Fishing in the Land of 10,000 Lakes free essay sample

Fishing has been a staple in Minnesota since as long as one can remember, due to the large amount of lakes, 11,842 to be precise (Lakes, Rivers, and Wetlands Facts). There are over 40 lakes within 20 miles of Park Rapids with various species of fish (Hubbard County Minnesota Lakes Park Rapids Lakes Fishing).The fact that most of these lakes don’t have a selective harvest keeps Park Rapids from reaching its full potential economically. Many people travel 2 or more hours to get to Red Lake or Lake of the Woods to fish because the selective harvest put on the lakes has increased the fish population. But these areas are protected by Wetland Laws that keeps them from building on the land and developing recreational activities (Dokken). Unlike the Park Rapids area, which has golf courses, restaurants, hotels and movie theaters to entertain people when the fish aren’t biting. Many people like to fish, but not all day long. Having amenities such as the ones in Park Rapids, attracts many people the way it is. If great fishing was added to that list, a whole new population of tourism would come as well. The local business’ make quite a bit of money in the summer, but the opportunity to make more is one simple law away from them doing so, by putting a selective harvest on the fish. The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) already protects the walleyes by allowing you to only keep 4 walleyes per day with a possession limit of 6 walleyes, per person (Adjust regulations). This helps by not letting anglers go out and keep as many fish as they want, but it does not help with the size they keep. Most people I have talked to about adding a selective harvest are unfamiliar with the subject unless they have been to Red Lake, Minnesota or to the Rainy River in Minnesota. A selective harvest means that people cannot keep just anything they catch. For example, Red Lake’s slot size right now on walleye is three fish per person under seventeen inches or two fish under seventeen inches and one of any size (Red Lake Ice Fishing Upper Red Ice House Rentals Fishing Reports Red Lake, Minnesota). What this does is allows the fish over seventeen inches to have a better chance of being released and lay eggs in the spring. There is also a selective harvest on northern pike on Red Lake as well. This is not just to allow the population of fish to grow but is also there to increase the number of trophy northerns in the lake. The slot on northerns is twenty-six to forty-four inch northerns must be released, but you can keep three under twenty-six inches with one over forty-four inches (Red Lake Ice Fishing . . . Minnesota). Just like most fish, the bigger the fish the more eggs it lays. By allowing the bigger fish to be released and lay eggs the fish population grows greatly. Another way to create a larger fish population is to stock the lakes with fry, which is tiny fish about the size of a mosquito that they put in lakes in hopes of reaching at least 14 inches within 3 years of being released (Stock Fish). The only problem with this is that it can be very expensive to do. Red Lake had three major stocking events in 1999, 2001, and 2003 (Dokken, Brad). Each of these events was estimated to have cost $68,000 (â€Å"Red Lake Restocking Efforts†). It could be a possibility, but it would be very hard to come up with that amount of money in one community the size of Park Rapids. We believe the best way to acquire better fishing is to put a selective harvest on the fish. We sat down with Hendri Ernst, owner of Smokey Hills Outdoor Store, the second largest dealer of Ice Castle Fish Houses, and asked him for his opinion on a selective harvest around Park Rapids. While talking to him he said: I believe a selective harvest could make a big impact on the economy. It has to be researched and done correctly according to each lake. But if everything is done well and the selective harvest works, we could see a lot more sales and a new population of tourism. This would help out with selling bait, fishing supplies, and possibly more Ice Castle Fish Houses as well. This would be in the winter as well as summer. Once again, it has to be researched and done correctly but could make a big impact on the economy. (Ernst, Hendri) In order to get people to come back to Park Rapids for fishing, we must first give them a great fishing experience. There are many different ways to get a great fishing experience; from paying a guide to take you out, to traveling to the best lake, or by researching different ways to catch the fish you are after. I would say most people travel to the best lake in order to catch fish. I believe that the Park Rapids Area in Minnesota could be one of the best fishing destinations by adding a selective harvest to its lakes. Some lakes and rivers such as Red Lake or the Rainy River have selective harvests (â€Å"Adjusted Regulations†). The Rainy River established a selective harvest in 1994 to try and recover from being overfished (Spring Walleye Assessment on the Rainy River: Minnesota DNR). Since then, the walleye population has recovered greatly and allowed people to fish for trophy fish while also keeping some good eaters. The average catch has increased from one walleye every four and a half hours to one every one and a half hours (â€Å"Adjusted Regulations†). This is just one of many success stories that Minnesota has had with selective harvests. If we put a selective harvest on the lakes around Park Rapids, we could increase the amount of fish in each lake. By doing this more and more anglers will come to Park Rapids when they hear about the great fishing. Red Lake and Lake of the Woods has people from all over Minnesota come up to fish for walleyes. A lot of those people are from Minneapolis, St. Paul, or suburbs of the Twin Cities. In order to get to Red Lake a lot of these people will travel through Park Rapids anyway, so why don’t they stop? Because the fishing in the Park Rapids area is not as good as Red Lake or Lake of the Woods. The first step in implementing a selective harvest is to get the DNR on board with the idea. They would have to do research on the lakes with the technology they have now as well as research that has been done in the past on lakes with a selective harvest. It will not cost any money to implement the selective harvest but may cost some money to do the researching which could be provided by the state. Then the law would have to be passed by the state of Minnesota. Lastly, it would have to be announced to the public through newspapers, social media, and signs near public accesses. Another way to let people know would be to have signs on the highways once you enter the selective harvest zones, these could be made by the art program at Park Rapids Area High School for minimizing costs. The selective harvest would not only affect our environment, but could also give Park Rapids a big economic push as well. The resorts on Red Lake charge anywhere from ten to fifteen dollars to go out of their accesses during the winter due to the fact that they have plows make roads for vehicles to drive on (â€Å"Red Lake . . . Minnesota†). The bait shops are full almost all day long, selling bait and groceries. Plus, the motels get full on weekends. Park Rapids has three bait shops that have people come in every now and then to buy bait during the week and only get a little busier on the weekends. We also have three grocery stores that are fairly busy, but could be a lot busier with more fisherman around all year. The hotels in Park Rapids are usually open for more people to come stay, but with people coming to fish they could fill up and get extra money as well. Lastly, most resorts around Park Rapids are closed all winter, which means they make all their money in the summ er. Although, if the fishing around Park Rapids got better, resorts could charge money for people to go out of their accesses in the winter and make some extra cash. Overall, there are many more positives to adding a selective harvest than there are negatives. One of the few negatives would be an increase in pollution around the lakes, but as long as everybody is responsible and cleans up after themselves there wouldn’t be any problems. The outcome of a selective harvest would be an increase in economic growth for Park Rapids and also an increase in the amount of fish in the lakes. This would help out the local businesses and also help the fishermen to catch more fish.

