A woman's right to choose abortion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

A woman's right to choose abortion - Essay Example Though most of the people think that abortion is a moral concern but it is a constitutional issue as well. It is a legal right of women to decide what they want to do with their body and their life without any interference or influence from any other individual. The ninth amendment of the United States of America’s constitution states that: â€Å"The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.† (9th amendment of U.S. constitution). This amendment guarantees the right to have an abortion to the women. Women are legally allowed to have an abortion up to the end of first trimester. If a woman is willing to have an abortion then no one according to the constitution has the right to stop her. It is her private issue and she has complete legal authority to take a decision about it. If anyone goes against the constitution and tries to stop her then he legally is worthy of a punishment. The pro-l ife movement view abortion as a murder and a moral issue. They argue that a woman having an abortion is killing a life. But this not the case as up till the first trimester the fetus is not a baby. So women have complete liberty to have an abortion according to the constitution.

Evaluate the staging of major events using case studies Essay

Evaluate the staging of major events using case studies - Essay Example From humble beginnings as a television show in the U.K. which was then spun off to an American audience, Pop Idol began a reality television show sensation that is now one of the most successfully produced reality television programs at a world wide level. American Idol launched on American television in 2002 after Pop Idol, which began in 2001, was a hit in the U. K. The idol franchise has expanded to include Australia, France, Germany, Sweden, Poland, Iceland, Kazakhstan, Russia, the Pan-Arabic regions, South Africa, India, and Singapore (Hill 2007, 9). A competition was designed to capitalize on the many nations in which an Idol program exists. The show, called World Idol, allowed for winning contestants from all over the world to come and compete. The show was made to be more fair by allowing a total of ten points to come from each voting nation so that no one nation could outvote another by virtue of a more dense population (Hay 2003, 84). By using the hopes and dreams of a world wide audience the Idol franchise is able capitalize on a multi-level system of The success of the program was such that the 20 million or more responses they were getting each week to vote for the viewers’ favorite singers are credited by the phone companies with helping to launch the technology of text messaging because as of 2001 this method of communication had not taken off in the United States the way it had in Asia and northern Europe (Murray & Ouellette 2009, 343). The program is used as a vehicle for consumer driven marketing with product placement and advertisements that are designed specifically to exploit the emotional connection that viewers make with their favorite contestants to generate branding based marketing power. Every aspect of the show that can be exploited is used to generate a product that is designed to sell. The core of the Idol concept is to package

Using animals in medical research

Using animals in medical research Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Throughout history, animals (refers to ‘non-human animals, excluding human) are widely used in different fields. However, the issue of using animals in medical research notably attract public attention because, to many people, it appears unnatural and cruel, even though the number of animals used for other purposes and the ill-effects exposed (eg. blood sport) may often be greater, because the estimated 50 million animals used annually in experiments worldwide only account for about 0.2% of all animals used (Mepham, 2008).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The debate about animal experimentation ranges broadly over two distinct questions. Firstly, do animal research yields useful knowledge that could not be gained from other source and secondly, is it morally acceptable to use animals in a way that cause them harm (Nuffield Councils on Bioethics, 2005). The question of scientific justification is, obviously, fundamental to the question of moral justification. Scientific Justification Justified ‘There could have been no oral polio vaccine without the use of innumerable animals. Without animal research, polio would still be claiming thousands of lives each year. (Sabin, 1995) The primary reason given for using animals in research is that most medical advances since the 19th century have resulted from research using animals (Mepham, 2008). Among the examples are the extraction of first hormone (1902), a chemical treatment for syphilis (1909), isolation of insulin (1920), modern anaesthetics (1920s), kidney transplants (1940s), chemotherapy for leukaemia (1960s), and meningitis vaccine (1980s) (Monamy, 2009; Mepham, 2008). According to Sabin (1995), those who view animal experimentation as useless overlook the fact that it has been instrumental in developing medicines that saved countless human lives, such as the development of polio vaccine in 1957. Next, halting animal research would have unfavourable consequences for human health and welfare since there are no viable alternatives to animal experimentation yet (Mepham, 2008). Paris (1994), too, expressed that ‘all of the work being put into improving health care system will be for nought if we allow a powerful band of self-righteous activists to deny us the privilege of studying non-human animals medical sciences most valuable tool in the fight against disease. Lastly, animal experimentation is justified due to the extensive biological similarities between the physiology of humans and non-human animals (Mepham, 2008). This