The Domestication and History of Modern Horses

The Domestication and History of Modern Horses The modern domesticated horse (Equus caballus) is today spread throughout the world and among the most diverse creatures on the planet. In North America, the horse was part of the megafaunal extinctions at the end of the Pleistocene. Two wild subspecies survived until recently, the Tarpan (Equus ferus ferus, died out ca 1919) and Przewalskis Horse (Equus ferus przewalskii, of which there are a few left). Horse history, especially the timing of the domestication of the horse, is still being debated, partly because the evidence for domestication itself is debatable. Unlike other animals, criteria such as changes in body morphology (horses are extremely diverse) or the location of a particular horse outside of its normal range (horses are very widespread) are not useful in helping resolve the question. Evidence for Horse Domestication The earliest possible hints for domestication would be the presence of what appears to be a set of postmolds with lots of animal dung within the area defined by the posts, which scholars interpret as representing a horse pen. That evidence has been found at Krasnyi Yar in Kazakhstan, in portions of the site dating to as early as 3600 BC. The horses may have been kept for food and milk, rather than riding or load-bearing. Accepted archaeological evidence of horseback riding includes bit wear on horse teeth- that has been found in the steppes east of the Ural mountains at Botai and Kozhai 1 in modern Kazakhstan, around 3500-3000 BC. The bit wear was only found on a few of the teeth in the archaeological assemblages, which might suggest that a few horses were ridden to hunt and collect wild horses for food and milk consumption. Finally, the earliest direct evidence of the use of horses as beasts of burden- in the form of drawings of horse-drawn chariots- is from Mesopotamia, about 2000 BC. Krasnyi Yar includes over 50 residential pithouses, adjacent to which have been found dozens of postmolds. The postmolds- archaeological remnants of where posts have been set in the past- are arranged in circles, and these are interpreted as evidence of horse corrals. Horse History and Genetics Genetic data, interestingly enough, has traced all extant domesticated horses to one founder stallion, or to closely related male horses with the same Y haplotype. At the same time, there is a high matrilineal diversity in both domestic and wild horses. At least 77 wild mares would be required to explain the diversity of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in current horse populations, which probably means quite a few more. A 2012 study (Warmuth and colleagues) combining archaeology, mitochondrial DNA, and Y-chromosomal DNA supports the domestication of horse as occurring once, in the western part of the Eurasian steppe, and that because of the horses wild natures, several repeated introgression events (restocking of horse populations by adding wild mares), must have occurred. As identified in earlier studies, that would explain the diversity of mtDNA. Three Strands of Evidence for Domesticated Horses In a paper published in Science in 2009, Alan K. Outram and colleagues looked at three strands of evidence supporting horse domestication at Botai culture sites: shin bones, milk consumption, and bitwear. These data support domestication of the horse between about 3500-3000 BC sites in what is today Kazakhstan. Horses skeletons at Botai Culture sites have gracile metacarpals. The horses metacarpals- the shins or cannon bones- are used as key indicators of domesticity. For whatever reason (and I wont speculate here), shins on domestic horses are thinner- more gracile- than those of wild horses. Outram et al. describe the shinbones from Botai as being closer in size and shape to those of Bronze age (fully domesticated) horses compared to wild horses. Fatty lipids of horse milk were found inside of pots. Although today it seems a bit weird to westerners, horses were kept for both their meat and milk in the past- and still are in the Kazakh region as you can see from the photograph above. Evidence of horse milk was found at Botai in the form of fatty lipid residues on the insides of ceramic vessels; further, evidence for consumption of horse meat has been identified at Botai culture horse and rider burials. Bit wear is in evidence on horse teeth. Researchers noted bitting wear on horses teeth- a vertical strip of wear on the outside of horses premolars, where the metal bit damages the enamel when it sits between the cheek and tooth. Recent studies (Bendrey) using scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis found microscopic-sized fragments of iron embedded on Iron Age horse teeth, resulting from metal bit use. White Horses and History White horses have had a special place in ancient history-according to Herodotus, they were held as sacred animals in the Achaemenid court of Xerxes the Great (ruled 485-465 BC). White horses are associated with the Pegasus myth, the unicorn in the Babylonian myth of Gilgamesh, Arabian horses, Lipizzaner stallions, Shetland ponies, and Icelandic pony populations. The Thoroughbred Gene A recent DNA study (Bower et al.) examined the DNA of Thoroughbred racing horses and identified the specific allele which drives their speed and precocity. Thoroughbreds are a specific breed of horse, all of whom today are descended from the children of one of three foundation stallions: Byerley Turk (imported to England in the 1680s), Darley Arabian (1704) and Godolphin Arabian (1729). These stallions are all of Arab, Barb and Turk origin; their descendants are from one of only 74 British and imported mares. Horse breeding histories for Thoroughbreds have been recorded in the General Stud Book since 1791, and the genetic data certainly supports that history. Horse races in the 17th and 18th centuries ran 3,200-6,400 meters (2-4 miles), and horses were usually five or six years old. By the early 1800s, the Thoroughbred was bred for traits that enabled speed and stamina over distances from 1,600-2,800 meters at three years of age; since the 1860s, the horses have been bred for shorter races (1,000-1400 meters) and younger maturity, at 2 years. The genetic study looked at the DNA from hundreds of horses and identified the gene as C type myostatin gene variant, and came to the conclusion that this gene originated from a single mare, bred to one of the three founder male horses about 300 years ago. See Bower et al for additional information. Thistle Creek DNA and Deep Evolution In 2013, researchers led by Ludovic Orlando and Eske Willerslev of the Centre for GeoGenetics, Natural History Museum of Denmark and University of Copenhagen (and reported in Orlando et al. 2013) reported on a metapodial horse fossil which had been found in permafrost within a Middle Pleistocene context in the Yukon territory of Canada and dated between 560,00-780,000 years ago. Amazingly, the researchers found that there were sufficiently intact molecules of collagen within the matrix of the bone to enable them to map the Thistle Creek horses genome. The researchers then compared the Thistle Creek specimen DNA to that of an Upper Paleolithic horse, a modern donkey, five modern domestic horse breeds, and one modern Przewalskis horse. Orlando and Willerslevs team found that over the past 500,000 years, horse populations have been enormously sensitive to climate change and that extremely low population sizes are associated with warming events. Further, using the Thistle Creek DNA as a baseline, they were able to determine that all modern existing equids (donkeys, horses, and zebras) originated from a common ancestor some 4-4.5 million years ago. In addition, Przewalskis horse diverged from the breeds which became domestic some 38,000-72,000 years ago, confirming the long-held belief that Przewalskis is the last remaining wild horse species. Sources Bendrey R. 2012. From wild horses to domestic horses: a European perspective. World Archaeology 44(1):135-157. Bendrey R. 2011. Identification of metal residues associated with bit-use on prehistoric horse teeth by scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis. Journal of Archaeological Science 38(11):2989-2994. Bower MA, McGivney BA, Campana MG, Gu J, Andersson LS, Barrett E, Davis CR, Mikko S, Stock F, Voronkova V et al. 2012. The genetic origin and history of speed in the Thoroughbred racehorse. Nature Communications 3(643):1-8. Brown D, and Anthony D. 1998. Bit Wear, Horseback Riding and the Botai Site in Kazakstan. Journal of Archaeological Science 25(4):331-347. Cassidy R. 2009. The horse, the Kyrgyz horse and the ‘Kyrgyz horse’. Anthropology Today 25(1):12-15. Jansen T, Forster P, Levine MA, Oelke H, Hurles M, Renfrew C, Weber J, Olek, and Klaus. 2002. Mitochondrial DNA and the origins of the domestic horse. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 99(16):10905–10910. Levine MA. 1999. Botai and the origins of horse domestication. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 18(1):29-78. Ludwig A, Pruvost M, Reissmann M, Benecke N, Brockmann GA, Castaà ±os P, Cieslak M, Lippold S, Llorente L, Malaspinas A-S et al. 2009. Coat Color Variation at the Beginning of Horse Domestication. Science 324:485. Kavar T, and Dovc P. 2008. Domestication of the horse: Genetic relationships between domestic and wild horses. Livestock Science 116(1):1-14. Orlando L, Ginolhac A, Zhang G, Froese D, Albrechtsen A, Stiller M, Schubert M, Cappellini E, Petersen B, Moltke I et al. 2013. Recalibrating Equus evolution using the genome sequence of an early Middle Pleistocene horse. Nature in press. Outram AK, Stear NA, Bendrey R, Olsen S, Kasparov A, Zaibert V, Thorpe N, and Evershed RP. 2009. The Earliest Horse Harnessing and Milking. Science 323:1332-1335. Outram AK, Stear NA, Kasparov A, Usmanova E, Varfolomeev V, and Evershed RP. 2011. Horses for the