Politics of North and South Korea Essay -- essays research papers fc

Research Essay: North Korea and South Korea Throughout the history of politics, our societies have encountered a large variety of different political and governing systems. From systems in which idealists introduced to our world, believing that they are capable of letting the world function and operate in a more efficient manner came two of the most popular political ideologies that most would recognize. They are known as democracy and communism. Even now during the twenty-first century, issues relating to the struggle between these two beliefs are still rising in different regions of the world where people are demanding more freedom. Knowing that both democracy and communism are pretty much the total opposite extremes of the other, often we hear events in which democratic countries such as the United States attempting to spread their political principles into other non-democratic areas. An interesting place to look at would be North Korea and South Korea, a place under the same name but ruled in totally opposite fashion as th e North seems to valued control, while the South seems to valued freedom. Although people nowadays always encourage and promote individual rights and freedom, does democracy really allow a more efficient governing process? Or are the ways of communist still holding certain advantages over the idea of individualism? Perhaps a more in-depth look into the difference in North and South Korea ¡Ã‚ ¦s political system would bring answers to this question.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In a certain Point of view, Korea has 2 distinctive Political cultures and values. Starting off with South Korea, or the  ¡Ã‚ §Republic of Korea ¡Ã‚ ¨, the political culture of South Korea is a mix of native, Chinese and Western elements. These elements includes things such as the  ¡Ã‚ §belief that human society was an integral part of the whole universe interrelated with it in maintaining order and harmony ¡Ã‚ ¨,  ¡Ã‚ §acceptance of harmony, order, and consensus as major political values and purposes. ¡Ã‚ ¨,  ¡Ã‚ §preference for decision-making by consensus, rather than by majority vote or force of arms; yet at the same time, unwillingness to compromise on matters perceived to involve principle ¡Ã‚ ¨,  ¡Ã‚ §emphasis on form and procedure, as well as substantive performance, as key elements in maintaining order ¡Ã‚ ¨, and a lot more1. In a certain points of view, South Korea ¡Ã‚ ¦s values are opposite to man... ...created and designed by Oldrich Kyn.. 2002. . 17)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚ ¡Ã‚ §South and North Korea. ¡Ã‚ ¨ ECONOMIC COUNTRY COMPARISONS , Site created and designed by Oldrich Kyn.. 2002. . 18)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚ ¡Ã‚ §South and North Korea. ¡Ã‚ ¨ ECONOMIC COUNTRY COMPARISONS , Site created and designed by Oldrich Kyn.. 2002. . Bibliography 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Robert E. Bedeski. The Transformation of South Korea: Reform and reconstitution in the Sixth Republic Under Roh Tae Woo, 1987-1992. New York: Routledge, 1994. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  John Kie-Chiagn Oh. Korea: Democracy on Trial. London: Cornell University Press, 1968. 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Park Chung Hee. Our Nation ¡Ã‚ ¦s Path: Ideology of Social Reconstruction. West Gate: Dong-a Publishing Company, Ltd., 1966. 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ilpyong J. Jim. Communist Politics In North Korea. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1975. 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Donald Stone Macdonald. The Koreans: Contemporary Politics and Society. Boulder & London: Westview Press, 1988. 6.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Oldrich Kyn.  ¡Ã‚ §South and North Korea. ¡Ã‚ ¨ ECONOMIC COUNTRY COMPARISONS. 2002.

