Implications of the TRAPPIST-1 Discovery

Implications of the TRAPPIST-1 Discovery The Search for Extra-Terrestrial Life in the Universe and the Implications of the TRAPPIST-1 Discovery Abstract Despite the absence of any discovery of life beyond the Earth in the Solar System, or communication in the form of radio signals from beyond the Solar System, humankinds quest to answer the question whether there is life elsewhere in the Universe continues apace. The answer to the question could be tantalizingly close now with some ambitious missions being planned in the Solar System to try and find life itself, and surveys of unprecedented scale being conducted with space and terrestrial telescopes to identify potentially habitable exoplanets showing evidence for the existence of life. One such survey (the TRAPPIST survey) led to the discovery of a nearby solar system with a dwarf star at its centre, and in February this year the existence of seven Earth-sized planets orbiting the star was confirmed, with at least three lying in the habitable zone. Studies are continuing to see if there is evidence for the existence of life on any of these planets, with profound astronomical implica tions. This dissertation considers the question of what is life, before reviewing the history and future of the search for extra-terrestrial life in the Universe. The techniques employed and the results from the TRAPPIST survey are reviewed and the implications of the follow-on studies that are now planned are discussed. It concludes by considering the question whether humankind will ever encounter intelligent life in the Universe.      Ã‚   Thomas Zurbuchen Associate administrator of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA speaking at the press briefing about the TRAPPIST-1 exoplanets in February 2017 The Search for Extra-Terrestrial Life in the Universe Contents 1.Introduction 2.What is Life? 3.Pre-requisites for Life 5.History of the Search for Life Beyond Earth Works Cited References The Search for Extra-Terrestrial Life in the Universe Introduction Despite the absence of any discovery of life beyond the Earth in the Solar System, or communication in the form of radio signals from beyond the Solar System, humankinds quest to answer the question whether there is life elsewhere in the Universe continues apace. Exobiology the search for life or for evidence of it has been stimulated by the extraordinary success of missions to planets and other bodies in the Solar System and the rapid advances that have been made in telescope technology in recent decades. The answer to the question could be tantalizingly close now with some ambitious missions being planned in the Solar System to try and find life itself, and surveys of unprecedented scale being conducted with space and terrestrial telescopes to identify potentially habitable exoplanets showing evidence for the existence of life. One such survey (the TRAPPIST survey) led to the discovery of a nearby solar system with a dwarf star at its centre, and in February this year the existence of seven Earth-sized planets orbiting the star was confirmed, with at least three lying in the habitable zone. Studies are continuing to see if there is evidence for the existence of life on any of these planets, with profound astronomical implications. This dissertation considers the question of what is life, before reviewing the history and future of the search for extra-terrestrial life in the Universe. The techniques employed and the results from the TRAPPIST survey are reviewed and the implications of the follow-on studies that are now planned are discussed. It concludes by considering the question whether humankind will ever encounter intelligent life in the Universe. What is Life? Is there life elsewhere in the universe? Before setting out to answer that question we need to understand what we mean by life. In popular culture extra-terrestrial life is usually characterised by intelligent humanoid creatures with whom mankind can interact and communicate, but one only has to look at the diversity of life on Earth to appreciate that there are countless life forms, each unique and a product of the environment it inhabits. Nor can all life forms on Earth necessarily be described as intelligent, perhaps as defined by the Oxford Concise Dictionary: The ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills. It is reasonable to assume that an ability to communicate is essential if a species is to be described as intelligent, but intelligence is not a pre-requisite for the development of life. There are many scientific definitions of life, such as that offered by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary; An organismic state characterized by capacity for metabolism, growth, reaction to stimuli, and reproduction. This definition is helpful but it does not explicitly recognise that the ability to evolve, particularly in a changing environment, is vital for the development of sustainable life. Mankind has expended considerable effort over the millennia trying to understand the cosmos. The ancients saw it as a place inhabited by the gods, but as astronomy developed, and with it our understanding of the Solar System and the Universe, we began to ask the question, Are we alone?, or perhaps more