dead: funerary foodways in Bronze Age Kazakhstan. Antiquity 85(327):116-128. Sommer RS, Benecke N, Là µugas L, Nelle O, and Schmà ¶lcke U. 2011. Holocene survival of the wild horse in Europe: a matter of open landscape? Journal of Quaternary Science 26(8):805-812. Rosengren Pielberg G, Golovko A, Sundstrà ¶m E, Curik I, Lennartsson J, Seltenhammer MH, Drum T, Binns M, Fitzsimmons C, Lindgren G et al. 2008. A cis-acting regulatory mutation causes premature hair graying and susceptibility to melanoma in the horse. Nature Genetics 40:1004-1009. Warmuth V, Eriksson A, Bower MA, Barker G, Barrett E, Hanks BK, Li S, Lomitashvili D, Ochir-Goryaeva M, Sizonov GV et al. 2012. Reconstructing the origin and spread of horse domestication in the Eurasian steppe. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Early edition.

Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 6

Questions - Essay Example Analyzing the video, I would say that this game can serve students in two ways. First, it provides enjoyment to users and secondly it makes them learn different sets of English vocabulary and terms that people use normally in their daily lives. The criteria that I used to assess the game included nature or complexity level of words included in the game for completion, the speed of spoken English being used before the start of the game, and writing style of the rules being shown before a use actually starts playing the game. I think the game is good with respect to two of the three criteria, which were complexity of words and writing style of rules. Writing was in simple English which makes it easy for an ESL/EFL student to play the game. The words chosen for completion are also not very difficult. The only criterion which can make this game inappropriate for ESL/EFL students is the speed of spoken English being used before the start of the game. Copyright provides protection to the content written by a writer. It is such an intellectual property that grants the rights of editing only to the person who owns that property. No other person can use or edit that content without the permission of the holder of that intellectual property. In the given example, the student has taken the text from a source which is not a legal act to do. Copying the writing of someone else from the internet or from any other source is illegal from academic point of view. What a person writes and gets published becomes his/her intellectual property which belongs only to that particular person and no one else can use it without making a proper reference to it. If someone wants to use some part of that content in his/her own writing, then he/she must properly cite the source both within the text and at the bottom of the text in the references page. Otherwise, it becomes a serious issue from academic

California Proposition 32 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

California Proposition 32 - Essay Example Against: From the votes cast on the 8th of November 2012, we understand that a lot of people were opposed to the enactment of the proposition 32. Some of those against the proposition include league of Women voters in California, rights groups and politicians. They argue that Proposition 32 will lead to the exemption of big businesses based in Wall Street and therefore this will not contribute to equal political reforms (Castro 2012). Some argue that it tends to shield PACs have no restrictions in raising funds for their political motives and therefore it would be unfair to prevent unions and other interest groups from raising funds. Beneficiaries: In case Proposition 32 had passed, the major beneficiaries would have been business people who would have relied on the law for the purposes of controlling their employees. Since the power of unions would have been diminished in the process of influencing political decisions (Laffer 109). It is not only the unions that would have been disa dvantaged but also interest groups who represent a bulk of workers and voters. This is because rich people who have the power of influencing politics through the use of super PACs and other means. Since the proposition failed, it is these business people and other interest groups that will feel the impact since they will still have to contend with unions and special interest groups in politics. Gains: The unions and special interest groups will the groups that were the winners of the defeat of Proposition 32.... Some argue that it tends to shield PACs have no restrictions in raising funds for their political motives and therefore it would be unfair to prevent unions and other interest groups from raising funds. Beneficiaries: In case proposition 32 had passed, the major beneficiaries would have been business people who would have relied on the law for the purposes of controlling their employees. Since, the power of unions would have been diminished in the process of influencing political decisions (Laffer 109). It is not only the unions that