Travel Website Benchmarking Report Essays - Expedia, Inc.

Travel Website Benchmarking Report Benchmarking Report: Travel and Hospitality Website February 20, 2001 Table of Contents A. Report Purpose.. 2 B. Executive Summary 1. Methodology 3 2. Findings 4 3. Advice.. 5 C. Comparisons 1. Usefulness Defined.. 7 2. Scoring Matrix. 8 3. Description of Attributes. 9 4. Weighting Scheme 11 5. Brief Description of Benchmarked Sites.. 12 6. Design Insights. 14 A. Report Purpose The purpose of this report is to gain a better understanding of what comprises a well thought out travel and hospitality website. This benchmarking report will analyze four popular travel and hospitality websites based on certain evaluative attributes. These attributes will then be ranked in a manner explained further in the methodologies section (B1). Through analysis of the four websites chosen and our respective findings, various design insights (C6) will come to the forefront as more useful or less useful than others. The term usefulness will be elaborated on in section C1. This research will allow us, in building a travel and hospitality website, to employ the most useful designs and realize what attributes on which to focus. In the executive summary section we will offer advice (B3), having surveyed the leading sites as to what could be improved upon or developed further to enhance the overall experience at each particular website. Executive Summary B1. Methodology The following section titled methodolosy will describe our approach to the benchmarking report including our testing criteria. The task presented to us was to benchmark travel related web sites. There were several possibilities in terms of which sites to use. Our group chose to benchmark the four most visited travel web sites: Travelocity.com, Expedia.com, Lowestfare.com, and Cheaptickets.com (source: Consumer Reports). Consumers have visited these four web sites the most, therefore they must have provided value for their consumer. We felt it would be beneficial for our group to benchmark them, in order to gain insight on how our web site will ultimately look, and what functions it will provide. After we chose which travel web sites to benchmark, the next step was to choose the attributes upon which the comparisons would be made. We chose seven attributes, which we felt encompassed what the typical consumer would look for in a travel web site. They were: 1) Ease of Use/Usability/Navigability/Site Map 2) Info Content/Pricing Info/Content/Updates 3) Appearance/Layout/Structure/Consistency/Graphics 4) Site Speed/Download Time/Reliability 5) Buying Online/Simplicity of Purchase/Member 6) Site Support/Help Desk 7) Products/Selection/Ability to Compare Each attribute has multiple descriptors because it is of our opinion that they are closely related. The Description of Attributes Measured section (C3) will describe these attributes in further detail. Each of the attributes was applied to the four web sites, and was rated on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being the best. Furthermore, each of the attributes was weighted, these weights can be found in the Weighting Scheme section (C4). Once all the information was gathered, conclusions were drawn on the quality of four web sites. Finally, drawing on those conclusions, advice was given to the consumer on the web sites, so they can make a more informed decision when choosing which of the top travel web sites they should use. These can be found in the Findings and Advice sections, which immediately follow. B2. Findings The goal of this Findings section is to set forth the information we gathered regarding each website after following our research methodologies. In surveying each of the aforementioned websites, many commonalities as well as differences were found. The areas the Findings are grouped into include: ? Overall format/Ease of use ? Relevant links presented ? Speed of site/links Format Overall, the sites were easy to use and for the most part uncluttered. The one exception to this was in Travelocity. This site, while informative, did result in sensory overload when viewed. Expedia, Lowestfare and Cheaptickets all seemed to have just about the right amount of information/links available to make sure the customer could quickly find what they needed without being overwhelmed. The forms to enter data for the desired trips/packages were quite easy to use and pull-down menus were generally available to speed transactions. Links Available In this area, all of the sites excelled. Links for tours, cruises, contests, hotels, car rentals and just about every other vacation/business trip related good could be found on the sites. A person should have no trouble selecting which of these fits their needs. Expedia and