precisely, Are there others out there like us? Perhaps the question we have been seeking to answer should really have been in two parts; Is there life elsewhere in the universe, and if so is it intelligent and would we be able to interact with it in some way? Pre-requisites for Life Earth is the only place where it is possible today to study living things and fossils to understand life, its evolution and the habitats where it can thrive. On Earth life is found in many extreme environments including; around volcanic vents on the mid-ocean ridges; in deeply-buried porous sedimentary rocks (Bruckner, 2017); permanently in caves; in glacier ice (Edwards, 2014); in thermal springs; in the stratosphere (Major, 2016) and in naturally toxic environments that would be poisonous to most other life forms. Despite the abundance of life on the surface of the Earth it has been suggested that there may even be more life below the surface than there is above (Cox, 2013). Figure 1: Colony of Deepsea Tube Worms and other fauna at the Galapagos Rift. (Photo: NOAA 2011 Galapagos Rift Expedition) Figure 2: A loach, a permanent cave-dwelling fish that crawls out of the water to feed on bacteria growing on damp rocks. (Photo: Dantà © Fenolio) All terrestrial life exhibits metabolism, which is a chemical process to harvest energy from the environment to maintain the living state of the cells that make up an organism. Metabolism involves moving and breaking down nutrients in order to produce energy to synthesize new proteins, nucleic acids etc. that are essential to sustain life (Dr Ananya Mandal, 2013). All terrestrial life is based on the carbon atom, which can form chemical bonds to create the long and complex organic molecules that are the essential building blocks for life (Freeman, 2011). All terrestrial life is also reliant on liquid water as the medium within which the metabolic process occurs. Without liquid water there can be no metabolism and therefore no life, as demonstrated by the Atacama Desert the driest place on Earth where there is no evidence for the existence of any living organisms (Cox, 2013). It is generally accepted that the pre-requisites for life are; Access to nutrients that contain the chemical elements necessary for life; An energy source that can be harvested directly or indirectly; and Liquid water. Given that all elements occur throughout the Universe, as do stars that emit energy in the form of photons, the most obvious place to look for extra-terrestrial life is on the surface of planets where there is likely to be liquid water. In any solar system there will be a region around the star within which the temperature is such that water will exist as a liquid. This is known as the Habitable Zone. The distance of the habitable zone from the star and its extent will be a function of the spectral type (and therefore mass) of the star and can be estimated using the Inverse Square Law, assuming the existence of an atmosphere with sufficient density to prevent sublimation of the water. The figure below shows the extent of the habitable zone for various star masses, with the Solar System planets and the exoplanets orbiting the red dwarf star Gliese 581 superimposed. Figure 3: The habitable zone as a function of stellar mass and distance from the star (Chester Harman, Planets: PHL at UPR Arecibo, NASA/JPL/APL/Arizona) Another potential habitat for life is on the moons of large planets with elliptical orbits are subjected to tidal heating caused by tidal friction. Orbital and rotational energy is dissipated as heat in the crust of the moon, in some cases melting the ice and forming an ocean beneath the ice crust. Two known examples of this in the Solar System are Jupiters moon Europa and Saturns moon Enceladus. It is postulated that life could also exist below the surface of Jupiters moon Io where there is plentiful heat to keep any water that was trapped in a liquid state, and where living organisms would be protected from Jupiters radiation (Choi, 2010). The Origin and Evolution of Life on Earth and Elsewhere Through the study of living organisms the pre-requisites for life are reasonably well understood, as is the evolutionary process through inter alia the study of fossils. However, to answer the question of how life came to be established on Earth it is also necessary to look beyond the Earth for clues. The elements that make up organic molecules are very abundant in the Universe and are known to originate from non-biological processes (e.g. volcanic activity on Mars (Carnegie Instution, 2012)) and there is a lot of evidence to suggest organic molecules are widespread in the galaxy, e.g.: Iso-propyl cyanide has been detected by examining microwave emission lines in inter-stellar clouds in the Milky Way (BBC, 2014). Organic molecules have been detected using spectral analysis in the tails of comets. The Rosetta mission to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko also detected organic molecules (ESA, 2016). Organic molecules have also been found in certain types of meteorite collected on Earth. Carbonaceous chondrites are rare meteorites that have not melted at any stage of their life so are thought to pre-date the Solar System. They contain substantial amounts of carbon, including complex organic