would have been disadvantaged but also interest groups who represent a bulk of workers and voters. This is because rich people who have power of influencing politics through use of super PACs and other means (Resmovits 2012). Since the proposition failed, it is these business people and other interest groups that will feel the impact since they will still have to contend with unions and special interest groups in politics. Gains: The unions and special i nterest groups will the groups that were the winners of the defeat of proposition 32. This is because they still showed all other groups that they are in control of the politics in California. Workers will benefit from the defeat of the proposition since employers will not have control over minimum wages and other issues. The main gainers will be the workers, unions, special interest groups and some politicians such as Democrats who have the support of the unions (Castro 2012). As at 3rd some $ 60.5 million had been pumped into the support for proposition 32 while another $ 73.3 million had been used to oppose the proposition. Loopholes: There

Review of the Child Protective Services Investigation Process Essay Example for Free

Review of the Child Protective Services Investigation Process Essay In the beginning of 2004, the tragic death of a young boy in San Antonio, TX raised concerns about Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services (TDPRS) procedures relating to the investigation of the child protective services (CPS) process, including responding to telephone reports and assessing the risk of maltreatment accurately. TDPRS is currently under investigation ordered by the Governor, Rick Perry. The Governor stated, there is enough evidence from various parts of the state to suggest that some of our most vulnerable children are not receiving the protection they need from abusive situations. The evidence leads me to believe we have a systemic breakdown in the safety net that must protect abused children (www.governor.state.tx.us July 1, 2004). This paper examines current procedures in the investigation process and provides recommendations for improvement related to several of the details and feature of the operations process. Reinventing government initiatives draw heavily on supply chain management, total quality management, business process reengineering, and just-in-time delivery concepts that fall under the Operations Management umbrella.(Chase, 2003). Because this review is narrowly focused on the CPS investigation process, there are several essential elements of child welfare services that are not addressed in this paper, including substitute care and permanency services. OVERVIEW OF FUNCTIONAL AREAS The overall goal of CPS is to protect the unprotected children from abuse and neglect. This report focuses on specific CPS functions and crosscutting themes. These functions are those that comprise the child protection response to allegations of abuse and neglect. Operational definitions described in this report include: * Screening and Intake the process by which CPS receives a referral and a report concerning allegations of child abuse or neglect, and decides whether or not to respond to the referral and report. * Investigation the process by which CPS determines whether child maltreatment has occurred or if a child is at risk of maltreatment, and the decisions and actions that are needed to ensure the childs safety. * Other CPS Response and Alternative Response a response to an allegation of abuse or neglect that assesses the needs of the child or family with or without requiring a determination that maltreatment has occurred or that the child is at risk of maltreatment for the purpose of providing the family with services. For each function, there are several different features. The workflow of these functions is described in Table 1. SCREENING AND INTAKE Receiving community referrals, which includes those from mandated professional reporters and the population at large, is the gateway to CPS. Features of the intake procedures include the availability to receive reports, methods for documenting reports, and timeframes for accepting and forwarding a report. Intake is available 24-hours a day 7 days a week, and centralized in Austin, TX. Referred reports are generally categorized into two groups. In the first group, CPS caseworkers are dispatched immediately for children believed to be in imminent risk of harm. In the second group, investigations are usually initiated within 10 days. The policies indicate that a decision protocol for forwarding cases for investigation. The hotline workers conduct quality assurance (QA) reviews on each case and decision to forward a case to investigation is made with supervisor approval. In case of sexual abuse and serious abuse, the case must be notified to law enforcement. INVESTIGATION The investigation function addresses the process of determining whether a child has been maltreated or is likely to