Digital Fortress Chapter 20

La Clinica de Salud Publica was actually a converted elementary school and didn't much resemble a hospital at all. It was a long, one-story brick building with huge windows and a rusted swing set out back. Becker headed up the crumbling steps. Inside, it was dark and noisy. The waiting room was a line of folding metal chairs that ran the entire length of a long narrow corridor. A cardboard sign on a sawhorse read oficina with an arrow pointing down the hall. Becker walked the dimly lit corridor. It was like some sort of eerie set conjured up for a Hollywood horror flick. The air smelled of urine. The lights at the far end were blown out, and the last forty or fifty feet revealed nothing but muted silhouettes. A bleeding woman†¦ a young couple crying†¦ a little girl praying†¦ Becker reached the end of the darkened hall. The door to his left was slightly ajar, and he pushed it open. It was entirely empty except for an old, withered woman naked on a cot struggling with her bedpan. Lovely. Becker groaned. He closed the door. Where the hell is the office? Around a small dog-leg in the hall, Becker heard voices. He followed the sound and arrived at a translucent glass door that sounded as if a brawl were going on behind it. Reluctantly, Becker pushed the door open. The office. Mayhem. Just as he'd feared. The line was about ten people deep, everyone pushing and shouting. Spain was not known for its efficiency, and Becker knew he could be there all night waiting for discharge info on the Canadian. There was only one secretary behind the desk, and she was fending off disgruntled patients. Becker stood in the doorway a moment and pondered his options. There was a better way. â€Å"Con permiso!† an orderly shouted. A fast-rolling gurney sailed by. Becker spun out of the way and called after the orderly. â€Å"?Donde esta el telefono?† Without breaking stride, the man pointed to a set of double doors and disappeared around the corner. Becker walked over to the doors and pushed his way through. The room before him was enormous-an old gymnasium. The floor was a pale green and seemed to swim in and out of focus under the hum of the fluorescent lights. On the wall, a basketball hoop hung limply from its backboard. Scattered across the floor were a few dozen patients on low cots. In the far corner, just beneath a burned-out scoreboard, was an old pay phone. Becker hoped it worked. As he strode across the floor, he fumbled in his pocket for a coin. He found 75 pesetas in cinco-duros coins, change from the taxi-just enough for two local calls. He smiled politely to an exiting nurse and made his way to the phone. Scooping up the receiver, Becker dialed Directory Assistance. Thirty seconds later he had the number for the clinic's main office. Regardless of the country, it seemed there was one universal truth when it came to offices: Nobody could stand the sound of an unanswered phone. It didn't matter how many customers were waiting to be helped, the secretary would always drop what she was doing to pick up the phone. Becker punched the six-digit exchange. In a moment he'd have the clinic's office. There would undoubtedly be only one Canadian admitted today with a broken wrist and a concussion; his file would be easy to find. Becker knew the office would be hesitant to give out the man's name and discharge address to a total stranger, but he had a plan. The phone began to ring. Becker guessed five rings was all it would take. It took nineteen. â€Å"Clinica de Salud Publica,† barked the frantic secretary. Becker spoke in Spanish with a thick Franco-American accent. â€Å"This is David Becker. I'm with the Canadian Embassy. One of our citizens was treated by you today. I'd like his information such that the embassy can arrange to pay his fees.† â€Å"Fine,† the woman said. â€Å"I'll send it to the embassy on Monday.† â€Å"Actually,† Becker pressed, â€Å"it's important I get it immediately.† â€Å"Impossible,† the woman snapped. â€Å"We're very busy.† Becker sounded as official as possible. â€Å"It is an urgent matter. The man had a broken wrist and a head injury. He was treated sometime this morning. His file should be right on top.† Becker thickened the accent in his Spanish-just clear enough to convey his needs, just confusing enough to be exasperating. People had a way of bending the rules when they were exasperated. Instead of bending the rules, however, the woman cursed self-important North Americans and slammed down the phone. Becker frowned and hung up. Strikeout. The thought of waiting hours in line didn't thrill him; the clock was ticking-the old Canadian could be anywhere by now. Maybe he had decided to go back to Canada. Maybe he would sell the ring. Becker didn't have hours to wait in line. With renewed determination, Becker snatched up the receiver and redialed. He pressed the phone to his ear and leaned back against the wall. It began to ring. Becker gazed out into the room. One ring†¦ two rings†¦ three – A sudden surge of adrenaline coursed through his body. Becker wheeled and slammed the receiver back down into its cradle. Then he turned and stared back into the room in stunned silence. There on a cot, directly in front of him, propped up on a pile of old pillows, lay an elderly man with a clean white cast on his right wrist. Chapter 21 The American on Tokugen Numataka's private line sounded anxious. â€Å"Mr. Numataka-I only have a moment.† â€Å"Fine. I trust you have both pass-keys.† â€Å"There will be a small delay,† the American answered. â€Å"Unacceptable,† Numataka hissed. â€Å"You said I would have them by the end of today!† â€Å"There is one loose end.† â€Å"Is Tankado dead?† â€Å"Yes,† the voice said. â€Å"My man killed Mr. Tankado, but he failed to get the pass-key. Tankado gave it away before he died. To a tourist.† â€Å"Outrageous!† Numataka bellowed. â€Å"Then how can you promise me exclusive-â€Å" â€Å"Relax,† the American soothed. â€Å"You will have exclusive rights. That is my guarantee. As soon as the missing pass-key is found, Digital Fortress will be yours.† â€Å"But the pass-key could be copied!† â€Å"Anyone who has seen the key will be eliminated.† There was a long silence. Finally Numataka spoke. â€Å"Where is the key now?† â€Å"All you need to know is that it will be found.† â€Å"How can you be so certain?† â€Å"Because I am not the only one looking for it. American Intelligence has caught wind of the missing key. For obvious reasons they would like to prevent the release of Digital Fortress. They have sent a man to locate the key. His name is David Becker.† â€Å"How do you know this?† â€Å"That is irrelevant.† Numataka paused. â€Å"And if Mr. Becker locates the key?† â€Å"My man will take it from him.† â€Å"And after that?† â€Å"You needn't be concerned,† the American said coldly. â€Å"When Mr. Becker finds the key, he will be properly rewarded.†

