Individual Career Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Individual Career Plan - Essay Example The timely fashion that is required during all journalistic encounters ensures that events are relayed and communicated in the best possible way. This is the only way that all events and activities witnessed are communicated to all parties in the best possible way. Packaging is necessary in the field of journalism. This is because proper packaging ensures that all the information collected is as palatable as possible (Kobre 2008). The role of journalism cannot be ignored in any given society. This is because, at each and every point, the public interest in what is happening all over the world is very high. This is possible because of the aspects of journalism that look into the events all over the world. The coordination of information and pictures is able to communicate all the needed information about a situation. The condensation of information and pictures about any situation totals to journalism. This is the only way that the public is aware of their surroundings. Photojournalis m Photojournalism is one area in the entire field of journalism. Each new story has the sole aim of communicating information. For it to appeal to all the involved parties, it is accompanied by still pictures and images that complement the story (Kobre 2008). As compared to all other forms of photography, photojournalism has been stipulated to follow certain ethical and pictorial considerations. They are entitled to remain as ethical and impartial to communicate the specifics of what should be reported. They complementary role that photojournalism plays has been reported to bring any story alive. Many people that have been interviewed in many researchers conclude that they watched and participated in news surveys as a result of what they watch. This is as compared to what they hear (Kobre 2008). Many life events were reversed as a result of what images were relayed to accompany a story. There are very many examples that show what the research concluded. The genocide in Rwanda in 199 4 and the civil war in Sudan got worldwide attention as a result of chilling images that accompanied the stories. These are some few random examples from all over the world in line with the effects of photojournalism. It is imperative that, at each and every point the aspects of photojournalism should be governed by timeliness, narration and objectivity. This means that all pictures and images should be timely in how they complement the story line. This is through the introduction of a cutline. The images and pictures should also be very objective in the sense that the pictures should have a high sense of what the story line is about. Without the connection, they will be of absolutely no benefit to the story. The connection between the pictures and the story line is through the introduction of a narrative. Narration ensures that the audience is able to relate the story and picture. This creates a perfect view for all those that are watching (Kovach 2007). Job Description and Skills Profile Photojournalism entails the use and application of photographic equipment. The equipment has the ability to capture images as they appear. Once a photojournalist is in the zone, the camera is zoomed to view all aspects of what is being filmed. It is necessary for the journalist to zoom and project the image from all the necessary angles. Aspects of creativity come into sharp focus as any form of angle alteration could lead to the complete

Macroeconomic Policy Objectives Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Macroeconomic Policy Objectives - Essay Example On the other hand, targets are defined as the intermediate aims closely linked to the objectives theoretically. Thus, for example, a government could set out to achieve low rates of inflation and, to achieve this; they could use interest rates as an instrument while the government could also set consumer credit growth as a target or exchange rates increment. The policies that can be used, by a government, to achieve macroeconomic policies are limited. Macroeconomics is the branch of economics that has to do with investment, national income, consumption, and other aggregates. Another definition is the study of entire systems of economics that aggregate over an economy’s working systems. It is concerned, basically, with systematic and predictable variables that are analyzable independently in relation to decisions of agents that are determinant of their levels. More specifically, macroeconomics can also be defined as the study of national economies with determination of national income. Macroeconomic Policy Low unemployment – Full employment A realistic nature of this objective is the one used by the ILO where they use young and