be maltreated, and if services are needed to ensure the child will not be harmed in the future. TDPRS implemented the use of risk and safety assessment (IRA) as tools to guide decision-making as to when and how to intervene to keep children safe in the immediate future and to reduce long-term risk. The result of IRA was included at case closure, during case planning at any major decision point, or whenever circumstances suggest a childs safety is at risk. Investigators usually check if the childs family has had a prior validated report of abuse or neglect. Investigators then visit and interview the family, including initiating face-to-face contact with the children, and begin collecting information about the alleged maltreatment incident. If an investigator, during the initial investigation, believes that a child has been maltreated and needs the court to protect the childs safety, the investigator must initiate judicial oversight of the case, which can be time-consuming and complicated. While the investigator is following the procedures involved in investigating the alleged maltreatment, he or she is also developing a tentative plan to address those conditions in the home that CPS believes contributed to the maltreatment of the child. This plan ultimately becomes the case plan that outlines treatment services for the child and the family. The plan described what actions are required of all the parties involved to correct the condition that caused the maltreatment. OTHER CPS RESPONSE AND ALTERNATIVE RESPONSE The overall goals of alternative response are to provide a response option to those families whose situations did not meet the mandate or criteria for CPS involvement, to serve low-risk or low-severity situations, or to improve family situations. This is to emphasize partnering the families with the community and creating a network for the family, protect children and assist parents to recognize and remedy conditions harmful to their children, provide preventive services before the need of CPS involvement is required, and prevent the family from potentially being re-referred. The causes of child abuse and neglect are complex, and a case plan can involve referrals to an array of individuals, including caseworkers from other units in the agency, private service providers such as mental health and counseling professionals, other public agencies such as housing and transportation services. CURRENT WORKFLOW Documenting business process flows visually not only helps in ISO and QS initiatives, but it is the first step toward continuous improvement. (Gould, L. 2000) A good way to start analyzing a process is with a diagram showing the basic elements of a process (Chase, 2003) Table 1 describes the overview of current workflow from the time the report of maltreatment was reported to CPS until the completion of the investigation. Table 1 UNDERLYING PROBLEMS Because child protection is a critical service and because of the seriousness consequences of errors, CPS must seek to insure the quality, timeliness, and accuracy of the process both through detailed specifications (laws, regulations, and policy) and thorough supervisory oversight. However, the process must be balanced with systems that give workers and supervisors sufficient flexibility to apply sound professional judgment. Increases in the number of maltreatment cases, the changing nature of family problems, and long-standing systemic weaknesses have placed the CPS system in a state of crisis and undermined its ability to fully carry out the responsibilities for abused and neglected children. First, child maltreatment reports have risen steadily across the state. The caseloads of CPS have grown correspondingly, and CPS cannot keep pace with this workload. Second, these caseloads are increasingly composed of families whose problems have grown more troubling and complicated, with substance abuse a common and pervasive condition. Finally, systemic weaknesses, such as difficulty maintaining professional and skilled workforce, inconsistently implementing policies and procedures, and poor working relationships with outside resources has created a long-standing problems. The combined effect of difficult caseloads and systemic weaknesses may endanger the lives of children coming to the attention of CPS. In CPS, the staff sometimes deal with life-and-death issues, the knowledge of and consistent application of appropriate policies and procedures are critical. However, CPS staff is unable to consistently apply existing policies such as inadequate safety assessment. This is because policies change frequently, no procedures manual exists, and information is inconsistently distributed to all staff. By necessity, CPS should work efficiently and effectively with outside resources to protect children. However, the outside resources, like CPS, also face problems associated with the large volume of increasingly complex cases, budget cuts, and Medicaid reform. Unnecessary