Progressive Era Through the Great Depression

Progressive Era through the Great Depression Lacinda Adams Contemporary U. S. History, Strayer University Prof. Jahangir Salehi November 10, 2012 Progressive Era through the Great Depression There were many key historical turning points in the period of Progressive Era through the Great Depression. With the turn of the twentieth century Progressivism began with a specific agenda which was to clean up the nation’s cities. Social and political movement grew from this era, including reforms on state and national levels with efforts to diminish poverty, introduce labor reform, and improve the unsatisfactory conditions of urban housing.Many reform groups were established for the rights of Americans; including religion, state political reform, and woman’s progressiveness. During this time Roosevelt enacted the New Deal which was designed to regulate the economy and provide for national recovery. This initiative addressed political, economic, and social demands all at once. Wo men’s Reform During the Progressive era woman organized many major reforms, but despite all of this they were still denied the right to vote.Two women’s groups were created to promote women’s suffrage (1) the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA), founded in 1890, and (2) the National Women’s Party (NWP), founded in 1913. (Shultz, 2012) The combined efforts of these two groups led to victory and the women won the right to vote in 1920, just after the end of World War I when the Nineteenth Amendment was passed. Although they won the right to vote in 1920, women of the west had earned the right to vote before those in southern states.After reading several articles and websites I believe women earned the right to vote in the frontier states of the West before eastern and southern states for reasons as stated in the article â€Å"Why Did Colorado Suffragists Fail to Win the Right to Vote in 1877, but Succeed in 1893? † In this article it is speculated the â€Å"West was a place where freedom, independence, and democracy reigned. † To encourage women settlers to move to the western states and territories they were enticed with such things from the political leaders as being granted women’s suffrage, which could include the right to vote.During the Progressive Era women were considered the â€Å"moral guardians† and protectors of the home. (Reforming Their World, 2007) Women stood up for the rights of their family; protecting them at home and in the public, by fighting for their rights. Many things we take for granted today, they fought for in the Progressive Era as luxuries, including hot lunches at schools, community playgrounds, fire codes for office buildings, and public libraries. Working women fought for improved working conditions and wage increases. Black American woman also fought against the â€Å"war† on racism.Together both the white and black women worked for equal, improved a nd fair rights for women and children. Roosevelt – The New Deal Roosevelt was elected to his first term in 1932, with a jobless rate of 24% in America. (Shlaes, 2009) Immediately upon entering office he made several positive moves to improve the economy including creating the New Deal and reassuring seniors by creating Social Security. With his aggressiveness the unemployment rate had dropped 10% by 1936 when he was running for re-election. The New Deal was designed to regulate the economy, provide for national recovery.This initiative addressed political, economic, and social demands all at once. Through this initiative he created several programs. The Emergency Banking Relief Act, which was established to have federal control over banks and, if necessary, rescued them from disaster with government loans. The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) creates economic programs that would employ the unemployed. National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) instituted programs t o regulate industry, establish labor rights, and improve working conditions.All which were effective in restoring economic recovery. With the help of Roosevelt, through The New Deal, farmers were given help with a new reform proposal called the Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA). The AAA attempted to address the great problem of agriculture and offered farmers cash subsidies to not grow crops. (Shultz, 2012) Although, Americans wanted to believe in Roosevelt’s New Deal plan, his budget spending was getting more out of control and becoming more erratic. During his first term the federal budget rose from 6% to 9% of the nation's GDP.He had many critics on both democratic and republican sides. On the democratic side, some feared his programs increased the power of the government while others saw it as an overextension of federal power. Republicans believed the best option for the depression was to â€Å"let market forces take their course, knowing that, in time, there would be a new era of growth and recovery. † (Shultz, 2012) Several pieces of legislation were passed during the Roosevelt-Taft-Wilson progressive era that is still influential to the way businesses are conducting.The sixteenth amendment was passed during Taft’s time in office, authorizing income taxes. He was also very active in supporting courts against unfair trade practices by corporations. (Devine, 2010) During Wilson’s term in office he was successful in passing the Federal Reserve Act, which centralized banking and created the Federal Reserve Board. This act is still very influential in helping to regulate interest rates and the money supply. At this time the Federal Trade Commission was also enacted.Spanish American War The Spanish-American War of 1898 transformed the United States into a major overseas power. The war concerned American politicians, especially when American business interests might be compromised, because of the geographical location of countries l ike Cuba and the Philippines who the Spanish were fighting against. The victory over Cuba and the Philippines prompted a treaty which resulted in the U. S. annexing Hawaii and Spain relinquishing most of its overseas possessions to the U. S. ncluding Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and Guam, in exchange for $20 million. (Shultz, 2012) Roaring Twenties During the roaring twenties the economy was healthy. Production was up in the steel and automotive industry. Consumerism was up. People could suddenly afford to purchase clothes and property and cars. Many people had electricity in their homes, and were purchasing televisions, refrigerators, radios, washing machines, and vacuums. Banks were extending credit to people and they were investing in the stock market.Congress passed prohibition laws were passed and the Volstead Act (1919), which handed down strict punishments for individuals violating this amendment. Women won the right to vote with the passing of the Nineteenth Amendment. All of these affected the federal government’s involvement in the national economy. (Shultz, 2012) References Devine, Robert A (2010) America Past and Present, AP Edition, Pearson, New York City, NY Retrieved November 11, 2012 from http://wps. ablongman. com/long_divine_appap_7/23/5931/1518407. cw/index. tml Reforming Their World: Women in the Progressive Era (2007). Retrieved November 10, 2012 from National Women's History Museum: http://www. nwhm. org/online-exhibits/progressiveera/home. html Shultz, Kevin M. (2012) HIST, Volume 2, 2nd Edition, Boston, Massachusetts: Wadsworth Why Did Colorado Suffragists Fail to Win the Right to Vote in 1877, but Succeed in 1893? Retrieved November 11, 2012 from http://womhist. alexanderstreet. com/colosuff/intro. htm Shlaes, A. (2009). Deal or No Deal? (Cover story). Time, 173(26), 38-42. Progressive Era Through the Great Depression Progressive Era Through the Great Depression Tynisha Miller Assignment 2: History 105 Professor Tonya Simmons November 11, 2012 Identify at least two (2) major historical turning points in the period under discussion. The women’s suffrage is one of the major historical turning points in the Progressive Era. During this time there were two groups that pushed and furthered the cause of women’s suffrage. The National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA), founded in 1890, and the National Women’s Party (NWP), founded in 1913 and led by Alice Paul (Schultz,2012,pg. 41-42). The second major historical turning point in this era I will discuss is the Stock Market Crash of October 1929. The Stock Market Crash of 1929 devastated the economy and was a key factor in beginning the Great Depression. Analyze the impact of the two (2) or more major historical turning points selected on America’s current society, economy, politics, and culture. The Women’s Su ffrage movement had a major impact on society, economy, politics, and culture.In 1920 the Nineteenth Amendment was passed and women won the right to vote (Schultz, 2012, pg. 342). The enfranchisement of women was the largest expansion of the voting population in American history, significantly increasing the American electorate. This movement opened many doors for women; they now knew that they had a voice and the right to speak on political issues within the government and allowed them property rights. The stock market crash of 1929 caused fear and panic throughout the country and resulted in the beginning of the Great Depression.All aspects of the economy were affected by this downward spiral in the stock market; it caused many banks and businesses to fail and have to fail for bankruptcy. Unemployment increased, which created a decrease in purchasing power for consumers and that led to businesses having to lower prices on merchandise. Many laborers were forced to choose between wa ge cuts and pink slips, others who retained their jobs saw their income shrink by a third (U. S. History). It was years before this downward cycle broke.Speculate as to why women earned the right to vote in the frontier states of the west before eastern and southern states. Leading suffragists like Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton were Easterners, thought their home states would be the first to accept women's suffrage (Old West, 1889). Stanton and Anthony, accused abolitionist and Republican supporters of emphasizing black civil rights at the expense of women's rights, formed the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) in May of 1869 (National Archives).The National American Women Suffrage Association campaigned for a federal amendment to enfranchise women. The American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA), founded 6 months later by Lucy Stone, Julia Ward Howe, and Thomas Wentworth Higginson, protested the confrontational tactics of the NWSA and tied itself closely to the Republican Party while concentrating solely on securing the vote for women state by state (National Archives). In 1890 the two suffrage organizations merged into the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) (National Archives).Stanton became its president, Anthony became its vice president, and Stone became chairman of the executive committee (National Archives). In the west the male ratio dominated women in numbers, meaning that men definitely held power in the western states. Some historians suggest western men may have been rewarding pioneer women for their critical role in settling the West (Old West, 1889). Describe at least two (2) pieces of legislation in the Roosevelt-Taft-Wilson progressive era years that have influenced the conduct of business to this day and what that influence has been.Theodore . Roosevelt believed that industrial society was threatened by the immortality of big businessmen, who were more interested in personal gain than in the good of socie ty (Schultz, 2012, pg. 343). Even though Roosevelt punished multiple companies for violating the Sherman Antitrust Act, his main focus was on the nation’s railroads who were accused of abusing the industry. The Elkins Act of 1903 was a part of the legislation put into place in order to end the practice of railroad companies granting shipping rebates to favorable companies (American President).Realizing that the Elkins Act was not effective he introduced the Hepburn Act of 1906, which limited prices that railroads could charge and allowed the federal government to monitor the financial books of the large railroad (Schultz, 2012, pg. 343). Roosevelt’s successor was William H. Taft; he helped put companies under control by getting the Mann-Elkin Act passed (William Taft, 27th President). This act focused on the telephone, telegraph, radio, and cable companies as well as railroad companies, allowing the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) to monitor.President Wilson; assi sted in passing the Clayton Antitrust Act in 1914, this law outlawed unfair practices among businesses, he also supported the creation of the Federal Trade Commission, a government agency that had the right to investigate business practices and issue rulings to prevent businesses from continuing such practices (Schultz,2012,pg. 344). Explain the role that the Spanish American War played in America’s development of an Empire. The war between Spain and the United States transformed the U. S. into a major overseas power (Schultz, 2012, pg. 53). For years the U. S. has been interested in gaining possession of overseas territories in order to pursue naval bases, trade agreements, and democratic ideas. Imperialist believed that if the U. S. wanted to be viewed as holding world power, then they had to show that they were a powerful nation. A leading nation had to have military might and foreign possessions (US History). Initially the decision to enter into war was not for imperialis m but for humanitarian, geopolitical and commercial reasons (Schultz, 2012, pg. 53). The economy was being ruined because of the fighting between the Cubans and the Spanish. American’s understood and sympathized with Cubans’ fighting for their independence from Spain. Explain at least two (2) ways in which the boom and bust of the Roaring Twenties followed by the Great Depression affected the federal government’s involvement in the national economy. In response to the Great Depression President Roosevelt’s â€Å"New Deal†, increased federal spending tremendously.The â€Å"New Deal† was put into place to regulate the economy, provide for national recovery, and create a social safety net for all Americans (Schultz, 2012, pg. 395). Roosevelt knew he needed to first address the banking crisis, because of this he formed the Emergency Banking Relief Act. This Act passed on March 9, 1933, established federal control over banks and, if necessary, re scued them from disaster with government loans (Schultz, 2012, pg. 396). The Federal Emergency Relief Administration was formed to create economic programs to employ the unemployed (Schultz, 2012, pg. 96). Before this the Federal Government had never released funds for public works projects. The Civilian Conservation Corps was one of FERA’s most successful of all the public works projects. The CCC enlisted unemployed young men to building and repairing highways, forest service sites, flood control projects and national park buildings (Schultz, 2012, pg. 396). References Schultz, K. M. (2012). HIST2 (Vol. 2). Boston: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. U. S. History Online Textbook: Sinking Deeper and Deeper:1929-33: Retrieved from-http://www. shistory. org/us/48b. asp Old West (September 30, 1989) Wyoming Legislators write the first state constitution to grant women the right to vote. Retrieved from- http://www. history. com American President: Theodore Roosevelt: Domestic Affairs: R etrieved from- http://www. millercenter. org William Howard Taft: Biography: Retrieved from- http://www. biography. com/people/william-taft-9501184 United States American History. Spanish-American War: Retrieved from- http://www. u-s-history. com