unemployed people who are not always eligible to receive benefits, women who are in a marriage and cannot claim if spouses are not earning enough, and those claiming invalidity and sickness benefits (Marin 16). Most workers who feel inconvenienced often go for these benefits rather than swelling unemployment numbers. It is essential to take note of issues concerning inactive and active members of the country’s populace who have attained working age. Only those active individuals are included in the either working population that can be exemplified as all people who are registered as employed or unemployed. However, some individuals are in the unemployed category as a matter of decision, for instance, individuals opting for early retirement and students in school (Marin 16). Price Stability One can define inflation as the rise in prices at a general sustained level over a period. Inflation is technically a measure through annual Retail price Index, or RPI, which can also be referred to as the headline rate of inflation. To stabilize prices, governments need to keep inflation rates to a minimum (Marin 17). Governments normally prefer to keep the inflation rates to low percentages and mostly target rates of inflation that underlie the yearly percentage of RPIX. RPIX is the initial RPI before the removal of housing costs in the form of mortgage interest payments. Governments normally see sense in utilizing the measure because interest rates that are normally used as a control of inflation directly affect RPI. RPIY also acts as another popular inflation measure that does not include effects of indirect taxation like VAT and consumer price index used for international comparisons (Marin 17). Economic Growth This is measured using GDP change rate, also Gross Domestic product. The term real, as accompan ies majority of the statistics, normally refer to the fact that they have factored out inflation. Gross Domestic Product measures income, expenditure, or output of the economy of a country (Marin 19). A country, sometimes may also utilize GNP, or Gross National Product that is just like the GDP. Most governments publish figures of Gross Domestic Product on a quarterly basis that is based on the quarter on quarter change and annual percentages. Balance of Payment This briefly makes a record of all the money that streams into and out of the country. This can be further divided into financial and capital accounts, as well as the current account and capital accounts are referred to as the capital account (Marin 19). Normally, the current accou

Soft Sediment Communities

Soft Sediment Communities CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Overview of Soft Sediment Communities Soft sediments are the most common marine habitat on earth (Wilson, 1990). The habitats include sandy beaches, estuaries, mudflats and salt marshes. The communities consist of organisms which live on, or in, the bottom of a water body. There are generally four types of soft sediment communities which can be classified according to their size. They are microbenthos (1.0 mm) and megabenthos (> 10.0 mm). This study is focused on macrofauna, also known as macrobenthos. They are invertebrates that live on or in sediment, or attached to hard substrates. The common soft-sediment communities that can be found in intertidal areas are Annelida, Crustacea and Mollusca (Munari Mistri, 2008). Estuarine and coastal ecosystems consist of important components of macrofauna (Borja et al., 2000). They connect primary producersand organic matter sources such as phytoplankton and detritus apart from being economically, ecological, and recreationally importantfish and crustaceans (Rà ¶nnbà ¤ck et al., 2007; Bremner, 2008).Soft sediment communities provide many ecosystem services that help to maintain good water and sediment quality (Rà ¶nnbà ¤ck et al., 2007). Filter feeders such as bivalves remove particles from the water column, which may result in enhanced water clarity (MacIsaac, 1996). Given the importance of light in shallow water estuarine ecosystems, filter feeding may improve shallow water habitat for submerged aquatic plants and benthic microalgae. The degradation of some pollutants is enhanced by sediment mixing (bioturbation) of the infaunal macrobenthos due to stimulation ofmicrobial processes. The enhanced coupling of key nitrogen transformations in the presence of benthic macrofauna can lead to the production of nitrogen gas, which escapes to the atmosphere, thereby reducing nitrogen loading in the ecosystem. Macrobenthos have been used for decades asindicators of environmental statusand trends in estuaries and coastal areas because infauna are mostly sedentary organisms and they respond to local environmental impacts (Pearson Rosenberg, 1978; Borja et al., 2000; Wildsmith et al., 2009, 