time spent to transfer or refer cases diverts the investigator from performing investigative activities on other open cases and create congestion in workflow. COMPARE AND CONTRAST WITH OTHER PRACTICE In 1994, Missouri developed a new strategy to handle the overwhelming number of reports coming into its CPS system. Missouri recognized that state government, acting alone, had neither the resources nor the local community, neighborhood, or family base to effectively alter the cycle of abuse and neglect. The agency and local CPS offices have turned to the broader community of churches, schools, mental health providers, and others to expand their reach. By developing partnerships with these community groups, CPS is able to quickly increase the number of people available to serve children and their families, without increasing CPS staffing levels. The model in this state is also based on the premise that not all CPS cases require the same traditional approach. Instead, the models incorporate a flexible response, whereby CPS cases can be grouped according to the nature of the allegation, recognizing that different types of allegations required different responses. RECOMMENDATIONS Build Community Partnership Different types of maltreatment require dramatically different prevention and treatment strategies. It is critical for CPS to form partnerships between CPS and community service providers. This will allow the cases to be referred and transferred more smoothly and in a timely manner. However, ultimate success will depend on the CPS staffs ability to overcome certain challenges, such as developing willingness within the community to become more active in protecting children from maltreatment and to adapt to new roles and responsibilities. Refine the Key Performance Requirement Key Performance Requirements How to Achieve These Requirements Report Receipt (Intake) * Community awareness of when and how to report * Minimal wait to reach the intake workers * Effective use of the CAPS (agency computer system) * Enhanced phone system that provide real time information, manage call distribution to available workers, and support estimation of staffing requirements Screening * Immediate response to high risk situations * Reasonable timeliness of decisions on other situations * Sound screening decisions * Screening guidelines that provide consistent direction * Immediate access to relevant information system * Real-time consultation from experienced supervisors Assessment (Investigation) * Sufficient thoroughness; reasonable and prudent efforts made to obtain relevant information * Timeliness of decisions * Decisions consistent with information and with policy * Assessment guidelines that provide consistent direction * Assessment timeliness requirements that balance thorough information gathering with responsiveness * Reasonable caseloads and adequate number of staff * Accessible consultation from experienced supervisors Management Reporting * Information that enables management to make sound judgments regarding overall performance and other matters, such as staffing requirements * Information that enables supervisors to manage caseloads and monitor quality and timeliness * Use of the information to identify targeted improvements where needed * Real-time information about on-going cases * Reports on both the detailed (by worker) and summary (by unit) level on caseloads and case status (pending, deadlines, overdue, etc.) * Reports of quality assurance findings * Designation of specific performance measures that will be tracked and monitored with comparisons across local offices * Management reports on overall program performance including workload, timeliness, quality assurance results, investigation outcomes, list of outside resources, etc. CONCLUSION TDPRS is facing increased reports of child abuse and neglect, as well as a disturbing increase in the number of families with severe and multiple problems. The burden to improve the ways CPS responds to children at risk of abuse and neglect falls on state and local governments. When a process is operating at capacity, the only way to take on more work without increasing the waiting time is add more capacity (Chase, 2003) CPS management must recognize that the traditional approaches to child protection cannot keep pace with the demand for services. CPS needs to reach out to communities to establish partnerships among service providers, as well as our citizens. Furthermore, the CPS management team must look at the entire workflow of the operations process and recognize long-standing systemic problems. It is critical to seek ways to correct deficiencies and to build and maintain the personnel that will support the operations management strategies. REFERENCES: Chase, R. (2003). Product design and process selection. Operations Management for Competitive Advantage, Tenth Edition. The McGraw-Hill Companies. Chase, R. (2003). Operations strategy and management change. Operations Management for Competitive Advantage, Tenth Edition. The McGraw-Hill Companies. www. tdprs.state.tx.us www.governor.state.tx.us Gould, L. (2004) Designing a better business. Gardner Publications, Inc. Retrieved from www.autofieldguid.com on 8/23/04 McDonald W. (2001). National study of child protective services systems and reform efforts Literature review. Retrieved from www.aspe.hhs.gov.hsp/protective01/ on 8/22/04. http://www.gao.gov/archive/1997/he97115.pdf