South America

Introduction The continent of South America has about one-eighth of the Earth's land surface, situated between latitudes 12 °N-55 °S and longitudes 80 °-35 °W; no other continent has a greater latitudinal span. Eighty percent of its land mass is within the tropical zone, yet it extends into the subantarctic. The extensive zones of temperate and cold climates in the vicinity of the Equator, in the Andes, are unique. The land area of about 17,519,900-17,529,250 km? is under the jurisdiction of 13 countries (Table 49); French Guiana is governed as an overseas department of France.The region's 1995 population of c. 320 million people is estimated to reach 452 million people in 2025. Three of the world's 21 megacities are in South America: Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro (WRI, UNEP and UNDP 1994). Geological setting Although the neotropics may be conveniently considered as a single phytogeographic unit, the region is geologically complex. The neotropics include not only the South American continental plate but the southern portion of the North American plate, as well as the independent Caribbean plate (Clapperton 1993).The complicated geological history of the region, for example as these plates intermittently separated and collided through the Cretaceous and the Tertiary, provides the milieu within which plant evolution has been superimposed. South America has been an island continent during most of the period of angiosperm evolution, whereas Central America constitutes one of the two tropical parts of the Laurasian â€Å"world continent†. Both South America and North America have been moving westward, roughly in tandem, since the breakup of Pangaea in the Mesozoic.In contrast, the Antillean plate with its flotsam of Antillean islands formed only during the Cenozoic and has moved in a retrograde eastern direction, at least with respect to its larger neighbours. Whereas South America and North America have been widely separated through most of their geological histories, there has been generally increasing contact between them through most of the Cenozoic, culminating in their coalescence with formation of the Isthmus of Panama c. 3. 1 million years ago (Keigwin 1978).The date of this epochal event in neotropical geological history has been gradually estimated to be younger, with estimates of 5. 7 million years ago giving way to as recently as 1. 8 million years ago (Keller, Zenker and Stone 1989). In addition to their Pleistocene connection via the Isthmus of Panama, South America and North America apparently were more or less directly interconnected via the protoAntilles for a short time near the end of the Cretaceous, prior to formation of the Caribbean plate (Buskirk 1992).The outstanding geological feature of South America is the Andes, the longest mountain range in the world, which extends in a nearly straight line of over 7000 km from the north to the southern tip of the continent. The Andes have the highest mo untain in the Western Hemisphere, the highest mountain in the world's tropics, and as measured from the centre of the Earth (rather than metres above sea-level), the highest mountain in the world.The most important break in the north-south sweep of the â€Å"cordillera† is the Huancabamba Depression in northern Peru, where the eastern chain of the cordillera is entirely ruptured (by the Maranon River) and even the western chain dips to 2145 m (at the Abra de Porculla). The existence of this massive mountain range has had profound effects on plant and animal evolution in South America, and consequently has profound effects on essential conservation priorities.In essence, the Andes represent a classical plate tectonic upthrust of continental rock, as the leading edge of the westward-moving South American plate collides with the oceanic Pacific plates. The Southern Andes are the oldest, with significant uplift already present in early Cenozoic times, prior to the Oligocene. Most of the uplift of the Central Andes was in the Miocene or later, whereas most of the uplift of the northern portion of the cordillera has been Plio-Pleistocene (van der Hammen 1974).To the north the Andes become more geologically complex, breaking into three separate cordilleras on the Ecuador/Colombia border. Much of the north-western margin of South America, including Colombia's western and central cordilleras, appears to be amassed â€Å"suspect terrane† rather than an integral part of the South American continental plate (Juteau  et al. 1977; McCourt, Aspden and Brook 1984). Much of the rest of the South American continent consists of two great crystalline shields that represent the western portion of what was once Gondwanaland.The north-eastern portion of the continent constitutes the Guayana Shield, whereas much of Brazil south of Amazonia is underlain by the Brazilian Shield. These two major shields were formerly interconnected across what is today the Lower Amazon. They consist of a Precambrian igneous basement overlain by ancient mucheroded Precambrian sediments. The Guayana region has been the most heavily eroded, with basement elevations mostly below 500 m interrupted by massive flattopped table mountains, the fabled â€Å"tepuis†, typically rising to 2000 m or 2500 m.The peak of the highest of these, Cerro Neblina or Pico da Neblina on the Venezuela/Brazil border, reaches an altitude of 3015 m and is the highest point in South America outside the Andes. The tepuis and similar formations are highest and most extensive in southern Venezuela, becoming smaller and more isolated to the west and east where La Macarena near the base of the Andes in Colombia and the Inini-Camopi Range in French Guiana respectively represent their ultimate vestiges.The quartzite and sandstone of the Guayana Shield erode into nutrient-poor sands, and much of the Guayana region is characterized by extreme impoverishment of soils. The rivers draining this regio n are largely very acidic blackwater rivers, of which the Rio Negro is the most famous. The Brazilian Shield is generally higher and less dissected, with much of central Brazil having an elevation of 800-1000 m. The Brazilian Shield is mostly drained by clearwater rivers such as the Tapajos and Xingu.In contrast to these ancient shields, the Amazonian heartland of South America is low and geologically young. Prior to the Miocene most of Amazonia constituted a large inland sea opening to the Pacific. With uplift of the Central Andes, this sea became a giant lake that gradually filled with Andean sediments. When the Amazon River broke through the narrow connection between the Guayanan and Brazilian shields near Santarem, Brazil, Amazonia began to drain eastward into the Atlantic.Nevertheless, the region remains so flat that ocean-going ships can reach Iquitos, Peru, which is only 110 m above sea-level, yet 3000 km from the mouth of the Amazon and less than 800 km from the Pacific Ocea n. Most of Amazonian Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia is below 200 m in elevation. The process of Amazonian sedimentation is continuing, as the sediment-laden white-water rivers course down from the Andes, continually changing their channels and depositing and redepositing their sediments along the way.About 26% of Peruvian Amazonia shows direct evidence of recent riverine reworking (Salo  et al. 1986). With the lack of relief, it is not surprising that rather fine nuances of drainage, topography and depositional history are often major determinants of vegetation. Like Amazonia, some other distinctive geological features of the South American continent are relatively low, flat and geologically young, such as the chaco/pantanal/pampa region to the south, the Venezuelan/Colombian Llanos to the north and the trans-Andean Choco region of Colombia and Ecuador to the west.Large portions of these areas have been inundated during periods of high sea-level in the past, and large portions of all o f these regions are seasonally inundated presently. One aspect of the geological history of Latin America that has received much biogeographic attention is the series of Pleistocene climatic fluctuations and their effects on distribution and evolution of the present neotropical biota. It is clear from the palynological record that major changes in vegetation were associated with the cycles of Pleistocene glaciation (e. . van der Hammen 1974), although to what extent lowland Amazonia was predominantly drier (e. g. Haffer 1969; van der Hammen 1974), colder (Colinvaux 1987; Liu and Colinvaux 1988) or both, and how this affected the Pleistocene distribution of tropical forest, remain hotly contested (Colinvaux 1987; Rasanen, Salo and Kalliola 1991). Although most of the corroborative geomorphological evidence for dry periods in the tropical lowlands during the Pleistocene is now otherwise interpreted (Irion 1989; Colinvaux 1987), some new data look promising.There are also several other theories that attempt to explain aspects of present biogeography on the basis of past geological events, including river-channel formation and migration (Capparella 1988; Salo  et al. 1986; Salo and Rasanen 1989), hypothesized massive flooding in south-western Amazonia (Campbell and Frailey 1984), and the formation of a putative giant Pleistocene lake in Amazonia (Frailey  et al. 1988). Mesoamerica For its size, Middle America is even more complex geologically than South America (see Central America regional overview).Nuclear Central America, an integral part of the North American continent, reaches south to central Nicaragua. The region from southern Nicaragua to the isthmus of Darien in Panama is geologically younger and presents recent volcanism, uplift and associated sedimentation. Like South America, the northern neotropics have a mountainous spine that breaks into separate cordilleras in the north. In general the Middle American cordilleras are highest to the north in Mex ico, and lowest in Panama to the south-east.In Mexico, the geological picture is complicated by a band of volcanoes that bisects the continent from east to west at the latitude of Mexico City. This â€Å"eje volcanico transversal† is associated with the Mexican megashear, along which the southern half of the country has gradually moved eastward with respect to the northern half. In southern Central America, volcanism has been most intensive in Costa Rica, which has two sections of its Central Cordillera reaching above treeline. In northern Costa Rica and adjacent Nicaragua the volcanoes become gradually reduced in size and more isolated from each other to the north.Similarly in Panama the Central Cordillera is over 2000 m high to the west near the Costa Rican border but only about 500 m high in most of the eastern part of the country. In central Panama, the Panama Canal cuts through a continental divide of only 100 m elevation, and in the San Juan River/Lake Nicaragua area of Nicaragua the maximum elevation is even less. For montane organisms, these interruptions in the cordillera represent major biological discontinuities. The Yucatan Peninsula area of Mexico, Guatemala and Belize represents a geologically anomalous portion of Middle America.It is a flat limestone formation more like the Greater Antilles or Peninsular Florida than the mountainous terrain and volcanic soil of most of Middle America. Limestone is otherwise relatively rare in the continental neotropics, in contrast to many other parts of the world, with small outcrops like those in the Madden Lake region of central Panama or the Coloso area of northern Colombia being associated with peculiar floras. These areas, like the Yucatan Peninsula, tend to show distinctly Antillean floristic affinities, paralleling the geological ones.Caribbean The Antillean islands constitute the third geologic unit of the neotropics (see Caribbean Islands regional overview). The Antilles make up in geological co mplexity what they lack in size. The most striking geological anomaly is Hispaniola, which is a composite of what were three separate islands during much of the Cenozoic. In addition to being completely submerged during part of the midCenozoic, the southern peninsula of Hispaniola was probably attached to Cuba instead of Hispaniola until the end of the Cenozoic.Jamaica too was completely submerged during much of the mid-Cenozoic, and has a different geological history from the rest of the Greater Antilles, with closer connections to Central America via the nowsubmerged Nicaraguan Rise. Possibly a collision of the western end of the Greater Antilles island arc with Mexico-Guatemala fragmented its western end to form Jamaica. Also phytogeographically and conservationally important, some of the Antilles have extensive areas of distinctive substrates.In addition to large areas of limestone, most of the Greater Antilles (Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico) have significant areas of serpentine and other ultrabasic rocks formed from uplift of patches of oceanic crust during the north-eastward movement of the Caribbean plate. The Lesser Antilles are small and actively volcanic. Most of the other smaller islands are low limestone keys with little or no geological relief. These patterns are clearly reflected in the Antillean flora. The most striking concentrations of local endemism occur in areas of ultrabasic rocks or on unusual types of limestone on the larger islands.The Lesser Antilles, Bahamas and other smaller islands have only a depauperate subset of the generally most widespread Antillean taxa. Vegetation The neotropics include a broad array of vegetation types commensurate with their ecological diversity. Along the west coast of South America are both one of the wettest places in the world – Tutunendo in the Choco region of Colombia, with 11,770 mm of annual precipitation, and the driest – no rain has been recorded in parts of the Atacama Desert of Chi le.The largest tract of rain forest in the world is in the Amazon Basin, and Amazonia has received a perhaps disproportionate share of the world's conservation attention. While the forests of Upper Amazonia are the most diverse in the world for many kinds of organisms, including trees as well as butterflies, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals, other vegetation types have equal or greater concentrations of local endemism and are more acutely threatened.In particular, the plight of dry forests and of Andean montane forests are beginning to receive increased attention. Some isolated areas of lowland moist forest outside of Amazonia also have highly endemic floras and are currently much more threatened than Amazonia. In the following paragraphs are sketched the major neotropical vegetation types, followed by a conservation assessment of each. At the very broadest level, the lowland vegetation types of South America and the rest of the neotropics may be summarized as: 1.Tropical moi st forest (evergreen or semi-evergreen rain forest)  in Amazonia, the coastal region of Brazil, the Choco and the lower Magdalena Valley, and along the Atlantic coast of Central America to Mexico. 