Meat packing industry Essay

Introduction America’s fast food industry was founded by self made man who took risk, worked hard, some not even going to collage. Today the industry relies on a low-paid and unskilled workforce, where a handful are able to rise up the corporate ladder, while the vast majority lack fulltime employment, receive no benefits, and end up quitting after a few months. The fast food industry prospered over the last 30 years because minimum wage was lowered, marking was directed at children, federal agencies meant to protect workers and consumers ended up working for the companies, and corporations worked with congress to oppose laws that didn’t help them. The â€Å"American world view† is embodied in fast food because it takes advantage of those who don’t know any better. Chapter 1 The element of car based restaurants like the ones started in Southern California encouraged the spread of fast food because they had good food, became successful, and were very popular among young people. Chapter 2 Disney and Kroc were similar because they both used science to sell their products, made up famous mascots to sell products and both focused selling to kids. They were different because Disney founded his company, and Kroc bought his, they sold different products, and Kroc wasn’t involved in politics, while Disney was. Their companies cooperated when McDonald’s agreed to sell Disney toys and Disney agreed to allow McDonald’s in Disneyland. The fast food industry started with billboard ads to attract kids and evolved to adverting every where, from TV, to the internet, to school hallways. They also make the restaurants themselves fun for kids with play places and selling toys so they want to go more, and even as adults bring their own kids. Personally, I don’t think it is ethical to advertise in schools because it fast food is unhealthy and kids should be learning that, not that the burgers at McDonald’s get and A in taste. Chapter 3 Most employees of fast food restaurants ate teenagers because most are willing to work long hours with little pay. Fast food corporations relentlessly stop their workers from unionizing by doing things like integrating workers with information about a possible union with lie detectors, or closing locations with unions and opening new locations near by. Working conditions at fast food restaurants are unsafe. Typical dangers the employees face ate slips, fall, cuts, burns, and robberies. Problems are dealt with by increasing security with cameras or more parking lot lights. If I worked at a fast food restaurant and I injured my self, I might not tell my manager because I could loose my job because they could blame me for the injury. Chapter 4 The advantages of starting your own business is if it is successful, you could get a lot of money, not to mention you are your own boss so no one besides the government tells you how to run your business. The disadvantages are the business could be unsuccessful and you could loose a lot of money. The advantages of working for someone else are you do not have to make too many tough decisions. The disadvantages are you will not make as much money as your boss, and you may not like your boss for whatever reason. Some legal issues that fast food franchises have been involved in are the Coble’s Bill which makes franchises obey the principles other companies follow. The Subway fast food franchise was involved in the SBA which helps restaurants by giving them government funds. Subway got involved and made it so they would get extra money. Chapter 5 Family farms are disappearing because industry farms take all the business and close family farms because they have no one to sell to. there are only a few small potato farms left because industries take up all the land and business. The take-over of agricultural farms effects communities because local farms go out of business and communities become dependent on the corporate farm. Chapter 6 Development and fast food farms take land and effects cattle pastures because there is less land for the cattle to graze. Since most cowboys and ranchers have gone out of business, they have become irreverent in today’s culture. The government set up the Sherman Antitrust Act and a congressional investigation in the meet packing industry to help ranchers. Later, the Reagan administration allowed the top four meat packing firms to merge and they took over the cattle markets. Corporate domination affected family farms by forcing them to work for them or go out of business. Self-reliance is still a viable goal for Americans, but has become very difficult because of big corporations. The fast food industry makes chicken farmers work for them or they would get no business. In farm culture, the land is a tangible connection to the past, meant to be handed down and not sold. To native Americans, the land meant life and prosperity. In traditional Irish culture, the land is a link to past generations and to loose the land meant to fail your relatives. Their concept of land is similar to the American concept. Chapter 7 The demands of the fast food industry changed towns by making is so almost everyone ends up eating fast food because the industries are aloud to put their restaurants wherever they want and advertise as much as they want until the town’s economy runs on the fast food restaurants. Chapter 8 Meatpacking is dangerous because of the machines and rarely cleaned cutting tools. Since a meatpacking manager’s bonus is based in part on injury rate, many injuries go unreported and the worker is either given an easer job to takes time off to recover. Chapter 9 The meat packing and meat processing industry has been a spreader of disease because the animals are not screened well enough or sick workers spreading disease on the animals. After reading about the pathogens in hamburger meat, I am concerned about food poisoning in fast food. E. coli is not common in restaurant food, but is likely to be in hamburger meat. Chapter 10 Many Americans are obese because of lack of information and improper food laws. Fast food probably plays a big part in obesity because it provides unhealthy food to almost every where. Americans are probably more obese than other countries because fast food started here. Fast food companies increase the size of their meals to effect the calorie count look better for the per serving part. This effects American health because it is misguiding and you eat more than you thought you were going to. People in other countries do not want fast food because they have seen its effect on America. Epilogue The free market Schosser talks about leaves workers unprotected with little interference from the government. In the quote, Schosser is referring to the free market. I agree to what Schlosser says on 216. I believe the government needs to work harder to protect both the workers and consumers of fast food. At the end of the Epilogue, the author remedies his criticisms with the fact that it is a persons choice to eat want. Afterword Mad Cow disease is a disease that slowly destroys the brain and can be spread through hamburger meat. It can be controlled by feeding cows grass instead of corn and hormones, and inspecting the meat better. Cattle get infected by it because they stand in the dung of an effected cattle. It is a very serous threat to humans.

Save Food, Save Planet

The first thing that comes to the mind after reading the topic is: ‘How not wasting food would save the planet? ’ ‘What effect does wastage of food has on the environment or the planet? ’ ‘What exactly makes all that waste and its emissions? ’ The answer is very simple if we pause to ponder. Food waste is not just consumers throwing dinner scraps away. Producing, distributing, storing and cooking food uses energy, fuel and water. Each of these emits greenhouse gases contributing to climate change.Looking at emissions of uneaten food from farm to table, the researchers found that food wasted at the consumer phase had the highest carbon footprint. Some food spoils before farmers can harvest it, other food goes bad on its way from the farm to the market, and still more food ends up rotting on supermarket shelves that's because by the time food gets to that stage, it's already accumulated emissions from production, harvest, and distribution. In othe r words, when chuck food that you buy at the supermarket, you're throwing away every part of the process that has gotten it there, as well.Then, some kinds of food waste create more emissions than others. Wasted fruit, for example, has a relatively small ratio of food waste to carbon emitted. Meat's ratio is much larger. That's because meat production is exceptionally carbon intensive. Of course, carbon emissions are not the only way in which wasted food harms the environment. A report finds that wasted food consumes an amount of water almost three times as large as Switzerland's Lake Geneva! And that's to say nothing of the human impact of all this food waste. In the coming years, the global population is expected to hit 8 billion.How are we going to feed everyone? There are many arguments going on related to this but what I evenly say is we should start figuring out how to eat the food that we produce instead of throwing it away since If we stop throwing this good food away it wou ld save the equivalent of at least 17 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, the same as taking 1 in every 5 cars off our roads and this is what I am going to emphasize on. So, yea that's right folks, stop throwing out food. Eat everything on your plate just like your mom taught you. If you can't eat it all, take smaller portions.It’s easy for us all to make to make a difference on individual base. First of all, stick to the motto ‘LOVE FOOD, HATE WASTE’! Secondly, start planning, since it works for almost everything. Think ahead to what the week has in store – look in the fridge, freezer and cupboard, make a simple list so you only buy what you need. Make the most of your fruit and vegetables. Did you know? Apples last even longer when you keep them in the fridge – up to two weeks longer if loosely wrapped. And if they’ve had a knock, try putting them in a crumble, a sauce or start the day with a smoothie. Thirdly, Freeze!Since, food can be froze n any time before the ‘use by’ date on the label. Then when you have an evening where you don’t feel like cooking, take it out of the freezer, defrost and use within 24 hours. Fourthly, get a pet! Chickens should be the priority as you can turn those leftover scraps into eggs for your breakfast but dogs would do as well since they will eat almost anything, even those fish burgers you like so much. At last, I would like to say that ‘Yes, It is as simple as that! ’ If we try, each one of us we can save millions of malnutritioned children, habitats of thousands of endangered species and on a whole our planet.