Thematic Essay Sample

Thematic Essay SampleWhen you write a thesis in college, it is usually easier to decide which ones are acceptable and which ones need revisions. Thesis examples tend to be a standard research or secondary argument. This is not true with the thematic essay sample. This one is a unique choice for students who wish to enhance their writing skills.The very first thing that you need to know is that they can be considered as a study guide also. The thesis example is a piece of writing from your own experience. This gives you an opportunity to see how your own work would stand on the same level as that of others. With such information, it is possible to further refine your work.There are many writers who struggle in convincing others of their personal ideas because they do not possess the right exposure for contemporary issues. It is all the more reason why you should not limit yourself to one subject and focus on what interests you. However, this is not always the case. Writing a thesis ex ample can help you in understanding the different styles of writing.The second most important part is also the method. This is essential because there are so many styles to choose from. Each one brings about a different feel. They are individualized to the nature of the subject matter.You must also be cautious about the tone you use when you write your essay. If you are a specific kind of writer, it will be hard for you to stick to a certain style while presenting your thoughts to others. The thematic essay sample will allow you to get back into your comfort zone and use your own personal experiences to help.It is important to state clearly that the examples are not the only way to deal with writing assignments. These examples can work for you as a means to determine which one is most suitable for you. Take the time to analyze the types of topics that you have already dealt with and see which one you would have liked to discuss this time.Writing is not an easy thing, but if you know how to manage your writing style and choose the best writing that suits your purposes, you will certainly see that these examples can be effective. In a long line of assignments, it will be important to understand how you think and what you want to communicate. These samples can be a great help to you.

Plagiarism Issues Essays

Plagiarism Issues Essays Plagiarism Issues Essay Plagiarism Issues Essay Knowing that someone committed plagiarism for the first time or for a several times already is a bit hard because one gets between doing the right thing and keeping it a secret. However, despite this difficulty, one should be motivated enough to stick to what is right. If I were Ariana, I would consider my options. I can pretend to ignore what Kunta did but then I have to live with my conscience for overlooking that mistake. If I pretend to ignore it, my grades in school will also be jeopardized, or worse, I might be expelled. Though it is hard, it is just right that I report to my instructor what Kunta did. I am sure he knew that plagiarism is unethical and illegal, and he knew the consequences of committing it. The possibility that anyone can notice his act of plagiarism is at hand. Thus, he should expect that anytime soon he will be reprimanded for it. It is also difficult that the other members in the team tolerated Kunta’s actions. What is worse is that they knew this was going on for sometime, yet they did not do something just because they were good friends with Kunta. They deliberately committed willful ignorance and consent. With no one to support me, I am faced with the sole responsibility of reporting the case to my instructor. As my grades and my status in the university are at stake, I would not want to work with Kunta, especially if he resisted being reprimanded. Persons who do things that are unethical and/or illegal may harm others. Kunta is not a good model as a student, and this can taint his other group mates as well. Whether someone gets caught of committing plagiarism is one of the issues that do not seem to be settled. There were questions that do not have easy answers, such as whether if unintentional copying of someone’s work without proper acknowledgment still plagiarism (Green). On this case, I think the answer is yes, even for the case of Kunta. As defined, plagiarism is copying someone’s works or ideas without properly attributing those ideas to the original author (Tutorial† Plagiarism: What it is and How to Recognize and Avoid it†). Kunta did commit plagiarism, regardless if he was never caught before. With these views in mind, I adhere to the belief that honesty is the best policy. Plagiarism is unethical and illegal, and it robs the author of the benefits entitled to him. I always avoid committing plagiarism. Subjecting myself to such unethical acts is an utter conflict with my beliefs.

