What Is Phototropism

You placed your favorite plant on a sunny windowsill. Soon, you notice the plant bending toward the window instead of growing straight upward. What in the world is this plant doing  and why is it doing this? What Is Phototropism? The phenomenon you are witnessing is called phototropism. For a hint on what this word means, note that the prefix photo means light, and the suffix tropism means turning. So, phototropism is when plants turn or bend toward light. Why Do Plants Experience Phototropism? Plants need light to stimulate the production of energy; this process is called photosynthesis. The light generated from the sun or from other sources is needed, along with water and carbon dioxide, to produce sugars for the plant to use as energy. Oxygen is also produced, and many life-forms require this for respiration. Phototropism is likely a survival mechanism adopted by plants so that they can get as much light as possible. When plant leaves open toward light, more photosynthesis can take place, allowing for more energy to be generated. How Did Early Scientists Explain Phototropism? Early opinions on the cause of phototropism varied among scientists. Theophrastus (371 B.C.-287 B.C.) believed that phototropism was caused by the removal of fluid from the illuminated side of the plants stem, and Francis Bacon (1561-1626) later postulated that phototropism was due to wilting. Robert Sharrock (1630-1684) believed plants curved in response to fresh air, and John Ray (1628-1705) thought plants leaned toward the cooler temperatures nearer to the window. It was up to Charles Darwin (1809-1882) to conduct the first relevant experiments regarding phototropism. He hypothesized that a substance produced in the tip induced the curvature of the plant. Using test plants, Darwin experimented by covering the tips of some plants and leaving others uncovered. The plants with covered tips did not bend toward light. When he covered a lower part of the plant stems but left the tips exposed to the light, those plants moved toward the light. Darwin did not know what the substance produced in the tip was or how it caused the plant stem to bend. However, Nikolai Cholodny and Frits Went found in 1926 that when high levels of this substance moved to the shaded side of a plant stem, that stem would bend and curve so that the tip would move toward the light. The exact chemical composition of the substance, found to be the first identified plant hormone, was not elucidated until Kenneth Thimann (1904-1977) isolated and identified it as indole-3-acetic acid, or auxin. How Does Phototropism Work? The current thought on the mechanism behind phototropism is as follows. Light, at a wavelength of around 450 nanometers (blue/violet light), illuminates a plant. A protein called a photoreceptor catches the light, reacts to it and triggers a response. The group of blue-light photoreceptor proteins responsible for phototrophism are called phototropins. It is not clear exactly how phototropins signal the movement of auxin, but it is known that auxin moves to the darker, shaded side of the stem in response to the light exposure. Auxin stimulates the release of hydrogen ions in the cells in the shaded side of the stem, which cause the pH of the cells to decrease. The decrease in pH activates enzymes  (called expansins), which cause the cells to swell and lead  the stem to bend toward the light. Fun Facts About Phototropism If you have a plant experiencing phototropism in a window, try turning the plant in the opposite direction, so that the plant is bending away from the light. It takes only about eight hours for the plant to turn back toward the light.Some plants grow away from light, a phenomenon called negative phototropism. (Actually, plant roots experience this; roots certainly dont grow toward light.  Another word for what they are experiencing is gravitropism---bending toward a gravitational pull.)Photonasty might sound like a picture of something yucky, but it is not. It is similar to phototropism in that it involves the movement of a plant due to light stimulus, but in photonasty, the movement is not toward the light stimulus, but in a predetermined direction. The movement is determined by the plant itself, not by the light. An example of photonasty is the opening and closing of leaves or flowers, due to the presence or absence of light.

Comparison of Online and Offline Retail Environment of Car...

The offline retail environment of the automobile industry is that of manufacture to intermediary to consumer. The process from which the product (car) proceeds from manufacturer to consumer is that of through the automobile dealer. This intermediary batch purchases a number of models from the manufacturer and sells them from the ‘lot’ or storefront. This placement and presentation of the product has proved largely successful. The tangible product is viewed, test driven and purchased from the intermediary. An advantage of the offline retail environment is that of the face to face (F2F) transaction environment. The purchase of a car requires high involvement between the supplier and consumer and can be argued demands a customer†¦show more content†¦Rather than solely online companies, who may only offer ghost storefronts with no inventory and little reputation to defend. (Pitta, Franzak Fowler 2006) Value creation has been described as the difference between the amount that the consumer is willing to pay for a product and the costs of providing the product. Value can also be added to the product through outside or support (Porter, 1985) activities such as brand awareness, speed of delivery, after sales service. Resource Based View (RBV) theorists argue that information technology (IT) resources can be used today in an online environment to enable a firm to improve efficiency regardless of whether mimicked by competitors, or may yield performance impacts unique to a firm relative to its’ competitors.† (Melville, Kraemer Gurbaxani 2004) A major factor in RBV and enhancing value creation better than a company’s competitors is that of competitive heterogeneity. This refers to enduring and systematic performance differences among relatively close rivals. (Hoopes, Madsen Walker, 2003) Resources are the tangible and intangible assets of a firm that can be used in the value creation process and the RBV consists of six conditions necessary for a firm to confer a sustainable competitive advantage (Melville, Kraemer Gurbaxani 2004) and are as follows. A valuable resource can be tangible and intangible; it is aShow MoreRelatedBarnes and Noble Strategic Audit6762 Words   |  28 PagesAnalysis: Barnes Noble Executive Summary Barnes Noble is a key player in the Book Retail Industry. This mature industry has been experiencing slow growth over the last several years, much slower than overall retail sales. Barriers to entry into this industry are quite high, and suppliers have modest influence over booksellers. The introduction of the Internet has brought about many changes to this industry. It has increased rivalry, buyer power, and substitutes. 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Financial Cycle and Macroeconomics Cengage