Is Expanding Nuclear Power Really Beneficial to Society Development Essay

In recent decades, the coal consumption among the whole world has sharply increased so as to meet the rapid development in every country. As generating electricity by coal is not renewable and environmental unfriendly, people tend to develop renewable energy like nuclear power, wind power, hydropower etc. though the cost of constructing the plants and utilizing is extremely high. Among the renewable energy mentioned above, nuclear power is the most popular to expand. Nuclear power is the use of nuclear fusion or fission from the reactor to generate electricity. It is highly efficient and produces only nuclear waste but no carbon emission. Nuclear power seems to be an ideal energy source but is it that good? In my opinion, nuclear power has too many drawbacks that they outweigh its advantages undoubtedly, so I oppose the expanding of nuclear power in our society. The first reason I oppose is that nuclear reactor is inherently unsafe to human life. The accidents happened in Chernobyl and Fukushima has shown us apparently that nuclear meltdowns and explosions can occur at any time without any omen. Not only did the accidents bring destructive damage to the buildings or any infrastructure in the cities, but also caused hundreds and thousands of casualties. Despite the high technology and secure safety system implemented in the nuclear plant, and despite many scientists and professors claimed the percentage of not getting explosion is up to 90%, accidents can still happen and result in disastrous outcome. Frankly no one can afford the outcome and dare to say it is impossible for that 10% to occur. The most recent disaster in Fukushima once again alerts people from all around the world. As the communication media is well established nowadays, people in every corner of the world can watch this disaster—nuclear leakage and explosions on live through television or Internet. Current nuclear power plants are no longer safe! † Many communities from different countries ranted. They also vowed that they would use all means to oppose the expanding of nuclear so as to protect their offspring. Life is precious and anything that poses threats to human life should be halted. Secondly the construction and the maintenance of nuclear plant are exceptionally dear. In fact, the cost of building and doing maintenance is highly dependent on taxpayers’ handouts. US, one of the countries investing a lot on developing nuclear power, has put the cost burden to their citizens since 2005. In 2005, President Bush approved an energy bill that included over 13 billion USD in tax breaks and subsidies for the nuclear industry. However, nowadays in every country, including those developed countries, is suffering from the problem of poverty. The poor has difficulties in maintaining their life while the government still imposes heavy tax on them and that is unacceptable. On the other hand, since the nuclear plants are built far away from residence, long electrical wires are required to transfer electricity from the plants to our houses. Whenever electricity is transferred through wires, some energy will be lost to surroundings. Thus for a long distance transfer, much energy would be lost which is definitely uneconomical and inefficient. So please care about the poor. And the third reason that I disagree in expanding nuclear power is nuclear waste cannot be dealt adequately. Being generated during the fuel cycle, nuclear waste actually is not a clean source: it is a radioactive substance emitting radiation all the time and it takes millions of years to become harmless, so it poses a severe potential danger to human health. Furthermore, nuclear wastes are usually buried in a designated place where it is far away from residence, so it is required to transport the wastes to these locations. This may pose risks on the populations that live along the transport route. I am sure nobody wants any nuclear waste is accidentally left in front of their houses. Hence nuclear power should not be developed unless the problem of nuclear waste has been solved. However genuine and persuasive the disadvantages are, some proponents still think nuclear power is a perfect energy source. They believe nuclear power helps reduce the emissions and contribute in easing global warming. Nevertheless it is not the case. An ecologist has once stated that nuclear power is not totally emission free because when we examine the whole nuclear power generating cycle, we can see that in mining of uranium, running the nuclear reactor, transportation of nuclear waste and even the disposal of nuclear waste rely on fossil fuels and produces a lot of greenhouse gases. Therefore there is actually net emission of harmful gases and global warming would not be relieved because of using nuclear power. Although it is right for people to seek for progress and develop new technology to meet their wants, we still need to consider the consequence that expanding new technology brings. Nuclear power, frankly speaking, is much more efficient than the ordinary way of generating electricity, but the outcome of this is disastrous and people cannot afford to lose—that’s human life. Moreover it is very expensive in developing nuclear power, if I am the government I would rather spend this bucket of money to narrow the gap between the rich and the poor. Last but not least, the issue brought by radioactive nuclear waste is very long-lasting which is always threatening our life. Hence unless the above three problems are solved, I am still opposing the development of nuclear power.