The Dominican Republic, and its owner, Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Essay

The Dominican Republic, and its owner, Rafael Leonidas Trujillo All throughout the 20th century we can observe the marked presence of totalitarian regimes and governments in Latin America. Countries like Cuba, Chile, Brazil, Argentina, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic all suffered under the merciless rule of dictators and military leaders. Yet the latter country, the Dominican Republic, experienced a unique variation of these popular dictatorships, one that in the eyes of the world of those times was great, but in the eyes of the Dominicans, was nothing short of deadly. Rafael Leonidas Trujillo, or â€Å"El Chivo†, controlled the people of the Dominican Republic in a manner that set him apart from the other leaders of that time. By controlling every aspect of the country’s economy, he controlled the people, by controlling each individual’s income and their jobs, he controlled their lives. (Sagas, 173) It is true that from the outside it may appear that the economy was getting better in the Dominican Republic, but the problem was that all of the enterprises and businesses were directly or indirectly owned and controlled by Trujillo himself, not the government. Building bridges, making better roads, and establishing monuments were Trujillo’s ideas as to how to make the Dominican Republic a better place. (de Besault, N/A) True that these things made the Republic more appealing and made transportation better, but the inhumane methods Trujillo employed to maintain his complete and utter control of the people completely ove rshadowed any positive things that he may have done. This previously inexistent economy is what allowed Trujillo to attain and strengthen his power in the Dominican Republic. Oddly enough, the same peo... ... In addition to being powerful, his ruthless murders made him a dangerous man too. This specific case in Latin American history comes to show how economic â€Å"stability† does not always mean happiness and wealth. The Dominican Republic’s economy was stable, but all the wealth belonged to one man, Trujillo. A Nation’s wealth in the hands of one man only means that the Nation’s safety and life-force also rest in his hands. Works Cited Bosch, Juan. Trujillo: Causas de una tirania sin ejemplo. Caracas: n.p., 1961. de Besault, Lawrence. President Trujillo: His work and the Dominican Republic. Santiago: Editorial El Diario, 1941. Ferreras, Ramon. Trujillo : 20 aà ±os despues. N.p.: n.p., 1981. Roorda, Eric. The Dicator Next Door. London: Duke UP, 1998. Sagas, Ernesto. The Dominican People: A Documentary History. Princeton: Markus Weiner, 2003.

Principles of Democracy Essay

1. Bill of Rights This document explains guaranteed freedoms to all people in the country and gives limited power to the government. It protects the people from a government who try to abuse its power. 2. Economic Freedom Economic freedom allows some private ownership of property and businesses. People are allowed to choose their own work and to join labor union. 3. Equality Equality is having all individuals valued equally, have equal opportunities, and no discrimination of their race, religion, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation. All people are equal before the law and have equal protection of the law without discrimination. 4. Human Rights Movement: Everyone has the right to move within the borders of their country and to leave and return to his or her country. Religion: Everyone has the freedom of thought, conscience, and religion. The people can change their religion or not worship or hold religious beliefs. Speech: Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression. Assembly: Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression. 5. Multi-Party Systems A multi-party system allows for organized opposition to the party that wins the election. It provides the government with different viewpoints on issues and provides voters with a choice of candidates, parties, and policies. 6. Regular Free and Fair Elections Elected officials are chosen by the people in a free and fair manner. Regardless of the people’s race, gender, ethnicity, and level of wealth, most adult citizens should have the right to vote and to run for office. 7. The Rule of Law No one is above the law. Everyone must obey the law and will be held accountable if they violate it including a king, president, police officer, or member of the military.

