Ecology Report of Brighami Rockii Essay Example for Free

Ecology Report of Brighami Rockii Essay Any region with significant level of biodiversity exposed to threat of destruction can have severe deforestation and other forms of agricultural clearing like logging, charcoal-making, etc. Due to this degradation of its ecological habitats, such region may become a home for critically endangered endemic species. Researchers have it that the less rainforest a given region has, the greater the proportion of endangered species it hosts. In Hawaii, two native plants were identified as the most critically endangered species. Brighamia rockii Brighamia insignis are endemic to the region. Both of these species are similar to each other except their respective colors. Both of them also have succulent stems that function as water storage allowing them to sustain amidst drought season. B. rockii though is different in color. It is a native plant with purple trunks that develops in its early stage, while B. insignis does not change its color at all. B. Rockii can grow spectacularly as a branched plant 1 to 5 meters tall along with its thick succulent stems that narrows from the base. It has elliptical leaves that forms and looks like the head of a cabbage. B. Rockii produces fragrant flowers that have corollas in white and anthers which are grouped in three to eight in its axils. Few of the associated species of B. rockii are Metrosideros polymorpha (ohia), Canthium odoratum (alahee), Diospyros sandwicensis (lama), Osteomeles anthyllidifolia (ulei), and Scaevola gaudichaudii (naupaka). B. Rockii is an endemic native plant that belongs to the family of bellflowers known as Campanulaceae. Its common names are alula, ‘olulu, pu aupaka and pua ‘ala. B. Rockii is also tagged with taxonomic synonyms namely, Brighamia remyi, Brighamia rockii fa. and Longiloba Known to have been extinct, this plant is only found on sea cliffs in the island of Moloka (Hannon 2002; Wagner 1999) i. Its natural habitats, however, are coastal dry forests, moist shrub lands above sea level up to 470 meters elevation. B. rockii is common to Molokai and extends to the northern part of the island – Kalaupapa to Halawa. However, just recently, it has been found out that it has become an almost died out specie in Lanai and Maui. Hand pollination for cultivated plants allows its seed production to increase because its native pollinator are also extinct. Similarly, for the Brighamia to be hand pollinated, the use of a small paint brush is needed to transfer the pollen grains. When the flowers of B. Rockii are yet a few days old, the pollen will begin to drop. The paint brush can then be used to pick up the pollens that fell onto the flower tube and place it over to another flower’s stigma. This stigma is good to receive the pollen when it appears sticky and glossy. Researchers found out that the seeds of Brighamia need the presence of light to produce and sprinkle the seeds onto the surface of a damp medium. These seeds can also be stored in a refrigerator from 2 to 3 years but its capability depreciates after 10 to 12 months. It was also found out from NTBG report ((Ragone 1993) that came out on 1993 that the seeds of Brighamia were no longer viable after it has been stored in an area with a temperature of 80 degrees F and humidity of 25 % for 1 year and 5 months (Hannon 2002; Koob 2000; NTBG 1992; Ragone 1993; Wagner 1999). The plant was believed to be extinct but was rediscovered in 1996. From its discovery, only few remained and became part of the current population estimated to run at most 5 in numbers. â€Å"No bird, butterfly, flower, tree or animal disappears alone. When they slip into extinction, they disappear with their unique genes – the building blocks of life (Dr. Norman Meyer of Oxford University). † These species, rare finds and threatened, may cease to exist even without being given a name. Yet again, Brighamia rockii is just one of the most critically endangered. There are more that are susceptible to extinction too. Still, some remained unnoticed. Perhaps, extinction is natural but if we, humans alike are hastening the process, then probably our race comes with the extinction as well. â€Å"Man has lost the capacity to foresee and forestall. He will end by destroying earth (Schweitzer 2004). † References Hannon, Dylan P. and Steve Perlman. 2002. The Genus Brighamia. Cactus and Succulent Journal 74 (2):67-76. Johnson, Margaret. 1986. Brighamia citrina var. napaliensis. Kew Magazine 3 (2):68-72. Koob, Gregory A. 2000. Cabbage on a baseball bat. Hawaii Horticulture 3 (6):9-11. National Tropical Botanical Garden (NTBG). 1992. Alula. In Native Hawaiian plant information sheets. Lawai, Kauai: Hawaii Plant Conservation Center. National Tropical Botanical Garden. Unpublished internal papers. Ragone, Diane, (Program Coordinator). 1993. Hawaii Plant Conservation Center Collection Propagation Project: Progress Report (USFWS Grant 14-48-0001-92581). Lawai, Hawaii: National Tropical Botanical Garden.