2. Dry forest (intergrading into woodland)  along the Pacific side of Mexico and Central America, in northern Colombia and Venezuela, coastal Ecuador and adjacent Peru, the Velasco area (Chiquitania) of eastern Bolivia, a broad swath from north-west Argentina to north-east Brazil encompassing chaco, cerrado and caatinga, and with scattered smaller patches elsewhere. 3.Open grassy savanna  in the pampas region of north-eastern Argentina and adjacent Uruguay and southernmost Brazil, the Llanos de Mojos and adjacent pantanal of Bolivia and Brazil, the Llanos of Colombia and Venezuela, and the Gran Sabana and Sipaliwini savanna in the Guayana region. 4. Desert and arid steppe  in northern Mexico, the dry Sechura and Atacama regions along the west coast of South America between 5 °S a nd 30 °S, and in the monte and Patagonian steppes of the south-eastern part of the Southern Cone of South America. 5. The  Mediterranean-climate region  of central Chile. 6.The  temperate evergreen forests  of southern Chile with an adjacent fringe of Argentina. More complex montane formations occur along the Andean Cordillera which stretches the length of the western periphery of South America, in the more interrupted Central American/Mexican cordilleran system, in the tepuis of the Guayana region and in the coastal cordillera of southern Brazil. Moist and wet forests In general, forests receiving more than 1600 mm (Gentry 1995) or 2000 mm (Holdridge 1967) of annual rainfall are evergreen or semi-evergreen and may be referred to as tropical moist forest.In the neotropics, lowland tropical moist forest is often further subdivided, following the Holdridge life-zone system, into moist forest (2000-4000 mm of precipitation annually), wet forest (4000-8000 mm) and pluvial fore st (over 8000 mm). Nearly all of the Amazon Basin receives 2000 mm or more of annual rainfall and constitutes variants of the moist forest. There are also several major regions of lowland moist forest variously disjunct from the Amazonian core area. These include the region along the Atlantic coast of Central America (extending into Mexico), the lower Magdalena Valley of northern Colombia, the Choco egion along the Pacific coast of Colombia and northern Ecuador, and the coastal forests of Brazil. Lowland moist forest is the most diverse neotropical vegetation type, structurally as well as taxonomically. In most lowland moist-forest and wet-forest regions around a quarter of the species are vines and lianas, a quarter to a half terrestrial herbs (including weeds), up to a quarter vascular epiphytes and only about a quarter trees (Gentry and Dodson 1987; Gentry 1990b).To the extent that smaller organisms such as herbs and epiphytes may demand different conservation strategies than lar ge organisms like trees (or top predators), this habitat diversity assumes conservation importance. Diversity patterns are also important for conservation planning. There is a strong correlation of plant community diversity with precipitation – wetter forests generally are more botanically diverse. For plants the most speciesrich forests in the world are the aseasonal lowland moist and wet forests of Upper Amazonia and the Choco region.For plants over 2. 5 cm dbh in 0. 1-ha samples, world record sites are in the pluvial-forest area of the Colombian Choco (258-265 species); for plants over 10 cm dbh in 1-ha plots, the world record is near Iquitos, Peru (300 species out of 606 individual trees and lianas). Concentrations of endemism do not necessarily follow those of diversity. Local endemism appears to be concentrated in cloud-forest regions along the base of the northern Andes and in adjacent southern Central America (cf.Vazquez-Garcia 1995), and in the north-western sector o f Amazonia where the substrate mosaic associated with sediments from the Guayana Shield is most complex (Gentry 1986a). Overall regional endemism in predominantly moist-forest areas is greatest in Amazonia, with an estimated 13,700 endemic species constituting 76% of the flora (Gentry 1992d). However many of these species are relatively widespread within Amazonia. The much more restricted (and devastated, see below) Mata Atlantica forests of coastal Brazil have almost three-quarters as many endemic species (c. 500) as Amazonia and similarly high endemism (73% of the flora) (Gentry 1992d). Moreover a larger proportion of the Mata Atlantica species probably are locally endemic. On the other side of South America, the trans-Andean very wet to wet and moist forests of the Choco and coastal Ecuador are also geographically isolated and highly endemic (cf. Terborgh and Winter 1982). Estimates of endemism in the Choco phytogeographic region are c. 20% (Gentry 1982b). Probably about 1260 or 20% of western Ecuador's 6300 naturally occurring species also are endemic (Dodson and Gentry 1991).For the northern Andean region as a whole, including both the coastal lowlands of western Colombia and Ecuador and the adjacent uplands, Gentry (1992d) estimated over 8000 endemic species, constituting 56% of the flora. Moreover this is probably the floristically most poorly known part of the neotropics, perhaps of the world, surely with several thousand mostly endemic species awaiting discovery and description. Dry forests There are seven main areas of dry forest in the neotropics, and by some estimations this may be the most acutely threatened of all neotropical vegetations.The interior dry areas of South America are outstanding in their regional endemism, estimated at 73%. Two of the most extensive neotropical dry-forest areas represent manifestations of the standard interface between the subtropical high pressure desert areas and the moist equatorial tropics. In Middle America, th is area of strongly seasonal climate occurs mostly along the Pacific coast in a narrow but formerly continuous band from Mexico to the Guanacaste region of north-western Costa Rica.There are also outliers farther south in the Terraba Valley of Costa Rica, Azuero Peninsula of Panama, and even around Garachine in the Darien (Panama), partially connecting the main Middle American dry forest with that of northern South America. These western Middle American dry forests are made up almost entirely of broadleaved deciduous species. In addition, the northern part of the Yucatan and large areas of the Antilles are covered by dry-forest variants. Most of the Caribbean dry forests are on limestone, and their woody species tend to be distinctively more sclerophyllous and smaller leaved than are the Pacific coast dry-forest plants.In the driest areas, both these types of dry forest tend to smaller stature and merge into various kinds of thorn-scrub matorral. In South America, only the extreme n orthern parts of Colombia and Venezuela reach far enough from the Equator to enter the strongly seasonal subtropical zone. Floristically and physiognomically this northern dry area is very much like similarly dry areas of western Middle America. The strongly seasonal region of northern South America also includes the open savannas of the Llanos extending from the Orinoco River west and north to the base of the Eastern Cordillera of he Colombian Andes and the north slope of the Coast Range of Venezuela. Large areas of the lowlying, often poorly drained Llanos are seasonally inundated, especially in the Apure region. The main area of tropical dry forest in South America is the chaco region, encompassing the western half of Paraguay and adjacent areas of Bolivia and Argentina, south of 17 °S latitude. The â€Å"chaco† is physiognomically distinctive in being a dense scrubby vegetation of mostly smallleaved, spiny branched small trees interspersed with scattered large individua ls of a few characteristic species of large trees.To the south, the chaco gives way to the desert scrub of the Argentine monte. There is a distinctive but generally neglected area of dry forest at the interface between the chaco and Amazonia in Bolivia. The names Chiquitania and Velasco forest have been used locally in Bolivia to refer to this vegetation, which extends from the Tucuvaca Valley and Serrania de Chiquitos in easternmost Santa Cruz Department interruptedly westward to the base of the Andes and along much of the lower Andean slopes of the southern half of Bolivia.This region of closed-canopy dry forest is physiognomically similar to that of western Central America, with tall broadleaved completely deciduous (caducifolious) trees. Although it has been locally regarded as merely representing the transition between the chaco and Amazonia, it is a floristically and physiognomically distinctive unit that should be accorded equivalent conservation importance to the other major dry-forest vegetation types (Gentry 1994).The chaco is adjoined to the north by two large and phytogeographically distinctive areas of dry forest, the cerrado and caatinga, which cover a small portion of easternmost Bolivia and most of the Brazilian Shield area of central and north-eastern Brazil. The typical vegetation of the â€Å"cerrado† region consists of wooded savanna with characteristically gnarled sclerophyllous-leaved trees with thick twisted branches and thick bark, widely enough separated to allow a ground cover of grass intermixed with a rich assortment of woody-rooted (xylopodial) subshrubs.The cerrado also includes areas where the trees form a nearly closed canopy (â€Å"cerradao†), and large open areas of grasses and subshrubs with no trees at all (â€Å"campo limpio† and â€Å"campo rupestre†). Although the cerrado is appropriately considered a kind of dry forest, some cerrado regions actually receive more rainfall than do adjacent fores t regions; excess aluminium in the soil may be as important as the climate in determining its distribution. The even drier forest of the caatinga of north-eastern Brazil extends from an appropriately subtropical 17 °S latitude farther north to a surprisingly equatorial 3 °S.Why this region should have such low rainfall remains poorly understood. Another climatic peculiarity is the irregularity of its rainfall, not only with low annual precipitation, but also with frequent years when the rains fail almost completely. The typical vegetation of the â€Å"caatinga† – relatively low, dense, small-leaved and completely deciduous in the dry season – is physiognomically similar to that of the chaco. The final major South American dry-forest area is the coastal forest of north-western Peru and south-western Ecuador.Even more anomalous in its geographical setting than the caatinga, this dry-forest region is positioned almost on the Equator. The occurrence of dry fores t so near the Equator is due to the offshore Humboldt Current. While similar cold-water currents occur along mid-latitude western coasts of other continents, the Humboldt Current is perhaps the strongest of these and is the only cold current reaching so near the Equator. The dry forest of coastal Peru and adjacent Ecuador is (or at least was, see below) physiognomically similar to that of western Central America, tall with a closed canopy of broadleaved completely deciduous trees.There also are a number of scattered smaller patches of tropical dry forest and/or savanna in various interAndean valleys, around Tarapoto, Peru, the Trinidad region of Bolivia, Brazil's Roraima area, the Surinam/Brazil border region, on Marajo Island, and in the pantanal region of the upper Paraguay River. Grasslands and deserts Grasslands and deserts occupy smaller areas of the neotropics than they do in Africa or most higher latitude continents. The main grassland region of the neotropics is the pampas r egion between about 39 °S and 28 °S and encompassing most of Uruguay as well as adjacent eastern Argentina and southernmost Brazil.The other major grassland area is the llanos region of Colombia and Venezuela. Smaller predominantly grassland regions occur in north-eastern Bolivia (Llanos de Mojos) and the south-eastern Guayana region (Gran Sabana and Sipaliwini savanna). There are also areas with few or no trees and dominated by grasses in the cerrado and pantanal regions of Brazil, and scattered outliers associated with local edaphic peculiarities elsewhere. None of the major grassland regions has many endemic species, in contrast to the campos rupestres of the Brazilian Shield and the Guayana area whitesand savannas, which have many endemics.This contrast is especially marked in southern Venezuela where some savanna patches have clay soils and a llanos-type flora of widespread species, whereas others have sandy soils and a flora of Amazonian affinities with many endemic specie s (Huber 1982). The desert regions of Latin America are confined to northern Mexico, the monte (Morello 1958; Orians and Solbrig 1977) and Patagonian steppes of Argentina, and the narrow Pacific coastal strip of northern Chile and Peru. The 3500-km long South American coastal desert is one of the most arid in the world – most of it is largely devoid of vegetation.This region is saved from conservational obscurity, however, by the occurrence of islandlike patches of mostly herbaceous vegetation in places where steep coastal slopes are regularly bathed in winter fog. Although these â€Å"lomas† formations are individually not very rich in species (mostly fewer than 100 spp. ), they have a very high degree of endemism due to their insular nature. The overall lomas flora includes nearly 1000 species, mostly annuals or geophytes. Diversity and endemism in the lomas formations generally increase southward, where cacti and other succulents are also increasingly represented (M uller 1985; Rundel  et al. 991). Montane vegetation The main montane-forest area of the neotropics is associated with the Andes. A major but more interrupted montane-forest strip is associated with the mountainous backbone of Central America. Venezuela's Cordillera de la Costa phytogeographically is essentially an Andean extension, although geologically distinct from the Eastern Cordillera of the Colombian Andes. The tepui summits of the Guayana Highlands, though small in area, constitute a highly distinctive and phytogeographically fascinating montane environment.The Serra do Mar along Brazil's south-eastern coast is mostly low elevation but has a few peaks reaching above treeline with a depauperate paramo-like vegetation. The Andes may be conveniently recognized in three segments: northern – Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador; central-Peru