Visual Communication Essay Example

Visual Communication Essay Nowadays, visual communication has developed in the line of the developing of technology. Firstly, what is the meaning of visual communication? In my word, visual communication is a process where by information is delivered using media that can be read or looked. Moreover, the idea of visual communication is how to express your idea into its media and it is really depend on your ability to synchronise between your idea in your brain and your translation into its media. The aim is to tell the people in attractive way, so people can easily understand it. In the past people used a visual communication just in limited way. For instance, they just use a typography as a media to deliver the idea or information likes newspaper, telegram, etc. Nowadays, visual communication has developed into wide variety such as typography, drawing, graphic design, illustration, and so on. Actually im concerning about graphic design; so in here, I try to explain more detail about typography and graphic design, and combine it to make an implementation into business communication such as advertising. Secondly, making a visual communication really need sense of art in every side. For instance, if you want to make an advertising banner, you cant overlooked the character of the text that you used in that banner because each type of character has a different meaning and purpose. Therefore, the art of creating, selecting, arranging the glyph is called typography. In addition, each character has each function, so you must really pay attention of this thing, otherwise people will not understand what the exact meaning that you want to tell. For example, the character type using a serif at the end of the stroke represent a formal type of text. If you use it on the title, it looks elegant and exclusive. We will write a custom essay sample on Visual Communication specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Visual Communication specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Visual Communication specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Many famous luxury brands use this kind of character as their type of character in their brand such as Victorias Secret, The Executive, Zara, etc. Moreover, it is also used when you want to type an essay or something like that in long characters, so it makes people easy to read. For instance, you can see it on the newspaper, magazine, and my essay that you are reading. However, if you want to make something that looks fun and attractive, you can use type of character that a little bit irregular shape. For example, you can see in the banner of distro store and clothing brand for teenager usually use it as their character of their brand. Actually I really like to learn about typography but my skill still is very limited. So, I always analyze many banners that usually found in the cross road and guess what actually they are trying to explain to the viewer and I found out that most of them really dont pay attention of this thing which is actually very important. Nowadays, graphic design become popular by the teenager to express their creation, imagination, etc. it is supported by many software that developed such as Coreldraw Graphic Design, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, etc. Graphic design is an art which combine many element such as shape, line, and colour. Behind it all, to be master of graphic design is not easy. In addition, a lot of practice is needed and the idea must also be able to continue to appear. And the most difficult part is the idea itself. Searching a clue about a good picture sometimes really difficult and frustrating. The idea is very expensive even it is simple. For instance, Nike takes millions of dollar in order to create their tagline Just do it. Now, I want to implement what I explained above in to advertisement. A good ad is an ad that can make a persuasive communication on the target market and it is able to package the product messages that fit on the target. Analytically, of course, it can not be done by graphic designers who only have an ability to operate the program. However, it takes a deep understanding of product understanding and the ability to build a character and identity of the product and then transform it into a visual form in a creative and communicative way, so it will be blended with the message and it can be received by the fixed market segment. In conclusion, visual communication is important if people want to communicate an information in different way. It is very effective and efficient if you can use it properly. There are some elements that you have to be focused when you want to make an advertisement such as typography and graphic design. In fact, some marketers actually overlook of this things. As we can see, many banners in the cross road that actually not interesting and tend to be bored, so people dont care about the banner and of course it is just wasting money for the marketer. However, if you want to use visual media; you have to concern of this thing so people can be interested of your ad.