Character Development 101 Writing Characters Readers Wont Forget

Character Development 101 Writing Characters Readers Wont Forget Character Development: How to Write Characters Your Readers Won't Forget For any novel to truly connect with readers, the author needs to pay close attention to character development. Even if you’re writing the most action-packed, plot-driven book where the characters are robots, it’s the human element of the story that is going to resonate with people looking for their next read.Ask yourself: are you more likely to read a book about a voyage to a newly discovered planet, or a book about someone who never saw Earth but knows they will never reach the destination planet of the spaceship they are on? The plot’s concept - traveling in space - may intrigue you, but the characters will hook you in.This article will help you develop characters your readers won’t forget. Let’s start by looking inside. 5 tips for developing characters that readers won't be able to forget. To develop memorable characters, you'll need to:Justify the character’s reason for existence by establishing the character's story goal and motivation.Give the character an external and internal conflict.Decide whether the character is static or dynamicGive the character a past.Develop the character's external characteristics to make them distinguishableEach point is a step towards deepening a character's depth. By the end of the process, you should emerge with a fully-realized, multidimensional character - and we'll take you through each stage in this post in order to get you there.That means that we'll start, of course, with internal character development. You can think of internal character development as a circle: one that starts and ends with your character’s fundamental goals and motivations. All the other decisions you make along the way will be informed by and affect those two things.1. Establish the character’s story goals and motivationsYour characterà ¢â‚¬â„¢s current goal is why the story exists - and why it’s worth telling - right now. It’s what your character wants from the book’s plot and it will propel   their inner journey. Without it, the overall narrative arc would fall totally flat.Let’s look at a few character goal examples:Harry Potter’s goal is to defeat Lord VoldemortBilbo’s goal is to help the dwarves reclaim the kingdom of EreborHamlet’s goal is to avenge his murdered father Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy change for love (image: BBC)Reinforcing your protagonist through secondary characters Often times, authors write static secondary characters to act as a pillar around which a dynamic character can develop. Think of Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird: he changes little throughout the course of the novel. But it is his steadfast belief in justice that guides Scout from a state of childhood innocence into a young girl with a strong sense of right and wrong.Or you might want to consider writing a â€Å"foil†: a character who contrasts the protagonist, and is used to highlight particular qualities of the main character. For instance, Harry Potter’s foil is Draco Malfoy.Develop characters by determining the shape of their arc.   Ask yourself:How much will they change?What inspires their change?Do they change for the better?Do they change for the worse?Do they change the world and/or people around them?4. Give the character a pastJust as your own history has contributed to the person you are today, so does your character’s. You should develop you r character’s past as much as possible, but it’s especially important to create and zero-in on experiences and memories that inform the character we see in the story.Develop characters through their history. Ask yourself:What moments from their past have played a pivotal role in who they are now?Do they have any suppressed memories?What are some of their happiest memories?5. Develop the character's external characteristicsYes, the internal goals and motivations are the "heart" of a character. But that doesn't mean that their external characteristics should just be an after-thought. While the fact that your protagonist has blonde hair may not impact the plot, it can only benefit you as the author to have an exhaustive composition of them. All compelling characters need a past. Fill out this questionnaire to determine yours. Early in your character development, put a bit of time into sketching out your protagonist's external features, including their...Communication stylePhysical appearanceMannerismsYou can develop characters through physical characteristics as well. Ask yourself†¦What do they look like? Does their appearance play a role in the story?How do they interact with others - what is their communication style like?How do their mannerisms contribute to how others perceive them?To help give yourself a more holistic image of your character, check out our ready-made character profile template. It will prompt you to define external elements like posture and distinguishing features, to internal elements like their relationship with their mother and how they’re perceived by strangers.Or if you prefer to keep your character notes organized online, you can check out the character builder tool over at One Stop for Writers. It's a super-thorough guide to character creation that guides you thro ugh filling out their backstory, personality, and other details that contribute to their overall arc. (You'll need a subscription to access the tool, but trust us that it's worth it.)In any case, once you’ve established goals and motivations, conflicts, dynamism, history, and physicality, you’re well on your way to nailing character development. When those details are hammered down, put your knowledge of your protagonist to the test with these eight character development exercises. Before you know it, you’ll find you have acquired a new close friend - albeit an imaginary one.Do you have your own tips for character development? Or any favorite characters from books you feel leap off the page? Leave any thoughts or questions in the comments below!