and Bolivia; and southern-Chile and Argentina. In general the northern Andes are wetter, the central and southern regions drier. The main biogeographic discontinuity in the Andean forests is associated with the HuancabambaDepression in northern Peru, where the extensive system of dry interAndean valleys of the Maranon River and its tributaries entirely bisects the Eastern Cordillera and is associated with a topographically complex region having unusually high local endemism. Treeline in the tropical Andes occurs around 3500 m, depending on latitude and local factors. Above treeline, the wet grass-dominated vegetation of the Venezuelan, Colombian and northern Ecuadorian Andes is termed â€Å"paramo†; this drier vegetation, occurring from Peru to Argentina and Chile, is the â€Å"puna†.Colombian and Venezuelan paramos are characterized by  Espeletia  (Compositae) with its typical pachycaul-rosette growth form. The vegetation above treeline of most of Ecuador and northernmost Peru, locally called â€Å"jalca† in Peru, is ecologically as well as geographically intermediate; although generally cal led paramo in Ecuador, this region lacks the definitive  Espeletia  aspect of the typical northern paramos. While individual high-Andean plant communities are not very rich in species, many different communities can occur in close proximity in broken montane terrain.Thus the several high-Andean sites for which Florulas are available (Cleef 1981; Smith 1988; Galeano 1990; Ruthsatz 1977) have between 500-800 species, approaching the size of some lowland tropical Florulas. The moist Andean slopes generally show a distinctive floristic zonation, with woody plant diversity decreasing linearly with altitude from c. 1500 m to treeline. Below 1500 m Andean forests are generally similar both in floristic composition and diversity to equivalent samples of lowland forest. There are also structural changes at different elevations.For example hemi-epiphytic climbers show a strong peak in abundance between 1500-2400 m, epiphytes are usually more numerous in middleelevation cloud forests, and the stem density of woody plants is usually greater at higher elevations (Gentry 1992a). While the northern Andes have cloud forest on both western and eastern slopes, increasing aridity south from the Equator limits cloud forest to an ever narrower band on the Pacific slope. South of 7 °S latitude, forest on the western slopes of the Andes is restricted to isolated protected pockets, and the predominant slope vegetation becomes chaparral, thorn scrub and desert.One of the most striking features of the Andes phytogeographically is the high level of floristic endemism. In part this is associated with the discontinuity of high-altitude vegetation types, which are strongly fragmented into habitat islands. In addition to microgeographic allopatric speciation related to habitat fragmentation, it seems likely that unusually dynamic speciation, perhaps associated with genetic drift in small founder populations, may be a prevalent evolutionary theme in Andean cloud forests (Gentry and Dod son 1987; Gentry 1989).The combination of high local endemism (Gentry 1986a, 1993a; Luteyn 1989; Henderson, Churchill and Luteyn 1991) with major deforestation makes the Andes one of South America's conservationally most critical regions. As with the dry forests, the Andean forests have recently begun to receive greater conservation attention (Henderson, Churchill and Luteyn 1991; Young and Valencia 1992). Estimates of deforestation for the northern Andes as a whole are generally over 90%.Some areas are even more critical – perhaps less than 5% of Colombia's high-altitude montane forests remain (Hernandez-C. 1990) and only c. 4% of the original forest persists on the western Andean slopes of Ecuador (Dodson and Gentry 1991). Most of the northern Peruvian Andes are similarly deforested (cf. Dillon 1994). Although relatively extensive forests still remain on the Amazonfacing slopes of Peru and Bolivia, much of this area is being actively deforested, in large part to grow  "coca† (Erythroxylum coca) and opium poppy (Papaver somniferum). FloraFrom a conservation perspective, the neotropical region merits very special attention. Just as South America is sometimes called the â€Å"bird continent†, the neotropics might well be termed the â€Å"plant continent† in deference to their uniquely rich botanical diversity (Table 50). If current estimates are accurate, the neotropical region contains 90,000-100,000 plant species, twice to nearly three times as many as in either tropical Africa or tropical Australasia (cf. Prance 1994). The last great places for plant collecting are in the northern half of South America (J.Wurdack 1995, pers. comm. ), which is two to four times less documented by herbarium specimens than elsewhere in the tropics (cf. Campbell 1989). Some of the main relatively unexplored areas (according to Wurdack) are, in Brazil: Serra de Tumucumaque (Tumuc-Humac Mountains), along the border with Surinam and French Guiana; sl opes, especially the eastern slopes, of Pico da Neblina; in north-western Mato Grosso State, along the Linea Telegrafica; in Venezuela: slopes and talus forests of the tepuis; aramos west of Pinango (north of Merida); eastern slopes to Paramo de Tama (State of Merida, near border with Colombia); in Colombia: Paramo de Frontino (west of Medellin); Cuatrecasas' headwater localities of collection in western Colombia, particularly in the Department of Valle del Cauca (cf. Cuatrecasas 1958); upper elevations of the Serrania de La Macarena (Department of Meta); in Ecuador: Cordillera de Los Llanganates (which is east of Ambato) (cf.Kennerley and Bromley 1971); Cordillera de Cutucu (Province of Morona-Santiago); Cordillera del Condor, along the border with Peru; in Peru: elevations above 700 m of the Cerros Campanquiz, which are mostly in the Department of Amazonas; the eastern cordillera in the Department of Amazonas, Province of Chachapoyas (e. g. the Cerro de las Siete Lagunas east of C erro Campanario); portions of the Cordillera de Vilcabamba (which is north-west of Cusco), including the northern Cutivireni region (Villa-Lobos 1995); and in Bolivia: the easternmost Andes and granitic outliers in the Department of Santa Cruz.Floristic diversity is very asymmetrically distributed in South America (cf. Table 51). If the nine phytogeographic regions recognized by Gentry (1982a) for the neotropics are taken as a basis, Central America with Mexico (Mesoamerica) and Amazonia are the richest in species, with each of these two regions having about a quarter of the neotropical total. At the opposite extreme, the Antilles have an estimated 9% of the total neotropical flora and the Caribbean coastal region of Colombia and Venezuela has only 8%.The minuscule area of the Guayana Highlands (above 1500 m) accounts for only c. 2. 5% of the neotropical flora, but has one of the highest rates of endemism (65%) in the region (Berry, Huber and Holst 1995). The three main tropical Sou th American dry areas together include a relatively low 11% of the neotropical species total. Intermediate levels of regional plant species richness are found in the Northern Andean and Southern Andean regions and the Mata Atlantica area of Brazil, which each have between 16-18% of the tropical flora of the neotropical region.Regional endemism is greatest in Amazonia including lowland Guayana (76%), but almost as great in coastal Brazil (73%) and the chacocerradocaatinga dry areas (73%). In contrast, those two Andean subregions, Central America, and the Antilles have endemism levels of 54-60%, and the northern Colombia/Venezuela region only 24%. Farther south in the Southern Cone of South America, the monte of Argentina is estimated to include 700 species with 5% endemism, and Patagonia 1200 species with 30% endemism.Chile as a whole has 5215 species (Marticorena and Quezada 1985; Marticorena 1990), with 1800-2400 in the Mediterranean-climate area of central Chile where endemism is high, perhaps greater than for any of the equivalent tropical regions. The reasons for the unique floristic diversity of the neotropics as compared to Africa or tropical Australasia continue to be hotly debated. A popular theory is allopatric multiplication of species in habitat-island forest refugia during Pleistocene glacial advances (Haffer 1969; Prance 1973, 1982). Africa, which is higher and drier, would have had fewer refugia and more extinction.Tropical Asia was less affected, being buffered by the nearby ocean due to the island status of its components and by its proximity to a rain source from the Pacific (the world's largest ocean). Other theories, not necessarily mutually exclusive (cf. Terborgh and Winter 1982), focus on explosive speciation in the more extensive cloud-forest area of the neotropics (Gentry 1982a, 1989; Gentry and Dodson 1987); â€Å"Endlerian† speciation associated with habitat specialization in the uniquely complicated habitat mosaic of north-wes tern and north-central Amazonia (Gentry 1986a, 1989; Gentry and Ortiz-S. 993); speciation associated with riverine barriers to gene flow in the largest river system of the world (Capparella 1988; Ducke and Black 1953); or biogeographical phenomena associated with the Great American Interchange and stemming from the direct juxtaposition of Laurasian and Gondwanan elements via the Isthmus of Panama (Gentry 1982a; Marshall  et al. 1979). Social and environmental values, and economic importance The indigenous groups (nations) of South America (Gray 1987) are varyingly diverse peoples who often partly depend directly on the natural environment for their biological and cultural well or survival.Their approximate presence is shown inTable 52. As the site of one of the Vavilovian centres of domestication, South America has played an important role in providing plants useful to people. The Andean centre of domestication rivals the Indo-Malayan and Mediterranean areas as the region that has produced the most important crop plants. Tobacco, potatoes, grain amaranths, quinoa, peanuts, lima beans, kidney beans, tomatoes and perhaps sweet potatoes and pineapples all derive from the Peruvian Andes and immediately adjacent egions (Anderson 1952). Based on land-race diversity, western Amazonia was the centre of domestication of a series of less well-known but increasingly important crops, including â€Å"pejibaye† or peach palm (Bactris gasipaes), â€Å"biriba† or â€Å"anona† (Rollinia mucosa), â€Å"abiu† or â€Å"caimito† (Pouteria caimito), â€Å"sapota† (Quararibea cordata), â€Å"araza† (Eugenia stipitata), â€Å"uvilla† (Pourouma cecropiifolia) and â€Å"cubiu† or â€Å"cocona† (Solanum sessiliflorum) (Clement 1989).Of the 86 major crops and their more than 100 species included in a summary of crop plant evolution (Simmonds 1976), 24 crops are neotropical in origin either wholly (19) or partly (5). Also, a host of South American forest plants are used locally but have not reached world commerce. Amazonia is especially rich in wild fruits (e. g. Duke and Vasquez 1994). For example around Iquitos, Peru, 139 species of forest-harvested fruits are regularly consumed, 57 of them important enough to be sold in the local produce market (Vasquez and Gentry 1989).There are a multitude of other uses for neotropical plants. Gentry (1992b) notes that 38% of the Bignoniaceae species of north-western South America have specific ethnobotanical uses and suggests that this could be extrapolated to 10,000 species with uses in this part of the world alone. Many studies have shown that the direct economic value of such products can be very high (e. g. Peters, Gentry and Mendelsohn 1989; Balick and Mendelsohn 1992).In a single hectare of speciesrich tropical forest near Iquitos, 454 of the 858 trees and lianas of dbh 10 cm or more have actual or potential uses (Gentry 1986c), with the hectare of f orest potentially producing US$650 worth of fruit and US$50 worth of rubber per year. If the 93 m? of sellable timber worth US$1000 is included, the net present value of the hectare of forest is US$9000, far more than the net present value of managed plantations or cattle-ranching.Additionally, the major role of forested areas in controlling erosion, recycling rainfall and as a carbon sink are now well known. As the territory with the largest tropical forest remaining in the world, South America plays a major role in providing such regional and planetary environmental services. Return to Top Loss, threats and conservation Although the neotropical region has the most forest, it is also losing more forest each year than any other area of tropical forest (Myers 1982; Reid 1992).In western Ecuador only 4% of the original forest cover remains (Dodson and Gentry 1991). Much attention has focused on Brazil, which includes 48% of the South American area. Perhaps the most definitive satellit e analysis of deforestation in Amazonia to date (Skole and Tucker 1993) indicates that as of 1988 only c. 10% of Brazilian Amazonia had been deforested, but if allowance is made for a 1-km edge effect, fully 20% of Brazilian Amazonia had been impacted. Deforestation in Rondonia alone has been c. 4000 km? per year, reaching almost 40,000 km? r 15% of the state by 1989 (Malingreau and Tucker 1988; Fearnside 1991). In coastal Brazil estimates of surviving forest range from 2% (IUCN and WWF 1982) to 12% (Brown and Brown 1992). Burgeoning populations are the biggest factor in the ongoing losses, although political and economic instability in some areas, and short-sighted â€Å"development† programmes in other areas, also play significant roles. In most of the neotropics, unlike much of the Old World, commercial lumbering operations have played a relatively small role so far.Conservational awareness throughout the region has increased dramatically in the past few years. Not only ar e increasing numbers of National Parks and similar conservation units being set aside, but there is also rapidly growing interest in the possibility of sustainable use of tropical forests as a conservation strategy. Unfortunately many destructive and unsustainable uses of forest can masquerade behind the banner of sustainable use. Making this promising new concept fulfil its potential remains a major challenge.Similarly the growing appreciation of the potential value of biodiversity has been accompanied by too much political preoccupation and posturing about sovereignty over potential genetic resources. Despite such problems, it is clear that the diversity of rain-forest plant life is intrinsically valuable. South America, botanically the richest continent, is also the greatest repository of potentially useful plants. Conservation of South America's plant diversity is clearly a world conservational priority.