is supported by Bernard (1865), who stated that ‘the vital units, being of like nature in all living beings, are subjected to the same organic laws Even if the knowledge itself cannot be directly applied to humans, they add to the level of understanding that may eventually be exploited in human medicine (LaFollette Shanks, 1996). In short, animal experimentation is essential to ensure scientific progresses. We live in a modern age where life-threatening diseases are kept at bay to an extraordinary degree, bringing about the majority of us to forget that as recently as 60 years ago, many diseases (eg. TB, polio) were common killers in our society (Monamy, 2009). Unjustified However, there are also people who believe that animal experimentation is scientifically unjustified. For example, Burgos (1996) brought forward the argument that ‘it is impossible to cure a sick human by experimenting on animals, just like how it is not possible to cure a sick cat by experimenting on humans. Every species have different biomechanical and biochemical entity, and it is difficult to extrapolate data from one species to another. Moreover, every species reacts differently to different substances. For instances, aspirin kills cats and penicillin kills guinea pigs. Yet, the same guinea pig can safely eat strychnine- one of the deadliest poisons for human, but not for monkeys. Sheep can swallow enormous amount quantities of arsenic. Potassium cyanide, deadly for humans, is harmless for owl. Supposing that one has chosen the best model for a human disease, it is still difficult to decide the dosage of the drug for humans. The thalidomide tragedy is one of the many examples of how things can go wrong. The sedative drug thalidomide was introduced in 1956 and widely used by pregnant women to reduce nausea and vomiting. But by 1960s, it was identified as the cause of phocomelia- a devastating birth defect in which the limbs do not form properly and long bones in the arms or legs are absence (Mepham, 2008). Another example that shows the limitations of animal studies in assessing human reactions to drugs was dramatically illustrated by the detrimental effects experienced by the six male volunteers to the oral administration of TGN1412, a drug developed to treat rheumatism (Mepham, 2008). Although the drug had been tested on animals without deleterious effect, it produced life-threatening reaction on humans. Ethical Justification Cartesian Today, few will argue that animals are like machines and have no souls, hence granting us the rights to use animals in any ways that we see suited. However, back at the 17th century, this human-centred view was very prevalent. Rene Descartes (1596-1650), especially, played an important role in the early debate. Descartes (1637) believed that ‘the divine gift of soul distinguished the human from all others and the reactions of animals were dismissed as mere reflex. This, as a result, provided a convenient ideology for early vivisectionists (Monamy, 2009). Descartes statement was, also, supported by British psychologist Nicholas Humphrey. ‘Descartes was as nearly right as makes no matter. If we walk down on English country lane, we walk by ourselves. Trees, birds, bees, the rabbit darting down its hole, the cow heavy with milk are all as without insight into their condition as the dummies on show at Madame Tussauds. (Humphrey, 1983) Such views are not widely held anymore, partly due to the fact that studies of self-recognition using chimpanzees and mirrors have shown that some animals are capable of recognising themselves and have self-consciousness (Monamy, 2009). Kantian   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Immanuel Kant echoed the voice of ancients: non-human animals are non-rational, and hence demonstrably inferior to humans. However, he added a philosophical twist that helps ground one very common argument used to morally justify our treatment of animals (LaFollette Shanks, 1996).He believed that as far as animals are concerned, we have no direct duties. Animals have no self-conscious and are there as means to an end. Our duties towards animals are merely indirect duties towards humanity (Kant, 1963; Monamy, 2009). ‘Animal nature has analogies to human nature, and by doing our duties to animals in respect of manifestation of human nature, we are directly do our duty towards humanity. However, he argued that overt cruelty to animals was to be avoided because how we threat animals does affect how we threat humans. ‘he who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Within Kant we, therefore, identify two elements of current moral thought about animals: the belief that humans are superior to animals because of our intelligence, and that we have some duties towards animals. These uphold the belief that although we should not be cruel to animals, we can use them for our purposes (LaFollette Shanks, 1996).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The problem with Kantian theory is its failure to make a theoretical distinction between animal species beyond human sphere. This theory can morally justify the use of a chimpanzee in an experiment where a mouse would suffice, because neither species has moral autonomy (Monamy, 2009). Animal Welfare/Interest ‘The day may come when the rest of the animal creation may acquire those rights which never could have been withholden from them but by the hand of tyranny The question is not, can they reason? Nor can they talk? But, can they suffer? (Jeremy Bentham, 1789) The first person to bring up the idea of equality was Bentham. He pointed out that the capacity to suffer should be a vital characteristic that gives a being the right to equal consideration. This was further upheld by Peter Singers Animal Liberation. Singer, reviving Benthams utilitarianism, argued for the liberation of animals based on equality of consideration and their capacity to suffer (Monamy, 2009). ‘The capacity for suffering and enjoying things is