (6. CNA). All these important information and knowledge are required before treating patients in Ontario. Above all, communication should also be fluent, to understand team members and patients. Because of these reasons, internationally trained nurses might not be able to work immediately, when they arrive here. Requirements for internationally trained nurse to be accepted in nursing profession They should be Canadian citizen, Permanent Resident or authorized under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada) and provide evidence of fluency in English / French. They should complete an acceptable nursing program, provide recent safe nursing practice, should successfully complete national nursing registration examination and provide registration or eligibility of registration in Ontario. They should provide Good character and clean criminal record from a Canadian Criminal Record. (7. CNO). Expenses to obtain Ontario Certification for internationally trained nurses Various Bridge Training programs are offered by Ontario government to internationally educated nursing professional to gain the knowledge and information needed to get license to do practise in Ontario. (8. Ontario Bridge Training). This study program is ranging between 2 to 4 semesters. The tuition fee for this study program is ranging between $ 12000 to $ 4400. After completion of this program they will have to pay,1. application fee,2. PLAR Fee,3. Examinatin fee,4,General class registration fee. The total comes $ 2457. 0. (9. CNO). These expenses are overwhelming for newcomers. Newcomers initially struggle to get the job to meet their daily expenses. How could they take care of expensive tuition fees and license fees with full time study? This system is very expensive for internationally trained nurse to get license and do the practise in Ontario.
Thursday, November 14, 2019
Five Burning Lights in a Dark Universe :: Women Feminism Rights Essays
Five Burning Lights in a Dark Universe The present just as the past did holds innumerable obstacles for women in search of a professional career. However, as a woman of the 20th century, I am glad to say that the obstacles have decreased through time thanks to the voices of courageous women who dare to talk when everyone else held silent. Many changes occur from the 17th century on, economically, politically and socially; the scientific revolution, the end of monarchy and absolute power, the emergence of democracy, and capitalism are only a few of those changes. This changes also brought changes in peoples attitudes, specially the attitude about women. Since the Greek times, society has underestimated women's potential. However, through history women have dared to challenge the world, and have spoken up to show the world that women are as capable, and talented as men. Aphra Behn, Anne Finch, Margaret Cavendish, Mary Wollstonecraft, and Mary Shelly are five of these women from the 17 and 19-century who dared to speak up, and raise their voices to let the whole world know about women's situation and solutions to it. Aphra Behn, born in 1640, was England's first professional woman writer. Behn was a middle-class widow who mainly wrote for TIME and CLEOS, in Greek or fame and fortune for us. In a time where women were suppose to be silent, pure, and in the private sphere or homes taking care of the children and their husbands, a woman dared to challenge society. Behn, challenged society not only by stepping into the public sphere, publishing her writings, but also by writing about women's feelings, desires, dreams and realities. Behn wrote great poetry and we can see her challenging ideas in the title of her poems most of the time, and this challenges become more obvious as we read her poems. "The Willing Mistress," was a vivid example of this, since in its verses Behn writes about a woman's sexual desires and wiliness to have sexual relations with a married man. We can also see a reflection of her ideas, in her speech titled "Mrs. Gwin," where she criticize the gender ideology of the time, and also exposes women's situation. She argues that no reason existed for men to prevent women from writing, governing and fighting, with the excuse that women were weak and inferior, because women have had done it before.
Tuesday, November 12, 2019
Children Should Start Being Responsible For Their Daily Chores By The Age of Three Essay
I have always believed that our experiences can help us become better individuals. I grew upà adjusting and adapting easily to my environment. Washing the dishes and cleaning the house was never an issue for me. I can do what was told, even if nobody helped me. I know that a lot of adults my age experienced the same thing. For this, I believe that children should start being responsible for their daily chores by the age of three. à à à à à à à à à à à Children nowadays are more technologically and intellectually advanced than before. They can easily comprehend what is being asked of them, and perform with the best of their abilities. The times have really changed. à à à à à à à à à à à When I was young, my parents taught me how to do simple household chores. After playing with my toys, my parents would tell me to put them inside the toy box they provided for me. They explained to me that my toys should be placed all together in one place, and not scattered all over the house. à à à à à à à à à à à As a child, I did not feel that I was being tasked to do something. What was inculcated in my mind was the fact that I had to help my parents in maintaining the cleanliness and orderliness of our house. This lesson was imprinted in me. à à à à à à à à à à à Another reason that should be taken into consideration is the fact that children develop a strong sense of responsibility even at a young age. When my younger brother was born, I felt the need to assist my parents more. I knew that I should be more responsible in doing the household chores. I realized that I was not just living for myself, but I am also living for someone else. My parents showered me with their unconditional love, and I saw it as a reasonà for me to carry over that love to my brother. à à à à à à à à à à à With these in mind, Ià realized that I had to do more than what was initially expected of me when I was still an only child. In between diaper changes, my mom would ask me to bring out the