Art review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 5

Art review - Essay Example The arm chair holds a distended fish. The painting holds an obvious joke that the placed fish corresponds to the efforts of the fishermen in the painting within a painting (Mason, pp. 6-9). The extra thin paint is light, warm and beautiful, and the paint is handled in an elegant manner. The painting is oil on canvas, measuring74"x 60" thus bringing out the objects in a clear way. He paints the objects in an extraordinary skill with his palette austere and refined. The painting follows a tradition of still-life work, while it fixes moments of time. The various objects in the painting give the viewers the reassurance of the ongoing life. The picture shows the actual life an ordinary homestead. The painting approach the light as it looks off the wall. Scott has incorporated a twist of humor and a very casual incongruity of the objects assuring the viewers that it is an ongoing scenario. It is a simple but a carefully thought painting with a hidden meaning and expression. The painting blends in reality and metaphor

Modern Art, Culture and Issues of Class and Gender Essay

Modern Art, Culture and Issues of Class and Gender - Essay Example The essay "Modern Art, Culture and Issues of Class and Gender" investigates culture and modern art, issues of class and gender. Still we see such cases in our daily life involving gender and class discrimination. Though we have stepped into 21st century but our society is still male dominated. Women are not given equal rights to most of the parts of this world. Gender discrimination is most common issue in both urban and rural areas, though a bit high in rural areas of different countries of the world. On the other hand class discrimination has little suppressed due to literacy and education among people but till today people are categorized in classes on religion, money and power basis. Hinduism class system is an existing example. Here we are discussing the art work of three different artists, all portraying visual culture and all pin pointing the class and gender issues in our society. Ewa Lajer-Burcharth is a professor at Harvard University of fine arts major of history of arts a nd architecture. She is also an author of numerous writings. Her renowned work Necklines: The Art of Jacques-Louis David after the Terror is one great achievement. In this work she describes the masterpiece of the French painter Jacques-Louis David. This painting portrays the height of brutality done with Sabine women during the French revolution. Ewa has done justice with this artwork by giving proper details and the main message of the artwork. She has not only cited this but also the crisis of professional life. of Jacques-Louis David. The book starts with keen examination of the artwork produced by David in the prison which the author thinks is his self-representation, the inner him. Further on she discusses the involvement and the memories of the artist in the revolution, which revolves around the Sabine Women. She collected the preparatory drawing of the actual painting from his sketch book. She has discussed the body language and body construction beautifully. This art work l ed to major changes in the history of gender relation in French society and their laws. Coming on Linda Nochlin, she is an American professor, art historian and a writer. She is notable by the fact that she dedicated all her work in representing the true image of a woman. We are discussing one of her famous work named as Dealing with Degas: Representations of Women and the Politics of Vision.  This work talks about certain collection of art pieces interrelated to each other. Linda Nochlin wrote a part in it which discusses The Bellelli Family, especially women of this family. It represents the picture of a woman whose core interest was to pinch the burning question of that time which was gender discrimination. Linda Nochlin has done a marvelous job in describing the Degas artwork, a woman is no less equal to a man and there is no house which can be home without her. The artwork of Degas shows that there was a passionless relation and an emotional disjunction between family’ s man and woman. Last but not the least, coming onto the third book â€Å"The Painting of Modern Life: Paris in the Art of Manet and His Followers† by T.J. Clark who is an historian and also a writer. This book discusses mainly the artwork of Edouard Manet and his followers. Manet without discriminating on class has portrayed the image of the bar-maids and courtesan. Through the nudity, he displayed the equality of women over the men of the society. His every art piece speaks for the freedom of women. T.J. Clarks in the book explains

LEGAL ENVIRONMENT 4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

LEGAL ENVIRONMENT 4 - Essay Example to get the contract approved by the Niger president. The bribes were accepted by the Niger officials and the contract to supply arms went through. Analysis : According to the provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act it is unlawful for any U.S. citizen / company, to bribe or to make a corrupt payment to a foreign official of any govt. or company for the sole purpose of obtaining or retaining business in order to beat the competition. According to the Anti- Bribery provisions of the FCPA it applies to any individual, firm, officer, director, employee, or agent of a firm and any stockholder acting on behalf of a firm. Also the person who makes or authorizes of making the payment should have a corrupt intention, and the payment must be directed to induce the recipient to misuse his official position to direct business wrongfully to the payer or to any other person. -- The FCPA completely prohibits payments, making a offer of bribe, or making a promise to pay (or authorizing a third party or intermediary to pay or offer) money or anything of value. The prohibition applies to any foreign public official irrespective of his ra nk or position, it also extends of making corrupt payments to a foreign political party or party official, or any candidate for foreign political office. According to FCPA the prohibition applies to payments made in order to assist the firm / company in obtaining or retaining business for or with, or directing business to, any person. ( S 78dd-2. Prohibited foreign trade practices by domestic concerns).Now if we analyze the facts of the Niger case in light of the provisions of the FCPA the case is crystal clear. In the Niger case the Vice President of NAPCO Richard H. Liebo was directly involved in first promising to pay one Captain Ali Tiemogo, chief of maintenance for the Niger Air Force in return for getting the contract of supply of arms by NAPCO to be approved by the president. Even later, Liebo was directly involved as a representative of NAPCO in paying bribes to Captain Ali Tiemogo and his cousin Tahirou Barke who incidentally was also the first consular for the Niger Embass y in Washington,DC. NAPCO issued commission checks to three "agents" identified as Amadou Mailele, Captain Tiemogo's brother-in-law; Fatouma Boube, Captain Tiemogo's sister-in-law; and Miss E. Dave, Mr. Barke's girlfriend. It is immaterial that Neither Mr. Mailele, Ms. Boube, nor Ms Dave, however, received the commission checks or acted as NAPCO's agent and these individuals were merely intermediaries through whom NAPCO made payments to Captain Tiemogo and Mr. Barke as according to FCPA even payments made to or through intermediaries is liable to prosecution. Even the fact that neither NAPCO's corporate president, Henri Jacob, nor another superior of Mr. Liebo's approved the payment of these "commission payments." is immaterial and NAPCO is liable for prosecution as per the penal provisions of FCPA. This position is also supported by the judicial decisions in United States of America, Appellee, vs. Robert Richard KING, Appellant.( 2003 WL 22938694 (8th Cir.(Mo) and USA versus David Kay(Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas(No. Crim.A.H-01-914)

