Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Categories of Hurricanes

Categories of Hurricanes The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale sets categories for the relative strength of hurricanes that may impact the United States based on the sustained wind speed. The scale places the storms into one of five categories. Since the 1990s, only wind speed has been used to categorize hurricanes. To estimate wind speed, the wind and wind gusts are measured over some period of time (typically one minute) and are then averaged together. The result is the highest average wind observed within a weather event.   Another measurement of weather is the barometric pressure, which is the weight of the atmosphere on any given surface. Falling pressure indicates a storm, while rising pressure usually means the weather is improving.   Category 1 Hurricane A hurricane labeled Category 1 has a  maximum sustained wind speed  of 74–95 miles per hour (mph), making it the weakest category. When the sustained wind speed drops below 74 mph, the storm is downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm. Although weak by hurricane standards, a Category 1 hurricanes winds are dangerous and will cause damage. Such damage could include: Roof, gutter, and siding damage to framed homesDowned power linesSnapped tree branches and uprooted trees In a Category 1 hurricane, coastal storm surge reaches 3–5 feet and the barometric pressure is approximately 980 millibars. Examples of Category 1 hurricanes include Hurricane Lili in 2002 in Louisiana and Hurricane Gaston, which hit South Carolina in 2004. Category 2 Hurricane When the maximum sustained wind speed is 96–110 mph, a hurricane is called a Category 2. The winds are considered extremely dangerous and will cause extensive damage, such as: Major roof and siding damage to framed homesMajor power outages that could last days to weeksMany uprooted trees and blocked roads Coastal storm surge reaches 6–8 feet and the barometric pressure is approximately 979–965 millibars. Hurricane Arthur, which hit North Carolina in 2014, was a Category 2 hurricane. Category 3 Hurricane Category 3 and above are considered major hurricanes. The maximum sustained wind speed is 111–129 mph. Damage from this category of hurricane is devastating: Mobile homes destroyed or heavily damagedMajor damage to framed homesMany uprooted trees and blocked roadsComplete power outages and unavailability of water for several days to weeks Coastal storm surge reaches 9–12 feet and the barometric pressure is approximately 964–945 millibars. Hurricane Katrina, which struck Louisiana in 2005, is one of the most devastating storms in U.S. history, causing an estimated $100 billion in damage. It was rated Category 3 when it made landfall.   Category 4 Hurricane With a maximum sustained wind speed of 130–156 mph, a Category 4 hurricane can result in catastrophic damage: Most mobile homes destroyedFramed homes destroyedHomes built to withstand hurricane-force winds sustain significant roof damageMost trees snapped or uprooted and roads blockedElectrical poles downed and outages lasting several last weeks to months Coastal storm surge reaches 13–18 feet and the barometric pressure is approximately 944–920 millibars. The deadly Galveston, Texas hurricane of 1900 was a Category 4 storm that killed an estimated  6,000 to 8,000 people. A more recent example is Hurricane Harvey, which made landfall at San Josà © Island, Texas, in 2017. Hurricane Irma was a Category 4 storm when it hit Florida in 2017, although it was a Category 5 when it struck Puerto Rico. Category 5 Hurricane The most catastrophic of all hurricanes, a Category 5 has a maximum sustained wind speed of 157 mph or higher. Damage can be so severe that most of the area hit  by such a storm could be uninhabitable for weeks or even months. Coastal storm surge reaches more than 18 feet and the barometric pressure is below 920 millibars. Only three Category 5 hurricanes have struck the mainland United States since records began: The Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 in the Florida KeysHurricane Camille in 1969 near the mouth of the Mississippi RiverHurricane Andrew in 1992 in Florida In 2017, Hurricane Maria was a Category 5 when it devastated Dominica and a Category 4 in Puerto Rico, making it the worst disaster in those islands histories. When Hurricane Maria hit the mainland U.S., it had weakened to a Category 3.