Biography of Bill Gates essays

Biography of Bill Gates essays Bill Gates, a young hacker with dreams to develop a software for computers. Computers for companies and computers for home users. He was not alone in this dream. He had a fellow friend to help him out, Paul Allen. His full name is William H. Gates. He is the chairman and chief executive of Microsoft. He was born on the 28th of October in 1955. Having more than fifty billion dollars, he is said to be the richest man alive today. He married a product manager at Microsoft, her name is Melinda French. Now that the intro is over lets see how it all began. In 1968 a company called Computer Center Corporation opened in Seattle. They were offering computing time at good rates. Gates who was at Lakeside Prep school got computing time because CCC made a deal with the school. Gates and his friends started exploring the new machine. It wasn't long that they started causing trouble. They caused the computers to crash many times and they seemed to find how to break the computers security system. They got caught by CCC when they were altering the files that recorded the amount of computer time they were using. CCC banned them from the computers for several weeks. Him and Paul Allen and two other hackers started the Lakeside Programmer Group in 1968. The group wanted to find a way to apply their computer skills in the world. Their first opportunity to do this was a direct result of their activity with the schools computer time. The CCC business was beginning to suffer because the systems weak security and the frequency that it crashed. The CCC was impressed with Gates and the other Lakeside Computer hackers. The CCC decided to hire the students to find bugs and expose weaknesses in the computer system. In return the CCC gave them unlimited time on the computers. They could not refuse. Although the group was hired just to find bugs, they also read any computer related material. They would pick new employees for new info. ...

Shakespeare for Kids

Shakespeare for Kids Shakespeare for kids should be fun – and the younger you get into it, the better! My Shakespeare for kids activities are sure to spark an early interest in the Bard ... but these ideas are just for starters. If you have your own ideas, please share them on our Readers Respond: Your Shakespeare for Kids Activities page. The key thing is not to get bogged down in the detail and the language - that comes later! For starters, it is about getting your kids excited about Shakespeare and perhaps saying some snippets of text. Here are my top Shakespeare for kids games and activities for some family fun! Top 6 Shakespeare for Kids Activities Build Shakespeare’s Globe: Start by building your own model of Shakespeare’s Globe. There’s a great free resource at Papertoys.com where you can print out, cut out and assemble the Globe. You can download the Globe construction kit here: www.papertoys.com/globe.htm Do a Bit of Acting: Kids hate reading Shakespeare (I certainly did!), so get them on their feet. Extract a short script extract and do some drama. The two best scenes for this are the witches scene from Macbeth and the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet. They will probably already know the words to these scene extracts – even if they didn’t realize it was Shakespeare! Stage a (choreographed) fight: Get some sponge swords and choreograph the opening swashbuckling scene from Romeo and Juliet in the back garden. â€Å"Do you bite your thumb at me, sir?† If possible, film it on your home video camera and watch it back the next day. If your kids are up for a bit of direction, see h ow much of the scene you can get through. If they are too young, put them into two teams: Montagues and Capulets. You can them theme any two player/team game into a Romeo and Juliet adventure. Tableau:  Work together to tell the story of a popular Shakespeare play in just ten freeze frames (tableau). Photograph each one on a digital camera and print them out. You can now have fun getting the photos into the right order and sticking speech bubbles to them with selected lines from the play. Draw a Shakespeare Character: For older kids, the best way to do a basic character study is to pick the name of a Shakespeare character out from a hat. Talk about who they might be, what they are like, are they good or evil ... and then let them loose on with the pens, crayons and paints. As they are drawing/painting, keep talking about the character and encourage them to add the details into their picture. Trust me, you will be surprised at how much they will learn. Shakespeare Dress Up: Get the dressing up box out and put in the middle of the floor. Let your kids pick a Shakespeare character and ask them to dress up as the character. You will need to be ready to tell them all about t he character as they are choosing the clothes. When ready, give them a line from the play to practice. This works well if you take a photo and review them with your kids afterwards to reinforce who the character is in their minds.    Please do share your own Shakespeare for kids activities (big or small) with fellow readers on our Readers Respond: Your Shakespeare for Kids Activities page.

Lean implementation and supply chain development at Oak Hills Case Study

Lean implementation and supply chain development at Oak Hills - Case Study Example The mergers and acquisitions which characterize the company have an implication on the supply chain and thus it is necessary that the company implements strategies which will not impact negatively on the efficiency and effectiveness of the supply chain. The competition in the market is growing as illustrated by the rise of competitors such as Triangle Corps. The competition is stiff within the market because the two companies deal in the same products and services. The essence of effective supply chain development within Oak Hills is attributed to the fact that the company is in the process of being acquired even though the acquisition process has not been successfully completed. The revenues of the company are expected to rise as the combination of companies is to offer an array of upstream services. Oak Hills is in dire need of improving its supply chain processes in terms of effectiveness and efficiency. The special testing instrument as the main product of the Oaks Hill manufacturing facility requires applying a lean system in ensuring that all of the operations within the supply chain are coordinated. With the headquarters of Oaks Hill being in Houston, it needs to coordinate the activities of all of its branches so that they are integrated into a common business unit. As a result, the special project of the facility in testing oil and gas exploration can achieve its goals and objectives. The most important stakeholder of any supply chain is the customer (Hilletofth and David 264). This means that customers must be given priority consideration in the processing of the activities of a supply chain. Both the external and internal customers of the facility must be given due consideration in the supply of the products so that their needs are met. The effectiveness of a supply chain can only be achieved through the