2011). They cover a wide range of physiological tolerances, living positions, type of feeding and trophic interactions (Elliott et al., 2002). Macrobenthic assemblages respond relatively quickly to habitat disturbances (Borja et al., 2000). They are important components of aquaticfood webs (Rà ¶nnbà ¤ck et al., 2007)and they affect transport and cycling of nutrients and toxicants. In addition, there are data on their patterns of variation, their responses to different forms of disturbance are known and they show similar responses at different levels of taxonomic resolution (Warwick, 1988). They form an important component of the estuarine food-web, supporting commercial and non-commercial species. They therefore represent an ideal assemblage to measure environmental change and will continue to be used to represent an important biological component of soft sediments. Understanding how different components of benthos respond to changes in properties of sediments is therefore essential in determining how much, if any, redundancy there is in this system and how much impacts on the sediments themselves are tolerated by the fauna. From this study it is clear that such experiments need replication at multiple scales and across multiple habitats before any general responses will be identified. By knowing the importance of soft sediment communities, the health and quality of an ecosystem can be determined without using any harmful chemical indicators. 1.2 Objectives The objectives of this project are: To investigate the abundance and distribution of soft sediment communities in Tanjung Bungah, Pulau Pinang. To relate the environmental variables with soft sediment communities distribution and abundance in Penang intertidal area. CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 The Ecology of Soft Sediment Communities Macrofauna make up a large component of the food web in estuarine ecosystems, connecting primary producers to top producers and playing an important role in system dynamics (Herman et al., 1999; Platell et al., 2006). Bottom macrobenthic communities include a great variety of organisms and generally a large number of species and they are extremely complicated (Meire et al., 2005). In marine macrobenthic organisms, polychaetes is one of the most significant groups and may make up more than half of the organisms in soft bottom habitats. They are often the predominant macrobenthic taxon in these sediments in terms of numbers, both numerically of species and abundance (Wildsmith et al., 2009, 2011). Polychaetes could hence be good indicators of species richness and assemblage models in macrobenthic assemblages (Fauchald Jumars, 1979). Some polychaete species were greatly opportunistic and responded quickly to environmental disturbances (Norkko et al., 2006; Wildsmith et al., 2011). 2.2 The Importance of Soft Sediment Communities Invertebrates constitute part of marine ecosystems and play important roles to support the function and stability of the food chains and ecosystems upon which other animals rely (Snelgrove, 1998). They regulate populations of other organisms (plant and animal) through predation, parasitism and herbivory, and help maintain water quality by filtering large amounts of water during feeding (Ponder et al., 2002). Invertebrates are directly involved in ecosystem stabilization, shoreline protection, energy and nutrient transfer and provision of habitat (Ponder et al., 2002). They also help in climate stabilization and re-mineralization and play an important role in the cycling of nutrients, breakdown of plant matter and other detritus and provide habitat for other species (Ponder et al., 2002). 2.2.1 Environmental indicator Members of the macrofauna community serve as useful biological indicators of environmental change and key elements of many marine and estuarine monitoring programs, due to their sedentary lifestyles and reduced responses to environmental changes (Tweedley et al., 2012). Therefore, the spatial distribution of macrofauna relative to environmental factors is fundamental to the understanding of estuarine ecology (Herman et al., 1999). Polychaetes are valuable marine organisms which can tolerate contamination because they live at the interface of water-sediment (Wildsmith et al., 2009, 2011). This layer is both biologically reactive and chemically active (Rhoads Young, 1970). Polychaetes occupy almost all marine and estuarine sediments (Fauchald, 1977) and are often the predominant constituent of the macrobenthic communities both in terms of individuals and number of species (Hutchings, 1998; Morin, 1999; Mills, 1969; Rhoads Young, 1970; Van Hoey et al., 2004; Ward Hutchings, 1996; Warwick, 1988). Polychaetes carry out an important role in ecosystem processes of macrofauna assemblages such as recycling, pollutant metabolism and in the interment of organic matter (Hutchings, 1998). 