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Paper on Topic of Business Management Subject Essay

Paper on Topic of Business Management Subject - Essay Example I agree with Ivancevich who states that, â€Å"When an organization is really concerned about people, its total philosophy, culture, and orientation will reflect this belief† (2010, p. 4). Therefore, efficient management of human resources can ensure employee satisfaction and successful attainment of organizational goals. In this reflection paper, I have presented my understanding on the subject of human resource management and have applied this knowledge to my work and life experiences. Having worked in the army in a supervisory role for over twenty two years and currently working as a site manager for the linguistic program in Afghanistan, I have been able to include several examples to illustrate my perception on some of the functions of human resource management: Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action Equal employment opportunity (EEO) restricts organizations from discriminating against people based on their gender, race or ethnicity. It guides organizational practices as managers select candidates during the hiring process, promotions and opportunities for training and professional development. Affirmative action (AA) aims to correct past discriminatory practices by providing a level playing field for women, people with disabilities and minority groups like Blacks, Hispanics, Asians and Native Americans. The U.S. army also has EEO policies that â€Å"prohibit discrimination in employment because of race, color, religion, sex, age, handicapping condition or national origin† (U.S. Army, 1990, p. 114). Similarly, the AA policies are directed towards the recruitment, retention and development of high quality minority, handicapped and female employees. These policies are an integral part of employment, development, advancement and treatment of all personnel in the army. Women make up 14% of the U.S. armed forces and a military advisory committee is also considering lifting the ban on women serving in combat (Mulrine, 2011). Similarly, Hispanics make up about 12% of the U.S. army while Blacks and Asians make up about 11% and 4% respectively (Kane, 2005). This ethnic and racial diversity is also seen in higher level positions in the army as well. EEO and AA policies therefore create a feeling of fairness among employees as they experience equal access to trainings, promotion and other career development opportunities. Employers also benefit from these policies as they experience reduced workplace conflict, high job satisfaction and morale among employees, increased productivity and ability to meet organizational goals. As I realize the value of incorporating EEO and AA in an organization, it is my sincere desire to implement these policies in my future endeavors as well. Human Resources Planning, Recruitment and Selection HR planning, recruitment and selection is a key determinant of the overall performance of the organization. Recruitment of the wrong person can lead to increased turnover, low morale among existi ng employees and wasted time and resources with respect to recruiting, interviewing and training, all of which can seriously impact an organization’s bottom line. Following my high school graduation, I worked at a Mexican restaurant for a few months. The manager hired four illegal immigrants from Mexico, despite knowing the fact that they did not have the legal paperwork to work in America. He hired them at lower pay and required them to work for more hours compared to the other employees. An Immigration

Friday, November 1, 2019

Vectors and Statics Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Vectors and Statics - Lab Report Example Experimentally, T3 required to balance the ring was found to be 1.6072N. From this, the x compontent and y components of the force were calculated. In comparison, the theoretical value for T3 was found to be 1.84N. This indicates disparity between the theoretical and experimental value, especially after calculating the percentage error that gave out 12.6%. however, this is a slight deviation and can be contribute to the experimental errors. Source of these could be attributed to the non-accurate nature of experimental apparatus since this makes an individual to give a slightly deviating reading from that expected. Further, this could also cumulate to imprecision of the measurements done therein. However, the percentage error should not only be laid solely on the experimental errors but also on the errors arising from using the theoretical value. For example, the theoretical value given are meant for a pulley with frictionless wheels and strings without weight. But in this case, while moving friction is inevitable and weight of the string should also be accounted for the errors. Consequently, this insinuate that there is overestimation of percentage error calculated for the pulley system. Through the above experiment, the application of vector and statics in real life scenarios come out succinctly. For instance, the case of implementing pulley and the inclined plane can be taken as simple machines. For the component of simple machines, the pulley can be applied in lifting a particular load by allowing for application of relatively less force than in a scenarios of direct pulling. In conclusion, the experiment was successful in meeting the major objective of the lab. As can be evident, the percentage error falls within a small margin. Further, the causes of this deviation have been attributed to imprecision of the apparatus and the assumption about non-frictionless pulley. From the

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Effect of consumerism on society Research Paper