a prerequisite for having interest at all. Hence, it would be nonsense to say that it was not in the interest of a stone to be kicked along the road. A stone does not have interest because it cannot suffer. Nothing that we can do to it could possibly make any difference to its welfare. A mouse, on the other hand, does have an interest in not being harm, because it will suffer if it is. Moral judgements must be made based on equal interest and, we should never be influenced by species, in the same way as we should never be influenced by race or sex (Monamy, 2009). ‘If an animal suffered, there can be no moral justification for refusing to take suffering into consideration. No matter what the nature of the being, the principle of equality requires that its suffering be counted equally with the like suffering- in so far as rough comparisons can be made- of any being. (Singer, 1974) Singer argued that since laboratory animals were capable of feeling pain, their interest must be considered morally by humans. If the level of suffering in an experiment is not outweighed by any increase in the quality of human life, it is morally indefensible to allow such an experiment to continue (Dolan, 1999; Monamy, 2009). The idea put forward by Singer have provided a sensible starting point for debate over the moral issues essential in any discussion of animal experimentation. Virtually everyone, now, acknowledges that many animals, certainly mammals, feel pain- even though there is still disagreement about the severity or nature of the pain. Plus, majority too agrees that we cannot do whatever we want to the animals, at least if it causes the animals pain (LaFollette Shanks, 1996; Monamy, 2009). However, there are still some weaknesses concerning Singers argument. Firstly, moral calculations become impractical when all factors are taken into consideration. How do you quantify an amount of pain and pleasure? Or the benefits of an experiment to mankind? Secondly, Regan (1986) argued that utilitarianism has ‘no room for the equal rights of different individuals because it has no room for their equal inherent value or worth. What has value is the satisfaction of an individuals interest, not the individual itself. Regan believed that this theory can easily be exploited since an evil means can be justified as long as there is a good end. Lastly, some suggested that it simply do not go far enough- there is more to life than pleasure and pain (Monamy, 2009). Charles Birch (1993) posed an interesting question: ‘If all animals used for human purposes were to be constantly anaesthetised for all their lives, thereby eliminating the pain/pleasure argument, would such a proced ure be morally defensible? Animal Rights   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Animal rights moral view was brought forwarded by Tom Regan (1986). According to him, basic moral rights should be assigned to all beings who are ‘subjects of life, due to the fact that ‘these animals have a life of their own, of importance to them apart from their utility to us. They have a biography, not just a biology. They are not only in the world, they have experience of it. They are somebody, not something. Regan claimed that all creatures should be treated equally unless there is some relevant reason that justifies otherwise. It thereby rules out discrimination based on irrelevant reasons. He proposed that every individual of any species should be considered to have an ‘intrinsic value (or ‘inherent value), the value of conscious individuals, disregarding of their usefulness to others and independent of their ‘goodness. Equal rights for such individuals protect their ‘inherent value and give them moral status (Mepham, 2008; Monamy, 2009). When it comes to animal experimentation, Regans view is unequivocal: ‘the rights-based view is categorically abolitionistthis is just as true when animals are used in trivial, duplicative, unnecessary or unwise research as it is when they are used in studies that hold out real promise of human benefitsthe best we can do is not to use them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Nonetheless, some claims that ‘rights can be attributed only to individuals who can claim them, and that they can only apply in circumstances where that individual understands the notions of ‘rights. However, Regan has countered this by pointing out that such a viewpoint would also withhold rights form infants, the mentally retarded and senile. Apart from that, many find the concept of animal rights confusing. Exactly what rights do animals have? Do every single animal, including insects, has the same right, or just mammals? (Mepham, 2008; Monamy, 2009; Dolan, 1999) Reverence for Life   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965) believed that an ethic that advocated goodness towards all life and, not just to humanity, would be derived from emotion, not from rational thought. This belief contributed to his theory of ‘reverence for life. ‘The most immediate fact of mans consciousness is the assertion: I am life which wills to live in the midst of life which wills to lifehe feels a compulsion to give every will-to-live the same reverence for life that he gives to his own.He accepts as being good: to preserve life, to promote life, to raise to its highest value of life which is capable of development.'(Schweitzer, 1936) It is an ideology which makes no distinction between ‘higher and ‘lower life forms, plants and animals, human and non-human. Acceptance of the ethic does not mean that it is wrong to cause death of another creature, it is the causing of pain or death when it can be avoided that is wrong. Anyone guided by this belief will only cause death or suffering of any animal in cases of inescapable necessity, never from thoughtlessness (Monamy, 2009).