2.3 Factors Affecting Soft Sediment Communities The abundance and distribution of soft sediment communities were influenced by both biotic and abiotic factors. Biotic factors such as competition and predation (Rhoads Young, 1970) while abiotic factors such as variation in salinity, turbidity, sediment grain size, total organic carbon, and metal contamination, affect estuarine macrofauna (Kinne, 1966; Remane Schlieper, 1971; McLusky Elliot, 2004). 2.3.1 Salinity The influence of salinity in particular is an important factor in estuarine macrofaunal diversity. Generally, studies have reported a positive correlation between biodiversity and salinity (Holland et al., 1987; Jorcin, 1999; Ysebaert Herman, 2002; Gimenez et al., 2005). Because variation in salinity differs in accordance with tidal movements and freshwater inputs into estuaries, the distribution of macrofauna and the macrobenthic community can differ between dry and rainy seasons. 2.3.2 Sediment Grain Size In estuaries, salinity and sediment grain size have been found to be the most important environmental variables controlling the diversity and distributional patterns of macrofauna (Absalo, 1991; Yoo Hong, 1996; McLusky Elliot, 2004). Hong Yoo (1996) suggested that the particle size and disturbance of the sediment may have been the most important factors controlling the macrobenthic community. Soft-sediment communities are unusual in the rate at which the nature of the physical environment can change (Wilson, 1990). Most sedimentary particles are smaller than the resident organisms, infauna (Wilson, 1990). The activities of the infauna can dramatically change the nature of the environment over time periods of hours or days (Wilson, 1990). For instance, burrowing infauna may increase the porosity of the sediment (Rhoads, 1974). 2.3.3 Total organic carbon Population dynamics of benthic suspension feeders, deposit feeders and subsurface feeders are known to respond differently according to nature of inputs, plankton and/or organic food matter (Austen et al., 1991; Beukema et al., 2002). The latter two groups are less affected since they utilize a large pool of organic matter in the sediment, which is constantly being recycled. In tropical region, Wolanski et al. (1992) hypothesized that in mangrove swamp or creek system, the circulation processes are highly complicated leading to novel sediment transport regimes that could in turn account for the chemistry and biology of the recipient water. Abundance and Composition of Soft Sediment Communities The study of soft sediment communities was extensive in certain temperate countries especially Australia while other countries in the tropics are lacking in their data. Further studies have yet to be conducted in tropical coastlines due and increasing human population growth, pollution, urbanization at an alarming rate (Hatcher et al., 1989). Distribution of Soft Sediment Communities in the World In East Antarctica, Stark (2000) had investigated the distribution and abundance of soft-sediment macrobenthos around Casey Station. Two locations were compared – two potentially polluted locations and two control locations in an asymmetrical design (Stark, 2000). Stark (2000) found out that the dominant assemblage were crustaceans while polychaetes’ assemblage was smaller in number, about 3-10% of individuals at the locations sampled. Another study in Brown Bay, Antartic which was carried out by Stark et al. (2005) revealed significant correlations between the presence of contaminants and the distribution and composition of soft sediment-communities over very small spatial scales. Combinations of certain metals, for example Cadmium (Cd), Copper (Cu), Tin (Sn) and Lead (Pb) and sediment grain size were the variables that best linked the community patterns at Brown Bay. This is further supported by previous studies in Antartic where benthic assemblages probably patchy due to local environmental conditions (Stark, 2000; Stark et al. 2003). In England, annelids were found to be the most abundant group followed by crustaceans, molluscs, echinoderms and others (bryozoans and cnidarians) with 34.5%, 20.0%, 16%, 2.5% and 27% respectively (Bolam et al., 2008). Sediment grain size significantly affects the abundance of macrofauna along the English Channel (Bolam et al., 2008). In Australia, polychaetes were found the highest, and crustaceans were the lowest in macrofauna abundance (Morrisey et al., 1992). In Norway, environmental variables such as productivity, temperature and sediment grain size played a vital role in determining pattern of species richness (Gray, 2002). In Germany, the most abundant taxonomic group was gastropods, followed by oligochaetes, polychaetes and crustaceaans with 