Gender Inequality Essay

It is not up for debate whether women are discriminated against in the workplace it is evident in census data; in 1998 women made 73 cents to the dollar paid to men. Even today, there is still a pay gap that exists between women and men. It is said that the organizations that are pro-equal pay, including some unions, support the idea that the government should set wages for all jobs. To the contrary, the organizations that are proponents of equal pay are not for job wages being set by the government-they wish to have the discrimination taken out of pay scales from within the company. Commonly, this pay gap is attributed to the fact that women in the United States are still expected to attend to familial obligations over work. Data shows that women do attend to family obligations, like having a child, caring for a sick family member, or caring for an elder; but they also do not give up on work. Yes, women often chose lower paying jobs in exchange for flexible hours and do spend a lower number of hours per week long-term at their jobs than their male counterparts. Because women are socialized to be the primary care givers they are kept at these lower paying jobs that are more flexible, the jobs allow them to care for their family yet still retain an income (possibly a second income for the household). Women’s changing roles in society has resulted in this workplace problem. Women are allowed and often encouraged to work but they are not rewarded or compensated at the same level, for their efforts, that men in the work force are. The pay gap would be narrowed if companies were more conducive to family schedules. Men and women would receive equal pay for the same job. Companies would benefit by retaining quality employees. Men and women need to start out making the same amount of money for the same job, companies need to offer women ample maternity leave, families need to be offered childcare (or childcare compensation), there needs to be a flexible work environment, and men should never be discouraged from taking paternity leave. It seems that women workers have reached a plateau in society. In order for women to be respected as men are) in the workplace there needs to be a redistribution of domestic and family work. It’s acceptable now for women to work; but this acceptance into the workforce has not drastically changed what they, women, are expected to perform at home. There is no way for women to move forward to equality in pay if they are not recognized as contributors to their job (i.e. women are still expected to perform outside of work in the family setting as well in a way that men are only expected to perform at work and not at home). As soon as more domestic and family work is allocated to men than women will be able to attain equal pay. Women, with less work at home, will be able to commit to full time jobs, have to leave the workforce less, take less leave, and be able to climb the corporate ladder just as men are today. Since 1942, gender inequality, at least in pay, can be traced. In 1942 the National War Labor Board issued a general order that authorized employers to make voluntary adjustments in salaries or pay in order to demonstrate gender equality (at least in jobs were women and men worked the exact same job and had comparable quality and quantity of work) (CNN). Rates of women in labor unions has been increasing since they have entered the workforce. Even with the increase of women union numbers this inequality of pay still exists. Women are encouraged by unions and other organizations to sue their employer if they are being treated unfairly in the workplace. Women are unlikely to pursue this option against their employers because of limited resources, i.e. money and time. Gender discrimination in the workplace is not only evident in the pay gap but also in sexual harassment and the â€Å"glass ceiling† in organizations. The term glass ceiling began as a reference to discrimination against women in the work force. â€Å"Glass ceiling† encompasses many different kinds of discrimination against women workers including but not limited to: differences in pay for comparable work, sexual harassment in the workplace, and companies that do not have family-friendly policies. The glass ceiling is an unwritten rule in many businesses. The ceiling is an invisible barrier that usually affects minorities and women. This barrier is extremely debilitating for women in their job because it makes them feel inferior and that their bosses do not take them seriously because of their sex. Women feel that their bosses aren’t taking them seriously because the bosses do not view them as potential candidates for the most prestigious positions in the establishment. The glass ceiling is another oppressive means used by corporate America to keep women out of powerful positions and keep them from raking in a lot of money; in terms of their gross income. A study done by the U.S Department of Labor in 1991 reviewed nine Fortune 500 companies and the results confirmed that workers in these companies, minorities and women especially, came into contact with the invisible barrier, â€Å"the glass ceiling†, very early on in their careers. The U.S. Supreme Court has designated two different types of sexual harassment in workplaces: Type 1 and Type 2. Type 1 is harassment that directly results in an employment outcome (ex. the harasser would say that if you don’t do X you will lose your job). Sexual harassment of Type 2 is not nearly as direct but creates a hostile work environment for the harassed worker. This hostile in environment can be created by rude gestures, sabotaged work, inappropriate name calling, vulgar jokes, unnecessary touching, comment on the appearance of others (physical attributes), etc. Women are now surpassing men in the amount of education, in years and higher degrees, they have. If the workforce does not allow them to pursue executive career options then they will find themselves unable to fill these positions. Women in 1996 earned 1,255,057 college degrees as compared to men who earned 992,638 degrees (Career Planning). The ever increasing amount of women furthering their education makes them more likely to want to enter the job market. Also, the longer a woman is in school the longer she will be in the workforce, when she enters it, because it is likely that she will delay childbearing. Even though female graduates may be even more qualified for a position than her male counterpart the woman will be much more likely to be recommended for a job as an assistant or secretary job than the man. She will be told that this assistant or secretarial job is her way to get her foot in the door at the company. The employers will act like this is a typical entry-level position when in fact a man in the same situation will immediately begin at a much higher level in the company. Women are over represented in the lower paying jobs in the company- almost all assistants and secretarial positions are filled by women while men crowd the top and fill the most prestigious positions in the company. This concentration of men at the top and women at the bottom is called â€Å"occupational segregation†. I began the Intro to Critical Feminist Studies course with a very clear idea of what feminism is yet I was hesitant to call myself a feminist. A feminist, to me, is someone who advocates for women’s rights and their equality as compared to men. Women and men are equal yet both are very different. A feminist is someone who capitalizes on and embraces the differences between men and women. Anyone can be a feminist but feminism, to me, means only advocating for women’s issues like gender discrimination in the workplace. Through the semester my definition of feminism has not changed drastically; yet I am much more willing to associate myself with this movement/name. My hesitation in calling myself a feminist was based on worries about the social implications of the word â€Å"feminist†. I don’t judge people merely because they attach this label to themselves or associate