Computer Hacking is Ethical

Austin Areas English Ill Honors Mrs.. Mills 14 December 2012 Computer Hacking is Ethical Computer hacking is a term that most everyone in today's society is familiar with. When the average person hears news about computer hacking, most likely they think about cyber-crimes, website defacement's, or knocking various websites offline. This inaccurate description is Just the image that today's media creates. In reality, true hackers are much different. Computer hacking is not the only type of hacking in today's society.Hacking actually originated from partaking, which is the art of racking a telephone network (â€Å"A Brief History of Computer Hacking†). Hacking is seen as being blackball, or wrong, when hacking can also be beneficial to the world. There are different types of computer hackers: â€Å"Hastiest,† ones who hack to express a political opinion, â€Å"Hobbyist† hackers, those who hack for enjoyment, and â€Å"Research hackers,† those who hack to lea rn about security and fix vulnerabilities (â€Å"License to hack? Ethical hacking†). As mentioned before, the first computer hackers were not people who were hacking to earn some quick cash. In 1878, two years after the telephone was invented y Alexander Graham Bell, a group of teenagers who worked to maintain the New York switchboard were fired because they were interested in seeing how the phone connections were made and how the calls were distributed to specific locations. Their actions were essentially the equivalent of early computer hackers.These boys were trying to break into the telephone system to understand and see how the switchboard worked (â€Å"Timeline: A 40-Year History of Hacking†). Computers were not always in the easy to use, graphical interface they are today. Along the time period of the ass, mainframe computers were very popular. Most universities and companies would have rooms dedicated to containing these mainframe computers, which were essentia lly a large chunk of metal locked away in a controlled environment. Due to the prices and exclusivity, users had to fight for time to obtain access to these slow- moving machines.Since these mainframe computers were so expensive and resource intensive, meaning they required time, knowledge, electricity, and money, computer programmers went out on a ledge to learn and create ways to speed up processes and modify hardware to increase performance speed (â€Å"Computer hacking: Where did it begin and how did it grow? ). In return, the machine would be able to complete more tasks and operations in a shorter time period. Hiring a hacker to modify one's machine in the ass and ass would definitely increase business functionality (Parks).The term â€Å"Hacker† did not earn the definition it has in today's world until the sass. Users discovered that they could apply their knowledge of the inner workings of a computer for their own gain. This was the time period when viruses, mallard, and other nasty cyber infections were created to earn their coder or hacker money (â€Å"Timeline: A 40-Year History of Hacking†). In the early sass, a man named John Draper discovered that he could recreate the pitch a telephone used by using a whistle obtained from a box of cereal.By using this whistle, Draper could recreate the 2600-hertz audio tone and score some free long-distance calls. Draper's actions were one of the first illegal actions committed by a hacker, which earned him the nickname â€Å"Captain Crunch. † Later in the sass, devices called â€Å"Blue Boxes† were invented by a computer club in California. These boxes were used to help change a tone to match the tone created by a telephone, thus making telephone tampering easier to use. These boys went by the names of Steve Jobs and Steve Woozier, the creators of Apple Inc. â€Å"Timeline: A 40-Year History of Hacking†). Attention towards partaking was created during this decade, resulting i n a few computer and telephone hacking magazines being created. These magazines would benefit those who wanted to become partakers and computer hackers, by teaching them techniques, and giving access to those who had already accomplished these illegal acts (â€Å"Timeline: A 40-Year History of Hacking†). Another effect from the huge amounts of attention towards hackers was a new law being passed, called The ComprehensiveCrime Control Act, giving the Secret Service Jurisdiction over cases including credit card and computer fraud (â€Å"INCURS Abstract†). Later in 1987, a seventeen-year-old hacks into AT's computer network, which led to his arrest. This boy was caught because he did want most teenage boys do, he bragged on an online bulletin board about it. Federal authority says he committed the hacking from his bedroom, and was one step away from breaching into AT&T's switching system, the system that controlled most of the nation's communication access fine (â€Å"Ti meline: A 40-Year History of Hacking†).In the year 1988 the first self-replicating virus was created by a twenty-two year old graduate named Robert Morris from Cornell University that was designed to take advantage of an exploit in UNIX-based systems. The Morris-worm, named after the creator, infected nearly one tenth of machines connected to the internet. Morris was arrested for releasing the virus and was sentenced to three years of probation, 400 hours of community service, and a $10,000 fine (â€Å"Zen and the Art of the Internet†).No other major hacks occurred until the mid to late ass, when two hackers known as Data Stream hacked into computers and systems owned by institutions such as NASA and Korean Atomic Research Institute. One of the two was caught by detectives form Scotland Yard and was discovered to be sixteen years old (â€Å"The Case Study: Rome Laboratory, Griffins Air Force Base, and NY Intrusion†). The year after, Vladimir Levin allegedly used his laptop to transfer funds from Citibank's computer network to various accounts across the world. Eventually Levin was extradited to the US, sentenced to three years in prison, and ordered to pay Citibank $240,000.The exact amount of money stolen is unknown, but is estimated to be around $3. -$10 million, not all of which has been recovered (â€Å"How To Hack A Bank†). Later that year legendary computer hacker Kevin Nitpick was arrested in Raleigh, North Carolina, and accused of breaking security violations, such as copying computer software, breaking into various networks and stealing information, including close to 20,000 credit cards. He spent four years in Jail without trial and was released in early 2000. Nitpick was accused of crimes dating back to the mid-sass (â€Å"Timeline: A 40-year history of hacking†).After the year 2000, many to most cyber- attacks or hacks have been caused by mallard users unknowingly downloading them onto their PC. Most newly created enamelware bypasses anti-virus scans, which means no one is ever one hundred percent safe on the internet. The graph below displays the type of virus or mallard threats received on various US computers (â€Å"Microsoft Security Intelligence Report†). Every computer hacker is powered by a motive or several motives. Usually malicious hackers are motivated from self-gain, either money or fame.Malicious programmers create mallard programs to do their bidding; such software can log every key one presses, steal sensitive data such as passwords for personal and banking websites, r add one's computer to a ring of infected computers that can be used to Dos websites (â€Å"Ethics in Computing†). A Dos attack is when packets of data are sent to a Webster that eventually overload the server with data to the point where the server crashes, therefore knocking the website offline. More recently, Anonymous has taken credit for Dosing major banking websites offline (â€Å"Bank of Amer ica Hit By Anonymous Dos Attack†).There are many different types of Dos attacks; the most common is a JODI Flood, which sends a JODI packet to random ports on a server. When a packet is sent to a port where there is no application listening on that port, the server replies with a Destination Unreachable packet, so the server has to respond to every single JODI Packet with an Unreachable; the part that crashes the server is when the Unreachable Packet is sent (â€Å"UDP Flood Attack†). Hackers sometimes will sell their bootee, which is the term that describes a ring of infected computers.When a hacker sells or rents his bootee, the infected PC's are transferred over to the buyer for their use, which is usually for more illegal Dos attacks. There is extremely easy money when it comes to selling information attained from hacking, whether it is selling hacked website accounts for popular websites like Youth or websites that require a monthly subscription. Most of the transa ctions are made online and are close to untraceable. Finding a competent hacker on the internet is the equivalent of going to Iraq and looking for AY Quad.Hackers know how to hide, where to hide, and how to stay safe (â€Å"Hackers Selling Cheap BOOTEES and DOS on Forums†). Even though hackers know how to hide, that does not mean they cannot get caught. Hacker Jon Paul Soon illegally hacked into his previous employer's network with malicious intent. This network was a medical network that contained health records, names, addresses, and provided services to seventeen different clinics in San Diego. Soon was punished with five years in prison and a combined fine of over four hundred thousand dollars, along with a ban from using a computer (â€Å"Hackers: Crimes and punishments†).Teenage hackers usually get off easier, with punishments like time in a Juvenile center, a ban from computers, community service, or very light prison sentences depending on age. FBI informant Ma x Butler was a hacker who was charged in 2001 with possession of stolen passwords, computer intrusion, and thirteen other counts. He risked going to prison for forty years because he decided to stop helping the FBI catch other hackers. These are Just a few cases of the risks hackers take for the thrill or self-gain from hacking (â€Å"5 Of the World's Most Famous Hackers & What Happened to Them†).With such strong consequences, one might wonder why an individual would want to become a computer hacker. Internet users become hackers because they know how to work the system; they know how to yap's the law and do close to anything they want (â€Å"The Hacker Work Ethic†). Hackers are purely cyber thieves who terrorize innocent users using their superior knowledge of how computers and the internet work. There are indeed an abundance of hackers who have malicious intent, but there are those who hack for a higher purpose (Roberts).Identifying what type of hacker one is dealing with is extremely easy; all one must do is look at the end product and ask a few questions. Is this hacker trying to steal information? Is the hacker trying to infect systems? If so, then that hacker is malicious. Other hackers hack for the learning experience. They want to learn more about computers and how systems change when modifying specifications. Hacker Sarah Flannels describes the work she put into her encryption algorithm as, â€Å"l had a great feeling of excitement †¦ Worked constantly for whole days on end, and it was exhilarating.There were times when I never wanted to stop. † Pursuing knowledge has been the fuel for many computer users since the first computers were created in the sass. These people live by the idea that the best way to learn is to take a hands on approach (â€Å"Types of computer hackers†). Contrary to black hat hackers, a type of hacker exists known as the white hat hacker. White hat hackers are the people who help infected users on the web. Many black hat hackers such as Kevin Nitpick, Kevin Paulsen, and Mark Been have turned white hat after serving time in prison or on probation (â€Å"12 â€Å"White Hat† hackers you should know').Not only to white hat hackers try to reverse the effects of black hats, but they also hack websites. Many businesses hire penetration testers, A. K. A. White hat hackers to try to penetrate the businesses' servers or databases to test how protected the businesses' websites are. Penetration testers, commonly referred to as Pen Testers, report back any exploits they have covered while hacking their employer's website or database, and then they patch the exploit, thus making a safer internet.Companies believe that if a white hat hacker can penetrate their security, then so can a mischievous black hat hacker (â€Å"tithe hat' hackers in demand†). An example of a famous white hat hacker is computer analyst and expert Touts Samurai, who police used to track down and appr ehend Kevin Nitpick in 1995 after Nitpick had evaded the FBI for years, and caused well over $100,000 in damage to systems belonging to Motorola, Monika, Sun Microsystems, and NECK (â€Å"The trials of Kevin MitoticThis is Just one example of a hacker being caught by another hacker. Police computer security analysts and hackers to look decipher cyber evidence that is related to crimes under investigation, along with cyber-forensics to break down crimes and solve them quickly (â€Å"The Kevin Nitpick/ Touts Samurai affair†). Hollywood has also tried to portray computer hacking in movies such as Hackers, from 1995, and War Games from 1983.The movie Hackers is about two computer hackers named Crash Override and Acid Burn, who seemingly fight each other with silly fonts and awful homepage graphics. Later on in the movie, he US Secret Service is involved when another associate of Overrides hacks into a school's mainframe and downloads a garbage file. This file actually contained a computer virus that could apparently capsize the company's oil tanker fleet. After a few other friends are arrested, everyone is cleared of their charges and the movie ends happily.In reality, all of these hackers would have been in prison, and would not had their charges dropped, not to mention the fact that a company had the code to a computer virus that could control their entire oil tanker fleet on a garbage file in their easily hackle mainframe (â€Å"Hackers†). Legitimate hackers later defaced the movie Hacker's website to express how they felt about the silliness in this movie (â€Å"Hacked Movie Site†). Nothing really big happened, only some text was changed and a few pictures were defaced with satirical pictures drawn over them.The website still has the hacked version of their website mirrored, meaning it is still accessible to the web. Included in the text of the defaced website were lines describing how Hollywood misunderstands technology and will never be able to comprehend the hard work and time needed to perform some of the acts that hackers accomplish. No en can tap a few keys on a keyboard and hack into a company's mainframe, website, or database.Hackers included a scene where someone managed to access a supercomputer with Just the password â€Å"GOD† and has the UNIX operating system replaced with some other three dimensional interface does not represent the real world in any manner (â€Å"Episode – Hackers†). The movie Live Free or Die Hard also butchers computer hacking in the sense that the computer hacks in it are so good at hacking that they can control entire cities, including quotes like â€Å"Okay, I want you to hack into that traffic light and make it red.Almost all of the incredible feats provided by Hollywood in movies is practically impossible, or would require months of research to perform. Many hackers believe that Hollywood will never portray legitimate hackers correctly (â€Å"Hollywood Ha cking – Television Tropes & Idioms†). Computer fanatics are compelled by the mystery of the machine. When Mr.. Hake, the Computer Applications teacher from Erwin High was asked why he was so fascinated by computers when he first had access to them, he replied with, â€Å"They were new and exciting; no one really knew where we were going to go with amputees, but everyone seemed to want to use them. † Mr..Hake described that people were compelled to study computers due to their mysteriousness and interesting possibilities (Hake). Switching from being a computer fanatic to being a computer hacker can happen really quickly when one may see how easy earning, or stealing money actually is on the internet. Or maybe the thrill of breaking past security will push the moderately to advanced computer user to turn to the dark side of computer hacking. Malicious hackers will always have a hard time as long as the be is full of white hat hackers to make their Job, or hobby mor e difficult (â€Å"Meaning of Hacking and the Different Kinds of Hackers†).In conclusion, not every person who knows their way around a computer's boundaries is unethical. While there are many intelligent and malevolent hackers loose on the web, it is still a safe place. Today's media does not accurately portray hackers or the hacker's philosophy, and neither do cut-rate Hollywood movies. Media websites control how civilians see cyber criminals, due to that factor, most innocents see hackers has people who are out to no good. The white knights of the internet are never given the appreciation they deserve, because of them we are as safe as we are now.White hat hackers have patched countless exploits caused by bad-natured hackers. Governments can Jail as many hackers as they want, but they can never Jail a philosophy. Hackers will always exist; they will always be out to gain something out of their exploits. Society needs to understand that hackers also hack to prevent collater al damage, or to catch the worst of the worst hackers. There are good hackers and bad hackers, Just as there are good people and bad people; not all hackers are unethical.

International Business Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

International Business Management - Essay Example The resources that the investor would like to control most are trademarks, patents and management know how that can be used to determine the competitiveness position of the initial holder (Schutter et al., 2013, p. 81). FDI can be horizontal or vertical. Horizontal FDI occurs when a company invests in the same trade as it has been dealing with at home (Chen, 2000, pp. 91–95). Vertical FDI has two forms, that is, forward and backward FDI. Forward vertical FDI occurs when a company invests in amenities that will devour the output of the original firm in the home country. The backward vertical FDI takes place where a firm invests in the facilities that provide raw materials or inputs to the home country (Schutter et al., 2013, p. 82). Coca cola has become the largest soft drink firm globally since it was formulated 140 years ago in Georgia United States. Currently, the company has its product in more than 200 countries worldwide serving more than 16 million people. The process of Coca Cola company investment in China started in 1979 after China and United States restored their diplomatic relations. The first Coca cola manufacturing factory was launched in 1981 in Beijing. The process of decision making consists of different stages and decision making along the way. The foremost phase of the process is the consideration for exportation possibility, in which the Coca Cola company managers determined if they can export their product to China. To make this decision the company considers transportation costs and the importation barrier. In case the transportation costs and importation barriers are too high, the Coca Cola Company discards the idea for exporting their product to China. In this notion it is impossible for the Coca Cola Company to export their soft drinks all the way to China, therefore, a different approach is used. The Company may think of joint venture alliances in the China market by