87%, 6%, 6% and 2% abundance respectively (Schà ¼ckel et al., 2013). The main causal factors for the different distribution patterns of intertidal macrofauna species which results in characteristic zonation patterns were sediment grain size and food availability, expressed in chloropohyll a contents (Schà ¼ckel et al., 2013). In Italy, the highest numbers of species that were identified were for Annelida which recorded 108 species, Crustacea recorded 69 species, and Mollusca recorded 52 species (Munari Mistri, 2008). Changes in the composition of assemblages of local species and the dominance of annelids species cannot be explained by only one factor (Lardicci et al., 1993). The factors were linked to biotic and hydrodynamic determinants, dissolved oxygen, grain size and organic content of the sediments (Munari Mistri, 2008). Distribution of Soft Sediment Communities in Asia In Qeshm Island of Iran, Nassaj et al. (2010) investigated the abundance and distribution of macrofauna in Salakh coastal region waters (Qeshm Island-Persian Gulf). Nassaj et al. (2010) found that Polychaeta (54.14%) were the most dominant group followed by the Crustacean (27.24%), Amphipods (9%), Gastropoda (8%), Bivalvia (7%), Copepoda (2%) and other groups (4%). In Korea, Yu et al. (2012) carried out a research on the effects of environmental variables on the distribution of macrofauna in the Han River Estuary during summer and spring. The dominant species were polychaetes during July, 2006 and March, 2007 (Yu et al., 2012). The most important factor was salinity and other factors such as sediment grain size and dissolved oxygen being secondary (Yu et al., 2012). Distribution of Soft Sediment Communities in Malaysia In Pulau Pinang, the high percentage of organic matter has shown a positive relation with abundance, diversity and richness of macrobenthic (Gholizadeh, Yahya, Talib, Ahmad, 2012). High percentages of sediment with grain size ≠¥125 ÃŽ ¼m revealed to have an increased in macrobenthic abundance (Gholizadeh, Yahya, Talib, Ahmad, 2012). This may aid in expounding the higher abundance of macrobenthic organisms, particularly for the deposit feeders. It has been reported that the sediment type (sand vs. mud) is one of the parameters responsible for the spatial distribution of macrobenthic families according to feeding kinds (Rhoads Young, 1970; Hutchings, 1998; Van Hoey et al., 2004).

Environmental Problems :: essays research papers

The world today is vastly different from what it was before urbanisation and industrialisation had taken its toll on the world. Since the turn of the new millennium the issue of the environment has suddenly evolved into a widespread issue which is greatly discussed throughout the world. No longer are humans living in a world where the environment is serene or stable but much rather becoming unrecognisable and diminishing before our eyes. The plants, trees and flowers are life forms which God has created for us to enjoy its beauty but it is now solely up to us and many other organisations to protect preserve and respect how fragile our environment really is. One of the most evident problems associated to the environment is the issue of the logging of trees, mainly in undisturbed places such as the Amazon basin. Trees are considered the lungs of the Earth. They recycle all the polluting carbon in the air and return oxygen back into our atmosphere, creating a stable cycle of carbon in our atmosphere. However, the impeccable rates which trees are being cut down in our forests have grown to ever increasing and alarming rates. Trees that are made way for farming are burnt up releasing deadly amounts of carbon and thus leading to the problem of global warming. As its names suggest the world is slowly warming up and without any notice the environment which God has gave us will be slowly eradicated. The daily lives which humans carry on about every day are also a factor influencing on our environment and global warming. By driving cars that have a thirst for petrol we are releasing carbon dioxide and furthermore impacting on the world?s climat e. In Australia environmental impact has always been evident. Land clearing especially in places such as Queensland has caused land to lay dry and lifeless where all forms of life is destroyed. By clearing land we are not only affecting our climate but are also destroying animal habitat and the usage of the land. Senseless actions by commuters in Australia, emitting tons and tons of lethal gases vulnerable to the atmosphere are starting to take its toll on our climate. We are seeing a harsher climate and at the same time less rain. If we want to preserve our world we must take a stance on this issue and take action for what is right, not carrying on the actions that will lead to a desolate, destroyed Earth.