Discuss and evaluate the various methods available for long term Essay

Discuss and evaluate the various methods available for long term investment appraisal - Essay Example 33). It is essential to conduct any investment proposal (long-term or short-term) appraisal in order to ensure funds invested would accrue maximum gains in future. Since financial resources tend to be limited (in majority of the cases), a business firm, instead of choosing several proposals, must evaluate and select only the ones that are most appropriate for investing purposes (Sullivan and Steven, 2003). Therefore, it can be assumed that there would be certain techniques followed specifically for appraising proposals for investment. In this context, the paper will now examine various methods available for long-term investment appraisal (capital budgeting). Investment appraisal comprises of analysing a firm’s financial plans, its investments, as well as predicting the firm’s expenditure in a certain proposed project (Levy, 2002). Long-term investment appraisal in small firms often takes into account the possibility of future growth, new enterprises, and a future move into a completely new arena (ibid). Factors for long-term investment appraisal are chosen keeping the requirements of company policymakers and stakeholders in mind, and focus on long-term and sustainable growth of the firm (as opposed to short-term profits). Various methods are used for long-term investment appraisal of a firm. These are: Net present value (NPV): This appraisal method calculates the cash flows (deficit or excess), once the customary obligations are completed (Khan, 1993). All forms of long-term or short-term investment appraisals aim at deriving a positive figure for the firm’s NPV. The process calculates the total cash flow of a firm (incoming and outgoing) at a certain specific time (t), at a discount rate (i) at that particular time, which translates to: t-funds invested initially, making NPV inversely proportional to discount rates (Pike and Neale, 2008, p. 123-124). Therefore, NPVs are reduced with rise in discount values (i), while high interest rates

Does the Media Matter?