The Typical Diet of Sea Otters

Sea otters live in the Pacific Ocean and are found in Russia, Alaska, Washington state and California. These furry marine mammals are one of only a few marine animals known  to use tools to obtain their food. A Sea Otters Diet Sea otters eat a wide variety of prey, including marine invertebrates such as echinoderms (sea stars and sea urchins), crustaceans (e.g., crabs), cephalopods (e.g., squid), bivalves  (clams, mussels, abalone), gastropods (snails), and chitons. How Do Sea Otters Eat? Sea otters obtain their food by diving. Using their webbed feet, which are well adapted for swimming, sea otters can dive more than 200 feet and stay underwater for up to 5 minutes. Sea otters can sense prey using their whiskers. They also use their agile front paws to find and grasp their prey. Sea otters are one of the only mammals  that are been known to use tools to obtain and eat their prey. They can use a rock to dislodge mollusks and urchins from the rocks where they are attached. Once at the surface, they often eat by placing the food on their stomachs, and then placing a rock on their stomachs and then smashing the prey on the rock to open it and get at the flesh inside. Prey Preferences Individual otters in an area seem to have different prey preferences.  A study in California found that among an otter population, different otters specialized in diving at different depths to find different prey items. There are deep-diving otters that eat benthic organisms such as urchins, crabs, and abalone, medium-diving otters that forage for clams and worms and others that feed at the surface on organisms such as snails. These dietary preferences may also make certain otters susceptible to disease. For example, sea otters eating snails in Monterey Bay appear more likely to contract Toxoplama gondii, a parasite found in cat feces. Storage Compartments Sea otters have loose skin and baggy pockets underneath their forelimbs. They can store extra food, and rocks used as tools, in these pockets. Impacts on the Ecosystem Sea otters have a high metabolic rate (that is, they use a high amount of energy) that is 2-3 times that of other mammals their size. Sea otters eat about 20-30% of their body weight each day. Otters weigh 35-90 pounds (males weigh more than females). So, a 50-pound otter would need to eat about 10-15 pounds of food per day. The food sea otters eat can impact the entire ecosystem in which they live. Sea otters have been found to play a pivotal role in the habitat and marine life that inhabit a kelp forest. In a kelp forest, sea urchins can graze on the kelp and eat their holdfasts, resulting in deforesting the kelp from an area. But if sea otters are abundant, they eat sea urchins and keep the urchin population in check, which allows kelp to flourish. This, in turn, provides shelter for sea otter pups and a variety of other marine life, including fish. This allows other marine, and even terrestrial animals, to have abundant amounts of prey. Sources: Estes, J.A., Smith, N.S., and J.F. Palmisano. 1978. Sea otter predation and community organization in the Western Aleutian Islands, Alaska. Ecology 59(4):822-833.Johnson, C.K.,  Tinker, M.T., Estes, J.A., Conrad, P.A., Staedler, M., Miller, M.A., Jessup, D.A. and Mazet, J.A.K. 2009. Prey choice and habitat use drive sea otter pathogen exposure in a resource-limited coastal system. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 106(7):2242-2247Laustsen, Paul. 2008. Alaskas Sea-Otter Decline Affects Health of Kelp Forests and Diet of Eagles. USGS.Newsome, S.D.,  M.T. Tinker, D.H. Monson, O.T. Oftedal, K. Ralls, M. Staedler, M.L. Fogel, and J.A. Estes.  2009. Using stable isotopes to investigate individual diet specialization in California sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis) Ecology 90: 961-974.Righthand, J. 2011. Otters: The Picky Eaters of the Pacific. Smithsonian Magazine.Sea Otters. Vancouver Aquarium.The Marine Mammal Center. Animal Classification: Sea Otter.