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬ËœThose who experiment with operations or the use of drug upon animals.must never quiet misgivings they feel with the general reflection that their cruel proceedings aim at a valuable result. They must first have considered in each individual case whether there is a real necessity to force upon any animal this is sacrifice for the sake of mankind. And they must take the most anxious care to mitigate as much as possible the pain inflicted. (Schweitzer, 1936)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In short, Schweitzer urged that all life must be given the same respect: the need for every experiment must be carefully reasoned based on the ideal of reverence for life, not sentience an argument that gives a place to emotion (Monamy, 2009). Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœthere are no simple answers to be found and there is no single guiding principle that will answer the questions that are raised about the problems of animal welfare and the use of animals in our society.where ethical principles are concerned, there is no possibility of proving the validity of an ethical principle (Stone, 1989) In conclusion, the debate on animal experimentation is extremely complicated and it involves both rational discussion and personal feelings. Every one of us must, therefore, attempt to form an opinion of our own about the extent to which we use research animals.

Voice over Internet Protocol Essay -- VoIP Technology Networking Essay

Voice over Internet Protocol Definition of VoIP â€Å"Mr. Watson, come here, I want you!† These were the first words that were spoken over the phone back on March 10 1876. If you combine this invention with the same invention of the first computer that was completed nearly 70 years later in 1946, you would then be able to access VoIP. VoIP is also known as voice over internet protocol. VoIP is in essence the ability to talk with ones voice via computer to computer. In the next few pages you will learn about the history of VoIP, how it works, the requirements that are needed to use VoIP, the benefits and risks of this type of technology, and lastly you will get a glimpse at the future of VoIP. Not many people know what VoIP is or even that it exists. VoIP was designed to help with the costs for long distance charges. The idea or premise of this type of technology was conceived to use ones phone line and make a call through the Internet. It was designed to be used for both local and long distance calls thus cutting phone bill costs. The VoIP way of communication was started back in 1995 and was the result of work done by some hobbyists in Israel (Interangent, 2005). These hobbyists as well as other great inventors saw a good idea. Their idea was to be able to communicate through the computer as appose to talking over the phone. The idea was not so much to get away from the phone system but more to avoid long distance charges. In the beginning VoIP was only available when there was a direct personal computer to personal computer connection. Later in 1995 Vocaltec, Inc. released Internet Phone Software (Interagent, 2005). In the beginning it was fairly difficult to use. Due to the fact that in order to really be able to communicate using VoIP both the computers that were trying to communicate to each other would be required to use the same equipment, have a sound card and use a microphone. It was a good first effort, but as many firsts, the quality was very poor. VoIP would make great strides in the next three years. In 1998 VoIP had made such great strides that some companies were able to offer personal computer to phone services. The strides also were able to offer phone to phone contact. In the beginning VoIP did not charge their customers but chose to get payment through advertisements. When you made the phone call you would have to wait through an advert... ...base TechLand Group (2005). Strategies for Migrating Corporate Voice Traffic to the Data Network, Retrieved June 6, 2005 from the World Wide Web: http://www.techland.co.uk/index/page.index Try-three. (2005). History VoIP Article. Retrieved May 21, 2005, from the World Wide Web: http://www.try-there.com/voip/directory/history-voip.html Tyson, J. (2005). How stuff works. How voip works. Retrieved June 3, 2005, from the World Wide Web: http://computer.howstuffworks.com/ip-telephony.htm Voippreview. (2004). History of VoIP. Retrieved May 20, 2005, from the World Wide Web: http://www.voipreview.org/news.details.aspx?nid=51 Wagner, J. (2004, June 21). Networking. Retrieved May 26, 2005, from the World Wide Web: http://www.internetnews.com/infr/article.php/3371431 Webopedia (2005, June). VoIP. Retrieved June 10, 2005, from the World Wide Web: http://www.webopedia.com What Is (2005, June). VoIP. Retrieved June 10, 2005, from the World Wide Web: http://www.whatis.com Wikipedia (2004). Definitions in Technology. Retrieved May 26, 2005, from the World Wide Web: www.wikipedia.com Wikipedia (2005, June). VoIP. Retrieved June 11, 2005, from the World Wide Web: http://www.wikipedia.org

The Wretched of the Earth

The Wretched of the Earth Colonialism is an integral part of the history of the planet. It is the reason why so many nations have stark cultural similarities with others. Colonialism is responsible for many people being able to understand each other through speaking the same language. Colonialism was the start of the recent phenomenon called globalization. This earth has seen colonialism for many centuries as far back as ancient Greek and Egyptian civilization. Colonialism, as we know it today however is the domination, acquisition, exploitation, or expansion, of one territory by another territory.This usually means the colonist and the colony are in two separate regions or even two separate continents. It typically includes the subjugation of the people of the land being colonized. This colonizing behavior dates back to the early 1400’s with its roots in Europe which began with the Portuguese and the Spanish. Although colonization was the early globalization, it did not have such a positive impact on everyone as