The Biosphere Essays - Superorganisms, Biological Systems

The Biosphere The Biosphere: The biosphere is part of the earth in which life exists. It is 20 km thick from the bottom of the ocean to the lower atmosphere. It consists of three layers: the lithosphere, which is the land on the surface of the earth; the hydrosphere, which comprises of the water on the earth as well as water vapor in the air; and the atmosphere, which is made up of the air that surrounds the earth. The living organisms in the biosphere interact and affect each other in many ways. This is called a biotic factor. Similarly, there are non-living elements that have an effect on living organisms, these are considered abiotic factors. Examples of abiotic factors are air, temperature, water, soil, light, and minerals. In a biosphere, organisms live in special groupings. For instance, a population consists of all individuals of a species living in a general area. A community is a population located in a certain area living among different species. An ecosystem is yet a larger conglomeration of a population, a community, and abiotic factors. Ecosystems can be aquatic or terrestrial. The earth's aquatic ecosystem makes up about 75% of the earth's surface. This aquatic environment is divided into marine and freshwater environments. The earth's terrestrial ecosystem is mainly made up of forests and deserts, which make up for 25% of the earth's surface. The role or function of an organism in a community is that organism's niche. An organism's niche is an area picked by that organism based on physical factors such as temperature, light, oxygen and carbon dioxide content and biological factors such as food, competition for

How Economists Use Total Factor Productivity

How Economists Use Total Factor Productivity Conceptually, total factor productivity refers to how efficiently and intensely inputs are used in the production process.  Total factor productivity (TFP) is sometimes referred to as multi-factor productivity, and, under certain assumptions, can be thought of as a measure of level of technology or knowledge. Formula for TFP Given the macro model: Yt ZtF(Kt,Lt), Total Factor Productivity (TFP) is defined to be Yt/F(Kt,Lt) Likewise, given Yt ZtF(Kt,Lt,Et,Mt), TFP is Yt/F(Kt,Lt,Et,Mt) The Solow residual is a measure of TFP. TFP presumably changes over time. There is disagreement in the literature over the question of whether the Solow residual measures technology shocks. Efforts to change the inputs, like Kt, to adjust for utilization rate and so forth, have the effect of changing the Solow residual and thus the measure of TFP. But the idea of TFP is well defined for each model of this kind. TFP is not necessarily a measure of technology since the TFP could be a function of other things like military spending, or monetary shocks, or the political party in power. Growth in total-factor productivity (TFP) represents output growth not accounted for by the growth in inputs. - Hornstein and Krusell (1996). Effects on TFP Disease, crime, and computer viruses have small negative effects on TFP using almost any measure of K and L, although with absolutely perfect measures of K and L they might disappear. Reason: crime, disease, and computer viruses make people AT WORK less productive.

The Banjo Lesson Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Banjo Lesson - Term Paper Example Eakins brought new painting methods such as carrying out studies of live models, overt discussion of male and female anatomy as well as dissections and bisections of cadavers to enable further comprehension and familiarity of the human body. Consequently, the ideologies of Eakins had tremendous impact on Tanner, who proved to be among Eakins’ favorite artists, thus, two years after Tanner’s departure from the academy, Eakins had to paint his portrait as an honor. During the entire period that Tanner was in the Academy, he secured thorough anatomy knowledge and was able to apply his comprehension of the weighty human figure structure to painting. Later on during the First World War, Tanner worked for the Public Information Department in the Red Cross and was able to paint real life images from the war. The Painting The Banjo Lesson was painted by Henry Ossawa Tanner in 1893 when he returned to visit Philadelphia in the United States from his newly found home in France. I n this painting, an elderly man is engrossed in teaching one who is assumed to be his grandchild the lessons of playing banjo. When given a first glance, one may not notice how tanner explored very important painting themes. In the culture of America, black community was highly regarded as a group of entertainers, and similarly, the painting of the black elderly man teaching how to play Banjo is seen in all the 19th century American art (Linn). This implies that the banjo instrument was closely associated with the black community. However, such paintings are always reduced and portrayed as minstrel type. In this regard, Tanner strives to work against the highly regarded stereotype by giving a much sensitive interpretation through his painting. The two protagonists in the painting portray a very important aspect in human life known as specific time of human interaction. Both the teacher and the learner are intimately attached on the important task right in front of them. The two are oblivious of the rest of the world around them, thus magnifying the sense of actual contact and meaningful cooperation. The painting portrays a real world and contact, ultimately achieving the most important ideology of Tanner of human quality exploration, through a masterful painting. Tanner successfully employed the difficult task of merging two different and varying sources of light. For instance, a natural white-blue light glow from outside comes in from the left side, while from the right, enters a warm light from the fireplace. The illumination of the picture is achieved where the two sources of light meet. Analysts have interpreted this aspect to imply Tanner’s personal transition between his American past and his new home in France. Tanner is considered to be amongst the most talented and highly esteemed African American painters. This is wholly attributed to his hard work in making painting a reality, since his painting mostly relied upon depicting accurate form of h uman nature as well as the natural surroundings. Throughout his entire life, he was fully devoted to carrying out studies of the world that he was living in, and most importantly, the actual people he encountered face to face. For instance, Linn asserts that the popularity as well as the importance of The Banjo Lesson was as a result of searching for post Civil Rights symbols of the African American heritage