with other â€Å"feminists† so there must have been some deeper concern about the social implications of being one, a feminist. I don’t think that individuals necessarily associate being a feminist with negative things but that socially, in group situations and in the larger context of society and politics, being labeled as a feminist will limit your options. Specifically, I am concerned with the implications of being a â€Å"feminist† in the workplace. The workplace, to me, is the center of the politically correct and somehow labeling yourself a feminist makes you politically incorrect and socially awkward. Labeling yourself a feminist, ironically, attributes a male characteristic to you, i.e. confidence. Because feminists are labeled with this confidence and that they have such a clear idea of what injustices against women are they are outcasts. This topic, gender discrimination in the workplace, is related to a topic in my previous papers, women and healthcare. The job market is probably the most influential factor in an individual’s ability to obtain health insurance. This job-place discrimination against women indirectly affects the quality of healthcare available to most American women. It’s important to me to have equality in the workplace because I am a women and I don’t deserve to make less money than a male-counterpart just because of my sex. Even if it is the case that women are in and out of the labor force (more than men) because of familial obligations there is no cause for this discrimination in the workplace. Women are in and out of the labor market caring for men, men’s children, and men’s relatives yet women get paid less than men for the same job. There is even more cause for the wage gap to be closed because women’s roles are changing; many women are both mothers an d workers. In the past, maybe it was OK (not just but socially acceptable) for women to make less money than men because men were the providers and the woman’s income was play money. This is no longer the case. Women are now equal providers for their family, possibly the bigger earner, and frequently the sole provider for their household (single moms etc.). A female that just graduated from college with a major in marketing calls an agency to schedule an interview. She gets to the interview on time, well dressed, and ready to be hired. The interview proceeds and the interviewer is impressed with her resume; but is very interested in her typing speed. The interviewer takes the recent grad to another room, a computer lab, where she is sat down and prepared to take a typing test-to determine her words per minute. While typing, she sees an acquaintance of hers from school and he is applying to work for the agency as well. Her male acquaintance is interviewed by the same person yet he is immediately suggested for a position in the company without taking a typing test. The interviewer suggested the taping test for the female grad because having good typing skills would help her get her â€Å"foot in the door†, i.e. she could start out as an assistant or secretary. Even though both prospective employees, the woman and the man, had equit able educations the woman was not encouraged/allowed by the interviewer to enter the ranks of the business as anyone but a secretary (Career Planning). Some examples of gender discrimination in the workplace are: women not being hired for a position (which they are qualified for) because the company’s long-time clients feel more comfortable dealing with men, during company cutbacks men with the same job with less seniority keep their job over a woman who has been working for the company for a long time, and women not being able to attain a promotion even though they qualify for it (the woman has exemplary reviews and has earned many awards in her position (like employee of the year, etc.) the promotion is given to a less qualified male). After the National War Labor Board issued general order sixteen the fight for equal pay continues. President John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act in 1963. This Act signed by JFK applied to 27.5 million workers (both men and women) and required â€Å"employees doing work requiring equal skill, effort and responsibility- and work performed under similar working conditions-be paid equal wages† (CNN). In subsequent years, following both the general order sixteen and the Equal Pay Act, numerous bills and acts have been passed to guarantee women and men equal pay for the same job; yet the pay gap still exists today. A more recent statistic on the pay difference, from 2000, found that women still make .80 cents to the dollar that’s paid to their male counterparts (GAO). A few women have been compensated for their lost wages. The Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, OFCCP, began reviewing corporate management systems in 1993. The OFCCP began the review process after President Bill Clinton signed the Family and Medical Leave Act. This Act protects workers jobs guaranteeing them at least twelve months of unpaid leave due to the birth of a child or extreme family circumstances (someone is very ill, etc.). These reviews of corporate management systems has been instrumental in paying back wages to women. One of the OFCCP’s reviews included an evaluation of Fairfax Hospital in Virginia. The hospital, as a result of its preliminary review by the OFCCP, agreed to pay over $425,000 in back wages to 52 female workers ; these workers were â€Å"employed in the top six grades of the hospital’s personnel structure† (CNN). Also, after the hospital’s review they gave 44 out of the 52 women pay raises, which gave these individuals more than $178,000 (extra) in total. These raises account for more than $4,000 a year extra income for each woman. Out of all the corporate reviews by OFCCP, the largest settlement was with CoreStates Financial Institution in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As a result of their review CoreStates paid more than 1.5 million dollars to women and minorities to compensate them for (past) pay discrimination. In addition to paying the 1.5 million dollars to workers CoreStates paid more than â€Å"334,000†, in salary adjustments to 76 women and 66 members of minorities† (CNN). The monetary compensation does not address the root of why women are paid less than men. If companies are willing to settle with the OFCCP and pay lost wages to female workers then they obviously recognize the injustice they are committing in the pay scales. Even with the passage of numerous acts that require employers to give equal pay the gap still continues between women and men’s salaries. From the 1960’s when JFK signed the Equal Pay Act the number of women workers was at an all-time high. From the beginning of the 60’s to the mid 70’s more than half the increase in the amount of workers in the labor force was made up of women. Most of these women were married and delayed having children so they could stay in the labor force longer. Even though women’s primary obligations are to their families they still do remain in the workforce after having children. Families can’t make it without the second income provided by the female. Women are in and out of the labor force but only to recover from childbirth; the number of working moms in 2006 was over 2.6 million. More than 72 percent of mothers in the Unites States, with children under the age of 18, are either employed part or full-time. Women are in hostile environments at home and at work. Women are paid less than men for the same job, are sexually harassed at work, and are cornered into low paying demeaning work. Even though women are expected to be equal providers for their family they are also expected to be the primary caretaker of their family. It is impossible for women to excel in both arenas if they are not granted equality. This equality would include either redistribution of domestic and family work (while women continue to work in the office) or equal respect for â€Å"women’s work† (women staying at home while men work in the office).