globalization has today. Colonization only benefitted the colonists which are the nations seeking and dominating other lands.Successful colonization meant colonist control of the government, the economy, the labor force, and essentially the lives of the colonized. Unfortunately, not everyone benefitted from this colonization. Those colonized were forced often enslaved and exploited for their nation’s resources. If their military forces were not as powerful as the colonists, they had no chance of keeping their rights as free people. Frantz fanon was born in 1925 in French- ruled Martinique, a small Caribbean island.He was raised in a family that was the equivalence of the bourgeoisie social class. The people in this social class were advocates for White- French assimilation. After being taught the philosophy of negritude, he did not wish to remain a part of this social class. He left Martinique in 1943 to help the Free French fight World W ar III. After this war, Fanon studied Psychiatry at Lyons University in France where he experienced extreme volumes of racism. Fanon accepted a position as ‘Chief of Staff’ in a psychiatric ward of a French hospital.He was responsible for treating distressed officers and soldiers who had been affected psychologically by the Algerian conflict. By 1956, Frantz discontinued his work for the French government in Algeria because of the negative effects their colonization had on the people. He could no longer treat the French in the hospital he worked when they knowingly inflicted torture on the people of Algeria. Once he officially stopped working for the French government, Fanon joined the fight for Algerian independence.During this time, he traveled different nations in Africa to help build their resources. It during this time he published a series of works that were in favor of national rights and anti-colonialism. He wrote the Wretched of the Earth within the last year o f his life. The purpose of this piece was to expose the savagery and the atrocity of colonialism. It explored the psychological effect of colonization and racism as well as a movement to decolonization. In this book, he argues that violence is necessary for independence.The very first chapter of the book, ‘Concerning Violence’, explores several topics. In the first sentence Fanon states, â€Å"National liberation, national renaissance, the restoration of nationhood to the people, commonwealth: whatever may be the headings used or the new formulas introduced, decolonization is always a violent phenomenon. † He is not endorsing violence; he is just letting us know that it is inevitable with liberation as the cause. Fanon teaches us that decolonization sets out to change the order of the world.It is the substitution of one species for another and brings new men, new language and a new humanity. Fanon identifies the different parties of the natives who are involved i n decolonization. These parties are the politicians, the bourgeoisie, and the peasant. The politicians only want to reform colonization not remove it while peasant are the most revolutionary being that they have nothing to lose and the most to gain. According to Fanon, decolonization is the physically removing the control of territory from the colonist back to the people.When Frantz Fanon discusses violence, he means force or aggression. By violence he means something that causes injury whether it is physical or psychological. In all of his descriptions of decolonization, he maintains that violence is a component in achieving them. In our society violence is something that should be avoided by all means necessary. We believe today that violence terminates basic human rights. Fanon openly accepted violence as an ingredient in successful decolonization while others tries to reach that conclusion peacefully.For his open and honest opinion on his take on violence, Fanon is viewed as con troversial. There are many that strongly disagree with his opinion and there are some that believe that his thesis is true but for extreme cases only. The final chapter of the book, ‘Colonial War and Mental Disorders’, Fanon describes his studies in the psychiatric ward of the Algerian hospital. In this chapter he notes how the nature of colonialism affects mental health by describing some of the patients he came in contact with.He used the cases to show the scope of disorders between the colonists and the colonized. He provides multiple series of cases, series A through D. Series A has five cases that all display Algerian or European people who had clear symptoms of the reactionary type of mental disorder. Series B displayed cases that rose while Algeria was in total war. The first case in series B is particularly interesting. It deals with 2 Algerians boys that murdered their European friend. Their reasoning for this was simply because Europeans killed arabs.It is cle ar from these cases why Fanon believes that violence is necessary to overthrow foreign government and for a nation to be independent. The revolutionaries will always meet opposition by the perpetrators of colonialism when fighting for freedom. It is very rare that colonist will give up their colony without a fight. Due to their military strength and technology, colonist can easily stop the freedom fighters but they will not give up without a fight. Without returning the violence, the revolutionaries would not be able to gain and maintain power of their land.When violence occurs in the struggle for freedom, revolutionaries become united. With the continuous build up of tension and advantaged treatment, I believe that violence is inevitable as well. Though this book was a little difficult to get through, the benefit of taking the time to understand is large. I enjoyed learning about world history especially colonialism from a psychological point of view. I would recommend this book to anyone that is completing studies in anything from psychology, politics, sociology, rhetoric and certainly history.