used diapers and clean the mess. Initially, I had second thoughts, given that the dirty diapers were not appealing especially to children. She explained to me that as the older child, I should help in caring for my younger brother. à à à à à à à à à à à Soon after, my mom taught me how to operate the washing machine. She instilled in me that the amount of detergent used should be proportional to the weight of the clothes. By this, she revealed to me that nothing should be wasted. à à à à à à à à à à à One day, she told me that I should be the one to wash the dishes. When there were visitors, I should help them in the preparations and in cleaning up the mess. Other times, she left me in charge of other household chores. Those were the times when I became more independent of her supervision. à à à à à à à à à à à The flexibility of the children should also be taken into consideration. At a young age, children can still be taught what to do and what not to do. In terms of thinking and reasoning, these children can still adapt to their environment. They have not yet developed their stand on certain things and issues that continuously happen around them. à à à à à à à à à à à A similar instance happened to my four-year-old niece.à I observed that she listened to what people tell her, and followed what was taught by her elders. She particularly listened to the instructions made by her parents and the older people she lived with at home. There was this particular situation wherein she willingly helped her mother set the table. Everyone who witnessed this particular occurrence were left at awe. It also left a good impression on how the parents raised their daughter into a responsible and caring child. à à à à à à à à à à à à Another point that I want to raise is the fact that the lessons taught to children are carried on as they get older. Manners, in particular, are taught when children are still in their innocent stage. As the child grows, these manners are practiced and passed over on to their own children. à à à à à à à à à à à I remember this particular incident that happened in a restaurant. I was eating dinner with my friends when I suddenly blurted out a loud burping sound. I felt embarrassed, but quickly excused myself. My dad told me that I should be a gentleman while on the table. He also said that this was a simple deed that should always be practiced. He emphasized that having good manners reflect my personality and how I was raised by my parents. à à à à à à à à à à à Furthermore, they always reminded me to be courteous and polite to other people. Every time someone came over to visit us, I would greet them warmly and let them come inside of our house. I would offer them refreshments, initiate light conversations, and make them sense that they were very welcome in our home. Doing these made me feel that I was doing the right thing. à à à à à à à à à à à Personally, I believe that the lessons taught to children at an early age are easily absorbed than those taught when they get older. This may be due to the fact that children have this unbiased way of comprehending things. Their minds are innocent, and are not yet tarnished by outside influences, such as money, politics, and other issues. this goes to show that a childââ¬â¢s mind can be easily manipulated by anyone. They base their perspectives on the lessons they learned as a child. à à à à à à à à à à à As a child, I was afraid to do things that would displease my parents. Until now, every time I am about to make a decision about certain matters, I think about how may parents would feel. Like this one time when I thought about shifting to another course. I had my own valid reasons in convincing everyone that shifting was the right thing to do. At the back of my mind, I thought about how my parents would react when I tell them my dilemma. I thought about my decision again, and finally opted not to shift because I realized that my parents were right. à à à à à à à à à à à I can also say that children follow what they see. Whenever my parents would do household chores, I would insist in helping them. Regardless of how difficult the situation was, I always insisted in giving my assistance. I felt that what my parents taught me was the right thing to do. à à à à à à à à à à à à I believe anyoneââ¬â¢s parents are the greatest influences a person can have in his life. We mimic their actions because we believe that what they are doing is right. This is where we include the idea that how parents raise their children are reflected on the actions of these children. à à à à à à à à à à à In the eyes of these kids, their parents are their role models, simply because there was no one else to look up to since their infancy. With this, if the parents set good examples to their children, the latter will be able to adapt and incorporate these elements in their actions. Otherwise, if the parents show their children dysfunctional manners, then there would be nothing else for the children to mimic but that. à à à à à à à à à à à Another reason is the fact that children love to be appreciated. When I was younger, I felt really good about myself whenever my parents would appreciate the little things that I do.à In return, I would always help them out with everything, including the cleaning and maintenance of the house. à à à à à à à à à à à At such a tender age, my parents knew that I would copy their actions. This may be due to the fact that they were the only people I was exposed to. I can consider this as the simple logic behind it. I would also like to consider the fact that my parents truly love me. They wanted me to be a good person to others. How else would their lessons be instilled in me if they would not teach me the moment I could get a grasp of the world? à à à à à à à à à à à With the points I discussed in this essay, I firmly believe that children children should start being responsible for their daily chores by the age of three. This was supported by strong evidences from my own experiences as a child. Taken these in mind, I suggest that we should take care of our children. Their tender minds can be shaped into something extraordinary. By training them with basic things such as household chores, we contributing to the progress of this world. Let this be the start of a better future.
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