Effect of consumerism on society - Research Paper Example Starting with the rise of the department store, and culminating in advertisements that show females the way to live the good life, consumerism for women is all about achieving the life and identity that she is â€Å"supposed† to have. The possible exception to this is the Dove real beauty campaign, that tells the woman that she is fine the way that she is. However, in a way, consuming this product is also buying into an identity, albeit this identity is one that is not constructed by purchasing the product, but, rather, is an identity that is internal to who she is. For the male, the evolution has been a bit different, as the modern and pre-modern male was discouraged from consumption - he was the provider, not the consumer. However, post-modernism has arguably changed this, and has made the male more of a consumer because of the rise of branding and designer labels. Branding and designer labels has given the post-modern male a way to construct his identity with consumption, j ust as females have done. How Consumerism Has Affected the Female Identity Modern consumerism, as explained below, was typically associated with the female, as opposed to the male. This was affected by the rise of the department stores in the late 1800s, and this was where the culture of consumption observed a turning point (Martin, 1993, p. 149). ... Advertising plays a role in shaping female consumerism, as it does male, as explained below. For the female, she is shown, through advertising, what it is to aspire to and what it is to be afraid of. Female-directed advertising explains to women that they must aspire to a physical ideal that is unattainable by many, and also must aspire to a youthful appearance. Thus the prevalence of advertisements for products such as weight-loss pills and hair dye (Dyer, 1989, pp. 3-4). The advertising succeeds in selling these products through the process of modeling and mirroring. The advertisements model what the good life should be, and what a woman should aspire to – being fit, youthful, vigorous, sexual and fun. At the same time, they hold up a mirror to the woman’s life, and how her own life does not match that of the ideal. The advertisements seem to imploring the woman to buy the product so that she can reach the ideal that is portrayed in the ad (Dyer, 1989, pp. 3-4). This puts pressure on the woman to reach this ideal, which she can only reach through consumerism - buying products that maybe she does not really need, but feels that she does, because she wants to attain the good life that is portrayed on her television screen. Sometimes advertising actually ties products in with a certain feminist ideal, such as the Virginia Slims campaign back in the seventies, whose tag line was â€Å"You’ve Come a Long Way Baby† (Johnson & Taylor, 2008). That said, at least one advertising campaign, Dove, has attempted to use a different message to sell its products to the female audience. Their â€Å"Real Beauty† campaign featured women with less-than-perfect bodies in their underwear, and the message was that women

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Scientific Revolution And Secularism

Scientific Revolution And Secularism In the 17th century, Europe had undergone a drastic change in science, philosophy and politics. With new innovations in science, the world began to demystify and doubts began to disappear as new discoveries were being accomplished and questions about the anatomy, evolution and mankind were being answered. The Scientific Revolution was an indirect cause of the growth of secularism in Western Europe during the 17th century. Scientists attempted to address issues of humanity and the universe, furthermore through new discoveries they challenged preconceived notions. Galileo Galilei, William Harvey and Sir Isaac Newton were among the many scientists who, through experimentation and analysis, arrived at some of the most important scientific developments in history. Galileo Galilei was an astronomer and a physicist, born in Pisa, Italy and studied at the University of Pisa. He accumulated mathematical and scientific evidence to support the theories Copernicus held of a heliocentric universe, a theory which defied the Church and went against Aristotles theory of destiny and a divine plan. Galileo started performing controlled experiments such as rolling balls down slopes and measuring their speeds, he showed that motion could be described mathematically (Newman, 2002, p.72). Galileos physical experimentation had liberated people from confinement of religion and had initiated questioning of the Churchs views. His findings had influenced such philosophers as Locke, Machiavelli and Hobbes who had composed modernistic theories of humans and governments which had little to no room for religion and opinions of the Church. Galileo had challenged three major aspects of the Churchs beliefs, one being that there is unification between celestial and terrest rial mechanics and that the universe is subject to change. The second being his mathematical approach to reasoning which was in sharp contrast to divine revelation as the source of truth and the Church as authority of judgment. Galileos last aspect that challenged the beliefs of the Church was his support of the heliocentric cosmology, essentially diminishing the geocentric worldview of importance of humans and the idea of scattered stars with no pattern (Ardent, 2004). By remodeling the telescope, Galileo had since allowed people to visualize and experience these scientific discoveries. He disproved many long-held assumptions made by the Catholic Church during his time, and through his experimentations encouraged a new train of thought which in turn resulted in the beginning of secularism. Similar to Galileo, William Harvey had made significant discoveries which contrasted the views of the Church. Harvey was an English physician who was not satisfied with divine power as an explanation for the workings of the human body (Newman, 2002, p.73). His discoveries in human anatomy were one of the most significant achievements in physiology and medicine in the 17th century, but his work had opposed the Creation Story, which led to skepticism of the Bible. Harvey had made the discovery that humans and animals only had a limited amount of blood by cutting open the vein of an animal and allowing it to pour out (Bhatia, 2010). This was considerably different from the previous thought of blood being a natural spirit where it flowed out to vital spirits in the heart and animal spirits in the brain (Bhatia, 2010). Harvey did not burden himself with these theories but took it upon himself to solve the mysteries of the human body, separating fact from fiction and eluding the beliefs of the Catholic Church. Distinguishing that the heart was a pump and not a filtration plant where blood simply just passes through (Newman, 2002, p.74) had created a whole new way of thinking, people now knew how the heart worked and were beginning to doubt the thought of a divine plan and God creating humans, which brought about thoughts of evolution. In 1642, Sir Isaac Newton combined the knowledge of Galileo and Harvey, along with his own, to create yet another breakthrough in science which resulted in the growth of secularism. Newton accurately described the movements of objects in the solar system and how they move under the influence of universal gravitation (Bhatia, 2010). Newton had further influenced secularism by his discoveries in science, his Three Laws of Motion stated: if no force acts on an object, it will remain at rest or maintain its constant motion in a straight line every change of motion or acceleration is proportional to the force that caused the change and inversely proportional to the objects mass for every action force, there is no equal reaction force in the opposite direction. (Newman, 2002, p.73). These Three Laws of Motion had allowed people to make sense of their actions and the actions of the objects they use on a daily basis. Newton had explained things with concrete evidence, along with certain things that had only been explained in biblical texts which allowed more of a separation between government and religion. Science and technology having liberated men from the superstitions of religion, now guaranteed continuous process. (Genovese, 1997). He showed that God does not make everything happen, which caused people to stray from the belief of divine power and use science as a way of explaining the world. Newtons scientific enhancement, along with the works of Harvey on human anatomy and Galileo in astronomy and the universe, had truly boosted the growth of secularism in the 17th century. Through scientific analysis, these three scientists created new thoughts and theories that challenged the assumptions of mankind made by the Catholic Church. It was the beginning of a new era of thinking, an era where evolution of mankind and the universe were proved with scientific evidence and not holy texts. The Scientific Revolution had significantly affected the growth of secularism in the 17th century and has continued to affect secularism in the 21st century, as people still question and doubt Gods existence, faith and religion.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Clara Wieck Schumann and the Struggle for Equality in Nineteenth-Centur