Third Reich- Nazi Germany Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Third Reich- Nazi Germany - Essay Example In this way, many scholars have concluded that the regimes of Stalin and Hitler were not themselves totalitarian as much as they were merely representations of what some have termed â€Å"organized chaos†. However, such a view, although it has some merit, flies in the very face of prior and existing definitions of the term as well as the key signs that these regimes demonstrated prior to the Second World War. As such, this brief essay will attempt to chronicle some of the ways in which both of these regimes epitomized totalitarianism in every aspect of the word. For purposes of clarity, this essay will utilize one of the prominent Soviet historians Robert Conquest’s definitions of totalitarianism. Conquest says the following, â€Å"Totalitarianism (or totalitarian rule) is a political system where the state holds total authority over the society and seeks to control all aspects of public and private life wherever necessary (Conquest 74). As such, the all encompassing n ature of the state and the level to which the state is controlling nearly every aspect of the life of the society is the predominant factor. Naturally, when one considers the level of totalitarianism that existed within both the Soviet and National Socialist systems, it will be necessary to consider the following freedoms: economic, political, social, press, and art. As this analysis will make manifestly clear, both regimes sought outright control of nearly every aspect of these freedoms that have been enumerated upon. With respect to Nazi Germany, upon coming to power, Hitler began to seek immediate consolidation of all power that was within his grasp. The changes were incremental as directorates were set up to oversee the administration of the press, the oversight of opposing political parties, a rigid oversight of the German economy, and even directorates that oversaw the representation of various art, architecture, and music that was to be created during the years that the Third Reich had control over the German population (Stone 50). Each of these apparatus was specifically designed to give the National Socialist party, under the leadership of Adolph Hitler, a complete and total control of the ways in which the different functions of government and society would be able to both oversee and direct the state towards ideals that would better serve the purpose of the leadership. In this way, the reader begins to gain a better grasp of how totalitarianism was well rooted within the National Socialist Party long before the outbreak of war in 1939. As a further evidence of this, one need only look at the way that the educational system was fundamentally re-oriented to provide a means of uplifting the state, nationalism, patriotism, sacrifice, and racial pride. Moreover, the prevalence of the Hitler youth as early as 1933 presented a new face to the means by which the state not only wanted to control every aspect of politics, education, the media, property, cultu re, but also the minds of the youth as a function of reshaping the state into the ideal that the leadership had set before them. Likewise, if one considers the case of the Soviet Union during this same time period, a similar story is told; however, with far bloodier undertones and consequences. Upon the death of Vladimir Lenin in 1924 and a brief power struggle, Joseph Stalin assumed leadership of the Soviet Union up until well after the conclusion of WWII. As such, Stalin was perhaps the living embodiment of totalitarianism. To attempt to relate

Laser Triangulation for 3D Shape Estimation Essay

Laser Triangulation for 3D Shape Estimation - Essay Example Consequently, this case provides an in-depth critical and analytical overview of the processes followed in order to make the process a success. The areas to be accessed include the utilization of project planning and control methodologies, accounting structures, the efficiency of team building and application of formal management techniques in making the project productive. In the first phase of project planning, the team made use of Gantt chart to help in effective mapping out of the activities considered critical for the completion. In which case, the team considered Gantt chart useful in giving a chance for aligning important tasks, which could be carried out in parallel; and most of all aligning them sequentially. The tasks were aligned in order of their completion, with the first to be finished put as the first. In which case, the first task was Task analysis, meant to take one day, and the last was reporting, which was meant to go for almost half of the duration required to complete the project. Through the Gantt chart, the team was able to evaluate the trade off on the basis of scope, cost and timescales meant for the project. As the result, the team was able to manipulate the end date of each task and that of the overall project to suit the resource constraints. The group was efficient in controlling the resources used, through utilizing the three major aspects of a Gantt chart: predicted use of time, actual use of time, the deadline for submission. In this scenario, the team determined the activities which were deemed to be finished after the deadline; for instance, the team realized that they could not finish the final design in time to move on to the manufacturing state. Consequently, they had to apply proper management strategies to ensure that the slack time to be placed for the completion of the project did not interfere with the completion of subsequent activities.  

Global Business Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Global Business Strategy - Essay Example The paper will highlight some of the key elements in the company's global approach such as international markets choices and entry, market segmentation, as well how the company has carved its way up to the challenging markets in the global construction materials industry. Global Business strategy is a critical component of the holistic approach of organizations attempting to enter global markets successfully. Business organizations have to create approaches, which will cater to all organizational factors such as marketing, human resources management, operations management, risk management and other critical aspects of an organization if they have to put together possible global strategies, which will be sufficient in overcoming challenges of entering global markets. Although there is ongoing debate on multinational corporations strategy over the approaches like standardization versus adaptation there is confluence of ideas and the recognition that multinationals have to put together possible business strategies that will be enough for the unstable and different surroundings in which global businesses operate. There are various factors that apply significant pressure on global businesses to formulate working short term and long term strategies plans t o the accomplishment of their objectives and goals. Upon the underlying fact that human needs are basically the same across countries and communities, sticking differences obtain in aspects cultural, economic, geographic, political etc. This means that global business management organs must be at the top of the game in ensuring that policy and strategy are appropriately put together to reach desired results Corporate strategy focuses on wide and far reaching goals and purposes of an organization. The strategy focuses on the accomplishments of set goals in line with expectations of the stakeholders. Other global business organizations influence on Business Unit strategy, which is a concept that boils down to the aspects of products and services or products being rendered. The other critical strategy component is the aspect of operational strategy, which can also be used in global business strategy to reach desired results in as far meeting organization goals in concerned. The success of Lafarge in the global landscape must have tapped in the advantages of some of these strategic concepts. Through the exploration of the growth and strategic thrust of Lafarge some of theses concepts can be identified. The case of Lafarge note that, the global cement industry is gradually transforming into an oligopoly through the creation of mergers and acquisitions, which ends in capacity concentration, and the control of the global landscape by a few transnational players. However, the global structure of the industry is still unstable with no single player with two digit market share. The major players lack the capacity to

To what extent would a social and environmental audit help Coca-Cola Essay

To what extent would a social and environmental audit help Coca-Cola to answer its critics - Essay Example An independent study by Exeter University on the sludge released from Coca Cola Company reveals that the sludge that Coca Cola has been dumping on the land has traces of chemicals that are not safe for human consumption. That result invalidates any claim by Coca Cola that the waste material is not harmful to human beings. It exposes Coca Cola’s operations in India as unethical. In fact, Exeter’s research is also supported narrowly by study results from the local state laboratories who have positively confirmed the sludge indeed has chemicals. These two findings put any claim of honesty by Coca Cola about the state of its operations in India’s Kerala state as unreliable. Coca Cola cannot be trusted to give an audit of itself without attempting to sweep its ethical filth below the carpet to avoid possible repercussions. No man can be a judge in his own case (Layzer, 2011). The reliability of claims by those who oppose Coca Cola’s activities can also be assessed through the prism of facts, exaggeration and hidden interest in the matter. The study reveals that since the Coca Cola opened up in the region, locals have complained about the amount of water they can access. Since water is such a necessity in human lives, and since the complaints have been there since the company began its operations, claims about the drop in the volumes of water seem justifiable. One can say that the villagers are honest to say that the setting up of the company has affected the volumes of waters in the region. That is because water is a commodity used daily in human life and any event that affects its accessibility is easily noticed. The locals can also be justified in their claims that their livelihoods have been destroyed since the building of the plant in the region. It would appear that the huge amounts of water needed for sustainability of the lives of locals has been grossly interfered with in the aftermath of

Improve management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Improve management - Essay Example To me, it is also a chance to get to realize my full potential, get in touch with personal self and lastly, to focus on what I want to attain in the long-term or in short-term period. In this report, I will focus on my personal strengths and weaknesses, as well as how I can make full use of my strengths towards attaining my objectives, addition to improving my weaknesses and making them my strengths. 1. Evaluation of Skills and Knowledge Personal evaluation is a key stage in the self-improvement cycle that enables one to rediscover himself. The four areas I would like to concentrate on include decision-making, communication skills and time management. i) Decision-making According to McKee (2012), decision-making is an integral part of management that should be based on logical choice of available alternatives. In essence, the process of making a decision should be backed up by critical thought process. I have been slow in making decisions as I prefer to assemble as much information a s possible rather than rush into a decision. Most of thise decisions have however tended to be dependable and less disappointing. I always tend to weigh between alternatives before coming up to a decision. Overall For example, while working at my father’s firm, I always tended to research and choose between alternatives. In some instances, I had to confer with expert opinion from the more experienced staff. The result is that the decisions were always welcome among the senior management and my supervisors. However, some of my decisions have been regrettable, which means that I still need to focus on improving my decision-making skills. In making decisions, an individual must weigh the alternative options, including the negatives and positives. One must also be able to have a foresight on the outcome of the alternatives taken (McKee, 2012). ii) Time-management Time management comprises processes or activities that involve scheduling and implementing conscious organization of t he amount of time spent performing different activities to increase one’s productivity or effectiveness (McKee, 2012). Working at my father’s business, I could always get overwhelmed with task. I also had to avoid more difficult tasks and go for simpler ones. I have also faced issues with tardiness as I’m always late for meetings. I also have trouble meeting deadlines for my assignments. This has resulted in instances where I had lost businesses after having been late in completion of a customer’s order. I also fall behind projects and sometimes work longer in my projects than necessary which has caused me to be stressed or feel fatigued. I’m also always unprepared, for instance, although I may always have sufficient information for my presentation in a meeting, poor preparation often renders my presentation ineffective (Avolio, 2005). iii) Communication Skills Great communication skills implies one has the ability to convey information effectively through exchanging messages, information or thoughts effectively, while stimulating feedback at the same time. Communication is judged to be effective when it is complete, meaning; the receiver has understood the message and acted responsively (McKee, 2012). Able to talk confidently regardless of whom I'm talking to or the situation. While working at my

Investigating Basic Circuits Essay Example for Free

Investigating Basic Circuits Essay Introduction What is an electrical circuit? How can you manipulate components and design a circuit that will do what you want it to? This guided activity will introduce you to some components, tools, and concepts that are fundamental in electronics. It will allow you to investigate and discover: What are voltage, current, and resistance? How are they related to one another? What are some of the basic components that make up simple circuits and what do they do? What are the important characteristics of a circuit and how do I measure different parts of a circuit? How do I measure voltage in a circuit? How does the arrangement of components affect the characteristics of the circuit? How do I work safely with circuits? How can I use calculations to design circuits before I start creating one? Equipment Digital Logic Board (DLB) or breadboard (2) Light emitting diodes (LEDs) (2) 330 Ohm resistors (orange/orange/brown/gold or silver) Digital multimeter (DMM) #22 Gauge solid wire Procedure Follow the instructions to create different types of circuits. As you create each circuit, you will be asked to make measurements and record observations to gain understanding about the circuit and its components. Let us begin by investigating two components that are commonly used in circuits. They are resistors and Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs). Part A: Creating a Circuit and Measuring a Circuit’s Properties 1. A Simple Circuit Arrange the components according to the picture shown. You will need to plug the USB cable from the myDAQ into your computer to provide power to the Protoboard. Notice that the LED has a flat notch on one side. Make sure the notch is  initially oriented on the bottom as shown in the picture. In this arrangement, the flow of conventional current is from the top (5V) to the bottom (0V) through the resistor and the LED. What do you think the role is of the resistor in this circuit? (1a) Components on a Breadboard (1b) Circuit Diagram In a circuit, the flow of conventonal current can be described as a positive charge moving through a complete circuit path (VCC to GND). Can you trace the flow of conventional current in both of the above pictures? 2. With the LED illuminated, flip the direction of the LED on the breadboard (notch on top now), and then flip it back to its original position (notch on bottom). What does your observation tell you about diodes (and LEDs)? 3. Using the DMM to Measure Values Making sure that the RED lead is plugged into (V) and the black lead is plugged into (COM) on the Digital Multi-Meter (DMM), turn the DMM on to direct current voltage range 0-600V or first click (see 3a). Place the RED DMM lead on the top of the resistor, and the black lead on the bottom of the LED. Note the reading on the DMM. Now switch the DMM leads. (3a) Digital Multimeter DMM(3b) Reading voltage across the resistor and LED What did you notice about the value on the DMM when you switched the leads? 4. Now place the DMM leads across the circuit as you did initially in picture (3b) and turn the DMM to the next smallest voltage range (0-200V). You may need a classmate to help you. Note the value on the DMM and then turn one more click to the next smallest ranges (0-20V). What is happening on the display with each click, as the range you are measuring gets smaller and smaller? 5. Turn one last click of the DMM to read the range (0-2V). What happened and why? What was the most accurate measurement were you able to make of the voltage across the resistor and LED? 6. Set the DMM to the range that will give you the most accurate voltage  measurement and touch the lead across the two ends of the red wire. Note the reading on the DMM. Now touch the leads across the two ends of the black wire. Note the reading. (6a) (6b) Voltage (ΔV=Vf-Vi) is a description of a components potential to do work. (1 volt means the component could do 1 joule of work for every coulomb of charge that passes though it (1V= 1J/1C). In order for a component to do work, there must be a difference in the potential across the component to do work (often called a potential difference). Why do you think the reading was the same for both of these sections of the circuit? What you have just observed is exactly why birds can land on high power lines unharmed. 7. In Step 3 you measured the voltage across the resistor and the LED combined. Now touch the leads across both ends of the resistor. Note the reading on the DMM. (a) Voltage across LED and Resistor (b) Voltage across Resistor Only Can you guess the reading you will see when you touch the DMM leads across the LED only? Were you correct? Why did you guess that value? 8. You might be asking why we need a resistor in this circuit. Is it doing any work? Some components have limitations on how much electrical current can pass through them or how much voltage they should have across them. We can calculate the relationships between Voltage, Current, and Resistance for a component using Ohm’ Law (V=IR). Let’s assume the voltage you saw across the 330â„ ¦ resistor was roughly 3V when the circuit was active. What is the conventional current (measured in Amps) traveling through the resistor according to Ohm’s Law? In this arrangement, the electrical current has only one path through the components (top to bottom in the picture). These components can be described as being in series with each other. The amount of current flowing through an LED must each be equal in the same path. Warning: Do not attempt to verify the current in the circuit at this time using the DMM. While the DMM can  handle this amount of current, you must learn how to use the ammeter portion of the DMM properly to protect it from blowing a fuse. Shorting voltage sources is dangerous and can damage the DMM. Part B: Series and Parallel Circuits 9. These two identical 330â„ ¦ resistors are in series with each other. There is only one path through the circuit from the power source to the ground. In this diagram, the power source is a 9V battery. One end of the battery has 9V of potential to do work (positive terminal-top). The other end of the battery has zero potential to do work (negative terminal/ground-bottom). (a) Based on your observations, what would you expect the voltage read if you touched the DMM across both R1 and R2? (b) Due to the fact that R1 and R2 are identical, what would you guess is the voltage across each resistor is individually? Why? (c) We can actually replace these two resistors with one resistor that would have the same impact on the circuit. (This theoretical resistor is called an equivalent resistor). What would the value of this equivalent resistor have to be in Ohms (â„ ¦)? 10. Create this series circuit on your breadboard. With both LEDs illuminated, remove one of the LEDs from the circuit path. What happened and why? 11. You can try 3 LEDs in series but none will light up. Why do you think that is? 12. Components in a circuit can also be arranged in parallel. Create this parallel circuit on your breadboard. With both LEDs illuminated, what happens if you remove one of the LEDS from the circuit path? 13. Using the diagram shown to you in Step 9 for series circuit as a reference, can you draw a circuit diagram showing 2 resistors in parallel?  (Draw circuit below) 14. In a series circuit all component have the same current (Amps) flowing them (even if the resistors have different values. That is not the case for components in parallel with each other. What do components in parallel share in common? 15. Based on your observations and what you have learned about parallel circuits, use Ohm’s Law (V=IR) to calculate the current in each of the 3 resistors? Imagine you add more two more resistors (R4 and R5) in parallel. For each new path to the battery you create, what do you think that does to the total amount of current going into and out of the battery? Conclusion 1. Describe the proper way to place the DMM leads and the steps you use to attain the most precise measurement value for voltage across components using a Digital Multimeter (DMM). 2. If the value on the DMM is negative, what does that tell you about the orientation of the DMM leads in relation to the flow of conventional current? 3. LEDs and resistors transfer electrical energy into light and thermal energy. What is an important characteristic about LEDs (and diodes) that make it unique compared to a resistor? 4. In your own words, describe what it means for components to be in series with each other. What characteristic do components in a series always share in common? (Voltage, Current, or Resistance) 5. In your own words, describe what it means for components to be in parallel with each other. What characteristic do components in parallel always share in common? (Voltage, Current, or Resistance) Going Further 6. In this investigation you were introduced to the idea of equivalent resistance (replacing multiple resistors in series with one that does the same job. Equivalent resistance for a series circuits can be shown as a simple mathematical expression. How would you express this relationship to the total resistance in the circuit mathematically? 7. A theoretical equivalent resistor can be placed in parallel circuits and shown mathematically as well. This relationship is a little less straight forward than equivalent resistance in series circuits. With a little research, can you determine how the equivalent resistance for this parallel circuit would be expressed mathematically? We will expand our understanding on these concepts in later activities.