Apis Mellifera: The Life of the Western Honey Bee Essay

Who would think that an insect less than an inch big could be of so much importance to the human society? Throughout the history of mankind, the Western Honey Bee has proven to be of many uses to the human society. The study of the honey bee has shown the true intricacy and efficiency of their colony. Each member of the colony works together in a nearly flawless environment of productivity. For these reasons, and many more, the Western honey bee has proven itself to be one of the most fascinating and useful insects there has ever been. In order to be able to understand the honey bee and its colony, one must first learn about the bee’s physical make-up. Similar to a typical insect, the Western honey bee can be divided into three major sections; these sections are the head, thorax, and abdomen. The first section, the head, is a very intricate part of the body. The head contains the eyes, antennae, and the mouthparts. The eyes are an intriguing feature, seeing as the honey bee has two different types of eyes. The first type is the two compound eyes. The compound eyes are more of the typical kind of eyes. These eyes can sense light and color, though the bee’s spectrum of color varies slightly from the human eye’s spectrum. The honey bee also has three simple eyes, which are called ocelli. The only known function that these eyes serve is to sense the intensity of the light (Dade 65). The two antennae also play a crucial role in the life of the bee. The antennae are the nose of the honey bee, allowing it to sense odors. Along with sensing odors, the antennae aid in their ability to taste. The mouthparts of the honey bee contain the mandibles and proboscis. The mandibles are jaws that help in chewing, grooming, and several other functions. The proboscis is similar to the human tongue in the fact that its function is to lick and suck up nectar into the honey bee’s mouth. The next section of the bee, the thorax, contains the legs and wings. These both contribute to the mobility of the bee. There are six legs on a honey bee which come in three pairs. The legs perform multiple functions, among these being that they aid in mobility, grooming, and storing pollen. The honey bee possesses two pairs of wings, the front wings and the hind wings. These wings provide for very efficient flight, allowing the bee to beat its wings at an astounding rate of 200 times per second; they have also been known to travel up to 60 kilometers on one meal (Winston 26-29). The third and final section of the bee is the abdomen. The most well-known and feared function of the bee, the stinger, is found in the abdomen. Large portions of the bee’s digestive, excretory, circulatory, and respiratory systems are also found in the abdomen. The internal systems of the honey bee are as fascinating as its physical qualities. Much like a human, the honey bee also has a digestive system. When a bee consumes food, it travels through its esophagus to its crop. While in the crop the food can be regurgitated and transferred to another bee. After passing through the crop, the food travels to the midgut. This is where the digestion and absorption of nutrients takes place in the bee. Then the digested food is either excreted through the rectum or used for energy. The circulatory and respiratory systems of the honey bee are fairly simple with the dorsal heart and aorta being the main contributors in blood circulation. Unlike a human, the bee does not have veins and arteries for the blood to travel through. Instead, the blood fills the body cavity and enters the heart through the ostia. After passing through the ostia and heart, the blood travels to the head. The honey bee respiratory system also varies a great deal from the human’s. The honey bee breathes through holes called spiracles. These spiracles are connected to the tracheae which are tubes that transport the oxygen in and the carbon dioxide out of the bee. The honey bee’s ability to fly is a very important and interesting ability. As mentioned previously, the honey bee has 4 wings, a pair of frontal wings and a pair of hind wings which are located on the thorax. There are two muscle systems that move the wings, the direct and indirect muscles. The direct muscles are attached directly to the bases of the wings, whereas the indirect muscles are located in the thorax but are not attached to the wing bases. The indirect flight muscles are much larger than the direct flight muscles and likewise play a greater role in the honey bee’s flight. The indirect muscles control the up-and-down wing strokes as well as the back and forth strokes. There are two sections of the indirect muscles, the vertical muscles and the longitudinal muscles. There is a pair of each of these two types of indirect muscles. The vertical and longitudinal muscles expand alternately; this causes the wing to flap, providing the motion for flight. This happens at an extremely quick pace, which allows the wings to beat at 200 beats per second. Not only can it do this quickly, but it can do it efficiently. The bee can travel for very long periods on just one meal. Honey bees live on just three items; these are nectar, pollen, and water. Nectar provides carbohydrates for the bees, while the pollen provides proteins. Most of the nectar and pollen that the bees collect though is used in the production of honey. In a summer, a typical honey bee colony of around 30,000 bees consumes about 20kg of pollen (Seeley 82). If you multiply out the distance required for an average travel times the 1. 