compounds and occasionally amino acids, and up to 20% water (Freeman, 2011). In the early Solar System comets and meteorides were very numerous and according to the Panspermia Hypothesis they seeded the Universe with simple life forms that got trapped in ejecta thrown into space when collisions occurred between planets and moons. This theory was given credence when living bacteria was found in a sealed camera recovered and brought back to Earth by the Apollo 12 astronauts from the Surveyor 3 spacecraft. Surveyor 3 had been on the lunar surface for three years. Another possibility is that organic molecules were formed on Earth, as hypothesised by Oparin and Haldane (Oparin, 1924). In 1952 Miller and Urey conducted their famous laboratory experiment which simulated conditions on early Earth. They mixed water, ammonia, methane and hydrogen in an atmosphere of water vapour, through which electric sparks were fired regularly to simulate lightening. At the end of the experiment they discovered that amino acids had indeed formed, giving credence to this hypothesis (Miller, 1953). Figure 4: The Miller-Uray apparatus Once all the right ingredients were present something kick-started life on Earth, and/or elsewhere in the Universe if the Panspermia Hypothesis is right. It is not possible today to conclude how life originated on Earth, but in any event the fossil record shows that the first simple living organisms appeared on Earth around 3.8 billion years ago, and so began the process of evolution producing the incredible diversity of life on Earth today. Whether life was kick-started on Earth or arrived from elsewhere is arguably one of the most important factors influencing the possible distribution of extra-terrestrial life, and is discussed again in Section xx. History of the Search for Life Beyond Earth NASA was established by an act of the US Congress in 1958, mainly in response to the launch by the Soviet Union of Sputnik 1. Most of its efforts were initially concentrated on the development of manned and unmanned space flight, but in the 1970s exploration of the Solar System using scientific probes began, driven to a large extent by the search for life beyond Earth. NASA began a broad-based effort to learn how to look for the presence both ancient and current of life beyond Earth, giving birth to a new science which became known as Exobiology. The fundamental questions that NASA set out to answer were; What is needed for life to thrive? How does life evolve? Where else in the Universe could it have evolved? How do we find it? In time it was acknowledged that to help answer these questions the detailed study of life on Earth was necessary to understand the origins and evolution of life and the habitats where it is found. The scope of exobiology expanded and it became known as Astrobiology (Freeman, 2011). During the 1960s a number of European countries started to get involved in space exploration, eventually clubbing together to form the European Space Agency (ESA) in 1975, bringing more resources to the exploration effort. The Search for Evidence of Intelligent Life In 1959 Guiseppe Cocconi and Philip Morrison observed that if intelligent extra-terrestrial life had been attempting to communicate it would probably have been doing so using radio waves transmitted at the wavelength of neutral hydrogen (21.1 cm), which is in a region of the radio spectrum dubbed the water hole due to its proximity to the hydrogen and hydroxyl radical spectral line. These radio waves do not experience diminution when they travel through the interstellar medium or through the Earths atmosphere and they argued that it should therefore be possible to detect such signals with terrestrial radio telescopes because (Cocconi Morrison, 1959). In 1960 Dr Frank Drake used the radio telescope at the National Astronomy Observatory in West Virginia to search for four months for radio signals with a wavelength of 21.1 cm emanating from the vicinity of nearby stars Epsilon Eridani and Tau Ceti (Drake, 1961). He failed to detect any signals but this heralded the beginning of SETI (the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence). Since the 1980s there has been an international collaborative effort to detect meaningful signals across an increasingly wide range of wavelengths, but although occasional signals have been detected they have not been sustained or repeated, which suggests they were not produced by an intelligent life form seeking to communicate. Notwithstanding this, the search continues. The Search for Suitable Habitats and Evidence for the Existence of Life Aristotle was the first to observe life in snow as a snow algal bloom. These occur as algae produce reddish-pink blooms (watermelon snow) as seen in this sample of Svalbard snow. The reddish-pink pigments are a microbial sunscreen, protecting the algae from UV radiation. Photo credit: Dr Arwyn Edwards (Edwards, 2014) Drake Stars w/ mass > 1.5o unlikely to support life humans took 4bn + yrs Small stars long life but low temp, planets have to be close but then gravity locked v. low POS based on current understanding = sun-like star- low rate of formation; 1:10 w/ habitable zone Implications of Trappist-1 results and historical assumptions The Probability of There Being Extra-Terrestrial