Japan-2011-Earthquake-Case-Study Essay

Japan is an island nation located in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia. Japan is an archipelago of 6,852 islands. The four largest islands are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku, together comprising about ninety-seven percent of Japan’s land area. Japan is a major economic power and has the 3rd largest nominal GDP Its GDP per capita is $34,739 or the 25th highest in the world in 2011 Population is approximately 127 million people, which is the 10th largest population in the world. One of the world’s highest life expectancy at 81. 25 years of age. Ageing population with people 23% of the population are over 60 years old fertility rate below replacement level at 1. 39 children per woman while the uk’s fertility rate is 1. 9 Occurred at 2:46pm Tokyo time on the 11th of March 2011. It was a Magnitude 9 earthquake its amplitude was 100x that of Haiti’s 7. 0 Lasted for 3-6 minuets but there were strong aftershocks. The epicentre was 24 km deep, was 72 KM off the coast of sendai. A 400 to 500 km long segment of the north american plate which was being subducted Japan lies at a major triple junction of three major plates which interact in a complex and unpredictable way. The leading edge of the Pacific plate subducts beneath the westward moving Eurasian plate creating the worlds deepest known trench i. e. Marianas trench. In this same area the Pacific Plate subducts beneath the Philippine plate. Factors that contributed to the vunerability: Off Sendai there is a very old oceanic crust which is cooler and denser, it was assumed that the crust would easily slide into the mantle so only small earthquakes are predicted. Warping of the pacific plate means that it gets stuck rather than sliding smoothly into the mantle causing pressure build up. Rugged Ria coastline, many inlets caused tsunami waves to be concentrated, causing waves to encroach further. 70% of Japan is mountainous, making settlements cramped into narrow low lying coastal areas. Much of japans land is reclaimed which is very susceptible to liquefaction or ground shaking potentially causing landslides Government officials admitted that officials were too complacent & believed in technical infallibility. Japan earthquake and tsunami – 2011 Effects of the Earthquake: Primary effects: Magnitude quake of 9 that lasted for 3-6 minutes. This caused lots of ground shaking that triggered lots of secondary effects Secondary effects: Physical: An 10-meter tsunami was seen at the port in Sendai, near the epicenter. Japan’s east coast was moved up 4meters out into the Pacific Ocean, some areas sunk by more than a meter. Ground shaking caused buildings to collapse; some caught fire due to gas pipes bursting. The tsunami swept inland, mainly along the north-east coast swallowing boats homes vehicles trees and anything else. 50sq kilometres of land were flooded. When water receded trains, had vanished, ships and cars were tossed everywhere. Tokyo’s earthquake proof skyscrapers were swaying lots however damage was limited. An oil refinery exploded in the town of Ichihara, a commuter town of Tokyo. In Sendai the areas nearest to the focus, areas near the sea were very badly damaged, but inland near the city was largely undamaged. In Mionami-Sanriku only half the population of 17000 escaped alive and nearly all buildings were destroyed. Over 25,000 dead or missing due to the tsunami however many more would have perished if the early warning system hadn’t been in place. Aftershocks continued for two weeks terrifying people, there were 700+ recorded. A tsunami measured at anywhere from one meter to 7. 3 meters hit at various places along the coast Aftershocks were continuing, with one hitting magnitude 7. 1, according to the USGS. Tall buildings swayed violently in central Tokyo as the aftershocks hit. Other effects: Half a million people were made homeless for weeks, 150,000 people lived in temporary shelters. At least 1 million homes did not have running water, 6 million homes did not have electricity & cars queued for rationed petrol. There were shortages for food, water & medical supplies. Japan earthquake and tsunami – 2011 Hydrogen explosion and the melt down of two nuclear reactors in Fukushima nuclear powerplant caused wide spread panic and evacuation due to the spread of nuclear material. They melted down due to the tsunami breaking over the 8meter high barrier and engulfing the backup generators which cooled the rods. Panic selling occurred in global markets due to the panic of a nuclear disaster Responses: Immediate responses: A Tsunami warning was issued 3 minutes after the earthquake. Rescue workers searched the decimated coastline of submerged homes for survivors. Helicopters plucked survivors from wreckage or rooftops. 