My High School Experience Essay

My high school experience has been a success for me to get to college by taking all of the class I needed to get this far. I have came a long way during my high school career because I really thought I wouldn’t have made it this far due to struggling to keep my grades up but as I started it’s not hard at all to keep them up you just have to try hard and get the job done. Although being in Upward Bound has help me accomplish these goals to make it his far from ninth grade to twelfth grade. Due to being in Upward Bound I have learned a lot of things such as you have to do things own your own because nothings ever going to be handed to you. Now that I finally realize that I’m a senior in high school and that time has real passed by now I’m standing here with a diploma something I’ve been waiting for all my life. As I look back I’m not ready to leave high school yet because now I’m own my own in college and there’s no one there to t ell me what to do . As everyone would say â€Å"welcome to the real world.† Some people think of this as yes I’m finally out of the house with my mother and that their going to have fun and make new friends and party. I think of this as I want to go to college and be successful in life, get the job done, get my associate’s degree and move on up to the real world also I would love to be on the dean’s list every semester that would be a really great honor to me to let me know that I have did what I had to do in college and not just played the whole time .I know that I will miss it here being with friends and goofing around with others. But now it is for me to step on up to a new chapter in life by going to college and doing what I like to do working with children and their families. I hope that all of us will work hard to accomplish our dreams and do what we got to do to get what we want . It want be that hard I hope only if you just try and put your mind to it to do it. It want be as hard as you make it just do your best. I’m glad that all of us have made it to the end now that we can say that we â€Å"started from the bottom now were here.†Now that I have accomplished my task for today I would ask you to encourage me and others to always do their best in anything cause you never know what your going to get out of being the best that we can be and I hope you take this with you to remember the class of 2015.