Life in the Universe The Drake Equation The Drake equation is: N = Rà ¢Ã‹â€ - à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ fp à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ ne à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ fà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã¢â‚¬Å" à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ fi à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ fc à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ L where: N = the number of civilizations in our galaxy with which communication might be possible (i.e. which are on our current past light cone); and R* = the average rate of star formation in our galaxy fp = the fraction of those stars that have planets ne = the average number of planets that can potentially support life per star that has planets fl = the fraction of planets that could support life that actually develop life at some point fi = the fraction of planets with life that actually go on to develop intelligent life (civilizations) fc = the fraction of civilizations that develop a technology that releases detectable signs of their existence into space L = the length of time for which such civilizations release detectable signals into space No table of figures entries found. 2. Prof BBC. (2014). Complex organic molecule found in interstellar space. Bruckner, M. (2017). Endoliths-Microbes Living within Rocks. Microbial Life. Carnegie Instution. (2012). Organic carbon from Mars, but not biological. Science Daily. Cox, P. B. (2013). Wonders of the Solar System. Dr Ananya Mandal, M. (2013). What is Metabolism? Edwards, D. A. (2014). Glacier Ecosystems. Antarctic Glaciers. ESA. (2016). Rosettas comet contains ingredients for life. Freeman, R. (2011). Universe Ninth Edition. J. Mayo Greenberg, C. X.-G. (1992). The seeding of life by comets. Advances in Space Research. Major, J. (2016). Hunting for High Life: What Lives in Earths Stratosphere? Universe Today. Oparin, A. I. (1924). The Origin Of Life. The Oxford Concise Dictionary. (n.d.).   Ã‚   http://www.news-medical.net/life-sciences/What-is-Metabolism.aspx https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/05/120524143450.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panspermia https://history.nasa.gov/factsheet.htm https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/about/history-of-astrobiology/ http://www.esa.int/About_Us/Welcome_to_ESA/ESA_history/History_of_Europe_in_space Ken Rice : The Detection and Characterization of Extrasolar Planets; Published: 19 September 2014

Cormac McCarthy’s “The Road” Essay

A novel entitled ‘The Road’ sparks the image of a journey, not necessarily one concerning movement, but an experience, where by the time you reach the ‘destination’ you have either witnessed something or come-by certain things which may affect you as a person, changed the way you think or possibly had an effect on your personal ethics. For example, a mental journey, whereby somebody lives through a certain period in their life and comes out the other end with a new perspective and attitude, like in J.D. Salinger’s ‘The Catcher in the Rye’. Another type of journey is an actual physical one ‘from A to B’; at the destination in this type of journey one may feel a sense of achievement and arrive at ‘B’ with scores of anecdotes and stories that can range from little events that make a good joke to events which may actually change you as a person. Writing about journeys like these is a genre of writing in its own right: Travel Writing, an example being John Steinbeck’s ‘Travels with Charley’. The third type of journey that I associate with the phrase ‘The Road’ is the concept of being on an open road, simply going with no particular interest in where you may arrive, simply the journey itself has its importance. This may simply be on a whim or yearning for open road or maybe because of a need to travel, to not stop and just keep going and perhaps to get away from something, an example of this is the film ‘Thelma and Louise’. This is a key image in American Culture, not only featured in many novels and films but important simply because it represents a freedom to be who you want to be. The open road offers new horizons and the prospect to witness new and unexpected things. This idea represents the liberty and freedom found in America The way in which the protagonists travel in ‘The Road’ is not the picture perfect, open road, free spirited adventure, they rarely travel on the actual road, to avoid being seen by others who may want their belongings and food. ‘This was not a safe place. They could be seen from the road’. The iconic concept of the open-ness and the freedom associated with it is no longer present in Cormac McCarthy’s America. The idea of the road being such a dangerous and deadly place and the paranoia of the man is installed firmly in the readers head by the fourth page, when it discusses the shopping trolley the man has in which he carries all his possessions, food, blankets and tarpaulin. On the handlebars of the trolley the man clamped a ‘chrome motorcycle mirror that he used to watch the road behind him’ which shows that whoever is left in his world isn’t to be trusted and it’s a ‘fend for yourself’ environment with none of the trust and