Clara Wieck Schumann and the Struggle for Equality in Nineteenth-Century Germany The place of women before and during the nineteenth century is well summarized by a Bavarian statute book, which states that â€Å"by marriage, the wife comes under the authority of the husband and the law allows him to chastise her moderately† (Gay 177). These ideas are similarly echoed in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen and the writings of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. The former did not afford women any of the rights provided for men, such as liberty, property, resistance to oppression, voting, free speech, etc.; the latter reasoned that because women were the weaker sex, they should not (and moreover could not) be a part of society outside of the family. Although dominated by her father in the early years of her life, the pianist and composer Clara Wieck Schumann broke through the societal barriers inhibiting women’s success and independence, forming a reputable and commendable career during a time when women’s lives were predetermined by a male-dominated consciousness and society. An investigation into the mindset of citizens in the nineteenth century and the obstacles every woman faced — especially concentrating on Germany — followed by a description of the life and musical career of Clara Schumann will create greater recognition of the upward battle she (and all women) faced at that time, as well as the notability of her career as wife, mother, and musician. Before delving into the life of Clara Schumann, a description of the world surrounding her must be made in order to understand the magnitude of her accomplishments. Among the positive factors of this time were changes in society from the late eighteenth century, su... ...tita. Concerto: The Glowing Story of Clara Schumann. New York: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1961. Moraze, Charles. The Triumph of the Middle Classes. Cleve land: The World Publishing Company, 1966. Nauhaus, Gerd, ed. The Marriage Diaries of Robert & Clara Schumann. Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1993. Reich, Nancy B. Clara Schumann: The Artist and the Woman. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1985. Schumann, Clara Wieck. Secret Whispers: Three Romances for violin and Piano. Kym Amps, Soprano; Erica Deaaring, violin; Joanna Borrett, cello; David Carhart, piano. Meridian Records 1996. Susskind, Pamela. â€Å"Clara Shumann.† The New Grove Dictio nary of Music and Musicians. Vol. 16. London: Macmillan Publishing Limited, 1980. Thompson, Oscar, ed. â€Å"Clara Schumann.† The International Cyclopedia of Music and Musicians. New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1975.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

How Does the Setting Enhance the Atmosphere in ‘The Strange case Of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’? Essay