3 million foraging trips that it would require to harvest 20kg of pollen, then it would be equivalent to traveling to the moon and back over seven times. The water, too, aids in the production of honey, counting for 18% of the make-up of honey (Dade 43). Though it is probably not surprising because they are called honey bees, the bees’ number one food intake is honey. The bees put out a lot of energy gathering all of their pollen and nectar; this requires them to eat a large amount in order to have enough energy to complete all of their honey production. Western honey bees often build their hives in forest tree branches. Studies have shown that the scouts are very picky when searching for a future nest site. The scouts tend to choose a nest location that is not too far from their current location, yet they prefer nests that are not too close either. Scouts seem to prefer a nest site that has an entrance facing south because the south tends to receive more sunlight. They also desire for the nest site to be positioned roughly three or four meters above the ground (Seeley 73). Once a location is decided upon by the colony, the comb construction is started immediately. The workers in the colony start to mass produce beeswax for the construction of the comb. In order to be able to produce the wax, worker bees eat pollen for the first week that they are alive. The workers really focus on building the new nest since virtually nothing can happen in the colony without the comb. Their hard work pays off; they can accomplish over 90% of the comb building in merely 45 days or even less. The bees have an intricate design for the honey comb. They form hexagonal shaped cells in the comb, maximizing the amount possible. These cells come in three different sizes. The smaller size is for the worker eggs, the slightly larger size is for the drone eggs, and the largest size is saved for the queen eggs. However, there are less than 20 cells for the queens. The left over cells that are not being used for the reproduction of the bees are put into use as storage cells. This is where honey is stored after it is formed. There are three different types of members of a honey bee colony. There are workers, drones, and the queen. All three of these play a vital role in keeping the colony working in harmony. The first of these three is the worker bee. Worker bees are female, yet they never become fully sexually developed like the queen does. The worker bees, as one can imagine, provide the work force of the colony. They are the scavengers and collectors of pollen and nectar. Worker bees also take part in the reproduction process by laying unfertilized eggs that will hatch as drones. The average life span of a worker bee varies depending on the season. If born during the spring or summer, their life span is just a month on average. However, if born during the winter then they can live for up to half of a year (Erickson, Carlson, and Garment 100). The second type in the honey bee colony is the drone. Drones are fatherless, male bees that have hatched from unfertilized eggs. As a result of having no father, the drones only have 16 chromosomes instead of the normal 32 that worker and queen bees have. The lifetime of a drone is just two months during the summer, which is the only time that they are present n a colony. When the summer is over, the drones are kicked out of the colony. In the end, this causes them to die of starvation. The only real purpose that the drones serve in the colony is to mate with the queen bee. After mating with the queen bee, the drone is killed from the process. The third and final type of bee in the honey bee colony is the queen bee. The queen bee comes from fertilized eggs and is the only member of the honey bee colony to achieve full sexual maturity. Also, the queen bee has the longest lifespan by far in the colony. She can live up to five years; however, a lifespan of one to two years is more common. The mortality rate of the queen is quite high with 60 percent of the queens dying within the first year (Erickson, Carlson, and Garment 11). The queen varies greatly from the other members of the colony. She has a smaller brain and eyes, yet a larger body. She is designed to produce thousands of eggs, and can even lay more than 2000 eggs per day. Though there are often multiple queens that are birthed at a time, there is only one reigning queen of the colony at one time. The first queen to hatch out of her cell seeks out and destroys the other queen larvae before they can develop fully. Throughout her life, the queen is catered to. The workers groom and feed the queen. The queen