neighbourliness that America is famous for. In the post-apocalyptic world portrayed in ‘The Road’ we see an utter breakdown in the sense of community and the ‘love thy neighbour’ ethic for which America is renowned. In the book, the few people the man and child come across are treated with utter caution or are avoided altogether and people who need help are ignored. An example of this would be when they come across the man who has been hit by lightning and they don’t help him. The son cries for his father to help the man, but he bluntly refuses and does nothing. This is an accurate account of how some people may react in today’s world where help may not be given to the man by some people so as not involve themselves, but the good thing to do would, of course, be to seek medical help. Traditional American values would instruct that one do the good thing and aid the lightning struck man. Another good example of the lack of common ethics is when the stranger robs all their belongings and they run after him and not only get it back, but also take everything he has on him, including his clothes. The fact that the man and robber are prepared to leave the other to die of the cold and starvation, represents how McCarthy’s world has changed human nature and the love thy neighbour and ‘do unto others only what you would want done to yourself’ ethics are left disregarded and one cares for no-one but themselves.. ‘I’m starving, man. You’d have done the same. You took everything. Come on man. I’ll die.’ This proves my point that the people left will do anything to survive even if that worsens the chances of another individual. For me, the theme that is present throughout the book and had me contrasting McCarthy’s world to today’s is the relationship between the father and son. The young child is, of course, dependent on his father for food, guidance and moral support like most children are today and this image is strong in America with the concept of a nuclear, wholesome family being very important. In the book, whilst the sense of community may have collapsed, the father-son relationship is very strong; they care for each other, keep each other company and the father brings the child up as best he can, but in Cormac McCarthy’s world nothing is left quite the same. What unsettled me was how freely the child spoke about their possible impending death and themes of a similar nature. The situation in which this child has been reared has left him matured beyond his years, an example showing this being when he asks his dad, ‘You think we are going to die don’t you? We’re not going to die. Okay.’ The child is so unfazed by the topic and it strikes me as odd and proves how even something as simple as the carefree thoughts of a child have been distorted by the world and lifestyle of the people within the America McCarthy depicts. Within the story there are two scenes that are stuck in my mind because of their vividness and brutality. Firstly, when the father and son break into a house and find dismembered, burnt people locked in the basement, a man with his legs ‘gone to the hip’. These people are being held very much like poorly treated animals or cattle, probably to be eaten, because the people are so desperate for food they have resorted to what is one of the most taboo and strictly forbidden act in most societies, cannibalism. Also the setting of their incarceration is chilling and something only thought of in nightmares. Secondly, when the father and son come across the baby gutted and placed on the spit roast in preparation for a meal. America prides itself on the fact that it’s a ‘free country’. This phrase is thrown around a lot but it basically means that people there have a freedom to say and do what they want as long as it doesn’t break the law. The people locked in the cellar certainly aren’t free and them being held captive shows how extreme people may have become out of starvation and desperation to survive disregarding their previously strong believe in freedom and equality. This is also interesting because it wouldn’t be the first time slavery has been an issue in America. After the Thirteenth Amendment to the US Constitution, which was passed in 1865, slavery was made illegal in America and equality reigns. The change was accepted after years of fighting and now America sees itself as a fair nation with racism and the plight of the black man as less of an issue, a good example being that the first black American President is going to be inaugurated January 20th of the coming year. Cormac McCarthy’s book portrays this ethic of us all being of the same level of importance being readily ignored by those in need to feed themselves and survive. In the news we often hear about anti-abortion lobbyists and pro-life rallies, especially in America. In Cormac McCarthy’s book the protagonists see a group of people travelling with impregnated women and then the man and son walk through the abandoned camp of these people and find a gutted baby on the spit-roast. If you put the two together the idea may strike you that women are being impregnated for the sole purpose of the ‘meat’ they’ll produce. In today’s world this would be considered ungodly and unmentionable and not only brings up the topic of cannibalism but also the controversial