Does the Media Matter? Does the media (print, broadcast and mass entertainment) matter? Do they change society or merely reflect society? Or do they reflect the changes made by others? Look carefully at the Frankfurt school as a source of information. The media is an integral part of modern life experience in western society today (Giddens 2001, 452). It surrounds us in its various forms through each waking moment of our lives, whether TV or radio, newspapers and magazines or most recently the internet and mobile phones. The extent of media penetration into peoples lives leads to many questions concerning the relation of society and the media: does the media matter, does it change or reflect society and if so, what parts of society? This kind of questioning of the modern mass media was pioneered by the Frankfurt School in the 1930s, who examined the economics of the mass media, or culture industry, as well as recognising them as significant agents of socialisation, reifying or creating social norms and ideologies in the interests of the dominant social groups (Hardt 1979, 28f.; Curran Seaton 2003, 323-29). This essay will explore these questions. Perhaps the most significant difference between modern and past societies is the existence of the mass media. The development of printing and the spread of paper manufacture represented the first major advance in the dissemination and preservation of information since the invention of the book form (Gardiner Wenborne 1995, 618). A consequence of cheaper reading matter, made cheaper and more available still by the industrialisation of the process in the late 18th and 19th centuries, was a rise in literacy, which in turn led to the increasing politicisation of the mass of society and a press reckoned by some to express public opinion and make governments accountable (Curran Seaton 2003, 4). Even before those developments, pamphleteering, made possible through the burgeoning print media, aided the spread of ideas essential to the Reformation. The sheer growth and spread of the media, beginning with the printing revolution, shows that indeed it does matter. Nowadays, it would be fair to say that we live in a mass media society, dominated by the print media and a variety of electronic media. Advances in technology, in particular the internet and mobile phones, have become rapidly widespread. Concerning the extent to which the media dominates peoples lives, Giddens observes that people aged four and over watch an average of twenty-five hours of TV a week and that if current trends in TV watching continue, by the age of eighteen the average child born today will have spent more time watching television than in any other activity except sleep (Giddens 2001, 453f.). This being the case, what exactly the media promotes or reflects is of prime concern. The commoditisation of culture that some have identified may be indicated by the prevalence of TV advertising. The revenue and commercial interest in the media certainly show its considerable importance. The National Association of Broadcasters in the USA sets a limit on the amount of time that can be devoted to TV advertising: 9.5 minutes per hour during prime time and 16 minutes at other times (Giddens 2001, 454). Such statistics could indicate that watching advertising may take up over 6 hours per week. The revenue from such adverting is enormous and this in itself shows the belief that the media thus influences culture and behaviour. Indeed, the power of media advertising has lead to the creation of media simply aimed at opening new markets (Curran Seaton 2003, 29-34). In the above discussion, we have briefly observed the importance of the media in terms of society and economics. Kellner observes that the Frankfurt School were the first social theorists to see the importance of what they called the culture industries in the reproduction of contemporary societies, in which so-called mass culture and communications stand in the center of leisure activity, are important agents of socialization, mediators of political reality, and should thus be seen as major institutions of contemporary societies with a variety of economic, political, cultural and social effects (Kellner 2005). We should now examine more closely whether the media changes or merely reflects society. There is considerable evidence to suggest that the media has the power actively to change society rather than merely present a passive reflection of it, discussed briefly above. The very existence of censorship and rules governing advertising proves that there is a widespread belief that the media will affect behaviour. Other evidence that suggest the mass media has an effect on society could be the standardisation of languages and the forging of national identities as well as the use of advertising campaigns that deliberately seek to change behaviour on a mass scale, with regard to, for example, seatbelt use in cars, drink driving and AIDS/HIV awareness (Cardiff, D. Scannell, P. 1987). The media has also been implicated in promoting and reifying particular gender roles through the characterisation of men and women. Trowler observes that women were seven times more likely to appear in TV advertising for personal hygiene product than not; 75% of all adverts using females were for pro ducts used in the bathroom or kitchen; 56% of women in adverts were shown as domestic housewives and only eighteen different occupations were shown for women, in comparison to forty-three for men (Trowler 1996, 96). The ban on tobacco advertising also shows a clear acceptance on the part of the government that such advertising has an effect on behaviour. It is evident that the Frankfurt School had a value-laden judgement of mass media culture.Adorno commented that I consider . that the average television entertainment is fundamentally far more dangerous politically than any political broadcast has ever been (quoted in Underwood 2003). Important in this view was their concept of an authentic culture and a debased mass culture that produced illusions of individuality while maintaining vested interests.Discussing this notion in their work Dialectic of Enlightenment, Adorno and Horkheimer stated: From the standardized jazz improvisation to the original film personality, who has to hang a curl over her eye so that she can be recognized as such, pseudo-individuality