The Penalty Phase Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Penalty Phase - Essay Example To add on this, the jury already had a verdict; Esherman was guilty of more than 30 charges against him. He was convicted of mutilating, raping and murdering 17 teenage girls. Shortly after this verdict was given, Hoffman is tipped by about violation of the defendant’s rights during interrogation. He finds out that the evidences used against Esherman were not obtained legally. The search warrant used was invalid thus the arresting officers had violated Esherman’s constitutional rights. This renders the whole procedure void. Further probing reveals corruption on part of the district attorneys and lawyers, some of whom are running on Hoffman’s political slate. Hoffman realizes that if he undertakes the appropriate legal action, he will definitely destroy his political career. He is caught in the middle of a legal storm and is faced with a profound legal dilemma: Should he honor every stroke of the law, and incur public wrath and loose every hope of being re-elected or should he deliver justice to the perpetrator and risk destroying his political life? The ethical dilemma from the perspective of each main character The main characters in the movie are Hoffman, Esherman, the prosecutor, and Hoffman’s main opponent, Susan Jansen. Hoffman feels that he has a legal obligation to defend the rule of law and consequently Esherman’s rights. ... According to them, nothing should be reversed in favor of Esherman and this is seen when Jansen takes advantage of the media coverage to popularize an image of Hoffman as a liberal who is soft on criminals. How the dilemma was resolved Hoffman’s ultimate actions and rationale represents the part of the movie that was splendidly executed. Having considered his personal, public and legal interests, Hoffman decided to rule the case in favor of Esherman. Through a clear interpretation of the law and especially in regard to the legality of evidences, Hoffman declared the whole process invalid because of the violation of the defendants and the corruption involved. He based his exclusion of the evidence on the way it was obtained. In doing so, Hoffman already beat his opponents by throwing the blame to the police for their unwarranted conduct when collecting evidence and satisfying the interests of the public by according justice to Esherman. The kind of ethical framework that best d escribes how the dilemma was analyzed and resolved. The kind of ethical framework that describes how the dilemma was analyzed and resolved is the need for zealous prosecution. This ethical framework requires that legal professionals should not only seek to prosecute. They should also seek for justice for the offenders including those found guilty. This framework is based on ethical theories like rule utilitarianism. This theory supports the exclusionary rule because the long-term impacts of allowing illegal police behaviour will be more costly than allowing one criminal free. This framework therefore supports the power to use discretion among judges. Pollock (2004) explains that the use of discretion occurs in

Love and Divorce in Lifespan Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Love and Divorce in Lifespan Development - Essay Example By virtue of critically analyzing various stages of development, it can be noted that some of these situations which may take place can end up affecting someone’s future love life. According to Erikson’s theory of socio-emotional development, an individual has to go through four different stages before reaching adolescence. These four stages include Trust versus Mistrust, Autonomy versus Shame and Doubt, Initiative versus Guilt, and Accomplishment/Industry versus Inferiority (Rosenthal, Gurney, & Moore, 1981). If these stages yield no changes when the individual goes through them, it can prove to be a negative development to that person as he or she gets older. If a child does not understand the difference between trust and mistrust, he or she will find that it is difficult to implement them in a future relationship. This is an important stage to see positive development in children. John Piaget also concurs with Erikson’s theory of socio-emotional development. He believes that by the time a child reaches adolescence, he should have already developed the ability to think in terms of reality, to make decisions based on his or her own perceptions, and to observe the environment (Piaget, 1997). These are some of the skills that play important roles as the individual begins to form relationships with others. The decisions that they make in terms of their relationships can affect the way they grow. If they are unable to assess reality and their environment, this will have a bearing on the type of relationship they will have. This also determines the situation that would suit them best which may be risky in that it can strain their future relationships.

Seven(david Fincher,1995) Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Seven(david Fincher,1995) - Research Paper Example The movie is immersed in Christian culture and imagery, with emphasis on the way that sins or crimes that were once considered to be repulsive, immoral and horrific are now accepted and generally ignored. As a motif the seven deadly sins are widely known, and generally accepted as part of Christian culture. Despite popular belief, the idea of there being seven specific sins does not originate from the bible, but reports of the current list date back to the 6th century . Pope Gregory the First, and Saint Thomas Aquinas also reaffirmed the list, ingraining it into the Catholic church in the process . The list was made famous in Dante’s The Divine Comedy an epic poem that describes the journey that Dante took through Heaven, Purgatory and Hell. In his examination of Purgatory, Dante details seven levels of torture each of which is associated with one of the seven deadly sins: pride, envy, wrath, sloth, greed, gluttony and lust. In Dante’s poem, each sinner is punished base d on which of the seven sins they were the most involved with during their life . The Divine Comedy itself is mentioned numerous times throughout the movie, with Somerset using it as a reference when he begins to suspect that the modusoperandi for the killer is the seven deadly sins, as described by Dante. ... This is considered a sin as it provides for the body while neglecting the soul and the mind. In addition, gluttony on the part of one individual often leads to not enough food for the poor and hungry .This is the only murder for which the name of the sin is not immediately obvious (Somerset finds it written behind the fridge on reexamining the scene), although most viewers already know of the role that the seven sins play through advertising for the movie and even the title itself. Much like the sinners in Dante’s purgatory, the murder victim was punished in such a way as to fit his crime. He was fed spaghetti sauce continuously until a kick to the stomach from the murderer finally killed him. When John Doe, the psychopath that the detectives are chasing, later talks about the victim, he does so with disgust. He considers that someone who eats as much as the victim should be the brut of jokes, that being around them would make most people sick. In society in general, gluttony is an interesting sin, and one that bears a complex and fascinating history. Until the beginning of the Renaissance, the main danger of gluttony as a sin was based on the idea of people becoming obsessed with food to the point of idolatry. It was thought that a person who became focused on food in this manner would be diverted from following God. As society advanced, fear of gluttony as a sin decreased, and signs of overeating became evidence of wealth and means. Over the last 50 or so years, society has shifted again, with concerns about the way that overeating affects health, and a heavy focus on body image. As such, gluttony has once more been brought to the forefront, although now it is considered less as a sin and more as something

Optical Distortion, Inc Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Optical Distortion, Inc - Case Study Example The aim was to increase the egg production and meat for its customers. The firm, serving in most regions in the United States, has increased its revenue and is making substantial margins from the sale of eggs The population of birds continues to grow not only in the US but it is rapidly spreading to other parts such as Europe, South America and Latin America. It has increased the efficiency of poultry production by reducing the psychological stress and trauma caused by debeaking and cannibalism.. However, the main challenge has been price fixing as farmers would not want to be exploited or exorbitantly charged. The ODI continues to penetrate new and unexploited markets through timely strategies set by its executives. It has gained reputation in the last 50 years due to excellent customer excellence, cost leadership and continued research and development in the industry. Through timely panning, execution and evaluation of its marketing and other programs, it has gained and continues t o gain a larger market share in the industry. ANALYSIS Consumer Orientation A critical analysis of the firm reveals a set of problems that faces the firm. First, it how to hedge the ever increasing costs when farmers respond negatively to any increase in price. As the pointed out in the article, farmers would wish prices to remain low and affordable. This is regardless of many benefits a farmer derives from the services offered by the technical specialists from the firm such as reduced cannibalism, less trauma and greater feeding efficiency. It is pointed that advertising and promotional costs can only be offset if prices go beyond $0.08 per pair. Consumers learn about products from the advertising campaigns enacted and executed by the firm through promotional tools like trade shows, exhibition and newspapers in both local and national papers. Brand Awareness Consumers are well informed about the optical lenses manufactured by the firm as shown by the increasing population of birds in the all regions surveyed. A thorough examination of the chicken census reveals an upwards trend and has an incremental percentage of 6. %.It can deductively be revealed that more and more consumers both individual and organizational have favorable and regular purchasing patterns. Furthermore, through the services of breed and other extension service officers, consumers are motivated to purchase from the firm stocks. Company Capacity Optical Distortion Inc is worried about the costs that may soar higher with an increase in services without rising of prices. As evidenced from the financial statements, is an upcoming firm in the industry with a leaner budget and high production costs than the already established companies. Due to its limited resources and stiff competition from the mature firms, one of the executives is really worried about costs. The executive is indifference as whether to increase the advertising and promotional costs without increasing the price, as it will impac t negatively on its financial performance. Its capacity is further tainted by the firm’s dedication by the management as none of them, if fully devoted to the affairs of the company. As pointed out p6, their financial and managerial is limited as evidenced on the company’s balance sheet. However, the company has adopted offensive strategies of diversification, innovation and product development to suit a variety of needs of customers. Collaboration

707 week 6 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

707 week 6 - Assignment Example It is however relatively expensive, has limited scope, and may be susceptible to environmental factors. Interviews involves oral presentation of prompts to which a research participant respond and could be face to face or involve the use of technologies such as phones or computer and internet applications for oral and visual communication over long distances. Unlike in observation, interviews involve the research participants and therefore induce threats of participant bias though it offers more in-depth information. Questionnaires, however, have written prompts and establish a distinction between a researcher and research participants. It is less expensive, convenient, and flexible, and the use of technology, such as in online enhances these advantages (Kothari, 2004). A research aims at developing knowledge, from existing data, for solving a problem or bridging information gap and reliability and validity ensures realization of the aims. Reliability defines consistency in data and ensures that results and implications are consistent with identified problem while validity ensures accuracy in knowledge development for addressing a research problem (Heavey, 2014). It is necessary to code collected data before analysis because coding aligns data with analysis objectives and selected analysis technique (Lester, 2013). Gender is one of the identified variables and 1 will represent male while 2 will represent