100,000 soldiers were mobilised to establish order, distribute bottled water, food and petrol . Offers of aid came in from lots of different countries including the USA and China. The UK sent 63 fire service search and rescue specialists, two rescue dogs and a medical support team. People were rescued after being trapped for several days. An exclusion zone was set up was set up around the Fukushima nuclear plant. Homes were evacuated and iodine tablets which prevent radiation sickness were distributed. There were no cases of looting or violence. Social networking such as Twitter were bringing updates on the situation far earlier than the media, showing how modern technology can be used in disaster situations. Long term responses: Japan has the world’s highest debt and the cost of the repair will force the government to borrow more still. Private companies faced hardship due to businesses being destroyed, however Japan is a developed MEDC and will recover over time. Japan’s previously thought infallible tsunami defences will be reviewed and rebuilt stronger so that if another tsunami occurred of the same scale the area would be better protected. Now what are the developments in 2012? Japan still has a quarantine zone around the Fukushima plant where radiation levels are high. Caesium levels in fish stocks off the coast for Japan are still high, this may be a long lasting effect on the environment that could cause damage to the food chain or decreased biodiversity. Fears of more nuclear disasters such as Japan may occur in Europe for example In Germany, Europe’s largest economy and power market, seven nuclear power plants have been closed .

Summary of 30 Seconds to Mars.

Noah Martin 1/6/13 Period 4 Last night I read, A Biography of 30 Seconds to Mars, pages 271 to 300 30 Seconds to Mars was formed in 1998 by the brothers Jared Leto and Shannon Leto. The banned started as a family project by Jared and Shannon respectively. Matt Wachter joined the band later as their bassist and keyboard player. Kevin Blake and Solon Bixer was there guitarist, but left because they couldn’t tour. They were later replaced by Tomo Milicevic. Jared and Shannon were by themselves in the band 1998 to 2001, and then they added Solon Bixer and Matt Wachter. Solon left the band in 2003, which was then replaced by Tomo. More Summary of Devil at My HeelsMatt left the band in 2007, replaced by no one but Jared took over using the synthesizers and bass. Tim Kelleher and Braxton Olita are 30 Seconds to Mars current touring members, starting with the This is War tour. Matt McJunkins and Kevin Drake are two of the former tour members. Kevin did rhythm guitar in the tour for 30 Seconds to Mars self-titled album, and Matt M. was bass guitar and backing vocals in 2011, for This is War. When Jared was interviewed for why he named the band he said, â€Å"For us, the name 30 Seconds To Mars has little to do with space, the universe or anything like that.It is a name that works on several different levels. Most importantly, it is a good representation of our sound. It's a phrase that is lyrical, suggestive, cinematic, and filled with immediacy. It has some sense of otherness to it. The concept of space is so overwhelming and all-encompassing I doubt there is a song written that doesn't fall within it. † W hen Shannon was interviewed he said, â€Å"It represents a lot of things. This professor had a thesis. It was talking about where technology was going; the evolution of man and how that plays a role. Also you can read this summary –  Protecting Freedom of Expression on the CampusA sub-category was 30 Seconds to Mars. It was like the exponential growth of humans. We are literally 30 seconds away from Mars. Everything is right here and right now; everything is just so crazy and fast. † There is also a quote made by former member Matt Wachter claimed by Virgin Records, but it has not been verified. As a side note, Jared Leto is a Hollywood actor, he prefers not to use the fact that he is an actor as a way to get publicity for his band, and he refuses to play at venues that have used his name to promote his band.