is everywhere. Individuality is reduced to the generalitys power to stamp the accidental detail so firmly that it is accepted as such. Precisely the defiant reserve or the sophisticated appearance of the individual on show is mass-produced like Yale locks (quoted in Underwood 2 003). The FrankfurtSchool were undoubtedly influenced by the rise of totalitarianism, as well asMarxist theories of society and Fordist systems of mass production (Curran Seaton 2003, 323f.; Giddens 2001, 383, 462). However, it has been noted that the Frankfurt School failed to differentiate between the mass and the individuals that form it (Underwood 2003). Underwood, in more pluralistic fashion, emphasises both the active participation of individuals in their relationship with the media, selecting and interpreting the messages they receive and notes that this participation feeds back to the media itself(Underwood 2003). This is in contrast to the deterministic position of theFrankfurt School, which seems to observe the mass as a homogeneous and passive victim of the media. Of course, it should go without saying that the media is made up of many thousands of individuals who have families and actively participate in society the media is not external to society or the individuals that form it. Another member of the Frankfurt School, Marcuse, however, viewed advertising as a manipulation of the false needs of society, and therefore may have concluded that even the extent to which people actively participate in a relationship with the media is defined by its manipulation of them (Curran Seaton 2003, 328). Significant in the debate over media influence is the creation of grassroots media, notably inLatin America (Green 1997, 102f.). This movement has appeared both as areaction to the domination of the media by big business and against the dominance particularly of North American cultural models expressed in film, TVand music. In conclusion, it can be seen that the media is undoubtedly important and that there is extensive evidence that it both reflects and shapes society and individuals in both positive and negative ways. The ideas of the Frankfurt School are useful in considering the relationship between the media and society but tend to view the masses en masse, and as passive victims of the media, rather thanas individuals who participate in an active relationship with the media. The issue of control and ownership of the media, and the extent to which this affects society, remain problematic. Bibliography Cardiff, D. Scannell, P. 1987. Broadcasting and national unity. In Curran, J., Smith, A. Wingate, P. (eds.). 1987. Impacts and Influences: Essays on Media Power. London: Methuen, pp157-173. Curran, J., Smith, A. Wingate, P. (eds.). 1987. Impacts and Influences: Essays on Media Power. London: Methuen. Curran, J. Seaton, J. 2003. Power Without Responsibility. London: Routledge. Kellner, D. 2005. The Frankfurt School and British Cultural Studies: The Missed Articulation. Available at: http://www.uta.edu/huma/illuminations/kell16.htm (16/3/5) Gardiner, J. Wenborne, N. (eds.). 1995. The History Today Companion to British History. London: Collins Brown Limited. Giddens, A. 2001. Sociology. 4th edition. Cambridge: Polity Press. Green, D. 1997. Faces of Latin America. 2nd edition. London: Latin America Bureau. Hardt, H. 1979. Social Theories of the Press. London: Sage. Trowler, P. 1996. Investigating Mass Media. London: HarperCollins. Underwood, M. 2003. Mass Media: cultural Effects. Available at: http://www.cultsock.ndirect.co.uk/MUHome/cshtml/media/marxism.html 16/3/5) Has Science Done More Harm Than Good? A Reflection Has Science Done More Harm Than Good? A Reflection Anuradha Boodoo-Balliram Academic Essay Title:â€Å"Science has done more harm than good to the overall development of society over the last 200 years† â€Å"The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.† (Isaac Asimov) As I drove along the Golconda bypass I looked towards the sky and noticed something I never thought I’d see in our country. The skies over Point Lisas and the outskirts of San-Fernando were filled with smog. I then started to wonder if science had done more harm to humanity than good. I came to the conclusion that science has indeed done more good than harm, and it is humanity that is solely to blame for the problems that their irresponsible use of science has caused. It can be said that technology is making people more and more lazy and people are getting laid off of their jobs because of increased mechanization. Its also not natural; it is something that has to be created, but on the other hand, it has helped humankind advance in the world more over the last 200 years than in a thousand years before. â€Å"Science is the quest for truth about Nature. Its aim is not to produce technology, but to understand how Nature works and discover the tremendous order and intelligence operating around us. If Nature were chaotic, if sometimes a stone went up and sometimes down, then there would be no science. But definite causes produce definite effects, and that is why science is possible. The scientist does not create order, he merely studies it.† (Prof. P. Krishna, 2005). There is no doubt that with the development of science, mankind has been affected; the way we think, the way we live and even the way we worship has changed all due to science. A few thousand years ago man lived a terrible and nomadic existence and the average lifespan wasn’t even 50. Science has become so important to human life because it enhances the way we live. When Dutch spectacle makers Janssen and Lipperhey developed the concept of the compound microscope, they had no idea that it would be the basis o f many important scientific discoveries. The discovery of cells would create the foundation for a new way to look at life and medicine. Louis Pasteur used a microscope when he discovered yeast fungus which led to the process of pasteurization. Antonio van Leeuwenhoek discovered bacteria through the lens of a microscope and because of this humanity has been able to learn about sickness and how it is spread. The invention of the electron microscope is solely responsible for humanity’s knowledge on the atom†¦the foundation of everything and all technologies! Can we even begin to imagine life without science or its applied counterpart – technology? No