Anti-corruption Efforts in Nigeria Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Anti-corruption Efforts in Nigeria - Essay Example Corruption is characterized as a â€Å"global phenomenon†, and only capable of being understood in â€Å"its social context†.5 In the case of Nigeria, there is a range of complex and deeply-seated institutional and social factors contributing to corruption, most of which emanate from the experiences of colonial and post-colonial Nigeria. Corruption emerged as the primary method by which to survive during the period of decolonisation and with no other viable means of survival, corruption ultimately informed political conduct and â€Å"competition† in post-independent Nigeria.6 The corrupt reputation of Nigeria corresponds with post-colonial Africa’s long series of political and economic let downs. To begin with, colonial rule created conflicts among ethnic groups, alienated Nigerians from the country’s resources, exploited Nigerians and their natural resources and essentially deprived Nigerians of representation. Colonialism in all of Africa involved the use of â€Å"material inducements† as a means of compelling chiefs and African administrators to support and cooperated with colonists’ projects characterized by exploitation.7 Corruption in post-colonial Africa, including Nigeria is merely a learned and inherited political policy acquired during colonialism.8 During decolonization, Nigerians were left struggling to regain control of a deeply divided nation and continuously confronted significant economic and political chaos.9 Thus the post-colonial chaotic state of Nigeria’s socio-political and economic systems, together with the corrupt and dehumanising political experiences of colonialism created and perpetuated corruption in Nigeria. Nigeria is described as among the world’s most corrupt countries and is often associated by outsiders with fraud and dishonesty. However, it has been argued that just as political and economic degradation contributes to corruption, corruption likewise results in poli tical and economic degradation.10 Regardless of whether corruption is an obstacle to development or contributes to underdevelopment, corruption is so widespread throughout Nigeria that the country is perhaps a unique case. Arguably there is no real rational explanation for the link between corruption and underdevelopment in Nigeria. Since corruption is so widespread in Nigeria and has persisted for so long it is impossible to know with any degree of certainty whether or not corruption is responsible for underdevelopment in Nigeria or underdevelopment is the cause of corruption. The only rational conclusion is that that corruption has become a learned way of life in Nigeria. It is argued that corruption has become so entrenched in the political and social spheres, that even the members of society who may be victims or critics can hardly go around it and so, they are also prone to reproduce and perpetuate corruption.11 Therefore, despite efforts to counter corruption via anti-corrupti on policies and laws, corruption in Nigeria continues on unabated.12 Building on the central idea of its topic which suggest that ‘

Exam(account) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Exam(account) - Essay Example (Abrema, 2009) There are many methods which are preferred by the Accounting Standards for the valuation of the stock, e.g. Specific Identification, FIFO, LIFO, Weighted Average etc. In order to assess the stock valuation model to be adopted by the company, following points would be considered: Specific Identification method is the most favorable and an ideal method to be used. Here, the actual cost of the Inventory can be identified but there are some limitations as it can be used in large and easily traceable good manufacturing industries such as Vehicles and Furniture. (Money Central, 2009) In FIFO (First In First Out) method, it is assumed that the goods that were bought first were also sold first. As a result, during a rising trend in prices FIFO will give a better assessment of the cost of ending Inventory. (CBA, 1998) LIFO (Last In First Out) method assumes that the goods bought in at the end are being sold first. Therefore, the ending inventory will be valued at a lower price during a rising trend in prices and vice versa. (CBA, 1998) but one of the advantages of using LIFO is that it reduces the amount of taxes during rising trend of prices. In Weighted Average, an average of the whole rate is determined and that rate is applied to the Ending Inventory. It is easy to calculate but it doesn’t show the exact effect of Inflation on prices. (CBA,