theme of abortion which is utterly ignored in McCarthy’s world and the fact that it has gone beyond mere cannibalism but the actual production of babies for meat shows the pure desperation of some to survive and the ethical issue which is so very important today, ignored. In the scene the author refers to the baby itself very impersonally, as if it’s a piece of meat and nothing more. The author describes it as a ‘human infant, headless, gutless and blackening on the spit’, very brief and to the point much like one may have described it were it a common farm animal. If it weren’t for the ‘human infant’ part it may well have been anything, the author does little to humanise the creature on the spit-roast. I think this may be simply to shield the reader and avoid the text being too explicit but also to show how this is largely commonplace in McCarthy’s world and that whilst shocking to the more good-willed protagonists, for some it is merely a case of survival. America is often referred to as the land of plenty, with its almost endless resources, especially of food. The poignant scene in which the father finds what could possibly be the last coke can on earth shows just how much has changed in McCarthy’s world and introduces the notion of how we take too much for granted. In the scene with the coke can the author describes ‘drinks machines†¦tilted on the floor, opened with pry bars’. This shows the desperation of mankind for such objects like Coca Cola, which are integral to lifestyles in modern society and inexplicable to those who haven’t witnessed it. People now never think such ubiquitous items will run out. What makes the scene sadder is the fact that this iconic can which nowadays is seen in many pieces of pop-artwork, has hundreds if not thousands of adverts worldwide and is truly a universally recognized brand, isn’t recognized by the child, showing how in McCarthy’s world this idea of a constant, ready supply of everything is simply no longer the case, especially with food. Throughout the book, punctuation is hardly used; with no speech marks and few commas and the father and son aren’t, at any point, referred to by name. I believe that this is to further the image that Cormac McCarthy is portraying; conveying the fact that the breakdown of society and nature is such that things like punctuation and the names of the characters, no longer are of any importance as there are more important things, survival for instance and by dropping things like the names it leaves the reader to focus more upon the father-son relationship and less on the more trivial details. The ‘American Dream’ is the concept of everybody reaching his or her full potential and having the ability to fulfil their hearts desire, in the land of opportunity that America is famous for. People often immigrate to America to start a business or career in either the music industry or maybe acting. In the book rather than going to America in the hope of having it all, money, glamour, the sweet life, people are trying to leave because they have nothing. It shows how different this bleak world his and how everything has turned on its head. The phrase itself, ‘American Dream’ was coined by James Truslow Adams in his book, published in 1931, called ‘The Epic of America’; in the book his definition for it is ‘that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone’ but in McCarthy’s world, for anyone surviving there is nothing left of the original values of America, the living are in some cases, hunted for food, their freedom compromised for fear and ultimately nothing remains as it was.

Reflection Management Style Essay

The achievement of an organization depends on the effective management of the administrative team. The information obtained throughout this course for the management styles, good and poor qualities, and the different scenarios which managers may encounter will be reconnoitered. The results of a management quiz taken at the beginning of this course along with the results from a current quiz will be compared and the differences clarified. The course has enlightened the roles of management in the health organization and the extent of the accomplishments the management teams involvement can contribute. The management methods and styles reflect on an individual’s interpersonal and intrapersonal assessments of him or herself. A manager needs to analyze his or her goals within an organization to implement the motivation of others within an organization. As a manager, a person must realize that there will be conflicts, victories, and obstacles that may hinder his or her ideas or goals for the company. A consistent analyzes of an organization will assist in making the changes needed for success. Realizing that all managers are human, and human error may occur is a quality that managers and others need to consider. The best quality a manager can have is to be open-minded to ideas from others, be humble, and compassionate. In the health care industry there is an abundance of burnout, therefore for managers to reduce this in his or her organization she or he must be aware of the signs and implement a course of action to assist in the reduction. The motivation versus engaged is one of the valuable areas to consider when overseeing an