Sociological Imagination vs. Common Sense Essay -- Sociology

Sociological Imagination vs. Common Sense This essay will aim to explain differences between the sociological imagination and common sense. What the sociological imagination and common sense are and how they are at work in our society today. Using the area of educational achievement I will bring into this essay examples through research and findings from sociologists such as; Pierre Bourdieu, Culture Capital (1977), Bernstein-(1961)speech patterns’ and Paul Willis (1977)learning to labour, and use these examples as evidence to show how these would explain educational achievement in relation to the sociological imagination and common sense assumptions. I shall begin this essay by discussing where the sociological imagination arose from and what this is in comparison to common sense. American sociologist C.Wright Mills (1959) published a sociological text called ‘The sociological Imagination (1959), C.Wright Mills wrote in his book about ‘the troubles of milieu’ the word milieu means (environment) this was looked at as being where an individual will find themselves in a situation that is of a personal social setting to them and therefore could indeed affect them personally and in some extent the situation be this persons making. Mills(1959), also wrote about public issues of social structure, referring to matters that go beyond the individual and look at society as a whole. How society is organised and how society works. This goes far beyond ‘the troubles of milieu, as it doesn’t look at the person and there individual experiences in society but looks at the wider social structure e.g social institutions†¦ education, religion, family, law and how they have developed and interact with each other examples of the differenc... ...ion, Sociology making sense of society, 4th ed, Harlow, Pearson Longman, pp. 604-605. Mills C.Wright (1959) The Sociological imagination , Harmondsworth, England, Oxford University Press. Office of National Statistics (2004), Education, Ethnicity and Identity, Available from: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=461 [accessed 28 September 2010], Cite as (office of National Statistics 28 September 2010) Pierre B (1961) Culture Capital Cited, Taylor P ; Richardson Jr John; Yeo, A, (1995), The class structure and educational attainment, Sociology in Focus, pp.297, Ormskirk, Causeway Press. Scanlan J Stephen; Guest-editor; Grauerjolz Liz (2009) 50 Years of C.Wright Mills and the Sociological Imagination, Teaching Sociology 37, (1), pp1-7 Willis Paul (1977) Learning to labour, Westmead, hants, England, Saxon House, Teakfield Limited.

“My Bondage and My Freedom”