Question: Discuss about the Financial Cycle and Macroeconomics Cengage. Answer: Introduction: In the words of Borio (2014), due to the diminishing returns of the input, the output rises. With the rise in the output, it can be observed that the marginal product for the variable input would be decreased. Therefore, it can be stated that the marginal cost curve is upward sloping. In addition, law of diminishing of marginal return refers that higher labours are able to produce extra units of output. As a result, it can be seen that marginal product for labour is less as well as the marginal cost is increasing. Therefore, it can be concluded that marginal cost curve is upward sloping. In most of the production procedure, it can be observed that the marginal product of labour has been increasing primarily and reach to the highest position. Figure 1: Upward sloping marginal cost curve (Source: Brunnermeier, Eisenbach and Sannikov 2012) The major determinants of the economic growth such as rise in the real GDP depend upon some specific factors. The factors are such as factors, which affect both the consumer spending and the productive capacity. More specifically, it can be stated that the supply factors are such as the natural resources, capital goods, human resources, technology etc. On the other hand, it can be stated that with the rise in the demand of goods as well as services, the supply side will also increase. In this context, it can be stated that the efficiency factors also reflect the economic growth. In the words of Evans and Honkapohja (2012), production possibility frontier develop the opportunity costs and the trade offs. This reflects the consequences of growth of the economy. Therefore, in this respect, it can be stated that there is a positive relationship between PPF and economic growth. Therefore, if Production Possibility Frontier curve shift to the outward, there will be growth in the economy. On the other hand, it can be also stated that with the shifting of production possibility frontier to the inner wards, the economic growth will be decreased. Therefore, Mankiw (2014) mentioned that the allocation of resources along with the production capacity will be effectively decreased. The market of Australian Post is similar to the perfectly competitive market. All of the citizens have enough knowledge regarding the postal service of the country. As per the statement of Borio (2014), Australian post is the largest governmental section, which earned AS$ 6.3 billion revenues and earned profitability from this sector AS$ 103m before the imposition of tax in the year of 2014. This amount of revenue earning and the profitability would reflect to identify and understand the market structure of the Australian post. Nonetheless, Borio (2014) argued that the rate of profitability has been decreased from the previous year as the profitability statement in the previous year before the imposition of tax was AS$ 210m. In order to discuss the alternative or the substitute services over the Australian post, Brunnermeier, Eisenbach and Sannikov (2012) opined that in the year of 2014, the volume of Australian post was increasing by approximately 12.8%, whereas the market for the retailing or the total sales of e-commerce was increased by 17.3%. This was comparatively higher from the growth of Australian post. Therefore, in this context, it can be stated that instead of Australia post service, the citizens of Australia are willing to take the service of smart send courier, E-go courier, Auspost and Sendle services etc. This study also tried to highlight the profitability statement of Australian postal service in the year of 2015. In this case, the following figure is helpful to understand the profitability statement of the mentioned year. Figure 2: Profitability statement of Australian postal service (Source: Anon 2016) The above figure depicted that the profitability statement of Australian postal services has been decreased in 2015. More specifically, Mankiw (2014) mentioned that in the year of 2015, Australian postal services has been incurring loss by the amount of AS$ 352.1m. In this section, this study has tried to identify and understand the market overview of gym organisation in Sydney. After the market research, it can be observed that the revenue is AS$ 2bn and the annual growth rate was 9.5% in the year of 2015. In this connection, it can be concluded that the market for the 24 hours gyms and the fitness organisations has been changed since last five years. It has been increasing with the rise in time. In this connection, Evans and Honkapohja (2012) mentioned that due to the rise in the awareness regarding the health, people are willing to go to the gyms. As a result, it can be assumed that the profitability from the gym business has also been increasing over time. Therefore, it can be concluded that it would be profitable with the opening of gym centre in Sydney, Australia. As a result, Borio (2014) cited that the competition within the business of gym industry would be increased during the past five years in Sydney. In order to discuss the market structure in the short run and the long run, it can be assumed that the market for the gym business in Sydney is like monopolistic competitive. Therefore, the service and the products of one organisation are differentiated from other. Therefore, in the short run, the profitability statement of the newly opened business would be lower in terms of concentration ratio. The reason can be discussed as higher competition. Figure 3: Short run market structure for gym organisation (Source: Borio 2014) On the other hand, by maintaining of the quality of the service, the newly open gym organisation would earn normal profits in the long run. As per the question, it can be stated that there is a negative relationship between the increase in the ageing population and the impact of GDP in Australia. In this connection, Mankiw (2014) stated that with the rise in the ageing population in Australia, the productivity as well as the growth of the economy of Australia has been would be decreased. In addition, the labour supply would be reduced and the effect of the unpaid work would be increased. References Anon, (2016). Available at: https://auspost.com.au/annualreport2015/docs/australia-post-annual-report-2015.pdf [Accessed on 15 Sep. 2016]. Borio, C., 2014. The financial cycle and macroeconomics: What have we learnt?.Journal of Banking Finance,45, pp.182-198. Brunnermeier, M.K., Eisenbach, T.M. and Sannikov, Y., 2012.Macroeconomics with financial frictions: A survey(No. w18102). National Bureau of Economic Research. Evans, G.W. and Honkapohja, S., 2012.Learning and expectations in macroeconomics. Princeton University Press. Mankiw, N.G., 2014.Principles of macroeconomics. Cengage Learning. Scarth, W., 2014. Macroeconomics.Books.