vaccinations or anaesthesia, no electricity to work our appliances, no telephones, computers or internet! Two hundred years ago in the nineteenth century bloodletting and leaching was practiced to help alleviate the ills of man. Fortunately, because of proper application of scientific knowledge we now know how to treat various disorders using the right medication and surgical methods. Antibiotics have become the biggest life saver, vaccination is the best preventative method of potentially fatal illnesses and most importantly surgical procedures can be done with no pain through anaesthesia. Methods of communication are improving at a rapid pace today than in any other century. We now have telephones, emails and cell phones that can send text messages and are internet ready. When the telegraph was invented in the 1830’s it allowed messages to be sent through a series of electric impulses. Although inconvenient compared with modern technology, it provided a lead forward in communication when compared with traditional mail. This would not have been possible if wasn’t for science and scientific experiments. It is in my opinion that when scientist learned to harness the power of electricity, the entire world changed for the better, development and progress in science and technology was done at a quicker pace. Society had a safe source of light; electricity replaced gas lamps and fires and eliminated accidents that may have been occurred because of this. It made refrigeration possible and because of this food lasted longer, food safety improved and food transportation was easier. The quality of life improved with electricity, industrialization was possible; dangerous jobs that were done manually were now done with machines. Various forms of communication stemmed from electricity such as the telegraph, telephone and television. The main function of the scientific goal is to carry out a comprehensive and thorough inquiry into nature and society, leading to new knowledge. This new knowledge provides educational, cultural and intellectual enrichment and leads to technological advances and economic benefits. New scientific knowledge may lead to new applications and new technological advances that may lead to new scientific discoveries. For example, the discovery of the structure of DNA was a fundamental breakthrough in biology. It formed the basis of research that would ultimately lead to a wide variety of practical applications, including DNA fingerprinting, genetically engineered crops and tests for genetic diseases. DNA copying and sequencing technologies have led to important breakthroughs in many areas of biology, especially in the reconstruction of the evolutionary relationships among organisms. The impact that science has had on society can be seen anywhere we turn, it is very visible; progress in agriculture, medicine and health care, telecommunications, transportation, computerization and so on, it is part of our daily living. To say that science has done more harm than good is naive, science does neither harm nor good because it is simply a disciplined way to understand how things work. It is mankind that uses the knowledge that science provides and they decide what kind of application to make of it. As the quote by Isaac Asimov says; science is gaining knowledge faster than man gains wisdom. If there is wisdom, we will not use the knowledge gained by science for destructive purposes. Albert Einstein whose theory of relativity was used in the making of the A-Bomb said â€Å"the discovery of nuclear reactions need not bring about the destruction of mankind anymore than the discovery of matches.† The gun was invented with the sole purpose to kill, an equalizer in so me way. The individual who invented the gun intended it to promote peace, by discouraging violence. It made hunting easier for man to do than with bow and arrow. All tools that are made are made for the sole purpose of making life easier. If a hammer is used to kill someone, the hammer is not to blame, it is the person who used it, and same too is the gun. Therefore in conclusion, I can now say that science without wisdom and conscience will be the destruction of humanity as we know it. Science is a good tool but it is only a tool. Like a knife, science has to be used with knowledge, wisdom and understanding. It needs to be guided by people who understand this concept so that it benefits mankind and not destroy it. Science can be referred to an intelligent child with a lot of potential, without the right guidance, that child will wreak havoc with his newfound power†¦his knowledge. â€Å"Science has generated tremendous power; knowledge always gives power and is useful because it increases our abilities. But when we do not have wisdom and love, compassion or brotherhood, which are all by-products of wisdom, then power can be used destructively. Sixty- five percent of all the scientific research being done currently is directly or indirectly meant for developing weapons, and supported by the Defence Ministry in every nation. In the last one century, 208 million people have been killed in wars, which is without precedent in any previous century.† (Prof. P. Krishna, 2005) References 10 Science Experiments That Changed the World : Discovery Channel. (n.d.). Discovery Channel : Science, History, Space, Tech, Sharks, News! : Discovery Channel. Retrieved March 7, 2013, from http://dsc.discovery.com/tv-shows/curiosity/topics/10-science-experiments.htm Benefits of science. (n.d.). Understanding Science. Retrieved March 7, 2013, from http://undsci.berkeley.edu/article/0_0_0/howscienceworks_18 Category. (n.d.). Timeline The History of Guns Rifles and Machine Guns. Inventors. Retrieved March 8, 2013, from http://inventors.about.com/od/militaryhistoryinventions/a/firearms_2.htm History of the Microscope Who invented the Microscope?. (n.d.). Best Microscope Reviews and Microscopy Research. Retrieved March 8, 2013, from http://www.microscopemaster.com/history-of-the-microscope.html Krishna, P. (n.d.). The Impact of Science on Society. Homepage of Prof. P. Krishna. Retrieved March 7, 2013, from http://www.pkrishna.org/Impact_science_society.html My Century | BBC World Service . (n.d.). BBC Homepage. Retrieved March 7, 2013, from http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/people/features/mycentury/science.shtml