My Bondage and My Freedom is Frederick Douglass’ second autobiography, written in 1855.   It is important to remember that this work was written before Abraham Lincoln was elected President and before the Civil War. Slavery was becoming a volatile issue in the South and was threatening to split our young nation in two.   Additionally, it is important to remember that while slavery had some supporters in other sections of the nation, it was mainly a Southern issue. This is where the slaves were bought and sold and this is where the plantations depended so heavily on slave labor to be able to produce a product that was then sold and reaped great profits.   White American’s attitude differed depending on where they lived and how close they were to the issue; for the purpose of this paper the focus will be on attitudes in the South. In 1790 all white persons were granted citizenship in the United States.   This indicates how most white people felt about African Americans.   They were seen as, at best, a lower class and, at worst, no better than the animals that helped around the farm; the cows and the horses.   However, in some small towns slaves became part of the family and the family worked alongside their slaves to ensure survival.   This, unfortunately, was not Douglass’ experience.   Douglass writes, â€Å"After the valuation, then came the division.   This was an hour of high excitement and distressing anxiety.   Our destiny was now to be fixed for life, and we had no more voice in the decision of the question, than the oxen and cows that stood chewing at the haymow.† (138) Choices afforded to slaves were few and far between.   They were told where they would work, live, and be.   If they were lucky, they worked in a home where it was warm and relatively comfortable.   If they were unlucky or rebellious they were sent to slave breakers who were considered professionals at breaking the will of slaves who constantly ran or disobeyed their owners.   Douglass writes of his experience with one such man whom he calls Mr. Covey.   â€Å"I was a victim of his violence and brutality.   Such a narration would fill a My Bondage and My Freedom   volume much larger than the present one.   I aim only to give the reader a truthful impression of my slave life, without unnecessarily affecting him with harrowing details.† (170)   As any reader could see, slaves really had no choices.   Little more, yet enough more to make it appealing, were afforded free African Americans in America.   Douglass writes of the isolation of being a free slave, â€Å"For a time, every door seemed closed against me.   A sense of my loneliness and helplessness crept over me, and covered me with something bordering on despair.   In the midst of thousands of my fellowmen, and yet a perfect stranger!† (253) In his life Douglass chose not to give into the helplessness or despair that he writes of.   He chose to speak out and found himself at home with the abolitionist cause.   Douglass was an eloquent orator who constantly strove to bring his people into a different light.   One of his main objectives was to, â€Å"Chang(e) the estimation in which the colored people of the United States were held.† (xxiii)   He would do this through educating himself, through the speeches he gave, through the books he published and through newspapers like the North Star.   It seems he chose to educate rather than violate. The ramification of Douglass’ life and his choices were felt far and wide.   From the early beginnings of the abolitionist movement to the passing of the Fifteenth Amendment, to the eventual de-segregation of schools in the 1950’s, early pioneers of the anti-slavery movement set the wheels in motion for later events. Douglass closes his book by saying, â€Å"I shall labor in the future, as I have labored in the past, to promote the moral, social, religious, and intellectual elevation of the free colored people; never forgetting my own humble origin, nor refusing, while Heaven lends me ability, to use my voice, my pen, or my vote, to advocate the great and primary work of the universal and unconditional emancipation of my entire race.† (300)   His work and his words still continue today.

`` The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow `` How Did Irving And...

â€Å"In this by-place of nature there abode, in a remote period of American history, that is to say, some thirty years since, a worthy wight of the name of Ichabod Crane† (Washington Irving, â€Å"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow†, 1820). How did Irving and Sedgwick use American history in their writings? Well into the early 19th Century the idea of ‘The American’ was far reserved from what we recognize now, due in a large part to the the lack of a credible sense of culture and history emitted from the settlers. Whilst the Revolution had asserted their independence from Great Britain and the rest of Europe, they still fundamentally relied on their exports for culture, and in particular their literature. This presented an odd dichotomy for the American†¦show more content†¦Additionally, it is imperative to consider how the omittance and fictionalization of history and society, with direct reference to Irving’s Sleepy Hollow, might influence and comment on the concept of American culture. In both Sleepy Hollow, and Hope Leslie, Irving and Sedgwick intrinsically weave in factual American history for a multitude of purposes that ultimately, if not for the more fanciful fictitious elements (particularly in Sleepy Hollow), allow both novels to be presented as historical fiction. This is pertinent because, as has been mentioned before, the notion of crafting ‘American history’ was foreign and somewhat perverse. However in response to a growing demand, both authors seek to embellish the history of their young nation to create a sense of truly American culture. This is immediately apparent in a number of ways; firstly both books are set on the East coast of the United states, an area with established civilisation. By doing this, Irving and Sedgwick seek to impress upon the reader the establishment of culture through the invention of a literature that was distinctly American, which previous critics such as Edward Everett had implied as merely being ‘Englis h’ and therefore non-existent. (North American Review, 1821) Contrasting Sleepy Hollow with the numerous other