organization. Engaged employees are more productive, focused, loyal, and contribute to the organization as a whole (Buchbinder, 2012). When individuals are involved in company decisions this assists in less burnout and turnover in the employees. One of the poorest qualities in a management team is not getting the input from the employees prior to making a vast change within an organization. The manager must be aware of how the employees feel about the change and compute the information to understand if the change is beneficial for the organization. However, some changes need to occur even though the employees do not encourage the change. This is why the manager needs to know how to relay the information  diplomatically, the reasons, how the change will be implemented, and the benefits of the change. If the manager does not inform the staff of what, why, or how then the organization could have devastating results in any scenario. Managers realize there are many scenarios to different areas of the organization. There is not a one-size-fits-all solution for organizational challenges. The plan of implementation must be customized to the group affected. The culture of most organizations is substantially diverse. This is why managers need the skills to understand, the knowledge to analyze scenarios, and the will to implement change. However, the manager is only as good as his or her employees. Results from the first management quiz displayed the need for improvement in team management (Center T. M., 2014). The challenge of realizing that others goals may not be the same as yours is a challenge, but realizing the needs of others and listening can assist in overcoming this obstacle. The results from the current quiz did not veer much from the first (Center M. , 2014). The skills of team management are an area needing the most improvement, and over time this will occur with practice and doing follow through will developing skills. Learning and overcoming challenges are important is a manager’s duties. Managers are always developing his or her professional lives, as well as his or her personal life. Self-motivation will assist in overcoming obstacles in one’s life. Managers are a valuable part of any organization, but without the skills to organize, motivate, and implement changes his or her contribution may hinder success in the organization. A person needs to realize the diversity in his or her employees, the culture of an organization, and the different scenarios he or she may encounter. Development of good qualities can assist in managing others. Some of these qualities include being open-minded, compassionate, and being humble. Developing skills in team management and motivation of others is a valuable asset to any manager. If managers understand the culture of an organization and relay this information effectively to the employees, the organization benefits from all venues encountered. References Buchbinder, S. B. (2012). Chapter 3 Management and Motivation. Introduction to Health Care Management, 2e, 2, 444-448. Jones and Barlett Publishers. Center, M. (2014). Qiuz Results 8-9-14. The Management Center. ManagementCenter.org. Retrieved August 9, 2014, from http://managementcenter.org/quiz/results/3013 Center, T. M. (2014). Quiz results 07-11-2014. The Management Center. ManagementCenter.org. Retrieved July 11, 2014, from http://managementcenter.org/quiz/results/2628

The Varied Size of the Roman Legions

Even in the course of a military campaign, the size of a Roman legion varied because, unlike the case of the Persian Immortals, there wasnt always someone waiting in the wings to take over when a legionary (​miles legionarius) was slain, taken prisoner or incapacitated in battle. Roman legions varied over time not only in size but in number. In an article estimating population size in ancient Rome, Lorne H. Ward says that up to at least the time of the Second Punic War, a maximum of around 10% of the population would be mobilized in the case of a national emergency, which he says would be about 10,000 men or about two legions. Ward comments that in the early, close-to-annual border skirmishes, only the number of men in half a conventional legion might be deployed. Early Composition of the Roman Legions The earliest Roman army consisted of a general levy which was raised from the aristocratic landowners .... based on the three tribes, each of which provided 1000 infantry.... Each of the three corps of 1000 comprised ten groups or centuries, corresponding to the ten curiae of each tribe.