Financial market is important for Savers and Borrowers

Financial market is important for Savers and Borrowers What is financial markets and why it is important for savers and borrowers? Financial market is a system that includes an individuals and institutions, and procedures that together borrowers and savers and it is no matter where is the location between the savers and borrowers. The main role for financial market is to facilitate the funds from the individuals and business that have the majority fund to individuals, business, and governments to fulfill their needs of income. Financial institution is a process that used by organization which providing various types of financial services to their customers. The government authorities has controlled and supervised the institution according to the rules and regulations. Financial institution is giving different type of economic ideas for an organization to carry out their business. Financial institution is an establishment that gives as the financial services. Financial institution based on bank, credit unions, asset management firms and m ore. They are responsible for distributing of the financial resources in a planned way to the potential users. Financial institution can be categorized as Deposit Taking Institutions, Investment Institutions, Pension Providing Institution, Risk Management Institution and more. Financial markets have five type markets their money market, capital market, debt market, equity market and derivative market. Money market is the market that maturities less than one year and provide liquidity to the market place. Capital market is transfer income to the future year, for example home mortgages. Debt market is an financial market for give loans. Equity market is identifying the financial market in which corporate stock are traded. Derivative market is a market the right to sell in the future at a price set today. Their three different ways for transferring capital or fund from savers to borrowers in the financial market their direct transfer of, investment banking house and indirect transfer ( financial intermediaries). This three different way of transferring are taking a major part in the business environment know days for increase the capital of a business or governments to do their project and they will improve their economy of their country. Direct transfer is one of the ways of transferring capital from saver to borrower in the financial market. Direct transfer takes place when an organization sells their goods or bond directly to the savers without going through any other ways of financial institutions. The business gives their securities to the savers and the savers who getting the securities must give the money to the business when the business need. The diagram below is showing the direct transfers process. Direct transfer is giving the borrowers a direct way to get their saver to capital their money in to the borrowers business. In this direct transfer the savers dont have any interrogation from investment banking house or financial intermediaries when they investing their money in to the borrowers business. For an example an organization is willing to start up a new product in their productivity and they dont have much capital to start up the new productivity so the organization will ask the investors or savers to give some funds to start up their new productivity and after they produce their product and they will sail the product. After that they will give the amount that was given by the he savers with the dividend from the profit that the borrower earns according to how much the saver capital in the business. An advantage for direct transfer is the dialing and the transaction will be known by the borrower and the saver. They dont have any interrogation from investment banking house or financial intermediaries so the borrower can get more capital from the saver and for saver he will get more dividend after the borrower gain his profit. The disadvantage for direct transfer is if the borrower is get the money from the saver and the business was faller the saver wont get any money from the borrower because the business is in lost. Or other disadvantage is if the saver gives the money to the borrower and the borrower tack the money and he can cheat the saver. The saver cant get any help from other authorities because they do direct transfer. Investment Banking House is also another way of transferring capital or found from savers to borrower in the financial market. Investment Banking House is underwrite and distributing a new investment security and help the business obtain financial by an organization. The issuance of securities will middleman and facilitates by the underwriter saver. The organization will sells the stock or the bond that they have to the investment bank and the investment bank will sells the same securities to the savers. The diagram below is showing the investment banking house process. Investment banking house is giving the opportunity to the saver to identify which investment is better for them to gain benefits and for borrowers they dont need to worry about finding their saver because the investment banking house will give the investor or saver to the borrower to invest capital to do their business. After the business got the profit the borrower will give the money to the investment banking house and they will give the money to the savers by adding the dividend. And for the investment banking house they will get their income from the both borrower and saver because they are the medal person how identify and give the good borrower for saver and a good saver for the borrower. The advantage for investment banking house is they will identify a good borrower for the saver to invest and they also have more than one investment plane for the savers. For borrowers they dont need to worry about to find their saver because the investment banking house will get the saver for the borrower so the both party will have lesser work compare to direct transfer. The disadvantage is for the investment banking house is if the borrower didnt get the profit from the business so the borrower can give the amount that invest by the saver, so the investment bank house not responsible for that. They wont give any money to the saver. Financial intermediaries Financial intermediaries are the thread way to transferring capital in to financial market. Financial intermediaries specialized financial firm that facilitate the transfer of funds from saver to borrower for a capital for his business. Financial intermediary can identify as a bank. It will create a new financial product to simply transfer money and securities between the borrowers and the savers. The diagram below is showing the financial intermediaries process. The financial intermediaries will tack the capital or fund from the saver who invest to them and they will give their own capital to their borrowers. For example saver give 3milion to the financial intermediaries and the borrower want a capital of 2milion to do his business, so the financial intermediaries will give the lone to the borrower by adding his own inters rate to the borrower. After the business get the profit the borrower will give the money and inters to the financial intermediaries and then the intermediaries will give savers the capital by adding sum inters as a profit for the saver. So the financial intermediaries will get their profit from the inters that they set for the borrower and the give the sum of the inters to his saver. The advantage financial intermediaries are both the saver and the borrower are control by them. They will fix the lone for the borrower and they have the statement of savers ho invest their money to them. Also if the borrower cant give the amo unt that he borrows from them the saver will get his capital. The disadvantage of financial intermediaries it will tack a long term to get the profit for the saver because the intermediaries is using the savers money to give more than one borrower to do their business, so when the borrowers give the money to them then only they can give the hole amount to the saver. Conclusion Financial market is helping the saver and borrower gain more profit. It also helping our country to become stable and giving a good position in economic compare to other country because if savers give more capital to the financial market the can used as a capital for borrowers to do their business to gain more profit to all of them, with this the saver get his profit, the borrower gets is profit, financial market sector can get their profit and the government can improve the economics of the country in higher level. It also give more inters to other country to inverse sum capital or business to improve our standard of life style.