is the most important member of the colony; she is responsible for producing all other members of the colony. The method of reproduction in the honey bee colony is very unique. The queen bee is responsible for essentially all of the reproduction in the colony. Just five days after reaching adulthood, the queen bee will go out on what are called mating flights. On a mating flight the queen will fly out from the nest, followed by several drones. A drone will catch up to the queen bee and begin mating with her while in flight. After the queen bee has received the sperm from the drone, she will release the drone and he will fall to his death. The mating process kills the drones. The queen will mate with six to eighteen drones, or until she has enough sperm for her egg laying. Following the mating process, the queen’s fertile ovaries will enlarge; this allows for the queen to be more efficient with her egg laying. The queen can produce two to three thousand eggs per day, which is over two to three times her body weight. If the queen wishes to produce a drone, hen all she has to do is withhold the semen from the egg. The queen will lay her eggs in the cell of the comb where they will stay, being taken care of by the worker bees, until they hatch. Along with the queen, worker bees can produce drones. The workers account for a very small portion of the eggs though. The most notorious feature of the honey bee is by far their ability to sting. Nearly everyone has experienced the sharp pain of a bee sting at some point in their life. The worker bees and queen bee are capable of stinging; the drones cannot sting since they do not have a stinger. When a worker bee stings, their barbed stinger and poison sac are ripped out of the bee and the bee ends up dying. However, the queen bee does not have a barbed stinger, her stinger is smoother, and therefore she can sting multiple times without endangering her health. Honey bees, of course, have enemies and threats to their colony. These enemies vary in sizes and detriment to the colony. Some common enemies are spiders, insects, and animals. The largest threats to the honey bee colony include bears, badgers, wax moths, and humans. Bears are attracted to the colony by the sweet honey. They are very powerful and can severely damage a colony with a few swipes; the bears try to knock the combs so that they can eat the honey. This is where the defense system of the honey bees kicks in. During the bear’s attempted break in, it is common for the bear to receive quite a few stings that leave them howling in pain. There is a specific type of badger that is known for hassling honey bee colonies; they are appropriately called the honey badgers. The honey badgers team up with the honey guide, a type of bird, in finding and raiding the honey bee comb. Wax moths are detrimental to the honey bee colony for different reasons than the badgers and bears. The wax moths are an invasive pest that seeks out week bee colonies. When they find a week honey bee colony, the wax moths quickly take advantage of the situation. Wax moths can completely destroy the wax combs of the honey bee nest. The greatest threat to the honey bee population cannot be blamed upon anyone but the humans. Humans account for a large amount of damaged hives, poisoned bees, and even aid in the spreading of diseases in the bee population. Human’s pesticides can be very etrimental to the honey bees; this is largely an unintentional result, yet it is a serious problem. The largest point of interest and most useful trait of the honey bees is their aid in the pollination of flowers and crops. Without the honey bee’s contribution in pollination, farmers and gardeners around the world would be struggling to grow any form of plant life. Pollination occurs when a worker bee travels from the hive in search of food. The worker bee gathers nectar from different flowers. While the worker bee is obtaining the nectar, she is also covering herself with pollen from the flower. The bee will visit many different flowers throughout the day, and she will be bringing the pollen from different flowers to other flowers and therefore pollinating them. The honey bee is the most significant contributor of all pollinators, responsible for pollenating â€Å"more than 100 agricultural crops in the United States† (Honey Bees are Important Pollinators, para. 4). â€Å"In the United States alone, it is estimated that honeybees accomplish 1/4 of the pollination needed for all fruit produced for human consumption – an estimated $10 billion worth of work each year! (Great Plains Nature Center). The Western honey bee is of vital importance to the human population. It provides many necessities and has proven itself useful to humanity in many ways. Not only is the honey bee vitally important to the welfare of the human civilization, the insect is also a very interesting and fascinating model of a society based on hard work and efficiency. There is something benef icial for everyone to learn in observing the Western honey bee that aids them in becoming a better individual and contributor to society.