Pandora Case Study free essay sample

For Pandora, one of the biggest players In Internet radio, figuring out the future Is boot challenging and Intimidating. If the regular challenges of growing a new company are NT enough, Pandora also faces a market that is reeling in turmoil. In the new digital world, the WA y people listen to music continues to change dramatically. It seems likely that Pandora will either lea d the changes or fall victim to them. Pandora was founded just over a decade ago. At that time, a vast majority of music list inners were still getting their groove on in one of two ways: They either popped a CD into the Eire home, car, or personal CD player or they turned on the old AM/ FM radio. But the advent of digital formats Like Amps has had a huge Impact on CD sales and has drawn people away from what Is n owe called ;terrestrial radio. We will write a custom essay sample on Pandora Case Study or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Moreover, Like the music business, the radio business has faced m ajar changes of its own. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 reduced limitations on the number of SST actions that one owner could hold.This led to huge ownership groups that consolidated and standard ;zed listening formats. The result is less diversity on the radio, with shorter playbills and fewer artist TTS represented. From one city to the next, all across the United States, radio stations have started to s mound more alike. Both these trends combined with the explosion of Internet usage and changes In online technologies have led to a deluge of companies trying to capitalize on the future of music distribution.This includes download services such as tunes, subscription services s chi as Rhapsody and music, an endless number of Internet radio stations, and even satellite radio en outwork Sirius. Today, with an ever- growing list of listening devices and cloud music services that store personal music libraries so they can be accessed anywhere by any device, listening try ends continue to evolve. But one thing about the future is certain: The business of listening to music is full of disruption and confusion. Things are changing fast and the winning products and SE Emcees-?leaned, the survivors-?are yet to be determined.The Power of People Amid the chaos, Pandora has carved out Its own niche, setting Itself apart as an auto mated music recommendation service. It isnt a play-on- the exact song and artist they want. Rather, listeners enter an artist or song squeegees n. The plastic starts with a track by the requested artist and inserts additional songs by that artist e err once in a Nile. But in between, Pandora cues up songs by other artists similar in nature to the requested material. If an unlinked or unwanted song plays, the listener can click the thumbs do n icon or Just kip the song and it will be removed from the list.Users can also create stations by BRB sowing artists alphabetically, or they can tune in to pre- made genre stations or to other users stations. Listeners can create as many stations as they wish, each oriented around the initial input. Lots of online services employ similar recommendation features (think Nettling and Am axon). Out Pandora has set a precedent by the predictive power of its recommendation soft Near. The Pandora software is amazingly precise at choosing material that fits with what the us r wants.According to Tim Western, founder and Chief Strategy Officer for Pandora, the sec ret sauce is the people behind the software. Behind this digitized, automated, software- driven machine, Western says, muff need a human ear to discern. Its true that the algorithms mathematically match songs, but the math, all its doing is translating what a human being is actually measuring. O Marketing An Introduction. 1 lath edition (2013) page 27 of 45 Each of the 850,000 songs from 80,000 different artists in Panders library has been analyzed and coded by a professional musician.