Rafflesia Species in Malaysia Identification

Rafflesia Species in Malaysia Identification INTRODUCTION 1.1 BACKGROUND STUDY There are a number of unique plant types in the world which are on the brink of extinction, or are so extremely limited in range. For example the beautiful palms such as the Talipot Palm (Corypha elata), Johannis teysmannia in Sarawak and Malaya, and also Livistona in West Sumatra. The largest flower in the world, Rafflesia arnoldii and related species, are going to vanish unless more nature reserves are created for such remarkable plants in Sumatra, Borneo, Java, and the Philippines. Rafflesia is a genus of flowering plants that is made up of 23 known species. The best known of these species is Rafflesia arboldii which has the distinction of being the worlds largest flower, reaching a diameter of about three feet. The genus Rafflesia gets its name from Sir Stamford Raffles, the founder of the British colony of Singapore (Walter et al., 1998). Rafflesia is a unique plant because of its dimensions unlike other flowers. This circumstance makes it widely known. It is also become an icon for conservation especially of the rain forest area. The rarity creates interest among nature lovers, tourists and the general public. The fact that some species may be in the brink of extinction alarms conservation groups. Its little-known biology and reproductive ecology spurs the interest of botanists and ecologist (Nais, 2004). Rafflesia is also thought to be one of the rarest of all plant genera which is only found in Borneo, Sumatra, Java, Peninsular Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines. 1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT Malaysia is very fortunate for being one of the habitats of Rafflesia. But unfortunately, all of the known species of Rafflesia are threatened or endangered. In Malaysia the Rafflesia is only a Totally Protected Plant by law in Sarawak. In Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia it is only safeguarded by laws when found in protected areas like National or State Parks. In 2002, 44 out of the 83 Rafflesia flowers found in Sabah were outside of designated conservation places (Sabah Travel Guide, 2004). Eight out of the 23 known species of Rafflesia can be found in Malaysia, most of them in the jungles on the island of Borneo. Some species of Rafflesia are endemic species. That means these species are native and can be found only in that location. For example, Rafflesia tengku-adlinii seems to be endemic to Sabah only while Rafflesia tuan-mudae endemic to Sarawak only. Because the Rafflesia is only found in specific areas and its locations often difficult to reach, and because it only blooms for a very short time, its life cycle or the methods of pollination and seed dispersal is very unclear. This makes the appropriate methods to conserve it quite difficult to be found. Other than that, in Peninsular Malaysia flower buds are still sold as traditional medicine. The buds are seen as a sign of fertility, and are given to help mothers recover after birth. The over collection of these buds has not helped with conservation efforts but further drastically reduced the number of Rafflesia in the wild, accentuating the problem the alarmingly fast transformation of jungles into palm oil plantation creates (Sabah Travel Guide, 2004). The Rafflesia is a delicate plant that relies on an intact environment and as such is naturally extremely vulnerable to deforestation and development. Conservation must be done to protect this species from extinct. The expert system may help the user to identify the Rafflesia species in Malaysia. By using an expert system, the user may gather information about approaches to conserve the Rafflesia. 1.3 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES There are some purposes for this research. The main objectives of this research are: to identify the Rafflesia species in Malaysia based on their physical characteristics. to develop an expert system which help the public to recognize the Rafflesia species in Malaysia. to verify system performance in order to make it applicable to the real world. 1.4 SCOPE OF STUDY The scope of this research is mainly about the Rafflesia flower and the approaches to conserve it. This research also about the system named an expert system which using Macromedia Dreamweaver 8. The system is the tool or mechanism which contains all collected information, recommendation and opinion from many expertises and also results from so many researches done. The target users of this system are tourists, publics, nature lovers and also those who interested in conserving the Rafflesia plant. The system that will be developed will provide the public about the Rafflesia species in Malaysia as well as the approaches to conserve the Rafflesia. By using an expert system, it would easier the public to access about this endangered plant. 1.5 THESIS ORGANIZATION This thesis consist of five chapters; introduction, literature review, methodology, results and discussion and conclusion. Chapter 2 is about literature review. This chapter includes the Rafflesia characteristics, the diversity and habitat of Rafflesia, identification of Rafflesia species as well as treats and conservation of Rafflesia. Introduction of expert system also included in this chapter. Expert systems typically have three basic components; a knowledge base, an inference engine and user interface. Chapter 3 is about methodology. This chapter contains the development stage of expert system for Rafflesia species identification. There are five stages in developing an expert system which are task analysis, knowledge acquisition process, prototype development, expansion and refinement and lastly verification and validation. Chapter 4 is about the result and discussion. This chapter consists of the architecture of the system and also the flow in the developing system process. This research is using an IF-THEN rule in form of asking question to the user. Chapter 5 is about the conclusion. This chapter consists of conclusion for overall of this research. It includes the expert system technology, the prototype development of expert system and the recommendation to make the system move effective and also ways to improve it. CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 INTRODUCTION The Rafflesia is one of the most magnificent flowers ever known to the botanical world. It is such a big flower with odd appearance, exceptional, rare and also mysterious. It is also immense scientific and public interest. Rafflesia in bloom has been described as simply awesome (Nais, 2001). This chapter will discuss about Rafflesia characteristics, diversity, habitat, species identification as well as treats and conservation of Rafflesia. 2.2 RAFFLESIA CHARACTERISTICS In general, Rafflesia flowers consist of five leathery petals that are orange in colour and mottled with cream-coloured warts (Attenborough, 1995). The flower also has no leaves, stem or roots. The dramatic Rafflesia flowers are the largest single flowers in the world; the leathery petals can reach over 90 centimetres across (Attenborough, 1995). Rafflesia is a parasite that depends completely upon its host which supplies nutrients and water to the flower. These host plants are vines of Tetrastigma spp., and the Rafflesia plant is itself not visible until the reproduction stage when flowers first bud through the woody vine and then open into the magnificent spectacle that is world-renowned today (Nais, 2001). Most flowers in the genus give off and smell of rotting flesh, hence the local called it the corpse flower. When in bloom, the flower displays its five fleshy petals or so called perigone lobes. The diameter of the various species of Rafflesia flower ranges from approximately 20 cm to a record diameter of 106.7 cm (Meijer, 1985). Other than that, the unique part of this giant flower is the flowers can take up to ten months to develop from the first visible bud to the open bloom, which may last from 5 to 7 days only. Currently 17 species of Rafflesia are recognised and these mainly differ in the morphology of their flowers (Nais, 2001). There is a deep well in the centre of the flower containing a central raised disc raised that supports many vertical spines (Attenborough, 1995). The sexual organs are located beneath the rim of the disk, and male and female flowers are separate (Attenborough, 1995). 2.3 RAFFLESIA DIVERSITY There are 23 completely known species and 4 incompletely known species of Rafflesia as recognized by Meijer on 1997. Table 3.1 shows the known species of Rafflesia and Table 3.2 shows the unknown species of Rafflesia as recognized by Meijer on 1997. 2.4 RAFFLESIA HABITAT Rafflesia is restricted to the western part of the phytogeographical region of Malesia, which is known as the Sunda shelf (Nais, 2001). The region is floristically distinct, with a clear boundary from surrounding region (Steenis, 1950). Table 2.3 shows the genus distribution in their landmass location. Number in parentheses denotes the number of Rafflesia species present in each area. Book of Rafflesia Magnificent Flower of Sabah by Kamarudin Mat Saleh (1991) A total of 23 names of Rafflesia species have been published between 1821 and 1988 (index Kewensis, 1994). Six of the names are now considered synonyms, and a further four have inadequate type material and are treated as insufficiently known species (Meijer, 1997). The western most extension of Rafflesia is Acheh District, Sumatra, followed by the Ranong Province in Thailand, about 5 km from the Myanmar border (Meijer Elliot, 1990; Banziger, 1991; Elliot, 1991; Banziger et al., 1993). The eastern limit is Mount Apo Timur and at Gunung Dadum in Eastern Sabah (Nais, 2001). The northern most limits are at Mount Makiling, Los Banos Province, on Luzon Island in the Philippnes (Madulid Agoo, 1996), and the southern limit is the province of Java, Indonesia. The distribution of Rafflesias genus is shown in Figure 2.1. 2.5 IDENTIFICATION OF RAFFLESIA SPECIES The first description of the morphology of Rafflesia was made by Robert Brown (1821, 1835), who provided a detailed and meticulous description and illustrations of the male and female flowers of Rafflesia arnoldii (Nais, 2001). The taxonomy of Rafflesia is based entirely on the floral morphology (form and structure) of the flower with most emphasis on the outer appearance. The current species delimitation of Rafflesia is based on eight major characters. These eight variable characters are listed below (Nais, 2001) and the radial section of Rafflesia flower drawn by Yong Ket Hyun, after Meijer 1985 are shown in Figure 2.2. Size (diameter of open flowers varies from 15 cm in R. manillana to nearly 1 m in R. arnoldii); Diameter of the diaphragm aperture (ranging form 3-9 cm in R. micropylora, to about 20 cm in R. arnoldii); Number of disk processes (from none in R. rochussenii to 20-60 in R. arnoldii); Size and number of white spots (called blots, specks or warts) on the perigone lobes and diaphragm (from few to large in R. hasseltii to numerous and small in R. arnoldii); Number and size of the windows on the inside or lower surface of the diaphragm (3-5 rings of round spots in R. micropylora, seven rings of round spots in R. kerrii, or five rings of elongate oval spots in R. pricei) Number of anthers (from about 15 in R. manillana to 40 in R. arnoldii); Structure and length of ramenta, and position of their occurrence (from short and more or less postulate in R. manillana to up to 12 mm long in R. micropylora; in R. schadenbergiana, ramenta occur on the undersite of the diaphragm; ramenta in various species may have apices branched or unbranched, swollen or crateriform); and Number of annuli at the base of the perigone tube and column, all species has either 1 or 2 (for example, 2 in R. pricei). In this research, the focus is on the Rafflesia species in Sabah, Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia only. There are eight species of Rafflesia can be found around Malaysia which is four species (R. azlanii, R. cantleyi, R. hasseltii and R. kerrii) located in Peninsular Malaysia, three species (R. tengku-adlinii, R. keithi and R. pricei) can be found in Sabah and four species (R. tuan-mudae, R. pricei and R. keithii) in Sarawak. 2.5.1 Rafflesia cantleyi Solms-Laubach Rafflesia cantleyi was named after M. Cantley, curator of the Singapore Botanic Gardens in 1880 to 1886, who collected the type specimen in 1881. This species was described by H. Graft Solms-Laubach based on a collection made by M. Cantley in 1881. Rafflesia cantleyi has open flower dimension from 30 to 55 cm in diameter. Its perigone lobes are up to 14 cm long and 18 cm wide. It has 6 to 8 whitish warts in radial and lateral directions, about 10 in the basal row. The diaphragm opening is 4 to 8 cm across and rounded shape or sometimes angular. It has 5 concentric rings of oval white blots. Its ramenta is 2 cm long in upper type while middle and lower type is 10 to 12 mm longs, or sometimes branched, almost all with swollen apices. Its number of anthers is from 20 to 25 and this species can be found in Peninsular Malaysia only (Perak, Kedah, Perlis, Selangor, Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and Tioman Island). Figure 2.3 shows the picture of Rafflesia cantleyi. 2.5.2 Rafflesia hasseltii Suringar Rafflesia hasseltii was described by Suringer in 1879 from discovery in Central Sumatra. R. hasseltii has an open flower dimension from 35 to 50 cm in diameter. It has 10 to 13 cm long and 14 to 17 cm wide of perigone lobes. It has whitish-pinkish blots across and large size of blots ranging from 5 x 3 to 10 x 1 cm. The clear contrast of snow white blots on bright brick-red background easily distinguishes this species from others. Its window is whitish or pale yellowish with a dark brown zone near the rim and the compound ramenta near the attachment point of the diaphragm gradually become white blots (window) on the lower part of the diaphragm. The R. hasseltii ramentas upper type is toadstool-like compound ramenta which gradually becoming the white blots of the windows. While for middle and lower type is generally linear with swollen apices. The number of anthers is 20 and this species can be found in Sumatra, Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo and its altitudinal distribution is from 4 00 to 600 m. Figure 2.4 shows the picture of Rafflesia hasseltii. 2.5.3 Rafflesia keithii Meijer Rafflesia keithii was named after Harry G. Keith, the former Conservator of Forests in British North Borneo or nowadays called Sabah, Malaysia. This species was described by Willem Meijer in 1984. Rafflesia keithii has an open flower dimension from 80 to 94 cm in diameter. The perigone lobes are 10 to 12 cm across at the median of the lobes but sometimes it has six-lobed. Its colour is numerous white warts with dense, more or less of the same sizes. The diaphragm opening is normally 5 concentric of white warts in about 40 radial rows, each surrounded by a dark red-brown margin. Its window has 5 to 6 rings of large, white blots, those nearer to the rim merging. The ramenta for upper type is 5 to 6 mm long which often fascicled (in bundles) middle and for lower type is solitary and only some with a swollen head. Rafflesia keithii always has 40 numbers of anthers. This species can be found only in Borneo with 250 to 940 m of altitudinal distribution. Figure 2.5 shows the picture of Raff lesia keithii. 