Do the Games 'Grand Theft Auto IV' and 'Call of Duty- Modern Warfare Coursework

Do the Games 'Grand Theft Auto IV' and 'Call of Duty- Modern Warfare 3' Promote Violent Behaviour or are they Harmless - Coursework Example However, as games have become a more powerful industry, some people have suggested this may also have some negative effects. Games such as Grand theft auto IV have been reported as being responsible for adverse effects on players and various tabloid newspapers have said that violent games are deliberately based on reality. In general, the impact seen from video games has been credited to the mimicking of violence seen and played during the games. Studies also indicate how gamers playing violent video games are also more likely to act aggressively or engage in violent or aggressive behaviour towards other people. These gamers, especially those of younger ages, would be more likely to fight with their parents, their peers, or with their classmates. They would also be less likely to have executive control over their temper or emotions, making them easily prone to angry outbursts and aggression. Video games also have a desensitizing effect to violence, making players less reactive or les s likely to be shocked by violence they would see in the news or in their daily life. When games such as Grand Theft Auto IV are closely analysed, it is easy to see why they can be accused of encouraging violent behaviour. Grand Theft Auto is the video game notorious for allowing a player to hire a prostitute, kill her, and then retrieve the money giveniii . This game also gives the player a chance to shoot cops, run over pedestrians, and bludgeon passersby with a baseball bat. To many gamers, this series is gripping because not only does it allow the player to perform violence, but it also offers an immense environment where all violent possibilities can be played outiv. These games also seem to reinforce gender stereotypes, that of men being the natural aggressors and women being the submissive personalities. In other words, there is a disconnect between reality and gaming fantasy for these gamers. These gamers explore the fantasy world of aggression and play out violent scenarios – kill prostitutes, beat-up bystanders, hijack cars, and kill rival criminals. The challenge during their games is on how fast and how clever they can be in pulling out these acts. Translating these acts to the real world has not become a distant possibility for these gamers. The Daily Mail reports that Grand Theft Auto IV was pulled out by Nintendo after a Bangkok teen murdered a taxi driver apparently because he wanted ‘to see if it was as easy as it was in the game’v. Incidents like this indicate a lack of moral responsibility on the part of the gamer, and also on the part of the creators of the game who create an environment where killing a taxi driver is judged for its speed and efficacy, not for its moral implications. Medical experts have cited various studies that reviewed the impact of video games on human behaviour. In one of their studies, they observed that adolescents who were exposed to longer hours playing violent video games usually manifested be haviour that is more aggressive and were more likely to be confrontational with their teachers or to engage in fights with their peers. The repeated nature of the

Leasing Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Leasing - Case Study Example However, the disadvantage to leasing is that, if circumstances dictate that a business must change its operations significantly, it may be expensive or otherwise difficult to terminate a lease before the end of the term. (Wikipedia contributors 2006) For example, if Hasbro finds Maxie a failing project at the middle of the leasing term, it is expensive or difficult for Hasbro to terminate the lease. 8. At the end of the five year lease period, Hasbro would base two factors to determine their decision of whether or not to buy the machinery. The first factor is whether the "wear and tear" level of the machinery is more than or less than it should be as a five-year-old one. If it happens that the leased machinery is so "worn and torn" that it doesn't even worth $6,000 at the end of the lease, Hasbro would not buy it at the end of the lease definitely. The second factor is, considering the technological advancement within the five-year period, some more efficient machinery might have been produced. In this case, Hasbro would recalculate the profit and costs of purchasing a newer model before making their decision of whether or not to buy the machinery at the end of the lease.

Wildlife Diseases Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Wildlife Diseases - Essay Example Research has shown that the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans is the primary cause of the disease. A 2011 study reveals that 100% of healthy bats infected with this fungus cultured from diseased bats exhibited lesions and symptoms characteristic of the condition (in adherence to Koch’s postulate). The fungus thrives in low temperatures especially those between 4-15̊C (39-59̊F) and cannot withstand temperatures above 20̊C (68̊F). Consequently, it appears to favor infecting hibernating birds (Griggs, Keel, Castle & Wong, 2012). Some of the symptoms commonly associated with WNS are loss of body fats, unusual winter behavior such as flying, damaging and scaring of wing membranes and eventually death. The disease causes bats to rouse too frequently from torpor/ temporary hibernation and starve to death as a result of excessive activity. Most scientists and researchers, after extensive laboratory tests, believe that the condition is spread primarily through bat-to-bat transmission. Similar studies indicate that healthy birds in cages adjacent to those of infected bats do not catch the disease or develop symptoms. This means the fungus/ causal agent is not airborne and enhances the theory of contact transmission (Griggs, Keel, Castle & Wong, 2012). The fungus is thought to have originated from Europe because of the resistance exhibited by bats from such areas to the pathogen. They seem to have developed immunity over time and acted as vectors spreading the pathogen to the susceptible bats of the rest of the world (particularly those of North America).