Work With Animal Projects: Shaping Up For Shark Conservation

If you want to work with animal conservation projects you might want to think about a gap year break that involves helping to conserve one of the planet's most maligned creatures - the shark (specifically, the tiger shark).

Films and stereotypes

Many of us are, unfortunately, most familiar with sharks from the TV and cinema. We're all probably well versed in the images of the hero or heroine wrestling with a marauding shark and even today, the legacy of the now ancient "Jaws" movies continues to play a part in popular culture.

Of course, sharks are one of the world's great predators, and occasionally there are tragic attacks on humans; however the fact that these typically make headline news around the globe indicates just how comparatively unusual such events are. What is a bigger problem is that shark populations are being put under intense pressure by humanity and our increasing exploitation of the sea, their natural habitat. Many aspects of shark behaviours are only poorly understood even today - and that is where opportunities may arise if you would like to work with animal conservation in a marine context.

Tiger shark conservation

One of the species that is currently puzzling is the tiger shark, and particularly those populations off of the coast of Africa. Here, population numbers are varying and the sharks appear to be migrating from areas they are traditionally associated with. The reasons for this are not understood (migrating prey? environmental pollution? changing sea temperatures?) and more work is needed - particularly in how fishery protection areas may or may not be helping conservation. So, if you like the thought of being able to get close up and 'personal' with these creatures, a break that involves work with animal projects in this area, may really appeal.

Conservation holidays

It is worth noting that the word 'holiday' here may not mean quite what you have experienced before when laying on a beach or mooching around the shops. Here, you'll be working hard to learn techniques such as:

• Safe sub-aqua practices when in and around sharks

• The tagging of selected sharks and the associated tracking and recording

• Noting their hunting grounds and sampling their local environments to check for environmental issues.

Yes, there will be 'time off' for you to visit other local sights and to interact with the local people, but the emphasis is on working and 'making a difference' to the knowledge base.

So, if you'd like to work with animal conservation projects in an absolutely unique environment, conservation work involving tiger sharks may possibly be for you.

Kathryn Noakes is the Sales Executive for Worldwide Experience, an online tour operator offering extended breaks on holidays where you can work with animal projects and other wildlife conservation holidays for adults.

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Windows Phone 7 Shaping the Mobile Market

The current smartphone operating system market is a two horse race between the Google-owned Android platform and Apple's iOS. Together, the two operating systems make up 67% of the smartphone OS market share. The RIM Blackberry OS is the closest competitor to the mobile giants right now, controlling 20% of the market. However, market research giant IDC projects that by 2015, Windows Phone 7 will not only compete with Android, iOS, and Blackberry, but will actually outsell the latter two and become the second most popular mobile operating system.

Windows Phone 7, often abbreviated as WP7, is Microsoft's smartphone operating system that provides an innovative user interface and a feature set similar to their home computer operating system. Released in October 2010, Windows Phone 7 has received mostly positive reviews. Specifically, critics have praised the fluidity of the phone's navigation system and the incredibly responsive touchscreen controls. Minor criticisms have arisen that claim the e-mail system is not user-friendly, and some reviewers were disappointed by the lack of multi-tasking ability.

Microsoft plans to amend WP7's shortcomings by releasing an update in fall of 2011 codenamed Mango. The update is promised to bring hundreds of updates to the OS, including improved e-mail, state-of-the-art multi-tasking, universal search, and innovative phone and social media integration. Microsoft also unveiled plans to introduce to the platform an HTML5-friendly Internet Explorer 9 along with Bing Vision, a feature that will allow users to take pictures of products with their phone's camera and receive info about them online.

The fixes and added features that the Mango update promises to provide are the major reasons for IDC's speculation that the sudden growth in Windows Phone 7. Some analysts have raised their eyebrows and doubt that an operating system which currently holds only 9% of the market will be able to increase in popularity and overtake mobile titan Apple so quickly. However, WP7 is swiftly growing and boasts more applications in its mobile marketplace than the Android platform did at the same age. Remember, skeptics also doubted the iPhone's ability to compete in the mobile market upon its initial release.

The new features Windows Phone 7 promises combined with its already spectacular and responsive user interface will undoubtedly sway some smartphone users into switching operating systems. Whether or not WP7 actually overtakes iOS and becomes Android's biggest competitor in the coming years, both Apple and Google should be worried that Microsoft is going to swoop in and seize at least a portion of their customers. The release of the Mango update could mean the smartphone OS market shifting from a two horse race to a three company showdown.

For more information about mobile application development, visit Magenic Technologies who have been providing innovative custom software development to meet unique business challenges for some of the most recognized companies and organizations in the nation.

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