2.5.4 Rafflesia kerrii Meijer Rafflesia kerrii was named after A.F.G. Kerr, Thailands first Government Botanist, who collected the specimen from which the specimen was described. This species was described by Willem Meijer in 1984. Rafflesia kerrii has an open flower dimension of 50 to 70 cm in diameter. It has 13 to 20 cm long and 19 to 24 cm wide of perigone lobes. Its colour is dull red with brownish tinge and have numerous and scattered warts with 3 to 4 mm space between them. The size of warts for R. kerrii is the smallest compared to other species. The diaphragm opening ia about 12 to 17 cm across and have upper face with 3 to 4 concentric rings of white spots surrounded by a dark red margin. The characteristics for its window are bright white in colour with roundish to elliptic blots and up to 10 mm of diameter. This species of Rafflesia has ramenta that mostly unbranched and only slightly swollen at apex. Its anthers consist of about 26 to 31. The distribution of Rafflesia kerrii is surrounding Thailand a nd Peninsular Malaysia which at attitude from 500 to 1000 m. Figure 2.6 shows the picture of Rafflesia kerrii. 2.5.5 Rafflesia pricei Meijer Rafflesia pricei was named after William Price, a honourary plant collector for the Royal Botanic Garden, Kew, who collected this species along the trail to the Mamut Copper Mine. This species of Rafflesia was described by Willem Meijer in 1984. Rafflesia pricei can only be found in Sabah only. It has 16 to 45 cm of opening flower dimension. It has 40 to 80 raised whitish spots (warts) surrounded by brick-red background. The spots range from 1 to 4 cm in length and the surface is minutely rugolose giving a matted appearance while the red background is densely papillose (Beaman at al., 1988). The diaphragm opening is about 5 to 6 cm in diameter and the diaphragm has 4 to 5 irregular rings of white spots smaller than those of the perigone lobes, surrounded by brick-red areas that grade into the cream-white background, the inner edge has a narrow white margin with a continuous reddish-brown area just outside the white rim (Beaman et al., 1988). The R. pricei has 4 to 5 concentric rings of large white window panes or blots and contracting with the bright red background. The interior of the perigone tube from the base of the tube to the lower edge of the diaphragm is lines with wine-red ramenta. The upper type (near the diaphragms opening) is about 2 to 6 long while middle type (near the insertion of the perigone lobes) is about 4 to 6 cm long and the lower type (near the base of the perigone tube) is about 6 to 7 mm long. The number of anthers for R. pricei is 20. Figure 2.6 shows the picture of Rafflesia pricei. 2.5.6 Rafflesia tengku-adlinii Mat Salleh Latiff Rafflesia tengku-adlini was named after Tengku Datuk (Dr.) Adlin Tengku Zainal Abidin, a keen naturalist and conservationist in Sabah who facilitated the documentation of the species after its recovery. This species was described by Kamarudin Mat Salleh and A. Latiff Mohamed from a specimen collected at Mount Trus Madi, Sabah in the year of 1989. R. tengku-adlinii is endemic species to Sabah only at altitude 610 to 800 m. Its opening flower dimension is about 20 to 25 cm diameter while its perigone lobes are 7 to 12 cm long and 12 to 16 cm wide. The colour of R. tengku-adlinii is bright to dull orange throughout with warts throughout the upper surface except near the diaphragm opening. The diaphragm opening is up to 12.5 cm wide and about 3 cm in diameter. It has no windows and the lower diaphragm covered with ramenta. The ramenta occurs right up to the opening of the diaphragm with 3 to 5 cm long, apices swollen, upper, middle and lower types all have fine bristles. The number of an thers for this species is 20. Figure 2.8 shows the picture of Rafflesia tengku-adlinii. 2.5.7 Rafflesia tuan-mudae Beccari Rafflesia tuan-mudae was named after Mr. Carlo (Charles) Brooke Tuan Muda of Sarawak. This species wasfirst collected from Mount Pueh, Sarawak, from which specimen the species was described by Beccari in 1868. Rafflesia tuan-mudae also is an endemic species. It only can be found in Sarawak. The opening flower dimension can reach from 44 to 92 cm in diameter. The numbers of perigone lobes is usually 5, sometimes 6 (at Gunung Gading National Park, Sarawak (personal observation), or even 7 (in Cagar Alam Gunung Raya Pasi (Zuhud et al., 1998). The colour of R. tuan-mudae is much like R. keithii, but it only has 5 to 8 warts across the median. The diaphragm opening is from 15 to 18 cm and the number of anthers is unknown. Figure 2.9 shows the picture of Rafflesia tuan-mudae. 2.5.8 Rafflesia azlanii Latiff M. Wong Rafflesia azlanii is endemic species to Peninsular Malaysia only at altitude 150 to 400 m. Its opening flower dimension is about 38 to 50 cm diameter while its perigone lobes are 9.5 to 10.5 cm long and 12 to 14.5 cm wide. The colour and pattern of R. azlanii is large and continuous (not all like R. hasseltii) whitish warts with brick-red background. The diaphragm opening is from 4.7 to 5.5 cm in diameter. During an early stage of blooming, the open diaphragm is about 7 cm and when the flower bloom fully, the open diaphragm become wider up to 18 cm. The flowers window is large whitish scattered of warts. The ramenta for upper type is 6 mm long while for lower type is 4 mm long. The number of anthers for this species is unknown. Figure 2.10 shows the picture of Rafflesia azlanii. 2.6 THREATS AND CONSERVATION Rafflesia is one of the most threatened and also one of the rarest plants in the world. The existence of this prodigious flower is precarious and it will eventually become extinct without active conservation efforts. 2.6.1 Threats Rafflesia are inherently rare as a result of a number of factors of their life cycle; they have a double habitat specialisation, as they can only successfully parasitise particular species and these species in turn are found only in specific habitats (Nais, 2001). In addition to this factor, there is an extremely unbalanced sex ratio in the Rafflesia flowers observed, with many more male than female flowers (Nais, 2001). Flower buds have a high level of mortality and only 10 to 18 percent go on to bloom, these only lasting for a few days; the chances of a male and female flower being in bloom at the same time in a close enough vicinity to be pollinated is therefore extremely slim (Nais, 2001). In addition to these inherent factors, there is widespread habitat destruction within much of the rain forested area of Southeast Asia and Rafflesia buds are also collected for traditional medicine to treat fertility problems, in parts of their range. 2.6.2 Conservation The tropical rain forest is the most threatened environment and has experienced the greatest loss of species during our lifetime (Lucas Synge, 1981). Human disturbance is one of the factors that result great loss of this natural habitats and species. Under the present circumstances, Rafflesia appears to be one of the genera approaching extinction (Nais, 2001). Therefore, the tropical rain forest and all their inhabitants must be the main focus in conservation efforts. 2.6.3 Conservation Status of Rafflesia The World Conservation Union, IUCN (1984, 1988, and 1997) established five main categories to highlight the conservation status of species: Extinct (no longer known to exist in the wild) Endangered (species that have a high likelihood of becoming extinct in the near future) Vulnerable (species that may become endangered in the near future because populations are decreasing in size throughout the range) Rare (species that have small total numbers of individuals, often due to limited geographical ranges or low population densities) Insufficiently known (species that probably belong in one of the preceding categories but are not sufficiently known to be assigned to a specific category). The conservation status of Rafflesia can only be reliably assessed by acquiring and analyzing extensive field data of each species. These data include the distribution and the characteristics of sites, rarity and reproductive ecology. The conservation status of all Rafflesia species based on current knowledge which is from published account recognized by IUCN (1997), present analysis using the WCMC/IUCN classification of Conservation Status and present analysis using the IUCNs new Categories of Conservation Status are shown in Table 2.4. 2.6.4 Approaches to Conserve Rafflesia There are two approaches can be taken according to Nais (2001). One of the approaches and also the best conservation approach for any species is in situ (or on site) conservation which mean leaving it to grow wild in its original habitat. In situ conservation is usually more effective than other approaches because natural condition often impossible to duplicate artificially. In situ conservation strategy of Rafflesia involves: i) Protection inside established Conservation Areas One of the major problem to conserve the Rafflesia is because so many tourist eager to pay homepage to existing Rafflesia sites, cause massive trampling, even to level where some populations are trampled to extinction. The mechanisms to control over-visitation are inadequate, and the infrastructure to minimize its impact is not well developed. One way to avoid trampling is by constructing boardwalks or walkways over Rafflesia population. In addition, Rafflesia sites outside conservation areas need to be made available for tourists, thus reducing the pressure for population within conservation areas (Nais, 2001). ii) Designating New Conservation Areas It may not be possible to make each Rafflesia site become conservation areas. A more plausible strategy is to synergize the Rafflesia cause with other issues, such as the protection of forests for water catchment, total habitat and biodiversity conservation, and also for nature tourism development (Nais, 2001). This may allow larger area to be conserved to protect their habitat and also their population. iii) Protection of Sites in other Areas Many Rafflsia locations are outside the protected areas which within the land belong to the indigenous community. Cooperation from the landlords is very important in order to conserve the Rafflesia. By doing opening sites for tourism is one viable conservation solution and apart from that, it also can generate income for the landowners. The second approach is by doing ex situ conservation. Ex situ conservation (sometimes referred to as off-site conservation) is the conservation of plants away from their natural occurrence [Given (1994) cited in Nais (2001)]. This approach includes conserving whole plants or plants in botanical garden and gene banks, as well as using laboratory techniques such as tissues culture for their propagation and preservation. Bringing Rafflesia into cultivation has always been appealing. Its cultivation would important not only for its conservation, but also as an important step towards utilization of the plants for ecotourism purposes (Nais, 2001). Prior to the success by Nais et al. (in press, 2000), many researchers had unsuccessfully tried various methods and techniques of ex situ propagation of Rafflesia. These attempts have included efforts to grow Rafflesia by way of seed insertion into host plants and the translocating of Tetrastigma plants with Rafflesia buds (Nais, 1997; Nais Wilcock, 1999). Similar cattempts conducted by various other people have also not been successful, for example: seed germination, tissues culture of Rafflesia and grafting of infected host plants into uninfected ones (Ghazally, 1991; Latif Mat-Salleh, 1991; Zuhud et al., 1998). These failures have initially led some researchers to believe that ex situ cultivation possibly may never be a viable option for the conservation of Rafflesia species (Meijer, 1997) until Nais et al. achieve successful in 1999. 2.7 EXPERT SYSTEM AS A SOLUTION Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a branch of computer science that is principally concerned with using computational models to understand how humans think (Tanimoto, 1987). Major research areas include expert systems, search methods, knowledge representation, logical and probabilistic reasoning, learning, natural language understanding, vision, and robotics (Cohen and Feigenbaum, 1982). The most successful application of Artificial Intelligence so far is the development of Decision Support System (DSS), particularly expert system, which is a computer program that act as a consultant or advisor to decision makers (Generation5, 2005). According to Turban Aronson (2001), an expert system is a system that uses human knowledge captured in a computer to solve problems that ordinarily require human expertise, or, a computer program that can solve problems in a specific area of knowledge (the problem domain) as well as a human expert (OKeefe et al., 1987), or, that automates tasks that are normally performed by specially trained or talented people (Shannon et al., 1985). Usually when an organization having problem to solve and have to make critical decision, they often turn to consultants or experts seeking for advice. These experts or consultants have specific knowledge and experience in the problem area. They are aware of alternative solutions, chances of success, and costs that the organization may incur if the problem is not solved. Experts can diagnose problems correctly and solve them satisfactorily within a reasonable time frame.However, human experts are expensive, and they may not be readily available. Expert systems are an attempt to mimic human experts (Turban, Rainer, Potter, 2001). The expert system begins by asking questions about the problem to be solved. When the needed information has been gathered (inputted by user), the system offers suggestions about how the problem can be solved (McEneaney, 1992). According to Wentworth (1993), expert systems differ from conventional programs in the way they store and use information. In a conventional program, the operations never vary as the programmer predetermines them. The conventional program contains precisely defined logical formulas and data, and if any data element is missing, the program will not run. The expert system, like the human expert, contains heuristic information and can function with incomplete information. 2.7.1 Components of Expert System An expert system is typically composed of at least three primary components. These are the inference engine, the knowledge base, and the working memory (Wikibooks, 2010). An expert system, also known as knowledge-based system, uses the knowledge and experience of experts to solve problems in a reasonable period of time. Human experts solve problems by using their factual knowledge and reasoning ability. In the other hand, an expert system uses its knowledge base and inference engine to perform a similar task. Figure 2.1 shows the main components in an expert system. The knowledge base supplies specific facts and rules regarding a domain, while the inference engine offers the reasoning ability that allows the expert system to make conclusions. The user interface is the medium between the expert system and the user. An expert is someone who has the ability to achieve a specific task efficiently by using his or her skills, experience, and knowledge in a specific domain. 