The Gothic movement was at its highest popularity, when Robert Louis Stevenson wrote ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. The Gothic movement was about the darker side of life and man’s soul, and indeed romance, morbidity and death. In the novel this exploration of man’s darker side is taken to the extreme. Where there is the belief that there are literally two sides to a person, in the novel the two sides are split. With that duality, you also get a change in setting and this enhances the atmosphere. Advance in science and medicine influenced minds and questioned beliefs of the Victorian age. For example, does Mr Hyde ever come out in the day? This is because of the darkness in him is accentuated outside by night and shadows. He appears in gloomy surroundings in bad circumstances, and situations. For example, in the Carew murder ‘a fog rolled over the city’ which is like a carpet of gloom and horror descending before you even know what is about to happen. After its happened you get the ‘great chocolate coloured pall’ come over the city. Darkness and night have deeper connotations, apart from everyone disliking the dark. The murder of Danvers Carew was also in darkness, which represents the connection between dark, blackness and evil. There was a full moon, which is well known to emphasise eerie settings. Dark represents evil and people are scared of the dark. This is because when you’re in the dark you cant see and it’s unknown who or what is around you. Just like it is unknown what actually causes evil. Mr. Hyde himself appears physically evil in his features, because he is the polar opposite of Dr. Jekyll. The relationship between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde coincides with night and day. As Dr. Jekyll is usually in day, in wealthy surroundings and Mr. Hyde, where he lives is a messy old house in Soho and creeps around in the night. In this house, he has a housekeeper with an ‘evil’ face, smoothed by hypocrisy’ so in fact, it appears that everything to do with him is not good. The house itself that Mr Hyde lives in is in ‘dismal quarter of Soho’. Before the book goes on to say what happened on page 27, it sets the scene. It is made out to seem like some hellish underworld, with a ‘glow of rich, lurid brown’ and even the light is weak against the darkness in the setting; ‘a haggard shaft of daylight would glance in between the swirling wreaths.’ This weakness of light could also be telling you that good against the darkness and evil in the book is powerless. This is like with Dr. Jekyll ending up taken over by the badness- Mr. Hyde. Dr. Jekyll actually likes being Mr. Hyde more than himself, because he is younger and free compared to the restraints of Victorian middle class respectability. He is younger in Mr. Hyde because his bad side has not yet been fully developed. He calls it haggard because he wants to give the impression that it’s old and tired. Then, when Mr Utterson is visiting Dr. Jekyll, it is ‘late in the afternoon’, so this could be symbolising that there is light now but soon there will be darkness, i.e. evil. I believe that when Robert Louis Stevenson was writing this book, his own life has influenced the setting, as he used to live in Edinburgh where there were two parts, the old, grimy and poor parts in the centre of the city and the rich, posh suburban houses. These opposites in setting- the rich suburbs contrasting with the dark back streets emphasises and night with day make Mr. Hyde and Dr. Jekyll seem even further apart and yet they are the same person. This also adds to the effect of mystery in the plot, like at the beginning not knowing what events would occur. In night, when he appears for example, ‘he lay and tossed in the gross darkness of the night’. Then he has a nightmare, which is a sign that bad things are to come and the dark symbolises that also. Robert Louis Stevenson himself had bad dreams and nightmares in his childhood, perhaps this relates to the man in the story. The mental landscape of the writer reflects in this book. His nightmares, the people in the Victorian age who lead a dual life. For example, when he was younger, him and his friend Charles Baxter would go out and pretend to be lower class and go to taverns. They would lead a dual life, just like that of Jekyll and Hyde, except they could in the end control whether they become that person or not. To conclude, duality runs throughout the whole of this book, with day/night, good/bad, Jekyll/Hyde, wealthy suburbs/grimy back streets, respectability (boring)/freedom (exciting). I think that his life experiences and feelings play a large part in the story and it’s inner meanings. In this book you can see that the setting relates greatly to the plot and Jekyll and Hyde. I think Jekyll and Hyde could relate to people in modern day society, because most people put on an act and don’t portray whom they really are deep down inside. Yet, when they are put in a different place and time, with different people with different behaviours and morals, they are suddenly let loose as a different person. The connection to the story with Jekyll not coming back in the end and Hyde taking over could be applied to this behaviour. Because, when someone puts on an act for such a long time, not only do the people surrounding, but also the person who is doing this, starts to believe that the person they have made out to be cannot be distinguished from the real person inside. So, overall the setting enhances the atmosphere a great deal more than you can perceive because of the underlying connotations and meanings.