The Strategic Environment Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Strategic Environment - Assignment Example In this period, there has been an increased threat to U.S national security, more than ever before. There are several factors contributing to these threats such as increased development of weapons of mass destruction, more countries becoming a nuclear power, increased formation of a terrorist organization, rebellious groups taking refuge in other countries and operating against U.S interests etc. It can easily be seen that, during the 21 century, there has been an increased threat to a country’s security and national interests. The infamous 9/11 incident that shook the world and brought Al Qaeda on the big screen, the London bombings of 2005, the Mumbai attack in 2008 etc. All these infamous incidents show that every country is under extreme threat whether it is from terrorist organizations, infiltrates within the country or due to any other reason. It is very obvious that a country has to take steps and measures to protect its country and U.S being a global and nuclear power and a world dominant it is very natural to say that it has to safeguard its interests the most. It is safe to assume that the U.S would have the best strategic intelligence cycle in place, but it too is liable to mistakes, such as in 2003 when the strategic intelligence information confirmed that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and therefore invaded Iraq; however, later they were proved wrong as there were no WMD(Johnson 2007). There have been several factors identified by the National Intelligence Security (NIS) which may cause harm to U.S National interests, however the most significant are: Violent Extremism: It has been identified by the NIS that violent extremist groups such as Al-Qaeda, Taliban etc will continue to pose a great threat to U.S security. It has been acknowledged that these people are not causing threat for the purpose of acquiring money or abduction but they are seriously out for what they call revenge and will take any possible steps to cause dish armony and violence in different regions. They have previously done that on several occasions and in different countries such as U.S, U.K etc which shows that they can reach such places even when there is tightest of security present. The steps identified by the U.S to counter them is to identify such terrorist groups and people, intercede and disrupt, cut off aid and supply of weapons of mass destruction and stop their operations. Enhance Cyber security: Enhancement of cyber security is a significant step that the U.S should take in order to reduce the threat of proliferation through cyber space. It has been identified that the architecture of U.S digital structure is not very secure (Johnson 2007). It was found out that there have been attempts to valuable information from the Pentagon through cyber space. Now, all the information is stored digitally, so there has been an increased attempt by these terrorist groups to explore future advancements of America’s intelligence or ganizations, so they may act accordingly. Through cyber space these terrorist organizations have attempted to change or steal information in order to undermine the nation’s confidence and attack the country (Johnson 2007). Increased use of Wifi etc has made internet vulnerable and terrorist could easily hack password of a normal user of Wifi and use it to steal

Evolution of Color Vision in Mammals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Evolution of Color Vision in Mammals - Essay Example Along with visual system alterations, these changes have caused significant differences in the salience and nature of mammal color vision (Schwab et al 11). This paper will seek to discuss how color vision has evolved in mammals, especially with regards to marsupials, dolphins, and primates, discussing the relevant biological mechanisms, color vision utility, and variations in color vision among the listed mammals. Majority of mammals are not able to distinguish color at all, instead living in a sort of black and white environment. Primates and marsupials are among the few mammals that can distinguish colors, which is proved by the distinct cells present in their retinas that are able to visualize colors (Schwab et al 23). Cone cells are fundamental in the ability to distinguish colors, thus color vision, while rod cells are found in animals that do not have the ability for color vision. Majority of mammals only possess the rod cells, except primates and marsupials. ... There are only two types of rods; one that has a short wavelength sensation, which enables it to sense blue color, and another for long wavelength sensation that allows it to sense for red color (Schwab et al 24). Color vision evolved from a vision in black and white with long wavelength sensing rods separated into red cones that sense red color and green cones that sense green color. Marsupials have also been found to have three forms of cones. As might be expected, color vision evolution in marsupials was distinct from the evolution of color vision in primates. This led to some distinct differences. The three cones that marsupials possess are not blue, red, and green. Rather, they are ultra violet, blue, and red because the rods for short wavelength sensing separated into ultra violet and blue cones (Gegenfurtner et al 44). However, as of today, no one knows what color sensations these cones have. The only way to find out something about marsupial vision is through behavioral testi ng. The quendka and cathemeral dunnart marsupials have trichromatic vision that is different to that of primates since their S-cones can sense UV light, whereas the L-cones of the fat-tailed dunnart have a special sensitivity for the spectral region in the green-yellow region. It has been hypothesized that the L and M cones combine to allow for sensing of brown and cryptically colored green. For the honey possum, the L-cones evolved to a further length than for fellow marsupials that conferred yellow-red sensitivity (Gegenfurtner et al 44). Color vision evolution for primates differs greatly compared to other eutharians. Primates are thought to