Trench Life During World War One Essay Example for Free

Trench Life During World War One Essay The life of a soldier in the trenches during World War I was unimaginable to the people back home in Canada. Soldiers carried out their duty to their country in the most horrifying conditions. The trenches were rivers of mud and blood, food rations were very basic and designed only to keep the soldiers alive, hygiene was non-existent, and military direction was poor as these men fought for their country. Constant shelling and gas attacks made many soldiers feel that death was imminent and a great deal of men suffered from mental breakdowns due to the war. During World War I soldiers spent most of their time involved in trench warfare. A typical day in the trenches began at night when the sentry was relieved and replaced. This individual was responsible for watching No Mans Land and reporting changes to the man sitting with him. The companion of the sentry would then inform the platoon officer about changes in No Mans Land. Men in the trenches at night sat around telling stories, smoking cigarettes, and writing home. It was too uncomfortable and crowded to sleep wearing all their ammunition and clothes. When a soldier did doze off he was likely to awake startled as a rat passed over his face. When morning finally came rum was issued and then breakfast was served. The soldiers would try and sleep in the morning and then have dinner at 12:30pm. Four oclock was teatime and then it was night again. The days of the soldiers were filled with idleness if the men were not involved in combat. Every four days the soldiers were relieved from the trenches and sent to billets for four days of rest. A typical day in the billets would see the soldiers getting up at six oclock, washing, taking part in roll call and inspection, having breakfast, and then participating in drills with the company at 8:45am. At around 11:30am the soldiers were dismissed, had dinner, and were then on their own for the rest of the day if they had not signed up for a digging or working party. During the soldiers four days of rest they were sometimes ordered to visit the Divisional Baths. The Divisional Baths contained a bathroom with 15 tubs (barrels sawed in half) half-filled with water and containing a piece of laundry soap. The men were told they had twelve minutes to take their baths and then the water would be turned off even if the men were still soapy. After their baths the  soldiers were treated to clean underwear and sent back to the billets. The conditions that the soldiers had to deal with while living in either the trenches or billets were inhuman. Men in the trenches were surrounded by the horrific smell of death. Soldiers killed in the trenches would lie unburied for months and when they were eventually buried they had hardly enough earth over them to conceal their clothes. In some cases the dead were only covered by chloride of lime or became unearthed by shells. There were so many dead soldiers that eventually collection points were set up to collect the bodies. Wounded men in the trenches were given little time to recover and were then sent back to the front lines. Shelter from gunfire was hard to find. Sometimes the soldiers hid in holes with no overhead cover and when it rained the holes would fill up and the men would be flooded out. Even the trenches were waste deep in mud when it rained hard. The rain soaked everything including their clothes and their rations. Rats constantly scurried through the trenches an d lice plagued the soldiers. The soldiers equipment was heavy and poorly made. An ordinary pack was heavy to start with and even heavier when the soldiers were told to pack machine guns and ammunition. Bad shoes gave a lot of soldiers painful blisters. Their boots were so badly made that their toes stuck out and the holes had to be patched up with newspaper or cardboard. Moving from one area of engagement to another was very difficult. This was usually done at night and many soldiers got lost in the dark trying to relieve other soldiers. Moving to another trench was also life threatening due to the constant shelling. Sometimes the soldiers traveled from one place to another by train. Box cars, that had never been cleaned and had little protection from the elements, transported the soldiers for up to twelve hours. It was a very uncomfortable journey and the soldiers ended up stiff and wet. Nights in the trenches were spent repairing damaged trenches with barbed wire, filling sandbags, and digging new trenches, instead of sleeping. Soldiers were also sent out into No Mans Land, crawling about on their  hand and knees, to find out information about the enemies military plans. It was too cold for the soldiers to sleep with no blankets and they could not even try to keep warm by exercising. Exercising would have the soldiers moving around too much, making them targets for the enemy. When the men did try to sleep they often froze. Even though the soldiers were supposed to only spend four days at a time in the trenches it often ended up being longer. In fierce battles the men were sometimes in the trenches for up to twenty days with practically no food or water, and very little sleep. When the soldiers came out of the trenches they were enclosed in a practically bullet-proof casing of mud. The men then had to march from the trenches to the billets and were often shot down on their way. Life in the billets was not really much of a rest. Cleaning muddy clothes for inspection was not easy and in the evening the soldiers had to carry rations or mail up to the trenches. The men also helped the cook chop wood or helped the quartermaster draw coal. The billets were better then the trenches but still far from being luxurious. An old stable previously occupied by cows or tents with no floorboards usually served as shelter. These tents got very wet when it rained, making it difficult to get a decent comfortable sleep, and were very crowded. The camps were very untidy and littered with refuse. Food supplied to the soldiers was very basic. Rations were brought up to the trenches every night. These rations included all the bully beef a soldier could eat, biscuits, cheese, tinned butter (seventeen men to a tin), jam or marmalade, bread (ten men to a loaf), tea and stew when possible. Sometimes the soldiers made Trench pudding consisting of broken biscuits, condensed milk, jam, and water flavored with mud. This concoction was cooked over a spirit stove in a canteen until it became the consistency of glue. Soldiers also received parcels of foodstuffs, cigarettes, [and] candy from back home to add to their menu. In the trenches each soldier also carried emergency rations in case they were cut off from supplies. These rations included one tin of bully beef, four biscuits, and a tin containing tea, sugar, and oxo cubes. Rations issued while soldiers where stationed in the billets were a little bit better. Rations for nineteen men for one day would include six loaves of bread (loaves were of different sizes and usually at least one was flattened, possibly caused by someone putting a can of bully beef on top of it during transport), three tins of jam (one apple, two plum), seventeen Bermuda onions, a piece of cheese in the shape of a wedge, two one pound tins of butter, a handful of raisins, a tin of biscuits, and a bottle of mustard pickles. In the billets the soldiers also received spuds, condensed milk, fresh meat, bacon, Maconochie Rations (can filled with meat, vegetables and greasy water), tea, sugar, salt, pepper, and flour. Out of these rations three men shared one loaf of bread, seven to twelve men shared one tin of jam, nine soldiers shared a pound of butter, and each man got an onion and a small portion of cheese. The bottle of pickles was usually drawn for; everyone put their name in a hat and the last name left in the hat got the pickles. The soldiers were also issued between twenty and forty cigarettes every Sunday morning and paid twenty-four cents a day. This money was spent on fresh eggs, milk, bread, pastry, and an occasional tin of pears or apricots. Constant shelling at the front was one of the most difficult things for a soldier to endure. Shelling was especially dangerous during the winter when the ground was frozen. The shell[s] [would burst] on impact and the bits [went] out sideways and [were] very dangerous over a radius of a hundred yards or so. When it was muddy the shells would penetrate into the mud a ways before exploding, therefore they were not as dangerous. There was a constant threat from the shrapnel of shells that exploded very close to the soldiers. Flying shrapnel commonly killed wounded men carried out on stretchers. Attacks on the enemy were almost always preceded by artillery bombardments to try and get more soldiers out of the trenches and over onto the enemys side. Millions of shells were fired each day with thirty percent of the shells failing to explode due to poor manufacturing. About one out of every ten shells contained poisonous gas. Shells damaged wells, decreasing the amount of fresh water available to the soldiers, and partially buried people without killing them. Soldiers throwing bombs often held them for too  long, before throwing them, to make sure the bombs were not thrown back by the enemy. This led to many soldiers losing arms, hands or even being killed altogether. Shell shock was one of the most common ailments to affect soldiers during the war. For every one thousand men with physical wounds ËÅ"combat stress affected a further two hundred. Ninety-eight percent of fighting men cracked after thirty-five days of active front line fighting. Only two percent of soldiers enjoyed battle and did not crack; doctors considered these people to be aggressive psychopaths. Many men found it very difficult to bring themselves to fire a gun even when being fired upon. A lot of soldiers became sick to their stomach, felt faint, and lost control of their bowels in battle. Men sent to the base suffering from battle fatigue were often sent back to the front lines, by doctors who said they were fine. One example of this is a man who was mentally and physically unfit to be a soldier. He was just like an animal and had not even got the sense to take his trousers down when he needed to relieve himself. This particular man was sent down as mentally deficient three times and sent back to the front lines three times. Eventually he became so unstable that he killed himself. Many soldiers also died due to extreme exhaustion caused by lack of sleep and proper food. Going over the top and into No Mans Land was something every soldier dreaded. Before this event occurred, many men made out their wills or wrote letters home. If the letters reached their destination then that meant the writer had been killed. It was a nerve-racking wait for the bombardment to end so that the soldiers could run to their death. The shelling was so loud the soldiers had to yell [orders] using [their] hands as a funnel into the ear of the man sitting next to them. The soldiers went up scaling ladders, or Ladders of Death as they were called, and tried to make their way as fast as they could over the to the enemy trenches, while the enemy fired upon them. The whole situation was futile, as men running towards guns will surely die. Gas attacks were a common occurrence in the front lines. When a gas attack  was announced the soldiers only had between eighteen and twenty seconds to put on their masks and try to save themselves. The gas helmets carried by the soldiers were made of cloth treated with chemicals, had two glass windows to see through, and a rubber-covered tube on the inside through which the soldier exhaled (the tube was constructed so that the user could not inhale through it). The soldier inhaled through the nose and the gas filled air passed through the cloth helmet and was neutralized. Each soldier had to carry two of these helmets in a waterproof bag at all times in case one of them did not work. These helmets often gave the soldiers headaches and were only good for five hours of the strongest gas. When a gas attack did occur the gas quickly filled the trenches and lurked around for two or three days until the air [was] purified by means of large chemical sprayers. Animals suffered the most as they had no masks and had very little chance of outrunning a gas cloud. The soldiers in the front lines also had to deal with poor military planning. Few preparations were done before a battle and artillery bombardments were poorly planned. Orders were not promptly given to fill in the gaps of attack lines when men were killed and hundreds of thousands of lives were lost to capture a few square miles of mud. Weapons supplied to the soldiers were of poor quality and sometimes ended up killing the user. Orders were often given to retreat and hundreds of soldiers were left out in No Mans Land wounded. These wounded would try to crawl back to the trenches at night or be taken prisoner. Officers led men through shelling, causing casualties and deaths, instead of waiting for the shelling to stop and then continuing on. Officers also often got shot while guiding troops to their new location and then the soldiers were left to fend for themselves. Army discipline during the war was very strict. The punishments ranged from death to humiliation. The worst punishment was death by a firing squad. This punishment was given for desertion, cowardice, mutiny, giving information to the enemy, destroying or willfully wasting ammunition, looting, rape, and robbing the dead. If a man was executed the event was covered up and in the public casualty list their name would have ËÅ"Accidentally Killed or ËÅ"Died written beside it. Where there [was] a doubt as to the willful  guilt of a man who [had] committed an offence punishable by death the individual was given sixty-four days in the front line trench without relief. There were also several other punishments given to soldiers depending on the severity of the crime they committed. Field Punishment #1 included the soldier being attached spread [eagle to] a limber wheel, two hours a day for twenty-one days. During this time the soldier was only given water, bully beef, and biscuits for food. Field Punishment #2 confined the soldier in the ËÅ"Clink with no blankets. The soldier would be punished for twenty-four hours or twenty days with only water, bully beef, and biscuits as rations. Pack Drill was when a soldier was subjected to drilling for two hours wearing full equipment. The men tried to get away with filling their packs with straw, to make them lighter, but usually got caught and were then sentenced to the limber wheel. Confined to Barracks was when a soldier had to stay in his billet from twenty-four hours to seven days as punishment. The life of a soldier during the First World War was cruel and inhuman. The men lived in trenches drowned in mud, surrounded by rats and bodies, and infested with lice. The food supplied to them was barely palatable and the military command in charge was not always well informed. Death surrounded the soldiers as they were constantly fired upon and subject to frequent gas attacks. Although these men were fighting for their country, the high loss of life was hardly worth it.