—Cary and Scullard The Roman armies (exercitus) were composed mainly of Roman legions from the time of the legendary reforms of King Servius Tullius [also see Mommsen], according to ancient historians Cary and Scullard. The name for the legions comes from the word for the levy (legio from a Latin verb for to choose [legere]) that was made on the basis of wealth, in the new tribes Tullius is also supposed to have created. Each legion was to have 60 centuries of infantry. A century is literally 100 (elsewhere, you see a century in the context of 100 years), so the legion would have originally had 6000 infantrymen. There were also auxiliaries, cavalry, and non-combatant hangers-on. In the time of the kings, there may have been 6 centuries of cavalry (equites) or Tullius may have increased the number of equestrian centuries from 6 to 18, which were divided into 60 units called turmae* (turma in the singular).Increasing Number of LegionsWhen the Roman Republic started, with two consuls as leaders, each cons ul had command over two legions. These were numbered I-IV. The number of men, organization and selection methods changed over time. The tenth (X) was Julius Caesars famous legion. It was also named Legio X Equestris. Later, when it was combined with soldiers from other legions, it became Legio X Gemina. By the time of the first Roman emperor, Augustus, there were already 28 legions, most of which were commanded by a senatorial legate. During the Imperial period, there was a core of 30 legions, according to military historian Adrian Goldsworthy. Republican Period Roman ancient historians Livy and Sallust mention that the Senate set the size of the Roman legion each year during the Republic, based on the situation and available men. According to 21st-century Roman military historian and former National Guard officer Jonathan Roth, two ancient historians of Rome, Polybius (a Hellenistic Greek) and Livy (from the Augustan era), describe two sizes for Roman legions of the Republican period. One size is for the standard Republican legion and the other, a special one for emergencies. The size of the standard legion was 4000 infantry and 200 cavalry. The size of the emergency legion was 5000 and 300. The historians admit of exceptions with legion size going as low as 3000 and as high as 6000, with cavalry ranging from 200-400. The tribunes in Rome, after administering the oath, fix for each legion a day and place at which the men are to present themselves without arms and then dismiss them. When they come to the rendezvous, they choose the youngest and poorest to form the velites; the next to them are made hastati; those in the prime of life principes; and the oldest of all triarii, these being the names among the Romans of the four classes in each legion distinct in age and equipment. They divide them so that the senior men known as triarii number six hundred, the principes twelve hundred, the hastati twelve hundred, the rest, consisting of the youngest, being velites. If the legion consists of more than four thousand men, they divide accordingly, except as regards the triarii, the number of whom is always the same.—Polybius VI.21 Imperial Period In the imperial legion, beginning with Augustus, the organization is thought to have been: 10 squads (contubernia - a tent group of generally 8 men) a century, each commanded by a centurion 80 men [note that the size of a century had diverged from its original, literal meaning of 100]6 centuries a cohort 480 men10 cohorts a legion 4800 men. Roth says the Historia Augusta, an unreliable historical source from the late 4th century A.D., may be right in its figure of 5000 for imperial legion size, which works if you add the 200 cavalry figure to the product above of 4800 men. There is some evidence that in the first century the size of the first cohort was doubled: The question of the size of the legion is complicated by the indications that, at some point subsequent to the Augustan reform, the organization of the legion was altered by the introduction of a doubled first cohort.... The principal evidence for this reform comes from Pseudo-Hyginus and Vegetius, but in addition there are inscriptions listing discharged soldiers by cohort, which indicate that about twice as many men were discharged from the first cohort than from the others. The archaeological evidence is ambiguous... at most legionary camps the pattern of barracks suggests that the first cohort was of the same size as the other nine cohorts.—Roth * M. Alexander Speidel (Roman Army Pay Scales, by M. Alexander Speidel; The Journal of Roman Studies Vol. 82, (1992), pp. 87-106.) says the term turma was only used for the auxiliaries: Clua was a member of a squadron (turma) - a subdivision known only in the auxilia—led by a certain Albius Pudens. Although Clua named his unit simply by the colloquial expression equites Raetorum, we can be certain a cohors Raetorum equitata was meant, perhaps cohors VII Raetorum equitata, which is attested at Vindonissa during the mid-first century. The Imperial Army Beyond the Legions Complicating questions of the size of the Roman legion were the inclusion of men other than the fighters in the numbers given for the centuries. There were large numbers of slaves and civilian non-combatants (lixae), some armed, others not. Another complication is the likelihood of a double-sized first cohort beginning during the Principate. In addition to the legionaries, there were also auxiliaries who were mainly non-citizens, and a navy. Sources Roman Population, Territory, Tribe, City, and Army Size from the Republics Founding to the Veientane War, 509 B.C.-400 B.C., by Lorne H. Ward;  The American Journal of Philology, Vol. 111, No. 1 (Spring, 1990), pp. 5-39A History of Rome, by M. Cary and H.H. Scullard; New York, 1975.The Size and Organization  of the Roman Imperial Legion, by Jonathan Roth;  Historia: Zeitschrift fà ¼r Alte Geschichte,  Vol. 43, No. 3 (3rd Qtr., 1994), pp. 346-362How Rome Fell, by Adrian Goldsworthy; Yale University Press, 2009.