2.7.1.1 Knowledge Base Expert systems are based on human knowledge and reasoning patterns (Wikibooks, 2010). The knowledge base an expert uses is what he learned at school, from colleagues, and from years of experience. The more experience he has, the larger his store of knowledge. Knowledge allows him to interpret the information in his databases to advantage in diagnosis, design, and analysis (Edward and Robert, 1993). This knowledge must be extracted from a human expert by a specialized knowledge engineer. Knowledge engineers ask the expert questions about his knowledge and his reasoning processes, and attempts to translate that into Rafflesia Species in Malaysia Identification Rafflesia Species in Malaysia Identification INTRODUCTION 1.1 BACKGROUND STUDY There are a number of unique plant types in the world which are on the brink of extinction, or are so extremely limited in range. For example the beautiful palms such as the Talipot Palm (Corypha elata), Johannis teysmannia in Sarawak and Malaya, and also Livistona in West Sumatra. The largest flower in the world, Rafflesia arnoldii and related species, are going to vanish unless more nature reserves are created for such remarkable plants in Sumatra, Borneo, Java, and the Philippines. Rafflesia is a genus of flowering plants that is made up of 23 known species. The best known of these species is Rafflesia arboldii which has the distinction of being the worlds largest flower, reaching a diameter of about three feet. The genus Rafflesia gets its name from Sir Stamford Raffles, the founder of the British colony of Singapore (Walter et al., 1998). Rafflesia is a unique plant because of its dimensions unlike other flowers. This circumstance makes it widely known. It is also become an icon for conservation especially of the rain forest area. The rarity creates interest among nature lovers, tourists and the general public. The fact that some species may be in the brink of extinction alarms conservation groups. Its little-known biology and reproductive ecology spurs the interest of botanists and ecologist (Nais, 2004). Rafflesia is also thought to be one of the rarest of all plant genera which is only found in Borneo, Sumatra, Java, Peninsular Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines. 1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT Malaysia is very fortunate for being one of the habitats of Rafflesia. But unfortunately, all of the known species of Rafflesia are threatened or endangered. In Malaysia the Rafflesia is only a Totally Protected Plant by law in Sarawak. In Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia it is only safeguarded by laws when found in protected areas like National or State Parks. In 2002, 44 out of the 83 Rafflesia flowers found in Sabah were outside of designated conservation places (Sabah Travel Guide, 2004). Eight out of the 23 known species of Rafflesia can be found in Malaysia, most of them in the jungles on the island of Borneo. Some species of Rafflesia are endemic species. That means these species are native and can be found only in that location. For example, Rafflesia tengku-adlinii seems to be endemic to Sabah only while Rafflesia tuan-mudae endemic to Sarawak only. Because the Rafflesia is only found in specific areas and its locations often difficult to reach, and because it only blooms for a very short time, its life cycle or the methods of pollination and seed dispersal is very unclear. This makes the appropriate methods to conserve it quite difficult to be found. Other than that, in Peninsular Malaysia flower buds are still sold as traditional medicine. The buds are seen as a sign of fertility, and are given to help mothers recover after birth. The over collection of these buds has not helped with conservation efforts but further drastically reduced the number of Rafflesia in the wild, accentuating the problem the alarmingly fast transformation of jungles into palm oil plantation creates (Sabah Travel Guide, 2004). The Rafflesia is a delicate plant that relies on an intact environment and as such is naturally extremely vulnerable to deforestation and development. Conservation must be done to protect this species from extinct. The expert system may help the user to identify the Rafflesia species in Malaysia. By using an expert system, the user may gather information about approaches to conserve the Rafflesia. 1.3 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES There are some purposes for this research. The main objectives of this research are: to identify the Rafflesia species in Malaysia based on their physical characteristics. to develop an expert system which help the public to recognize the Rafflesia species in Malaysia. to verify system performance in order to make it applicable to the real world. 1.4 SCOPE OF STUDY The scope of this research is mainly about the Rafflesia flower and the approaches to conserve it. This research also about the system named an expert system which using Macromedia Dreamweaver 8. The system is the tool or mechanism which contains all collected information, recommendation and opinion from many expertises and also results from so many researches done. The target users of this system are tourists, publics, nature lovers and also those who interested in conserving the Rafflesia plant. The system that will be developed will provide the public about the Rafflesia species in Malaysia as well as the approaches to conserve the Rafflesia. By using an expert system, it would easier the public to access about this endangered plant. 1.5 THESIS ORGANIZATION This thesis consist of five chapters; introduction, literature review, methodology, results and discussion and conclusion. Chapter 2 is about literature review. This chapter includes the Rafflesia characteristics, the diversity and habitat of Rafflesia, identification of Rafflesia species as well as treats and conservation of Rafflesia. Introduction of expert system also included in this chapter. Expert systems typically have three basic components; a knowledge base, an inference engine and user interface. Chapter 3 is about methodology. This chapter contains the development stage of expert system for Rafflesia species identification. There are five stages in developing an expert system which are task analysis, knowledge acquisition process, prototype development, expansion and refinement and lastly verification and validation. Chapter 4 is about the result and discussion. This chapter consists of the architecture of the system and also the flow in the developing system process. This research is using an IF-THEN rule in form of asking question to the user. Chapter 5 is about the conclusion. This chapter consists of conclusion for overall of this research. It includes the expert system technology, the prototype development of expert system and the recommendation to make the system move effective and also ways to improve it. CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 INTRODUCTION The Rafflesia is one of the most magnificent flowers ever known to the botanical world. It is such a big flower with odd appearance, exceptional, rare and also mysterious. It is also immense scientific and public interest. Rafflesia in bloom has been described as simply awesome (Nais, 2001). This chapter will discuss about Rafflesia characteristics, diversity, habitat, species identification as well as treats and conservation of Rafflesia. 2.2 RAFFLESIA CHARACTERISTICS In general, Rafflesia flowers consist of five leathery petals that are orange in colour and mottled with cream-coloured warts (Attenborough, 1995). The flower also has no leaves, stem or roots. The dramatic Rafflesia flowers are the largest single flowers in the world; the leathery petals can reach over 90 centimetres across (Attenborough, 1995). Rafflesia is a parasite that depends completely upon its host which supplies nutrients and water to the flower. These host plants are vines of Tetrastigma spp., and the Rafflesia plant is itself not visible until the reproduction stage when flowers first bud through the woody vine and then open into the magnificent spectacle that is world-renowned today (Nais, 2001). Most flowers in the genus give off and smell of rotting flesh, hence the local called it the corpse flower. When in bloom, the flower displays its five fleshy petals or so called perigone lobes. The diameter of the various species of Rafflesia flower ranges from approximately 20 cm to a record diameter of 106.7 cm (Meijer, 1985). Other than that, the unique part of this giant flower is the flowers can take up to ten months to develop from the first visible bud to the open bloom, which may last from 5 to 7 days only. Currently 17 species of Rafflesia are recognised and these mainly differ in the morphology of their flowers (Nais, 2001). There is a deep well in the centre of the flower containing a central raised disc raised that supports many vertical spines (Attenborough, 1995). The sexual organs are located beneath the rim of the disk, and male and female flowers are separate (Attenborough, 1995). 2.3 RAFFLESIA DIVERSITY There are 23 completely known species and 4 incompletely known species of Rafflesia as recognized by Meijer on 1997. Table 3.1 shows the known species of Rafflesia and Table 3.2 shows the unknown species of Rafflesia as recognized by Meijer on 1997. 2.4 RAFFLESIA HABITAT Rafflesia is restricted to the western part of the phytogeographical region of Malesia, which is known as the Sunda shelf (Nais, 2001). The region is floristically distinct, with a clear boundary from surrounding region (Steenis, 1950). Table 2.3 shows the genus distribution in their landmass location. Number in parentheses denotes the number of Rafflesia species present in each area. Book of Rafflesia Magnificent Flower of Sabah by Kamarudin Mat Saleh (1991) A total of 23 names of Rafflesia species have been published between 1821 and 1988 (index Kewensis, 1994). Six of the names are now considered synonyms, and a further four have inadequate type material and are treated as insufficiently known species (Meijer, 1997). The western most extension of Rafflesia is Acheh District, Sumatra, followed by the Ranong Province in Thailand, about 5 km from the Myanmar border (Meijer Elliot, 1990; Banziger, 1991; Elliot, 1991; Banziger et al., 1993). The eastern limit is Mount Apo Timur and at Gunung Dadum in Eastern Sabah (Nais, 2001). The northern most limits are at Mount Makiling, Los Banos Province, on Luzon Island in the Philippnes (Madulid Agoo, 1996), and the southern limit is the province of Java, Indonesia. The distribution of Rafflesias genus is shown in Figure 2.1. 2.5 IDENTIFICATION OF RAFFLESIA SPECIES The first description of the morphology of Rafflesia was made by Robert Brown (1821, 1835), who provided a detailed and meticulous description and illustrations of the male and female flowers of Rafflesia arnoldii (Nais, 2001). The taxonomy of Rafflesia is based entirely on the floral morphology (form and structure) of the flower with most emphasis on the outer appearance. The current species delimitation of Rafflesia is based on eight major characters. These eight variable characters are listed below (Nais, 2001) and the radial section of Rafflesia flower drawn by Yong Ket Hyun, after Meijer 1985 are shown in Figure 2.2. Size (diameter of open flowers varies from 15 cm in R. manillana to nearly 1 m in R. arnoldii); Diameter of the diaphragm aperture (ranging form 3-9 cm in R. micropylora, to about 20 cm in R. arnoldii); Number of disk processes (from none in R. rochussenii to 20-60 in R. arnoldii); Size and number of white spots (called blots, specks or warts) on the perigone lobes and diaphragm (from few to large in R. hasseltii to numerous and small in R. arnoldii); Number and size of the windows on the inside or lower surface of the diaphragm (3-5 rings of round spots in R. micropylora, seven rings of round spots in R. kerrii, or five rings of elongate oval spots in R. pricei) Number of anthers (from about 15 in R. manillana to 40 in R. arnoldii); Structure and length of ramenta, and position of their occurrence (from short and more or less postulate in R. manillana to up to 12 mm long in R. micropylora; in R. schadenbergiana, ramenta occur on the undersite of the diaphragm; ramenta in various species may have apices branched or unbranched, swollen or crateriform); and Number of annuli at the base of the perigone tube and column, all species has either 1 or 2 (for example, 2 in R. pricei). In this research, the focus is on the Rafflesia species in Sabah, Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia only. There are eight species of Rafflesia can be found around Malaysia which is four species (R. azlanii, R. cantleyi, R. hasseltii and R. kerrii) located in Peninsular Malaysia, three species (R. tengku-adlinii, R. keithi and R. pricei) can be found in Sabah and four species (R. tuan-mudae, R. pricei and R. keithii) in Sarawak. 2.5.1 Rafflesia cantleyi Solms-Laubach Rafflesia cantleyi was named after M. Cantley, curator of the Singapore Botanic Gardens in 1880 to 1886, who collected the type specimen in 1881. This species was described by H. Graft Solms-Laubach based on a collection made by M. Cantley in 1881. Rafflesia cantleyi has open flower dimension from 30 to 55 cm in diameter. Its perigone lobes are up to 14 cm long and 18 cm wide. It has 6 to 8 whitish warts in radial and lateral directions, about 10 in the basal row. The diaphragm opening is 4 to 8 cm across and rounded shape or sometimes angular. It has 5 concentric rings of oval white blots. Its ramenta is 2 cm long in upper type while middle and lower type is 10 to 12 mm longs, or sometimes branched, almost all with swollen apices. Its number of anthers is from 20 to 25 and this species can be found in Peninsular Malaysia only (Perak, Kedah, Perlis, Selangor, Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and Tioman Island). Figure 2.3 shows the picture of Rafflesia cantleyi. 2.5.2 Rafflesia hasseltii Suringar Rafflesia hasseltii was described by Suringer in 1879 from discovery in Central Sumatra. R. hasseltii has an open flower dimension from 35 to 50 cm in diameter. It has 10 to 13 cm long and 14 to 17 cm wide of perigone lobes. It has whitish-pinkish blots across and large size of blots ranging from 5 x 3 to 10 x 1 cm. The clear contrast of snow white blots on bright brick-red background easily distinguishes this species from others. Its window is whitish or pale yellowish with a dark brown zone near the rim and the compound ramenta near the attachment point of the diaphragm gradually become white blots (window) on the lower part of the diaphragm. The R. hasseltii ramentas upper type is toadstool-like compound ramenta which gradually becoming the white blots of the windows. While for middle and lower type is generally linear with swollen apices. The number of anthers is 20 and this species can be found in Sumatra, Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo and its altitudinal distribution is from 4 00 to 600 m. Figure 2.4 shows the picture of Rafflesia hasseltii. 2.5.3 Rafflesia keithii Meijer Rafflesia keithii was named after Harry G. Keith, the former Conservator of Forests in British North Borneo or nowadays called Sabah, Malaysia. This species was described by Willem Meijer in 1984. Rafflesia keithii has an open flower dimension from 80 to 94 cm in diameter. The perigone lobes are 10 to 12 cm across at the median of the lobes but sometimes it has six-lobed. Its colour is numerous white warts with dense, more or less of the same sizes. The diaphragm opening is normally 5 concentric of white warts in about 40 radial rows, each surrounded by a dark red-brown margin. Its window has 5 to 6 rings of large, white blots, those nearer to the rim merging. The ramenta for upper type is 5 to 6 mm long which often fascicled (in bundles) middle and for lower type is solitary and only some with a swollen head. Rafflesia keithii always has 40 numbers of anthers. This species can be found only in Borneo with 250 to 940 m of altitudinal distribution. Figure 2.5 shows the picture of Raff lesia keithii. 