Natural Selection Lab

Natural Selection Lab This hands-on laboratory exercise is a highly simplified model that attempts to simulate evolution by means of natural selection. Predators will act as agents of selection on their prey, a species whose members vary in color. We will assume that color is an inherited trait. Small squares of paper will represent the prey, which will be spread out of a piece of printed colored fabric that will serve as the habitat. The predators (you) will prey upon the population, with the surviving members reproducing and passing along the genes for color. Problem:How does a population change as a result of natural selection? Materials: * 5 different colors of paper cut into 1 cm ? 1 cm squares (at least 100 squares of each color) * Multicolored fabric or newspaper, approximately 1 meter ? 1 meter * 1 or 2 partners (friends or family) Procedure: * The prey will be represented by the small 1 cm ? 1 cm squares of paper and the habitat is represented by the 1 meter ? 1 meter piece of fabric. Hypothesize which color prey you think is most likely to be captured by the predator and which color prey is most likely to survive, and then record your hypothesis.Be sure that your hypothesis includes explanations for your predictions. * Have the two partners (prey) stand with their backs to the habitat while you scatter 20 squares of each color randomly on the fabric. Try to achieve a uniform distribution, and be sure to separate any that are clumped together. * Have the partner(s) randomly pick up the prey as fast as they can. Have them stop when they have collected a total of 75 prey, leaving the other 25 remaining in the habitat. * Count the number of survivors of each color. Each surviving prey has three offspring of the same color, bringing the total population back up to 100.Record the number of each color in the next generation in your data table. * Count out the correct number of each colored prey and scatter them on the fabric. Repeat the process two more time s, for a total of three generations. Hypothesis: I think the black color pieces are most likely to be captured because they are so easy to be identified. I think the blue color would most likely survive because of its color shade. Data and Observations: Color| 1. Blue| 2. Yellow| 3. Red| 4. Green| 5. Black| Generation 0| 20| 20| 20| 20| 20| Generation 1| 4| 1| 5| 10| 5|Generation 2| 6| 3| 2| 11| 3| Generation 3| 3| 2| 4| 15| 1| Record any observations. Data Analysis: Conclusion: * The surviving amount of prey population was drastically different from the original. There was much less of each color in the end. Over half of each color prey I gone. * When my two partners had their backs turned and I was scattering around the color pieces, once I told them that it was okay to turn around and pick them up, I saw that they tended to pick up the brightest colors. So, in conclusion, the brighter the prey the more the predators attract to them and hunt them. The green pieces of paper barely even got touched, but the yellow seemed to stand out the most. * If I were to continue, the yellow would have been extinct in like Generation 4. But, the prey as a whole would have been very scarce within two generations. The green would be the last to go. * Whatever the brightest color was would have died off first. * 1) You can’t re-collect the same prey once it’s been picked off 2) There might not be 25 surviving prey all the time. There could be more or less. 1) A large number of predators can really decrease population in a species dramatically. ) It’s a prime example of survival of the fittest because there will be animals trying to eat other animals. * If the predator knew the habitats of his prey. Then, he could bring back some more predators and they could take out a whole area of prey. * Camouflage can really help you survive in times of need. Let’s say there is a predator behind you and it is ready to eat you. If you know the perfect places to hide then you are safe. Especially if the hiding spot matches with your body color. The predator probably won’t recognize you.