2.5.4 Rafflesia kerrii Meijer Rafflesia kerrii was named after A.F.G. Kerr, Thailands first Government Botanist, who collected the specimen from which the specimen was described. This species was described by Willem Meijer in 1984. Rafflesia kerrii has an open flower dimension of 50 to 70 cm in diameter. It has 13 to 20 cm long and 19 to 24 cm wide of perigone lobes. Its colour is dull red with brownish tinge and have numerous and scattered warts with 3 to 4 mm space between them. The size of warts for R. kerrii is the smallest compared to other species. The diaphragm opening ia about 12 to 17 cm across and have upper face with 3 to 4 concentric rings of white spots surrounded by a dark red margin. The characteristics for its window are bright white in colour with roundish to elliptic blots and up to 10 mm of diameter. This species of Rafflesia has ramenta that mostly unbranched and only slightly swollen at apex. Its anthers consist of about 26 to 31. The distribution of Rafflesia kerrii is surrounding Thailand a nd Peninsular Malaysia which at attitude from 500 to 1000 m. Figure 2.6 shows the picture of Rafflesia kerrii. 2.5.5 Rafflesia pricei Meijer Rafflesia pricei was named after William Price, a honourary plant collector for the Royal Botanic Garden, Kew, who collected this species along the trail to the Mamut Copper Mine. This species of Rafflesia was described by Willem Meijer in 1984. Rafflesia pricei can only be found in Sabah only. It has 16 to 45 cm of opening flower dimension. It has 40 to 80 raised whitish spots (warts) surrounded by brick-red background. The spots range from 1 to 4 cm in length and the surface is minutely rugolose giving a matted appearance while the red background is densely papillose (Beaman at al., 1988). The diaphragm opening is about 5 to 6 cm in diameter and the diaphragm has 4 to 5 irregular rings of white spots smaller than those of the perigone lobes, surrounded by brick-red areas that grade into the cream-white background, the inner edge has a narrow white margin with a continuous reddish-brown area just outside the white rim (Beaman et al., 1988). The R. pricei has 4 to 5 concentric rings of large white window panes or blots and contracting with the bright red background. The interior of the perigone tube from the base of the tube to the lower edge of the diaphragm is lines with wine-red ramenta. The upper type (near the diaphragms opening) is about 2 to 6 long while middle type (near the insertion of the perigone lobes) is about 4 to 6 cm long and the lower type (near the base of the perigone tube) is about 6 to 7 mm long. The number of anthers for R. pricei is 20. Figure 2.6 shows the picture of Rafflesia pricei. 2.5.6 Rafflesia tengku-adlinii Mat Salleh Latiff Rafflesia tengku-adlini was named after Tengku Datuk (Dr.) Adlin Tengku Zainal Abidin, a keen naturalist and conservationist in Sabah who facilitated the documentation of the species after its recovery. This species was described by Kamarudin Mat Salleh and A. Latiff Mohamed from a specimen collected at Mount Trus Madi, Sabah in the year of 1989. R. tengku-adlinii is endemic species to Sabah only at altitude 610 to 800 m. Its opening flower dimension is about 20 to 25 cm diameter while its perigone lobes are 7 to 12 cm long and 12 to 16 cm wide. The colour of R. tengku-adlinii is bright to dull orange throughout with warts throughout the upper surface except near the diaphragm opening. The diaphragm opening is up to 12.5 cm wide and about 3 cm in diameter. It has no windows and the lower diaphragm covered with ramenta. The ramenta occurs right up to the opening of the diaphragm with 3 to 5 cm long, apices swollen, upper, middle and lower types all have fine bristles. The number of an thers for this species is 20. Figure 2.8 shows the picture of Rafflesia tengku-adlinii. 2.5.7 Rafflesia tuan-mudae Beccari Rafflesia tuan-mudae was named after Mr. Carlo (Charles) Brooke Tuan Muda of Sarawak. This species wasfirst collected from Mount Pueh, Sarawak, from which specimen the species was described by Beccari in 1868. Rafflesia tuan-mudae also is an endemic species. It only can be found in Sarawak. The opening flower dimension can reach from 44 to 92 cm in diameter. The numbers of perigone lobes is usually 5, sometimes 6 (at Gunung Gading National Park, Sarawak (personal observation), or even 7 (in Cagar Alam Gunung Raya Pasi (Zuhud et al., 1998). The colour of R. tuan-mudae is much like R. keithii, but it only has 5 to 8 warts across the median. The diaphragm opening is from 15 to 18 cm and the number of anthers is unknown. Figure 2.9 shows the picture of Rafflesia tuan-mudae. 2.5.8 Rafflesia azlanii Latiff M. Wong Rafflesia azlanii is endemic species to Peninsular Malaysia only at altitude 150 to 400 m. Its opening flower dimension is about 38 to 50 cm diameter while its perigone lobes are 9.5 to 10.5 cm long and 12 to 14.5 cm wide. The colour and pattern of R. azlanii is large and continuous (not all like R. hasseltii) whitish warts with brick-red background. The diaphragm opening is from 4.7 to 5.5 cm in diameter. During an early stage of blooming, the open diaphragm is about 7 cm and when the flower bloom fully, the open diaphragm become wider up to 18 cm. The flowers window is large whitish scattered of warts. The ramenta for upper type is 6 mm long while for lower type is 4 mm long. The number of anthers for this species is unknown. Figure 2.10 shows the picture of Rafflesia azlanii. 2.6 THREATS AND CONSERVATION Rafflesia is one of the most threatened and also one of the rarest plants in the world. The existence of this prodigious flower is precarious and it will eventually become extinct without active conservation efforts. 2.6.1 Threats Rafflesia are inherently rare as a result of a number of factors of their life cycle; they have a double habitat specialisation, as they can only successfully parasitise particular species and these species in turn are found only in specific habitats (Nais, 2001). In addition to this factor, there is an extremely unbalanced sex ratio in the Rafflesia flowers observed, with many more male than female flowers (Nais, 2001). Flower buds have a high level of mortality and only 10 to 18 percent go on to bloom, these only lasting for a few days; the chances of a male and female flower being in bloom at the same time in a close enough vicinity to be pollinated is therefore extremely slim (Nais, 2001). In addition to these inherent factors, there is widespread habitat destruction within much of the rain forested area of Southeast Asia and Rafflesia buds are also collected for traditional medicine to treat fertility problems, in parts of their range. 2.6.2 Conservation The tropical rain forest is the most threatened environment and has experienced the greatest loss of species during our lifetime (Lucas Synge, 1981). Human disturbance is one of the factors that result great loss of this natural habitats and species. Under the present circumstances, Rafflesia appears to be one of the genera approaching extinction (Nais, 2001). Therefore, the tropical rain forest and all their inhabitants must be the main focus in conservation efforts. 2.6.3 Conservation Status of Rafflesia The World Conservation Union, IUCN (1984, 1988, and 1997) established five main categories to highlight the conservation status of species: Extinct (no longer known to exist in the wild) Endangered (species that have a high likelihood of becoming extinct in the near future) Vulnerable (species that may become endangered in the near future because populations are decreasing in size throughout the range) Rare (species that have small total numbers of individuals, often due to limited geographical ranges or low population densities) Insufficiently known (species that probably belong in one of the preceding categories but are not sufficiently known to be assigned to a specific category). The conservation status of Rafflesia can only be reliably assessed by acquiring and analyzing extensive field data of each species. These data include the distribution and the characteristics of sites, rarity and reproductive ecology. The conservation status of all Rafflesia species based on current knowledge which is from published account recognized by IUCN (1997), present analysis using the WCMC/IUCN classification of Conservation Status and present analysis using the IUCNs new Categories of Conservation Status are shown in Table 2.4. 2.6.4 Approaches to Conserve Rafflesia There are two approaches can be taken according to Nais (2001). One of the approaches and also the best conservation approach for any species is in situ (or on site) conservation which mean leaving it to grow wild in its original habitat. In situ conservation is usually more effective than other approaches because natural condition often impossible to duplicate artificially. In situ conservation strategy of Rafflesia involves: i) Protection inside established Conservation Areas One of the major problem to conserve the Rafflesia is because so many tourist eager to pay homepage to existing Rafflesia sites, cause massive trampling, even to level where some populations are trampled to extinction. The mechanisms to control over-visitation are inadequate, and the infrastructure to minimize its impact is not well developed. One way to avoid trampling is by constructing boardwalks or walkways over Rafflesia population. In addition, Rafflesia sites outside conservation areas need to be made available for tourists, thus reducing the pressure for population within conservation areas (Nais, 2001). ii) Designating New Conservation Areas It may not be possible to make each Rafflesia site become conservation areas. A more plausible strategy is to synergize the Rafflesia cause with other issues, such as the protection of forests for water catchment, total habitat and biodiversity conservation, and also for nature tourism development (Nais, 2001). This may allow larger area to be conserved to protect their habitat and also their population. iii) Protection of Sites in other Areas Many Rafflsia locations are outside the protected areas which within the land belong to the indigenous community. Cooperation from the landlords is very important in order to conserve the Rafflesia. By doing opening sites for tourism is one viable conservation solution and apart from that, it also can generate income for the landowners. The second approach is by doing ex situ conservation. Ex situ conservation (sometimes referred to as off-site conservation) is the conservation of plants away from their natural occurrence [Given (1994) cited in Nais (2001)]. This approach includes conserving whole plants or plants in botanical garden and gene banks, as well as using laboratory techniques such as tissues culture for their propagation and preservation. Bringing Rafflesia into cultivation has always been appealing. Its cultivation would important not only for its conservation, but also as an important step towards utilization of the plants for ecotourism purposes (Nais, 2001). Prior to the success by Nais et al. (in press, 2000), many researchers had unsuccessfully tried various methods and techniques of ex situ propagation of Rafflesia. These attempts have included efforts to grow Rafflesia by way of seed insertion into host plants and the translocating of Tetrastigma plants with Rafflesia buds (Nais, 1997; Nais Wilcock, 1999). Similar cattempts conducted by various other people have also not been successful, for example: seed germination, tissues culture of Rafflesia and grafting of infected host plants into uninfected ones (Ghazally, 1991; Latif Mat-Salleh, 1991; Zuhud et al., 1998). These failures have initially led some researchers to believe that ex situ cultivation possibly may never be a viable option for the conservation of Rafflesia species (Meijer, 1997) until Nais et al. achieve successful in 1999. 2.7 EXPERT SYSTEM AS A SOLUTION Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a branch of computer science that is principally concerned with using computational models to understand how humans think (Tanimoto, 1987). Major research areas include expert systems, search methods, knowledge representation, logical and probabilistic reasoning, learning, natural language understanding, vision, and robotics (Cohen and Feigenbaum, 1982). The most successful application of Artificial Intelligence so far is the development of Decision Support System (DSS), particularly expert system, which is a computer program that act as a consultant or advisor to decision makers (Generation5, 2005). According to Turban Aronson (2001), an expert system is a system that uses human knowledge captured in a computer to solve problems that ordinarily require human expertise, or, a computer program that can solve problems in a specific area of knowledge (the problem domain) as well as a human expert (OKeefe et al., 1987), or, that automates tasks that are normally performed by specially trained or talented people (Shannon et al., 1985). Usually when an organization having problem to solve and have to make critical decision, they often turn to consultants or experts seeking for advice. These experts or consultants have specific knowledge and experience in the problem area. They are aware of alternative solutions, chances of success, and costs that the organization may incur if the problem is not solved. Experts can diagnose problems correctly and solve them satisfactorily within a reasonable time frame.However, human experts are expensive, and they may not be readily available. Expert systems are an attempt to mimic human experts (Turban, Rainer, Potter, 2001). The expert system begins by asking questions about the problem to be solved. When the needed information has been gathered (inputted by user), the system offers suggestions about how the problem can be solved (McEneaney, 1992). According to Wentworth (1993), expert systems differ from conventional programs in the way they store and use information. In a conventional program, the operations never vary as the programmer predetermines them. The conventional program contains precisely defined logical formulas and data, and if any data element is missing, the program will not run. The expert system, like the human expert, contains heuristic information and can function with incomplete information. 2.7.1 Components of Expert System An expert system is typically composed of at least three primary components. These are the inference engine, the knowledge base, and the working memory (Wikibooks, 2010). An expert system, also known as knowledge-based system, uses the knowledge and experience of experts to solve problems in a reasonable period of time. Human experts solve problems by using their factual knowledge and reasoning ability. In the other hand, an expert system uses its knowledge base and inference engine to perform a similar task. Figure 2.1 shows the main components in an expert system. The knowledge base supplies specific facts and rules regarding a domain, while the inference engine offers the reasoning ability that allows the expert system to make conclusions. The user interface is the medium between the expert system and the user. An expert is someone who has the ability to achieve a specific task efficiently by using his or her skills, experience, and knowledge in a specific domain. 2.7.1.1 Knowledge Base Expert systems are based on human knowledge and reasoning patterns (Wikibooks, 2010). The knowledge base an expert uses is what he learned at school, from colleagues, and from years of experience. The more experience he has, the larger his store of knowledge. Knowledge allows him to interpret the information in his databases to advantage in diagnosis, design, and analysis (Edward and Robert, 1993). This knowledge must be extracted from a human expert by a specialized knowledge engineer. Knowledge engineers ask the expert questions about his knowledge and his reasoning processes, and attempts to translate that into